Three-Year Promise

Whoosh!

With a flicker of her delicate figure, she brought Lin Suchou above the palace.

Before the black palace lay a vast, sprawling martial training ground.

Over a thousand figures sat cross-legged across the ground in orderly rows. At the very front sat two girls, seemingly leading them in cultivation.

The girl on the left wore fitted black attire, while the one on the right wore a light-red dress. Their features were both beautiful and identical.

Clearly, they were twins.

However, the girl in black had a cold Pretty Face, while the girl in light red appeared gentler and more delicate.

Yet it was precisely because of this difference that the sisters each possessed their own distinct charm.

"Who's there?!"

Suddenly, the girl in black snapped open her eyes and looked toward the sky ahead, shouting sharply.

"Hehe, Little Bing'er, you've improved a lot while I was away."

A sweet laugh came from the sky. Then, two figures descended before them—it was Lin Suchou and Jiu You.

The girl in black stared at the suddenly appearing Jiu You, her face seeming somewhat unreal. Then the coldness in her beautiful eyes melted away, and her eye sockets swiftly reddened.

She remained somewhat reserved, but the red-clad girl beside her had already flung herself toward Jiu You, mist gathering over her large, lovely eyes.

"Sister Jiu You, you're finally back! I missed you so much!"

Hearing the girl's words and seeing the sisters' reddened eyes, Jiu You's nose stung slightly.

She raised a hand to smooth the wind-tousled black hair of the girl in her arms and said gently, "Sister missed you too..."

Lin Suchou was deeply moved as he watched this scene.

Although Jiu You had left the Great Luo Heaven Domain, these sisters had diligently managed Jiu You Palace without a single complaint. Even after Cao Feng departed, they had continued doing so.

This alone showed how kind-hearted the sisters were.

"Welcome back to the palace, my lady!"

Before the palace, the thousand-odd figures who had awakened stared blankly at Jiu You. Only after recovering their senses did they drop to one knee in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

Jiu You was somewhat surprised by this sight. Back when she had been here, there had not been many people, and she had not been good at management, so everyone had been rather lax. How could they have possessed such imposing momentum as they did today?

"You sisters have done very well. After I left, you kept Jiu You Palace in perfect order."

Jiu You hugged the girl in her arms and smiled happily.

"It was all Sister's doing."

The girl in light red rubbed her eyes, not taking any credit for herself.

Jiu You then looked toward the girl in black. The latter bit her pearly teeth and walked over. Though she was also excited inside, she forced herself to suppress it.

"Welcome back to the palace, my lady!"

"I told you to call me Sister."

Jiu You took her little hand, her gaze filled with tenderness. "You've suffered all these years."

"My lady..."

The girl in black immediately shook her head. However, when she saw Jiu You's beautiful eyes narrow slightly, she hurriedly said, "Sister, how could I blame you? Sister left to seek opportunities for a breakthrough and entrusted Jiu You Palace to us sisters with peace of mind. We had to give it everything we had."

"Jiu You Palace was only a formality to begin with. You were the only one working yourself to the bone."

Jiu You said helplessly.

Back then, her cultivation had been the weakest among the Nine Kings. She had only been granted the title of King because of the Sky Vulture Emperor's influence.

After she left, who knew how much bullying these sisters had suffered.

More importantly, unlike her younger sister Tang Rou, the elder sister Tang Bing was exceptionally strong-willed. No matter what happened, she would bear it alone.

Thinking of how the sisters had surely suffered plenty of indignities over the years, Jiu You's heart ached for them.

"Right... where is Cao Feng?"

Jiu You suddenly recalled something, her willow brows drawing together. "When I left, I specifically told him to assist you."

"Sister, that ungrateful wretch Cao Feng... seeing that you hadn't returned for so long, he defected to the Blood Eagle King not long ago."

At the mention of this name, Tang Bing hesitated before finally saying it.

The moment those words fell, Jiu You's Pretty Face instantly froze, and the atmosphere abruptly turned cold.

Tang Rou was even more indignant. "Back then, Sister took pity on him and pulled him out of a heap of corpses. If not for Sister, how could he have had a chance to live?!"

Jiu You merely sighed. Then she gently patted Tang Rou's head and said, "I knew that man was obsessed with personal gain. I just didn't expect him to be unable to endure even a few years."

There was a trace of disappointment in her voice, but only a trace. It quickly returned to normal.

As long as the sisters she cared about most were safe, she was satisfied.

"The sooner people like that leave, the better. Otherwise, they'll only become a greater scourge in the future."

Lin Suchou finally spoke from the side, immediately drawing the attention of the Tang Bing sisters.

"You are...?"

Only when Lin Suchou spoke did Tang Rou notice the frail Youth beside Jiu You.

With such lowly strength, he could not even serve as one of the gate guards. Earlier, she had assumed he was some passerby Jiu You had rescued, like Cao Feng.

Now, it seemed that was not the case.

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you. This is Lin Suchou. I was able to successfully pass my tribulation thanks largely to him."

Jiu You introduced Lin Suchou to the sisters.

Upon hearing that Lin Suchou had done Jiu You a favor, the sisters' impression of him improved considerably.

Lin Suchou also spoke at this moment. "By Sister Jiu You's favor, I have come to join Jiu You Palace."

"You want to join us?"

Tang Rou cried out in surprise, her face filled with astonishment.

"Is that not allowed?"

Lin Suchou felt uncomfortable under her gaze. Did she find his cultivation too low?

But was he not also, like Jiu You back then, someone who had entered through the back door?

Seeing Lin Suchou's confusion, Tang Bing's face flushed slightly.

When Jiu You saw both sisters lower their heads in embarrassment, she asked solemnly, "Little Bing'er, what's going on?"

"We... have no money left."

Under Jiu You's questioning, Tang Bing awkwardly revealed Jiu You Palace's current situation.

It turned out that after Jiu You left, some people in the Great Luo Heaven Domain had claimed that Jiu You Palace existed in name only.

Some people then jointly submitted a petition to the Elder Council, proposing that Jiu You Palace be dissolved.

However, because the Sky Vulture Emperor strongly vouched for it, the matter was dropped.

Yet through the maneuvering of certain people, Jiu You Palace's annual stipend had been decreasing year after year.

Moreover, the territories under Jiu You Palace's jurisdiction had secretly been annexed by the other Kings. Now, only several thousand people remained in the palace.

The strongest among them were still the Tang Bing sisters.

After hearing this, Jiu You trembled with rage from head to toe, her full bosom rising and falling continuously.

Lin Suchou smiled calmly. "Since they can take what is ours, then we can take what is theirs.

I'll cultivate here for one year, then cultivate at Northern Cang Spirit Academy for two more years.

Three years from now, I'll take you all to seize back everything we lost! We'll repay every bit of bullying they inflicted on us!"

By the end, powerful confidence radiated from him.

The Tang Bing sisters stared in surprise at the Youth before them, whose strength was even lower than theirs.

But considering that he had helped Sister Jiu You pass her tribulation, coupled with his calm and unhurried bearing, perhaps he truly could accomplish it.

"Then I'll be watching closely..."

Jiu You gazed deeply at the Youth before her. To be honest, she was deeply moved inside.

At the very least, after learning of Jiu You Palace's current circumstances, Lin Suchou had not chosen to leave like Cao Feng. He had still chosen to stay.

"Ding! Detected that the intimacy value between the host and Goddess Jiu You has exceeded 55! Reward: Spirit Array Master High-level Heart Array state.

Spirit Array Master Void State Heart Eye.

Spirit Array Master Real State Heart Eye.

Low-grade Human-tier Spirit Array diagram Purple Flame Underworld Spear Array.

Minor Divine Art Purple Flame Ring.

Forty thousand drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid.

One drop of Dragon Clan Heaven Ranking Essence Blood.

God-grade Spirit Artifact Upgrade Card.

Substitute Puppet (a puppet that copies all of the host's abilities; its cultivation increases, but it will forever remain one realm below the host)."

Lin Suchou sensed Jiu You's affectionate gaze upon him, then looked back at her with even deeper affection.

The intimacy rewards from the past Two Months had all been distributed at once, making him feel utterly thrilled.