Ling Rong's words plunged the entire crowd into a brief silence.
Among those present, Bai Fengxin had the greatest cultivation and influence.
He had already declared that he wanted the Longevity Flower, so no one else was qualified to compete with him.
Yet Ling Rong had said that at precisely this moment, making it clear she intended to stand against Bai Fengxin.
Compete with Bai Fengxin, who was at the peak of the Spirit Soul Realm?
The result would be more than just humiliating herself. She might even lose her life!
Lin Tong and the others all shook their heads inwardly. The girl standing before them didn't seem like someone so ignorant of her limits.
Bai Fengxin couldn't help sneering. "Why do you want the Longevity Flower?"
Ling Rong's expression was resolute. "Because I want to restore my spiritual root and reclaim the cultivation talent I lost!"
Understanding dawned on everyone's faces.
No wonder this girl was determined to obtain the Longevity Flower. It turned out she had once been a cultivator herself.
Bai Fengxin studied Ling Rong intently. "It seems you have a story to tell. Go on, what's your name, and what sect or faction are you from?"
Sensing the stubbornness deep in Ling Rong's bones, Bai Fengxin had grown somewhat interested in her.
Ling Rong clenched her fists. "My name is Ling Rong, and I'm from the Ling Family of the Great Xia Kingdom!"
At her words, Bai Fengxin, Lin Tong, and the others from the Red Firmament Heaven all understood.
The Great Xia Kingdom was a middling nation in the Red Firmament Heaven.
And in the Great Xia Kingdom's martial world, the most famous family was the Ling Family.
Legend had it that the Ling Family had existed for eight thousand years and was an ancient martial family.
Even across the entire martial world of the Red Firmament Heaven, it was a family to be reckoned with.
Of course, what had made the Ling Family most famous in the Red Firmament Heaven was its former heaven-blessed prodigy, Ling Rong.
At the age of three, Ling Rong had been found to possess the exceedingly rare Five Elements Spiritual Root, and her cultivation talent had eclipsed that of her peers.
The Ling Family had once regarded her as its future leader and a dazzling new star in the martial world of the Red Firmament Heaven.
The ruler of the Great Xia Kingdom had even visited the Ling Family in person, hoping to make her the crown princess of the Crown Prince.
He intended to pass the throne to the Crown Prince in the future, making her the Great Xia Kingdom's rightful empress.
A future star of an ancient martial family, and the future empress-designate of the Great Xia Kingdom.
With such a status, Ling Rong had once shone with incomparable brilliance.
Unfortunately...
Half a year after the ruler of the Great Xia Kingdom had presented the marriage contract, Ling Rong lost her Five Elements Spiritual Root overnight.
In the blink of an eye, she went from a heaven-blessed prodigy to a good-for-nothing who could no longer cultivate.
The Ling Family tried its utmost to keep the matter under wraps, but the truth eventually came out, and the ruler of the Great Xia Kingdom learned of it.
The ruler then sent the Crown Prince to the Ling Family to break off the engagement, revoking every promise he had made.
After suffering blow upon blow, the Ling Family fell into decline and never recovered.
It became a laughingstock in the Great Xia Kingdom—and even throughout the Red Firmament Heaven.
"So you're the woman the Crown Prince broke off his engagement with." Bai Fengxin gave a slight nod.
Ling Rong bowed respectfully. "Senior Bai, I only ask for one chance to compete. Please grant me this opportunity!"
"Do you think you're qualified to say that?" Bai Fengxin's brows furrowed slightly.
"In terms of strength, I couldn't hurt a fly. But I have nowhere else to turn. I can only burn my boats!" Ling Rong clenched her teeth.
"Naive! And childish!"
Bai Fengxin rebuked her.
"If it were anything else, I might make a small concession out of pity for you."
"But the Longevity Flower is something I'm determined to obtain. Anyone who tries to take it from me is my enemy."
"You're just a woman. I don't want to fight you, so get lost while you still can!"
A terrifying pressure suddenly surged forth, slamming viciously into Ling Rong.
Ling Rong's pretty face turned pale. Her legs trembled, and she stumbled back several steps, nearly falling.
Bai Fengxin looked at her with contempt. "You can't even withstand a glance from me. What makes you think you can compete with me?"
"The beasts in the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range aren't as merciful as I am."
"I'm telling you to leave because I'm giving you a chance to live!"
Seeing Ling Rong driven into such a state, the people present felt a little sympathy for her.
Lin Tong stepped forward to comfort her. "Little girl, Sect Master Bai is right. The secret realm is full of unknown dangers."
"Not just you—even we'd have no choice but to run if we encountered a high-level beast."
"You should leave. In life, there are some things you can't force!"
Ling Rong slowly raised her head, tears already glimmering in her eyes.
The secret realm where the Longevity Flower appeared was said to emerge only once every several years.
She had already poured all her effort into getting here.
But now a powerful expert like Bai Fengxin stood in her way, and she was utterly powerless.
"Am I destined to live in poverty for the rest of my life, watching the entire Ling Family endure other people's endless mockery?"
Ling Rong's heart filled with bitterness and anguish.
Whoosh~
Bang!!!
Just then, a huge black shadow suddenly plummeted from the sky and landed in the middle of the crowd.
When everyone looked closely, they saw it was a gigantic iron lion monster.
As they made out its pupils and the branches embedded in its body, the whole crowd cried out in shock.
"A ninth-rank iron lion monster!"
"My heavens, only someone at the peak of the Spirit Soul Realm could deal with a beast of this rank!"
"A branch pierced straight through its chest. I doubt even someone at the peak of the Spirit Soul Realm could do that!"
"Iron lion monsters have skin like copper and bones like iron. They're incredibly hard to injure. Which expert killed it?"
Everyone, including Bai Fengxin, was stunned by the sight before them.
A ninth-rank iron lion monster was the equivalent of a peak Spirit Soul Realm expert in the human world.
And some unknown expert had pierced right through it with a single branch.
Such a feat was simply horrifying!
"Only someone in the Emperor Realm could have hunted an iron lion monster like that," Bai Fengxin murmured.
Just then, a clear voice reached everyone's ears.
"Daddy, I saw it fall right over there!"
A short while later,
a handsome man dressed in white appeared before the crowd, accompanied by four little girls as pretty as porcelain dolls.
Xuanzi and the others gathered around the iron lion monster's corpse, their faces full of shock.
"Wow, it's already dead!"
"I thought it'd be really strong. I didn't expect it wouldn't even hold up against Daddy!"
Xuanzi and Xuanxi exclaimed in amazement.
Hearing their words, everyone turned to look at Lin Xuan in shock.
Bai Fengxin and Lin Tong, in particular, regarded him with a measure of awe.
It seemed this handsome man had killed the iron lion monster.
Just who was this mighty expert? He was so young, yet so powerful!
A man in a grayish-white robe stepped out of the crowd and came before Lin Xuan. He bowed and said, "So it's the Emperor Consort! Greetings, Emperor Consort!"
Lin Xuan asked, "And you are?"
The man smiled obsequiously. "I'm Ning Jie of White Deer Academy. A few days ago, I had the privilege of witnessing the Emperor Consort's brilliance at the Literary Dao Discussion Assembly, so I recognized you at once."
"I see." Lin Xuan gave a slight nod.
Hearing their exchange, Bai Fengxin and the others were filled with awe.
White Deer Academy was a renowned Confucian academy in the Northern Profound Heaven.
Ning Jie had addressed Lin Xuan as the Emperor Consort, which meant Lin Xuan was the man of the Empress of the Northern Profound Heaven.
"No wonder this man is so elegant and dashing, yet terrifyingly powerful. So he's the man of Empress Profound Ice!"
Bai Fengxin and the others finally understood.
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