Drinking Together

The night was deep.

The candlelight in the study flickered gently.

Su Chen rose to his feet and straightened his green robe.

"Now that business is done, let's go out for some air. The night view along Heaven Dou City's moat should be nice."

Qian Renxue was slightly startled.

"Go out? Now?"

"The watchers have all been cleared out. What are you afraid of?"

Su Chen turned and headed for the door.

"Scheming within these four walls all day will narrow your mind as well."

Qian Renxue watched the youth's retreating back, and the exhaustion she had carried for years quietly surged up from within.

"Alright."

The night breeze was slightly cool.

A small boat drifted across the moat.

The water was calm.

Inside the cabin sat two teacups and a pot of clear tea.

Qian Renxue sat opposite him, still wearing Xue Qinghe's gentle, unremarkable face.

Su Chen filled both cups.

"Since we're out, why keep wearing that fake face?"

Qian Renxue's fingers paused slightly.

"In Heaven Dou City, I've long grown used to this face. If I take it off, I don't know how to face..."

"If you don't even dare face your true appearance, how will you master the Void Illusion Divine Art?"

Su Chen raised his cup.

"True disguise means knowing what is false without losing yourself. If you lose even your true heart, you'll eventually suffer deviation. There are only the two of us here. Take it off."

Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment.

Then she closed her eyes.

The spiritual power of the Void Illusion Divine Art circulated within her.

The illusion covering her bones and skin quietly faded away.

Xue Qinghe's face vanished.

In its place was a flawless, perfect visage.

Golden hair spilled down like a waterfall.

Her eyes were clear, carrying a trace of cold pride and nobility.

Even without makeup, she was enough to make the shimmering waters of the entire moat lose their luster.

This was the first time Qian Renxue had revealed her true identity as a woman before another person in Heaven Dou City.

A faint, unnatural blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Have you seen enough?"

Su Chen took a sip of tea.

"Much more pleasing to the eye than before. How could all the ordinary beauties in the world compare to even one ten-thousandth of this face?"

Qian Renxue turned her face away, her heart skipping a beat.

"You're not very old, but your tongue is quite slick. Is that how the Papal Hall teaches people?"

"I only speak the truth."

Su Chen set down his teacup.

"To the real Qian Renxue."

Qian Renxue lifted her cup and drained it in one gulp.

The tea slid down her throat and became a warm current.

The burden she had suppressed in her heart for years seemed to ease considerably with that cup of tea.

"Every morning at court, I have to call Xue Ye father. I have to treat trash like Prince Xue Xing with courtesy. Even if I want to kill him with a single sword strike, I still have to wear a gentle smile. I have to measure my portions when I eat and calculate every stride I take. One careless mistake, one hint of suspicion, and everything will be lost."

A trace of gloom flashed through Qian Renxue's eyes.

"To conceal my martial soul's attribute, I don't even dare use my soul skills lightly. I watch people inferior to me swagger around, and can only stand by and applaud them. Every order from Spirit Hall is about speeding up the usurpation of the throne. No one has ever asked whether this life is exhausting."

Su Chen listened quietly.

"In Heaven Dou City, if anyone dares make you unhappy, just kill them."

Qian Renxue gave a bitter smile.

"Killing people cannot solve every problem. Spirit Hall's grand cause, Grandfather's expectations, the inheritance of Angel Godhood—they all weigh on my shoulders. How could I possibly do whatever I please?"

Su Chen looked up, his gaze meeting Qian Renxue's directly.

"Angel Godhood? Is that thing really so important?"

Qian Renxue's expression turned solemn.

"The Angel God is the faith of the Qian family, and the supreme existence of the continent. If one inherits the godhood, one can become invincible beneath the heavens. How could that not be important?"

"Invincible beneath the heavens?"

Su Chen shook his head.

"Does relying on power left behind by others qualify as invincibility?"

Qian Renxue's eyes widened.

"That is blasphemy against the gods!"

"Gods are merely people who cultivated their way upward."

Su Chen's tone was calm.

"The so-called God Realm is nothing more than a larger prison. Godhood is the shackles within that prison. Once you put them on, you can only circle forever within the boundaries drawn by the gods."

"If I don't inherit godhood, what else can I do?"

"With a mortal body, strike down gods."

Su Chen stood and walked to the bow.

The night wind stirred his green robe.

"The human body is like a universe, and its meridians like rivers of stars. Why beg those clay idols in the heavens to grant you power? The path of cultivation lies in seizing the creation of heaven and earth, forging an unsurpassed foundation for oneself."

"Soul masters of Douluo Continent treat Soul Rings as the source of power and gods as their ultimate goal. They do not realize that this is a dead-end path. They hunt soul beasts for Soul Rings, thinking they have taken a shortcut, when in truth they have bound their meridians to external things. When they reach a bottleneck, they can only stare helplessly. This is borrowing power from heaven and earth, and what is borrowed must eventually be repaid."

"Ordinary iron can be reforged into an immortal sword. Flesh can shed mortality and become holy."

"The path of cultivation is different. It turns oneself into the furnace of heaven and earth, refining the laws of all things into bone and blood. No godhood is needed, no faith required. Once the Great Dao is achieved, a single sword can shatter that lofty God Realm."

Qian Renxue sat frozen in the cabin.

She looked at the youth standing at the bow.

His body was clearly so slight.

Yet it seemed as if endless stars were hidden in those eyes.

Overbearing.

Proudly looking down upon all things.

His arrogance in not even placing gods in his eyes somehow carried an unwavering certainty that made him impossible to doubt.

Qian Renxue's mind had suffered an unprecedented shock.

Since childhood, she had been taught to revere the gods and strive to earn their recognition.

Yet the person before her wanted to drag gods down from their pedestal with a mortal body!

The loneliness and exhaustion in her heart found true solace.

Qian Renxue lowered her head.

She looked at the moon reflected in her teacup.

"Strike down gods... can it really be done?"

Su Chen turned around.

"As long as I'm here, this path will surely lead somewhere."

Su Chen returned to his seat.

"You won't have to hold on alone anymore. If the sky falls, the taller ones will hold it up."

Qian Renxue's eyes grew warm.

"You? The taller one? You're only six."

"Cultivators do not look at bone age, only at the Dao heart."

Su Chen reached for the teapot.

Qian Renxue also happened to reach out, intending to pour herself some tea.

Their fingertips met unexpectedly in midair.

The faintly warm touch made both of them pause for a moment.

Qian Renxue's fingers trembled lightly, but she did not immediately pull them back.

Nor did Su Chen avoid her.

They simply remained in that touching posture.

Moonlight filtered through the boat canopy and fell across their hands.

Qian Renxue raised her eyes.

In her golden pupils was reflected Su Chen's deep, unfathomable face.

A nameless bond, feelings of mutual attraction, quietly took root and sprouted deep in their hearts through the warmth of their fingertips.

After a long while.

Qian Renxue withdrew her hand first.

The blush on her cheeks spread to the tips of her ears.

"Pour the tea."

A smile curled at Su Chen's lips.

He picked up the teapot and filled the cup.

"What do you plan to do next with the Heaven Dou Empire chessboard?"

Holding her cup, Qian Renxue's gaze regained some clarity.

"Xue Xing has suffered a loss, so he'll certainly lie low for a while. We should use this chance to speed up our cultivation through the Void Illusion Divine Art."

Qian Renxue glanced at Su Chen.

"You can serve as an adviser at the Crown Prince's Residence. Your age is just right, and it won't arouse suspicion. With that identity, you can make contact with the royal and noble youths of Heaven Dou City."

Su Chen nodded.

"Those noble youths live in luxury all day. They could use someone to knock some sense into them."

"Prince Xue Xing has people at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. I've always wanted to find a chance to place people inside, but Xue Xing has continuously blocked me. Those noble youths think highly of themselves, so it won't be easy to interfere."

"The Royal Academy?"

Su Chen's eyes shifted slightly.

"In a few days, I'll go have a look around the academy."

Qian Renxue chuckled.

"You're going to provoke all of Heaven Dou Royal Academy? There are Soul Elders in their twenties and thirties there, even Soul Ancestors. The heir of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Lineage is there as well."

"The heir of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Lineage? The one said to possess the continent's number one beast martial soul?"

A trace of disdain flashed through Su Chen's eyes.

"A lineage that cannot even recognize the flaws in its own bloodline deserves to be called number one? In a few days, I'll use that heir as an example. Let the entire Heaven Dou imperial capital see what true power is."

Qian Renxue looked at the utterly confident youth before her.

"Alright. I'll go mad with you once. I'll arrange things at the Royal Academy."

Su Chen raised his teacup.

"Come, let's have another cup."