Watching Han Qingxue's delicate, blooming beauty and flushed, excited face, Lu Chen's heart thumped wildly.
Once she, who had always been cool and clear as water, revealed her womanly side, she was unexpectedly breathtaking.
"What... are you looking at?" Startled by Lu Chen's stare, Han Qingxue abruptly hugged herself and took two steps back.
Lu Chen inwardly cried that he could not take it.
Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, he asked in a deep voice:
"What are you planning to do next?"
Han Qingxue's expression gradually calmed. After pondering for a moment, she said:
"Blood Owl is dead, and my friend's revenge has been avenged. I want to go out and travel!"
"You're abandoning Eternal City?" Lu Chen was taken aback.
"I've already dispersed everyone." Han Qingxue looked into the distance. "The three Blood Sons and Ji Wujue are all dead. King Yanbei and the Blood Spirit Sect will surely seek revenge. We can't withstand them!"
Lu Chen neither agreed nor disagreed. "Then... how about coming to Yanjing with me? Didn't Old Ancestor Tianyan contact you before?"
Han Qingxue glanced at Lu Chen and suddenly smiled. "You're not looking for your Yun Niang anymore?"
Lu Chen froze. "What does she have to do with this?"
Han Qingxue rolled her eyes at him. "Just asking. But I want to leave Great Yan!"
"I've heard that the Ancient Wilderness Plains is filled with powerful figures. If possible, I want to establish myself there. Don't you think our Northern Wilderness Plains are a little too dull?"
Lu Chen gave her a thumbs-up. "You have ravines in your chest and lofty ambitions. I admire you!"
"And you? Are you willing to stay in this remote place?"
Lu Chen let out a long breath. "I still have unfinished business. Once it's done, perhaps I'll go out and see the world too!"
Han Qingxue nodded. "With your talent, you truly should go out and explore!"
The two chatted as they walked out of the Blood Fiend Battlefield.
A vast heavenly tribulation had badly frightened the Blood Fiend Battlefield's demonic beasts and Fierce Demons. Those who could flee had fled, while the rest hid away.
They encountered no trouble along the way, which instead gave them time to be quietly together.
In the end, the two parted ways at the Blood Fiend Battlefield.
Lu Chen changed course and headed straight for Yanjing in the southeast, while Han Qingxue went east into Great Liang's territory.
As for going to Chixiao City to see Zhou Yan, it was not on the way, so that would have to wait until later.
Watching Han Qingxue's figure vanish beyond the horizon, Lu Chen activated a teleportation talisman and returned directly to the mountain gate of Tianyan Academy in Yanjing.
Tianyan Academy was even more imposing now than when he had left.
The mountains were lush with greenery, spiritual energy drifted through the air, and the main hall had lost its former shabby appearance. It gave off a hazy glow and carried an inherent pressure.
Fang Jiuding was cooking porridge before the hall. The pot bubbled and gurgled, its fragrance spreading everywhere.
Xiong Yao helped fan the fire.
"Junior Brother, how much longer? I'm starving to death!"
"Didn't you just eat... gah!"
Fang Jiuding suddenly stopped and looked toward the mountain gate.
A figure was walking up the steps.
His long black hair swayed with his stride. He stood like an abyssal pavilion, a towering mountain, with an extraordinary bearing.
"Junior Brother Lu Chen!" Xiong Yao shouted, waving her arms at Lu Chen.
Fang Jiuding also smiled and greeted him.
Lu Chen flashed several times and arrived before them, smiling. "You two are quite leisurely!"
"You're not bad yourself, are you? You've already entered the True Martial Realm." Xiong Yao sighed. "Your cultivation speed is downright shameful!"
Old Ancestor Tianyan came out of the main hall. "Your qi and blood have condensed into astral force. We have another workhorse now, hahaha..."
Xiong Yao rolled her eyes.
"Junior Brother, this..." Fang Jiuding rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation.
Lu Chen directly tossed him a storage ring. "It's all inside!"
"Haha, Junior Brother, you really deliver!" Seeing the monster corpses inside, Fang Jiuding burst into laughter.
"Look at you!" Lu Chen laughed and scolded him.
"Not bad, kid. I heard you turned the Blood Fiend Battlefield upside down?" Old Ancestor Tianyan came out with his eyes gleaming, asking excitedly.
Lu Chen's mouth twitched as he briefly recounted what had happened.
"Just as the rumors say—impressive, absolutely incredible!" Fang Jiuding exclaimed.
Lu Chen raised an eyebrow. "The news has already reached Yanjing?"
"What else? You schemed the three Blood Sons and one of King Yanbei's heirs to death. I admire you! That brat Lu Ran endured two kinds of heavenly tribulation, while you? More than a dozen!"
"This is a blow from another dimension!"
"They used to send people to strut around our academy. Now, not a single one dares to come..."
Fang Jiuding talked animatedly, excited beyond measure.
Lu Chen sneered. "Let him live a few more days for now. At the year-end New Year Martial Tournament, I'll tear him apart alive!"
As he spoke, he flipped his hand and tossed out a pile of scales. "Second Brother, these are ancient demon scales. Refine them properly and forge several sets of top-grade treasure armor."
Fang Jiuding's hand trembled.
Old Ancestor Tianyan's eyes widened as well. He stared at Lu Chen in astonishment. "An ancient demon? The one suppressed in the Demon Den?"
"What else would it be?" Lu Chen smiled smugly and flipped his hand again. With a thunderous boom—
A bronze pillar descended onto the scene, its boundless suppressive force knocking Fang Jiuding flat onto his backside.
Xiong Yao sprang to her feet, her eyes flashing as she cried out, "Good stuff!"
"A... a treasure artifact!" Old Ancestor Tianyan's hand shook in shock, but then his eyes nearly split wide open.
Clatter, clatter...
Lu Chen threw out three iron chains as well.
"Eldest Sister's bronze pillar, Second Brother's chains—they're all treasure artifacts!"
After saying that, he flipped his hand, and a pitch-black heavy sword appeared in it. "This is my Demon Sealing Sword!"
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
All three of them spat.
This was simply too horrifying.
What they did not know was that Lu Chen still had most of the ancient demon's Corpse Bone.
The bronze pillar and chains could not be refined yet, so he might as well use them to arm his own people.
As for the Demon Sealing Sword, it possessed powerful suppressive force. Once fully activated, let alone old monsters at the Nascent Soul level, even those in the Fusion Realm would have to kneel.
However, to activate it fully, he would have to reach a higher realm—perhaps an even higher one.
Unfortunately, it was not a saber. Otherwise, it would have been perfect.
Lu Chen was somewhat unaccustomed to using a sword.
But that did not prevent him from using it as a trump card.
"Give me the scales. I'll help the three of you refine them!" Old Ancestor Tianyan was rarely this spirited as he swept away the scales.
Xiong Yao and Fang Jiuding took the bronze pillar and chains, immediately beginning to refine them on the spot.
Like the Demon Sealing Sword, they consumed an enormous amount of power, but likewise, their might would surely be extraordinary.
"A postnatal spirit treasure—awesome!" Xiong Yao excitedly came over and gave Lu Chen a fierce hug.
She nearly squeezed his intestines out.
Clatter, clatter...
With a rattle of chains, Fang Jiuding bound the embracing pair together.
"A match made by heaven, hehehe..."
"You're courting death!"
Just as Lu Chen was about to fly into a rage, Xiong Yao refused to stand for it.
Dragging Lu Chen along, she jumped straight up.
With a thud, Fang Jiuding, who had been standing with his hands on his hips and laughing toward the sky, was kicked away to who knew where.
The chains on him clattered to the ground, then vanished in a flash.
"Fang Jiuding, just you wait!" Lu Chen was so furious he nearly choked on his breath.
Damn it, was that the kind of joke to make?
Xiong Yao, meanwhile, was utterly carefree as she summoned the bronze pillar and began wielding it in the distance.
The rumbling sounds made one's heart tremble.
Lu Chen even suspected that Eldest Sister might possess some sort of bloodline as well.
In the end, the four sat together, and Lu Chen asked about Xiong Yao's condition.
Old Ancestor Tianyan shook his head with a bitter smile. "She has already used three blood jades, yet no awakening came. It's simply her nature."
Lu Chen nodded. "By the way, who has come for the New Year Martial Tournament?"
Fang Jiuding clinked cups with Lu Chen, drained the wine in his cup, and let out a satisfied breath before saying:
"They arrived several days ago. As for Great Yan, needless to say, the imperial clan and all the prodigies from the Heavenly Imperial Academy who had gone out to train have returned."
"Among them are quite a few freaks who have entered the Nascent Soul level."
Before you continue