When Master Fang Yuan demanded answers about his assassination through poisoning, all the slaves within that day were lined up in the sect.
Xuan quickly got the pressure off himself after reminding them that he said he didn't see the person clearly because he was at a far distance.
So he wasn't really bothered, and before he left the sect for the library, it wasn't noticeable.
Inside the dimensional library, Xuan felt relieved everything planned out the way he hoped.
And now, the cube appears, floating in his palm. Before the next heartbeat, Xuan disappears from his world.
---
Meanwhile...
Where Xuan would be arriving, a black car parked just beside the circle rune.
It was nighttime, and the two men inside the car were fast asleep—that is, until a blinding light woke one up.
He groaned a few times, twitching his eyes until they steadied. "Hey, hey, wake up," he tapped the other in the front seat.
Xuan stood, looking around. It was his first time arriving here at night. Last time he left, he was supposed to meet with Mei Ling for a hunt.
Xuan was looking at the illuminated building while thinking about Zhao Lan when he heard the shutting doors of the black car.
Two men, adorned in black suits, walked up to him, yawning at first until the other nudged his co-worker.
"Oh yes, you must be Xuan Chen. Well... Madam Zhao Lan has us waiting for you to arrive."
"Is there something wrong?" asked Xuan.
"Please come with us, sir."
Xuan initially thought they would be taking him to Zhao Lan's room, as usual, but that wasn't it this time.
He was taken to the car, and they drove far away from the mansion, heading downtown—somewhere Xuan had never gone before.
He saw billboards but didn't know what they were, and assumed streetlights to be magic light wood.
Xuan sighed. "There are a lot of intriguing things in this world," he muttered to himself.
There were also many people dressed in modern style and a lot of cars. Xuan kept marveling at this view.
The car finally came to a stop in front of something resembling a rundown building.
This place was also deserted. Unlike when he was coming, this place was quiet as a graveyard.
The men gestured Xuan should follow them, and he did exactly that—following them from the stairs and finally to the top of the building.
There, Zhao Lan was staring at the moon and the amazing weather. She was wearing a black short skirt and a short top exposing her belly button.
Her long white hair flowed down and rested on her big bum. She was indeed beautiful.
Something feels off about her today, thought Xuan.
The Zhao Lan he knew was always smiling at him. This woman in front of him had her glowing eyes hovering before Xuan.
She could see something about Xuan no one else saw.
—[Name: Xuan Chen]
—[Stage: Spirit Combustions Stage 01]
—[Strength: 2.2]
She chuckled after seeing this rank. "What's amusing you?" Xuan had to ask.
The way he spoke in a rude voice made the two guards almost apprehend him with brutal force.
"Let him be." A word from Zhao Lan froze them in place. She looked at Xuan, then said something that gave Xuan a clue.
"You don't want to risk vexing a great warrior," she smiled. "Martial Realms Stage 5, as registered in the sanctuary."
This was all Xuan needed to hear to know that somehow Zhao Lan had known the truth about him.
The two guards swallowed in fear, petrified the moment their eyes landed on Xuan, his robe dancing with every gush of wind.
"So how long?" asked Xuan. This woman has actually made it to Divine Combustion Stage 01. What the fuck. Though restless, Xuan appeared calm.
Zhao Lan sat on the building's block, crossing her silky legs while acting as if she was thinking. "Well, from the very start, I knew. Now you'll be wondering why I let you?"
Xuan nodded, while the guards did not understand what they were saying—until Zhao Lan made it clear.
"It's because of your techniques. Of course, you're only weak, but a technique doesn't matter if the user is weak or strong. It—"
"What? You've slept with Mistress Zhao Lan?"
Getting cut off like that wasn't a good idea. Zhao Lan stretched her hand out and imagined squeezing the man's neck.
However, the man's head pulled away from his body. From where Xuan stood, he heard the thud of the falling body and blood flowing toward his feet.
The other guard didn't try to move an inch, and Zhao Lan had her eyes on him. He wasn't moving at all; he was like a statue.
"It's all about the technique. And you, the keeper of the third pillar of taboo technique—I need you," said Zhao Lan.
Xuan's heart was freezing, especially standing atop the little blood. He didn't know Zhao Lan was this strong—or this much of a tyrant.
He'd stay far away from such people. This is bad. But this much power in front of him...
It was the same reason he had feelings for Xue Ming, a tyrant sugar mommy.
"Nice. That's a nice show you put out there, killing the man." In the next minute, the assumed-dead man was now standing like nothing ever happened.
Zhao Lan quickly stood.
First, after killing that man, Xuan had already reset the five seconds he needed. And before that five seconds could count...
He paused their surroundings, allowing just him and Zhao Lan to communicate.
"Magnificent," she chuckled inwardly, and her interest in him rose—wondering how he could do something as godly as that despite being at early Spirit Combustion.
It was impossible. Not even she could undo a kill. She frowned at how composed Xuan appeared.
"Teach me how you did that."
Xuan did not answer to that. Instead, he walked towards her, but Zhao Lan kept moving back—until Xuan grabbed her by the waist.
He moved his lips closer to her ears and whispered, "Be my wife."