It had been more than two days since that full moon night, and the atmosphere in the capital of Chu suddenly became tense, with even ordinary people feeling an indescribable sense of oppression.
Countless cultivators arrived in Chu capital, inns were full, and many even stayed in the homes of ordinary people. Regardless of whether there was wind or snow, countless soldiers patrolled the streets, with guards every three steps and sentries every five steps; the capital was practically under martial law.
The strange aura emanating from the palace became even more pronounced, and everyone knew that a rare treasure was about to be unearthed. Under the old monster's orders, the entire royal family evacuated the palace, including all the palace maids and eunuchs, leaving the vast palace deserted. However, shortly afterward, a large number of troops were deployed into the palace, guarding all key points, and countless experts were stationed there.
This morning, the snow finally stopped. Chen Nan and Long Wu walked on the streets of the capital and couldn't help but feel a hint of gunpowder as they looked at the dense sentry posts.
Last night, Long Wu, like Chen Nan, also sensed that many top experts had entered the palace, but she did not discover that the old monster was engaged in aerial combat with humans.
Seeing that she was in a slightly better mood these past two days, Chen Nan invited her to stroll around Pingyang City. The two visited several of the more famous scenic spots in Chu Capital, but during this special period, the usually bustling city of Pingyang seemed rather deserted.
While the two were admiring the plum blossoms in the plum garden, they suddenly saw a familiar figure. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Kelly, who looked remarkably like Qianlong.
"Truly, life is full of unexpected encounters!" Kelly nodded to Chen Nan, then smiled at Long Wu and said, "Beautiful Miss Long Wu, we meet again."
Long Wu was taken aback. Then her expression darkened. Chen Nan sighed inwardly. Kelly's appearance was really timely. Long Wu's mood had just improved when she ran into him, who looked exactly like Qianlong.
"Miss Long, do you still have the ice lotus I gave you?" Kelly asked with a smile. His purple hair and handsome face made his smile particularly radiant.
"No more…" Long Wu replied.
Thinking of that ice lotus, Chen Nan felt a surge of laughter. That lotus had actually been stolen by the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon and eaten like a popsicle. While eating it, the guy kept praising it, saying it had the fragrance of a hundred flowers and was exceptionally refreshing. He even asked Long Wu if there was a second one. It was at that moment that Long Wu learned of the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon's existence.
Kelly smiled and said, "I said that if we meet again, I will give you a lotus flower that will never wither." As he spoke, he took out a gift box from his wide robe sleeves, and as soon as he opened it, countless rays of light shone out from inside.
A crystal-clear, radiant jade lotus flower blooms inside the box. The flower is about the size of a fist, with two jade leaves supporting the overlapping petals on its stem. The jade stem is more than half a foot long and is crystal clear.
The entire lotus flower seemed to be carved from a piece of the finest divine jade, radiating a dazzling brilliance. It exuded a peaceful and calming aura, clearly a priceless treasure.
Chen Nan was secretly astonished. He seemed to sense a fluctuation of magical energy. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that this was not an ordinary gem, but rather resembled the legendary top-grade magical beast core. This was a mage's favorite, a top-grade magical material; a small piece of magical beast core could be crafted into a first-class staff.
The lotus flower carved from a large piece of magical beast crystal core before us is a top-tier treasure, suggesting its identity is extraordinary.
"I appreciate your kind offer, but this gift is too valuable; I cannot accept it," Long Wu politely declined.
Kelly laughed and said, "I once said that if I could meet you again, I would give you an ice lotus that will never wither."
Long Wu chuckled, "Yes, but you also said that the condition was that the previous ice lotus flower hadn't melted before we met. Unfortunately, it melted in less than two days."
"This…" Kelly was speechless for a moment.
Just then, a sweet voice exclaimed, "I want it, I want it, give it to me! It's so beautiful, I love this jade lotus flower so much!"
A graceful figure emerged from the depths of Merlin with lightning speed and snatched the lotus from Kelly's hand.
"Wow. It even smells good! There seem to be ripples coming from it, like it's alive." The girl turned the lotus flower in the sunlight, exclaiming in admiration.
Chen Nan and Long Wu were dumbfounded. This overly friendly girl was actually a little princess. They never expected that the troublesome person from the City of Sin would actually come to their doorstep.
"You... Little Princess, why did you come back?" Chen Nan exclaimed in surprise.
"Such a big thing happened in my family, of course I had to come back. Besides, who are you? What right do you have to tell me what to do?" The little princess had a deep grudge against Chen Nan. She glared at him fiercely, then smiled sweetly and said, "Sister Longwu, since you don't want this lotus flower, you can give it to me. I think it's pretty good, anyway, you wouldn't even look at it."
Chen Nan sighed inwardly. The little princess was indeed hateful, completely disregarding her master's embarrassment. However, she seemed to be deliberately trying to annoy Kelly.
Kelly smiled and said, "So it's Princess Yu! It's quite a surprise to see the princess here. Welcome!"
The little princess seemed to suddenly realize something and said, "Ah, so it's Prince Kelly, who is known as a master of magic! My apologies! I was wondering why this lotus flower looked so familiar. I remember you wanted to give it to my sister three years ago, but she refused."
Chen Nan suppressed a laugh, and Long Wu couldn't help but chuckle as well. The little princess was just too awful.
"Hmm, trying to trick girls again, huh? Brother Kelly, you haven't improved at all. Why is it that every time I see you giving a girl a gift, she rejects you? Aren't you the magical prince of the West, known as a heartthrob? But after seeing it with my own eyes, I'm really disappointed! Oh, I forgot, this is the East. Oh!" The little princess showed a sympathetic expression.
"Sister Longwu, did the Magic Prince also pursue you in this way, first by chance, and then by chance again?" The little princess seemed to really have a grudge against Kelly, constantly attacking and mocking him.
However, Kelly didn't show any embarrassment. She smiled slightly and said, "Little girl, you really hold a grudge. It's been almost three years, and you still can't forget it! Hmm. Back then, you were just a bouncy little girl, always following your older sister around. Now you've grown into a stunningly beautiful young woman. Time really flies!"
"Pah! Who's the little brat, and who's the tagalong? Don't use such nasty language!" The little princess snapped, as if someone had stepped on her tail. "Back then, relying on your few magical skills, you actually used magic to trap me in order to get close to my sister! Pah! You big pervert! And you promised to give me this lotus flower, but then you went back on your word! You untrustworthy scoundrel!"
Kelly was a little embarrassed at this point and said, "It's because you always follow me and your sister around causing trouble. Besides, it's not that I don't want to give it to you, it's just that I'm afraid your sister will blame you. She bribed you before. If she finds out you accepted my things again, she will definitely scold you."
"Ha ha..."
"hehe..."
At this moment, several young men and women appeared deep within the plum grove, bursting into laughter. The leader was Dongfang Fenghuang, and the others were people Chen Nan and Long Wu knew—the dozen or so young experts who had ambushed Ling Zixu. These people were top experts from the four academies, presumably dragged here by the little princess to join in the fun while they were staying in the City of Sin.
The little princess was incredibly embarrassed and angrily threw Xiaoyu, whom she was holding, to the ground. She commanded, "Xiaoyu, teach him a lesson!"
With a roar, Tiger King Xiaoyu instantly grew larger, stood upright, and pounced on Kelly, simultaneously spewing out a massive bolt of lightning from its mouth.
Kelly remained calm, gently waving his right hand, and a hazy blue light rippled out. It not only dissipated the lightning but also instantly enveloped the Tiger King, rendering it immobile. Finally, the blue light gradually receded, squeezing Xiaoyu down rapidly until she was once again the size of a kitten.
Dongfang Fenghuang and Kevin were shocked. As magicians, they could naturally see Kelly's brilliance; his cultivation level could only be described as terrifying.
Kelly beckoned, and a hazy blue light enveloped Xiaoyu as she flew into his arms. He stroked Xiaoyu's glossy fur and exclaimed, "What a magnificent spirit tiger king! It possesses the finest bloodlines of both the Eastern White Tiger and the Western Demon Tiger, and can continuously evolve. It truly is a top-quality mount! Little girl, you are so lucky!"
Upon hearing Kelly call her "little girl," the little princess angrily retorted, "You big pervert, you shameless scoundrel, give Xiaoyu back to me right now! Humph, you got away three years ago, this time I'm going to find someone to beat you up!"
Kelly smiled and gently waved her left hand. A blue light enveloped Xiaoyu, and she floated up and flew into the little princess's arms.
At this moment, Kevin, Leng Feng, Dongfang Fenghuang, and others approached. Suppressing their laughter, they greeted the little princess, saying, "We, the commoners, pay our respects to Princess Yu! Long live the princess!"
In fact, everyone already knew the little princess's identity some time ago, but no one revealed it. They were just being deliberately evasive now.
The little princess exclaimed angrily, "You...you are all awful!"
Through conversation, it was learned that these people were indeed instigated by the little princess. According to Dongfang Fenghuang's words, the little princess almost abducted Xiao Chenxi. If it weren't for the three peerless masters riding dragons to catch up, she would have really succeeded.
Chen Nan was terrified and really wanted to give him the Eighteen Subduing Demon Palms.
"What are you looking at? Humph, you scoundrel, I'll settle our score with you later." The little princess looked at the Houyi Bow on Chen Nan's back and exclaimed, "Hey, this is our royal property! You scoundrel, how could you steal it again? Give it back to me right now!"
The little princess spun around and quickly appeared behind Chen Nan, reaching out to grab the Houyi Bow. However, Chen Nan immediately grabbed her slender hand, stopping her movement as firmly as if it were a steel rod.
Chen Nan deliberately put on a stern face to scare her, and whispered in her ear: "You little troublemaker, if you don't want to be defeated by me in public, you'd better behave yourself, or you know the consequences."
The little princess was really startled. She believed that Chen Nan was capable of doing what he said, because something that had happened to her in the Shenfeng Academy square had made her extremely embarrassed.
She said in a trembling voice, "Let go, this princess will not hold it against you now."
A dozen or so people gathered together and headed towards a restaurant. They chatted as they walked, clearly enjoying themselves.
It turns out that Kelly was a prince from a Western country who displayed exceptional magical talent from a young age. He later entered a magical holy land to study magic, and by the age of sixteen, his extraordinary magical skills had made him famous among the nobility. Although his status limited him from fully entering the cultivation world, his profound magical cultivation had already attracted the attention of the older generation.
This information came from the little princess who was familiar with Kelly, as well as from the Eastern Phoenix and Kevin, who had some knowledge of the Western magical world. Everyone couldn't help but look at Kelly with new respect, realizing that he was definitely a young powerhouse with incredibly terrifying cultivation.
Leng Feng said, "In recent years, someone has released a list of young masters in the Eastern Continent, but most of the top ten spots have been monopolized by the successors of the holy lands of both the righteous and evil paths. It is rumored that someone in the Western Continent has recently released a similar list, and I presume that Brother Kelly must be among them?"
When this question was raised, Long Wu's expression changed visibly. Chen Nan understood that Qianlong was a genius of extraordinary talent and must be one of the top figures among the ten masters.
Kelly smiled and said, "That list isn't very accurate. As far as I know, there are several people whose cultivation is no less than mine, but they weren't included."
Dongfang Fenghuang said, "I've heard of it before, but I don't know who's on the list. It's said to be a list compiled by well-known figures of the older generation, so it should be quite valuable for reference."
Chen Nan laughed and said, "Brother Kelly is too modest. As one of the top ten young masters in the West, your cultivation must have already reached the realm of transcendence and sainthood."
"Brother Chen, you are truly admirable. You have recently become a force to be reckoned with in the cultivation world. However, you must be careful. Since your debut, you have made your name in several battles by taking down dragon knights. Several powerful dragon knights in the West are preparing to challenge you."
Chen Nan was truly helpless; this was unbelievable! He was speechless!
The little princess was the most indignant. She looked at Chen Nan and then at Kelly, finding the two of them extremely hateful. However, she was powerless to do anything about it.
Just then, a great commotion broke out in the street, and an old voice, like the distant tolling of an ancient bell, came from several miles away.
"Amitabha! You Great Demon King of Chaos, you broke your promise! Twenty years ago, you swore to this old monk that you would not be born again for thirty years..."
A long laugh rang out from below the restaurant, like a rolling thunderclap, shaking the entire restaurant.
"Haha... Enough nonsense, you old bald monk! Words are dead, but people are alive. In this world, I can go anywhere. Tell me, who can stop me now?!"