Jiang Chen?
The two Emperor-realm cultivators exchanged a glance, a flicker of wariness surfacing in the depths of their eyes. Normally, a cultivator of Jiang Chen's age, no matter how extraordinary his talent, shouldn't be enough to make veteran Emperor-realm cultivators feel wary and fearful.
But this Jiang Chen — formerly known as Young Master Zhen — had been far too much in the spotlight these past few years. Even Emperor Danji had suffered a setback at his hands.
Before leaving Emberfire City to enter the Myriad Phenomena Region, Emperor Danji had dispatched them on a mission and specifically warned them to keep watch for people from Liuli Royal City — and especially that Young Master Zhen.
Now, hearing that Jiang Chen was already in the Myriad Phenomena Region, it would be a lie to say they felt no apprehension whatsoever.
That said, they naturally had their own sources of information. They knew that Jiang Chen had entered the Myriad Phenomena Region to rebuild the Dan Qian Palace.
Though the Dan Qian Palace wasn't terribly far from here, it wasn't close enough to arrive on a moment's notice either.
If Jiang Chen truly intended to come to the Tiangui Kingdom, he wouldn't have sent that fellow Emperor Canghai ahead first. In that case, Jiang Chen certainly wouldn't be showing up here anytime soon.
Calculating the time, they had been fighting Emperor Canghai for over a day and night already. If this dragged on any further, things might spiral out of control.
The two Emperor-realm cultivators exchanged another glance, both deciding to accelerate and end this swiftly.
Since Emperor Canghai's weakness lay with that girl, they should exploit her.
"Wang He, move!"
The repeated urging finally snapped Wang He out of it. He steeled his courage, cracked a grin, and said: "So you're that Jiang Chen brat's woman? Tsk tsk, the boy's quite fortunate. But after I'm done with you, I wonder whether your man will still want you. If a few hundred beggars each get a turn — tell me, how entertaining do you think young Master Jiang Chen's expression will be then?"
Consort Dan was humiliated to the point of collapse, nearly fainting on the spot.
"Heh heh, I'm really looking forward to it — looking forward to the look on that Jiang Chen brat's face when he learns his woman has been passed around by countless men."
"You won't get the chance to see it." Suddenly, an indifferent voice drifted through the void. The next instant, Wang He felt his vision blur.
The Consort Dan standing before him vanished like a specter.
In her place, a new figure had appeared — a cultivator in flowing robes, carrying an air of defiant arrogance.
"Brother Mo, kill them!"
Not far away, that same cold voice spoke again, even more frigid than before. The speaker was none other than Jiang Chen. And the figure who had appeared before Wang He was clearly the Great Emperor Mo Wushuang.
At this moment, Consort Dan lay nestled gently against Jiang Chen's chest, her entire body limp and weak, unable to move. Her exquisite face, flushed crimson with the deepest humiliation, had turned red all the way down to her neck.
But the emotions of this moment were worlds apart from those of the one before.
The previous moment had been hell — she had wished for death right then and there.
Yet this moment felt so beautiful it seemed unreal, a bliss so overwhelming it nearly made her faint with joy.
Consort Dan kept her eyes tightly shut, not daring to open them. She feared — feared that all of this was a dream, feared that the moment she opened her eyes, every beautiful thing would shatter like a bubble and vanish.
If keeping her eyes closed could preserve this beautiful feeling forever, she would rather be blind for the rest of her life, rather have this single moment become eternity.
Perhaps it was selfish, but it was the truest thought Consort Dan harbored in her heart at that very moment.
Jiang Chen gazed at the beauty in his arms, at her rain-soaked face with tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, and was overcome by a surge of tangled emotions.
He suddenly realized just what a scoundrel he had been.
A woman who, at the most critical moment, had been willing to sacrifice her pure and innocent body for his sake — and he had left her hanging in uncertainty for ten long years, letting her suffer a full decade of hardship.
Looking at Consort Dan's face, unchanged as if from yesterday, Jiang Chen was flooded with boundless guilt. He sighed softly: "Consort Dan, all these years... I've wronged you. Open your eyes."
Consort Dan murmured softly, stirred by the sound of Jiang Chen's voice. Her long lashes fluttered once, as though still hesitating.
"It was my own foolishness that I failed to recognize Little Fei from the trial tournament all those years ago was Consort Dan of the Grand Tutor's Villa. Alas — such is fate, such is timing. The whims of fortune play their cruel tricks."
Jiang Chen gently drew Consort Dan closer and made his promise: "There's nothing to fear anymore. Open your eyes. The humiliation these men put you through today — I will make them pay ten times over."
Consort Dan's delicate body trembled slightly, and she finally opened her eyes. Through tear-blurred vision, she gazed up at Jiang Chen, then suddenly buried herself against his chest, softly sobbing.
In this moment, Consort Dan had a thousand words she wanted to say, yet she didn't know where to begin.
All she wanted now was to seek solace in Jiang Chen's embrace — to soothe ten years of longing, to release ten years of pent-up sorrow and worry.
Over on the other side, Emperor Mo Wushuang had already struck without the slightest hesitation.
Emperor Mo Wushuang was now a top-tier existence among Great Emperors, slightly surpassing even Emperor Canghai in cultivation. The moment he made his move, how could Wang He and the other two Imperial-realm cultivators possibly put up any resistance?
After just one exchange, all three lay on the ground.
Emperor Mo Wushuang called out lightly: "Young Master, I shall go assist Emperor Canghai."