The news that Young Master Ji San had sworn brotherhood with the Wei family's guest alchemist king, Zhen Shi, spread through the Glazed Royal City as if it had grown legs, racing from mouth to mouth in a frenzy.
One of the people involved, Jiang Chen, was utterly mysterious — he had seemingly vanished from the Grand Abyss Pavilion without a trace.
In truth, Jiang Chen was sequestered in the Wei family's secret base, cultivating behind closed doors.
After ten days of secluded cultivation, Jiang Chen successfully broke through the bottleneck of the third level of the Saint Realm, stepping into the fourth level and becoming a genuine Earth Saint Realm powerhouse.
Though it might seem like only a small step within the Saint Realm, the leap from the Human Saint Realm to the Earth Saint Realm left Jiang Chen acutely aware of the significant boost in his strength.
Sensing the vigorous vitality brought about by his breakthrough, Jiang Chen remained unsatisfied. "It's still not enough. The fourth level of the Saint Realm — perhaps I could fight someone at the peak of the Saint Realm, and maybe even win. But if I run into an Emperor Realm expert, it would still be a struggle."
Since arriving in the Glazed Royal City, Jiang Chen had come to deeply recognize his own shortcomings in martial strength.
Anyone who randomly popped up here possessed strength that would be considered extraordinary in the Myriad Domains.
"Young Master Jiang, in your martial cultivation, don't push yourself too hard. Think about how many years it's been since you first set out — to have reached this point, there are countless people who couldn't achieve it in their entire lifetimes. With your talent, in ten or twenty years, you will surely make a name for yourself across the world. There's no need to be anxious."
When Huang'er saw Jiang Chen's brow furrow slightly, looking somewhat displeased, she spoke up to comfort him.
Every time Jiang Chen heard Huang'er's voice, it felt as though he were listening to the Celestial Melody — no matter how agitated his mood, it would gradually calm.
During these days spent with Huang'er, neither of them had spelled things out, but every gesture, every glance, every word carried a hazy, unspoken understanding between them.
This feeling — hazy and dreamlike, neither mist nor fog — was intoxicating and sweet beyond measure.
"Huang'er, thank you." Jiang Chen looked at Huang'er's exquisite face, and his mood brightened considerably.
"Thank me for what?" Huang'er laughed softly. "You're always thanking me. You saved my life — should I really be saying 'thank you' to you every single day?"
When Huang'er smiled, it carried a kind of magical power, as though the very heavens and earth and all things within them were drunk on it.
Jiang Chen stared, momentarily captivated.
Suddenly, an impulse surged through him — to pull Huang'er into his arms. It wasn't merely a man's physical reaction, but an eruption of emotion from the very depths of his heart.
He stepped forward, and his hands closed gently around Huang'er's delicate, boneless fingers.
Huang'er smiled softly, showing not the slightest trace of coyness, and murmured, "Young Master Jiang, do you know? Huang'er has been waiting for you to give my hand this gentle squeeze for half a year!"
What?
Jiang Chen's whole body trembled at her words.
"Huang'er, you..."
Huang'er smiled radiantly, leaning her flawless, exquisitely beautiful face against Jiang Chen's broad chest. She listened to the beating of his heart and felt the warmth of his presence.
In that moment, Huang'er felt that heaven and earth were vast, yet there was nothing left to fear.
Even with illness clinging to her body, even with her origins shrouded in mystery, she felt not the slightest dread.
"Young Master Jiang, you saved my body and my life, but at that time Huang'er had not yet given you her heart. But when you saved my soul from the brink of despair — how could I ever leave you in this lifetime?"
Huang'er's voice was soft and gentle, like the melodious warbling of a lark — tender without being cloying. Though she was confessing her feelings, it was entirely unlike what one might expect from a young maiden. This was a confession uniquely Huang'er's own.
In an instant, boundless love welled up in Jiang Chen's heart. The girl before him had always been by his side, traveling across mountains and rivers, weathering countless tribulations together.
Along the journey, Jiang Chen hadn't felt it so acutely, but looking back now, he realized just how difficult the road they had walked together had truly been.
And that road had, imperceptibly, drawn them ever closer, shrinking the distance between them until there was no distance at all.
In this moment, as the final veil was lifted and their hearts beat as one, they discovered that they simply could not bear to be apart.
Jiang Chen was enveloped in boundless happiness. All his worries and troubles paled before this instant of tender affection.
When the golden wind and jade dew at last converge, they surpass all the myriad joys of the mortal world.
"Huang'er, I've been foolish — so caught up in the affairs of the sect that I've made you suffer along with me." A thread of guilt rose in Jiang Chen's heart.
Huang'er chuckled softly. "Do you take me for one of those delicate, pampered young ladies? I left with Elder Shun when I was only eleven, wandering for years before we reached the Eastern Kingdom. Elder Shun always said there was an opportunity in the Eastern Kingdom that could cure my illness — I never imagined his words would prove prophetic. Back then, I even wondered if this was a destined romance bestowed upon Huang'er by the heavens. Jiang Chen... hehe, Huang'er intends to cling to you for the rest of her life. But you mustn't find me a nuisance."
What Jiang Chen loved most was precisely this quality of Huang'er's — poised and gracious, yet understanding and considerate. At times she showed a touch of girlish playfulness, but never lost the bearing of a true lady.
Every quality Huang'er possessed was something Jiang Chen had cherished most across both his past life and this one.