Xue Honghong’s tone was warm and gentle, so Pu Jingwan’s enmity faded. “Just like that?”
“Of course.” Xue Honghong still maintained that warm smile, but then, her eyes flashed with cold light. “But let me tell you here and now, in the future, I’m in charge of the Fated Stars. What I say, goes.”
Fated Stars?
Pu Jingwan quickly realized what she was trying to say. Wasn’t she basically staking her claim as the head of the imperial harem?
Her good impression of Xue Honghong was short-lived. She was right along; women’s first impressions tended to be accurate. Xue Honghong really had come here to make trouble.
“The way I see it, you…”
“Jingwan.” Xiao Yumei grabbed her hand, then smiled and shook her head.
Then, she smiled calmly, took a few steps forward, and met Xue Honghong’s gaze. “Saying all that to me is useless. I’ve never been interested in that position. I just want Zichen to be happy and safe. As for who’s in charge, I don’t care. If you really want to vie for power, you shouldn’t come to me. Zichen’s reincarnated several times, and there are quite a few people who’ve been with him for multiple lifetimes. If you want to compete…. You ought to take it up with them.”
“Hah….” Xue Honghong laughed coldly.
“What’s that laugh supposed to mean?” Pu Jingwan glared at her.
Xiao Yumei reached out and pulled her back. The way she saw it, there was no need to argue about this. If Xue Honghong wanted to seize power, Xiao Yumei would just let her. She didn’t care at all.
Xue Honghong looked Xiao Yumei up and down appraisingly, then retracted her gaze. “Interesting. I’ll remember you. Until I come out, I’ll entrust Ye Zichen to your care.” With that, Xue Honghong’s figure distorted.
Pu Jingwan glared furiously and muttered about “speaking clearly.” However, before Xue Honghong responded, her distorted figure disappeared from view.
“Big Sister!” Xue Beibei dashed forward just in time to watch Xue Honghong disappear.
“Take good care of Little Mo. Once I leave seclusion, I’ll treat you to something delicious.” Her ethereal voice drifted down from above. Only then did the great emperors realize that Xue Honghong had truly disappeared. But that wasn’t all; after she left, the Four Great Auxiliary Stars surrounding Ye Zichen distorted, blurring into streaks of starlight and disappearing from the Xue Family Estate.
The star bearers’ starlight returned to their bodies. Up in the Milky Way, only the Emperor Star continued to flicker. The dazzling Milky Way Diagram gradually faded into nothingness. Tonight’s show was over.
“Yumei, how can you just accept this? Who was that woman? She shows up out of nowhere and tries to take over the imperial harem, then said she’d ‘entrust Ye Zichen to your care.’ You can’t just tolerate people like that. The more you give, the more they’ll take,” said Pu Jingwan, unable to take it any longer.
Xue Honghong had provoked Xiao Yumei, but she’d missed her target and wound up provoking the seemingly-uninvolved Pu Jingwan instead.
Pu Jingwan had lost her temper. She snorted, then turned to Xue Beibei and frowned. “Beibei, what did you call that woman just now?”
“Big Sister! She’s my oldest sister. She’s the best! When I saw her with you, I wanted to come over and talk to her, but it seems I was too late.” Xue Beibei frowned, looking a bit dejected.
“You say she’s ‘the best’? She….” Pu Jingwan suddenly stopped, then looked towards the Sea of Innocence. The other imperial-level experts did the same.
“Someone’s here.” Su Qingyan frowned. She’d predicted that they had about six hours before people started showing up at the Sea of Innocence, so this was earlier than expected. It seemed that these new arrivals had only just entered the aquatic region, so they still needed about an hour to reach the estate.
“They got here awfully quickly,” said Bi’an.
“You all, stay here and watch the Master of the Stars,” said Xue Yang angrily. “This is my territory. I refuse to believe anyone dares act wantonly here.”
The two great emperors rushed off towards the aquatic region. The elder from the Supreme Hall thought for a moment, then glanced at the others. “It wouldn’t be good if others saw me here, so I’ll be on my way.”
With that, a formation diagram appeared beneath his feet. In the blink of an eye, he blurred into a streak of light and disappeared from view.
The others formed a circle around Ye Zichen and watched on high alert. Starlight had already filled his body, and his celestial eye had already condensed. Now, all they had to do was wait until it opened.
So long as Ye Zichen opened the Emperor Star’s celestial eye, it didn’t matter if these people broke into the Sea of Innocence.
They just didn’t know how long it would take to open his celestial eye!
….
“Stop here you are! Who dares trespass in the Sea of Innocence?”
Xue Yang stood before the ocean and roared. Bi’an stood by his side, gazing coldly over the water.
Before long, several figures came into view.
They were a group of three, and when he saw them, Xue Yang was shaken to the core.
The Northern Divine Mountain was in god race territory. Even if people from the Yao Realm sensed Ye Zichen opening his celestial eye, the first to arrive should have been gods. It was a shock that these yao kings had beaten nearby experts to the punch.
Xue Yang’s expression was grave, but he soon smiled. “You’ve come all this way to visit my Sea of Innocence. I sincerely apologize for not coming to greet you earlier.”
“Ocean Emperor, Seventh Dragonborn!” the three yao kings cupped their fists in greeting.
“Seventh Dragonborn” was one of Great Emperor Bi’an’s titles. The Dragon God had nine sons, and Bi’an was the seventh, which is why the yao were accustomed to calling him that.
“Might I ask why you decided to pay my Sea of Innocence a visit so suddenly?” said Xue Yang. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“We just wanted to get a bit closer to the Sea of Innocence and spend some time at your estate,” said the Satsuma King.
“Naturally, we’d be delighted to host you, Yao Kings. It would be our honor,” said Xue Yang, his gaze utterly sincere. “However, of late, my daughter has come down with a serious illness, and we’re temporarily unable to host guests. Furthermore, although you might not know this, the Sea of Innocence has recently had a falling out with the God Emperor. If you visit us now, it’ll be difficult to avoid causing misunderstandings.”
“Ocean Emperor, you’re not showing us any respect,” said King Luoyu.
“We’ve come here in person, Ocean Emperor, yet you’re trying to dump us in a side branch? You’re clearly belittling us,” said King Luoyu, his gaze cold. “We’re here already. Going all the way to Spirit Ocean City would be tiring and inconvenient.”
“Xue Yang made himself quite clear. The second daughter of the Xue Family is severely ill, and she can’t take your powerful auras. Furthermore, the Sea of Innocence and God Emperor’s Estate are at odds with each other, and hosting you will lead to misunderstandings. This is a delicate situation; learn to read the room,” said Bi’an.
“Seventh Dragonborn, you’ve lived among the gods for a long time, but surely you haven’t forgotten that you’re a yao?” The White Lotus King walked up and spoke for the first time.
“Oh?” Bi’an smiled, and the Hidden Dragon Sword suddenly appeared in his hands. “It’s been tens of thousands of years since a yao dared speak to me like that. It seems the Yao Realm’s impression of me has started to fade.”
“Seventh Dragonborn!”
“Get the hell out of here!”
