Chapter 363: Chapter 362: Human Emperor’s Underground Palace_1
Ling Chen chased her out of the restaurant and all the way to the woods outside the city. There, he saw Xu Ruoyan’s slender silhouette, which revealed traces of desolation and melancholy.
"You misunderstood. The Worry-free Young Master and I are just ordinary friends," Ling Chen gazed at Xu Ruoyan’s back and explained.
"You don’t have to explain this to me." Xu Ruoyan didn’t turn around, her back still towards Ling Chen, her voice icy cold.
Hearing this, Ling Chen’s brow furrowed slightly. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Regardless, as long as our engagement hasn’t been called off, you are my betrothed, and I am responsible for you."
Perhaps moved by Ling Chen’s words, Xu Ruoyan’s delicate body trembled slightly. However, in the blink of an eye, her voice returned to its cold indifference.
"If it’s merely because of an engagement on paper, you truly don’t have to."
Ling Chen was somewhat speechless. Initially, Xu Ruoyan had proposed breaking off the engagement, but then she changed her mind. Later, when he suggested ending it, she had angrily returned to the Sky Void Palace, nearly severing all ties with him.
It seemed that all along, Xu Ruoyan had been the one unwilling to give up this engagement on paper.
"What’s really on your mind...?"
Suddenly, Xu Ruoyan turned around, her eyes filled with inquiry.
"I..." Ling Chen wanted to express his true feelings, but in the next moment, he changed his mind. "I consider you my most trustworthy friend."
Upon hearing this, however, the anticipation on Xu Ruoyan’s face dissolved into clear disappointment.
They were still just... friends?
Xu Ruoyan let out a self-deprecating laugh. So, she had thought Ling Chen liked her too but had simply never voiced it. Now she understood; perhaps it had all been wishful thinking on her part.
"You haven’t overthought it. I, Ling Chen, have never been moved by any woman—with only one exception."
Seeing the somewhat disheartened Xu Ruoyan, Ling Chen hesitated for a moment but still decided to speak the words he had been holding back.
"And that person is you, Xu Ruoyan."
Ling Chen’s voice showed little emotion. If he truly didn’t care for the peerless woman before him, their engagement wouldn’t have lasted this long.
"Then why..." Xu Ruoyan stood stunned. Just as she was about to ask further, Ling Chen raised his hand to stop her.
"Because I have many things I must do. My father was killed by traitors, and his death remains unavenged. My mother is in the clutches of the Demon Cult. I am determined to make her renounce her evil ways. If she doesn’t, I will have to kill her myself to rid the Martial World of her threat." A glint flashed in Ling Chen’s eyes as he met Xu Ruoyan’s gaze. "Until I uncover the truth and avenge my father, I cannot allow myself to indulge in personal affections. I must keep you at arm’s length.
"That’s why I can only treat you as a friend."
After explaining, Ling Chen exhaled deeply. Having made things clear, he felt considerably lighter.
"So that’s it."
An extremely rare smile graced Xu Ruoyan’s face. She laughed softly, a sound Ling Chen had never heard before; she had never laughed with such open joy.
It seemed she truly cared about him, Ling Chen thought.
"Thank you for talking to me about this today." Xu Ruoyan’s voice interrupted Ling Chen’s thoughts. "I will help you achieve everything you set out to do with all my might.
"Whoever dares to stand in your way, I will kill them.
"I only hope that by then, you can break free from the shackles of revenge and re-evaluate our relationship. I will wait for you."
With that, Xu Ruoyan walked past Ling Chen and departed.
"If that day truly comes, I am willing to seal my sword and retreat into the wilderness with you, to grow old together in serenity." As Xu Ruoyan walked past, Ling Chen murmured softly, his voice faint, yet it seemed to drift out on the wind.
"Then we have a deal." Xu Ruoyan tilted her breathtaking face towards Ling Chen, gracing him with an extraordinarily captivating smile.
"I hope we can both achieve our wishes," Ling Chen watched Xu Ruoyan’s gradually retreating silhouette and couldn’t help but murmur to himself.
Upon returning to the inn, Ling Chen remained in the City of Thunder for over ten days, primarily using the Wind Thunder Cultivation Room to solidify his Cultivation at the peak of the First Realm Grand Master.
「A month passed.」
At the border between the Earth Country and the Thunder Country lay a desolate mountain known as Longyuan Mountain. Several days prior, continuous earthquakes had begun to fracture the land, tearing open massive crevices.
The Exotic Beasts living in the vicinity grew agitated and began to scatter in all directions due to these tremors.
WHOOSH!
High in the Sky, a flying Exotic Beast swiftly soared past and descended onto the barren mountain.
Two figures leaped from its back, landing in the fractured, barren area.
Both individuals were gaunt and dressed in black, with a sinister skull emblem embroidered on their chests.
This was the mark of the Bone Gate, a Demonic Sect.
Within the Demon Way, the Saint Witch Religion was the most powerful, followed by the Myriad Beasts Sect. However, these were not the only Demonic Sects. Dozens of them were scattered throughout the vast expanse of the Earth Country. While they all revered the Saint Witch Religion as the leader of the Demon Way, their internal affairs remained independent.
Bone Gate was one such minor Sect.
"How has Longyuan Mountain changed so drastically in just one month?" one of the people in black remarked, both surveying the altered landscape with bafflement.
"This doesn’t look like ordinary tectonic movement," the other observed. "Recently, the land for dozens of miles around has been continuously cracking, revealing many new, deep chasms."
The two arrived at one such crevice. The surroundings were scorched black and barren, almost devoid of anything.
"The Sect Leader mentioned that something significant is bound to happen in the Martial World soon. We must be cautious."
"Mm," the other man acknowledged, crouching down. He seemed to spot something on the ground. Sifting through the earth with his hand, he suddenly uncovered an ancient metal fragment.
He carefully cleaned the fragment, revealing characters engraved in an ancient script: "Human Emperor’s Underground Palace."
"The Human Emperor’s Underground Palace... What kind of place is that?"
"Judging by the name, could it be an ancient Sect?"
"Very possible. The Human Emperor’s Underground Palace might be connected to the Human Emperor, a peerless expert of ages past. We must report this to the Sect Leader immediately!"
The two Bone Gate experts hurriedly departed.
「The next day,」
The Heavenly Thunder Temple in the Thunder Country also dispatched experts to investigate Longyuan Mountain.
Five days later, it wasn’t just the Heavenly Thunder Temple; an increasing number of experts began appearing near Longyuan Mountain.
News like this couldn’t be suppressed. Bone Gate had initially planned to lock down information, but the area involved was too vast, and they lacked the strength to do so effectively.
The Master of the Bone Gate knew he couldn’t possibly handle such a monumental discovery alone. The only ones capable would likely be major Demonic Sects like the Saint Witch Religion or the Myriad Beasts Sect.
If he reported this now, getting ahead of the Righteous Martial World, he would surely earn considerable merit.