Chapter 44: Why Can't I Come

Knock, knock, knock.

"Zheng Qian, are you awake?"

Zheng Qian was awakened by a series of knocks. He blinked his sleepy eyes and answered.

Deng Shuxin's massage yesterday had been so comfortable that he had fallen asleep right away.

Waking up this morning, he felt refreshed, full of energy, and entirely free of fatigue.

"I've prepared breakfast for you. Can I come in?"

"Wait a moment!"

Zheng Qian was currently—

"Hehe, Yaoji, you child still don't trust me!" Chang'e smiled radiantly, as beautiful as blooming flowers in spring.

Xinping did not avoid the topic, appearing instead quite at ease. This somewhat surprised Jiang Caiping. She had initially thought Xinping was likely acting out of necessity, but looking closely at Xinping's reaction now, she seemed far from opposed to this marriage.

"I didn't expect Third Brother to still remember. Whatever Huaxi says, Third Brother gets for me?" Huaxi looked up at Mu Xiuyuan, her brows curved into smiles, looking thoroughly happy. Her dark eyes were bright as stars in the dark night, shining with a gentle warmth that dispelled confusion and pointed the way forward.

Qin Yahui lifted her gaze and saw a tall, imposing man walking toward her. Startled, she pulled her hand back, knocking over the coffee cup in front of her, spilling the dark liquid all over herself.

Under the seven-colored light woven by the sun, the approaching figure walked lightly, casting a somewhat hazy shadow behind him. Although she could not immediately make out the graceful silhouettes and delicate features of the person walking leisurely toward her, Jiang Caiping felt that the speaker's voice was not unfamiliar, carrying a certain ring of familiarity.

"You wish to subdue me? A mere cultivator of the ninth tier of the Innate Realm, yet you attempt to subdue me? I have reached the Saint Realm!" the Red Scorpion Lion roared furiously.

This northern trip to the capital had lasted about twenty days in total for Ye Fan. It was time for him to return to Nanhai City, with his next step being participation in the Heavenly Road Trial.

"Why bring up Fuliu Residence again? It was clearly them..." The Madam Yin had not expected this maid to step forward to take the blame, speaking in such a muddled manner. She opened her mouth to question further and catch a flaw, only to find that Yuzhu had already fainted. Glancing back at Mu Jizhong and seeing his gloomy expression, she closed her mouth.

Speaking of his injuries, Le Feng's left arm was a bloody, mangled mess. Through the gaps between his fingers, glistening white bone was faintly visible, and fresh blood continued to drip down from the torn flesh.

"What can we do? Let him wait! Until I capture Luo Chi, I will not return to the Holy Realm," Mu Xiujie said with a grim, vicious expression.

This group consisted of five or six people, mostly youths, led by an elderly cultivator of sixty or seventy years of age.

Shi Tengda arrived at the backyard intending to call Song Xincheng, only to find no one there. Not only him, but even his parents had vanished.

Hearing the other party suddenly speak, Xuanyuan abruptly sat up. Although the candle had been blown out and pitch darkness surrounded them everywhere, Xuanyuan possessed peerless martial arts, allowing his eyes to pierce the night. Thus, he clearly saw the expression on Dan Chenyi's face.

In a place a thousand miles away, Jiaxu heard a rumor: Magistrate Tan celebrated the birthday of Prefect Daotai, claiming a jade pendant could speak congratulatory words. Yet when he chanted the spell, the pendant actually spoke: "Prefect Daotai is a corrupt official who preys on the people and will surely face divine retribution!" In a fit of rage, the Prefect smashed the pendant and found an excuse to strip Magistrate Tan of his rank, reducing him to a commoner.

Lacking Wang Yan's patronage, Yue Wu was reduced to a beggar once more. One night, as he was sighing despondently inside the Yue King Temple, a sudden inspiration struck him: Since Wang Yan was hidden inside the thumb of the deity's statue, perhaps saviors resided within the other four fingers! He promptly broke off the index finger of the statue and indeed found a note inside: Lacking Wang Yan's backing, one may seek Chang Yue in the East City.

Seeing that Xu Tian completely disregarded his own injuries in his desperate bid to slay Ouyang Peng, Tie Qixun felt a nameless dread creep into his heart for reasons unknown.

The moment the Phantom Magic Blade appeared, its sharp and soul-shattering powerful aura caused Li Luohua and Bai Fuling to involuntarily shudder.

In the early years of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty, the Li Zicheng rebellion broke out, plunging the realm into chaos. Outlaws rose like bees, and the Great Ming empire teetered in the wind and rain. Yet as the spring imperial examinations approached, the grand trials proceeded nonetheless. Chang Jiushen and Bo Yiwu, scholars from Suzhou, traveled together to the capital for the metropolitan examination. Riding horses, they crossed mountains and rivers, braving wind and rain, until they arrived in Yimeng, Shandong.

The young man surnamed Zhang was sent flying heavily backward, spitting a mouthful of blood. His face was twisted with frantic murderous intent. Looking at Xu Tian's formidable strength, shock filled his features, and a storm of tumultuous waves surged within his heart.

"Sword, rise." Silent, Yunting drew the Qinghong sword. The smooth blade brushed against the scabbard, producing a low, husky rasp.

"How can this be called a negotiation? Liu Yong is merely a rough man ignorant of affairs. My lord, if you have any orders, just issue them, and Liu Yong will naturally do his utmost." Liu Yong's attitude was as cooperative as possible, nearly making the three men think they had mistaken him for someone else.

Seeing the strange object in Fuxi's hand, all the half-lizards looked puzzled.

What reaction the Purple Sage might have, Zhu Tianpeng did not know, but the reaction of the Minghai God was already unmistakably clear.

Luo Huang frowned slightly as he looked at Jian Luansheng, secretly guessing his identity. Why would the Qin family retainer merely uttering the three characters "Li Hansheng" force him to make a move?

Bai Kuang deeply believed that with his strength at the ninth tier of the Mortal Realm, if Fang Yi, who was only at the seventh tier, could still withstand this punch, then his opponent was truly no longer human, but a monstrous anomaly.

On the other side, after losing track of Xiao Feng, Huo Zun and the others wore faces plastered with frost and fury.

"Release the arrows!" Ling Tong gave a cold shout, and five hundred archers immediately appeared atop the city wall, drawing their bowstrings taut and aiming at Taishi Ci's forces below!

Old Zhu was no longer passively defending; he began actively seeking out the ice spears to attack. His figure darted everywhere within the Heavenly Stellar Formation, and the moment an ice spear appeared, it was shattered to pieces by the triangular tip of the Seven-Star Spear.

Upon receiving the letter, Xu Shu was stunned dumb. Rushing home just outside the city to investigate, he collapsed to the ground, weeping bitterly.

The Hall of Discipline? This was the penal sanctuary of the Shaolin Temple. If Elder Wu went there, could any good come of it? As for the speaker, he was also an extraordinary figure. Below the three great divine monks of the Shaolin Temple, bearing the "Xuan" generation name, his Buddhist name was "Xuanan," making him the junior martial brother of Abbot Xuanci and the head of the Dharma Hall.

All of this represented that in the process of digesting Gaia's knowledge, power, and soul, Chu Nan had broken through the realm of the Royal Master and reached the realm of a half-step sage.

"Perhaps it's because of the weather that they cannot take off, General!" said Fleet Chief of Staff Commodore Ruite.

Strangely enough, despite such a major incident occurring here, the police of Godin City never once came to inquire.

That color made even Sumeiran somewhat reluctant to strike. After all, it was merely an inconsequential avatar; the most urgent task now was to continue this wedding and completely tame Li Qingshan.

Every large banner was embroidered with a Golden Crow, resplendent in color and lifelike. Passed down since ancient times without being destroyed, it was enough to show the extraordinary nature of these precious banners.

In contrast, the away team's dressing room for Sunderland was enveloped in a heavy atmosphere. Roy Keane knew that continuing this way would leave them zero chance. He could only try to boost the team's morale, hoping the players would perform better and fight hard in the second half.