Long Chen and Ye Zhiqiu left, all the time holding hands. They said goodbye to Nangong Zuiyue, Beitang Rushuang, and Ye Lingshan.

Long Chen wanted to go back into seclusion, but when he said his goodbyes, Nangong Zuiyue and Beitang Rushuang blushed slightly. He immediately realized that they had misunderstood, thinking that he had gone into seclusion for the sake of continuing the human race. After realizing that, he felt that talking about it would only make it worse, so he didn’t explain.

“Don’t work so hard that you miss the gathering tomorrow,” said Beitang Rushuang, winking at him.

Seeing that smile that also didn’t look like a smile, Long Chen felt a fiery sensation. She was definitely a killer seductress.

Beitang Rushuang, Nangong Zuiyue, and Ye Lingshan left together. Ye Zhiqiu had a rare rosiness on her cheeks. Looking at Long Chen, she said, “They misunderstood.”

“That means that their thoughts are inherently dirty. Don’t mind them,” said Long Chen.

Everyone else scattered, doing whatever they wanted to do. As for Long Chen, he declined Dongfang Yuyang’s invitation to a banquet that night. He didn’t want any more trouble.

He also saw that Dongfang Yuyang was only being polite. It was a token invitation, not sincere at all.

Perhaps Long Chen was too domineering and refused to give him face. Long Chen had too many enemies, and if he really went to the banquet, it was likely that no one would be eating.

Long Chen also didn’t want to deal with those people any more than he had to, let alone eat with them. It was better for him to chat with Ye Zhiqiu.

Ye Lingshan accepted the invitation to the banquet, as did Nangong Zuiyue and Beitang Rushuang. After all, their status made it so that they had to attend. They represented their powers. They didn’t have Long Chen’s freedom.

Beneath the banyan trees and beside a trickling creek, Ye Zhiqiu and Long Chen quietly sat within a little pavilion.

Long Chen lay on Ye Zhiqiu’s thigh, using a leaf to cover his eyes. Smelling her fragrance, he felt at peace.

“Zhiqiu, do you still remember when we first met?” Long Chen smiled.

Ye Zhiqiu rubbed Long Chen’s forehead, a trace of warmth appearing in her eyes. “Of course I remember. At that time, we were still young. We all longed to step into the cultivation world and become the brightest star in people’s eyes. We had grand dreams of our names being immortalized throughout history. However, even after so many years, even though our cultivation bases grow ever higher, we have only ended up with more worries and pressure.”

Ye Zhiqiu sighed. At the beginning of her path, she had thought that as long as her cultivation base was high, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything. She could live freely. But now, despite being at a level that she would have never imagined back then, she still didn’t feel free.

Long Chen held her hand. “The pressure is there because we know our duty. It shows that we’ve matured. We are no longer children just thinking about ourselves. Life is beautiful, but it’s definitely not perfect. Troubles will never cease, so we have to get used to it.

Ye Zhiqiu took a deep breath. “Long Chen, what do you think the difference between growing up and maturing is?”

Long Chen smiled. “Could it be that the great Ice Fairy doesn’t even know this?”

“I’d rather hear your answer.”

“I feel like growing up is just your body getting bigger, getting stronger. As for maturing, it has nothing to do with your age or your body. It’s about your experience. Life is full of troubles. After resolving one, another one comes. The more troubles you endure, the more experience you accumulate, and the calmer you’ll be. When you encounter trouble, you will think of how to resolve it first, instead of complaining or panicking. Perhaps that is maturing!”

“Then do you feel that you have matured?”

“Me?” Long Chen bitterly smiled. “Perhaps I’ll never be able to mature in this lifetime. I can’t even control my own temper. How can such a person possibly be called mature?”

Ye Zhiqiu nodded. “My master said the same thing. She said that you are a contradictory combination of smart and stupid. When you get angry, all your intelligence vanishes. Once you decide on something, no one can change your mind. My master said that for a person to control their own temper is even more difficult than conquering an entire world, so my master wanted me to pass on some words to you.”

“Oh?” Long Chen was startled. Daoist Heavenly Feather had actually had Ye Zhiqiu bring him a message?

“Master said that sometimes people should consider all possible options before making a decision. Perhaps people that should have become enemies could become friends. Throughout all of history, those who could corroborate their Daos and become Sovereigns had help from others. The reason the Sovereigns were able to become Sovereigns was because they united the people’s hearts. Everyone heeded their call, causing heaven and earth to acknowledge them as Sovereigns. This great era is approaching its end, and the qi flow eruption is near, but no Sovereign sprouts have manifested yet. This may lead to a huge tribulation. At this time, we cannot be fighting amongst ourselves, or we’ll be injured and weak when the outsiders invade. The Martial Heaven Continent’s survival sways in the balance!”

Daoist Heavenly Feather was an ancient expert who had lived countless years. She was able to see things clearly and could tell just how much danger the Martial Heaven Continent was in.

In the past great eras, heavenly geniuses rose and competed amongst themselves. From the very start, it was possible to see a few Sovereign sprouts. The five generations of Sovereigns all started showing their talent at the start of the great eras. They had already shown the mannerisms of a Sovereign before the qi flow eruption.

There had only been five great eras throughout history. That had produced the five Sovereigns and three Emperors. The qi flow of the world had gathered within them.

As for other eras, there had been hundreds of minor eras without enough qi flow to produce a Sovereign.

Geniuses such as Kun Pengzi, Shi Lingfeng, Nangong Zuiyue, and the like, had all been born during those minor eras. They hadn’t been born during the great era, so they were sealed in wait for the great era.

The qi flow of the world had changed. This was the greatest tribulation ever. Through the descriptions in some ancient documents, it was estimated that the qi flow eruption this time would be several times greater than what had ever occurred.

Others believed that this might very well be the final qi flow eruption for the Martial Heaven Continent. It would also be the final great era. All the continent’s resources were about to be unleashed, and then it would fully decline until it was destroyed.

That was why this was the best era and the worst era for the Martial Heaven Continent. The Martial Heaven Continent would only survive if it could produce history’s strongest Sovereign.

Even though the great era had been here for so long, even though so many heavenly geniuses had been born, there was not one expert who seemed like a Sovereign.

If this continued, Daoist Heavenly Feather was worried that even before the dark era came, the Martial Heaven Continent would be too damaged to fight.

Long Chen slowly sat up. Kneeling on the railing, he looked at the fish swimming in the creek, fighting over a piece of food.

“Actually, there are many instances where understanding things is useless. Your master wants the world to be peaceful, but so what? Is that really possible? No, it’s not. True peace can never appear. Competing is the natural instinct of life. Fish compete with other fish, beasts compete with other beasts, and humans compete with other humans. There is a competition of good and bad, light and dark. We cannot escape that as long as we live in this world. Even if a Sovereign appeared, it would only be a temporary suppression of this kind of fighting. Once the Sovereign is gone, the fighting will start anew. Without a Sovereign present, are people going to stop fighting just because I say I want peace? No, that will only make them mock me. So while I understand your master’s meaning, I can’t do it. Even if I went to that banquet and expressed my good intentions, it wouldn’t have any use. Someone who wants to kill me won’t let me off just because I lower my head to them once. In fact, going there would make me lose a chance to get stronger. If you want peace, you need the power of a Sovereign. Without that level of power, you’ll simply be slaughtered. Sorry Zhiqiu, I don’t want to put you in a bad position.” Long Chen looked at Ye Zhiqiu apologetically. He couldn’t try what Daoist Heavenly Feather wanted him to.

Ye Zhiqiu shook her head. Walking over to him, she wrapped an arm around his elbow, looking into his eyes. “I was just transmitting my master’s words. Now I’m done, and my mission is complete. I’ve already chosen you. Whether you climb a mountain of blades or go into a sea of fire, I will accompany you. Whether that’s right or wrong isn’t important. What’s important is just that you’re beside me. I could die for you once, and I can die for you again.”

Looking into her clear eyes, Long Chen almost cried. Just what had he done to make a fairy like Ye Zhiqiu willing to die for him? Thinking about how she had fallen in his arms as her life faded away, his heart ached.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get stronger. I won’t make the same mistake twice. Even if I can’t become a Sovereign, I will protect you. I won’t let anyone hurt any of you.” Long Chen rested both of his hands on Ye Zhiqiu’s shoulders, swearing.

He pulled Ye Zhiqiu away. “Let’s go. I want to get my underworld spirit beads.”

The two of them returned to the auction room. The middle-aged man had said that he would send them to him once they were done counting, but Long Chen had said that he would rather personally go because he was about to quickly spend them all.

“Oh?”

Long Chen suddenly came to a sudden stop. An expression of wild delight appeared on his face, and he hugged Ye Zhiqui.

“I’m rich, I’m rich!”