Chapter 107: Fragrance from Afar, Stench Nearby

"Yinyin, do you still remember your father?" Xie Lin asked.

His voice was deep and magnetic, yet in this era, such a tone—which would have made young men and women scream in later times—was not particularly popular. The older generation believed that a young man’s voice should be loud and resonant. Gu Zhuo remembered that when Xie Lin’s voice first changed, everyone who heard it looked shocked. One old man in the village even rudely remarked, "How can your voice sound so..."

Regardless, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, had once declared: "The Great Song governs the world alongside scholar-officials; no one shall be punished for their speech!" Thus, everyone spoke without restraint. The two sides treated the grand hall like a marketplace, spraying spit as they argued until their faces turned red, nearly coming to blows, yet neither side could convince the other.

Peng Re realized it was already too late to dodge. He could only stand there with his arms spread, staring at the spear shaft protruding from his chest in disbelief.

A sudden flare of anger ignited in Xila’s heart. This gesture, common throughout Oslo, could only mean one thing: that she was incompetent. As a Behemoth princess, she could not accept such humiliation and remain calm; it would be an intolerable blow to the pride of the Lion-clan Behemoths.

Ever since the Kunpeng conceived the ambition to re-establish the Heavenly Court, he had been focused on finding a Queen Mother worthy of himself. The Queen Mother of the West would have been a natural choice, but the Kunpeng could not overpower her, and he did not fully trust her, so he abandoned the idea.

Kong Xuan, though newly emerged, remained trapped by the two goddesses within the Great Luo Chaos Realm at the Queen Mother’s palace in West Kunlun. He could not leave the mountain and had seen no one; he was still far from reaching his full potential.

The giant version of the Tyrannosaurus Rex set its sights on the palace where Zhuang Yu was in secluded cultivation. Sensing that this creature’s spiritual energy was not much different from its own, it anticipated a hearty meal. The Tyrannosaurus stared at Zhuang Wangu for a moment, seeing that he had no intention of intervening, then let out a dragon’s roar and lunged toward the palace.

However, this was a last resort; he would not use it unless absolutely necessary.

Zhao Zhengce did not look back at the old man. He understood perfectly well that the man must be paying respects to his grandmother, though the exact relationship remained unclear. Since the two armed police officers addressed the old man as "Chief," it would be presumptuous for him to inquire, lest he be thought of as someone trying to climb the social ladder.

Phoenix and the other two exchanged glances, realizing that the Daoist Ancestor Hongjun and the Demon Ancestor Luohu both lacked the certainty of victory over one another. They devised a plan to use their respective Heavenly Daos and Heavenly Demons as frameworks, the universe as a chessboard, and all living beings of the Three Realms as pawns to settle their score.

Kuafu did not pursue, for the Great Witch Yushi and five thousand Jiuli soldiers blocked his path. To chase Minglingzi, he would have to eliminate them all first.

"What are you saying?" Guanyin’s face flushed with fury, and she wished she could crush this lecherous scoundrel with a single strike.

After hearing Stilwell’s words, Du Yuming slammed his hand against the table in a rage, his tiger-like eyes glaring fiercely at Stilwell.

Involuntarily, Gu Yi opened her eyes and saw a man in a black casual outfit standing in front of her.

The Dragon-Crab was extremely frustrated; suddenly, it brought its crab claw down hard against Zhenyuanzi’s body.

Searching through the 6x scope for the figures on the high platform, the two young men saw two beautiful silhouettes appear clearly. Targets acquired—both were on the platform. "Perfect, it’s time for us to make our mark," they thought to themselves, their hearts filled with joy as they aimed at the two beautiful figures, ready to pull the triggers.

Lin Yu’s figure shifted from solid to illusory and vanished from the factory. Outside, the roar of a car engine started, then gradually faded into the distance.

It turned out that today was the day Chunhua, the new leader of the Emei Sect, would take charge of the Hengshan portal. That night, Lianyuncheng understood the crux of the issue, met with Chunhua immediately to share all his thoughts, and strongly urged her to assume the position of Emei Sect leader at once.

Qi Tianshou wanted to marry both women simultaneously and grant them both the status of primary wife—this was unprecedented. What could Qi Tianshou be planning?

After Xie Tian finished speaking, Lin Kexin and Wang Yan locked eyes, a bloodthirsty glimmer in their expressions. Excitement radiated from their very bones; a great battle was about to begin.

Red Boy was riding the Crimson Cloud Fire, unique to Taishang Laojun. This red cloud originated from the Chaotic Pill Fire and condensed the power of chaos, capable of traveling a hundred thousand miles in an instant.

"Return my manual! It wasn’t intentional that I practiced your sword technique, and besides, you can’t prove that the manual belongs to you alone." Seeing the manual snatched away, Nan Wuxiang was furious. Whether or not he was in the wrong, he could not lose his family’s manual. He prepared to lunge forward to reclaim it, but Li Mingxue had already retreated to the side.

Then, sparse sounds drifted over. Ye Kong’s thoughts became increasingly ethereal, allowing himself to transform into a stone statue.

Before entering the door, he looked at Dou Dou repeatedly. The more he looked, the more he felt the resemblance, but their army commander had lived a clean life for five years, and there was no wife at home.

"Big brother, you’re talking nonsense again! Even with the combined strength of both of us, we might not be able to shake that halberd. Brother Xue is only a few years older than us; how could he possibly wield it?" Zhou Wu retorted.

Chief Clerk Batu had long heard of the foolishness and cruelty of Prince Yuheng. Seeing it for himself, he found the reputation well-deserved. Batu also disliked the guards and stewards favored by the Prince, but he felt that hanging them all was excessive.

Sun Jian knew this was merely Yuan Shu’s rhetoric and said nothing, though his expression was grim.

When Ye Kong mentioned his "teacher," he was as composed as could be, appearing so righteous it was hard to look directly at him.

By now, the two armies had been locked in bitter combat for half a day. The disadvantage of the Xue army’s smaller numbers was gradually becoming apparent.