Chapter 44: They Died Long Ago

Senior Colonel—this military rank was by no means unfamiliar to Zhang Tong. She was well aware of the authority and status it represented. Leaving aside her own status as a faded star whose career had plateaued ever since a talent show, even the hottest celebrities of the present day would not dare to provoke such a figure.

Beneath the brilliant, dazzling lights, all eyes were focused on the grand stage, yet no one noticed a man with a totem tattoo on the back of his hand. He neither danced, drank, nor smoked, but stubbornly remained in one spot, staring fixedly in the direction of Young Master Heng without moving a muscle.

Only then did everyone realize that Shen Qin’s listless appearance was not due to a poor diet, but rather because of trouble sleeping in a strange bed; over the past two nights, however, she had finally begun to fall asleep.

Furthermore, since Wang Shouren disregarded the boundaries of the teacher-student relationship and directly summoned his student Shen Rui to an audience, did that not imply he maintained a good relationship with the chief envoy, and that in the lawsuit between the prefectural yamen and the Shen family, he was leaning in favor of the Shen family?

During this process, Lu You’s Eight-Nine Arcane Art continually lost its efficacy. Qingqing removed the disguise from her body of her own accord, and by the time she left the surface of the lake, she had reverted to her original appearance.

And just as Meng Qi took the initiative to attack Stiekna in an attempt to buy time for the butcher and the others, they also understood Meng Qi’s intention. Refusing to sit and wait for death, they followed his command and attempted to break out through the encirclement.

This was the consensus of soldiers across the entire world: to protect the national flag, even the sacrifice of countless lives was a price worth paying.

The off-road vehicle stepped on the gas and hurtled toward the Porsche where Hexin was located, its engine roaring furiously until it was already too late for the other party to notice.

Swallowing the Dragon Pearl was inherently an extremely hazardous undertaking. If he did not practice the cultivation techniques of the Dragon Clan to regulate and suppress it, his body would sooner or later be torn apart by the increasingly formidable energy of the Dragon Pearl.

While the others were still pondering the implications of Yuanhao’s words, Zhao Zhen spoke first: "This scoundrel Yuanhao is utterly devoid of credibility; he murdered his father and defiled his mother, completely lacking in human ethics. I have no desire to accept his surrender and allegiance, and intend to order Wang Yuanfu to annihilate him in one fell swoop!" Just a moment ago he had been smiling amiably, but upon mentioning this matter, his expression instantly transformed into one of stern, cold majesty, resolute and unyielding.

After placing a plate of meat skewers beside the customer, Lin Tiansheng could not help but wear a trace of a wry smile.

Xiao Wen was no fool; by this point, he had already guessed that the other party might be trying to recruit him, especially since the next round of testing would likely require cooperation with others.

"It's just that Dalong hasn't arrived yet," Liang Bin said, stopping as someone interrupted him, and added with sullen vexation.

Thus, finally, after the "extracurricular activities" concluded one day, Zhao Xin, having been played to exhaustion, uttered the aforementioned words.

Hearing the philosophical undertones in the green-robed scholar’s words, and observing his extraordinary demeanor—neither panicking in alarm nor weeping in despair upon suddenly hearing tragic news—Lu Yun surmised that this man possessed profound insight and was by no means a person of ordinary worldly stock, which filled him with considerable admiration for a moment.

Just as the gleaming sword light, thrusting out from nowhere, was about to pierce through her back, Yixi’s figure executed a bizarre twist. The sword light brushed past her close-fitting dress and then froze, revealing the figure of Tian Xuanyun. The sword in her hand was gripped tightly between Yixi’s two fingers, rendering her completely immobile.

The smoke grew thicker and denser, yet upon reaching its peak density, it gradually began to dissipate. Enveloped in the dispersing wisps of smoke, Xue Yuan had already donned a traditional red bridal gown. She gently parted the red curtains and, stepping in her solemn red shoes, slowly descended from the bed.

Lande was likewise perplexed in his heart: having not seen her for so many years, how could she have fallen into such a state and even learned this sort of sorcery?

That youth had also come here for the sake of cultivation. To swim to the shore with Xiao Wen and then swim back again would genuinely consume a fair amount of time. Hearing Xiao Wen say it was unnecessary, he did not press the matter further, but directly raised his arms and vigorously shook the droplets of water from them.

The others followed suit. Chanyeol and Yue Li, somewhat dazed from being stared at, stood frozen for a moment before hurriedly following after them.

Inside the conference room, Chairman Mao and Commander-in-Chief Zhu both violently waved their clenched fists in extreme excitement. They had waited far too long for this very moment, and their anticipation had finally been rewarded.

Perhaps this also served to illustrate the complexity of spiritual power; under the impetus of a strong obsession, nothing was impossible.

Upon hearing this, the officers under his command became even more terrified. Yet, seeing Chiang Kai-shek’s roaring fury, they immediately hurried off to make preparations.

All that remained for Wang Jian were the three prefectures of Luoyang Eastern Capital Defense Envoy, Huazhou Yicheng Military Commissioner, and Guanzhou Guanhai Military Commissioner. These three prefectures were geographically isolated from one another, each cornered in its own region; regardless of how Wang Jian chose to handle them, he could never link them together.

Yang Yongan had been farming for many years, so his movements were far more practiced than those of his two sons, and the rice seedlings he planted were neatly aligned, distinct in both rows and columns.

The Deer-Riding Arhat was no ordinary person. He had not witnessed Li Ye kill the Tiger-Riding Arhat, but he had seen with absolute clarity how Li Ye had slain the Dragon-Taming Arhat. The reason he dared to step out and challenge Li Ye to single combat at this moment relied not only on a level of cultivation far surpassing that of the Dragon-Taming Arhat.

Since he was not around, and his mother was also the mother of Xie Qidong and his elder brother—and Xie Qidong’s elder brother had once been a man Gu逸辰 [Gu Yichen] deeply admired—he wished to fulfill filial duties on Xie Qidong’s behalf.

Thinking of this, Li Ye could not be bothered to haggle over the teasing undertones in Mahasattva Feihong’s words. What was this woman even trying to poke fun at him for? The Holy Buddha had demonstrated his prowess as a Holy Buddha, and the very first to suffer for it was Mahasattva Feihong herself.

It wasn't that they hadn't considered this possibility, but they hadn't expected the driver to be capable of such disgusting behavior.