Volume 1, Chapter 41: The Appraisal Results, Xia Nanzhi Wins!

Hearing this, Murong Qingcheng grabbed Xuanlong's hand and spoke in a calm tone, yet a flash of deep worry flickered across her eyes.

"Alright, Jiaoyang, aren't you usually fearless? Since that's the case, why bother overthinking so much?" Lan Linger stepped forward and pulled Dongfang Jiaoyang back.

Consort Xian was overwhelmed by inexplicable gratitude. "Many thanks to the Empress Dowager, many thanks to Your Majesty! This concubine has done nothing, how could she be tired? This concubine is fine, Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager need not worry." She was merely a consort, yet she received such profound affection from the Empress Dowager and the Emperor; she felt truly unworthy.

"Humph! Don't talk nonsense, I have no desire to have any friendship with you!" Wu Ting immediately retorted.

"If you want to go, then go on down! It's not like you don't know martial arts, you should be able to protect yourself!" Without waiting for Murong Yi, she took the lead and descended along the rope.

By this time, a great crowd had gathered. Even the high officials and nobles within the pleasure house had heard the commotion and stood by the windows looking out. When they caught sight of Qin Lan, they could not help but be struck by her breathtaking beauty—such a stunning woman was not someone easily encountered on the streets.

Meanwhile, the skeleton stared intently at the commanding general, its bony hand occasionally tapping against its own skull, striking a pose of deep thought.

Over there, after taking a few kicks from the guards, Lin Yuanbai was dragged up and tossed directly into the middle of the street. The steward-looking man gave a stern warning, "If you ever dare to force your way in again, you will be beaten to death without exception. These are the Prince's orders, do you hear me?" With that, he spat contemptuously on the ground and strode back inside, still muttering curses.

"I know you love Sister Lan. If the Second Elder Brother cannot let her go, then go search for her. There must always be someone to guard this imperial city," Dongfang Jiaoyang's cool and detached voice rang out. A trace of suspicion flashed across Dongfang Yi's eyes; he had never imagined that Dongfang Jiaoyang would let him off so easily.

As night fell, Lin Chen sat cross-legged on the bed, relying on the silvery moonlight spilling down to grope and examine the black stone in his palm.

Qu Qian did not offer any explanation; instead, she used tangible actions to prove the existence of fictional characters stepping into the real world.

Many people felt deeply concerned for Wu Feiyang, as Ling Youdao's strength was vastly greater than Ling Batian's by more than tenfold.

After coldly reprimanding Mark a few times to little effect, and seeing that her close female classmates and friends didn't mind him at all, Han Xue simply stopped paying attention to Young Master Ma, leaving him to act as bizarrely as he pleased.

Because of his distinguished service in the Battle of Mount Xiaohong, Han Fei was promoted to become one of Qin Fei's personal guards. Consequently, he had remained closely behind Qin Fei, and naturally, it was he who led the way to the cache where Mount Xiaohong stored its gold and silver.

Yun Ruorao and Li Mo silently took another step backward, pressing themselves closer to the doors and windows. At the same time, they channeled their spiritual energy into their ears, heightening their hearing to the utmost limit in order to catch every word of the conversation between the Pi family father and son inside the room.

What a pity that this place had now become a completely desolate wilderness, ignored by all. Many had even forgotten that it was once here that certain figures determined the destiny of the entire realm.

The few of them began to write. Wu Zhan rested his hands on the table and fell into deep contemplation. Ji Mo was truly cunning; he had anticipated that Wu Zhan might try to intervene through this matter, which was why he had remained entirely inactive for those three days, dragging it out until now to send his message. Did he think that once the three days had passed, Wu Zhan's men would withdraw and no danger would remain?

However, while others could not see through it, Han Jun, though unversed in martial arts, had a discerning eye and could tell that the gang leader was being completely suppressed by that young man. A heavy sense of dread welled up in his heart—could it be that this time they had truly encountered someone untouchable?

"My eldest sister-in-law knows how to heal! Her face was ruined before, but now that it's cured, of course she's pretty!" Wu Qing still remembered how the villagers used to gossip about her, and a wave of vindication washed over her.

Thus, without a sound, she hugged her mother tightly from behind and refused to let go, as if holding onto a happiness she had narrowly lost and regained.

With another burst of strength, he twisted the black-clad man's arm around, causing the intruder to let out a sharp cry of agony.

"Reveal the whereabouts of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, or be put to death," said Pain Tendo Yahiko. Looking at the suddenly appearing Pain Tendo Yahiko, Umino Iruka instantly realized that this terrifyingly powerful individual was a member of Akatsuki. "I will never tell anything to the likes of you," Umino Iruka replied with resolute strength.

Yet at this moment, the sudden memory of the guards and subordinates who had awakened alongside him—almost all of whom had perished in the jaws of the wolf-lizards—caused a look of tortured self-blame and hatred to uncontrollably cross his eyes.

The taste in their mouths was rather strange, but the brother and sister swallowed it nonetheless, completely finishing the watery porridge in their bowls.

This time, Ban Zhi and her companions had run all the way to White Stone City simply to develop informants within the Pleasure Den, so they could closely gather the casual remarks inadvertently dropped by nobles, wealthy merchants, and high officials. As a result, they had very fortuitously stumbled upon this rebellious rabbit-kin.

Upon hearing this, Lu Youbing and Nangong Li found it quite reasonable and immediately dismissed the impending bandit attack from their minds. Although Luo Bin was equally unconcerned about the raid, a lingering doubt surfaced in his mind: why hadn't he encountered such annoying troubles when he was building his own village?

When Lin冉 (Lin Ran) returned, she saw Chen Song rolling his eyes back and forth in exasperation, as if someone had deeply provoked him.

After half an hour or so, Liu Ye walked in carrying two plates—one filled with peanuts, and the other with braised pig head meat.

Lacking the time, Gu Yun could not continue pouring an equal amount of Five Elements energy into the dragon claws to amplify their destructive might, and was forced to simply keep slashing forward with the cyan heavenly dragon claws.

Upon hearing this, Yamanaka Ino felt as though a chord in her heart had been struck. She froze for a moment, and then said, "Very well, from this moment on, I will hold nothing back. Let us fight in earnest." With that, both of them tacitly reached for their ninja headbands and solemnly put them on.