Unify the continent, Founding Empress.
Emperor Xue Ye's passionate, inflammatory, borderline insane monologue plunged the entire restaurant into dead silence.
Only four words echoed endlessly in everyone's mind—
Turning Heaven and Earth Upside Down.
As the Emperor of Heaven Dou, instead of thinking about how to defend his own territory, he was eagerly trying to give away the entire empire.
Not only that—he was even helping others design a grand blueprint for founding a nation, conquering the south, and unifying the continent.
Dai Tianfeng sat there with his mouth hanging open, feeling as if his worldview had been shattered and trampled into dust.
Ning Fengzhi rubbed his forehead in silence, utterly convinced that Emperor Xue Ye had gone mad from rage and desperation.
As for Qian Renxue—the "chosen one" upon whom all hopes were pinned—her expression was… peculiar.
She looked at Emperor Xue Ye's smug face, the kind that screamed Praise me, isn't my plan flawless?, and finally spoke.
"Hm… what you said does seem to make some sense."
Emperor Xue Ye's eyes lit up instantly. He was just about to blurt out Then you agree?!
But Qian Renxue calmly continued—
"However," she said lazily, resting her chin on one hand while twirling a strand of golden hair with the other, "being an Emperor really isn't a good job."
"Working yourself to death every day—how is that more comfortable than eating here?"
"I'll reserve my opinion for now."
She waved him off casually, like brushing away a buzzing insect.
"Maybe when I've thought it through, I'll agree."
Though it was nothing more than an ambiguous answer, Emperor Xue Ye was so overjoyed he nearly leapt into the air.
Hope!
As long as there was hope, that was enough!
"Good! Good! Good!"
He rubbed his hands together, his face creased with wrinkles blooming into a smile.
"Holy Maiden, when you've thought it through, please be sure to tell me!"
As long as he could disgust that old bastard Dai Tianfeng to death, it would all be worth it.
On the other side, Dai Tianfeng stared at the two of them—one singing, one echoing—feeling utterly drained.
This world was insane.
He slumped weakly into his chair, exhausted to the bone.
It wasn't until Emperor Xue Ye finally turned away, satisfied, and respectfully bowed toward Lin Feng behind the counter that everyone snapped back to reality.
"Lord Deity," Emperor Xue Ye said humbly, his tone filled with reverence and anticipation, "this junior… also wishes to draw a prize. Would that be acceptable?"
Lin Feng merely lifted his eyelids slightly and nodded.
His fingertip tapped the air.
Golden light condensed instantly, and a pill the size of a dragon's eye—entirely golden and exuding a strange medicinal fragrance—appeared out of thin air, floating before Emperor Xue Ye.
"Detoxification Pill," Lin Feng said calmly.
"It neutralizes all poisons under heaven. It also strengthens the foundation, nourishes vitality, and cures chronic illnesses and hidden ailments."
Detoxification?
Neutralizes all poisons?
Dugu Bo, who had been shoveling food into his mouth, froze mid-bite.
His emerald snake pupils shrank violently, locking onto the golden pill in Emperor Xue Ye's hand.
A detoxification pill bestowed by a god?!
Then… could it cleanse the Jade Phosphor Serpent poison within him?!
Emperor Xue Ye, however, didn't think much about it.
How could something granted by a deity be bad?
Without hesitation, he swallowed the pill.
The moment it entered his mouth, it dissolved.
A surging warm current exploded through his body like a raging river, sweeping across his limbs and bones!
Emperor Xue Ye shuddered violently.
The chronic aches from years of reviewing memorials, the weakness of age, the lingering pains hidden deep within his body—all vanished in an instant.
His body felt lighter. Stronger.
He instinctively raised his hands.
The age spots and deep wrinkles that once covered them had faded significantly, his skin regaining a faint luster and elasticity.
A sensation of unprecedented comfort flooded his entire being.
"I… I feel…"
Emperor Xue Ye stared at his hands in disbelief.
"I feel like… I've become twenty years younger?"
"That's not a feeling," Lin Feng said lazily, resting his chin on one hand.
"It's simply because the toxins that accumulated in your body over many years have been cleared. Your hidden ailments were cured along the way."
He paused, a hint of amusement flickering in his tone.
"Theoretically speaking, you can indeed live another twenty years."
Another twenty years!
Before Emperor Xue Ye could even rejoice—
A heart-rending scream exploded at his feet.
"It's over—!"
Xue Beng, who had woken up at some point and just happened to hear that sentence, instantly collapsed in despair.
He scrambled up from the ground, his pig-head-like swollen face twisted with agony, his bloodshot eyes filled with unwillingness.
"I have to wait another twenty years?!"
He pointed at the radiant Emperor Xue Ye, his voice cracking with grief and accusation.
"Father! Can't you die sooner?!"
"You—!"
Emperor Xue Ye's joy froze solid.
He stared down at his own biological son, whose expression clearly screamed Why aren't you dead yet?, and felt blood rush straight to his head.
"YOU UNFILIAL BRAT!"
His rage erupted completely.
Without thinking, he yanked off his other luxurious shoe—also embroidered with a swan—and hurled it with a piercing whistle.
"Smack—!"
A crisp impact echoed.
Xue Beng's voice cut off abruptly. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed face-first onto the floor once more.
Silence filled the restaurant.
Everyone looked at the unconscious pig-head on the ground with pity.
What a tragedy.
Why did he have to possess such an extraordinary talent for speaking the absolute truth?
After venting his anger, Emperor Xue Ye finally caught his breath.
Then—
"Huh?"
His expression shifted, confusion replacing rage.
He turned toward Lin Feng cautiously.
"Sir… you said the toxins were cleared?"
"I… was I poisoned before?"
Lin Feng said nothing.
He merely cast an indifferent glance toward a certain direction.
Emperor Xue Ye followed that gaze.
At its end stood the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall—Qian Renxue—the very person he had just begged, pleaded with, and attempted to hand the entire Heaven Dou Empire to.
At this moment, she was calmly sipping soup.
Yet her movements were slightly stiff.
Especially when she noticed his gaze.
Emperor Xue Ye was no fool.
Having sat on the throne for decades, his mind was sharp beyond ordinary measure.
A terrifying, absurd—yet perfectly logical—thought detonated in his mind.
His brows knitted tightly.
"Could it be…"
Seeing that the truth could no longer be hidden, Qian Renxue stopped pretending altogether.
She set the soup bowl down with a soft bang.
Her golden phoenix eyes lifted, meeting Emperor Xue Ye's shocked gaze without the slightest fear.
She spread her hands casually, her posture arrogant, a faintly provocative smile curling at her lips.
"That's right."
"The poison in your body was administered by me."
"It was a slow-acting toxin—one that weakened you gradually, without detection."
"You would have died peacefully in your sleep."
She looked at Emperor Xue Ye's petrified expression and added lightly—
"So?"