Wu Ling turned an eager grin toward her close sister, Ning Rongrong. Meanwhile, Rongrong was staring right back at her with a slightly frustrated, sighing expression.
"Wu Ling, since when could your Third Soul Skill teleport an entire group? I honestly thought you could only warp a single target at a time!" Ning Rongrong complained, crossing her arms. In all their previous training sessions, Wu Ling had only ever displaced one person. Who knew she was hiding a massive area-of-effect team teleport?
"Bleeehh! If you lose a bet, you have to pay up, Rongrong!" Wu Ling teased, sticking her tongue out playfully.
Outside the barrier, a heavy, dead silence gripped the entire spectator area.
The crowd was completely bewildered. What on earth just happened? All they saw was two Tianshui girls rushing forward to flank the enemy formation, and in the next literal blink of an eye, the entire Heaven Dou team suddenly materialized directly in front of the frontline vanguard, only to be obliterated by a single massive punch.
Granted, today's opening match was supposed to be a warm-up to hype up the crowd, but did it really have to end this quickly?
Up in the highest rows of the VIP box, Ning Fengzhi was doing his absolute best to maintain his composure, but his heart was pounding with immense excitement. To see his daughter mastering the Distracted Heart Control method up to the Seven Apertures Mirror Heart level under Fu Ye's guidance was a dream come true.
Just a year ago, Ning Rongrong had barely unlocked the third aperture. Now, she could simultaneously channel two entirely different attribute amplifications across multiple teammates without dropping a single beat!
Even the stadium announcer stood frozen, microphone hovering limply near his mouth. He had barely finished screaming "Let the match begin!" and now he already had to announce the conclusion? This had to be the easiest paycheck of his entire career.
"Wow, Sister Yan is incredibly strong! She sent those sissies flying with just one punch!" the little cat girl, Jiang Jing, marveled from her seat, her eyes shining with genuine admiration.
Hearing her words, Emperor Xue Ye's expression darkened with intense displeasure. However, with Fu Ye sitting right next to him, the absolute ruler of the empire didn't dare to let a single shred of his anger show.
Sitting on Fu Ye's other side, the former imperial princess Xue Ke nodded in absolute agreement with the cat girl.
"Tell me about it. Even though my former third brother spends every waking hour loitering around high-end brothels, possesses zero talent, lacks basic manners, and knows absolutely nothing about royal etiquette... his actual combat strength is still shockingly pathetic!"
Xue Ke's savage verbal execution sliced two deep, bleeding wounds right into Emperor Xue Ye's already deeply traumatized pride. Intrigued by the sudden influx of royal gossip, Ning Fengzhi turned a deeply curious gaze toward the former princess. After all, while he might take standard rumors with a grain of salt, firsthand testimony from a former member of the imperial core carried massive weight.
"Is that true? I knew his cultivation was lagging, but is his personal character truly that degenerate?" Jiang Jing asked, leaning in closer. Every noble family across the continent carried their own filth, but her new sister had rarely spoken about her old household.
"Mm-mm! I've heard dozens of palace maids crying and whispering about him," Xue Ke exposed ruthlessly, tossing a grape into her mouth. "They completely despised my former third brother. In fact, I once personally found him passed out cold in the royal gardens, sporting two massive, pitch-black dark circles under his eyes from absolute overindulgence!"
As Xue Ke spilled the royal family's dirty laundry like a broken dam, Ning Fengzhi—and Gu Rong (Bone Douluo), who was currently hiding in the adjacent void eating imaginary popcorn—couldn't help but sigh mentally at the sheer, chaotic depravity of the imperial lineage.
Ning Fengzhi secretly patted his own back. Although he privately sponsored a few exceptionally beautiful maidens within his sect for his personal amusement, he always ensured their families were completely cleared of any financial crises first, and everything was entirely consensual. Making a quick mental comparison, the Sect Master felt like an absolute, paragon gentleman compared to the imperial household.
Fu Ye merely offered a casual, amused smile, remaining entirely silent. He didn't view himself as some absolute paragon of justice, nor was he a completely heartless villain. What did he care if some pampered prince wanted to frequent brothels or play around with his own palace maids? That was their family business. As long as their trash behavior didn't spill over to affect him or his women, Fu Ye couldn't care less.
However, as Xue Ke continued to rattle off Xue Beng's crimes like counting beans, Emperor Xue Ye's face turned completely black.
The old emperor opened his mouth, fully intending to authoritatively command Xue Ke to shut her mouth, but a single, ice-cold sidelong glance from Fu Ye instantly sent a violent shiver down his spine, snapping him back to reality.
Xue Ye's Internal Monologue: Holy crap, that was close! I almost lost my head right there!
In reality, Xue Ye had only invited Fu Ye to sit at the absolute apex of the VIP stands out of hollow, diplomatic politeness. He never expected the monster to actually show up—let alone bring the empire's runaway princess and a rare auction-block cat girl along to sit on his lap and feed him grapes.
Down below, the announcer finally collected his senses and officially declared Tianshui Academy the victor, bringing the grand opening ceremony to a swift close.
Meanwhile, up in the stands, Xue Ke had seamlessly transitioned her gossip pipeline directly from Prince Xue Beng onto Emperor Xue Ye himself! As the old emperor's formerly most pampered and beloved little princess, she held an absolute goldmine of classified imperial blackmail.
With a deeply mischievous, playful glint in her eyes, she turned her gaze entirely toward her "former imperial father."
"Hey there, white-bearded uncle... I happen to have a massive pile of juicy secrets regarding your own private history. Do you want to hear them?"
Ning Fengzhi: !!! Gu Rong (in the void): Holy crap! Platinum Bishop Salas (Spirit Hall): Oh? Do tell. Jiang Jing: Wow, fresh imperial tea? Fu Ye: Heh, fascinating.
"Ahem... my dear daughter, look at your royal father—" Xue Ye stammered, his wrinkled hands trembling as he tried to pacify her.
Before he could even finish his sentence, Xue Ke cut him off with absolute, freezing indifference.
"Excuse me, old uncle, please don't try to force fake familial relationships here. My bastard father completely croaked over a year ago. Right now, I'm just a defenseless little orphan who relies entirely on hiding behind Brother Fu Ye's back to survive."
The moment those words left her mouth, Emperor Xue Ye's pale, ancient face visibly cycled through a spectacular spectrum of colors—turning from a vibrant green, to a deep purple, and finally settling on a hollow, bruised black.
'My dad croaked a year ago.''Old uncle.''Don't force fake relationships.''Just a defenseless little orphan.'
Xue Ke weaponized her tragic "orphan status" with absolute surgical precision. Every single word was a direct, psychological nuke that dealt ten thousand points of emotional damage straight to the emperor's heart.
"Alright now, Xiao Ke. Even though your father did indeed pass away tragically early, you shouldn't speak of him with such blatant disrespect," Fu Ye chimed in, delivering an effortless Double Critical Hit. "As the old saying goes, the dead deserve peace. Keeping his ghost on your lips all day isn't very proper."
Fu Ye casually pulled the tiny, 1.45-meter petite frame of the princess directly into his lap, wrapping an arm around her waist. He then turned a deeply "nuclear-friendly" and threatening gaze toward Emperor Xue Ye. The silent message was blindingly clear: Xue Ke is my person now. If you dare to even raise your voice at her today, I will personally tear down your throne tomorrow.
Aside from the pale-faced Prince Xue Xing and the suffocating Emperor, Ning Fengzhi and the surrounding high-ranking officials were desperately biting their lips to keep from laughing out loud. The Heaven Dou Imperial Family was currently a complete, disorganized joke.
After all, that legendary 5 billion gold spirit coins Fu Ye had extorted represented the accumulated wealth of the empire's treasury spanning an entire millennium. Fu Ye had literally sheared the imperial sheep bald overnight, leaving them unable to even properly pay their military stipends.
"Ahem! Well, since the matches are done, it's time for us to head out. The girls are waiting for me to take them out for late-night snacks," Fu Ye announced smoothly. He lifted Xue Ke off his lap, patted her head, and guided the two girls toward the exit. "Old man Xue Ye, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
With that, Fu Ye led his small entourage away, strolling out of the VIP box with absolute, leisurely grace.
"Uh, Your Majesty, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan has some pressing internal matters to attend to today, so I shall take my leave as well." Ning Fengzhi quickly stood up, bowing politely.
"Your Majesty, I also..."
Within a single minute, the bustling VIP platform emptied out completely, leaving Emperor Xue Ye entirely alone to freeze in the biting afternoon wind. He desperately wanted to roar in fury and smash the furniture, but the lingering terror of Fu Ye overhearing him from the corridor forced him to swallow every single curse back down his throat.
However, as Fu Ye exited the grand imperial coliseum, his golden eyes narrowed slightly. He noticed that Platinum Bishop Salas, who had spent the entire afternoon quietly slacking off and watching the entertainment from the sidelines, was deliberately trailing behind his footsteps.
Stopping in his tracks, Fu Ye turned his head back, his brilliant golden pupils flashing with a cold, uninvited sharpness.
"Is there something you need, Bishop Salas?"