Chapter 1515: Whoever Starts the Trouble Should End It

Regardless of what the Second Empress knew or not, Zu An quickly understood what she was about to do. He reached out his hand to hold her chin. He said with a conflicted expression, “There’s no need for you to do this, your highness!”

The Second Empress moved the hair in front of her eyes behind her ear. She raised her head to look at the man towering above her, her eyes filled with a lovely expression, and replied, “You already refused me once before. If you refuse me again, I will really be too embarrassed. That’s why… Please don’t refuse me again.”

She still remembered the despair she had felt today very clearly. Just then, however, Zu An seemed to have arrived from the heavens. Not only had both mother and son not needed to die, they had even reached the highest point of authority they could ever hope for. She still felt as if she were dreaming when she remembered all of those things.

All of that had been brought to her by the man in front of her. Even though the two had shared some friendship, things were different now. Back then, she had been the glorious Second Empress, while he was just a human who had just entered the master rank. The Fiend King Court had quite a few master rank individuals, and he hadn’t been all that different from them. The only difference was probably that he was a little more handsome.

Now, the Fiend Emperor was already dead, so her status as the Second Empress had already lost its meaning. In contrast, Zu An had become someone who could easily kill grandmasters, an unrivaled individual who could keep the entire Fiend King Court under control. She couldn't behave with any pride or self-reliance in front of him.

As such, she was actually quite frightened. Zu An could choose to help the young prince, or he could choose to support someone else. Their relationship was just that brittle, so brittle that she didn’t even know how to completely bring the two of them together.

In the end, the way for a man and a woman to become closer was really simple. If she wanted to seize this man, the simplest and most direct method was clear.

Still, she was a bit embarrassed. Normally, with her beauty and charm skills, just a single look or smile could make many people hell-bent on pursuing her, and she didn’t have to do too much at all. And yet, this man seemed to have really expensive taste and didn’t seem to care about any of her tricks.

If I really want to rope him in, I can only…

For better or for worse, she was now the Empress Dowager, so she still felt a bit of mental resistance toward such a thing. But when she raised her head and saw Zu An’s handsome appearance, her face suddenly reddened.

It doesn’t seem like I’m really missing out here, though!

That was especially the case when she remembered his confident and unrivaled appearance. He perfectly matched the fantasy she’d had of a dream lover in her youth. As such, she only hesitated for a second, then made her decision.

When he saw her teary-eyed appearance, Zu An was a bit stunned. She’ll be heartbroken if I don’t agree? I really don’t know how to refuse now…

This woman is just too good at this stuff, isn’t she?

While he was confused about what to do, a cool breeze blew past his legs.

“That’s not too good…” Zu An muttered, seemingly trying to refuse, but as a man, he knew just how weak that kind of refusal was.

At first, the Second Empress was shocked by what she saw. The sight really was beyond her wildest imaginations. Her face immediately turned bright red.

In the past, she had thought that the Fiend Emperor was the strongest man. But now, she knew that in certain matters, he had been too far from this handsome young man in front of her…

In that instant, she even began to wonder whether this man really was a human, or if he was a kind of fiend!

…

Zu An’s eyes widened, and he released a long sigh. Objectively, the Second Empress was still quite underripe in this regard. Compared to Yu Yanluo or Little Qing, she was much more lacking. Of course, however, that was due to the Snake race’s unique skill.

Even so, the Second Empress’ status was different. She was someone who had just convinced everyone in the palace, and she was wearing the most respected dress of the empress. She was adorned with a phoenix crown and a multicolored gown. Right now, she was the woman with the noblest status among all the Fiend races.

Such a unique sight paired with the sheer psychological shock really was something that was hard for others to compare to.

Zu An couldn't help but run his fingers through her hair. Her hair really is as smooth and sleek as satin…

…

Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen adjusted her breathing in a quiet room within the palace. She had just fought a great battle against a grandmaster, causing her energies to stir violently. After all, she had just recently recovered from her serious injuries.

Of course, that wasn’t the most important point. What affected her most was that the shock of Zu An killing several grandmasters in a row was just too great. After all, none of those grandmasters were weaker than her, and yet they had all died so easily at Zu An’s hands.

Naturally, because they had fought together through so many life-and-death situations, she knew his true strength wasn’t that ridiculous. But even so… it was a bit absurd.

At the moment, her emotions were in just as much of a mess as her logic. After all, in her cultivation realm, every individual was a stunning genius, and they all had their own pride. Before she met Zu An, that pride had been very steady, and her mentality had also spurred on her strength.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

However, after everything that had happened, that pride was completely shattered. She knew that if she couldn't calm herself down, her unsteady dao heart could prevent her from making any further cultivation progress.

As such, she had found a quiet meditation room far from Zu An to think over her gains and losses in the Unknown Region. In particular, she wanted to digest the powerful shock Zu An had brought her tonight.

Yan Xuehen had also seen that Yun Jianyue had sought out a quiet place to recover with a serious expression. She was probably in a similar situation.

…

After a long time passed, she finally managed to stabilize her almost-shattered dao heart. Suddenly, however, there was a knock on the door outside.

“Who is it?” Yan Xuehen asked, opening her eyes.

With her grandmaster cultivation, she had already seen a dainty and slender young lady standing there. The other woman paced back and forth for a while and raised her hand to knock on the door several times, but she hesitated and gave up each time.

It was the Elf race’s Princess Snow.

She naturally knew about Snow and Zu An’s relationship from their recent interactions. That silly disciple of mine… By having such a pretty maid, aren’t you basically leading the wolf into the house?

She really couldn't understand how Chuyan could feel at ease with having this woman, whose appearance wasn’t inferior to her in the slightest, as a maid. Was she blind?

There’s no way the Chu clan could have been blind either. The people in Brightmoon City can’t all be blind either, right?

Is this the kind of beauty a maid should have?

She didn’t know that when Snow was in Brightmoon City, she had been under the Elf race’s seal. It had sealed both her stunning features and weakened her aura.

Even though she knew it was Qiao Xueying outside, Yan Xuehen didn’t expose her. She just felt that their relationship was a bit awkward, and thus hoped Snow would leave on her own.

However, Snow continued to knock on the door. After some hesitation, Yan Xuehen still asked the rhetorical question, “Who is it?”

“Sect Master Yan, it’s me, the Elf race’s Qiao Xueying,” a clear voice replied.

Snow’s voice really was as pretty as an oriole’s. No wonder that guy likes her…

Seeing as Snow had paid her a visit like this, Yan Xuehen couldn't refuse her. She sorted out her thoughts and said, “Please come in!”

Using her divine sense, she could see that there was a gift in Snow’s hands. Yan Xuehen’s expression became a bit cold. Hmph, this girl stole my precious disciple’s man! I won’t eat her gift even if I have to die from starvation!

Soon afterward, a beautiful figure pushed open the door and came in. Qiao Xueying clearly had a few reservations. She opened the case in her hands, revealing all sorts of exquisite refreshments and fruits. “I heard big sister Chu mention what the sect master’s favorites were, so I came to bring some of these fruits. I hope the sect master won’t turn your back on them.”

Yan Xuehen sneered. You used to call her young miss Chu, but now, you’re calling her big sister Chu? But I guess you’re still quite tactful, willing to be the younger one.

Even so, in order to help my precious disciple vent, I can’t accept these gifts.

She was about to refuse when Qiao Xueying handed over another silver case, saying, “I begged my father for one of the Elf race’s Flower Jade Pills. I hope it can aid in the sect master’s speedy recovery.” She knew Yan Xuehen had been injured based on their earlier interactions.

A look of surprise flickered through Yan Xuehen’s eyes. The Elf Princess had clearly thought through her gifts. Most importantly, this Flower Jade Pill was no ordinary medicine, but rather the Elf Race’s highest-grade recovery medicine. Every single pill had miraculous restorative effects. This gift was quite precious.

She wanted to refuse, but she had already used up all of her own medicines in the Unknown Region. She really did need such medicine to aid in her recovery, and also to stabilize her dao heart.

“Many thanks!” Yan Xuehen replied, feeling a bit ashamed. Didn’t I already make the decision not to accept her gifts? But how can I refuse when she’s giving me so much?

Qiao Xueying sighed in relief when she saw that Yan Xuehen had accepted it. Then, she asked about how Chu Chuyan was doing. As far as she knew, that was their sole connection. She couldn't just ask about Ah Zu right off the bat, right?

It just happened that because she had spent so much time in the human world, Qiao Xueying was quite good at reading people’s body language. Even though Yan Xuehen intended to refuse her in the beginning, after talking for a bit, she had to admit that the Elf Princess was quite good at friendly conversation. The two quickly began to chat happily with each other.

When Qiao Xueying left, however, Yan Xuehen sneered. This Elf Princess is pretty sharp! She’s actually trying to use me to help her deal with Yu Yanluo and the other women.

Still, she could understand that as well. Zu An had just too many women around him. As Qiao Xueying had expressed her good intentions, and she did share sisterly bonds with Chuyan, allying against the others was a good idea.

Yan Xuehen suddenly thought of something. What do these things have to do with me? They can just fight it out in the harem themselves!

She suddenly became a bit uneasy. She could no longer calm down her dao heart. After some hesitation, she decided to have a chat with Zu An. Whomever started the trouble should end it. For all she knew, she could potentially find some solution with him.