Chapter Thirty-One: A Gathering of Prodigies

She was none other than Princess Mu Qingqing, the beloved daughter of the Ice Xuan Empress of the Haotian Empire.

Upon seeing Mu Qingqing arrive, the two men instantly abandoned any notion of sparring; they had no intention of letting her reap the benefits.

Lan Feng cast a wary glance at Mu Qingqing and remarked, “I didn’t expect you to come as well.”

Mu Qingqing replied, “The strongest forces near the Two Realms Mountain are precisely the three of us.”

“With all of you here, how could I not come? This concerns the Imperial Weapon,” Lan Feng said.

At the mention of the Imperial Weapon, a flicker of greed appeared in all three pairs of eyes.

For the Imperial Weapon was the foundation of their sects.

The three forces stood in a stalemate, each wary of the other; none made the first move.

They waited silently for the secret realm’s entrance to open.

Before long, another young woman of extraordinary elegance approached, draped in phoenix-feather attire—this was An Miaoling.

At this moment, she wore a distinctive pink veil.

Yet, from the contours of her face and her clear, refined eyes, it was evident she was a great beauty.

She wore the veil to avoid recognition by the Central Plains’ factions.

Lan Feng, noticing this stunning figure, hurried over to strike up a conversation.

But An Miaoling stood holding her sword, expressionless, her gaze fixed on the entrance to the secret realm, ignoring him completely.

Her cold demeanor only stirred Lan Feng’s possessiveness further.

As a prince, aside from Mu Qingqing, no woman had ever dared to snub him.

Enduring patiently, Lan Feng introduced himself and promised he would protect An Miaoling once inside the secret realm.

Still, she paid no heed and instead bypassed Lan Feng, moving closer to the entrance.

Being ignored in front of so many prodigies ignited a surge of anger within him.

“Stand still for this prince!” he commanded, reaching out with one hand.

An Miaoling sensed it and sidestepped deftly.

Swish!

The Ice Lament sword was drawn, and she spun around, striking with a single slash.

Lan Feng had never expected An Miaoling to dare draw her sword against him.

Caught off guard, he hastily used his protective aura to block.

The Ice Lament sword sliced through his aura, leaving a wound on his arm.

The scene shocked everyone present.

“Impressive—she actually wounded a prince of the Divine Lan Empire.”

“I wonder which faction this prodigy belongs to. Could she be from the central region of the Central Plains?”

Mu Qingqing and Jian Beichen looked at An Miaoling in surprise, especially Jian Beichen, who sensed a sword intent from her that rivaled his own.

Lan Feng immediately distanced himself and asked gravely, “Which faction are you from?”

“I have no sect or affiliation,” An Miaoling replied.

Lan Feng scrutinized her up and down. Her cultivation was clearly at the first level of Semi-Saint, and her sword intent was formidable.

Her sword must be extraordinary, at least a Semi-Emperor class weapon, possibly even a low-grade Emperor class.

A greedy gleam appeared in Lan Feng’s eyes.

“Little sister, leave your sword here, or you won’t be leaving today.”

“Get lost!” An Miaoling parted her lips to utter the single word.

“Then don’t blame me for being rude.”

Lan Feng drew his long blade.

Seeing he was about to make a move, An Miaoling’s expression grew serious; after all, he was two levels above her and a prodigy.

Lan Feng dashed forward with a flash step, swinging his blade down.

An Miaoling met the strike head-on with her Ice Lament sword.

Swish!

Both retreated a few steps; relying on her sword and perfected sword intent, she held her ground.

Lan Feng then activated the imperial bloodline of the Divine Lan Empire’s royal family, his aura intensifying.

An Miaoling responded by activating her Ice Phoenix bloodline, causing the temperature around them to drop sharply.

Lan Feng’s expression shifted; he sensed her bloodline was stronger than his.

“What bloodline is that?” he demanded.

Jian Beichen and Mu Qingqing also showed surprise.

An Miaoling frowned but did not answer.

At this moment, she feared the forces behind Lan Feng might attack her.

For both her sword and her bloodline were highly coveted by the great powers.

Lan Feng pressed on, unleashing his royal family’s ultimate techniques.

An Miaoling blocked them all effortlessly.

Realizing he could not defeat her, Lan Feng shouted, “Uncle Long!”

Three breaths later, a middle-aged man appeared—the ‘Uncle Long’ Lan Feng had called, his protector and a third-level Saint.

Lan Feng seemed to be transmitting a message to him.

Soon, Uncle Long looked at An Miaoling, golden light flashing in his eyes as he recognized her Ice Phoenix bloodline.

“Young lady, how about we come to an agreement? Marry our prince Lan Feng and become the imperial consort.”

His words stunned the crowd again, for Lan Feng was the heir to the Divine Lan Empire’s throne.

Lan Feng was about to speak, but after hearing Uncle Long’s transmission, he immediately fell silent.

When he looked at An Miaoling again, his gaze was filled with possessiveness.

An Miaoling replied with disdain, “I refuse.”

She grasped her Time-Space Token, ready to activate it at any moment.

“Do you know what it means to be the imperial consort?” Uncle Long pressed.

“I don’t care!” An Miaoling snapped back.

Hearing this, Uncle Long’s face darkened.

“You may not be thinking clearly now. I’m taking you back to the empire for treatment.”

He moved forward to seize An Miaoling.

At that moment, a flying sword shot toward him from afar.

Swish!

Uncle Long was forced to retreat several steps.

Seeing the sword in midair, An Miaoling’s cold expression softened slightly as she scanned for Qin Tian’s presence.

Qin Tian did not appear but transmitted, “I won’t come out. I’m intimidating them from the shadows.”

He feared that his appearance might escalate tensions, drawing in Imperial Realm experts and making matters uncontrollable.

Uncle Long also looked around before turning to An Miaoling.

“Your protector?”

An Miaoling nodded in affirmation.

After a moment’s hesitation, Uncle Long gave up attacking. From their previous exchanges, he sensed she was stronger than him.

He sent a plea for reinforcements to the empire and then vanished into hiding.

Before long, the secret realm’s entrance opened, and everyone entered in turn.

Inside was a desolate desert, prompting many to form teams spontaneously.

There was safety and advantage in numbers for treasure hunting.

Lan Feng sought out Jian Beichen to form a team.

After some conversation, the two cast unfriendly glances at Mu Qingqing and An Miaoling.

Mu Qingqing considered briefly, then approached An Miaoling with a smile.

“Hello, I’m Mu Qingqing. I’d like to team up with you. We’ll split whatever we find evenly.”

An Miaoling thought it over and agreed, having noticed Lan Feng’s ill intentions.

The two women set off together, delving deeper into the secret realm.

At the Divine Lan Empire’s Lanyang Prince Mansion, Lanyang Wang, an Imperial Realm expert, rose and hurried toward the Two Realms Mountain.

He had just received a transmission from the Haotian Emperor.