The Lantern Festival, one of the Grand Yan Dynasty’s exclusive holidays, brought great liveliness to the capital on this day.
Shops on both sides of the street were decorated with colorful lanterns, and everyone walking through the capital had clearly dressed up for the occasion.
At this moment, Ruo Ximeng was openly strolling through the capital with Su Chen.
The moment the two appeared in public, they were spotted by one of the emperor’s spies.
The guards immediately returned to the palace to report.
Deep within the palace, in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Emperor of Grand Yan was seething with rage.
“Those bastards! Ruo Ximeng! Su Chen!”
“How dare you strut so openly through the capital!”
The emperor gritted his teeth, forcing out every word with fury.
For these two to appear so brazenly in the capital—it was a complete humiliation!
Su Chen, who had once trespassed into the imperial palace and left a trail of chaos, was loathed by the court officials.
They could barely restrain their hatred, wishing they could tear him apart to relieve their sovereign’s anger.
Unfortunately, even the Protector Daoist, the War God Yanhuang, and the emperor himself had once been defeated by Su Chen.
Now, there was truly nothing they could do to him.
Their hatred ran deep, but they were utterly helpless.
So frustrating!
Su Chen, of course, had no idea that his public stroll with Ruo Ximeng had caused such an uproar in the imperial court.
‘And if he did know?’ He’d probably be even more thrilled!
“Master, have you ever tried that before? It looks super tasty!”
Ruo Ximeng tugged on the hem of Su Chen’s robe as they walked along the bustling street.
Her eyes suddenly lit up as she spotted a vendor selling sugar figurines and candied hawthorn.
“It’s not that great, to be honest…”
Su Chen glanced over casually and immediately saw what she meant.
To him, whether it was sugar figurines or candied hawthorn, they all tasted pretty average.
Still, since Ruo Ximeng liked it, he wasn’t about to say no.
“Boss, I’ll take all of them.”
Su Chen stepped up to the vendor and casually tossed him a silver ingot—money was never an issue for him.
With that, he grabbed the entire bundle of grass skewers holding the candied hawthorn.
“Wow!”
Ruo Ximeng’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
She thought to herself, ‘As expected of Master—even buying candied hawthorn, he does it in such an extraordinary way!’
***
The capital of Grand Yan was full of festivity and wealth.
Su Chen led Ruo Ximeng from street to street, clearly enjoying themselves.
After all, Su Chen’s greatest talent was disciplining disciples.
His second greatest? Eating, drinking, and having fun.
Following close behind him, Ruo Ximeng couldn’t help but have a wonderful time.
“Master, look! They’re selling lotus lanterns for the river. Let’s go release some tonight!”
She looked up at him with excitement in her eyes.
To her, releasing lanterns on the river was something fun and romantic.
“Alright. Whatever you want.”
Su Chen nodded slightly.
Since today was all about having fun with Ruo Ximeng, of course they had to make the most of it.
“I’ll go buy two tickets. That way we can come back here tonight and release the lanterns together.”
After agreeing, Su Chen headed toward the booth selling the lotus river lantern tickets.
Because today was the Lantern Festival, the area was packed with people.
Still, with enough money, anything was possible.
After offering a high price, Su Chen easily got his hands on two tickets.
***
Across the street, the crowd began making way on both sides of the road.
These people weren’t making way for just anyone—they were avoiding none other than the heir of one of the Four Great Noble Clans of the Yan Empire’s capital: the eldest son of the Chen family!
Until recently, Chen Shian hadn’t been in the capital.
He had been living in Luoyun City, which neighbored the capital.
Arrogant, ruthless, and infamous for his debauchery, he had quite the reputation. In Luoyun City, he was known for marrying a new woman nearly every night.
Now, seeing the crowds part before him on the street, Chen Shian was naturally feeling quite pleased with himself.
But just then, his gaze suddenly shifted.
“Well, well! What a stunning little girl!”
“That face, that figure, that aura! So young, yet already this exceptional.”
“The women at my residence—compared to her, they’re no better than mud to the clouds!”
At first glance, Chen Shian was immediately smitten with Ruo Ximeng.
His eyes lit up, and he rushed toward her with an eager expression.
***
“You mustn’t, Young Master! This is the capital!”
“That girl’s bearing and appearance are extraordinary—she’s clearly not an ordinary person!”
A middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed mustache quickly stepped forward, trying to stop Chen Shian, who was already driven by lust.
“Shut up, you mangy dog! Who gave you the right to speak?”
Chen Shian completely ignored the warning.
His large hand was already reaching toward Ruo Ximeng’s delicate shoulder.
Ruo Ximeng had been quietly waiting for Su Chen to return.
She hadn’t expected to run into such a degenerate young master.
Panicked, she instinctively flicked her hand to the side.
What happened next left everyone around them completely stunned.
With a casual flick of her wrist, Ruo Ximeng sent Chen Shian flying like a ragdoll across the street—straight toward the city wall.
Boom!
A dull thud echoed through the street as bricks and stones exploded from the wall. Bones in Chen Shian’s body cracked and snapped—no one knew how many had broken—and blood poured from his mouth.
***
“Young Master! Young Master!”
“Someone, go get the lord!”
The servants accompanying Chen Shian all began shouting in panic.
Seeing their young master so severely injured, it felt like the sky itself was falling.
These lackeys had long been used to throwing their weight around in Luoyun City.
Now, their faces turned grim and unfriendly as they glared at Ruo Ximeng.
Meanwhile, the surrounding onlookers remained completely frozen in shock.
Ruo Ximeng looked as delicate and gentle as a willow swaying in the breeze.
No one could have imagined that she possessed such terrifying strength.
Even Ruo Ximeng herself was stunned, still standing motionless in the same spot.
She had no idea what had just happened.
She hadn’t been cultivating for long—’how could she possibly be this strong?’
***
“Ximeng, are you alright?”
Su Chen had reappeared beside her.
He had been just about to step in earlier, but before he could do anything, Ruo Ximeng had already dealt with Chen Shian.
“Master… maybe I managed to cultivate the Primordial Star Technique?” she said uncertainly.
She truly didn’t know if this meant she had successfully mastered the technique or not.
“Oh, I see,” Su Chen replied, nodding seriously.
But deep down, he knew that wasn’t the case at all.
Ruo Ximeng hadn’t even received the cultivation manual for the Primordial Star Technique.
‘How could she possibly have mastered it?’
More likely, it was the result of her diligent training these past few days.
With some minor improvement, it had been enough to take down a hedonistic young master whose body had been weakened by wine and women.
‘Yes, that had to be it!’
Su Chen thought it through and felt more certain than ever.
This wasn’t a matter of Ximeng being too powerful—it was Chen Shian being too much of a weakling.
Meanwhile, Chen Shian was lying on the ground, struggling to breathe, filled with regret.
Sure, he indulged in pleasure every day—but he had never slacked off on his cultivation!
He had simply misjudged the situation this time.
This girl was no ordinary maiden.
Despite her youth, her strength far surpassed anything he could have imagined.