“You’ve gone too far!”
“A mere mortal, yet you dare provoke my authority again and again!”
Xia Qingyue’s eyes turned ice-cold in an instant. The pressure around her surged like a collapsing mountain flood, crashing toward Lin Chen.
The entire Chaos Space seemed to freeze halfway.
As the unparalleled Empress of the Heavenly Realm, this was the first time anyone had dared to openly scrutinize her body, and even speak in such a disrespectful manner.
Even if this youth was Lin Chen, who had once dual cultivated with her, it was absolutely intolerable.
The dignity of an Empress could not be defiled.
“Too far?”
Under the crushing pressure, Lin Chen felt as though every bone in his body was groaning. Yet his spine remained straight, and a mocking curve even appeared at the corner of his lips as he said, “The same method… you think you can make me submit a second time?”
“Death does not threaten me!”
Facing this supreme Empress of the Heavenly Realm, Lin Chen showed no fear. His deep eyes were as sharp as tempered blades, directly meeting Xia Qingyue’s gaze, a gaze that could make even Sacred Sovereigns bow.
“You’re courting death!”
Xia Qingyue’s pupils suddenly shrank.
Her aura instantly turned dangerous. Her glass-like eyes narrowed, radiating a chilling coldness.
This black-clad youth in front of her had repeatedly provoked her, even… desecrated her dignity.
And now, he openly challenged her authority.
As the supreme Empress of the Heavenly Realm, how could she not be furious?
In an instant!
Her terrifying pressure solidified, pressing down on Lin Chen like a tangible force, attempting to crush him into submission, to make him fear, to make him understand that this was a power he could never resist in his lifetime.
She was the ruler who suppressed the entire world!
“You are the ruler of the Heavenly Realm, that’s true, but don’t forget, I am not one of your groveling, flattering servants!”
“Nor am I an ant for you to slaughter at will!”
“You are not my ruler!”
“No one can be my ruler!”
“Because…”
“I will become a ruler myself!”
Lin Chen roared.
His bones creaked under the unbearable pressure, yet he remained standing, sustained by sheer willpower.
As long as he stood, he had already won.
She had long witnessed this boy’s will. For 81 days of hellish torment, he had not uttered a single cry of pain.
Now, hearing him roar “I will become a ruler myself,” a trace of subtle surprise flashed in her eyes.
He wanted to become a true ruler?
A mere youth from the lower realm, yet possessing such terrifying ambition?
Xia Qingyue had seen countless prodigies and mighty figures who shook the Heavenly Realm.
Before her, all of them were respectful, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.
Yet now, this youth… not only ignored her authority, but even dared to declare in front of her that he would become a ruler himself.
At this moment, as she looked at Lin Chen, her gaze turned complicated. Within it, there was even a faint trace of… admiration she herself had not noticed.
“Heh!”
“Interesting!”
Xia Qingyue laughed in anger. The overwhelming pressure in her eyes slightly receded, replaced by an extreme, lofty scrutiny.
At the same time, Lin Chen was also scrutinizing her.
His gaze was even bolder, sweeping over her body from top to bottom without restraint.
“You speak of becoming a ruler, yet your mind is filled with such filthy thoughts?”
Xia Qingyue glanced at him, assuming his gaze was one of vulgar desire.
“Filthy?”
Lin Chen sneered, “I’m just trying to see what kind of person this so-called Empress of the Heavenly Realm truly is. High and mighty, full of arrogance, yet shameless enough to forcibly take my Purple Crystal Glazed Flower.”
“You…!”
Xia Qingyue’s eyes sharpened at his mocking words.
Lin Chen pressed on immediately, “Am I wrong?”
“For a mere flower, why would I need to take it from you? State your terms!”
The moment Xia Qingyue spoke, Lin Chen smiled.
He followed up smoothly, “Since you call yourself an Empress, your word should carry absolute weight. I want the alchemy techniques of the Heavenly Realm!”
“For a mere century-old Purple Crystal Glazed Flower, you want to exchange for the Heavenly Realm’s alchemy techniques? You truly are a gambler.”
Xia Qingyue frowned. At last, she understood Lin Chen’s true intention.
A calm, victorious smile appeared on Lin Chen’s face, “And yet… I won the gamble, didn’t I?”
She was the supreme Empress of the Heavenly Realm, domineering and absolute.
Everything under heaven belonged to her.
With her power and status, why would she need to pay any price for taking a mere century-old Purple Crystal Glazed Flower?
Yet Lin Chen wanted to use it to trade for the Heavenly Realm’s alchemy techniques.
Even a 100,000-year-old treasure could not compare to their value.
The moment Lin Chen proposed a trade, before he even stated his demand, Xia Qingyue had rejected him.
From her perspective, how could a mere youth from the lower realm have the right to bargain with her?
Using his flower was already his honor.
So Lin Chen gambled.
First, he provoked Xia Qingyue, repeatedly challenging her authority as the Empress of the Heavenly Realm. Then, with near madness, he forced himself into a position of equal dialogue with her.
The law of the strong devouring the weak was universal.
Only equals could negotiate.
Otherwise, there was only plunder.
Then, as the one controlling the conversation, Lin Chen subtly shifted the focus from scrutinizing Xia Qingyue to the Purple Crystal Glazed Flower.
Until Xia Qingyue took the bait and personally said, “State your terms.”
This gamble, Lin Chen had won once again.
With a single century-old Purple Crystal Glazed Flower, he won the Heavenly Realm’s alchemy techniques.
Because Xia Qingyue, as the Empress, would never go back on her word. Doing so would tarnish her own dignity, something her nature would never allow.
Rather than gambling… Lin Chen was playing with her.
Playing with Xia Qingyue.
If anyone in the Heavenly Realm learned of this, they would be utterly shocked.
The supreme Xia Qingyue, manipulated by a mere youth from the lower realm, controlled entirely within his palm.
Such a thing was unimaginable.
It could be said that in all the world, only Lin Chen could achieve this.
Within the Chaos Space, Xia Qingyue stared at Lin Chen for a long time before finally speaking slowly, “Tell me your name.”
From beginning to end, she had never known his name.
Now, she had developed a slight interest in this seemingly insignificant youth from the lower realm.
“Lin Chen.”
Lin Chen answered calmly.
No title, no explanation, just those two words echoing through the silent Chaos Space, as if carving themselves into Xia Qingyue’s memory.
Xia Qingyue’s red dress fluttered, her presence commanding without anger, “Lin Chen, I will remember you. I want to see just how far you can go, and whether you can truly become… a ruler.”
At this moment, the furnace she had once treated merely as a tool for extracting vital essence now had a name etched in her mind.