“Senior Brother is just too much! How could he trust that woman so easily?!”
In the middle of the night, He Yingying was fuming so badly her chest hurt.
Lying on her bed, she tossed and turned—thinking more only made her angrier.
She understood why Senior Brother wanted some extra protection for the clan tournament tomorrow.
After all, the Lin family might not fight fair and could play dirty tricks.
‘But why did he have to ask her for help?!’
Did Senior Brother really plan to marry that woman?
He Yingying’s eyes flew wide open.
She pictured Liu Yingfeng standing out on the tournament stage tomorrow, protecting her “poor bullied fiancé,” making Senior Brother all grateful and smitten, then happily getting into the bridal carriage together.
That image made her sick.
She was anxious, frustrated, and furious.
“No way! I absolutely can’t let that happen!”
She shook her head furiously and made up her mind.
This was the perfect chance to earn favor with Senior Brother.
How could she let some random woman steal it?
So what if it was about standing up for him?
As if she, He Yingying, couldn’t handle that!
***
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
“Miss, about tomorrow…”
Liu Yingfeng’s expression was just as cold and sour.
“Hmph!”
She scoffed and snapped, “Releasing false news that the Wan Yin Conference champion was recruited by the Li family of Lihuo City, then secretly spiriting him away… Do the Lin family really think I’m unaware? Or that the petty tricks they pulled can deceive the Pure Void Hall of the Grand Hall of Taixu?!”
“Miss, please calm down! Getting worked up is bad for your health…”
Linger, her maid, shrank back nervously—she had never seen her mistress so furious before.
Liu Yingfeng took a deep breath to steady herself, then turned to look out the window.
Her eyes pierced the darkness in a certain direction.
“Looks like I wasn’t wrong about the Lin family. Having the Pure Void Hall monitor them was the right call. Going through such elaborate deception—they’re trying to sneak around, kill my husband in secret, then swap him out with some imposter? Well done, Lin Tiancheng… Well done.”
“Let’s see then… Who dares lay a finger on my husband?!”
***
The next day arrived swiftly, and early in the morning, Luoshui City was already buzzing with excitement.
Everyone in town knew—today was even grander than the Wan Yin Conference.
For Luoshui City, the Clan Tournament was practically a holiday, carrying huge significance.
Those who shined in the tournament not only received generous rewards, but also garnered public admiration—not just from common citizens, but from elites of the Four Great Clans, and even the City Lord himself.
Yet on such a prestigious day, the City Lord was not in a good mood.
Because just yesterday, he got word that the talented boy who’d stunned everyone at the Wan Yin Conference had been poached—by those bastards from Lihuo City!
His big win! His promotion! His dreams of wealth and glory—gone, just like that!
“Milord… are you still going to attend the Clan Tournament today?”
The servant beside him asked carefully, noting his foul mood.
For years now, the City Lord hadn’t personally shown up to the tournament.
He always let the Four Great Clans handle it.
After all, even though it was supposedly hosted in his name, he considered the event a joke.
These so-called elite youths of Luoshui City were, in his eyes, nothing more than a bunch of third-rate trash.
What a joke!
Over ten years of cultivation, and in their twenties, most barely reached Foundation Establishment or early Qi Condensation—and you call these people geniuses?
A real genius was that youth at the Wan Yin Conference—barely sixteen or seventeen, already in Qi Condensation, wielding unique skills, even capable of pressuring the Sect Master of Tianyin Sect!
Put that against the city’s so-called elites, and it was obvious why Luo Haonian couldn’t be bothered watching a bunch of kids slap each other around.
Especially now that his genius had been stolen.
His mood was ruined.
He had no time for this nonsense.
He’d rather deal with paperwork, cultivate, or heck, even go home and make babies with his wife—anything was better than wasting time watching those brats fight.
“Not going! Not going!”
He waved impatiently at the servant, face full of disgust.
“But Milord… you haven’t gone for five or six years already…”
“So what?”
Luo Haonian sneered coldly.
“You trying to teach me how to do my job?”
“N-no, of course not, I wouldn’t dare…!”
The servant trembled and turned pale with fear.
“City Lord! City Lord—!”
Suddenly, an urgent voice rang out from outside.
A sweaty, panicked servant burst in moments later, stammering,
“Milord… s-someone seeks an audience with you!”
“Who? I’m not seeing anyone!”
Luo Haonian was deeply irritated and waved his hand to dismiss the messenger.
“Milord, this is someone you… can’t afford not to see…”
The poor servant looked like he was about to cry.
“Oh? And just who in Luoshui City could possibly be someone I must see?”
The City Lord raised his voice, now visibly irritated.
You see, a city lord was personally appointed by the emperor and held absolute authority over their territory.
More than that, city lords weren’t just officials—they were also powerful cultivators capable of dominating an entire region.
Luo Haonian had ruled Luoshui City for decades and never heard of anyone he had to meet.
“Th-the person claims to be… the Empire’s Ninth Princess…!”
The servant collapsed to his knees, voice shaking.
“Wha—?!”
All the arrogance and pride drained from Luo Haonian’s face.
His bravado instantly vanished, replaced by nervous panic.
“Quick—quick! Bring me my formal robes! I must go receive Her Highness at once! Now!!”
There wasn’t the slightest doubt in his mind.
He didn’t even consider the possibility that it might be an imposter.
Because across the entire continent, no one would dare impersonate a princess of the Yanhuang Empire—not even members of Taixu Hall or Demonic Heaven Palace!
A centipede may be dying, but it still won’t collapse.
Let alone the Empire—which was nowhere close to collapsing.
Just ten years ago, when the Dragon General and Imperial Advisor crushed both righteous and demonic sects, the whole continent had trembled.
Still… why would a princess appear in such a remote backwater city?
Luo Haonian furrowed his brow in confusion.
Come to think of it, didn’t he hear recently that the Ninth Princess had gone missing?
Wait—could it be…?
Suddenly, a face flashed in his mind—the young girl who had been carried by that genius boy at the Wan Yin Conference.
Even though only half her face had been visible, it struck him as deeply familiar.
Now that he thought about it…
That face bore at least seven parts resemblance—to His Majesty, the Emperor himself!