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The Princess Royale’s arm was strong, not at all like the delicate limbs of other ladies, but when she caught hold of Chen Qing’s arm, it still made him involuntarily shiver.

She was a woman who never wore makeup, yet her skin was crystal clear and clean, exuding an aristocratic aura. When such a woman suddenly took on a demure posture, the allure was absolutely lethal—at least, Chen Qing, who was a bit of a homebody, had little resistance.

And he clearly smelled a fragrant breeze coming from her...

The proud Princess, a female warrior, would never deign to use rouge or powder to please the opposite sex, nor would she use perfume to cover the scent of being a martial artist. Chen Qing didn’t think he was privileged enough to be the cause, so the fragrance must be natural.

Did she have a natural scent?

A woman who had honed her body to the extreme, yet carried a sweet scent—Chen Qing, who was never short on imagination, immediately recalled scenes from varied comics where majestic women sweated fragrantly.

If his pants weren’t so well-fitted, he might have embarrassed himself in public.

The onlookers frowned, especially those familiar with the Princess Royale. In their memory, this supremely proud woman had never flirted with a man.

Behind Chen Qing, the Shen Family’s Fifth Master and the Fei Family Head were extremely surprised and carried a hint of obvious jealousy.

"Your Highness..." Chen Qing looked at her helplessly, "This isn’t right, is it?"

"Don’t you like it?" the Princess Royale asked with a tease in her smile.

Chen Qing felt even the most deceitful man would find it difficult to utter the words "I don’t like it" at this moment.

"I am close friends with Fei Jun..." Chen Qing’s head slightly lifted, feeling a strange sensation as if something was about to drip from his nose.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she retorted.

Chen Qing: "....."

"Rumors say dragons are lascivious, but why do all creatures desire to unite with them? Isn’t it because they’re incredibly charming?" the Princess Royale looked at Chen Qing with a smile, "Am I charming?"

Chen Qing grimaced, doubting that dragons united with all creatures purely due to charm...

But there was one thing she was right about; powerful beings always possess exceptional allure. When truly desired by a dragon, many creatures probably voluntary succumb, despite the great cost.

"Your Highness, bringing this up at such a serious occasion, what is it you want?" Chen Qing sighed.

The Princess Royale immediately laughed, "Nothing in particular. I just feel that this time... I might not make it out alive, and if I do, I would want to indulge a bit..."

She said, looking at Chen Qing, her eyes filled with an imperious possessiveness that made Chen Qing’s legs go weak.

Damn... She really knows how to flirt!

The surrounding people evidently couldn’t stand it either. Duke of Wei cleared his throat, "Lord Chen, is this the Dragon Palace?"

The scene inside the palace gates was not as glorious and splendid as one might imagine...

All the buildings were rusted and seemed about to collapse at a touch.

Even the once jade stone steps had cracked open, revealing a sinister black qi that emanated a nauseating smell from the decaying flesh, like rotting octopus.

This sight, far from the imagined glittering and enchanting Underwater Dragon Palace, was a completely different spectacle.

Everyone carefully wrapped themselves in their techniques, sensing the rotting flesh scattered around to be highly dangerous - should the flesh suddenly come to life, it would be more than just a little trouble.

Elder Shen and Fifth Elder Shen looked strangely at the decaying bodies; the reason for their expressions was the familiar scent they detected.

These endlessly multiplying soft-bodied creatures could infiltrate human flesh with just a tiny piece and take over a person’s body with their ability to infinitely divide—a property quite similar to their own.

Now they wondered, had the Ancient Worm been so fixated on the Dragon Palace because it originated there?

Chen Qing, observing the surroundings, was also surprised by the scene before him.

In his memories, the monsters of the Dragon Palace had always been experimenting with terrifying dark weapons, with the Dragon Palace being most adept at.

.. biological weapons. Indeed, the Ancient Worm was correct in its guess; it was an experimental biological weapon designed by the Dragon Palace to combat other ancient creatures.

It was merely an imperfect weapon that had escaped during the experimental phase.

From the current scene, it seemed that when the Ancient Worm attempted to return to the Dragon Palace, something had revived the previous experiments within, likely leading to a backlash that resulted in creatures even the palace couldn’t handle.

If that was the case, to what extent had the biological backlash reached and did it involve the ancient creatures within the Dragon Palace?

With this thought in mind, even the Princess Royale next to him didn’t seem so enticing anymore.

What Chen Qing hated the most were events that diverged from his memories, because if they were really experimenting with new biological weapons, it would likely be entirely outside his knowledge, and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Thus, the group moved cautiously along the vacuum strip, holding their breath around the decaying chunks of flesh, afraid of disturbing them.

The waters were dark, devoid of any signs of life. The corals were bleached, and not a single fish could be seen swimming. The world beneath the sea was gloomy, silent and devoid of vitality.

The architecture here must have been magnificent once, but Chen Qing knew that no matter how splendid the buildings were, after long years of seawater corrosion, they would inevitably end up looking this ugly.

They could still hold their shape probably because of the techniques stored within the jade stone.

This was also why Chen Qing was confident about destroying this place.

The palace, after prolonged erosion, was on the verge of collapse.

With just a trigger point, the massive accumulated Art Energy would instantly explode, obliterating the entrance and throwing the myriad serpents into chaos. It was his first step in buying time.

"We’ve arrived..." A group of people reached an immensely vast central hall.

It was distinctly noticeable that the huge dragon heads carved into the four corners of the hall had been disfigured by corrosion.

Yet, within their widely agape mouths, there was the freshness of water vapor, which starkly contrasted with the dead and oppressive surroundings.

"These four points are the teleportation spots to the Four Seas," Chen Qing pointed at the four dragon heads and said, "Over there... that’s where the real Dragon Palace is."

"And what is this place?" the Princess Royale asked with a smile, holding onto Chen Qing.

"This place... is where the Four Seas Dragon Clan exchange their knowledge... it’s akin to an academic hall," Chen Qing did not hide the truth, "Descendants of the Dragon Clan from the Four Seas will exchange their secret techniques here.

It is also a place where many young scholars can learn the secret techniques of other seas. "

"I see..." With this explanation, everyone understood. This was similar to the Yin Yang Academy in Capital City, where several powers came together, shared their teachings, and established a common academy so their descendants could benefit from a broader learning environment.

It seemed this model wasn’t so novel – the ancient demons had already thought of it...

And yet, the nobility had remained obstinate for a thousand years. If it weren’t for Liu Yu taking the lead, they would probably had remained cloistered forever.

Upon hearing about what this place was, however, everyone’s initial desire for it faded.

An academy was beneficial, but everyone knew in their hearts that the true heritage of each power would not be shared, just as they themselves would not.

Even though each family sincerely contributed many treasures when the Yin Yang Academy was established, compared with the core assets of the families, those contributions were still insignificant.

Which meant, if Chen Qing wasn’t lying, the real treasures remained in the Four Seas Dragon Palace.

"Does the heritage of the Four Seas Dragon Palace differ in some way?" The Princess smiled at Chen Qing, "Why did you allocate the Nanhai Dragon Palace to me? Was there a special reason?"

"Though dragons are creatures of water, they still cannot escape the energy of the Four Spirits," Chen Qing explained with a smile, "Apart from their innate water attributes, the dragons of the Four Seas also embody the characteristics of the Four Spirits: Eastern Azure Wood, Northern Mystical Ice, Southern Clear Li Fire, and Western Fierce Gold. The blood of the Southern Sea Dragon Clan is the most suitable for Princess Chang’s condition. "

"Oh?" The Princess immediately responded with a laugh, "So you have been considering specially for my sake?"

"I am a close friend of Fei Jun..." Chen Qing replied earnestly.

"Is that so?" The Princess’s laughter drew closer, brushing against Chen Qing’s ear, "Then my dear close friend, you must come out alive. I... I’ll be waiting for you..."

Chen Qing: "....."

Watching Chen Qing’s dazed face, the Princess chuckled and casually strode to the southern dragon head.

"Lord Chen, should we enter directly?"

Chen Qing nodded, "Yes!"

"Then, everyone..." the Princess turned to all those present, "I’ll take my leave first. I wish you all, bon voyage!"

Without hesitation, she stepped into the maw of the dragon head and let the pulling force within draw her away, vanishing from everyone’s sight in an instant.

The others looked on in astonishment – this woman... was quite bold, not even letting her subordinates test it first?

Fei Jun and Fifth Elder Shen exchanged glances. Before they even moved, their respective followers took the lead, following the Princess into the southern dragon head and disappearing.

A hint of intrigue flashed in Fifth Elder Shen’s eyes. He had made a pact with the Princess, and other than himself, all the followers were to obey her commands. Yet he distinctly felt that the followers had acted of their own volition just now, rather than being ordered by the Princess.

True royal demeanor indeed...

Fifth Elder Shen chuckled and followed behind, thinking that this quality was something those dragons that created him would never be able to learn...

As the Princess Royale departed, the rest hesitated no longer and proceeded to their chosen directions, then all turned to Chen Qing, "Lord Chen, if that is the case, take care and until we meet again!"

"Until we meet again," Chen Qing said solemnly to everyone, regardless of the tangled web of interests that had brought them together – after all, they were companions in misfortune.

Everyone here was a figure of the times, but no one, including Chen Qing, could be certain of their fate hereafter. ..

This moment of ’until we meet again’ was probably the greatest and most sincere goodwill they could offer each other.

Shortly after, the waters of the dragon heads swallowed the four forces, leaving behind only Chen Qing and Zi Yue and the others.

As those figures disappeared, Zi Yue was the first to speak up, "Now you can tell us, Lord Chen? Keeping us with you to brave this so-called central palace – what’s your real purpose?"

Bai Yu was slightly startled beside her; she hadn’t realized Chen Qing had a motive for keeping them.

Chen Qing also looked toward Zi Yue...

The young girl’s appearance was exceedingly deceptive, particularly with that perpetually confused look, but when it came to intelligence, perhaps even Princess Siao Mingxue couldn’t match her.

Indeed, he had his own plans for keeping the three of them...