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"I’m actually looking forward to meeting him!"

"I am looking forward to it as well..."

Ao Zhen’s gaze was icy cold. For countless years, her power had been insufficient to overthrow that old fellow, and because of her current status, the old fellow could not bypass the council of elders to eliminate her, thus maintaining a balance.

But both sides knew that if either had the chance, they would definitely act, and she was also well aware that the old fellow would do the same!

So she truly was looking forward to Chen Qing breaking this stalemate, but unfortunately, there was no response to the message she sent through the divine seal, and there were less than ten hours left until noon tomorrow.

Would that guy... really be the pivot that changes fate?

Murong watched the two father and daughter glaring at each other, also feeling extremely nervous.

Although she verbally professed absolute trust in Chen Qing, at this moment, not even knowing how he was taken away made her somewhat guilty.

Speaking of which... where on earth had that guy gone? Who took him away?

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Whether it was Princess Royale Siao Mingyue, who had established control over the situation in the Southern Sea, or Ao Zhen, who had securely played both sides without loss, both were wondering who exactly had taken Chen Qing away, and they also wanted to know what he was capable of achieving.

But if they knew Chen Qing’s current location, they would certainly have dismissed their prior thoughts.

Even Chen Qing had not anticipated that at such a critical time, he would be brought to the Eastern Sea!

And what he had expected even less was the person who brought him...

"Long time no see, old friend..."

The voice was very familiar, as was the face, but the overall impression Chen Qing got from the person was quite strange...

The person in front of him was someone Chen Qing had actually been missing for a long time, none other than Wang Ye, who had insisted on returning to Capital City despite his dissuasion!

Chen Qing silently observed him.

All his expressions were familiar: that gentleness, humility, yet hiding a sharp edge...

But one thing was different, Wang Ye lacked that solitary loftiness of genius!

This had been what Chen Qing liked most about Wang Ye.

Even though he was a prodigy, proud in his youth, he still carried a practical and passionate temperament.

At the brink of life-and-death, he would choose to trust others, putting his hopes of breaking through in someone he had only known for a few days, with a touch of naivety and immaturity, but with the passionate spirit unique to youth.

But the person in front of him was different. Although he had gentle, humble eyes, his inner loftiness kept people at a great distance.

This feeling... Chen Qing had only seen it in one other person!

"It has indeed been a long time...", Chen Qing closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and suppressed a surge of irritability in his heart: "Lord Duke of Song!!"

"Oh? You recognized me so quickly?" The young man with the appearance of Wang Ye smiled as he heard this, seemingly unsurprised and calmly replied, "Sure enough, worthy of being the chosen Reincarnator, not simple at all..."

Chen Qing didn’t speak, his mind only calculating the chances of Wang Ye’s survival.

But no matter what assumptions he made, he sadly discovered that the probability of Wang Ye still being alive... was less than ten percent!

"Could you tell me how you recognized me?"

"The power of the Setting Sun is the strongest Spatial Technique among the Thirty-six Big Dipper Techniques, and its Flying Star Technique is especially tricky. But to use Flying Star within the barriers of the Dragon Palace, one would need not only a sufficient understanding of the Dragon Palace’s barriers but also possess Transcendent strength.

What level is Wang Ye... After going through life and death together with him so many times, how could I not know? "

"Life and death together, huh?" Lord Duke of Song nodded, "That child is indeed lucky, doesn’t have many friends, just you and Weichi Peng, but both are the rare kind that are worth befriending in this world."

"Worth befriending?" Chen Qing looked at the other party, "You still speak with the tone of an elder towards a junior, can you not say things like that? It sounds nauseating to me!"

"Oh?" Lord Duke of Song suddenly laughed, "In my memory, young friend, you have always been someone who takes great care of his own interests. The tone you’re speaking with now, however, seems quite different from what you usually show."

Chen Qing did not speak. He struggled hard to suppress the rage in his heart.

Since coming to this world, he had rarely been so angry. The last time was when his older brother had been killed.

The moment he was certain it was Lord Duke of Song, he had roughly guessed all the cause and effect.

This guy... was the mastermind behind Zi Yue and the others!

Thousand-Faced Fox, Mister Hua Pi, and Mister Origami were all his pawns.

The whole scheme was about vanishing from public view, and Wang Ye... was the key pawn.

He had been right the whole time; the Wang Ye who had been transformed by Mister Hua Pi could no longer be considered the real Wang Ye!

If that puppet could host the soul of Wang Ye, it could naturally host the soul of Lord Duke of Song as well.

Therefore, when he and Ghost Doll had rushed into the Azure Dragon Mountain Cave to rescue others, and he saw Wang Ye’s peculiar aura for the first time, it was not an illusion. At that moment, Wang Ye was definitely not himself.

Afterward, it was the same, using the Thousand-Faced Fox to divert attention. On the Path of Yin and Yang, he intentionally led the Emperor to develop a murderous intention to fake his death and escape, and then arranged everything afterwards.

He had felt something was off right from the start. Was Ali’s pregnancy, with the blood of the Royal Family, a secret worth killing Lord Duke of Song to silence him?

At first, he thought the logic made sense.

After all, the bloodline of the Royal Family had been broken, and when the mixed blood of the King of Qin with demons was exposed, the populace lost faith.

To ensure the continuation of the Siao Family’s royal line, it was necessary to silence Lord Duke of Song.

After all, if the Siao Family’s bloodline were to end, Lord Duke of Song could still support the Lu Family for the sake of the stability of the Human Race.

Back then, the power of the Lu Family was almost on par with the Royal Family, and they were entirely viable candidates to replace the Siao Family on the throne.

Thinking this way, it seemed justifiable for the Emperor to feel the urge to kill at that time.

But the more Chen Qing thought about it, the more he felt something wasn’t right!

Because after that, the Emperor did not hesitate to make contact with the ancient powers. Since he had already decided to reach out to the ancient forces, the matter of bloodline succession became unimportant!

If that was the case, why did he have to kill Lord Duke of Song?

The answer Chen Qing once came to was: Back on the Path of Yin and Yang, what Lord Duke of Song accidentally saw, wasn’t the fact that Ali was pregnant, but the secret of the Emperor’s collusion with the ancient powers, which was why he was silenced.

But now, it seemed he had been wrong again!

"You knew the Emperor’s secret from the very beginning, didn’t you?"

"You could say that..." Lord Duke of Song nodded with a smile.

There was no need to hide anything at this point.

"From the start, you intended to sacrifice Wang Ye, right?"

"You could say that..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing nodded, "I have heard countless times from Wang Ye how he came from a poor family, was the sole survivor after a demon killed his family, and that it was only due to the esteemed Lord Duke that he changed his most tragic fate. Now it seems that wasn’t the case.

He was supposed to have a very good destiny, but it was only after meeting you, Lord Duke, that his life turned into a tragedy. "

Since Wang Ye was a pawn from the beginning, one could pretty much guess that his so-called family being killed by demons and Lord Duke of Song’s coincidental rescue to lovingly foster the only survivor was all a plan from the start—including the death of Wang Ye’s family.

From the excessively respectful tone Wang Ye always used, Chen Qing knew that he truly regarded Lord Duke of Song as a father.

The grace of being saved, the grace of rebirth—there are few greater debts of gratitude in the world. Alas... it’s all a lie...

"Lord Duke of Song..."

"Hmm?" Lord Duke of Song looked at Chen Qing, who usually carried a demeanor that played with the world, but his eyes seemed to hold, for the first time, the intense emotions a person should have.

"I assure you that you will die a very miserable death!"