Chapter 369 - 365: Grand Princess

Chapter 369 - 365: Grand Princess

"..." Briefly stunned, Wei Wuyin observed the former princess kneel with conviction. From the beginning, he’d always felt she was an extremely clever woman with a cunning streak, carrying a perceptive eye and commanding air. She was bound to be a great Queen of a Country, which was one of his innermost thoughts about her. She would rule that country with a vigorous fist, bringing it to another level.

This was the impression she gave him.

But now, here she was, kneeling before him proclaiming her desire to join his organization. To add, their connection was rather awkward and inescapable.

Wei Wuyin didn’t ask why she wanted to. He already had an idea. She would be an excellent addition to the faction, especially if given a leadership role. But, he still had his reservations.

Rubbing his chin with a pensive expression, he questioned: "You must know that the course that Long Chen and I are on will inevitably end with one of our deaths. This isn’t something either of us would cease without great reason. Are you trying to act as a connective tissue to broker peace between us?"

After the Imperial Combat declaration, Wei Wuyin and Long Chen had already entered an inevitable conflict that wouldn’t stop until death. The former felt that the latter’s mental state was already entering a decline, acting against common sense for the sake of a personal vendetta that didn’t really exist. The latter felt that the former was an irreconcilable enemy that sought to undermine his existence, a rival that must be removed.

Wu Baozhai’s body trembled slightly after hearing Wei Wuyin’s words. Her voice was soft yet firm, "No."

"Hmm," Wei Wuyin continued to rub his chin in thought. He slowly walked forward, causing Wu Baozhai’s lowered gaze to note Wei Wuyin’s leggings and shoes. She lifted her eyes slightly, and then Wei Wuyin squatted before her, his silver eyes seemingly piercing into her own.

She gulped. The aura Wei Wuyin gave off now was far different than before, nearly oppressive. It was as if he was seeing into her very soul, gleaming into her deepest thoughts. She couldn’t calm down, but she was fearless in the face of his inspection. Her eyes reflected her sheer determination and hardened resolve.

"I’ve come to learn that many of the women within Long Chen’s supposed harem aren’t actually his or are with him for very specific reasons. I’m baffled by the sheer means to gather together such fascinatingly unique women by his side. Both for his success in having such followers and his failures in closing them.

"Regardless if its Qing Qiumu, the most talented Wood Cultivator in the last three millennia, or Na Xinyi whose Yin Physique has reached a frighteningly high level naturally, or Lin Ziyan...whose history and background dates back to the King of Everlore era. Then, there’s the two heavenly beauties of the Wu Country, a Princess with bloodline ties likely to the Founding Monarch himself. As for Lian Yu? Who knows.

"So, how did you, Princess, enter into his orbit and decide to follow him across the stars?" Wei Wuyin slowly stood up, using his hand to signal Wu Baozhai to rise. As if by a subconscious order, Wu Baozhai was startled by his words, observed his hands, and by the end of it had already risen.

She didn’t even feel her body stand up, merely as if she was going with the flow. Her heart quivered for a moment before she calmed down with several breaths. They were now a single yard away from each other. She never realized how tall and imposing he was until now.

After a short moment, she knew that Wei Wuyin wanted the story. He wanted the truth as to how and why she was with Long Chen, to judge her worth and true desires to join him. If she was in his position, she would want the same information. The fortunate matter was he hadn’t quickly declined her, leaving her a path of fulfilling her own desires. It’ll be whether she was willing to prove she was worthy enough at this moment.

In her heart, she needed this the most. She had no reservations about telling the truth, no matter how embarrassing it was.

"It all started..." She began to explain.

And as she did, Wei Wuyin’s heart quaked at several crucial points.

He sent a message, "You’re going to fill in the rest of the story?" The tone of his transmission contained a hint of mirth. He had already thought about various possibilities, but he was sure the truth was greater than he’d imagined.

"..." Wu Yu’s gloomy aura was felt clearly through the ring. In the end, he finally spoke: "I met Long Chen when he was sixteen years old. I was in the midst of recovering my sentience and strength, still lacking after slumbering for thousands of years. Having lost my physical body, I couldn’t pass on the Imperial Heaven Qi Method’s Ignition Essence without a proper medium, and this medium either needed to be a descendant of mine that contained traces of my Imperial Heaven forces or a fellow cultivator of the Imperial Heaven Qi Method. Considering the legacy was long since lost, there was only one choice."

"..."

Holy...

"Did Long Chen know?" This was the first question he asked, utterly shocked by the sheer shamelessness of Wu Yu.

"If he did, he wouldn’t have cultivated the method. The best medium for the Ignition Essence was the Primal Yin of my bloodline and only Wu Baozhai was suitable at the time. I thought it was his greatest fortune to meet her, so I did what I had to. It was the only way I had a chance at recovering my body, the only way he could be inducted into the Grand Monarch Lineage." Hearing the hasty and excuse-filled explanations of this Grand Monarch left a sour taste in Wei Wuyin’s mouth.

Wu Yu had orchestrated the sexual interaction between his inheritor and his descendant, essentially forcing them into that situation. While he didn’t feel that Long Chen, who was technically manipulated into it, was in the wrong, it felt strange to him. This was different from Na Xinyi’s situation, perhaps even more acceptable to some, but it still felt screwed-up.

In the end, he didn’t linger on the subject.

Wei Wuyin observed Wu Baozhai, not feeling the slightest pity for her. In fact, he felt further intrigued and proud of her. She had come here of her own free will to break away from the Heavenly Daos intended path for her, to become the mental support for Long Chen through his rise to grasp her own fate. As an Inheritor of Sin, an individual who possessed the Bloodline of Sin, he fiercely respected her expression of independence.

This was especially so after going through all these events with Long Chen, further orchestrated by the invisible hand that was the Heavenly Daos. While his presence certainly gave her options that otherwise would’ve never existed, it was still her who took the reins of her own life and came here in the end.

There was no Heavenly Daos influence.

There was no Bloodline of Sin direction.

This was an ultimate expression of her own will.

With a bright smile, he brought out his right hand.

Wu Baozhai’s eyes trembled as she saw Wei Wuyin lift his hand, smile, and say words that would forever change the course of her life:

"You hungry?"

These two words that embodied so much were once again said, causing Wu Baozhai to be somewhat startled. But for some reason, some ungodly reason, she felt a hunger emerge in her mind, body, and soul. It was a hunger for something she strove for her entire life.

Biting her lips, she nodded faintly with a blush.

After a brief moment, his eyes brightened. He chuckled lightly and followed with another set of world-changing words. "What do you think about becoming a Grand Princess?"