Volume 1, Chapter 57: Most Men Are No Good

At this point, Master Mozart shook his head and gave a bitter chuckle. "However, I am now little more than a cripple, and I truly do not know whether I can successfully ignite its magical flame once again."

Lu Shaobei had been extremely excited lately. Collaborating with Manager Zhang and several other trading firms to urgently dispatch the one hundred thousand piculs of official salt into dozens of caravans, he had finally set them on the road. Although much of the profit was carved up by the other families, this single transaction alone managed to reduce the Lu Family Firm's deficit from the past half-year by well over half.

Zhu Yuanzhang leaned weakly against the head of the bed, listening calmly to Jiang Huan's report. Ever since he fell ill, nearly all the memorial reports had been endorsed on his behalf by the Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen. Only when major issues arose would someone come to report to him, yet the affairs of the Jinyiwei were the sole exception—Zhu Yuanzhang still managed those personally, refusing to delegate them to Zhu Yunwen.

The chores in the shop were basically all done. In the afternoon, Gu Ying still needed to receive a few managers from the flour and sugar shops, rent a building to serve as a workshop tomorrow, and finally, once Gu Jun arrived, they could officially open for business.

Although she was not clear why Mother Yang had asked her along, Tong Jing was still willing to go since it meant she could pick up Bai Yang. She nodded to indicate her consent.

The replenishment of water elemental energy had an almost immediately visible effect on Claudia. Now, Claudia appeared vastly different from before in everyone's eyes.

Knowing full well that she was no match for Augustine and that staying behind would not help Crimson Lotus, yet eager to inform the Demon King of Augustine's appearance, Void Dragon said, "Then I shall take my leave." He reached out to tear through the space, bowed once more, and slipped right through.

Clearly, he knew the fuse time of this grenade. The moment he threw it, he rolled along the ground to find a cover and hid behind it, which was how he avoided being blown to pieces. However, the shockwave triggered by the grenade's explosion had already shaken his internal organs, and the fresh blood spilling from the corner of his mouth was proof of this.

"Understood, Princess," Zhao Qing said with a helpless nod, though inwardly he thought: *Even two commoners can be invited to ride inside the carriage; how wonderful it would be if the Princess invited me in as well!* For a moment, he could not help feeling a sense of melancholy.

Yet the reports currently coming in forced him to take the matter seriously. While hoarding and looting wealth was something he had tacitly permitted, if it sparked internal strife, wouldn't the whole situation descend into utter chaos? And if the enemy were to strike at their doorstep then, wouldn't they be powerless to present a united front against the outsiders?

More subtly, he did not make his move the moment he got out of the carriage. Instead, he first put on an act of preparing to leave before suddenly seeming to remember that he needed to say thank you, and turned back around.

Now, the crux of the matter was whether that unspoken secret possessed lethal destructive power—enough to give his martial arts mother-in-law the desire to silence him permanently.

Dugu Ji withdrew both hands and began forming one intricate hand seal after another, chanting continuously under his breath, seemingly reciting some sort of incantation.

Mr. Ober Benny, much like most current Ministry of Magic officials, sported a head of messy hair, deep-set eye sockets, and severe dark circles under his eyes.

Seeing that even the two divine beast battle souls just formed from the sand had frozen in place, that voice finally sensed a trace of ominous foreboding. But Chen Chen did not give him any chance at all. The very instant he hesitated, the azure and purple swords dragged long trails of light and pierced straight into the eye of the tornado.

The water was pitch black. Although it was not deep, the lack of sunlight within the tomb meant that it was basically impossible to distinguish anything with the naked eye. He released all eight of his fine silk threads, and instantly the underwater landscape became clear at a glance.

Although Chen Chen's true form and his dark magic avatar possessed formidable skills, facing these elusive and terrifying giants, they were utterly at their wits' end for a moment. They suffered consecutive heavy blows, covering themselves in wounds and ending up in a wretched state.

What could be utilized from it? Before that, he had to gather both stones, and even earlier than that, he needed Ekreia to voluntarily join the Shinigami crew, accept the "penetration" of his Zanpakuto, and become a Shinigami.

The wormhole maintenance left Zhao Yi somewhat helpless, but a few days would be a few days! It was far more cost-effective than traveling on his own. His gaze shifted down to the Blood-Crying beast beneath his feet.

Chen Xuan and Chen Tianwen froze simultaneously. What kind of heart-piercing remark was this? For a moment, they could not tell whether this was praising the Chen family's vast influence in the capital or condemning them for harboringshibboleths of ambition.

Usually, when the two of them fought, it was just for fun and games; they would never pull out all the stops. But this time, Nangong Lingyue was playing for real.

Especially the coconuts; they harvested them in massive bunches, keeping the thick husks entirely intact, which made storage much more convenient. Thus, the tropical fruits packed in these two carriages had actually been procured with a great deal of careful effort.

Huaihuai: "Wait, Qiaoqiao, didn't you say you only went to the gym to work out so you could prepare for pregnancy?"

Yet Ximen Zhuixue's sword slashed through his clothes and cut his flesh. Because Meng Gang had dodged in time, he only suffered some superficial injuries.

The news of educated youth being sent down to the countryside broke in October, and by the time it reached Guangdong Province, it was already November. However, Chen Chaoyang had already mentioned the rustication of educated youth in a letter he mailed back earlier.

She's already running herself ragged, yet she still insists on coming over to pickle salted vegetables for us. Next time we have anything going on, we must make sure she never finds out.

"What fine lightness kung fu. I wonder which master taught it," Nangong Lingyue praised from the side.

"You dare!" Good grief—what a fiery temper and decisive action! The words had barely left her mouth when her lapels were grabbed again by Wu Junxi, hoisting her bodily into the air.

"What? You aren't planning to take these things with you?" By now, not only Feng Fei was astonished; even Feng Huai looked at Nuannuan with a face full of shock.

Rosalind glanced at the RV and the pickup truck. As long as they could repair either one of them, they would be able to leave this Gobi Desert.

Ping Yi losing to Wei Suoyue, Fu Xianquan losing to Nangong Ling—these two arena matches were not entirely unexpected for the martial artists of the Southern Territory.

Having just nocked nine arrows, the very instant his cultivation realm broke through, he finally pulled the bowstring all the way to a full moon. He could feel right then just how terrifying those nine arrows would be if they were let loose.

In his current state, he still possessed self-awareness. Ouyang Yan's aura had grown significantly stronger compared to a few days ago, and he knew Ouyang Yan had grown even more formidable.

The moment the eight headless ancient corpses emerged, they raised their fists like primordial giants and slammed them toward the massive palm imprint descending from above.