The charming widow of the Marquis's mansion: The stable boy carries the flag and raises the dra

"The first place you've achieved in the first round would have been nothing more than the average level of a martial artist in the Eastern Region a hundred thousand years ago, but today it's enough to make the entire Eastern Region go wild."

Upon hearing this, Wang Long suddenly understood what the Eternal Emperor wanted to say. He raised his head and met those gentle yet profound eyes.

"Does the senior hope that the junior... can restore the former glory of the Eastern Region?"

The Eternal Emperor looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then gently shook his head.

"Glory is something that others perceive. I only hope that since you have received the inheritance of Xuanming and possess this talent and temperament, you might as well go further."

"Go far enough, far enough that those who once looked down on the Eastern Regions will remember what this land used to be like."

He paused, then his tone returned to its usual amiable manner, as if his earlier remarks were merely casual remark.

"Of course, how far you go is your own business. I just feel that you should know these things."

Looking at him, Wang Long felt an indescribable surge of emotion.

He remembered Luo Hanyi quietly waiting for him to return in the courtyard of the Daqian Prince's Mansion, he remembered Qin Jiaojiao running towards him with her ponytail in the sunset, and he remembered Ye Niannu's silhouette walking side by side with him through the twilight in the spiritual realm.

This land may be dilapidated in the eyes of others, but to him, it is everything he is trying his best to protect.

"I understand."

He spoke, his voice calm and resolute.

"Thank you for telling me these things, senior. I will walk my own path carefully."

The Eternal Emperor looked at him, the gentle light in his eyes flickered slightly, and then turned into a very faint smile.

"That's good."

He didn't say anything more, but simply raised his hand and waved it gently. The surrounding space began to tremble slightly, and the invisible membrane that separated him from the square was slowly dissipating.

In the last instant before his vision was about to return, the voice of the Eternal Emperor once again entered Wang Long's sea of ​​consciousness, a little softer than before, but even clearer.

"By the way, the second round of the competition will be more complicated than the first round, so you and the girl next to you should prepare well."

As soon as he finished speaking, the space closed completely, and Wang Long found himself standing at the edge of the square again. The surrounding noise surged into his ears again, and the warm sunlight fell on his shoulders. Everything was exactly the same as before.

He stood there, watching the people from the Eastern Region still excitedly discussing in the square, then turned his head and looked through the crowd, landing on Ye Niannu.

Ye Niannu was standing in the crowd when, as if sensing his gaze, she turned around, smiled at him, and mouthed a sentence.

"You're back?"

Wang Long chuckled as he watched her, who was clearly curious but stubbornly refusing to ask, and strode towards her.

A night breeze blew from the direction of the Spirit Fruit Garden on the east side of Sendai, carrying the unique sweet scent of spirit fruits. It passed through the corridor and rustled the bamboo leaves.

Wang Long and Ye Niannu strolled leisurely back to their residence along the corridor, encountering several groups of contestants from other major regions along the way.

Some people slowed down when they saw them from afar, their eyes scrutinizing them with a complex expression, but no one went up to speak to them.

Ye Niannu affectionately linked arms with Wang Long, seemingly oblivious to the stares, only occasionally turning her head to say something like, "The fruit on that tree over there looks redder," in a relaxed tone.

When she pushed open the courtyard gate, Ye Niannu walked straight towards the house door.

She stopped at the door, turned around and looked at Wang Long. The moonlight fell on her profile, and her peach blossom eyes shone brightly in the night.

"My lord, come in~"

Her voice was a few decibels lower than before, with a soft, languid tone at the end, like a cat's soft hum as it stretches.

Wang Long glanced at her figure standing by the door, silently swallowed, and followed her.

The door closed behind him with a soft sound.

Everything inside was enveloped in a soft, ambiguous halo of light.

Ye Niannu turned around, looked up at Wang Long, her gaze falling on his face, and remained silent for a moment.

"My lord, it's been so long since we've cultivated together."

Her voice was soft, with a languid charm, and the last syllable rose slightly.

"The first round of the competition is over, and the second round doesn't start for another three days. I might as well take a good rest tonight and, while I'm at it... improve my spiritual power?"

As she spoke, she reached out and hooked her fingers around Wang Long's shirt, the force not strong, but carrying an air of undeniable authority.

She tugged at a thread between her fingers, and her peach blossom eyes appeared exceptionally clear in the hazy night, glistening with a thin layer of moisture.

"Please, my love~"

Wang Long looked down at her, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

He didn't say anything, but simply bent down, put his hands under her knees and back, and lifted her up in his arms.

Ye Niannu let out a short gasp, then laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. Her voice was muffled, but filled with undisguised laughter.

"My lord, be gentle."

"Be gentle?"

Wang Long carried her to the bedside, bent down and placed her on the soft mattress. His movements were not forceful, but they carried an undeniable certainty.

Are you sure you want me to be gentle?

Ye Niannu lay on her back, her black hair spread out on the pillow, moonlight filtering through the gaps in the window paper and falling on her flushed cheeks. She looked up at him, a smile playing on her lips, her voice carrying a natural coquettishness.

"Whether it's light or not doesn't matter, as long as my lord likes it~"

Wang Long looked at her, who was clearly shy but still trying to be stubborn, and lowered his head to kiss her.

The moment their lips touched, Ye Niannu trembled slightly, her peach blossom eyes widened for a moment, and then closed again.

She reached out and wrapped her arms around his back, her fingertips slipping through his clothes and gently tightening around his shoulder blades.

Spiritual energy and mental energy flowed silently through the intertwined meridians, like two streams that originally went their separate ways, meeting, converging, and mutually nourishing each other at a certain point, before continuing to extend in their respective directions.

Ye Niannu's spiritual power carried a gentle and resilient quality, flowing into Wang Long's meridians like spring water, unhurried yet with an extremely subtle penetrating force.

Wang Long could feel her spiritual power slowly merging and resonating with the power within his body, rehydrating the spiritual energy nodes that had slightly dried up due to continuous battles.

Her fingertips gently gripped his shoulder, her breathing slightly erratic, but she never let go.

Wang Long's spiritual power and mental power were like a warm stream of water flowing into her body along the same path. When the two forces converged in her meridians, they emitted an extremely faint hum, as if something was being recalibrated and rearranged.

"Hmm..."

Ye Niannu let out a muffled groan, as if she was enduring something, or perhaps confirming something. Her fingertips tightened on his shoulder for a moment, then slowly relaxed.

She could feel her spiritual power becoming more refined at an unprecedented speed. Each breath was accompanied by a subtle widening of her meridians. The fatigue accumulated in the spiritual realm and the first round of the competition was rapidly fading away, replaced by a sense of fullness and clarity from within.

She could feel her spiritual realm loosening, like a dam being repeatedly eroded, cracks appearing little by little.

"My lord... I think I'm about to break through..."