Chapter 791: Eavesdropping Turtle-Turtle is Number One in the World

Chapter 791: The Turtle Who Listens at the Bedchamber Is Peerless Under Heaven

In truth, seven days earlier, when Zhao Changhe had carried the severed head to the altar, turned the mountain’s vital energy to his own use, and observed the flow of the entire grassland’s energy veins, that had already been a substantive “Sealing the Wolf at Mount Juxu.” But official matters required a sense of ceremony, a grand ritual, with all sorts of etiquette and rules—rewards for the three armies, admonishments and settlements for the various tribes… at the very least, great red candles had to be lit before the temple altar.

The three-army commander-in-chief, Huangfu Qing, and the Prince of Zhao presided over the opening of the ceremony, solemnly worshipping heaven and earth.

The Han and Hu soldiers and civilians looked up in awe. This worship of heaven and earth was not what ordinary people imagined… Why were they bowing to each other?

It was one thing for them to bow to the old general Huangfu, but why was Old Sun of the Blood God Sect sitting there? The implication was too…

Speaking of which, hadn’t this Old Sun also shown up at the Cui family affair… He seemed to manage to be present at every occasion, didn’t he? Could this be his greatest contribution in heading north this time?

Whether the Book of Chaos was intentional or not this time… For Xuanwu’s achievements, it said Xuanwu, but for Zhuque, it didn’t use the usual “Zhuque” but rather “Huangfu Qing.” Though everyone knew they were the same, whether it was stated outright or not made a difference. After all, Huangfu Qing was the Empress Dowager. An empress dowager leading an army as commander-in-chief was already shocking enough, so the title of Venerable Zhuque was needed to cover it up. If the empress dowager were also marrying someone in public, then one could only ask, “What has this country come to?”

Zhao Changhe felt that Blind Girl was carrying a bit of personal emotion. Before writing the book, she must have overheard him and Huangfu Qing in the military tent talking about marriage and deliberately caused trouble.

Anything related to the Four Symbols Sect—Blind Girl claimed she no longer cared, but deep down, she still minded that the Four Symbols Sect had been swept up in one net… Well, looking back now, Zhuque and Xuanwu had always been able to appear on the rankings under their titles, probably because Blind Girl was pulling strings, helping her own people cover up. Now she had stopped covering.

But so what?

Even if an empress dowager leading an army sounded bad, after winning a war that decided the nation’s fate, it would only become a tale of praise. Who would make trouble?

The marriage would never be announced openly. Even if everyone knew the two were bowing to each other… as long as it wasn’t stated outright, it was fine.

So Blind Girl’s little tantrum meant nothing.

Even Cui Yuanyong said nothing. He stood with arms crossed, glaring coldly for a while, before being dragged off by his subordinates to drink.

Who cared? What difference did it make whether those two married or not? If they wanted a sense of ceremony, let them have it… Anyway, the first to go through a formal ceremony was my sister. To be fair, they had it hard—they couldn’t even dare to openly say they were getting married and had to call it a sacrificial rite to heaven and earth. Tsk.

What was unexpected was that Zhuque, that fearsome demon everyone dreaded, actually cared about such a womanly ceremony. Even Yue Hongling didn’t care that much… Look at Xuanwu, sitting happily to the side eating melon seeds. She could have joined in but didn’t bother. From this perspective, Xuanwu was closer to a god, while Zhuque was more human.

The common point between Zhuque and Yue Hongling was that neither needed an extra wedding dress for the ceremony. The fiery red Zhuque sacrificial robe and the fiery red cloak—wearing them was her wedding dress.

The red candles glowed warmly, with thousands witnessing. During the mutual bows, Huangfu Qing secretly lifted her eyes to look at her husband. His expression was tender, and her gaze was like water.

Even if it wasn’t explicitly said to be a wedding, it was enough.

“Look at that little expression, tsk tsk.” Sanniang sat cross-legged to the side, drinking wine, and raised her bowl to clink with Yue Hongling beside her: “If someone had told me a few years ago that this fierce woman would one day have such a shy, bashful, and joyful look of a virtuous wife and loving mother, I’d probably think they’d lost their mind.”

Yue Hongling gave her a strange look, thinking, What relationship do we have? And we’ve only just met—how come you act like you know me so well, without any awkwardness?

Sanniang said, “Your strand of sword qi helped me achieve a great feat, so we’re comrades now, right?”

Yue Hongling nodded. Of course, she wouldn’t dwell on it. She just smiled and said, “Since I met Sister Zhuque, she hasn’t been fierce.”

Sanniang giggled: “I heard that in your early years, when you saw Zhuque’s fiery clouds in the sky, you ran away in fright, didn’t you?”

“…Xia Chichi told you?”

“Hehe.”

“Was I running away in fright? I was… well, there was no enmity, so no need to provoke her!” Yue Hongling said. “But back then, Sister Zhuque’s aura was indeed fierce… She’s changed like a different person now.”

Sanniang said leisurely, “Because everything she wanted has been achieved. What’s left to be fierce about?”

Yue Hongling asked, “What about that ancient White Tiger…”

“It’s fine.” Sanniang drank slowly. “According to our sect’s rules, this matter needs Chichi to face it herself, which would be dangerous… But now, the one calling the shots is Changhe. He definitely won’t indulge in such broken rules. When the time comes, we’ll swarm in. Even if it’s the ancient White Tiger, or even the Night Emperor himself, we can still manage. Besides…”

Sanniang paused and looked Yue Hongling up and down: “Would you be willing to receive some White Tiger techniques?”

Yue Hongling was startled: “What do you mean?”

Sanniang said, “I’ve looked into your battle situation. It feels like your formation is clearly only a remnant. If you use the Night Emperor to control the Four Symbols and achieve a true Four Symbols Formation, its power would be much stronger. But we don’t have all four symbols. Chichi has been practicing both Azure Dragon and White Tiger systems. She’s already received the true transmission of the Azure Dragon line, just needing time to settle. The White Tiger line is much weaker. It would be best to have another White Tiger Venerable to fill this position.”

Yue Hongling said, “Wouldn’t it be perfect to subdue the ancient White Tiger?”

“It can’t be subdued… He won’t recognize Changhe as the Night Emperor. To him, we’re probably just rebels. Even if we could beat him into submission, there’s another problem…”

“What problem?”

“The ancient White Tiger is male. If an outsider joins our family’s formation, it would definitely be a bit awkward. But you’re different…”

“…” That made sense. Yue Hongling was speechless.

Sanniang said, “White Tiger governs metal. In martial arts, it’s essentially the killing of all weapons—a pure warrior. Among them, the sword is the king of weapons, which suits you. Your martial arts are inherited from the Sword Emperor, but the inheritance is very shallow. It seems you only got a strand of sword intent, mostly self-developed. It’s still somewhat biased and monotonous, needing other sword paths to supplement and perfect. The White Tiger’s weapon arts suit you well. Besides, if you have to face the Sword Emperor, relying only on the sword intent inherited from him might be suppressed. You’ll need other means.”

Yue Hongling found it tempting and felt it made sense.

She had always wanted to explore the Sword Emperor’s tomb but hesitated. This was a major factor. Look at how Yuxu faced the Dao Sovereign, or Xue Canghai and others faced Lie—the suppression was almost effortless. If Zhao Changhe hadn’t taken a different path, that battle in the Spirit Clan when Yin Kui drew out Lie might have been the end of him.

If she had to face the Sword Emperor, relying solely on cultivation might not be enough. She indeed needed to branch out into other things, and top-tier inheritances like the White Tiger’s weapon arts were an excellent choice.

It just felt like she was taking something from Xia Chichi…

Yue Hongling hesitated: “Isn’t that a bit inappropriate… And can you decide such matters, Sister?”

“This counts as sect affairs. In sect affairs, I, the Turtle… I, Xuanwu, have spoken. Even the Sect Leader must carefully consider my opinion.”

“The Sect Leader is Changhe?”

“Changhe is the spirit tablet we’ve enshrined. He doesn’t manage our sect affairs at all. He only memorized the sect’s scriptures because he was punished to copy them… The Sect Leader is Chichi herself.”

Yue Hongling: “…”

Sanniang squinted at her: “Could it be that Lady Yue is afraid and dares not compete with our Chichi?”

“Slap!” The wine bowl slammed heavily onto the table: “Who says I dare not!”

“Anyway, the actual inheritance will come later, after we defeat this ancient White Tiger. I’m just discussing it with you first. If you’re interested, that’s good.” Sanniang winked: “Alright, I have something else to do. Talk later.”

Yue Hongling asked curiously, “What is it?”

Sanniang said matter-of-factly: “Listening at the bedchamber.”

Yue Hongling: “…”

Turning her head, she saw that the young couple who had just finished the wedding bows had already slipped away—theoretically, this was a grand sacrifice. Tasks like rewards and admonishments needed to be handled by Huangfu Qing, the commander-in-chief, and Zhao Changhe, the Prince of Zhao. But these two had no sense of being the highest leaders. They treated it entirely as a wedding. After the bows, they handed everything over to the old father-in-law and went to their bridal chamber.

The bridal chamber was in a secret realm, whose entrance had been resealed. No one could listen in. Yue Hongling watched helplessly as Sanniang slipped to a secluded corner behind the mountain, flipped her hand, and produced a water mirror.

Yue Hongling stared dumbfounded as the water mirror showed Zhao Changhe and Huangfu Qing tumbling onto the bed, kissing sweetly. She was stunned.

The female chivalrous lady, since following Zhao Changhe, had done plenty of outrageous things, but she had never seen such blatant spying on someone’s marital bed. Truly, you were a demon sect—each one more monstrous than the last.

Was she supposed to join such a broken sect?

The Turtle said matter-of-factly: “What’s with that expression? Isn’t it good to watch?”

“Not that—how did you do it? There’s a barrier between realms!”

“I secretly split a soul and hid it inside earlier, just waiting for this moment.”

Yue Hongling: “…”

“Look at those seductive eyes, tsk tsk, like they’re dripping water…” Sanniang watched closely: “Oh, the hand’s already gone in… And she’s the one undoing his belt first. Tsk, what a lustful woman…”

Yue Hongling twitched her mouth but had to admit it was still quite enjoyable to watch, and in such high definition.

“Look how proactive she is, even kissing his chest.” Sanniang commented: “I bet she’ll go even lower. Among us, she’s the most willing to do this… She’s the hottest one, isn’t she? Yet she pretends to be dignified all day.”

Yue Hongling craned her neck to look, thinking that Sisi was also quite willing. But it was normal for Sisi—she wore her desire on her sleeve. Zhuque was a bit of a contrast…

Speaking of which, why was there no sound from this water mirror?

Just as she thought that, she heard an “Ouch!” In the image, Zhao Changhe reached out and grabbed Sanniang’s hidden soul fragment, which had been lurking somewhere, right into his hand.

San Niang struggled: "How did you find me? I was using the Turtle Breath Technique!"

"Someone's spying on me—if I couldn't sense that, I'd have wasted my life!" Seeing it was that damned turtle, the two whose wedding night had been interrupted were both exasperated and amused. Huangfu Qing viciously pinched San Niang: "Speak—how do you want to die?"

San Niang's eyes darted: "This is my split soul, a soul body—what can you do... Hey, hey, hey?"

The soul body was fixed, and the useless clothes vanished instantly. San Niang was shocked to find herself turned solid, pinned down by Huangfu Qing's fierce grip in the clouds: "I specialize in dealing with soul bodies!"

"Damn, you're using the Transformation of Life and Death here? No, there's also the Shift of Reality and Illusion, right? Hey... Zhao Changhe, you... Mmm, that's a mouth."

Huangfu Qing fumed: "You want to enjoy other places too, huh? I'll take over!"

The eavesdropping San Niang was cruelly pinned down by her sister, hands and feet, to cooperate with the man's assault. Yue Hongling cautiously backed away, watching helplessly as the San Niang outside, holding a mirror, trembled all over, her pretty face instantly flushed crimson.

When the split soul was toyed with, the main body naturally felt it—the division wasn't complete.

This gang of heretics: one used a split-soul technique that directly spied on the second level of the Imperial Realm to eavesdrop on the wedding night; one wielded the power of life and death to play with another's soul; one employed the Shift of Reality and Illusion to turn a soul into a tangible plaything. Then, attacking from above and below, they turned the invincible Black Tortoise Venerable into a sieve.

The chivalrous lady couldn't hold it together and fled for her life.

The last thing heard was San Niang's main body outside, calling weakly: "Open the door... I want to go in..."

A crack opened in the secret realm, and San Niang voluntarily slipped inside.

Yue Hongling suddenly understood: San Niang did it on purpose, didn't she? She missed a man too, jealous of others happily tying the knot—she sought her own participation.

Inside, Huangfu Qing scratched her head, realizing she might have been tricked.

Now there were two San Niangs, one seductive and one quiet, flanking Zhao Changhe and playing back and forth—leaving her with no place.

You cultivated the Turtle-Snake Split Body just to hog the man?

Am I the one getting married, or are you?

"Yuan San Niang! Merge back together! That's not how you use a split body! First, lie down over there—your turn comes later!"

Actually, Zhao Changhe really wanted to say that's exactly how you use a split body... but he dared not say it in front of the furious Huangfu Qing.

In truth, Zhao Changhe also wanted to say that the true number one on the Heavenly Ranking should belong to San Niang.

This time, the Heavenly Ranking wasn't just a simple replacement; many positions were reshuffled. For instance, San Niang was now second. If you really thought about it, she could be first.

She had fought alone for days against the split soul of the Eternal Heavenly God at the second level of the Imperial Realm, and traded blows with the former number one, Tiemuer, even gaining the upper hand when he was greatly distracted. With just the addition of Ying Wu, who hadn't yet broken into the Imperial Realm, she directly defeated Tiemuer, and with a hidden sword aura from Yue Hongling, she nearly killed him.

Her Turtle-Snake Split Body technique truly glimpsed the gate to the second level of the Imperial Realm—once the split bodies could become independent of each other, breaking through was certain.

Including turning the desert into a swamp, the greatest merit on the main battlefield was undeniably hers. Truly, the strongest have no resounding fame—even the battle reports in the Book of Chaos couldn't show how strong she was.

Of course, if you counted the Star River and the Dragon Sparrow as part of his own strength, sometimes it could be considered three against one, and San Niang might not necessarily be his match. Ranking himself first wasn't really a problem.

The main issue was that the Blind Woman's rankings were becoming more and more unruly. They still held credibility in the eyes of the world, but in Zhao Changhe's eyes, they had little left. He couldn't even be sure if there was some other motive behind her ranking him first.

Now, this woman—whom Zhao Changhe considered stronger than himself, the true number one under heaven—was like a wronged little wife, immobilized and waiting in line for favor. The feeling was indescribable.

Only after he had satisfied Huangfu Qing did he hold San Niang and caress her, whispering in her ear: "Hey, don't you care about face?"

"Face? How much is face a pound?" San Niang blinked and smiled brightly: "Changhe, I missed you..."

"..."

"If it were anyone else, I wouldn't bother... But since it's Qing'er, what does it matter? She's just pretending to be angry."

Huangfu Qing: "..."

San Niang wrapped her arms around Zhao Changhe's neck and pouted: "You left me in the desert to eat sand for months—can't I have a little tantrum? I'm laying it down here: no matter where the next battlefield is, or how everyone splits up... next time, I'm going with you, and no one's taking my place."

Zhao Changhe kissed her lips and said softly: "Alright."

San Niang immediately grinned: "Take me. I want all your strength."