90: Chapter 90 No one can push my disciple too hard, but I, as his master, can push him a little.

Snow was falling heavily.

In June, the Eastern Wasteland Region was a vast expanse of white; for a million miles around, everything was draped in mourning white.

Ling Yuling stood in front of Lu Chen, the Cold Moon Glazed Mirror suspended beside her right palm.

Jiang Taixu's Emperor Seal hung frozen in mid-air, neither withdrawn nor further activated.

Ji Rushuang's silvery-white imperial gauze billowed in the cold wind, her phoenix eyes fixed intently on Ling Yuling's back.

Four Great Emperors had appeared at the Yunxiao Holy Land simultaneously.

Such a scene had not occurred in the entire Eastern Wasteland Region for tens of thousands of years.

Ling Yuling did not look at Jiang Taixu, nor did she look at Ji Rushuang.

Her ice-blue eyes swept over Nangong Waner and Jiang Yi, who were bound together by the immortal binding rope, and paused for a breath.

Then, she withdrew her gaze and looked at Jiang Taixu.

"Regarding the marriage contract."

Ling Yuling's voice was not loud, but every word carried the weight of the Emperor Dao.

"I was the one who initiated it back then."

She paused, "But if little Lu Chen is unwilling now, then this marriage contract shall be voided."

As the words "shall be voided" fell.

Jiang Yi, bound by the immortal binding rope, suddenly looked up.

Her phoenix eyes widened to their limit, and her eye sockets instantly turned red.

"Senior!"

Jiang Yi's voice squeezed out from between her teeth, hoarse and trembling.

"I have waited for him for nearly a hundred years!"

She struggled desperately, the golden threads digging into her skin, the fabric of her purple-gold long dress stretched tighter, accentuating her figure even more.

"Nearly a hundred years! With one sentence of him being unwilling, this marriage contract is voided?"

"What do you take my Jiang Family for!"

Ling Yuling turned her head, her ice-blue eyes landing on Jiang Yi's face.

There was no anger, no impatience, just a very calm glance at her.

Then Ling Yuling withdrew her gaze, no longer looking at Jiang Yi.

"What do I take it for?"

Her voice was cold to the extreme.

"I take it for the fact that this is my, Ling Yuling's, Disciple."

"Except for me—"

She lifted her chin, her white hair scattering in the cold wind, the hem of her ice-blue imperial dress fluttering loudly.

"No one can push him too hard. Only I, as his Revered Master, can push him hard, because only when I push him hard is it for his own good!"

A hand reached out from behind and grabbed Ling Yuling's wrist.

Ling Yuling's body stiffened slightly.

Lu Chen stood behind her, his right hand gripping his Revered Master's slender wrist; the force was not great, but it was steady.

"Revered Master."

Lu Chen's voice was very low, audible only to Ling Yuling.

"Don't take action; it's not good for you."

Ling Yuling did not turn her head.

Lu Chen took half a step forward, leaning close to her ear.

"Your Lifespan cannot be consumed any further."

His voice lacked his usual playful grin, his usual slickness, and his usual lazy demeanor.

There was only a very serious, very careful tone left, as if he were afraid of breaking something.

"I will go to the Central Plains with them, to the Jiang Family and the Nangong Family, and just give them an explanation. We can just discuss it."

Ling Yuling's wrist moved slightly in Lu Chen's palm.

She turned her head.

Her ice-blue eyes looked at Lu Chen behind her.

In those eyes, ten thousand years of black ice melted in an instant.

The coldness receded, and the imperial might was restrained.

Only something very, very warm remained.

Ling Yuling raised her left hand, and her palm landed on the top of Lu Chen's head.

Like rubbing a child's head, she rubbed it twice.

The movement was very light and slow, carrying a habit that had not changed for thousands of years.

"You have grown up."

Ling Yuling's voice softened, so light that only Lu Chen could hear it.

"You are a Great Emperor now."

The corners of her mouth curved slightly; the arc was small, but it definitely curved.

"No need to fear them."

Lu Chen stood in place, having his head rubbed by his Revered Master; a Great Emperor Peak over 1.8 meters tall, being rubbed like a child by a white-haired woman half a head shorter than him.

He did not dodge, his eyes half-closed, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Below, Su Qiyue was squatting on the ground, chin in her hands, her eyes sparkling.

"Revered Master also has a Revered Master..." she muttered softly.

Lu Chen took a deep breath, stepped back, and straightened his collar.

He looked into Ling Yuling's eyes and nodded very seriously.

"Rest assured, Revered Master, I can handle it."

Ling Yuling looked at him for three breaths.

Then she withdrew her hand, turned around, and faced Jiang Taixu and his wife again.

In her ice-blue eyes, the warmth receded once again, and the imperial might returned.

"Lu Chen will go to your Jiang Family; I know what you are thinking!"

"Right now, only little Lu Chen has the most Lifespan. If you want to keep your factions prosperous for another few thousand or ten thousand years, the safest method for you is to hold onto him!"

Ling Yuling's speaking speed was neither fast nor slow.

"But if you dare to bully the young with your seniority and harm even a single hair on his head—"

She did not finish.

The Cold Moon Glazed Mirror spun half a turn in mid-air, its surface facing Jiang Taixu's face.

The ice-blue imperial light gathered into a point on the mirror's surface; the chill emitted from that point caused a thin layer of frost to form on the surface of Jiang Taixu's purple-gold imperial robe.

Ling Yuling's meaning was already very clear.

There was no need to finish.

Jiang Taixu was silent for five breaths.

He slowly withdrew the Emperor Seal, and the purple-gold Dragon shadow dissipated.

"Fine."

Jiang Taixu's voice was so heavy it could crush a pit.

"I will wait for him to come so we can discuss the details."

He glanced at Lu Chen with a complex look, then turned and stepped into a Void Realm crack.

Ji Rushuang withdrew the phantom of her imperial shield, her phoenix eyes sweeping back and forth between Ling Yuling and Lu Chen. Her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing and left with Jiang Taixu.

The two Great Emperor auras drifted away.

The cracks in the sky began to heal.

Nangong Waner, bound by the immortal binding rope, suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs: "And my Nangong Family! Lu Chen, you must come!"

Lu Chen rubbed his temples.

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll go to both, I'll go to both."

With a casual flick of his finger, the immortal binding rope was undone from the two of them.

The moment Jiang Yi landed, her phoenix eyes red, she glared fiercely at Lu Chen, gritted her teeth without saying a word, and tore open the Void Realm to leave.

Nangong Waner smoothed out her purple robe, which had been ruffled by the binding, stared at Lu Chen with her peach-blossom eyes for three breaths, and suddenly smiled.

"I'll wait for you to come."

She licked the small mole at the corner of her mouth.

"I will make soup and wait for you."

A flash of purple light, and she disappeared into the Void Realm.

Xiaoyao Peak quieted down.

The heavy snow gradually stopped, and sunlight shone through the clouds again onto the Enlightenment Tree. The frost began to melt, and water droplets dripped down the leaves.

Ling Yuling stood on the peak, her white hair shimmering with silver light in the sunlight.

She withdrew her gaze from above and looked down.

On the cliffs of Xiaoyao Peak, by the corridors, and in front of the bamboo buildings, Lu Chen's Disciples, whether standing or kneeling, all looked up at her in unison.

Leng Qingqiu knelt on one knee with Jiuyou placed horizontally in front of her, her pitch-black eyes filled with awe and fervor.

Yun Qianyue knelt on both knees, her nine fox tails tucked neatly behind her, her peach-blossom eyes full of curiosity.

Yan Lingji stood with her arms crossed, her crimson cheongsam fluttering in the wind, her eyes complex.

Su Xuner knelt with her sword in her arms, her hair hanging down, silent and respectful. Su Qiyue squatted to the side, tilting her head to look at Ling Yuling, with a fairy melon still dangling from her mouth.

Ling Yuling's ice-blue eyes scanned these faces one by one.

She paused for two breaths.

She turned her head and looked at Lu Chen beside her.

"Little Lu Chen."

"Hmm?"

"You have taken in good Disciples."

Ling Yuling's tone was indifferent, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward.

"They have the style of your Revered Master back in the day."

She paused, a hint of scrutiny flashing in her ice-blue eyes.

"It's just that—"

"Why are they all female?"

Lu Chen's smile froze.

Leng Qingqiu was the first to react, placing her hands on the ground and touching her forehead to the floor, her voice cold and firm.

"Disciple Leng Qingqiu pays respects to Grandmaster!"

Yun Qianyue followed closely, her nine fox tails spreading out behind her as she prostrated herself.

"Disciple Yun Qianyue pays respects to Grandmaster!"

Yan Lingji hesitated for a breath, then knelt on one knee.

"Yan Lingji pays respects to Grandmaster."

Su Xuner and Su Qiyue spoke in unison.

Ling Yuling looked at the female Disciples kneeling all over the ground, then looked at Lu Chen.

In her ice-blue eyes, that hint of scrutiny turned into an obvious examination.

Lu Chen gave a dry laugh.

"Revered Master, this is a long story..."

Ling Yuling withdrew her gaze without pressing further.

She raised her hand, the Cold Moon Glazed Mirror flew back into her palm, and the imperial light was restrained.

She turned and walked in the direction of the palace she used to live in.

After walking three steps, she stopped.

"Before you go to the Central Plains, you should come to my room and keep me company for a while."