Fu Lingchuan’s forehead was covered in beads of cold sweat as he leaned against a tree, exhaustion showing in his face. The Merfolk King’s skin color differed from humans, so others could only see the relief of having survived a calamity on his face. As for the Crab Spirit, it collapsed directly onto the soul-nurturing wood, unable to utter a word for a long time.

All had thought there was no escape from disaster, yet at the critical moment, they had somehow managed to reclaim their lives.

The three powerful beings looked at each other for a long while, all feeling their hearts pounding, unable to calm down until Feng Miaojun put down the treasure seal.

“Clang,” the clear, pleasant sound of jade striking stone finally awakened the other three from their thoughts.

Fu Lingchuan stared at her, enunciating each word: “Who exactly are you!” When the seal had been stamped and the prayer took effect, his gaze had been fixed on the line of small characters at the end of the scroll.

He would swear in his own eyes that the name “Princess Changle” was written there!

“Didn’t you see clearly?” Feng Miaojun looked at him with a slight smile. “Fu Gongzi has borrowed my name for many years, and now you can’t recognize the rightful owner?”

Her words were plain enough that even the Merfolk King and Crab Spirit, who didn’t know the inside story, could hear the sarcasm in her tone. Fu Lingchuan’s handsome face turned from white to red, then from red to white again, his voice still full of disbelief: “Changle?”

“The genuine article.” She took out a handkerchief to bandage her palm. “I’m curious, if this impostor princess hadn’t died, how would she have signed the Heavenly Book? If she dared to write the title of ‘Princess Changle,’ heaven probably wouldn’t recognize it, would it?”

The cut from the awl was deep. In the urgency of the moment, she hadn’t felt anything unusual, but now it was truly painful, throbbing constantly—it was killing her! This proved that self-harm was truly something one shouldn’t do.

Fu Lingchuan fell silent.

But Feng Miaojun also understood that the fake princess would likely not have written the name Princess Changle, but would have signed her real name on the Heavenly Book since only heaven could see it anyway.

This was a straightforward usurpation, seizing the orthodox legitimacy and the New Xia Kingdom from Princess Changle’s hands, while still appearing perfectly justified.

From this line of thought, Feng Miaojun realized that if she had revealed her identity before the heaven-offering ritual, Fu Lingchuan would likely have tried every means to silence her permanently.

After all, what he truly needed was only the “An Xia royal bloodline,” not Princess Changle herself.

But now was not the time to dwell on this. She wiggled her fingers, keeping her face lightly smiling: “I saved your lives, no need to thank me.” With that, she turned in another direction and began to walk away.

“Please wait!” Fu Lingchuan immediately blocked her path. “The heaven-offering ritual is not yet complete. ‘Spiral Float’ must undergo sixteen trials of heavenly lightning!”

“What does that have to do with me?” She widened her eyes, though, in her heart, she knew it had everything to do with her. At this moment, the merchant ship carrying the Feng household had not sailed far. If the heavenly lightning struck, everyone would be reduced to dust.

But Fu Lingchuan didn’t know this.

He could only calculate how to detain this cousin who had appeared out of nowhere, this genuine Princess Changle: “After passing the trials, you will be the Queen of New Xia, and should return with me to bring this joyous news back to New Xia!”

Feng Miaojun returned a chuckle: “Not interested.”

This time she spoke the truth. She truly had no desire to be a puppet queen.

Better to manage her family’s Feng Merchant House, unrestrained.

Fu Lingchuan’s face shifted slightly, and in a flash, he stood before her, reaching for her slender wrist while saying: “Let’s talk.”

Feng Miaojun’s smile had not yet faded. With a flip of her wrist, she pressed a cold gleam upward toward the artery in his arm. Her speed and angle were perfect, and there was no killing intent as if she had been waiting for him to deliver himself to her doorstep.

Fu Lingchuan was slightly startled. With a sidestep, he avoided her attack, but though he wasn’t stabbed, his arm was cut by the energy blade that suddenly grew from the tip of the Star Sky Awl. He changed tactics, using his right hand to grab her shoulder, but was overtaken by a strange wave of fatigue:

His body seemed to have inexplicably doubled in weight, and weakness seeped from his bones as if he had just run at full speed for a hundred li. Even in his fierce battle with the Merfolk King earlier, he hadn’t felt this way.

A curse!

Her attack carried a curse.

Though Fu Lingchuan didn’t understand the “bone-tapping marrow-sucking” property of the Star Sky Awl—didn’t know that after wounding an enemy, it could continuously transfer the opponent’s life force to Feng Miaojun—he realized she was not as weak as the impostor Princess Changle.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch her shoulder, a small snake, as thin as a little finger, suddenly emerged from the back of her neck. It shot straight toward his palm, its colorful scales indicating extreme toxicity. As it came closer, it opened its mouth to reveal thin, curved fangs.

Fu Lingchuan instinctively withdrew his hand, but then his vision blurred. The small snake vanished, and Feng Miaojun closed in, throwing a punch toward his shoulder.

Her movement wasn’t fast, and Fu Lingchuan still had time to block with his palm.

A young woman’s fist, white and delicate, didn’t appear to carry much destructive power. But as soon as Fu Lingchuan made contact with her, a vast, immense force came crashing down like a tidal wave, instantly sending him flying three zhang away!

Before Fu Lingchuan could straighten up, a shadow flashed before his eyes—she had already appeared before him again, the wind from her fist rushing toward his face!

This time, Fu Lingchuan had no desire to block. With effort, he dodged to the side, and her punch struck the mountain wall heavily.

Everyone present heard a depressing, muffled sound.

It was not her knuckles cracking, but the stone wall trembling under her force. In less than ten breaths, this nearly ten-zhang-high solid rock was covered with cracks, then collapsed into countless fragments before everyone’s eyes, crashing down and stirring up a cloud of dust.

Each fragment was smaller than her fist.

This strike was straightforward and domineering—a naked display of martial prowess.

Amidst this spectacular scene, she had already flashed away to stand at a distance, looking at the three of them.

The others were dumbfounded, with Fu Lingchuan having the most direct experience.

The same force had invaded his meridians, and beyond its ferocious and domineering nature, it also carried a poisonous quality. One moment it burned like fire, the next it was cold as ice, invading his extraordinary meridians and eight vessels, causing all the blood vessels in his body to rapidly expand and contract in the torment of both ice and fire.

The feeling was beyond description.

One second, Fu Lingchuan’s brow was covered in ice crystals; the next, his mouth seemed ready to spew fire. His handsome face turned from white to red, then from red to white again. Though his throat tasted of blood, he ultimately didn’t cough any up.

His gaze was full of terror.

This delicate young woman was a ferocious beast in human form. Even though he and the Merfolk King had fought fiercely and sustained injuries, even though he had been somewhat complacent when facing Feng Miaojun, her power still shocked him.

Unlike demonic beasts, humans were not naturally strong in physical power. To demonstrate such solid, real strength could not be faked—one’s cultivation level determined how much force one could generate.

Moreover, all three present—the two people and the Crab Spirit—could see that she didn’t want to take his life. Her first strike had been restrained, while the second strike on the mountain wall revealed her true power, serving as a warning.

A warning not to entertain foolish delusions.

By all accounts, the depth of her cultivation and the dominance of her power were truly astounding.