39: Do you believe me now?

Willing! From! The! Bottom! Of! My! Heart!

These four words exploded in the minds of everyone present like ten thousand volcanoes erupting simultaneously!

The entire banquet hall, along with the peak of Purple Cloud Mountain outside, fell into a deathly, eerie silence at that moment.

Everyone's faces remained frozen in expressions of stupefaction, numbness, and shattered worldviews.

Not under control?

She did it voluntarily?

A genuine Nascent Soul True Monarch, willingly acknowledging a man at the Foundation Establishment Stage as her master, and even calling herself a maidservant?!

This...

This is ten thousand times more outrageous than 'the protagonist is a Devil Head'!

"No! Impossible!"

The first to shriek was Sect Master Yun Yun!

For the first time, all composure vanished from her dignified and elegant face, replaced by a near-undignified look of ferocity!

"Absolutely impossible!"

She glared fiercely at the Grand Elder, shouting sharply, "Elder Li! Are your old eyes failing you?! Or is there something wrong with your [Heart-Questioning Treasure Mirror]?!"

"Sect Master... this old one..." The Grand Elder addressed as Elder Li also wore a bitter expression, unsure how to explain this scene that overturned centuries of her understanding.

"Hmph! Useless!"

Yun Yun snorted coldly, utterly refusing to believe this result!

In her view, Lin Chen must have used some more Advanced, demonic secret technique that even the [Heart-Questioning Treasure Mirror] could not detect!

"Go! Summon Elder Zhang and Elder Wang for me!"

She issued the command to the attendant beside her.

"And bring the [Three Lifetimes Reincarnation Mirror] from the Sect's Forbidden Ground for me as well!"

The [Three Lifetimes Reincarnation Mirror] was one of the Purple Cloud Holy Land's treasures guarding the Sect, a genuine Dao Artifact! It was said to be able to illuminate a person's past and present lives, shattering all false illusions in the world!

Soon, two other Grand Elders, whose auras were equally profound and boundless like the sea, arrived at the scene carrying an ancient stone mirror.

"Two Senior Sisters," Yun Yun's face was so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it, "I must trouble you both to examine Junior Sister Bingli once more! I refuse to believe there truly exists such an absurd thing in this world!"

The two newly arrived Grand Elders also wore expressions of gravity and disbelief.

They jointly activated the [Three Lifetimes Reincarnation Mirror]. A ray of vicissitudinous mirror light, imbued with the power of Reincarnation, instantly enveloped Luo Bingli!

Everyone held their breath once more, their hearts leaping into their throats!

This time, under the illumination of the Sect-guarding Dao Artifact, that Devil Head should have nowhere to hide, right?!

However.

The result, once again, plunged everyone into an even deeper level of... petrification!

Within the mirror light, Luo Bingli's past was clearly visible.

Her Divine Soul was pure and flawless, without the slightest trace of Devilish Qi corruption!

Her will was firm and unwavering, stemming entirely from her own judgment, without any manipulation by external forces!

"Well?!" Yun Yun's voice carried a tremor she herself hadn't even noticed.

The two Grand Elders exchanged a glance, both seeing profound shock and bewilderment in the other's eyes.

In the end, they could only shake their heads with difficulty towards Yun Yun.

"Reporting to the Sect Master..."

"The result... is exactly as Junior Sister Li stated."

"Disciple-niece Luo... is indeed... lucid and acting of her own volition."

BOOM——!!!

If the first conclusion was shocking.

Then this second conclusion, personally verified by the Sect-guarding Dao Artifact, was... the complete collapse of their worldview!

"No... this... how can this be?"

"Really... it's true? She's not being controlled?"

"A Nascent Soul True Monarch... truly... willingly serves a man as a maidservant?!"

The female Disciples who had been clamoring about "Lin Chen is a Devil Head" moments ago now felt as if their brains had been smashed to pieces by an invisible sledgehammer!

The 'female venerable, male inferior' worldview they relied on for survival was utterly shattered at this moment by the absurd yet real scene before them!

Sect Master Yun Yun trembled violently. She staggered back two steps, a look of... confusion and fear appearing on her beautiful face for the first time.

The wisdom, schemes, and strength she took such pride in...

Seemed so laughable and feeble in the face of this 'monster' before her, who defied all logic and explanation!

And just as the entire hall fell into dead silence, with everyone's souls flying away and spirits scattering from the shocking truth...

That youth who had remained calm and composed from start to finish, as if watching a farce.

He slowly picked up that long-cold cup of tea.

Then, he revealed a brilliant yet harmless smile towards the queen on the main seat who had completely lost her composure.

"Sect Master, do you believe me now?"

Lin Chen's offhand remark fell like a final, heavy hammer upon Sect Master Yun Yun's already teetering pride!

Believe?

How could she possibly believe?!

She would sooner believe the sun would rise from the west tomorrow than believe a Nascent Soul True Monarch would willingly submit to a man at the Foundation Establishment Stage!

There must be something fishy going on here!

There must be some more Advanced, more bizarre secret technique that even the Dao Artifact [Three Lifetimes Reincarnation Mirror] couldn't detect!

Thoughts spun wildly in Yun Yun's heart, murderous intent and greed intertwining and rising!

The secrets on this man's body were far greater than she had imagined!

She had to obtain them!

However...

On the surface, she no longer had any justification to take action against Lin Chen.

Three consecutive examinations had thoroughly blocked all her excuses.

If she persisted obstinately, she would be openly defying the rules she herself had set before the entire Sect, and her authority would vanish completely!

Thinking of this, Yun Yun's pretty face, twisted by shock and anger, gradually regained its calm.

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing all the turmoil in her heart. On her face, she even managed to squeeze out a 'smile' that was uglier than crying.

"Good... very good!"

She looked at Lin Chen and slowly began to clap.

The sound of applause was exceptionally abrupt and grating in the deathly silent hall.

"It seems... I have been narrow-minded and ignorant."

"Saint Lin, you truly are a man bearing great Luck, beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals like us."

She chose to 'compromise'.

Chose to acknowledge this absurd fact... on the surface.

"Since it was all a misunderstanding," she waved her hand, signaling for everyone to withdraw the now utterly pointless [Purple Sky Locking Array], "then let this matter be dropped."

"Today is the victory banquet for the Saint. Everyone, please continue."