269: Su Jiuning's Awakening

Watching Wan Feiyan die, Chu Yu stood rooted to the spot, observing with cold eyes, neither stopping it nor showing any emotional fluctuation.

He turned and walked quickly to Yu Ji, personally untying her ropes, his voice uncharacteristically gentle: "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Yu Ji replied softly.

If it were before, she would have surely thrown herself into Chu Yu's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

But this time—

After breaking free, her first reaction was to suddenly look up, her gaze eagerly fixed on Lu Chen, her eyes instantly bursting with unconcealed excitement and joy!

"Brother Lu!!!" Her voice trembled, almost choked with emotion, "Ten years unseen... you... you're still the same as you were ten years ago... Don't you remember me? I'm Yu Miaoge! We've met!"

Lu Chen merely nodded faintly: "I have some impression."

Seeing that he didn't even glance at her properly, Yu Ji's heart immediately ached with bitterness.

She didn't know that, as she excitedly called out, Chu Yu's heart had been sharply pricked as if by an invisible needle.

He looked at Yu Ji's astonishingly bright eyes, at the long-unseen excitement on her face—

But this excitement was not because of him.

For Chu Yu, known as the "Hegemon" and commanding all under Heaven, this was an unspoken humiliation.

His woman, in front of him, was acting like a lovesick fool for another man!

That man was also younger and stronger than him!

Lu Chen then turned around, saying no more: "I'll leave this to you, Chu Yu. I'm returning to Lu Family Village."

He turned gracefully and left, stepping into the Void Realm.

Ying Bu's face was gloomy, and he finally couldn't help but roar: "My Lord! What does this Lu Chen mean?! Does he have no regard for you?! Don't forget, who bestowed the fief of Lu Family Village? Who allocates grain and silver annually to support the entire village? Is it Lu Chen?! If not for My Lord's protection, Lu Family Village would have long been trampled flat by Yao Beasts!"

"Enough!" Chu Yu sternly cut him off, his gaze like a blade, "Shut up! Without Lu Chen, we would all be annihilated today! Ten years ago, I said—enlist him as the Imperial Advisor, and no lord-vassal etiquette is required! If any of you dare to be disrespectful again... you will be dealt with by military law!"

Ying Bu gritted his teeth and retreated, still looking utterly unconvinced.

Chu Yu stood rooted to the spot, looking in the direction Lu Chen had departed, silent for a long time.

His heart was in turmoil.

Ten years ago, he thought he would one day make Lu Chen truly submit, but ten years later, the gap between them had only widened.

Even his proud Hegemon Body was nothing but a joke in front of the other party.

What made him even more uncomfortable was—

The shining eyes Yu Ji had when she looked at Lu Chen.

That was a light he had never seen in her eyes before.

Chu Yu clenched his fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

He was no longer a youth; he shouldn't be so emotional! But his heart was still filled with unconcealed jealousy.

It's alright, Chu Yu comforted himself!!

Once he overthrows the Tianwu Dynasty and becomes an Emperor, Lu Chen will eventually submit to him!!

...Lately, Lin Fei always felt that something was off.

For the past few years, every morning, just as the Morning Light began to break and he was still half-asleep, Su Jiuning would gently wake him, her clear, watery eyes staring directly at him, her voice gentle but with a hint of undetectable tension:

"Lin Fei, did you sleep well last night? Did you remember anything?"

At first, he thought she was just concerned for him; after all, they had been childhood sweethearts, husband and wife, together for thirty years, their love as deep as the sea.

But as the times increased, Lin Fei noticed the anomaly—

She asked too frequently, too earnestly, as if confirming something crucial.

Even stranger, Su Jiuning, who had always been uninterested in Cultivation, suddenly began to Cultivate frantically five years ago, rising before dawn every day to meditate, drawing Qi into her body every night, leaving even him, who had practiced martial arts since childhood, far behind!

It wasn't until the day she successfully completed Foundation Establishment that Lin Fei truly realized—

She had changed.

What Su Jiuning was Cultivating was that mysterious "Universal Cultivation Method"—a Cultivation Technique said to allow ordinary people to step onto the path of Immortality.

Her Cultivation speed was nothing short of a Prodigy!

In just five short years, starting from scratch, she advanced by leaps and bounds, successfully breaking into the Foundation Establishment Stage last night as the Lightning Tribulation descended!

Even more astonishing was that when she successfully completed Undergoing Tribulation and the phenomena of heaven and earth appeared, a phantom of a divine eagle with wings spanning a thousand feet emerged in the Void Realm!

That was not one of the twelve zodiac signs Spirit Beasts, but the ancient mythical beast, the Thunder-Plumed Azure Eagle!

At that moment, Su Jiuning's eyes snapped open, a golden light flashed, as if some sealed memory had burst open!

She remembered.

She did not belong to this world.

She was a Transmigrator, from Earth.

She had descended upon this world, bearing a top-secret mission—

Find Lin Fei, and immediately execute him!

Because Lin Fei knew the secret of the "Heavenly Dao"!

But... Su Jiuning and Lin Fei were childhood sweethearts, husband and wife, companions who had spent thirty springs and autumns together.

They had watched the spring breeze caress the willows together, endured the harsh winter snows together, planted that peach tree in their small courtyard together, and vowed to "live in the same quilt, die in the same grave."

She... couldn't bring herself to do it.

What gave her a glimmer of hope was—

Lin Fei didn't seem to have fully Awakened yet.

As long as he hadn't completely remembered, they could still be happy for another day.

So, every morning, she would softly ask that question:

"Lin Fei, have you remembered anything?"

If he shook his head, she could breathe a sigh of relief, a gentle smile gracing her lips, and continue to play the role of the virtuous wife, cooking porridge for him, tidying his robes, accompanying him in sword practice, and watching the sunset.

One more day lived was one more day.

One more glimpse of his smile was a cherished indulgence.

But she knew in her heart—

One day, he would fully Awaken.

One day, she would personally end this relationship.

At that time, would the mission take precedence, or would love be more important?

She didn't know.

She only hoped that day would come a little later, a little later... Today was another new day.

The Morning Light was faint, and a thin mist, like gauze, enveloped the Lin family's small courtyard.

Su Jiuning gently opened her eyes, turning her head to look at Lin Fei, who was still sound asleep beside her, her fingertips trembling slightly.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the complex emotions surging in her heart, and like countless previous mornings, reached out and pushed his shoulder, her voice gentle but with a hint of undetectable tension: "Lin Fei, today... have you remembered anything?"

Lin Fei's body suddenly stiffened, unlike his usual lazy response. He abruptly opened his eyes, pupils slightly constricted, his gaze like lightning shooting directly at Su Jiuning!

He didn't answer immediately, but instead stared intently at her for a full minute—from her slightly furrowed brow, to the small mole on her earlobe, and then to the faint calluses on her fingertips left by Cultivation.

As if confirming a long-lost truth.

Finally, he slowly spoke, his voice actually a little stammering:

"No... I haven't remembered anything. It's raining outside today, the weather isn't good. You should sleep a bit longer, I'll get up and make you breakfast."

Having said that, he quickly threw off the covers, stepped barefoot onto the cold floor, and practically rushed out of the room.