21: Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda.

"What? You... you have a wife?" Qin Hongmian's face instantly turned pale.

She hadn't expected Duan Long to be married, given how young he was.

But then again, thinking about it, it was normal. At his age, and judging by his attire which indicated he was no ordinary Young Master from a common family, it made sense that he was married.

"That's right, I am married. Furthermore, I already have a concubine."

"Therefore, I am not a suitable match for you, Miss Qin," Duan Zhengchun explained.

"You... you... how can you say such a thing?"

"You took my most precious thing, and now you say this? How am I supposed to face others from now on? How can I ever marry?" Qin Hongmian said emotionally.

"I... I had no choice. I couldn't just watch you succumb to the poison and die."

"Moreover, I say this because I don't want to wrong you," Duan Zhengchun explained.

"If this is how it is, you might as well not have saved me. Letting me die from the poison would have been better," Qin Hongmian said sorrowfully.

"Miss Qin, you mustn't say such things. Even an ant clings to life."

"Saving a life surpasses building a seven-story pagoda. How could I possibly stand idly by when I encountered such a situation?" Duan Zhengchun declared righteously.

"But what am I to do now?" Tears of sorrow streamed from Qin Hongmian's eyes.

"Well... if you don't mind, how about becoming my concubine?"

"Don't worry, I will treat everyone equally," Duan Zhengchun said.

"You... you want me, Qin Hongmian, to be your concubine?" Qin Hongmian looked at Duan Zhengchun with an expression of utter disbelief.

"This... I can't divorce my wife just to marry you. What kind of person would that make me?" Duan Zhengchun said.

"Leave..." Qin Hongmian's face suddenly turned icy cold.

"Uh, what do you mean?" Duan Zhengchun was taken aback, looking at her.

"I said leave. I don't need you to take responsibility. Go. I won't cling to you," Qin Hongmian said coldly.

"Well... Miss Qin, are you really alright?" Duan Zhengchun asked cautiously.

"Go... if you don't leave right now, I'll kill myself in front of you!" Qin Hongmian said angrily.

"Don't! I'll go, I'll go, alright?"

"However, please take this dà huán dān. Consider it compensation for what just happened," Duan Zhengchun said, taking out a dà huán dān and handing it to Qin Hongmian.

Qin Hongmian seemed not to hear him. She simply didn't believe that what Duan Zhengchun was giving her was a genuine dà huán dān.

The dà huán dān had a very famous reputation in the Jianghu.

It was a secret, non-circulating medicine of the Shaolin Temple, priceless and impossible to obtain. How could it be given away so casually?

Even though such an event had occurred between them, it was impossible for him to give her a real dà huán dān.

"You must keep this safe. This dà huán dān can save your life at a critical moment," Duan Zhengchun said.

Qin Hongmian showed no reaction. Seeing this, Duan Zhengchun felt helpless.

Only after Duan Zhengchun had left did Qin Hongmian finally snap out of her daze.

Looking at the jade bottle in her hand, a bitter smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"I never imagined that after wandering the Jianghu for so many years, I, Qin Hongmian, would encounter something like this."

"I never thought that one day I would suffer such a fate."

"dà huán dān? If it were truly a dà huán dān, would you give it away so easily?" Qin Hongmian gave a self-mocking laugh.

She raised her hand to throw it away, but the motion stopped midway.

Duan Zhengchun's figure appeared before her eyes, and as if guided by a ghost, she withdrew her hand.

Regardless, he was her first man. This could serve as a keepsake.

Reaching the main road, a smile appeared on Duan Zhengchun's lips.

"System, claim the reward."

"Congratulations, Host, for obtaining: Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, Nine Yang Divine Art, and a bottle of marrow cleansing pills."

"Would you like to learn the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms and the Nine Yang Divine Art?"

"Learn."

Duan Zhengchun took a deep breath and said.

In an instant, Duan Zhengchun felt an extremely Yang and fierce Internal Energy surge within his body, quickly spreading to his limbs and bones.

As this Internal Energy emerged, Duan Zhengchun's strength began to skyrocket.

He quickly broke through from the Xiantian Realm to the Xiantian Middle Stage, and his aura continued to strengthen.

It only gradually slowed down when his strength reached the Peak of the Xiantian Late Stage.

Originally, Duan Zhengchun wanted to break through to the Grandmaster Realm in one go. Unfortunately, when this power tried to break through further, it seemed to hit a barrier. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through.

Duan Zhengchun knew he had encountered a Bottleneck, caused by his strength increasing too rapidly.

Now he needed to carefully temper and stabilize his Realm.

With a thought, an information panel appeared before his eyes.

Host: Duan Zhengchun.

Age: Twenty.

Strength: Peak of the Xiantian Late Stage.

Special Physique: Strongest Sacred Body, Good Luck Comes.

Cultivation Techniques: One Yang Finger (Perfection), Five Luo Light Smoke Palm (Proficient), Duan Family Swordplay (Proficient), Six Meridian Divine Sword (Perfection), Treading Snow Without a Trace (Perfection).

Northern Darkness Divine Art (Perfection), Wading in Rippling Waters Technique (Perfection), Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms (Perfection), Nine Yang Divine Art (Perfection).

Medicinal Pills: One qi condensing pill, healing pills that can restore injuries within a short time.

One bottle of dà huán dān, one bottle of marrow cleansing pills.

Duan Zhengchun was quite satisfied with his current Realm.

It was getting late; he still needed to hurry to Ruyang Princes Manor.

Immediately, Duan Zhengchun began heading towards Dadu.

Not long after Duan Zhengchun left, a figure appeared at the spot where he had just broken through.

The newcomer stared blankly in the direction Duan Zhengchun had departed.

With a soft sigh, she put on a black veil, covering her beautiful and ethereal face.

"Duan Lang, rest assured, you are my, Qin Hongmian's, first man, and you will be my last."

"From now on, only you shall see my face," Qin Hongmian murmured to herself.

Duan Zhengchun traveled all the way to Dadu. The location of Ruyang Princes Manor was easy to find.

He soon arrived at Ruyang Princes Manor.

"Halt! This is the Prince's Manor, a restricted area. Unauthorized personnel, leave immediately!" a guard said coldly.

"Inform your Princess that Duan Long has arrived," Duan Zhengchun said coldly.

"Hmph! Who do you think you are? Do you think you can just see our Princess whenever you want? Get lost now, or we won't be polite!" the guard said coldly.

"A lowly cur with eyes that judge by appearances. For Min Min's sake, I won't stoop to your level."

"You may not know me, but you should recognize this, shouldn't you?"

After speaking, Duan Zhengchun took out the jade pendant Zhao Min had given him.

Seeing the jade pendant in Duan Zhengchun's hand, the guard's expression immediately changed. He bowed, took the pendant, and examined it carefully.

Upon discovering it was indeed their Princess's jade pendant, he was so frightened he dropped to one knee.

"Young Master Duan, please forgive this humble one's ignorance. I will go notify the Princess immediately," the guard said nervously.

"Hurry up. If you delay important matters, you cannot bear the consequences," Duan Zhengchun said coldly.

With his strength, he could have entered directly; this guard couldn't have stopped him.

However, this was his first visit after all.

Forcing his way in like that would reflect poorly on Zhao Min, and his future father-in-law's impression of him would also be bad.

At this moment, Zhao Min was speaking with her father and elder brother. Her silent departure from home during this period had worried Prince Ruyang immensely.