Chapter 30: Chance Encounter

Upon her return, Zi Ruoyan didn't rush straight into the Imperial City. Instead, she hurriedly patrolled the airspace around the Imperial City first.

No abnormalities!

It wasn't until she arrived near Qingyan Mountain, on the western side of the city, that Zi Ruoyan's entire body stiffened mid-air.

"General Zhong, if I remember correctly..." Zi Ruoyan hovered in mid-air, pondering for a moment as she gestured with her hand. "There should be two mountains here, right?"

"Blocking the road from Qingyan Town to the Imperial City—accurately speaking, three mountains, Your Majesty," Zhong Lishuang, also hovering in mid-air, replied with a shocked expression.

Qingyan Town was under her subordinate Liu Yan's hometown, and the events that happened there had left a deep impression on both sovereign and subject.

Qingyan Wine was quite famous even in the Imperial City.

But how, after just this short time away...

Where were the mountains?

"A terrifying force. If I saw it right, someone used a certain attack to forcibly destroy these three mountains," Zi Ruoyan paused her tone before continuing, "in just one strike."

"One strike?" Zhong Lishuang's eyes widened in disbelief.

As a seventh-tier Awakening Realm expert, she could collapse these mountains with her heavy hammer, but it would take at least a full day of continuous attacks.

But one strike to destroy three mountains?

Inconceivable.

The more Zi Ruoyan looked, the graver her mood became: "The one who struck has unfathomable strength."

"No piled-up earth nearby, but the distant mountains are covered in a layer of dust and ash. It must have been one strike that pulverized the three mountains into dust mist that scattered away."

"Qingyan Mountain's continuous forest range already had issues—dense Spiritual Qi, with bodies far more solid than ordinary mountains."

"One strike..."

Zi Ruoyan's hands involuntarily clenched tight, feeling immense pressure.

Such a powerhouse appearing within Great Yan Dynasty's borders was no good news.

"Your Majesty, you're already at ninth-tier Saint Entry Realm. How do you compare to this person—who's stronger?" Zhong Lishuang looked at Zi Ruoyan and asked curiously.

Zi Ruoyan let out a light breath, revealing a wry smile: "General Zhong, you think too highly of me."

"Your Majesty, you've broken through, yet you're still no match for this person?" Zhong Lishuang was utterly shocked by Zi Ruoyan's words.

Ninth-tier Saint Entry Realm should allow her to rampage through the Southern Wildlands.

Even the Hall Master of Black Soul Hall was said to be only at Her Majesty's level.

"No," Zi Ruoyan said, her face showing a bitter smile. "General Zhong, I can't even gauge this person's strength—how could I possibly be his opponent?"

Zhong Lishuang continued staring at the empty plot of land, where people were still bustling about, constructing the official road to the Imperial City.

"Your Majesty, could the one who struck be a tenth-tier Saint Realm expert?"

Zi Ruoyan shook her head, her expression extremely grave: "The most terrifying part is right here. If it were a Saint Realm expert, I could tell."

Zhong Lishuang fell silent; she understood now.

She could discern traces left by a Saint Realm expert, but not these.

A powerhouse beyond Saint Realm, from the legendary realms?

Such a figure had actually appeared in Great Yan Dynasty.

The dark clouds looming over Great Yan Dynasty seemed even thicker than before.

"We'll know how it happened once we ask," Zi Ruoyan said after a moment, descending from mid-air with Zhong Lishuang toward Qingyan Town.

But before heading there, Zi Ruoyan used Spiritual Qi to form a layer of frost enveloping the surroundings, allowing her and Zhong Lishuang to change into ordinary clothes inside.

Soon after, dressed in common robes, Zi Ruoyan and Zhong Lishuang headed to Qingyan Town.

Traveling in plain clothes sometimes revealed more truth.

Upon arriving in Qingyan Town, it didn't take Zi Ruoyan and Zhong Lishuang much effort to learn the whole story.

The disappearance of the three great mountains outside the town entrance was a hot topic among every commoner in Qingyan Town.

The townsfolk didn't find Zi Ruoyan and Zhong Lishuang's curiosity strange at all.

The vanishing mountains had already drawn many people to inquire.

Before long, as Zi Ruoyan and Zhong Lishuang walked through Qingyan Town, both wore extremely odd expressions.

"To think... something like this happened," Zhong Lishuang finally spoke up, unable to hold back. "Your Majes—sister, this is too unbelievable."

"No matter what, this mysterious powerhouse did us a favor," Zi Ruoyan said, her expression equally strange.

The Northern Frontier incident stemmed from Black Soul Hall's schemes.

She had broken through and rushed back precisely to stop Black Soul Hall's Poison Swamp Elder.

But who could have imagined that as soon as the Poison Swamp Elder made his move on Qingyan Town, he was utterly annihilated by this terrifying unknown powerhouse—with one punch that also demolished the three mountains!

Zi Ruoyan and Zhong Lishuang had no doubts about the townsfolk's words; according to them, it all came straight from eyewitness Liu Yan.

As the townsfolk described, Liu Yan had come to pay respects to her late husband when she ran into Black Soul Hall members activating a formation array. She resisted desperately.

In the end, a passing powerhouse saved her and even erased Black Soul Hall's Poison Swamp Elder.

"Liu Yan... I never imagined she'd get caught up in something like this," Zhong Lishuang said, her tone much more relaxed as she glanced at Zi Ruoyan. "This way, we can get details straight from her."

"But Your Majes—sister, it seems Liu Yan really doesn't like that Xiao Tian. She even abandoned her post to come pay respects to her husband."

"But that's perfect—her abandoning her post actually brought us some very valuable intel."

Zhong Lishuang's chatter made Zi Ruoyan shake her head lightly: "You think I don't know what you're scheming?"

"You're just worried I'll blame her for abandoning her post without protecting the Prince, right? Coming to Qingyan Town instead?"

"Rest assured, I won't fault her over something so minor. If she truly dislikes it, we can just reassign her."

Hearing Zi Ruoyan's agreement, Zhong Lishuang's face broke into a smile.

But right then, the two suddenly heard a familiar voice.

Looking carefully ahead, they spotted none other than the Liu Yan they'd just been talking about.

"Your Highness, let me handle this. How can I let you carry it yourself?" Liu Yan, dressed in casual women's attire, tried to snatch the wine jar from Xiao Tian's hands.

"Hey, are you done? I said wine tastes better when I carry it myself," Xiao Tian refused stubbornly despite Liu Yan's persistence, twisting left and right to dodge her.

"But as your guard, how can I let you do this kind of thing?"

"Commander Liu, has anyone ever told you that sometimes you're ridiculously stubborn?"

But Liu Yan remained insistent on fawning over him.

Soon, both froze stiff.

Because they saw Zi Ruoyan and Zhong Lishuang staring at them in surprise from across the way.

"Your Highness, I told you I could grab those Qingyan Mountain glutinous rice balls!" Zhong Ling, in a fiery red skirt, cheerfully ran over from the side, entering everyone's view.

She came before Xiao Tian, grinning as she held up her paper package like a treasure for him to see.

But Zhong Ling noticed Xiao Tian ignoring her for a long time, silently staring ahead with a shocked look.

Sensing something amiss, Zhong Ling slowly turned her head and saw two familiar figures standing at the other end of the town's青砖 road.

Zi Ruoyan silently stared at Xiao Tian, expressionless.

But beside her, Zhong Lishuang roared in fury: "Zhong Ling, looks like I haven't beaten your ass in a few days and it's gotten itchy, huh?"