Chapter 1078: Heartache

Zu'an paused, "Paper Bride?"

Although he had been in this world for a considerable time, he was still unfamiliar with many of its strange people and unusual events.

Seeing that her opponent had no immediate intention of attacking, Yu Yanluo explained, "'Paper Bride' is a notorious villain from the evil faction. Legend has it that on the fifteenth of every month, she marries a man and drains his yang energy. Several top masters from righteous sects pursued her, intending to eliminate her for the good of the people. They killed her multiple times, yet shortly after, news would spread of her reappearing and harming men again."

"Initially, everyone thought someone was impersonating her, but later investigations confirmed it was indeed her. This led to the spread of rumors that she was unkillable, and people grew increasingly afraid of her."

"It was only later discovered that her unique cultivation technique was incredibly strange; she could conjure soldiers from paper. Each time she was 'killed,' it was merely one of her paper effigies, which is why the legend of her invincibility spread."

"However, she disappeared years ago. I never expected her to become a subordinate of the Peacock Royal Clan."

"You must be extremely careful. Due to her bizarre cultivation method, it's said she possesses combat strength comparable to a Grandmaster."

Although Yu Yanluo spoke quickly, her voice was crisp, delicate, and articulate, making it an unexpectedly pleasant sound to hear.

The Paper Bride giggled, "This beautiful sister truly knows a lot about me. Oh, if only I were as gorgeous as you, I wouldn't have to go to all this trouble finding men to marry. I'd have countless men lining up to marry me every day."

Her tone was full of envy, yet also tinged with self-pity.

While not a great beauty, she was still pretty. However, her strange attire gave her an eerie, ghostly appearance.

Yu Yanluo snorted, clearly displeased with being compared to her.

Just then, the Azure Wolf King roared impatiently and lunged at the two of them.

Yu Yanluo attempted to trap the ferocious beast in her *Thousand Li Mountains and Seas Scroll*, but several paper-cut flowers fluttered, shielding the Azure Wolf King and taking its place in the painting.

Seeing that her painting world was being countered by the Paper Bride's technique, Zu'an quickly pulled her behind him and blocked the Azure Wolf King.

The force of the Azure Wolf King's pounce was so great that even Zu'an, with his current cultivation, was rocked.

It was even slightly stronger than the Azure Moon Dragon he encountered in the Crown Prince's Trial Dimension.

Where did these demon races find so many masters?

At that moment, the Night Elf moved, reappearing from the shadows. He ignored Zu'an and attacked Yu Yanluo instead.

Clearly, he held a grudge for almost being trapped in Yu Yanluo's painting earlier and sought to redeem himself.

Since the Paper Bride was casting spells nearby, Yu Yanluo decided not to use her painting world. Instead, she took out a delicate brush and began to duel her opponent.

Zu'an looked at her worriedly, but saw her effortlessly wielding the brush, instantly drawing marvelous patterns that blocked the Night Elf's sharp attacks.

Moreover, she would occasionally sketch things in the air, which would then immediately materialize to aid her in combat.

Dressed in white like snow, with her long hair flowing, her movements—even when dodging and maneuvering—were exceptionally graceful. Especially with each stroke of her brush, she was elegant and composed, truly appearing like a lady stepping out of a painting or a celestial fairy descending to the mortal world.

Even Kong Qing couldn't help but marvel, noting that this human woman was truly a stunning beauty, and it was no wonder so many men had been driven mad by her over the years.

Jian Taiding stared, his eyes glazed over, thinking to himself that his sister-in-law was indeed like a celestial empress.

"This woman was supposed to be mine, mine!"

"It's all because of that person who suddenly appeared!"

His gaze at Zu'an turned exceptionally malicious. With the other man's appearance, everything had changed.

Not only were his "little sisters-in-law" gone, but more importantly, his actual sister-in-law's relationship with him was now ambiguous, and he was even on the verge of losing everything he had in Cloudridge Commandery.

Rage points from Jian Taiding +798798798…

He now wished Zu'an would die at the hands of these masters immediately. So, seeing the Paper Bride merely standing by and watching, never truly making a move, he couldn't help but feel annoyed: "Why aren't you attacking?"

The Paper Bride glanced at him with a hint of disdain in her eyes. The man looked drained and frail, with hardly any yang energy left in him; he simply didn't interest her.

In contrast, the man in the arena was overflowing with vibrant yang energy. To her, he was like a blazing sun, making her entire body tingle with desire, as if she wanted to embrace him and drink deeply from him.

Thus, she ignored Jian Taiding and instead stared intently at Zu'an in the arena, a lovesick smile on her face.

Jian Taiding: "???"

He, who wielded absolute power in Cloudridge Commandery and was a respected Grandmaster, had never been ignored like this before.

What he found most unbearable was that she ignored him, yet was clearly more interested in Zu'an. Didn't that just prove yet again that he was inferior to the man named Zu?

Are these women blind?!

Seeing him fuming with anger, Kong Qing chuckled and explained, "She's a well-known master in the martial world; naturally, she has her pride and disdains ganging up on someone. Second Master, please rest assured, if those two can't defeat them, the Paper Bride will certainly make her move."

After all, they had been cooperating for so long, and he didn't want to thoroughly offend Jian Taiding. Though the latter was currently in decline, he still commanded considerable resources in Cloudridge Commandery, and there might be future opportunities for collaboration.

Seeing Kong Qing personally step forward to explain, Jian Taiding's expression softened slightly. He cupped his hands and said, "Then we shall see."

However, he was secretly cursing them, thinking that these demon folk were all so arrogant. Kong Qing wasn't fighting, and even his subordinates acted as if they were too grand for this, making them seem like some great Grandmasters from a prestigious righteous sect to anyone who didn't know better.

"Please, you're demon cultists! Shouldn't ganging up on fewer opponents be exactly what you do?"

Unfortunately, he was severely injured and recovering slowly, forced to humble himself given his current situation. He could only swallow his frustration, looking towards the arena and hoping the Azure Wolf King would bite Zu'an to death, or at the very least, bite off his "root of troubles" so he wouldn't "corrupt" his sisters-in-law again in the future.

With his Grandmaster's discernment, he could naturally tell that the Azure Wolf King had roughly ninth-rank strength, and it was widely known that fierce beasts of the same rank were generally more powerful than human cultivators.

Although Zu'an had some tricks, his true cultivation appeared to be only around the ninth rank. This time, he was ambushed while still recovering from severe injuries. The last time he himself was injured by Zu'an, he hadn't expected the other man's body to be so tough...

At this thought, his expression immediately stiffened as the images of Zhang Ji, Liu Ji, and Chu Ji, with their rosy faces and expressions of contentment from recent days, flashed through his mind. He was sure those women's experiences were even more profound.

Then he thought of Lady Yu's delicate body being ravaged by the iron-hard Zu'an, her face flushed with desire, softly gasping...

Oh, the imagery! It was like a knife twisting in his heart. Damn it!

The thought made his face contort as if he had just eaten dog dung.

As if sensing his desire, the Azure Wolf King roared repeatedly, swinging its sharp claws continuously at Zu'an.

Its speed was so great that observers could only see faint blue claw trails lingering in the air.

Though Zu'an's body was tough, he wasn't foolish enough to directly withstand the blows. He quickly used his Sunflower Phantasm to evade.

Shards of ice flew rapidly across the ground and walls. This cave was exceptionally cold, and the ice within it was many times harder than ordinary ice, yet under the Azure Wolf King's sharp claws, it was no different from tofu.

Even with Zu'an's agile movement technique, the Azure Wolf King was too swift. He looked down to see a thin tear in the clothes on his chest, and his skin beneath felt a faint sting.

Not daring to hold back, he immediately unleashed several shadow clones, sending them to attack the beast. Each Zu'an looked identical to his true self, making it impossible for bystanders to distinguish between them.

Kong Qing watched in utter astonishment. Even he, a Grandmaster, couldn't discern the principles behind this profound movement technique, nor did he know where Zu'an had learned it.

No wonder the Princess Regent looked at this human man differently.

Jian Taiding was also momentarily stunned. He realized he had been blinded by hatred earlier and had underestimated Zu'an. He was far more than just tough-skinned; solely based on this miraculous movement technique, he was indeed much stronger than other cultivators of the same rank.

The Azure Wolf King changed its tactics from direct pounces. Its entire body spun several times, its claws generating gusts of wind as powerful as sharp sword qi, sweeping in a full circle, intending to destroy all figures, real or fake.

Jian Taiding watched with immense satisfaction. High-level fierce beasts indeed possessed superior combat instincts compared to humans, so easily breaking the opponent's exquisite movement technique.

However, his smile quickly froze. The several figures were swiftly torn apart by the sharp claws, yet not a single one bled.

Not one was real?

"Watch out!" He suddenly realized something and looked towards the ceiling. Normally, he wouldn't care about the life or death of an Azure Wolf King, but now it was his hope for killing Zu'an, so how could he not warn it?

No sooner had he spoken than Zu'an descended from above the Azure Wolf King, landing a direct punch to its head.

Since Kong Qing seemed to be holding back, Zu'an didn't want to immediately use his poisoned dagger; otherwise, it would create an irreconcilable enmity.

"Awoo!" The Azure Wolf King let out a cry of pain.

Zu'an, however, had no time to rejoice, because in that instant, the wolf transformed into an ice sculpture, and his fist, which had made contact, began to freeze at a visible rate.

At that moment, a foul wind swept past. The ice sculpture remained, but the Azure Wolf King reappeared on the other side, its maw wide open, lunging to bite him.