In the Spirit City, the atmosphere had reached a fever pitch of unbridled celebration.

The entire city was currently bustling with an energy it hadn’t seen in centuries.

Tens of thousands of colorful paper lanterns were lit up across every pavilion, casting a warm, festive glow that pushed away the lingering shadows of the war.

Up in the night sky, magnificent fireworks were displayed in rapid succession, painting the dark canvas with brilliant streaks of emerald, crimson, and gold.

Joyous music echoed down every single street of the city, played by hundreds of classical musicians who strummed their guzheng and beat their drums to celebrate a miracle.

They had won.

Against all odds, they had defeated the invaders from the Vast Wilderness.

At this moment, in the grand hall of the Spirit Hall Palace, the atmosphere was filled with joyous laughter and cheers of victory.

Shen Haoran and the rest of the geniuses from the Central Region were being treated as very important guests and heroes.

They sat at the highest tier of the banquet tables, surrounded by the elite elders and masters of the region who looked at them with eyes full of profound gratitude and awe.

As for Xu Xiaojun and the nobles, well, they are currently in the Ark, too ashamed to show their faces and worrying about the reputation and political backlash that will happen once the recording of their words were released.

Lu Xinglan, the magnificent Pope of the Spirit Hall, stood at the center of the royal dais.

She raised a glass of jade-colored wine high into the air, her purple combat robes replaced by a flowing, majestic silver gown.

"To all the brave heroes who risked their lives in this war," her voice resonated through the palace, carrying the weight of a sovereign who had just seen her homeland saved from extinction. "I salute you all!"

Everyone cheered.

The roar of the crowd was deafening as hundreds of cultivators slammed their cups together, the liquid sloshing over the rims as they drank to their survival.

Lu Xinglan then shot her gaze down, her eyes fixing onto the golden-haired youth who sat with an air of absolute detachment.

She gracefully walked towards Haoran, her silver skirt trailing behind her. "Young Master Shen, you are the true hero of the Eastern Region. Allow me to personally give you a toast."

Haoran smiled faintly, his expression as calm and collected as it had been when he was systematically dismantling a Saint.

He picked up an empty crystal glass from the table, and seeing this, Lu Xinglan quickly picked up a bottle of premium wine and poured it herself, completely discarding her status as a Pope just to serve him.

Then, the two of them shared a toast, their glasses clicking with a sharp, clear sound.

Cheering and clapping suddenly exploded throughout the banquet hall.

The sight of the highest authority of the Eastern Region lowering her head to toast a young master from the Central Region was a historical moment.

And just like that, the floodgates opened.

Everyone suddenly walked towards Haoran to share a toast and get to know him, hoping to curry favor with the man who was hailed as the Hero of the East.

Sect masters, regional lords, and powerful independent cultivators crowded around his table, throwing compliments like rain.

At that moment, a familiar figure approached him.

"It has been many years hasn’t it? Young master."

Haoran turned around and blinked, "You are... Patriarch Ning. It has been awhile."

Ning Xiao, the Patriarch of the Ning Clan and the father of Ning Xueli, chuckled and offered him a toast, "I hope my daughter hasn’t been giving you any trouble?"

Haoran smiled faintly, "Of course not. Xueli has been very capable. Unfortunately, she cannot come, as she was currently on a mission assigned by my mother."

Ning Xiao nodded, "Yes, I have heard. In fact, I specifically never told her about the situation here, as I don’t want her to be in danger."

"Xueli is very lucky to have a father like you."

"You flatter me, young master. This is just the responsibility of a parent."

While the two of them reminisce, on to the side, near the massive arched windows that looked out into the firework-lit night sky, Huo Yue and Xu Xiansu stood together.

Both of them had their arms crossed over their chests, their body language projecting a wall of icy hostility that kept the minor nobles at bay.

Huo Yue watched the crowd surrounding her fiancé and smiled, a look of immense, possessive pride softening her usually stoic features, before she shook her head in mock pity. "My fiancé really is a heroic figure. I pity those who haven’t found a man as outstanding as him. Some women are simply destined to live in the shadows of ordinary men."

Xu Xiansu felt her cheek twitch violently at the veiled insult.

The awakening of her Sun Moon Divine Physique had given her a new surge of confidence, and looking at the Flame Empress’s smug expression, she decided that she had absolutely had enough of this girl’s arrogance.

She leaned against the stone pillar, a sharp, dangerous smirk forming on her lips. "Oh yeah? Well, I hope you enjoyed my sloppy seconds!"

Huo Yue froze instantly. The warm smile vanished from her face, replaced by a deadly rigidity as she quickly turned towards her, her crimson eyes wide in absolute shock and burgeoning fury.

"What did you say?"

Xu Xiansu’s smirk only widened, her orange, sun-like eyes glowing with a malicious amusement in the dim light of the window. "Oh my, did Haoran not tell you? He and I go way back. Long before he even knew a girl named Huo Yue existed."

She took a slow, deliberate step forward, narrowing the distance between them until her breath fanned the side of the Flame Empress’s face.

Then, she brought her face right to Huo Yue’s ear and whispered in a low, teasing purr, "And we shared weeks of nonstop, absolute passion, long before you had even seen his face."

Huo Yue trembled, her entire body going rigid as a wave of suffocating heat began to leak from her core.

Her eyes were almost burning with a literal flame as her mind raced through the implications of those words.

Xu Xiansu took a step back, crossing her arms again as she delivered the final, psychological strike. "Tell me, Sister Yue... did he make you lick it like he did with me? If so, how does it feel to know that the very thing you put inside your mouth has been deep inside me?"

Huo Yue felt a sickening wave of revulsion hit her gut.

She felt like she was about to puke just thinking about that specific imagery as the possessive, obsessive thoughts that had kept her awake for years suddenly collided with a wall of pure disgust.

Of course, it’s directed at this girl and not at Haoran.

She’d lick Haoran all over if she can, how could she be disgusted with him?

She bared her teeth, her knuckles turning white as she stepped toward the newly awakened goddess. "You... bitch! I’m gonna put some dirt in your eye!"

Xu Xiansu snorted, "I like to see you try."

"Okay, that’s enough."

"You too, don’t antagonize her anymore."

Before things could escalate, two figures materialized from the shadows near the window curtain.

Zhu Ziyan and Medusa appeared, stepping precisely between the two volatile women.

Ziyan reached out, her strong, beast-tamer fingers grabbing Xu Xiansu firmly by the shoulders to pull her back, while Medusa did the same to Huo Yue, her cool, reptilian qi suppressing the crimson flames before they could ignite the palace drapery. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Medusa let out a long, weary sigh at them, her orange eyes scanning the tense expressions of both girls. "Enjoy the banquet, you two. We are supposed to be celebrating a victory, not starting a civil war within the palace walls. And besides, Yue’er, your man has been thoroughly surrounded by other women. Look."

She raised a slender, pale finger and pointed across the crowded hall toward the royal tier.

Huo Yue and Xu Xiansu both followed the direction of her finger, and what they saw made Huo Yue’s blood pressure skyrocket.

Shen Haoran was currently sitting on a lavish silk couch, completely surrounded by a flock of beautiful noblewomen and female disciples from the local sects.

They were pretty much rubbing themselves on him, their flowing silks brushing against his golden robes as they poured him drinks and fanned his face.

Right at that second, a particularly bold girl from a major merchant guild even grabbed Haoran by the hand and, with a shameless giggle, put said hand directly on her massive breast, leaning into his chest with an open invitation.

Haoran, meanwhile, didn’t push her away.

He just sat back against the cushions, sipping his wine with a lazy, satisfied smirk, looking like he was thoroughly enjoying every single bit of the attention.

"Damn it," Huo Yue cursed under her breath, the jealousy in her heart completely overriding her disgust at Xu Xiansu’s words as she turned towards her ’rival’, "Just you wait."

She left those sharp words hanging in the air before turning on her heel and marching directly towards the crowd of women surrounding Haoran, her heavy black ruler manifesting slightly within her storage ring as she prepared to clear her territory.

Medusa stared at her departing back, watching the dramatic path the talented alchemist carved through the banquet guests, before she turned her head back towards Xu Xiansu.

Her expression softened, and she spoke in a low, sincere tone. "Thank you."

Xu Xiansu blinked her orange eyes, looking completely caught off guard by the gratitude. "Thank me? What for? I just tried to ruin her mood."

Medusa shook her head, a small, gentle smile appearing on her beautiful face. "It has been a very long time since we saw that side of that girl. That childish, immature, and jealous side, I mean."

Ziyan nodded alongside her, her cat ears twitching happily as she smiled at Xu Xiansu. "Yes. Ever since that horrible incident back then, she has been like a walking corpse. I haven’t even seen her smile or show genuine, raw emotion like that for a long time."

"Incident?" Xu Xiansu was thoroughly confused.

Although she had absolutely idolized the "Flame Empress" in her previous life, viewing her as an unyielding goddess of war, that doesn’t mean she knew every single secret or tragedy that had occurred in her private life during her early years.

Not to mention, this specific world was already completely different from the timeline she remembered.

"It’s nothing," Medusa shook her head, her golden eyes turning serious as she closed the topic. "It is not our place to say."

"Yes, it’s a private matter of the Huo Clan," Ziyan added, her voice soft but absolute. "But still, thank you, Xu Xiansu. If you ever need any help or resources in the future, don’t hesitate to come and ask us. We will try our absolute best to help you with whatever you need."

Medusa nodded in agreement, confirming the promise of the cat girl.

"Then... alright," Xu Xiansu smiled, her orange eyes shining with a calculating brightness.

She turned her gaze back toward the glittering feast.

Although the exact process of this war wasn’t at all what she had originally planned in her notebook, and her attempt to alter the timeline had been completely derailed by Haoran’s monstrous strength, at least everything still worked out for her!

Not only did she awakened her physique, but she also gained the promise of Zhu Ziyan and Medusa!

Two future powerhouses of the world, whose favors were worth more than a thousand spirit stone mines, no, more than an entire realm!

’Get!’ she thought to herself, a small, triumphant grin forming on her face as she raised her own glass to drink.