Fang An fell silent and took a deep breath. His eyes shifted restlessly as his mind was overwhelmed. His tongue was suddenly tied, unable to utter a single word. Emperor Li Wei’s request that he marry Princess Xian Lie left him utterly confused.“I beg for some time to consider it, Your Majesty,” Fang An said at last. The weight of accepting or rejecting the ruler of the Shang Dynasty’s proposal felt equally balanced. But first, he needed to consult his grandmother to avoid making the wrong decision.Princess Xian Lie herself was also surprised by her father’s request to Fang An. Her mind flooded with questions. Why would her father suddenly want Fang An to marry her so soon? After all, her agreement with Fang An was to wait until he returned from a journey he had to undertake.“Very well. But I hope you can give me your answer by tomorrow. There is a special reason why I’ve asked you to marry my daughter immediately, Fang An.” Emperor Li Wei took another deep breath. The wrinkles on

Longpiercing scream echoed through the stillness of the night, erupting from the mouth of a creature whose right arm had just been severed by Fang An’s sword. The creature howled in pain, clutching the stump with its left hand.Just a step away, the spiked mace that had been wielded by its companion fell once again to the ground, discarded like worthless trash.Fang An glanced briefly at another part of the battlefield, where a fight was still ongoing. Then, with full speed, he dashed forward and slashed his sword toward the belly of the massive creature, slicing its body clean in two.Another long, harrowing death cry rang out. The neatly halved giant collapsed, motionless. The stench of rotting flesh quickly spread, carried by the cold night wind.Without pausing to rest, Fang An sprinted toward the remaining battle to assist a man who was still grappling with the two remaining creatures. Just meters away, the young man leapt high into the air, spinning several times before deliver

For a moment, Fang An stood frozen, his gaze locked onto the magnificent palace standing not far ahead. Question after question flooded his mind, which remained frozen in disbelief at what he was seeing. His logic simply could not accept what lay before him. When he had climbed Mount Tianmen earlier, he had seen no palace at all."As far as I know, there's no other kingdom in this area besides the Shang Dynasty. So why is there..." Fang An's internal monologue was cut short as several tall, muscular soldiers on horseback approached him.Their eyes were cold, unfriendly—almost as if they wanted to skin him alive."How did you enter this place, human?!" one of them barked.Fang An furrowed his brows in confusion. With a puzzled expression, he answered the question calmly. "I don’t know what you mean. I myself am confused—why is there a kingdom here besides the Shang Dynasty?""Lies!" one of the soldiers snapped. "You must have bad intentions entering this kingdom!"His confusion deepene

With a powerful stomp of his right foot, Fang An dashed forward at top speed, launching an unexpected attack. One by one, the soldiers of the Genie Kingdom collapsed to the ground, all bearing similar wounds—gutted stomachs with entrails spilling out in chaos.The stench was unbearable, carried swiftly by the wind. Yu Lian froze, unable to believe what his eyes were witnessing. A wave of regret filled him as he stood helplessly, watching his soldiers slaughtered before him."Bastard!" The expletive burst from the lips of the high-ranking Genie official. The fury of losing his troops demanded immediate retaliation.Yu Lian leapt from his horse. The massive twin swords strapped to his back were now gripped tightly in both hands.But before he could move, a thick cloud of dust rolled toward them.Fang An swallowed hard. His eyes locked on the sight of thousands of soldiers galloping toward him. It was clear he’d have to fight alone

Winds howled violently around the battlefield, swirling into a vortex that made the Genie King tremble with fear. He knew exactly who was about to appear—the same man who once made him wet himself in terror.Thick clouds of dust were sucked into the growing tornado, which devoured everything in its path."Do you want me to destroy your kingdom, Sin Po?!" a thunderous voice echoed from the eye of the tornado.Sin Po, the Genie King, shivered in fear. He never imagined the ruler of Mount Tianmen would return to his kingdom after such a long absence.Meanwhile, Fang An watched the tornado with a deep frown. He couldn’t yet identify the voice coming from the spinning winds near where he stood.Gradually, the whirlwind shrank before vanishing completely. Two familiar figures now stood at the center of where it had disappeared."Grandfather… Uncle…" he whispered, barely believing his eyes.Zhao Wen approached Fang An. “Are you alright, Fang An?”Fang An nodded, still uncertain whether the m