**Chapter 0: Amplification of the Heart-Melting Fruit**
Tian Kun Human Emperor was so enraged he almost threw a punch, but he had to restrain himself. After finally calming down, his forehead was flushed with suppressed anger. He quickly scanned the assembled ministers, seeing they were still sensibly keeping their expressions neutral and their gazes averted. Only then did he force a smile and say, “Princess Sword-bearing is still so fond of joking. How could your Father Emperor possibly smell bad?”
“Hahaha, that’s right.”
“Princess Sword-bearing is too mischievous. But only she can joke with the Human Emperor like this. If it were us, we’d surely face a lashing.”
The civil and military officials forced their laughter, appearing resolved to bury this embarrassing incident. Mu Man’er, however, furrowed her cute little brows and asked in confusion, “What are you all talking about? Can’t you smell this offensive odor? Or are you all deliberately tricking me?”
The ministers shook their heads frantically like rattles, almost to the point of detaching their heads from their necks in fright.
“Ahem.” The Tian Kun Human Emperor glared at Mu Man’er with extreme exasperation and said, “Alright Man’er, enough jokes! Let’s shift our focus to the two young talents of our Tian Kun Dynasty. What kind of decorum is it to be shouting and making a scene in front of so many foreign guests?”
“Precisely! This humble servant advises that Princess Sword-bearing must not take favor for granted.”
“This old servant will absolutely not allow Princess Sword-bearing to slander and humiliate His Majesty the current Emperor by relying on your fondness, Your Majesty!”
“Spoiled and willful, acting recklessly, what crime is this!”
Mu Man’er pouted with a sense of grievance and grumbled in a low voice, “Man’er can clearly smell it.”
“I think Princess Sword-bearing is right. His Majesty the Human Emperor does indeed have an unpleasant odor! Such a stench, how could one not smell it? If you don’t need your nose, you can donate it to someone who does.” Just then, Yi Chengying lazily stretched her slender waist and mentioned it with a nonchalant air.
The ministers, who had been loudly denouncing Mu Man’er, showed panicked expressions and immediately fell silent, not daring to utter another word. The Tian Kun Human Emperor suddenly turned his head to look at the source of the voice. He was on the verge of exploding, but upon realizing these ridiculous words came from the Lone Shadow Saintess, his fury was completely choked off in his throat. His face was as dark as water, and he forced a hoarse dry laugh, “Saintess, you must be mistaken. This smell must be the wind. Yes, this damned wind.” As he spoke, the Tian Kun Human Emperor gritted his teeth tightly and waved his hand, summoning a gentle breeze to dispel some of the stench.
Yi Chengying smiled with her lips pursed, not responding to the Tian Kun Human Emperor. Instead, she playfully winked at Mu Man’er. Mu Man’er immediately beamed and looked at Yi Chengying with great fondness.
On the battlefield, the fierce battle continued. Qin Gou’s poison needles, unleashed by the Proficient-grade Piercing Mushrooms, were no longer as numerous or fast as before. Xu Wenrui raised an eyebrow and chuckled coldly, “What’s wrong, my dear third brother? Is your spiritual power no longer sufficient to let you be as rampant as before? Or are you playing some strategic ploy again, trying to deceive your elder brother on purpose?”
Qin Gou’s expression remained unchanged, and he remained silent. Xu Wenrui smiled with a chilling frostiness, “Not talking? It’s fine. Whether there’s a trick or not makes little difference to your elder brother.” As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Wenrui’s figure moved at high speed on the spellcasting arena like a ghost, completely ignoring the shower of sharp needles and closing in on Qin Gou. He swung a long dark saber down towards Qin Gou’s head.
Qin Gou’s eyes flickered. The Piercing Mushrooms in mid-air instantly transformed into Proficient-grade Walking Dead Vines, which tightly wrapped around Xu Wenrui’s sword-wielding right hand. Invisible ripples spread out, accurately piercing into the center of Xu Wenrui’s brow and mind.
‘Mirror Still Water.’
The illusionary art, unused for some time, displayed its sharpness at this moment. What Qin Gou didn’t expect was that the unique illusionary art from ‘Illusory Sea Tide’ had no effect whatsoever on Xu Wenrui. A sharp whip-like kick sent Qin Gou flying backward uncontrollably.
“This Shadow Armor can also resist illusionary attacks? What a powerful Spirit Tool.” Qin Gou stabilized his stance, somewhat alarmed. Xu Wenrui grinned triumphantly, slashing his saber to break free from the Walking Dead Vines and said disdainfully, “My foolish third brother, there are still many things you haven’t seen. But that you can still use illusionary arts does surprise me. Let me see, just how many other futile tricks do you still have hidden?”
Hearing this, Qin Gou calculated his remaining spiritual power and let out a helpless chuckle. “I wonder if using that thing in a place like the spellcasting arena would be too much of a problem, as it’s rather dangerous… But since you want to see so badly, it wouldn’t hurt to let you witness it.” As he spoke, Qin Gou retreated repeatedly, all the way to the edge of the spellcasting arena.
Xu Wenrui observed Qin Gou’s every move with interest, as if viewing him as a daring ant that dared to show off its strength. The pale purple Myriad Seed flew back into Qin Gou’s hand, transforming into a round, yellowish-orange little fruit. Qin Gou smiled and asked, “Do you know what this is?”
Xu Wenrui peered at it and immediately burst into a disdainful laugh. “This is your last resort, third brother? You must be joking. A mere Heart-Melting Fruit, isn’t that one of the favorite sneak attack methods of those lowly Jianghu figures with low cultivation realms? If it explodes at close range, it might even cause some minor injuries to a cultivator in the small Artifact Forging Realm!”
“This is no ordinary Heart-Melting Fruit, but a Proficient-grade Heart-Melting Fruit.” Qin Gou played with the small fruit in his hand, his eyes gleaming. “The power generated by its explosion can inflict considerable damage even on cultivators in the Hidden Weapon Realm.”
“So what?” Xu Wenrui made no effort to hide the mockery in his eyes. Hidden Weapon Realm? What is that? Qin Gou no longer responded but controlled the Heart-Melting Fruit in his hand, launching it rapidly towards Xu Wenrui. Xu Wenrui shook his head with contemptuous eyes and said, “Truly foolish. Since you have no more tricks, wouldn’t it be more dignified to surrender honestly at my feet rather than putting on such a pretense?”
However, under Xu Wenrui’s careless gaze, the Heart-Melting Fruit, originally the size of a quail egg, began to grow with the wind, getting larger and larger. Eventually, it completely filled Xu Wenrui’s vision, becoming as large as a small mountain, occupying nearly half of the spellcasting arena.
“What the hell is this thing?!” Xu Wenrui trembled all over, losing all his previous composure. An impolite curse escaped his lips, and he retreated repeatedly. Finally, he was pressed against the invisible barrier at the edge of the spellcasting arena, his eyes filled with shock. “You beast, do you intend to perish together with me?”
“Explode!” At a single thought from Qin Gou, he was instantly swallowed by a giant Proficient-grade Pitcher Plant. At the same moment, the surface of the enormous Heart-Melting Fruit cracked open, revealing dazzling golden light.
“Damn it, this beast must be faking it and using external aid! This is not the strength a Hidden Weapon Realm cultivator can possess. Referee, quickly get me out of this barrier…” Xu Wenrui’s words were cut short.
With a thunderous roar, the earth shook and the sky filled with fire. Thick smoke billowed upwards, reaching the heavens. The sturdy spellcasting arena barrier couldn’t withstand the explosive force even for a moment before shattering into pieces. The referees standing nearby, before they could even react, were sent flying backward by the powerful shockwave.
