Chapter 290: Nightfall

With those words, Lu Qingqing walked past Jiang Jian.

She took three steps at a time, descending the gangway first and stopping before the black-clad youth.

“Lu Chen.”

Lu Qingqing’s expression darkened. “You were cultivating in the Starfall Sea—why have you returned?”

Lu Chen tore his gaze from the sea and looked at Lu Qingqing. “My movements need no report to you.”

Lu Qingqing sneered. “That may be true, but as a junior prince of the Lu family, you conceal your whereabouts like a thief, bringing shame upon the Lu name.”

Hearing this,

Lu Chen’s face turned icy.

He fixed his gaze on Lu Qingqing, his pupils shimmering with suppressed energy, yet he held back, speaking in a low tone: “I am here by the Ancestor’s command, to escort the Lord of Yinshan. Step aside.”

Lu Qingqing’s expression remained unchanged, confident, as if she held his weakness. “So you’ve learned to say ‘please’—looks like your time in the Starfall Sea served you well.”

Seeing her demeanor,

Lu Chen felt a headache coming on. His composure cracked, his brows knitting tightly.

After a moment,

he rubbed his forehead, recalled his mission, fell silent, and stepped past Lu Qingqing toward Jiang Jian.

“Are you the Lord of Yinshan?”

Lu Chen asked.

Jiang Jian nodded. “Yes.”

Lu Chen’s expression softened. “Please follow me.”

Lu Qingqing stood aside, saying nothing.

Jiang Jian walked beside Lu Chen, leaving the massive dockyard and crossing a long stone arched bridge toward the island’s interior.

“Ancestor Ye once said that once this man breaks into the Divine Palace, he may rival me.”

Lu Chen walked, studying Jiang Jian, his thoughts churning.

As a junior prince of the Lu family and an unparalleled prodigy newly entered into the Divine Palace realm, he possessed extraordinary talent, superior roots and comprehension, and carried deep pride within.

If any ordinary person had spoken such words,

Lu Chen would have scoffed and ignored them outright.

But the one who spoke them was one of the Lu family’s Ancestors—Lu Yezhen, the True Lord.

For words spoken by this True Lord of the Spirit Platform realm,

Lu Chen, though resentful, dared not contradict him to his face.

Yet no matter what,

he refused to believe it.

A prodigy from some backwater village could possibly be compared to him.

But Lu Chen also knew well,

that the Miraculous Realm was a rare, irreplaceable resource.

Every Chosen One who survived to the end gained unimaginable fortune.

Jiang Jian, as Lord of Yinshan, alone controlled a great Miraculous Realm.

Though his current cultivation was weak,

with the resources of the Miraculous Realm to bolster him,

his future achievements would certainly not be low.

Meanwhile,

Jiang Jian’s expression remained calm, sensing Lu Chen’s aura.

In his perception,

this junior prince of the Lu family was indeed unlike ordinary people.

His spiritual essence was concealed perfectly, revealing not a trace.

Like a deep, boundless ocean—calm on the surface, yet capable of unleashing towering waves the moment he entered battle.

This strange sensation,

Jiang Jian had only encountered before with Shen Xi.

Clearly,

this Lu Chen, the junior prince of the Lu family,

had achieved an unparalleled Divine Palace upon his breakthrough.

Only,

he had only just entered the Divine Palace realm.

His cultivation was still shallow.

Far inferior to Shen Xi.

“Junior Prince!”

Before the bamboo grove, a squad of black-clad guards bowed respectfully in unison.

Lu Chen waved his hand. “Is Ancestor Ye still resting?”

The guard commander stepped forward, speaking gravely: “Junior Prince, Ancestor Ye has been awake for a while and is reviewing today’s financial reports.”

Lu Chen nodded, stepping slightly aside to reveal Jiang Jian behind him. “I have come by Ancestor Ye’s command to escort the Lord of Yinshan for an audience. He is here now—please inform him.”

According to Lu family law,

the commander of the guards on Ancestor Ye’s island held high status.

Though Lu Chen, as junior prince, was far more exalted in rank,

for this commander—who had raised him since childhood and whose cultivation was unfathomable—Lu Chen still maintained basic respect.

It was reverence for strength.

“Please wait here, Junior Prince, and Lord of Yinshan.”

The commander glanced at Jiang Jian, then turned and walked into the depths of the bamboo grove.

(End of Chapter)