[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal":3,"chapter-investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-540":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Investing in the Reborn Empress, She Actually Calls Me ‘Husband’",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},596513,846,"Chapter 540: Summoning Demons Council Meeting","investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-540",540,"\u003Cp>In the dark confines of the Demon Summoning Sect's Imperial Capital branch, the faint sound of wooden blocks clattering echoed from above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Refining Hall's leader, his face half-hidden behind a mask, sat alongside representatives from other halls and high-ranking members of the main sect. Each had a porcelain cup at hand, steaming with hot water bobbing with goji berries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Refining Hall leader tapped his notes, cleared his throat, and began:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Esteemed colleagues and leaders, today's meeting will focus on the operational status of our branch. Your guidance and suggestions are most welcome.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First, sales of the Heavenly Sovereign brand instant noodles have surged, but its reputation in the Imperial Capital has taken a hit. Additionally, one of our production workshops was destroyed by Qian Gong of the Seventh Realm from Great Yu, resulting in significant losses...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So the imperial court is cracking down on Heavenly Sovereign noodles now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A burly figure crossed his arms, though his voice was surprisingly delicate—a woman's.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I warned against mixing Divine Power Powder into the noodles. Now we’re under investigation, and who’s going to make up for the lost Faith Energy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Refining Hall leader snorted. \"Yin-Yang Hall Leader, spare us the sarcasm. The slump in Heavenly Sovereign sales isn’t because of the Divine Power Powder.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Some merchant guild copied our product and flooded the market with counterfeit garbage. Half the people buying it aren’t even getting the real thing!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment his words landed, the demonic cultivators erupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The unscrupulous merchants of the Imperial Capital have no manners at all!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In broad daylight, no less! This is lawlessness! Is the imperial court just sitting on its hands?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Disgusting! According to Article 130 of Great Yu’s Commerce Law, this is severe infringement—punishable by up to ten years in prison!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What kind of lowlifes dare to compete with our Demon Summoning Sect?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demonic cultivators seethed with rage. After much deliberation, they resolved to investigate the matter in secret and wipe out the counterfeiters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next, the Blood Refining Hall leader moved on to other matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Due to the noodle sales slump, our hall’s finances are in dire straits. To boost revenue, I placed a heavy bet at the Thousand Gold Gambling Den.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bad news—I lost.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good news—the gambling den has since gone bankrupt. No need to repay the debt.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As for infiltrating the Hidden Dragon Tournament, progress is steady. The Yin-Yang Hall’s special envoy, Qu Songyun, has successfully assumed her identity and entered the competition...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, the demonic cultivators straightened in their seats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one cared much about the Blood Refining Hall’s troubles, but the Hidden Dragon Tournament involved the Blood God.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every Ancestral God was the foundation of the Demon Summoning Sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Refining Hall leader took a sip of his goji tea, cleared his throat, and was about to continue when—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BANG!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door burst open with violent force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arriving sect member blinked. \"Where is everyone?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do none of you Blood Refining Hall people know how to knock?!\" The Yin-Yang Hall Leader’s form flickered back into visibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Scared me half to death—I thought imperial troops were raiding us!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Yexian crawled out from under the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Making such a fuss over nothing!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Refining Hall leader wiped spilled tea off his lap and snapped, \"This better be important, or I’ll refine you into pills!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Hidden Dragon Tournament results are out!\" the sect member panted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s so shocking about that?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Doesn’t Jiang Yu win every year? With his True Dragon Body and Imperial Sword Bone—plus the home-field advantage in the Imperial Capital—even a Fifth Realm cultivator would struggle against him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jiang Yu lost!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly, as I was saying—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demonic cultivators froze. They hadn’t misheard. Jiang Yu hadn’t won—he’d lost. The room fell dead silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tan Zhuyin clenched his fists. \"Who beat him? Ying Bing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It was Bing—er, the Frost Fairy’s...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If it’s her, that’s not entirely impossible...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...beloved, Li Mo.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can’t you finish a damn sentence in one go?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Refining Hall leader felt his face burning with embarrassment. He was tempted to slap the messenger into oblivion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Li Mo? How?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He uses a sword!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demonic cultivators didn’t despise Li Mo himself—after all, the \"Divine Hammer Little Tyrant’s\" prowess was undeniable. Even Han Zhen got hammered into silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They just despised his swordsmanship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s true! I have a Mirage Crystal as proof!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sect member pulled out a crystal slab and channeled spiritual energy into it. A scene materialized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I yielded first. I lost.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The image showed Li Mo lying in Ying Bing’s arms, lovey-dovey atmosphere thick enough to choke on. The crowd had fallen silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, so did the Demon Summoning Sect branch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s the guy who beat Jiang Yu? Did he stuff him to death?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I swear I’ll refine you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forgive me, Sect Leader! Wrong clip—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After some fumbling, the correct scene finally played.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swords filled the sky, shaking the Eight Desolates and Six Harmonies Seal. The demonic cultivators stared, speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Blood Refining Hall leader and Yin-Yang Hall Leader both gazed intently at Li Mo’s figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the meeting ended, the two leaders rose slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before long...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their figures appeared in a teahouse on the same street as the Step Cloud Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman had already poured three cups of tea and was waiting there—none other than Qu Songyun, who had lost to Jiang Yu earlier that day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite participating in the entire Hidden Dragon Tournament, she showed no signs of exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Greetings to the two Hall Masters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did you witness Li Mo's sword technique today?\" the Bloodforge Hall Master asked directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Blood God has informed me that it was neither a technique nor a sword art,\" Qu Songyun shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What martial art could possibly harness the power of all living beings...?\" the Yin-Yang Hall Master murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bloodforge Hall Master frowned. \"Though it was called a sword technique, I caught glimpses of other martial arts within it—yet it was unmistakably executed with the Celestial Divine Sword.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even the 'Observing Oneself as Divinity' method left behind by the Ancestral Gods can only absorb the power of the masses, never wield it as effortlessly as one's own limbs.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If what he's practicing is a divine art, it's still far too...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Qu Songyun could speak, an abrupt voice interrupted:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The anomaly lies not in the martial art, but in the man himself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When the Hidden Dragon crosses the Dragon Gate, the Celestial City's realm will manifest. Prepare yourselves.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two Hall Masters jolted in realization—this was the Blood God speaking directly to them, not merely delivering an edict as in the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did this mean the Blood God no longer intended to merely send emissaries into the Celestial City... but planned to descend in person?\u003C\u002Fp>",1128,"2026-05-30T17:19:06.745Z","2026-06-01T04:31:46.286Z",1,"novelbin.me","55ac0ea74797d9eefc89a32f6f4b407224d3e94c23c58da8e24a6d875914920d","investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-541","investing-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-chapter-539",737,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Finvesting-in-the-reborn-empress-she-actually-cal-cover.jpg"]