The princess's red lips were soft and enchanting, gentle as water, lightly touching the youth.
With the lightest touch of her toes, a gentle breeze blew in, lifting her long, dark hair, creating a hazy, intoxicating atmosphere.
This moment was beautiful, like the first shy and innocent kiss between childhood sweethearts.
Ye Chen only felt two soft, warm petals land on his lips, entwined with a pleasant sweetness and the faint fragrance of a maiden wafting over, intoxicating to the soul.
He seemed stunned, standing there in a daze, not taking the initiative to advance.
"This blockhead, what a great opportunity. Couldn't you be a bit more proactive? French kiss, why just a peck? Can't you get a clue?" Old Yan watched, feeling exasperated. Didn't this guy know this was a golden chance?
But the princess was quite proactive. Her eyes slightly closed, her long eyelashes trembling, her fair, delicate arms directly wrapped around the youth's neck. The taste of this forbidden fruit made her heart tremble yet flutter with excitement.
Ye Chen just stood there like that. After a good while, he felt a warm, soft, snake-like pink tongue enter his lips, trying to probe into his mouth. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable tremor in his heart. He immediately opened his eyes, pulled his head back, separating their lips, and asked inexplicably, "What are you doing?"
"You blockhead..." Old Yan couldn't bear to watch. If not for his fear of the Supreme Old Academy Head, he'd really want to rush out and slap him.
How could you be so dense...
The Sixth Princess snapped back to reality, her pretty face instantly flushing crimson like a fiery cloud. She hastily retreated several steps, her small hands clasped behind her back, twisting together, exceptionally shy as she said, "Sorry, I read some books in the palace before. They said kissing is like this, that you have to probe with the tongue to really count as a kiss, so I tried it. It seems like it might be better this way. Don't you like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it, it's just a bit strange," Ye Chen frowned slightly. But it wasn't entirely his fault. After all, whether in his past life or this one, most of his time had been spent in cultivation. His understanding of matters of the heart was still limited.
He then looked at the Sixth Princess and said, "How about we try again?"
"Good lad!" Old Yan immediately gave a thumbs up. So this guy wasn't a blockhead; he was clearly setting up for the next French kiss. I like it. Hurry up, little girl. This old man can enjoy the show.
But the Sixth Princess hesitated. After all, it was an intimate act. Finally, with a soft whimper and a slightly blushing face, she refused, "Better not. It feels too embarrassing."
Ye Chen patted the maiden's fragrant shoulder, speaking with an earnest, mature tone, "Don't be shy. Look at me, I'm not shy at all, am I?"
Hearing this, Old Yan drew a sharp breath, staring wide-eyed at Ye Chen. He'd seen shameless people, but never one this shameless. But he liked it.
This guy was either silent or astonishing. He hadn't noticed this side of him before.
But the Sixth Princess was, after all, a girl. How could she match Ye Chen's thick skin? In the end, she was unwilling.
Ye Chen didn't press his luck. The day's harvest was quite good. Not only had he enjoyed a beautiful spring scene, but he'd also tasted the flavor of a first kiss. This kissing feeling was quite nice.
The Sixth Princess looked at the young Martial God before her, sighed softly, her eyes somewhat complex. This youth could be considered an enemy, after all, his pursuit had led to several princes and princesses of the Tianqi Empire being eliminated from the Trial Path.
But her relationship with him was also somewhat complicated. What should have been seen had been seen, and what shouldn't have been seen had also been seen. Even the first kiss she had preserved for twenty-one years had been taken.
Yet the flavor of it all made the relationship between the two rather complex.
Seeing the Sixth Princess's complex expression, Ye Chen sighed slightly and said, "You can go now. From now on, no one will pursue you, and you can pass through the Trial Path."
If anyone on the Trial Path had the audacity to say who could pass through it, aside from Ye Chen, there was no one else. Even those super experts with the qualification to delay claiming kingship might not have such authority.
But Ye Chen, the Uncrowned King, absolutely had the qualification.
This should have been good news, but the Sixth Princess wasn't very happy, nor did she leave immediately. Instead, she looked at the young Martial God whose face still held a hint of childishness and whispered, "So where will you go next? To that mysterious realm in the twelfth checkpoint?"
Rumor had it that those super experts with the qualification to delay claiming kingship had all entered that mysterious realm. She guessed Ye Chen would be interested in going there.
Ye Chen nodded. Indeed, he was quite interested in the mysterious realm within the twelfth checkpoint. Those super experts with the qualification to delay claiming kingship had been gone for one or two months, with no news at all, which made him rather curious.
Naturally, he didn't think they had met with danger. The Supreme Old Academy Head high in the heavens would certainly not sit idly by and let such a thing happen. After all, every super expert with the qualification to delay claiming kingship was a true young genius, especially with someone like Xia Yang, a possessor of divine qualification. Once they grew up, they would surely achieve extraordinary accomplishments.
Especially during this period, as the Tian Du Continent's plan, "Slaying the Heavens," which had been prepared for millennia, was about to begin. These geniuses, once grown, could become an indispensable, important fighting force.
For all these reasons, Ye Chen could deduce that these young geniuses were unlikely to have perished. At most, they were trapped there for some reason and couldn't leave.
The Sixth Princess bit her red lip with her silver teeth, hesitating, "Then, Ye Chen, will you still take action against my imperial brother, Yang Shaoqi?"
Ye Chen said, "Yes, I will definitely take action."
His voice was calm, but his tone was resolute, leaving no room for doubt.
Because the Thirteenth Prince and Vivian were his friends. Back then, it was precisely this Second Prince, Yang Shaoqi, who lured away Xia Yang, ultimately giving the Eighth Prince, Yang Jun, the opportunity to pursue and cause the Thirteenth Prince to be injured. No matter what, he would take action against him. No one could stop him.
The Sixth Princess slightly parted her red lips, wanting to say something. But hearing the firmness in Ye Chen's tone, the words that had risen to her lips were ultimately swallowed back, unspoken. Yet her expression was very complex. Did all this destined Ye Chen and the Tianqi Empire to stand on opposing sides?
Ye Chen seemed to understand what the princess was thinking but shook his head, saying nothing, leaving only silence.
"Let's part here. I hope we can meet again at the end of the Trial Path."
Finally, he stood up tall and strode away without looking back, without the slightest hesitation. In a few steps, his figure completely vanished.
Behind him, the Sixth Princess watched his departing back, feeling complex, lost in a daze for a while...
Whoosh—
In the mountain forest, Ye Chen was stepping through the void, each step covering dozens to hundreds of zhang, rapidly heading towards the twelfth checkpoint. Suddenly, Old Yan's voice rang in his heart, filled with exasperation, "Little Chen, oh Little Chen, how can you be such a blockhead? What a great opportunity!"
"What opportunity?" Ye Chen didn't understand.
Old Yan said resentfully, "Didn't you see just now that the Tianqi Empire's Sixth Princess was already smitten? At that moment, if you'd just sweet-talked her a bit,added to some appropriate actions, like some touching and groping, in that atmosphere, she'd definitely have yielded to you. You could have used the sky as a blanket and the earth as a bed, married the beautiful princess, become the imperial son-in-law, taken up a position in the empire, and welcomed the beautiful, happy life of making babies. But you, you brat, how can your head be so unenlightened?"
"..." Ye Chen was speechless. This old geezer had nothing better to do than think about such frivolous things.
"Little Chen, let me ask you a question. Have you fallen for this Sixth Princess?" Old Yan suddenly asked.
Ye Chen fell into an unusual silence. Had he fallen for her? Then he shook his head. The two had only just met. He didn't even know the Sixth Princess's full name. How could it be love? At most, it was a momentary flutter of the heart.
Regarding this point, Ye Chen still had some self-awareness.
The news that almost all the Tianqi Empire's royal bloodline had been eliminated from the Trial Path quickly spread across the Tian Du Continent, causing a huge uproar.
Many people marveled. Ye Chen was too domineering, actually taking the initiative to retaliate against the Tianqi Empire's royal bloodline trial-takers. Was he really not afraid of retaliation from this super empire?
The entire Tianqi Empire, from top to bottom, was furious.
Ye Chen was too arrogant, actually opposing the Tianqi Empire like this. Did he not hold the Tianqi Empire in regard at all?
At court, many important ministers actively petitioned, requesting His Majesty the Emperor to order the dispatch of a great army westward to conquer the Xia Feng Kingdom, to completely erase this mid-to-lower-tier kingdom located in the western part of the continent from the Tian Du Continent, to display the empire's supreme might and show it was not to be provoked.
All forces heard this news, anxiously following the developments. Was the Tianqi Empire really going to send troops to conquer the Xia Feng Kingdom?
The Xia Feng Kingdom, far on the western continent, learned of this news and was extremely nervous. They never expected Ye Chen to cause such a huge stir, not only dominating the entire Trial Path but also actively provoking the Tianqi Empire.
The entire court was in a panic.
But the Kingdom's ancestor and the Xia Feng Academy Head weren't the least bit nervous, because they knew the Tianqi Empire couldn't possibly erase a kingdom over such a matter. Doing so would only give people grounds for criticism, damaging the Tianqi Empire's reputation.
The Trial Path was originally a trial and competition for the younger generation. If every eliminated trial-taker demanded their own faction cause trouble, wouldn't the world fall into chaos? They believed the current Tianqi Empire's Emperor wouldn't be foolish enough to go that far.
Sure enough, just as many forces quietly waited for the Tianqi Empire to show its might, the current Emperor, upon hearing of the matter, remained unperturbed, not angry at all. He merely said calmly, "Their skills are inferior; there's nothing to say. If we cause trouble just because they were eliminated like this, wouldn't our Tianqi Empire become a tyrannical, overbearing nation? All eliminated princes and princesses must return immediately to reflect in seclusion for three months. They are not to cause trouble, or they will be severely punished."
The world was astonished. No one expected the Tianqi Empire to ultimately choose to back down.
But many felt His Majesty the Emperor's action was most appropriate. If they had truly sent troops to conquer the Xia Feng Kingdom, it would have proven the Tianqi Empire had peaked and was declining, each generation inferior to the last.
At the same time, another piece of news quickly spread along the Trial Path: the Tianqi Empire's Sixth Princess's pursuit order had been lifted. Moreover, the Uncrowned King, Ye Chen, had personally given the order that no one was to pursue the Sixth Princess, or they would face his retaliation.
An uproar ensued!