Volume 1, Chapter 68: Birthday Banquet

She had to pour her own money into the household month after month.

First, she had lent ten thousand silver taels to the Old Madame to redeem the estate.

A long time had passed since that money was lent, yet the Old Madame acted as if the entire matter had completely slipped her mind, never once uttering a single word about repayment.

When Cui Houzhi complained about this in private to her husband, Cheng Wenbo merely told her not to fuss over such trivial matters.

Ten thousand silver taels—was that truly a trivial matter?

And as if that were not enough, month after month she was forced to plug the endless deficits in the public accounts.

Which month did not require at least a thousand silver taels?

Yet refusing to contribute was out of the question.

Even though economic strength served as the vital foundation for any prominent family, without formidable military power to safeguard that wealth, no matter how vast one's fortune might be, one could never stand tall with confidence.

"Master! How on earth does one reach the second stage?" Tang Yuntian shouted aloud, but no one answered him.

"Slap!" I instantly seized her wrist, spun my hand around, and struck her across the face. I carefully controlled my strength; since she was about to be married, I could not afford to leave her face bruised and swollen.

At that moment, the second-tier alchemist who had been charging directly at Huangfu Yuqing suddenly froze stiff in his tracks. A mouthful of crimson blood violently spewed from his mouth, and as he slowly lowered his head, the tip of a chilling sword blade stained with glaring blood protruded straight through his chest.

"Look at you, always trying to act tough!" Ri Yuluo murmured as she looked at Gong Yuxi, a faint, shallow curve lifting the corners of her lips.

With a piercing gaze sweeping over the solitary mercenaries, Lu Wu waved his hand, and the members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Corps swiftly drew the weapons from their waists, fixing a cold, murderous stare upon those lone mercenaries who harbored ulterior motives in their hearts.

I had said long ago that the Seven-Star Tai Chi was not meant for street brawls. Before I even had the chance to unleash it on her, I had already brought her down.

The young man standing before her possessed delicate facial features and stood a whole head taller than her. He wore a plaid shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans, his entire outfit worth less than a hundred yuan—he was clearly the child of an impoverished family.

Before Nanfeng Chen could finish his sentence, a loud "bang" echoed as the classroom door was violently kicked open. The classroom instantly plunged into dead silence, everyone staring fixedly at the three figures standing at the entrance.

Wise individuals understand the timing and the advantages of terrain; when necessary, concealing one's brilliance is far better than engaging in a head-on collision that leaves one with a shattered skull.

Subsequently, Liu Zong's spear drove downward with boundless might. The prepared Spirit-Gathering Sorcery, combined with the power of the [Yellow Springs Road - Toll for the Return Journey], was channeled directly into the exact spot where the spear struck.

"Reva, tell your big brother the truth. Are you genuinely willing to stay in the Holy Land of your own accord, or are you facing some form of threat? Have no fear; Big Brother Tang dared to defy the World Nobles for Morgan, and he is all the more willing to storm the Holy Land for you, his brother." Tang Ming's tone carried an overwhelming, domineering aura.

They discovered that on this red carpet show, sheer peek-a-boo outfits were actually quite conservative by comparison. Some attendees went completely bare, and a few even went completely braless, leaving the entire audience dumbfounded.

After releasing Liu Zong from the intersection of reality and the virtual world, a player even provided him with a green-leaf boat so he could make his journey back.

Three days slipped by in a flash. A massive Ming military warship appeared in the skies above Fish-Man Island, pulled toward the Dragon King Palace by several bizarre-looking Sea Kings. The fish-men on the island merely glanced at it once and paid it no further mind; such occurrences were far too commonplace, and everyone knew of the close ties between Fish-Man Island and the Ming forces.

Witnessing this, Mihawk's hawk-like eyes flashed with chilling glares as his overwhelming aura began to condense. Suddenly, the phantom of a colossal greatsword materialized behind him—a blade stained entirely in crimson, its edges seemingly dripping with fresh blood.

At last, the heart-wrenching agony that she had been desperately evading over the past few days came rushing forward, sweeping over her in a suffocating wave.

Naturally, as for why Liu牧 did not simply seize power himself, but instead exerted indirect control over the Blaze, everyone had their own private speculations—perhaps it was simply to save face for Dong Jin.

Having pooled the strength of virtually every single profession-holder across the entire Huaxia continent, how could they have collapsed in such utter disarray before the Lord of the Demonic Wolves?