The sight of Jiang Chen casually leading Meng Qingxue into Lingyun Wufu left the onlookers frozen in place, their minds struggling to catch up with what they had just witnessed.
Meng Qingxue—peerless in both talent and beauty.
In Lingyun Wufu, there were not hundreds, but thousands who longed to pursue her. Among them, geniuses of the Lingyun List, names known throughout the Great Xia Kingdom.
And yet, for years, Meng Qingxue had been an untouchable iceberg goddess, distant and cold, giving no one even a glimmer of hope.
But now…
That same aloof, untouchable goddess had agreed—no, willingly—to become a maid for a student from the foreign palace.
It was madness.
In that moment, Jiang Chen's name blazed through Lingyun Wufu like wildfire.
The boy who had defeated Lin Yang, the younger brother of Lingyun List genius Lin Yu…The boy who, on his second day, challenged and crushed Meng Dongxing, the number one golden student…And now—the boy who had turned Meng Dongxing's sister, the legendary Meng Qingxue, into his maid with only a few words.
If arrogance was an art, Jiang Chen had mastered it.
If boldness was a weapon, he wielded it like a blade.
This was no ordinary student. This was a storm tearing through Lingyun Wufu.
At Courtyard No. 68, Jiang Chen walked in leisurely, Meng Qingxue following silently behind.
"Clean the courtyard," Jiang Chen said casually, as though he were ordering a servant. "After that, choose whichever room you want to stay in."
Meng Qingxue's brows furrowed slightly. "When will you refine the Ancient Xuanyang Pill for me?"
Jiang Chen leaned lazily against the doorway, a faint smile playing on his lips."Refining the pill isn't the hard part. The hard part… is gathering the ingredients."
His gaze sharpened."To refine it, I'll need the blood essence of a sixth-rank fire-attributed monster beast. Can you provide that?"
Meng Qingxue froze.
A sixth-rank beast…
That was an existence equivalent to a Divine Sea Realm cultivator. In all of Great Xia, such beings were almost mythical—there hadn't been a living Divine Sea powerhouse in the kingdom for centuries.
"No," Meng Qingxue admitted, her tone cold but tinged with hesitation. "But… I know someone in Lingyun Wufu who might have it."
"Oh?" Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Yan Qingxuan."
At that name, Jiang Chen's interest sharpened.
Meng Qingxue continued:"Yan Qingxuan is a sixth-rank alchemy master. More than a decade ago, he gathered the strongest men of Great Xia to besiege a wounded Chiyan Fire Phoenix—a sixth-rank beast with traces of ancient divine beast bloodline. If anyone has its blood essence… it's him."
"Chiyan Fire Phoenix?" Jiang Chen's eyes gleamed. "Perfect. Then we'll pay Yan Qingxuan a visit tomorrow."
The next morning, after a quick breakfast, Jiang Chen and Meng Qingxue made their way to Qingxuanju—the secluded residence of Master Yan.
Nestled deep within Lingyun Wufu, Qingxuanju was shrouded in stillness. Though Yan Qingxuan was listed as a named elder of the Wufu, he lived in seclusion, devoting his life to alchemy.
Few dared approach this place. Over time, Qingxuanju had become a forbidden zone, avoided by all but the most audacious.
And Jiang Chen?
He didn't even hesitate.
The courtyard gate creaked as they stepped inside. It was quiet—eerily so—without a single guard in sight.
But their presence didn't go unnoticed.
"Who are you?!"
The sudden, sharp bark of a voice cut through the silence, dripping with hostility.
"This is not a place you can simply walk into. Leave—while you still can!"