Cheesy?

Cheesy!

Shameful?

Shameful!!

Those sickeningly sweet, shameful, and frankly nauseating words of affection spilled from Chu Chen's lips, echoing through the grand hall. The entire world fell silent.

Not only did goosebumps rise on the skin of the Empress seated upon the throne, but the dozen or so black-robed Elders standing by the stone pillars were struck with horror, their aged bodies trembling uncontrollably.

A gathering of Saints and peak-level Saint King experts stood utterly dumbfounded, causing these merciless, murderous demons of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace to draw sharp, cold breaths.

This...

What in the world was happening?!

"I often look up at the night sky, searching for the star that belongs to you."

"Lin Shuwang, your smile brings me warmth, and your gaze sets my soul ablaze."

Chu Chen's eyes burned with fervor. He held a completely blank sheet of paper in one hand, raising the other high into the air.

He stared straight at the Empress Lin Shuwang upon her throne, his expression overflowing with deep affection.

His burning gaze seemed capable of melting glaciers, brimming with tenderness:

"Your existence fills my world with radiant sunlight. Meeting you is the most perfect encounter of my life, so beautiful, so..."

Before Chu Chen could finish "reading" his love letter, the Elders of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace finally snapped. They could not listen to another word.

A hot-tempered, stooped old man leaning on a cane broke out in a cold sweat. His spiritual power suddenly erupted, and he slammed his cane heavily against the stone floor.

"Enough! You are disgusting me to death!!"

Boom!!

The Pressure of a Saint King instantly erupted. A terrifying storm of Spiritual Qi crushed inward from all directions, instantly locking Chu Chen's body in place.

"Was this not supposed to be a declaration of war? How did it turn into such a nauseating love letter?"

"Boy, you... what kind of treacherous conspiracy is your Ye family plotting? What are you scheming?!"

Because his body was sealed by the Pressure, Chu Chen could not even blink, let alone argue.

When a Saint King expert made a move, let alone the currently crippled Chu Chen, even at his peak three years ago, he would not have been a match.

The terrifying foundation of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace was evident.

"Empress, stop listening to this boy's nonsense. Just kill him!"

"Yes, execute him immediately! Then our Divine Flame Imperial Palace will declare all-out war on the Ye family!"

"If the Ye family wants a war, then we will give them a war!"

...

The other Elders glared at Chu Chen with utter disgust and contempt, chiming in to persuade the Empress:

"Exactly! Who is he trying to sicken with this display?"

"It gave me goosebumps all over. My stomach is churning so violently I still feel like vomiting."

"Trying to use a man to seduce our Empress and disturb her Dao heart?"

"Heh! Such a petty trick, who would ever fall for it?"

...

"Hmph, noisy!"

Just as the Elders were mocking him, the Empress Lin Shuwang let out a cold snort from her throne. With a wave of her hand, a vast wave of fire-attributed Spiritual Qi swept through the grand hall like an autumn wind scattering fallen leaves.

This violent fire-attributed Spiritual Qi not only intimidated all the Elders but also formlessly dissolved the Pressure crushing Chu Chen, restoring his freedom.

Chu Chen raised an eyebrow slightly, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

It seemed...

It seemed he had... bet correctly!

"You... all of you, withdraw. This Empress has matters to... ask him alone."

At some unknown point, a faint mist had risen around the Empress Lin Shuwang, obscuring her face and making it impossible to discern her subtle expressions.

But in her voice, the usual icy detachment was gone. Instead, there was a hint of...

Panic~

These words utterly stunned the bloodthirsty Elders in the hall.

They thought their ears were failing them and they had misheard.

Yet they dared not question the Empress. They could only stare wide-eyed at each other, completely at a loss for what to do.

"Fe... Empress, you..."

Urged on by the gazes of the other Elders, the leading Great Elder stepped forward. He cupped his hands in a salute to the throne and hesitantly spoke:

"Are you asking us... asking us to kill this boy, or... or..."

"Get out!!"

Before the Great Elder could finish, the Empress Lin Shuwang violently flicked her sleeve. Her icy, piercing voice exploded like thunderclaps in the Elders' ears, causing the void to crackle as if the sky itself might collapse at any moment.

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

"Have my words lost their power? Or do you no longer place this Empress in your eyes?!"

Whoosh-

At these words, the dozen or so Elders fell to their knees without a shred of hesitation, kowtowing to the throne as rapidly as pounding garlic.

As they slammed their heads against the floor, they cried out:

"Empress, quell your anger!"

"We dare not! We dare not!"

...

Afterward, the Elders of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace tiptoed out of the grand hall, each one casting venomous, threatening glares at Chu Chen before leaving.

These old monsters were mighty experts who had long comprehended the laws of space, capable of shattering the surrounding void with a mere wave of their hands.

But now, under the watchful eye of the Empress Lin Shuwang, they could only shake their fists at Chu Chen, gnash their teeth, and quietly mutter vicious curses under their breath.

Chu Chen picked his ear, yawned, and pretended not to hear a thing.

He was already a dead man walking; why would he care about face?

Once all the Elders had exited, only the Empress Lin Shuwang and Chu Chen remained in the vast, empty hall.

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere turned incredibly delicate.

Under the gaze of this exalted sovereign, revered by countless millions as the Empress, as untouchable as a Nine Heavens Profound Maiden descending to the mortal realm...

Chu Chen swallowed hard. He had never been so nervous in his life.

He even felt the sudden urge to... to call back the dozen Elders who had just left...

"Is... is the love letter finished?"

The Empress Lin Shuwang spoke first, her voice cold but laced with a flustered panic that shattered the silence.

"Ah... ah?!"

Chu Chen froze, thinking he had misheard. Once he snapped back to reality, he quickly replied:

"No... not finished."

The Empress Lin Shuwang blushed, turned her head away, and muttered softly:

"Then... then continue~"

"..."

Although he had no idea what kind of nerve he had struck with the Empress Lin Shuwang, reason told Chu Chen that playing along would drastically increase his chances of survival.

And so...

Chu Chen sank his Qi into his Dantian, took a deep breath, and gripped the blank paper. His mind raced, desperately digging up more of those sickeningly sweet confessions.

Suddenly, Chu Chen remembered a love poem that Ye Xuan, that manipulative white lotus, had once written to flatter Ye Ling'er, Ye Qingqing, and Ye Han. He immediately began to recite it with profound emotion.

"Lin Shuwang, in my heart.

You are innocence, you are solemnity.

You are the full moon of every night.

You are the blossoming of every tree,

The swallows murmuring among the rafters,

-You are love, you are warmth,

You are hope,

You are the radiant April day of the mortal realm!"

...

"A graceful lady is a gentleman's perfect match."

"Lin Shuwang, from the very first moment I laid eyes on you, my heart no longer belonged to me."

...

"To hold your hand, and grow old with you."

"No matter how beautiful the world may be, it cannot compare to a single fraction of your radiance, Lin Shuwang."

"Though I am but a mediocre mortal, I am willing to spend my entire life loving you, cherishing you."

Under the relentless assault of these bone-numbingly cheesy words, the Empress Lin Shuwang trembled more and more violently upon her throne.

Her body temperature spiked, her breathing quickened, and even her heart...

Unknowingly began to race, pounding wildly against her ribs.

The Empress held absolute authority as the master of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace.

She governed hundreds of thousands of disciples and millions of subjects.

Lofty and exalted, her every word was absolute law.

She possessed the Undying God Phoenix Physique and was the youngest Great Saint on the Desolate Ancient Continent, destined to step into the Imperial realm and achieve the supreme status of a Great Emperor.

But...

It was lonely at the peak. This untouchable sovereign lived a life where no one dared to approach her.

Under the heavens, how many could ever catch the eye of Lin Shuwang?

For years, she had been surrounded only by fawning, sycophantic, and hypocritical bootlickers.

How many days and nights had Lin Shuwang spent entirely alone, without a single soul to confide in?

Among her peers, aside from the man who had once defeated her and left an indelible mark upon her Dao heart...

The rest...

Were nothing but ants.

"You... you traveled thousands of Li to my Divine Flame Imperial Palace, just... just to deliver... to deliver a love letter to this Empress?"

The Empress Lin Shuwang looked at the strikingly handsome Chu Chen standing before her, his eyes brimming with deep affection. Her gaze darted away evasively:

"Just to tell this Empress that you... you have feelings for this Empress?"

Without a second thought, Chu Chen forced a blush and nodded.

If he dared to say he didn't like her right now, he would be digging his own grave!

"Since... since you care for this Empress, then why did you fight me to the death in that great battle three years ago?"

"Even if it meant severing your own cultivation path, you still insisted on defeating and suppressing this Empress, severely wounding me?!"

"Is this your love for me? Is this what you call loving me for a lifetime? Cherishing me?"

"..."

Ah, damn it.

Chu Chen mentally rubbed his temples.

Looking at the Empress Lin Shuwang, who was staring at him with deadly seriousness...

Chu Chen was momentarily speechless. He knew a life-or-death question had just been dropped in his lap!

If he answered this poorly, he feared... leaving behind an intact corpse would be a luxury.

But three years ago, Chu Chen had indeed severely wounded the Empress Lin Shuwang. He couldn't exactly deny it.

Under the Empress Lin Shuwang's interrogating gaze, Chu Chen cleared his throat and began to shamelessly twist logic and swap concepts, pouring on the emotional manipulation:

"I regret it too. Do you know how I have spent these past three years?"

"For three years, I have lived every day and night in agonizing self-blame and remorse, because..."

"Because once, a beautiful love was placed right in front of me, and I did not cherish it. Only after losing it did I feel the sting of true regret."

"If the Heavens could grant me one more chance, I would cherish it with all my soul."

"If I had to set a time limit on this love, I hope it would be... ten thousand years."

"..."

Swish!!

After a brief silence, the Empress Lin Shuwang suddenly stood up from her throne and slowly walked toward Chu Chen, step by step.

Her long, fair fingers trembled slightly. The Empress Lin Shuwang's Dao heart...

Was already in complete and utter chaos.