Before his rebirth, Chu Chen had battled Empress Lin Shuwang, resulting in his Meridians being completely destroyed and his cultivation utterly crippled.

He had suffered endless humiliation within the Ye family, eventually dying with unyielding resentment.

Yet, in his final, dying moments, the one who came to the Ye family to seek him out and demand justice on his behalf was none other than Empress Lin Shuwang.

In that previous life, the two had only crossed paths a single time, but it had been love at first sight.

Upon learning of his tragic fate, the Empress did not hesitate to invoke a forbidden secret technique, forcibly activating her Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon.

She slaughtered Ye Xuan, that two-faced white lotus, crippled Chu Chen's six older sisters and one younger sister, suppressed the Ye family Patriarch, and clashed against the Ye family Ancestor and their own Imperial Weapon-nearly erasing the immortal Ye family from the Desolate Ancient Continent entirely.

A woman like this-how could anyone say she lacked devotion?

How could anyone claim she did not love Chu Chen??

Having lived two lifetimes, Chu Chen had long since seen through the vanity of the world.

The Empress had entrusted him with her life, and so he, Chu Chen, would protect her with his own.

"Hmph~ This Emperor is not some deeply devoted woman~"

However, it was blatantly obvious that the Empress was highly dissatisfied with Chu Chen's answer. After all, she had not experienced any of the events from his previous life.

She assumed Chu Chen was merely spouting a random excuse to brush her off.

"Alright, if you absolutely must know what I like about you?"

"A gorgeous face, a spectacular figure, an excellent rear, Master of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, honored as the Empress, commanding unimaginable wealth..."

Before Chu Chen could finish his brazen list, the Empress bared her delicate canines and viciously bit down, scaring him into hastily retracting his right hand.

"Hmph, you men truly are all so incredibly shallow~"

The Empress let out an arrogant snort, then hurriedly justified herself:

"That is exactly how it is written in the picture books~"

"..."

Chu Chen rubbed his temples.

It seemed Zhang Ke'er's hobby of reading romance picture books was directly inherited from her master, the Empress.

Since the Empress apparently favored the refined, literary approach, Chu Chen would use it as his breakthrough to capture her heart.

"Truthfully, ever since I first laid eyes on you three years ago, I have yearned for you day and night. I even composed a poem for you."

Gazing at the Empress's breathtaking face from such a close distance, Chu Chen's heart raced. He suddenly recalled a poem that Ye Xuan, that hypocritical white lotus, had once written for the Ye sisters.

Without a shred of guilt, he adopted the "finders keepers" philosophy, shamelessly claiming authorship of the verses.

"Oh? You... you know how to compose poetry? And you wrote one exclusively for this Emperor?"

The Empress was taken aback, her entire being captivated as she eagerly pressed:

"What poem is it? Recite it for me to hear~"

Just as he expected, the Empress's curiosity had been thoroughly hooked.

The corners of Chu Chen's lips curled up slightly. He slowly paced back and forth across the grand hall, lowering his head in feigned contemplation before reciting:

"The clouds long for her raiment, the flowers covet her visage; the spring breeze brushes the balustrade, the dew glimmers with grace."

"If she is not encountered atop the Jade Mountain's peak, then beneath the Moon Terrace, her immortal beauty we seek."

What did this poem mean?

It meant that her appearance and attire were so devastatingly beautiful that even the drifting clouds and blooming peonies sought to emulate her.

The gentle spring breeze caressing the railing, the gorgeous peonies adorned with crystal dew-none could compare to her ethereal, fairy-like beauty.

If one could not gaze upon her within the immortal Jade Mountain, then only at the Queen Mother's divine Moon Terrace could one hope to behold such a countenance.

Whoosh-

The moment Chu Chen finished chanting those four lines, a profound silence descended upon the vast, empty hall.

"The clouds long for her raiment, the flowers covet her visage... Is this Emperor... am I truly that beautiful?"

The Empress was utterly spellbound. She murmured the verses softly, casting shy, lingering glances toward Chu Chen.

Her beautiful eyes brimmed with delightful surprise, and the way she looked at him completely transformed, her gaze practically sparkling with stars.

Chu Chen casually wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead while nodding with absolute, unshakeable confidence.

Naturally, the Empress was peerlessly beautiful. Across the entirety of the Desolate Ancient Continent, she was the only woman truly worthy of the phrase "beautiful as a celestial, magnificent beyond her generation."

What actually made Chu Chen sweat was the simple fact that he hadn't written a single word of it. It was a poem Ye Xuan had recited to woo the Ye sisters, which Chu Chen had coincidentally overheard and memorized.

He had to admit, even though Ye Xuan was a manipulative, two-faced white lotus, the man possessed genuine literary flair and a deep mastery of poetry.

Beyond this particular verse, Ye Xuan would frequently recite masterpieces like Spring Gaze, Quiet Night Thought, and Ascending the Height to charm the Ye sisters.

On that specific front, Chu Chen had no choice but to respect his game.

Yet, deep in his bones, Chu Chen absolutely refused to believe that a venomous snake like Ye Xuan could possess such transcendent literary talent. Without a doubt, the bastard must have plagiarized these exquisite verses from some unknown ancient inheritance!

...

"Wife, now that the five branch Palace Masters are each harboring their own treacherous schemes, you..."

As he spoke, Chu Chen habitually reached out to grasp Empress Lin Shuwang's soft hand. But this time, she gracefully dodged, her face flushing crimson.

"Did I not tell you to stop calling me 'wife'? I... I do not despise you, I even... I even hold some admiration for you, but we..."

"We have only crossed paths a few times, and we... we still do not understand each other well. What if I am not as perfect as you imagine, and what if you do not truly like me as much as you believe?"

Chu Chen paused, taken aback. He genuinely thought he had already completely conquered Empress Lin Shuwang's heart.

Unexpectedly, while the Empress had indeed opened her heart to him...

She had not thrown the doors completely wide. She still needed time.

Time to slowly process these overwhelming emotions.

She was, after all, an aloof Empress who had never tasted romance. Her traditional, guarded nature was entirely understandable.

But...

The romantic tension had already been pushed to its absolute peak. If he failed to thoroughly lock her down today, such a golden opportunity might never present itself again.

One could not forget that, aside from Chu Chen, there was still Bai Yu-that absolute sycophant-lurking within the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, covetously eyeing the Empress.

Even if the Empress held zero affection for that bird-man, the bastard still possessed good looks and the imposing cultivation of a Saint King realm expert.

As the saying went: it wasn't the thief stealing your treasure that you feared, but the thief who constantly obsessed over it.

It seemed that sweet, honeyed words were not enough; he needed to drop a heavier hammer.

Shing!

At that exact thought, Chu Chen abruptly drew a longsword from his spatial ring. Right before the Empress's terrified eyes, he pressed the razor-sharp edge directly against his own throat.

"The world reveres you as the high and mighty Empress, but in my heart, you are simply the girl that I love."

"You and I may stand on opposite sides of the righteous and demonic paths, but so what?"

"Even if our love is divided by mountains and seas, for you, those mountains and seas shall be leveled!"

The moment those words fell, Empress Lin Shuwang felt as if an arrow of pure emotion had pierced her very soul. Her heart raced frantically like a trapped deer, her face flushed a deep crimson, and she stood frozen to the spot.

"Wife, if you still harbor doubts regarding the depth of my devotion, then I am willing to prove it with my life!"

Squelch-

By applying just a fraction of force to his grip, the icy blade sliced through the skin of his neck. A stark line of crimson blood instantly welled up, trickling down his throat.

"No!!"

Empress Lin Shuwang let out a piercing cry of terror. The devastating Pressure of a peak ninth heaven Great Saint erupted without warning, instantly freezing the space around them solid.

Moving with the speed of tearing lightning, she forcibly ripped the sword from Chu Chen's hand and mercilessly crushed the spiritual blade into fine metallic dust with her bare fingers.

"Chu Chen, you... you absolute fool! Such a fool! Such a fool!!"

Never in her wildest dreams did Empress Lin Shuwang expect that, simply to prove the depths of his love, Chu Chen would actually... would actually disregard his own life and death!

In that fleeting second, Empress Lin Shuwang's final emotional defenses utterly and completely shattered!

"I agree!"

"I agree to it!!"

Blushing furiously, Empress Lin Shuwang shyly averted her gaze.

"If you wish to call me your wife... then call me~"

"If you wish to court this Emperor... then court me~"

"But, but this Emperor has one strict condition: you absolutely cannot tell a single soul that you... that you are courting this Emperor. Especially not Zhang Ke'er~"

Gazing at the flustered, endearingly foolish Empress Lin Shuwang-who currently looked as guilty as a thief caught red-handed-

Chu Chen did not hesitate for a heartbeat. He nodded solemnly, expressing his absolute agreement.

Keep it from Zhang Ke'er?

That treacherous little disciple had long since sold you, her own master, out to him~

Chu Chen reached out, pulling the Empress's delicate frame close, and wrapped her in a deep, tight embrace.

The Empress squirmed slightly, feeling an odd, rigid discomfort pressing against her lower abdomen, but she was too flustered to pay it any true mind. Instead, she continued:

"Chu Chen, listen closely to me. Although we are now together, I believe you have already noticed... my Divine Flame Imperial Palace is far from peaceful..."