Chapter 19: Meeting A New Protagonist

The next morning was relatively peaceful. The trio woke up early, they freshened up lightly and donned a new set of clothes. After that, they set out of the forest.

Xin Zhuyan and Meng Xia were relieved. They had thought that he'd make them serve him again. While they had already done that a couple of times, in the end, it was still a matter of great shame.

As they approached the foot of the mountain, they suddenly saw a couple of carriages slowly coming to a halt in front of them.

"Yan Empire Flag." Meng Xia frowned. The carriages had bright red-colored flags, and in the middle of the flags was an untamed golden frame, burning fiercely. It was the flag of the Yan Empire's royal family.

These areas were under the jurisdiction of Shangaan Peak so it strange seeing a royalty coming here.

The door of one of the carriages opens and a cute girl around 1.6m in height jumps out. She was dressed in a simple white and blue one-piece. Head full of black hair and caramel-colored eyes, with a small oval face that still had traces of baby fat, gave her a look of innocence and mischievousness.

"Finally here!" She exclaims with her immature voice as she surveys the surroundings, finding the Zhao Shuman trio.

A look of surprise creeps up to her face as she looks at Xin Zhuyan and Meng Xia. As for Zhao Shuman, he was ignored once more. This world still runs on face value and his face value… wasn't high. Zhao Shuman didn't care about these trivialities and instead focused on remembering something more important.

'It can't be them, right?' He thought. However, as he saw three more figures jumping down the carriages, his assumption was proven true.

The three figures were two women and one man.

The man was tall and looked to be in his early twenties. He was also very handsome, even more than Zhou Wuji. His hair was long and his shoulders wide. A sense of heroicness, which was especially attractive to young women exuded out of him. The moment he appeared, Zhao Shuman was instantly overshadowed.

The cute girl from earlier quickly grabbed his hands and whispered, "Brother Lin Dong, look at them, they are so beautiful."

Lin Dong looked at Xin Zhuyan and Meng Xia and was also surprised but he hid the surprise pretty well. He flashed a sunny smile to them before glancing down at the cute girl and saying: "You will become as beautiful as them in the future too."

Hearing this, the cute girl who was called Shui Ming'er blushed lightly and then let out a happy giggle.

Seeing this nauseating sense, Zhao Shuman's eyes were blank. He decisively ignored them and looked at the other two girls.

One of the girls was dressed in a crimson royal outfit adorned with pieces of jewelry but in fact, all of them were protective treasures. She was extremely beautiful with her golden eyes and overflowing long golden hair.

She has a compelling elegance. Just looking at her standing posture would arouse a feeling of endless admiration within anyone. Her charm and demeanor weren't inferior to her elegance either.

'Yan Xi, Yan Empire's imperial princess.' Zhao Shuman concluded before looking at the last woman.

Dressed in a majestic green robe, she stood tall at around 1.75m. An immortal-like breath radiated out of her, like a being out of mortal's reach. She also exuded coldness but it wasn't as piercingly cold as Xin Zhuyan.

In fact, she was pretty similar to Xin Zhuyan in some aspects, like they both held cold faces most of the time and had otherworldly auras hovering around them. Though she seemed more approachable than Xin Zhuyan, the invisible wall that isolated her from others was amplified.

Her figure was graceful and slender, her long jet-black hair was tied in a high bun, and her long snow-white legs were looming under the dress.

'Mu Luoshuang, saint of Three Gods Sect.'

A man surrounded by three extraordinary beautiful girls, even if Zhao Shuman thought with his toes, he understood that the man was a protagonist.

'System!'

…

Name: Lin Dong

Cultivation Level: 3rd Level Heavenly Master Realm

Cultivation Technique: Four Divine Beast Art

Heavenly Luck: 10000

…

Seeing this, Zhao Shuman's eyes flashed. As he expected, they were them. In that case…

His eyes flickered towards Lin Dong's hand. He was wearing a seemingly ordinary-looking black ring. Seeing that inconspicuous ring, Zhao Shuman was inwardly greedy but he didn't let it show it to his face.

'What are they doing here? I don't recall them being here in the novel.' Zhao Shuman wondered, a little annoyed. He didn't want plots to shift but it seems like his interference did exactly that.

As those three women surrounded Lin Dong and began chatting, the atmosphere around them appeared rather harmonious. Shui Ming'er, who joined hands with him was particularly enthusiastic. Her immature eyes flashed with hints of budding love whenever she looked at Lin Dong.

Meng Xia glanced at Lin Dong for a moment before shifting her eyes to Mu Luoshuang who was looking back. Their eyes matched and hints of rivalry flickered out. They were both saints of the holy sect and have naturally met on more than one occasion. Over time, a friendly rivalry has formed between them.

While they were competing, Yan Xi's eyes were focused on Zhao Shuman. Years of intricacies and politics in the royal family told her that this seemingly average-looking man was not what he appeared to be.

Zhao Shuman felt her gaze but ignored her. It was better not to mess with this woman for now. Among the younger generation, she and Meng Xia were among the most intelligent and scheming women. Naturally, he was greedy for her brainpower, and body too by the way, but now wasn't the time.

"It's been a while, Mu Luoshuang. I see that you are still fine." Meng Xia greeted first with a smile.

"Hmm, a year almost." Mu Luoshuang replied with a nod and a small smile of her own.

"So what are you all doing here? This is Shangaan Peak's private property." Her tone was leaning more towards curiosity than questioning.

Before Mu Luoshuang could reply, Yan Xi spoke first, her voice crisp, polite, and regal. "Lin Dong felt traces of a powerful Yin treasure born around here so we came to check it out. Naturally, I got a permit first."

She didn't hide it because she understood that they were also here for this. And after spotting their unchanged faces, this was confirmed.

"Can I take the leisure to ask if you have obtained it?"

While curious about how Lin Dong found out the treasure, Meng Xia briefly glanced at Zhao Shuman and seeing him nod, she said: "We did, yes. I am afraid you guys are late."

This small action didn't escape the eyes of four people and they were all surprised internally, especially Mu Luoshuang who knew Meng Xia's 'real' self.

For a moment, they couldn't help but focus on Zhao Shuman. They could feel that he was very weak, probably in the Earthly Master Realm. Even the youngest Shui Ming'er was Half-Step into Heavenly Master Realm. So why did Meng Xia, a saint of a holy sect ask for his permission?

'As expected, this man…' Yan Xi's eyes flashed with a strange light.

While curious, Mu Luoshuang chooses to stay silent.

Lin Dong also looked curious but he was more depressed because the treasure was obtained by someone else.

Shui Ming'er only looked at him for a moment before shifting her focus on Lin Dong. In her mind, Lin Dong was her everything. Kindest and invincible!

"Seems like we wasted our time then." Yan Xi shook her delicate head lightly. Though she said this, they showed no signs of leaving. Presumably, they were going to search regardless.

She also didn't ask what kind of treasure they obtained. This was an unwritten rule between cultivators.

"I think we should get going." Zhao Shuman said but the meaning was clear to Meng Xia.

"Yeah. We have been out for a long time." She nodded and then looked at Mu Luoshuang and said: "I'll see you three years later, I suppose. Let's settle our rivalry there."

"Mhm," Mu Luoshuang only returned a nod.

The trio soon left.

After they left, Shui Ming'er couldn't help but tease: "What is it, brother Lin Dong, do you take a fancy to those girls?"

"What are you saying?" Lin Dong replied, a bit flustered.

"Humph. Don't think I didn't notice that you were stealing glances at that cold-looking girl." She snorted cutely and looked into his eyes.

"Is that so?" Yan Xi also looked curious and eyes him.

Under their gaze, Lin Dong put his hands up and confessed. "…maybe I was a bit attracted. She was really beautiful and her aura was simply too otherworldly…"

Hearing him say that, Shui Ming'er cute nose wrinkled. A look of jealously crept up to her face. Yan Xi still had her smile, looking absolutely unbothered. Mu Luoshuang was also indifferent.

"Then why didn't you talk to her?"

"She was standing beside that man, maybe they are already a couple. That's why…"

"Come on brother, you are much stronger and handsome than him. Even if they are in a relationship, how can she not fall for you? Why don't you steal her?"

Shui Ming'er didn't believe that there was a woman in this world who won't fall for her big brother.

"Stealing isn't good." As a righteous protagonist, how can he think about stealing from other men? He have a moral code and he must abide by it!

"We don't even know if she is with that man, why don't you talk to her next time you meet her? I absolutely believe that she will fall for you." Shui Ming'er continued persuading. Although she liked her brother and was rather jealous that he was interested in other girls, she still wanted him to be happy.

"This, okay…" Lin Dong thought about it and nodded.

Mu Luoshuang thought about saying something but stopped. They were nothing more than acquaintances, and she doesn't have the habit of talking behind someone's back either.

When she had looked at Xin Zhuyan earlier, she immediately perceived something that others didn't.

Hints of Yang Qi inside her body. Women aren't born with Yang Qi, there's only one way it could reach inside them.

In that case, she is already…