Chapter 380: Empress's Preferences

Player "Eight Bowls of Rice" sharing the item he just obtained, the "Mystic Trial Tower Challenge Ticket," on the chat channel immediately caught the attention of many players, including Song Ye.

Song Ye also wished he could get such an item because he was only one level away from clearing the entire tower, reaching the last level where Qin Xuanxi was.

However, he quickly noticed a significant difference between the Mystic Trial Tower Challenge Ticket shared by "Eight Bowls of Rice" and the ones he remembered.

In the past, the Mystic Trial Tower Challenge Ticket was golden, but the one shared by "Eight Bowls of Rice" was purple.

Song Ye immediately checked the in-game "Item Encyclopedia" and discovered that in this login, the game system had introduced a new "Purple Tower" for the Mystic Trial Tower, which could be accessed using the purple challenge ticket.

Compared to the golden tower Song Ye had challenged before, the difficulty of the purple tower was naturally lower.

[I Don't Eat Beef]: "This item seems great. Brother, where did you get it?"

[Eight Bowls of Rice]: "I encountered a level two bamboo partridge on the roadside. I killed it casually, and the item dropped."

[Cotton Bunny]: "A friendly reminder, don't rush to use this item. Wait until you get the Meridian Opening Pill, become a cultivator, and have some strength before using it. Otherwise, you might not clear many levels, wasting this item for nothing."

[Eight Bowls of Rice]: "But this challenge ticket has only a one-hour validity period. I can only use it now."

[Cotton Bunny]: "Then go ahead, after the challenge, come back and tell us how many levels you've reached. Share your insights after clearing it."

[Eight Bowls of Rice]: "Alright!"

...

In the ruins of the Grand Yian Palace,

After Song Qian stored the Cold Dragon Token, nearly a dozen figures arrived from various directions, almost simultaneously landing around her.

Song Qian glanced around and saw the Deputy Prefect of the Tianwei Mansion, several high-ranking guards of the Tianwei Mansion, the head of the Yuwen Clan, the head of the Shangguan Clan, and the head of the Tenghe Pang Clan. Among them were also some immortals from the Lingyue Sect, who happened to witness this shocking scene in the city and came to see what was happening.

Among the arrivals, the highest in cultivation was Han Tianluo, the Deputy Prefect of the Tianwei Mansion. His cultivation had reached the Seventh Stage of the Void Breaking Realm, only two stages lower than Song Qian.

Although the heads of the Yuwen Clan and the Shangguan Clan were the two largest immortal families in Yian Country, the current heads' cultivations were lower than Song Qian's.

Yuwenzhaoming, the head of the Yuwen Clan, had reached the Third Stage of the Void Breaking Realm, and Shangguan Mingjing, the head of the Shangguan Clan, had reached the Fifth Stage of the Void Breaking Realm.

As for Panglei, the head of the Tenghe Pang Clan, his cultivation was even lower, only at the Second Stage of the Void Breaking Realm.

Because Pang Lei had been suspecting that his talented son had been secretly persecuted by Song Qian, he questioned her on the spot, "How are you still alive?"

Song Qian sneered, "Master Pang, your words are quite strange. Am I not supposed to be alive?"

"According to the information received by Master Pang, the Empress summoned you into the palace this morning," Pang Lei said, "and shortly after you entered the palace, the Empress and all the creatures in the entire palace suffered this disaster. Only you survived unharmed. This inevitably makes people suspect that you brought about this calamity."

Song Qian calmly responded, "Before this disaster occurred, I had already left the palace. Many merchants and pedestrians outside the palace gate can testify to that. Master Pang, you have no evidence. You just arrived and hastily accused me of causing this catastrophe in the palace, which makes people doubt your involvement in the matter."

Pang Lei, feeling bitten back, couldn't help but curse loudly, "You poisonous woman, stop talking nonsense!"

"Master Pang, how can you speak to the head of the Song family in such a vulgar manner? It's really improper." Shangguan Mingjing immediately spoke up and nodded politely to Song Qian.

"I also believe that this disaster has nothing to do with Miss Song. When Miss Song was young, she was a student of our Yuwen Academy. I know her character very well. Master Pang, you've come here and immediately accused her, which is really inappropriate." Yuwenzhaoming also spoke in support.

Apparently, these two clan heads were more inclined to speak up for Song Qian.

Pang Lei could clearly feel that these two were speaking to please the venomous Song Qian. Sneering, he scolded, "Humph, two old lechers!"

"Master Pang, how can you, like those market ruffians, curse others like this? You completely lack the demeanor of a family head." Shangguan Mingjing immediately expressed his dissatisfaction.

Although Yuwenzhaoming's expression didn't look good, he didn't say anything more.

"Did I curse you? Did I explicitly call you old lechers? You are so anxious now, could it be that you admit that you are indeed old lechers?" Pang Lei said provocatively.

"I don't want to argue meaninglessly with you here, which is beneath the dignity of the head of the Song family. If you have the courage, let's settle this with our fists." Shangguan Mingjing finished speaking, immediately activated his entire body's mana, his robe billowing, as if ready to fight.

"Who's afraid of whom!" Pang Lei finished speaking, also urged his entire cultivation, and fierce true qi surrounded him.

"Please do not fight here, both of you." Han Tianluo, the Deputy Prefect of the Tianwei Mansion, spoke to mediate. "Although this place is now in ruins, it used to be the imperial palace of our Grand Yian Country. If you insist on fighting here, our Tianwei Mansion will have to intervene."

Pang Lei and Shangguan Mingjing naturally did not want to offend the Tianwei Mansion, so they had to restrain their cultivation and stop.

"Miss Song," Han Tianluo asked Song Qian, "I also believe that you are not related to this disaster in the palace. However, following protocol, I have to ask you one question: what was the purpose of the Empress summoning you today?"

Song Qian replied without changing her expression, "The Empress said she appreciates me, and before leaving, she gave me a book called 'Snow Return Heart Technique.'"

Without any hesitation, she immediately took out the "Snow Return Heart Technique" from her storage domain. The secret technique manual even had the Empress's seal on it. Han Tianluo naturally knew that the Empress had such preferences, enjoying both men and women. This confirmed Song Qian's words.

While outsiders only knew about Wei Xinlan's preference for handsome men, Han Tianluo was well aware that she had an even greater preference for beautiful women. However, Wei Xinlan did not trust women, especially those who were more beautiful than her. Therefore, she would only enjoy and control women, treating them as slaves, while surrounding herself with powerful and high-status male consorts.

Certainly, Song Qian would never reveal the matter of the Empress arranging a marriage for her. Even if Wu Anhou came forward with the marriage decree, she would deny it vehemently.

At this moment, not seeing Wu Anhou present, it was likely that he had already met with an unfortunate fate.

Moreover, just now, Song Qian hastily scanned the entire city with her divine sense and did not sense the presence of Wu Anhou. In this case, it was estimated that no one could produce actual evidence to prove that the Empress had arranged a marriage for her.