Maiden Galaxy

Great Chong Dynasty, mid-March.

The second phase of the Divine Warrior Examination held every four years, the metropolitan examination, was officially unfolding in the major cities of every province in the country.

Chuan Province's number one city, Changluo.

Right now, it was bustling with activity. Spectators and warriors in all manners of attire converged before the gates of the Divine Warrior Governor House. Warriors of all ages came from various cities, towns, and counties in Chuan Province. The youngest was only about fifteen years old, but they had Qi And Blood Seven or Eight Turns strength. Some young masters were carried upon palanquins by their servants to the Divine Warrior Governor House. In the surroundings a crowd of elders nearby was escorted by their retinue. Plenty of noise was made in announcement out of fear that some stranger would not realize that some son was the number one juren from somewhere.

Wuyang Princess Ting Nanyuan entered Changluo, her pace delighted, her face full of excitement as she looked at these young talents. She tried to find anyone who was Dragon Wind In Man. "Shaoxu, how are the warriors here, not bad, right." Changluo's reputation as one of Great Chong Dynasty's major cities was well-deserved. Ting Nanyuan saw many warriors had reached Three Flowers Overhead.

The girl turned back and spoke, yet she puffed her cheeks at the scene in front of her..

Behind her, a man in white clothes was currently surrounded by a crowd of girls. These girls were charming young ladies, some of them lively lasses while others proud warriors. But each of these girls gathered in front of him, tugging at his clothes, wanting to drag him away.

The man helplessly lifted his head. His was a face beautiful enough to make even women envious. Every contour of his face seemed to be the work of the gods, sculpted exceptionally beautifully, including his black eyes, white skin, and his neat manners. But just by standing there as the very epitome of a beautiful man, he drew a crowd of fawning women who could not help but go into heat right on the street.

When the surrounding men saw this, they were also very envious of that charming face that was even more beautiful than a woman's.

Ting Nanyuan expression chilled. She strode over and pushed away those rogues, When the women saw Ting Nanyuan alone dominate, they were somewhat unhappy, but the girl had Essence Flower strength. They uttered some curses before finally letting go, but they looked at that beautiful man with gazes very reluctant to part.

"Shaoxu, you have to learn to refuse other women." Ting Nanyuan pulled Shaoxu's arm, a meaningful reminder.

Qin Shaoxu¹ gently smiled at the other women, suddenly making them swoon. "Refusing them will hurt them. I do not want to make them upset."²

Ting Nanyuan felt conflicted hearing these words. Everything about this Qin Shaoxu was great.³ He was gentle beyond belief, and his person was very attractive to bees and butterflies alike, not refusing any who approached. To any woman, from grandmothers over eighty to girls under eight, he was always so tender.

To love such a man truly was her own misfortune.

But still, while he treated other women very well, he had not done anything outrageous, always complying with etiquette and never overstepping boundaries. "Those warriors you spoke of, all of them are pretty good, but they cannot compare to Chang'an." Qin Shaoxu smiled. The talents of those young warriors around them were pretty good, but few of them were worth his amazement.

"Chang'an is a place full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Of course, Changluo can't compare." Ting Nanyuan knew that his standards were very high.

"Hey, you, gigolo from who knows where that surprisingly dares to say Changluo's warriors aren't as good as dogs?"

A voice of reprimand shouted directly at them.

Ting Nanyuan and Qin Shaoxu stopped.

A few burly men walked over, blocking their path. These men were tough and stocky, retaining unkempt stubble on their faces. Their eyes were vicious, showing deep loathing for Qin Shaoxu's feminine beauty.

"Apologies, this was not my intent." Qin Shaoxu cupped his fist in apology.

"Hey, pretty boy, you're pretty smart." The men were elated. To a warrior, seeking forgiveness was a sign of weakness. Weakness signified incompetence, and incompetents were to be thrashed. They were already very annoyed looking at this beautiful man, simply disgusted that a man could be more beautiful than a woman. After hearing his evaluation, they did not hesitate to come find trouble.

"Big bro, this guy is smooth-skinned. That skin of his is smoother than a woman's. It must feel really good to feel touch." A flippant and insincere brat said.

Ting Nanyuan was to the side, very facetiously looking at their exchange, not at all worried that Qin Shaoxu would be provoked. She had seen farces like this countless times before in Wuyang County.

Qin Shaoxu had good looks that would make men fume in anger.

Bite him.

"Pretty good for a gay guy." That leader cursed. He disdainfully looked at this man who did not have the slightest bit of presence of a warrior: "But I'm really curious. Let Your Father touch you, and we'll let this go."

"Touch me then." Qin Shaoxu smiled as he extended his hand, tender as jade, seriously more fine than a woman.

Ting Nanyuan was jealous as she watched from the side.

How can a man's hand be so beautiful.

Qin Shaoxu's frankness made these warriors very surprised. At this time, there were already many spectating Qi And Blood warriors, watching this scene with sneers.

"Hey, don't tell me this guy actually likes men." The leader suddenly felt a bit apprehensive. Qin Shaoxu's grin was very sincere, but the more this continued, the more the leader felt that something was off.

As if that hand was some sort of trap waiting for him.

With so many people watching, the man could not shrink back. He glanced down, but at this moment, Qin Shaoxu moved, instnatly arriving in front of him. "Just perfect." The man's fury was burning, thinking of starting a fight and throwing a punch.

Slap!!

A loud and clear slap to the face.

The man's world spun, and his cheek swelled.

Slap!

Slap!

Qin Shaoxu smoothly attacked two more times, but as easily as if he was painting, these slaps knocked the three warriors silly. They did not even have the strength to resist.

Once those brutes saw that their opponent's power was unfathomable, with strength surpassing Essence Flower, they ran away in fear, clutching their faces.

"Hee-hee, don't dirty your hand." Ting Nanyuan enthusiastically fondled Qin Shaoxu's hand, as if she was blessing a piece of porcelain, her eyes filled with love.

Qin Shaoxu slightly smiled at the spectating onlookers. The other men seemed to see a demon when looking at his smile, but the girls nearly shrieked.

"The Wuyang Princess has come to Changluo, excuse me for not greeting you."

A young man walked over smiling.

Ting Nanyuan retracted her hand, looked at him and politely smiled: "So it's Big Brother Chen Qing."

Chen Qing wore luxurious clothing, an impressive appearance that was very imposing. Ting Nanyuan knew from a glance that he had Qi Flower Realm strength. To be able to reach this level before he was twenty years old, Ting Nanyuan was quite surprised.⁴

"I heard a commotion just now, so I came to take a look. I never imagined I would see you, Commandery Princess. This is?" Chen Qing asked.

"This is Shaoxu." Ting Nanyuan said shyly.

Chen Qing smiled: "Brother Shaoxu is truly fortunate."

Qin Shaoxu slightly smiled, cupping his fist.

"Can it be that the Wuyang Princess has come to watch the Changluo metropolitan examination?" Chen Qing asked as they walked. "Today's Changluo metropolitan examination has drawn quite a crowd. It will surely be wonderful. If one can obtain the highest score in Changluo, presumably they can shock the imperial court."

"I came to find Chen Mo." Ting Nanyuan smiled.

Chen Qing was taken aback, transient displeasure flashing past his eyes, but it very quickly vanished. He smiled wholeheartedly: "Chen Mo was but the man of the moment in our Changluo a while ago." 

"Oh, really?"

"Nobody thought that the rumor that Cousin Chen Mo was incapable of martial arts turned out to be false." Chen Qing spoke forthrightly.

Ting Nanyuan had seen Chen Mo's might before at Azure Dragon Town. She knew that Chen Qing was hiding something, so she was unwilling to say that Chen Mo was too strong. From the Wuyang Princess' perspective, saying Chen Mo was unable to practice martial arts was beyond wrong. His martial arts already reached the level of Star Generals. To be able to defeat all of the Qing Family warriors using Qi And Blood Eight Turns, this was completely inconceivable.

"Shaoxu, am I not right, Chen Mo is but both smart and powerful. This Princess has never seen such unfathomability, a man unable to be seen through." In order to avoid making her lover misunderstand, Ting Nanyuan added: "Shaoxu, you are also very mysterious." 

"For this metropolitan examination, is Chen Mo certain to be the highest scoring candidate?" Qin Shaoxu asked.

"He definitely can." Ting Nanyuan was very confident.

Chen Qing fake smiled: "Cousin has this strength, but he has apparently been in secluded cultivation recently. Our Chen Family does not have his information, so I do not know if he can rush to the metropolitan examination in time."

"Eh? Chen Mo is in seclusion?" Ting Nanyuan wrinkled her brow. She had some business to ask Chen Mo about.

"Commandery Princess, if you have business with him, you can inform me. I am more familiar with this Changluo than he is." Chen Qing hinted that Changluo was his domain.

Ting Nanyuan chuckled.

Chen Qing lost interest and used the excuse he needed to participate in the metropolitan examination to leave.

"It looks like this Chen Qing does not like that CHen Mo at all." Qin Shaoxu said.

"Aiya, he probably thinks Chen Mo is here to steal his things." Ting Nanyuan was already accustomed to sights like this. "Shaoxu, let's go look at the Divine Warrior GOvernor House." 

"En."

Divine Warrior Governor House, outside.

Now was already close to the time to enter for the metropolitan examination. More than a hundred onlookers were gathered outside, everyone crowded together, watching Changluo's best youth.

The DIvine Warrior Governor House's commander-in-chief was a tall and powerful man clad in armor and martial attire.

Square-faced, with a wide brow and large eyes, he was very imposing.

He stood atop the platform while the deputy general was currently checking the list of juren who had already handed over their juren token. He read name after name, and after receiving a response, he would admit them to the arena.

When Ting Nanyuan came, she noticed the atmosphere was very strange. Each and every person in the surroundings were all whispering, discussing spiritedly. She spotted Chen Qing, the man's expression calm, somewhat sinister.

"Chen Mo!!!"

The deputy general's voice loudly called.

"Juren Chen Mo who has come from Azure Dragon Town, are you here?" The deputy general called once again.

Ting Nanyuan finally understood what was happening.

It turned out that the metropolitan examination had long already begun to call attendance. When Chen Mo's name was announced, there was no response. Afterwards, in consideration of Chen Mo's special status, the Divine Warrior Governor House's proctors deliberated to read his name last. But after several calls, there was still no response.

Everyone stared at each other, somewhat confused.

"What's going on? Didn't Young Master Chen Mo defeat Zongzheng Ying?"

"Isn't he very strong? Why doesn't he appear?"

"Does he want to forfeit his qualifications this time?"

Chen Mo's name was but the topic of considerable discussion in Changluo for the past few days. That episode at the Divine Warrior Governor House that made Zongzheng Ying admit his mistake satisfied everyone, and it made them see the style of Chang'an Mansion's scion young lord. With so many people here watching this metropolitan examination, everyone had come to personally see just what this legendary Chen Mo was like.

After several calls, there was no response.

That governor-general of the Divine Warrior Governor House could not wait any longer. He took hold of the juren token and spoke with a voice like spring thunder. "Chen Mo from Azure Dragon Town, if you do not respond on the third call, you shall be disqualified, everyone present as witness."

"Chen Mo!"

First call, no response.

"Chen Mo!"

The second still had no one.

"Chen Mo!"

On the third, Chen Qing could not help but smirk.

"I'm here!"

An attractive and tender voice suddenly responded, and a jade hand abruptly shot into the air. Shuffle, shuffle, everyone's eyes concentrated on this jade hand, their gazes astonished.

Ting Nanyuan was stupefied.

The one who raised his hand was none other than her lover, Qin Shaoxu.

1. 秦少虛 ↩
2. This guy's definitely going to cheat on her. ↩
3. Oh, really. ↩
4. Well, when your father is embezzling the shit out of the territory… ↩