"Hahahaha." Pei San stepped forward with a laugh. "It seems Guest Elder Hu He has achieved complete success, acquiring two sets of divine armor.

The set you are wearing should be the 'Vast Heaven Divine Armor'… Yes, this set of divine armor suits Guest Elder Hu He's temperament perfectly." Teng Qingshan, who had been an assassin in his past life, had endured many hardships in this one as well. His entire demeanor was sharp and fierce, perfectly matching the heavily killing aura of the Vast Heaven Divine Armor.

"My Palace Master flatters me," Teng Qingshan glanced toward the banquet. "It seems the Palace Master and everyone else are celebrating the great victory in Youzhou." The Snow Lotus Cult Master interjected beside him, her laughter clear and bright: "It is indeed a great victory; we have taken the entirety of Youzhou.

From now on, the eastern Qingzhou, northeastern Youzhou, and the northern Great Steppes will be connected as one. This is certainly cause for celebration.

However, the most infuriating thing about destroying Vast Heaven City was letting that You Shijin escape with the divine armor. Fortunately, Guest Elder Hu He helped us retrieve the armor again." "Xiao Lian," Pei San frowned.

The Snow Lotus Cult Master was Pei San's daughter, spoiled since childhood. When she became obstinate, even Pei San’s words held no sway over her.

"Guest Elder Hu He, you came here to deliver the divine armor?" The Snow Lotus Cult Master asked with a smile. "Oh… Guest Elder Hu He has rendered a great service this time; our Heavenly God Palace will surely remember it." This remark made Teng Qingshan's expression sour.

In truth, the Snow Lotus Cult Master had been in a terrible mood following the battle at Vast Heaven City! Especially due to the severing of Senior Brother Li Chao's arm; Li Chao and the Snow Lotus Cult Master had grown up together, as close as siblings.

The Snow Lotus Cult Master had been simmering with anger for a long time. Furthermore, because she was Pei San's daughter, people like Li Chao indulged her.

Pei San, due to the death of his wife, felt deeply indebted to this daughter, leading him to dote on her even more. This had caused the Snow Lotus Cult Master to grow up spoiled and domineering… In her view, Jing Yi suddenly seizing the divine armor at this juncture was tantamount to snatching food from a tiger's mouth!

Was he stealing treasures right from under the noses of the Heavenly God Palace? Coupled with the immense frustration she already felt that day, she naturally let it erupt.

"Snow Lotus Cult Master, you mean I came here to deliver the armor, to claim merit?" Teng Qingshan frowned. "What merit have I claimed?" As he spoke, Teng Qingshan looked towards the Heavenly God Palace Master, 'Pei San'.

The Cult Master's domineering and venomous words had greatly enraged him. If the Heavenly God Palace Master 'Pei San' was the same sort of person… If that were the case, he would simply leave on the spot!

After all— Had it not been for the Six-Legged Saber Chi, the Heavenly God Palace would have been far more passive this time, let alone acquiring the divine armor. "Guest Elder Hu He, you have certainly rendered a great service," Pei San took a step forward, blocking the Snow Lotus Cult Master, and smiled.

"When I sent you to pursue the Six-Legged Saber Chi, I already stated that after recovering both sets of divine armor, you could choose one for yourself. The other set goes to my Heavenly God Palace, for which the Palace will reward you handsomely." "Guest Elder Hu He, it seems you chose the Vast Heaven Divine Armor yourself.

Hahaha, you are already wearing it." Pei San looked at the set of dark green divine armor Teng Qingshan held in his arms: "Is this the set you are delivering?" Instantly, the Heavenly Gods 'Sumonte', the Sword Sect Master 'Li Chao', the Beast King 'Wu Hou', Pei Hao, and the Snow Lotus Cult Master all fixed their gaze on Teng Qingshan… including Pei San himself. Pei San's question clearly indicated that their Heavenly God Palace absolutely required one set of divine armor.

If Teng Qingshan took the Vast Heaven Divine Armor, they would take the other set; this was the bottom line. If Teng Qingshan proved too greedy, Pei San would likely become very displeased, and the consequences of Pei San's displeasure would be severe.

Should he hand it over or not? "Palace Master," Teng Qingshan smiled faintly.

"It was settled beforehand, so naturally, I agree. Since I have the Vast Heaven Divine Armor, this set is of no use to me… However—" "However, what?" Pei San and the others watched Teng Qingshan.

"However, this set of divine armor is missing its upper body plating," Teng Qingshan shook his head. "To tell the truth, this You Shijin tried every means to prevent me from obtaining the divine armor, even colluding with the Imperial Sovereign Gate long ago.

It took every ounce of my strength just to seize the armor. The upper body plating was taken by Yu Tonghai and Yu Tonghai from the Imperial Sovereign Gate." "To obtain the divine armor, I also incurred the enmity of the Imperial Sovereign Gate," Teng Qingshan said with a wry smile of helplessness.

"The Imperial Sovereign Gate?" Pei San chuckled dismissively. "When I saw the Six-Eared Earth-Drilling Rat, I suspected a connection with the Imperial Sovereign Gate.

The 'Dragon Blaze Fruit,' the favorite of the Six-Eared Earth-Drilling Rat, is most abundant within the Imperial Sovereign Gate. Incurring enmity for the sake of divine armor… Do not worry.

Although the Imperial Sovereign Gate can be arrogant at times, they are also exceedingly cautious. With my Heavenly God Palace involved, they will not make a move." "As for this divine armor, being short one outer piece is fine," Pei San said carelessly.

"The outer plating of the divine armor is rarely worn anyway." "Palace Master." Teng Qingshan handed it over with a smile. Seeing this, Pei San finally revealed a look of satisfaction.

The Heavenly God 'Sumonte' and Pei Hao beside him all breathed a collective sigh of relief, a slight smile appearing on their faces. "A Hou." Pei San turned and commanded.

"Master." The Beast King 'Wu Hou' immediately stepped forward. "This set of dark green divine armor, as far as I know, was left by a Void Interpretation level predecessor of Vast Heaven City, 'Yan Wushan.' From this day forward, it belongs to you." Pei San solemnly held out the set of armor, presenting it.

The Beast King 'Wu Hou's' eyes lit up with excitement, and he took a deep, trembling breath as he accepted it. For Void Realm experts, there were very few treasures that could truly stir their hearts.

Divine armor was certainly one of them. 'So, Pei San wants the divine armor to give to his disciple,' Teng Qingshan mused internally.

'No wonder he didn't insist on the Vast Heaven Divine Armor… If he were wearing it himself, his demands would likely have been higher; he would have demanded the Vast Heaven Divine Armor. However, he is a Void Interpretation level existence; he can refine divine armor himself.' 'Divine armor refined by oneself will naturally suit him better than the divine armor left behind by other Void masters throughout history.' Teng Qingshan’s gaze swept over Pei San’s body, but he did not see any divine armor: 'He is probably wearing it beneath his robes.' "Hu He." "Yes?" Teng Qingshan looked at Pei San.

Pei San looked back at Teng Qingshan and smiled warmly: "I mentioned before that you would give one set of divine armor to my Heavenly God Palace, and in return, the Palace would heavily reward you. Tell me… what great reward do you require?" "What great reward?" Teng Qingshan pondered.

"Speak freely, our Heavenly God Palace is not as stingy as you," the Snow Lotus Cult Master shot a look at Teng Qingshan… In truth, ever since Teng Qingshan and Li Jun returned from Duanmu Continent, the Snow Lotus Cult Master had taken a disliking to Teng Qingshan. Now, her good opinion had dwindled even further.

Teng Qingshan glanced at the Snow Lotus Cult Master, then suddenly grinned broadly: "Palace Master, how about the Heavenly God Palace conquers Yangzhou, and then gifts it to me?" Pei San froze. The other Void Realm experts were also taken aback by Teng Qingshan's proposition.

Conquer an entire Prefecture? Gift it to him?

That was one of the Nine Provinces, and one of the two most prosperous Prefectures, comparable only to Yuzhou. "You this…" Pei San couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.

"Jing Yi, oh Jing Yi, do you know how much manpower and resources it takes to conquer a single Prefecture? Our Heavenly God Palace spent several centuries preparing, only then managing to crush Qingzhou and Youzhou so easily.

Even so, in this single conquest of Youzhou, the Heavenly God Palace suffered casualties exceeding a million soldiers! Not to mention incalculable wealth." "Moreover, Ah Chao lost an arm because of this!" "The last time we destroyed the Carefree Palace, although we had infiltrated Qingzhou for a long time, the retaliation from that old thief of the Carefree Palace still caused us great losses." Pei San smiled at Teng Qingshan: "If you want me to gift you Yangzhou, that can be arranged.

You give me five sets of divine armor, plus five stalks of Undying Grass, and add the favor I owe you from last time—how about that?" "Five sets of divine armor, five stalks of Undying Grass? Plus the favor?" Teng Qingshan was astonished.

His previous suggestion was actually just a joke. An entire Prefecture, to just give away?

Only the supreme powerhouses would possess such audacity. No matter how powerful Pei San was, he would be reluctant to give up a Prefecture; the price to secure one was simply too high.

"Palace Master, five sets of divine armor and five stalks of Undying Grass? Even if you killed me, I couldn't gather that much," Teng Qingshan shook his head and laughed.

"As for the great reward? I genuinely haven't thought of anything for the moment." "Since you haven't thought of it, tell me when you do," Pei San chuckled.

Teng Qingshan nodded, then cupped his hands: "Palace Master, I have been away from Yicheng for some time now, so I shall take my leave! Also… I plan to take Xiao Jun back with me.

Palace Master, everyone… there is no need to see me off." Under the watchful eyes of Pei San and the others, Teng Qingshan mounted the Six-Legged Saber Chi and swiftly flew away from the courtyard to another residence within the city to fetch his wife, 'Li Jun'. That very night, they headed toward Jiangning Commandery, Yicheng, in Yangzhou.

* High in the night sky. The Six-Legged Saber Chi cut through the air.

Teng Qingshan sat cross-legged atop the Chi, while Li Jun reclined in his arms, looking up at the stars. "Qingshan, you actually gave away a set of divine armor?" Li Jun sat up suddenly, somewhat astonished.

"Of course." Teng Qingshan shook his head with a faint smile. "If I hadn't, your master, the Snow Lotus Cult Master, would probably have torn me apart." "I know, you did it for me," Li Jun turned to look at Teng Qingshan, apologizing.

"If it weren't for me, Qingshan, you probably wouldn't have had to get entangled with the Heavenly God Palace at all. I know Master… she is rather domineering.

Giving away the divine armor, Qingshan, does it make you unhappy?" "Unhappy?" Teng Qingshan laughed dismissively. "Xiao Jun, there is gain only through sacrifice!

I gave up a set of divine armor that is temporarily useless to me, and in return, I secured a promise of a great reward from the Heavenly God Palace once more. Moreover, I can fully leverage this opportunity to pull the Heavenly God Palace in to deal with those troubles from the Imperial Sovereign Gate." "Now is the time for me, Teng Qingshan, to build my foundation!" "On this land of the Nine Provinces, my foundation is too weak.

Since I am building a foundation, I must naturally pay a price," Teng Qingshan smiled. "To want to thrive without giving up a single thing, while lacking sufficient strength?

That's just dreaming!" Li Jun nodded. "Qingshan, once Xiao Qing arrives, we won't need to do things this way anymore, right?" Li Jun’s eyes shone.

"Although I enjoy the prestige of acting as the acting Snow Lotus Cult Master, I always feel like a hostage being held by the Heavenly God Palace, used to intimidate and influence you." Teng Qingshan reached out and pulled Li Jun into his embrace. "Don't worry, it will be soon.

Very soon, no one will be able to influence us." "Tomorrow is the 9th day of the seventh month. It's also the three-month mark for those 914 children practicing Internal Martial Arts.

We should know how many third-generation disciples my lineage of Internal Martial Arts has by then," Teng Qingshan said softly. In the first generation of Internal Martial Arts, there was only Teng Qingshan; the second generation was naturally Teng Shou and the others; the third generation consisted of these youths.

Sitting atop the Six-Legged Saber Chi, soaring through the Nine Heavens, looking up at the myriad stars. Vaguely, it seemed he could see the future—Internal Martial Arts practitioners as countless as these stars.

'That day will surely come,' Teng Qingshan thought silently.