Outside of Time

Within the grand hall, the melody of the pipa drifted like waves.

The player was a well-known musician in the capital.

This woman wasn't old. She was dressed in a white gown, her face veiled with a semi-transparent veil, giving her delicate features a hazy allure, adding a touch of elegance.

While her appearance was exquisite, her skill in playing music was even deeper, with remarkable achievements, which is why those who invited her were often high-ranking officials and nobles.

Commoners couldn't easily hear her music.

Today, she was here to perform a song at the invitation of the Third Princess and the Fourth Prince. Her beautiful eyes swept across the surroundings and she could naturally tell who the guest of honor was.

Despite the high status of the guest of honor, she remained unruffled. Over the years, while many had heard her music, only a few truly understood it. Perhaps, to be accurate, there was only one.

Most of the others only understood a little, but her role was actually just an embellishment and a background. She was well aware of it.

So, as usual, she closed her eyes, focusing her heart on the pipa in her arms, letting her thoughts flow into her hands.

As her jade-like fingers danced lightly, the sound of the pipa flowed like a gentle stream, soft and emotional, as if telling ancient stories that echoed throughout the grand hall.

The music was deep and profound, seemingly capable of deeply touching people's hearts. Combined with the dance of the maidservants around, most of the people here showed signs of being enchanted.

However, that was only on the surface.

If it was any other time, everyone here might really be a little intoxicated. However, right now… their minds were almost completely focused on Fan Shishuang, who was accompanied by the Third Princess and the Fourth Prince at the same time.

They had different thoughts.

Some people harbored thoughts of currying favor with him, while others schemed on how to leverage the situation to their advantage. There were also those who observed his every move with keen interest.

Their thoughts differed according to their status and standpoint.

Even the Third Princess and the Fourth Prince were no exception.

The Third Princess was more concerned about not becoming enemies.

As for the Fourth Prince, he clearly had more thoughts. Although the human race's imperial power wasn't something that outsiders could interfere with, if he had such a great heaven's chosen of the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race as an ally, at least from a standpoint, he could take away a portion of the Eldest Prince's halo.

With his achievements in the Flame Moon, the Eldest Prince had surpassed the other princes from being previously overlooked and became the most prominent figure among the three at present.

Almost all the princes paid special attention to this matter.

Fan Shishuang could see through their thoughts clearly.

Although he had suffered a loss against Xu Qing and was afraid of him, this didn't mean that he wasn't outstanding. On the contrary, as a heaven's chosen of the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race, regardless of whether he was in the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race or the other races, he was the center of attention.

Scenes like today were all too familiar to him.

He had been adulated, sought after for leverage, and even excessively flattered.

He was already used to the special treatment because of the strength of his race and his own excellence.

In fact, this was also his Dao.

His Dao was puppetry and also all living beings. Hence, he wanted to see the appearance of all living beings and their thoughts. Whether it be simple or complicated, good or evil, everything was helpful to him.

This would allow him to walk further on the Dao of puppets.

As for the great world he was shaping, although the vastness wasn't as great as Flame Mystic's and the wondrousness wasn't as great as Xu Qing's, it was still unique.

That was the Puppet World.

All living beings in this world were puppets. They simulated the myriad forms of life and acted out the arranged journey of life.

One day, if he walked to the nine worlds of the Soul Accumulation and the puppets gave birth to life, that would be the moment he used the identity of creation to achieve Ruler Realm!

This was his dream and his path.

Although the path to Ruler was broken, he believed that it wasn't impossible to continue on this path. Even if it was completely broken, there were other ways.

'Becoming a god!'

Fan Shishuang narrowed his eyes and gently stroked the wine glass in front of him with his right index finger. He sneered inwardly as he felt the patterns on the surface of the glass.

He could see through the thoughts of everyone in the hall at a glance.

To a certain extent, this ability was also his invisible advantage. Otherwise, how could he still be alive after provoking Xu Qing?

One had to know that Tuoshi Shan didn't emit too much malice toward Xu Qing, while Tian Mozi immediately took Xu Qing's side. As for him and Ji Dongzi…

The latter was dead but he was still alive. He had even advanced to the Soul Accumulation realm like the others and became one of the Flame Moon Kings.

'However, I somehow feel a little frustrated and uneasy today…'

Fan Shishuang muttered inwardly.

During the time he had been in the human race, other than the first day he followed the representatives of the two affiliated races to the negotiations, he had been in closed-door cultivation the rest of the time. Today was his second time going out.

Just as Fan Shishuang was pondering, the music suddenly took on a more lively tone, with the sound of bells and chimes echoing profoundly, seeming to contain the rhythmic pulse of life itself, resonating in the hearts of everyone present.

In an instant, the various thoughts of the crowd dissipated under the sudden surge of the music, until it gradually faded away, leaving only lingering echoes.

It wasn't finished yet.

For the first time, Fan Shishuang's expression changed. He lifted his head and his gaze landed on the woman playing the pipa.

"What's your name?"

"Suyue."

The woman hugged the pipa and spoke softly. After that, she didn't say anything else. Instead, she bowed and returned to the seat prepared for her.

When the Fourth Prince saw this scene, his eyes flashed and some thoughts rose in his mind. He then smiled and picked up his wine cup to toast Fan Shishuang.

Fan Shishuang's expression was as calm as ever as he took a sip.

The banquet became lively. During this time, many people stood up and took the initiative to toast. There was an endless stream of compliments.

However, Fan Shishuang ignored them.

Even though these were all so-called heaven's chosen, in his eyes, they were just a group of sparrows. In front of the eagle, they were all a motley crew.

'I really don't know why someone like Xu Qing would appear in such an environment!'

At the thought of Xu Qing, Fan Shishuang felt depressed. At the same time, he felt a little uneasy. Back then, he had personally seen Xu Qing kill Ji Dongzi and his mind was already shaken.

Later, the events in the Divine Realm shook him even more. In the end, in the grand ceremony outside the Divine Mountain, Xu Qing suppressed Flame Mystic. At that moment, the other party's figure had become an eternal obstacle in his heart.

As he pondered, in the clouds outside, lightning flashed again and thunder rumbled in all directions.

'It's not good to stay here for long today…' Fan Shishuang's uneasiness rose again.

As for those whose toasts he ignored, they dared not show dissatisfaction and could only sit down with forced smiles.

However, in this world, there were always those who deliberately tested boundaries or acted according to their own interests, making what seemed like clever moves.

For example, at this moment, the son of a noble smiled and spoke.

"King Fan, our human race, also has appointed a king recently. It's King Zhencang, Xu Qing. He…"

As soon as Xu Qing's name landed in Fan Shishuang's ears, his vigilance instantly reached the extreme.

Before this person could finish speaking, Fan Shishuang suddenly lifted his head. His eyes revealed a soul-stirring light as he shouted in a deep voice.

"Shut up!"

This sound surpassed thunder and exploded in the hall.

The expression of the cultivator who spoke turned pale. He spat out a large mouthful of blood and took a few steps back with a horrified expression.

Fan Shishuang's expression was incomparably gloomy and the vigilance in his heart grew even more intense. He didn't want to provoke Xu Qing. The other party clearly had ulterior motives for saying this. If he really let the other party say something bad…

If it reached Xu Qing's ears and he was here, he would definitely be implicated.

At the thought of this, he didn't reveal any thoughts on his face. He snorted coldly and stood up, wanting to leave this place.

He didn't plan to stay any longer.

As for the others, their hearts trembled. Some were surprised, some had flickering gazes, and some were deep in thought.

Seeing that Fan Shishuang was about to leave, all kinds of thoughts surfaced in the Fourth Prince's mind. He hurriedly stood up and was about to speak.

However, at this moment…

Outside the hall, the sound of thunder exploded again. Under the rumbling sound, two figures broke through the void and entered the hall.

As the two figures walked in, water mist also spread in from the outside, attracting the attention of everyone here.

The moment they saw who it was, everyone's expressions changed.

The Third Princess immediately stood up. After some hesitation, the Fourth Prince also stood respectfully.

"Greetings, Grand Tutor."

The other descendants of the nobility were naturally the same.

"Greetings, King Zhen Cang."

Fan Shishuang stood there, not knowing what to do. His heart instantly trembled.

"Haha, Junior Brother, it seems that the people of the Baize Race are right. Little Fanfan is indeed here."

The people who came were none other than Xu Qing and Erniu. At that moment, Erniu had a look of surprise on his face as he smiled and spoke.

Previously, in the high spiritual mansion, after Xu Qing mentioned that Fan Shishuang was in the Imperial Capital, the two of them went to look for him. They first went to the encampment where Baize and Si'e were at but they didn't find Fan Shishuang there.

Hence, Xu Qing asked a friendly question and got the answer.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing swept his gaze over and overlooked the Fourth Prince. After nodding at the Third Princess, he looked at the gloomy-looking Fan Shishuang and calmly spoke.

"Fan Shishuang, come with me."

As soon as he spoke this, the gazes of everyone in the surroundings instinctively landed on Fan Shishuang.

To Fan Shishuang, although face was very important, it also depended on when and who he was facing… Right now, he couldn't consider face at all. After hearing Xu Qing's words, his expression instantly changed.

His heart skipped a beat as the scene of Ji Dongzi's death and the miserable scene of Flame Mystic being suppressed instinctively appeared in his mind.

As his heart churned, an intense grievance spread throughout his body.

"Xu Qing, you… don't go too far!!"

Fan Shishuang's breathing was hurried as he uttered anxiously.

"As the Grand Mystic Heaven, you can't bully me like this. There's no grudge between us. Moreover, I don't have any other motive for coming to the human race this time!"

"I'm just going through the motions!"

"Moreover, I entered closed-door cultivation immediately after I arrived at the human race!"

"Previously, someone mentioned your name and wanted to plot against you. I even stopped him immediately!!"

"No matter how unreasonable you, Xu Qing, are, you still have to… be reasonable!"

The grievance in Fan Shishuang's voice was extremely intense and also contained sincerity. He indeed wasn't lying.

When Xu Qing heard this, his expression was a little strange. He noticed the other party's grievance, and thinking of how he was here to seek his help, his expression relaxed and his tone became gentle.

"I'm looking for you to ask you for a favor."

Fan Shishuang was puzzled.

"Really?"

"It's true. Let's go."

Xu Qing nodded and turned to walk out. Erniu, who was beside him, also nodded rapidly with a sincere expression.

Fan Shishuang was conflicted but he understood that he didn't have the ability to refuse. Hence, while having various thoughts, he gritted his teeth fiercely and stepped out of the main hall nervously, disappearing into the rain with Xu Qing and Erniu.

At that moment, thunder rumbled in the clouds. As lightning flashed, the rain turned even heavier.

Far away from the main hall, in a residence, an aged sigh rang out from the darkness.

"Why did he instantly come…"

"Then, do we still kill Fan Shishuang? He finally came out after so long, or… we can kill them together!"

Another voice with a hint of sharpness uttered coldly.

It was completely silent in the darkness, as though a decision was being made. After a long time, a third voice echoed coldly like ice.

"We can't touch Xu Qing. We can only act when Fan Shishuang is alone."

"But everything has been arranged. If this drags on…" The sharp voice was clearly unwilling.

"I'll say it once again. Xu Qing can't be touched!"

The icy voice was resolute and decisive.