Lotus Seal of Purity

His Fictitious Beloved

A lie usually requires thousands of subsequent lies to sustain it! Du Chen now profoundly understood the deep meaning of this famous saying from his past life. He truly wanted to tell Galas, "Your fellow sufferer is even more miserable than you, so miserable that he cultivates the wretched Celibate Cultivation!"

However, Du Chen also clearly understood that if he were to reveal this, not to mention the reactions of the Saint Dak and Batuoke families once they realized they'd been deceived, his weakness alone, once exposed, would lead to utter chaos. To exaggerate slightly, the very next day, hundreds, if not thousands, of peerless beauties would likely appear at his doorstep, disrobing and eager to ensnare him! Or perhaps, even a sip of water or a drink of wine would be laced with potent aphrodisiacs designed to ignite his desires – for those who wished to bring Du Chen down were certainly not few, and would they be so foolish as to not exploit such a weakness once they knew it?

Therefore, Du Chen would never reveal his weakness to anyone!

He declared, "You wish to meet my beloved? You may, but you'll have to wait a while, for she is not on Battle God Isle!"

"Francis, I believe that 'her' simply doesn't exist, does she?" Galas suddenly lowered his hand and flung his arm, and from his palm flew a pristine sacred artifact. In a blink, it transformed into a Sacred Artifact Box, collecting the wine utensils from the table before receding back into his sleeve. "My stance is already clear. Since you cannot convince me today that you have a beloved, then go below and propose! Madam Somiya must be awaiting you!"

With a stomp of his foot, the Belkus suddenly plummeted from the clouds, streaking like a meteor with a long tail of light towards the surface of the sea.

"You and I are in the same predicament, why must you press so hard?"

With a faint smile, Galas replied, "I despise those who disrespect love, especially fabricators of beloveds like you! Besides... if I don't force you, what am I to do? Brother, one of us is bound to suffer misfortune, and for the sake of my future happiness, I'm afraid I must inconvenience you, haha!"

Galas stood at the ship's bow, arms outstretched, proudly like a holy cross. Though his body blazed with dazzling starlight and surging battle qi, he showed no intention of attacking. He knew full well that if he eliminated Francis now, who would then be forced to step into the quagmire of Frinda?

Perceiving that Galas was merely defending and not attacking, and understanding that he wouldn't truly harm him at this moment, Du Chen remained unhurried.

Glancing downwards, he surveyed the full panorama of Battle God Isle from above. At their current direction and speed, they would soon land near Azurestone Isle, to the east of Battle God Isle. Azurestone Isle, merely several hundred meters from the main Battle God Island, hosted the academy's largest Battle God Arena and was connected to the main island by an immense sea-spanning bridge – an essential venue for all major martial competitions hosted by the academy!

Now, Madam Somiya, after consulting with the academy's Dean, had borrowed this very location to serve as the venue for the husband recruitment event!

Galas intended to force Du Chen into the arena!

“Brother, one of us is bound to suffer misfortune, and for the sake of my future happiness, I'm afraid I must inconvenience you!” Du Chen, rubbing his nose, repeated Galas's words. As a flicker of doubt crossed his opponent's eyes, he abruptly flung his hand, and a figure shot out from his sleeve!

“You wounded my master; it's time to settle this debt!” With that, Du Chen swiftly detached himself from the Belkus, leaving the battlefield to Deboning.

Deboning's strike was incredibly swift. Before Galas could even utter a word, that piercing, icy gleam was upon him. He let out a heavy snort, his body erupting in brilliant starlight. Matching starlight against icy light, he forcefully parried Deboning's blow. Yet, while Deboning's advance was merely momentarily halted, Galas was forced away from the bow, retreating several meters before he could barely stabilize himself mid-air.

From their first exchange, Deboning clearly held the advantage. Although there was an element of surprise, Deboning pressed on relentlessly, gaining ground with every move. It was evident that when truly fighting for his life, Deboning, with his unparalleled experience in deadly combat and countless killings, would at the very least not suffer a complete defeat!

Starlight and icy gleams suffused the air, revealing the destructive power of a decisive battle between peak Ninth-level Battle Gods. Seeing that Deboning was unlikely to be defeated, Du Chen withdrew, wary of being caught in the crossfire.

However, a pang of frustration rose in Du Chen's heart, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. On that day, his master had no sacred artifact in hand, nor was his Divine Pet by his side, leading to his defeat at Galas's hands and the complete loss of his lifelong reputation! Observing today's battle, if his master had possessed the Cloud Mist Chains, that is to say, his own 'Vanishing Snow,' he might not have been defeated!

Perhaps, after saving Helen that day, he should have discarded 'Vanishing Snow.' After all, to him, sacred artifacts were mere trinkets from a street stall, usable as long as they could be stolen. But for his master, it was the guarantee of a lifetime's prestige...

Unconsciously, a thought stirred in his mind. But at that moment, Galas, under Deboning's relentless assault, finally managed to catch his breath. A cold laugh echoed from the battle, "Francis, just now I thought you had extraordinary courage to come alone, but I never imagined..."

“Brother, how old are you? Hmm?” Du Chen interrupted him with a strange chuckle, mockingly declaring, "Surely by now you understand that raw martial prowess doesn't equate to true strength, do you not?"

Du Chen's sarcastic and pointed remark immediately rendered Galas speechless.

Fearing the battle would affect Du Chen, Deboning abandoned his tactical advantage, drawing Galas further and further away. Gradually, the two became like two small stars in the sky, entwined in a furious dance.

With absolute confidence in Deboning's speed, Du Chen turned his attention to his immediate predicament.

He was currently high in the clouds, and he still had a ship beside him!

This ship carried too much significance; he absolutely had to bring it back intact. Du Chen channeled his battle qi, moved to the underside of the vessel, and with his hands, conjured continuous layers of ice to drag the Belkus. Beneath his feet, moisture condensed into floating ice platforms, allowing him to descend step by step from the sky.

The Belkus was too large; the Precious Lotus Scripture couldn't contain it, so he had no choice but to rely on his battle qi.

Descending several hundred meters in an instant, Du Chen vaguely saw crowds bustling on Azurestone Isle. The husband recruitment event must be in full swing; he wondered if they had noticed the aerial conflict moments ago. Turning to avoid the area, Du Chen headed in another direction, but even as he sought to avoid trouble, trouble sought him out. Two figures shot up into the sky, confronting Du Chen.

“Francis, you've arrived at the perfect moment!!” It was Betty and Somiya, approaching hand-in-hand, their expressions displeased.

The two of them had been overseeing the husband recruitment event below when they suddenly noticed battle qi coalescing in the sky. Hastily rising to investigate, they discovered Du Chen, descending from above, carrying the Belkus.

“What's going on?” Betty gazed curiously at Du Chen carrying the ship. But Somiya interrupted her, indignantly stating, "Francis, just now Madam Betty and I received an anonymous letter claiming you don't actually have a beloved, and everything you told us before was a lie!"

Du Chen's brow furrowed. It went without saying that Galas, intent on dumping a massive problem onto him, had sent anonymous letters to Betty and Somiya even before attempting to seize the Belkus!

Yet, the lie had escalated to such a point that he could only steel himself and push forward. "What are you two aunties talking about? Why wouldn't I have a beloved? Do you truly believe I would joke about such matters? If I had no beloved, why would I forgo marrying two exceptional young ladies!? An anonymous letter... Humph! What can a letter from someone too cowardly to even leave a name truly prove?"

The two women exchanged glances, then both helped Du Chen maneuver the Belkus to the sea surface before gesturing for him to follow them to Azurestone Isle.

On the isle, young prodigies from various nations sat in a circle, and Frinda occupied the main seat, seemingly deep in discussion. Seeing Du Chen descend from the sky, bearing the ship, their gazes uniformly snapped towards him.

"Didn't Francis explicitly state he wouldn't pursue Miss Frinda? Why is he here?"

"Indeed, were all his previous words just mere smokescreens?"

"It must be! That despicable wretch, he intends to openly betray his promise made before everyone and compete for Frinda!"

As murmurs arose, Somiya gestured for silence, indicating they should resume their tasks. Then, leading Du Chen aside, she stated with a cold expression, "Yes, it was merely an anonymous letter. However, it detailed most of your experiences since your transformation from a waste to a genius. In nearly two years, you've almost never interacted with women, and it presented irrefutable evidence analyzing that you absolutely cannot have a beloved! Humph, now we are forced to doubt whether you truly have a beloved, or..."

Betty interjected, "...Or if you are deceiving us and scorning the honor of the Five Families of Fallen Gods!"

Galas truly arranged things perfectly. Du Chen suddenly realized that Galas's true objective was to lure him to Azurestone Isle – if Du Chen had powerful experts by his side, Galas would deal with them personally, then force Du Chen before Betty and Somiya. On the other hand, he had preemptively used an anonymous letter to sow doubt in the two women's minds...

This 'fellow sufferer' was truly ruthless!

“Francis, we two will not make things difficult for you. As long as you can prove you genuinely have a beloved, we will apologize for our suspicions just now and, on the honor of our two great families, guarantee that we will never trouble you or your beloved again!” Somiya declared, her face ashen, delivering an ultimatum almost identical to Galas's!

A beloved? Where am I supposed to find one?

The questioning and disdainful gazes of the young prodigies in the distance, Galas's cunning scheme moments ago, and the aggressive noblewomen before him... all these made Du Chen coldly sneer. With the Precious Lotus Scripture clutched in his hand, he knew he couldn't possibly conjure a beloved. Today was a dead end, leaving him no choice but to...

But at that moment, an anxious cry echoed from the sea-spanning bridge connecting to Azurestone Isle, "Francis!! Excuse me, please make way, I am Francis's friend, and I have urgent business with him..."

Instantly, all gazes converged upon the newcomer!