Nobody told me this wasn't a game.

"Ah."

The Holy Maiden of Time gave a simple response and said nothing more.

The two of them just stood there.

In fact, based on her own experience, the Saintess of Time could very well understand Asuka's feelings—for no other reason than that she had experienced the same thing.

That bitterness was unforgettable.

The biggest reason why I was able to forget it in less than two years is:

Zuo Changzhen launched a war against the gods.

The Holy Maiden of Time was willing to believe that Zuo Chang had already fallen into demonic possession at that time.

He charged forward resolutely for a vague and meaningless goal, making it hard not to doubt his mental state at the time.

Under those circumstances, marrying another extremely wealthy woman would have been a logical next step.

and--

"Ugh."

The saintess sighed softly, turned around, and looked towards Zuo Chang's bedroom.

……

……

In the bedroom.

Zuo Chang sat in a chair, kneading something in his hands.

Blood Rose sat uneasily in his lap and asked, "General, don't you need to rest?"

Zuo Chang rested his head on her shoulder, breathing in her fragrance: "I'm just resting now."

"..."

Blood Rose fell silent, trying her best to relax her body.

The Holy Maiden's sudden visit was both expected and unexpected. Zuo Chang knew in his heart that the Holy Maiden would always appear, but when the time came to face her, he was still at a loss.

Zuo Chang was somewhat surprised that Fei Niao still harbored feelings for him.

However, it was actually expected that the Saintess of Time would fall deeply in love with him.

The reason is simply the favorability event.

Like everyone else, the favorability event for the Saintess of Time consists of three acts:

The Cold-Hearted Saintess of the Super Church

Fundamentalism that criticizes current affairs

Let Us Charge Attack God

In the Blood Rose favorability incident, Zuo Chang defied public opinion and showed great care, giving Blood Rose the recognition and trust she needed, which is why he gained her loyalty.

In the incident involving the Flying Bird of Yaotai, Zuo Chang saw through the Flying Bird's disguise and became her confidant, which is how he won her favor.

On both occasions, Zuo Chang understood and met their needs.

But the Holy Maiden of Time is somewhat different.

The first event serves as a setup explanation, introducing the "Church of Time," a super-organization spanning thousands of communities, whose core philosophy is "support."

They provide resources to every community that wants to progress, helping them achieve a higher status.

At the very beginning—

The Church of Time is very pure; it helps simply for the sake of helping, without seeking anything else.

However, as the church developed, the ambitions of its leaders gradually expanded, and they began to selectively support those who were valuable and had potential.

After the recipients successfully rise to power, they will be branded as an achievement of the superorganization, the Church of Time, or even a member of the church, in order to enhance the church's prestige.

Zuo Chang received help and was given high hopes at that time, which enabled him to marry the Holy Maiden and form a deep bond with her.

The second event is the secret conversation between Zuo Chang and the Holy Maiden.

The saint believes that the Church of Time has long since changed and is no longer the charitable organization it once was. Their help to others is essentially about turning others into their "agents," which contradicts their original doctrine of support.

They even formed a "Divine Sound Faction" within their ranks.

The Divine Sound faction claims that they are the true gospel and are no longer satisfied with cultivating proxies; they want to take the lead themselves!

Without a doubt, this is a blatant betrayal of the Church of Time!

What made the saintess despair was that many people actually agreed with the ideas of the Divine Sound Sect;

The third event is a joke made by the saint.

After gaining a certain level of favorability, the Holy Maiden gradually became more presumptuous in front of Zuo Chang.

On one occasion, she said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "General Tianwang, the root of all problems lies with the gods. The gods divide the community into different classes, setting up harsh class divides, which is why the world is the way it is now... If we could defeat the gods and let everyone receive preferential treatment, that would be wonderful!"

Regarding this…

In the storyline, Zuo Chang's response is: "I can try it for you."

To this, the Saintess of Time blinked and smiled, "Then it's a deal!"

I haven't corrected the typos yet, but anyway, I'll post this first.

I should update on time tomorrow, at noon.

Let's join Glorious Evolution in Chapter 212!

The time is seven hours from now, and the final stage of the Grand Prix will begin shortly.

Three people were already waiting in Zuo Chang's office.

True bow, lychee, and spirit.

Mayumi is fully armed.

She wore a Japanese sword at her waist; the sword itself was unremarkable, except for its extreme sharpness. What was truly rare was the folding fan in her hand.

The fan is called the "Three Stars Fan" because there are three stars on the fan surface.

When wielded, the power of the stars assists, and the scattered stardust has a unique effect of stagnation and slowing down the movement of enemies, which is quite remarkable.

Lychee discovered the remarkable qualities of Samsung fans.

She glanced at Mayumi and said, "Your equipment is pretty good."

Mayumi was quite polite; she even smiled and said, "This is a family heirloom of the Yaotai clan. I brought it with me specifically for this adventure."

"Relax, relax. There's no need to be so tense. Miss Lychee will bring victory."

Lychee patted Mayumi's chest, looking very familiar with her.

Mayumi glanced at the lychee but said nothing.

From her perspective, the girl in front of her, wearing a gray cloak that completely covered her, and even with a hood up in the room...

Somewhat unconventional.

This unconventionality isn't just reflected in their clothing.

Her words always seemed to have a strange, unconventional quality, and she often made surprising remarks.

Would an ordinary person calmly say something like, "Miss Lychee will bring victory"? Probably not!

Normally, Mayumi would have already retorted with a sarcastic remark, saying something like, "I hope you're really capable."

but now……

Fine, I'll put up with her for now.

She is nominally Zuo Chang's daughter (Makoto has a different self-identity), and the young mistress should behave like a young mistress and not be presumptuous.

She sat upright to one side, saying nothing. Compared to the other two people in the room, her psychological pressure was undoubtedly enormous.

She had previously only reached the fifth realm of cultivation, but a few hours ago she crammed and absorbed crystals, reaching the seventh realm.

Feng Gu has not yet fully adapted to the power of the Seven Realms.

The emblem she used was purchased on short notice and did not synergize with her abilities, thus providing little boost to her combat effectiveness.

Secondly, she only knows one "Rebirth School" technique.

Her combat ability is inconsistent; among 96511, she could only be considered slightly above average, yet she actually…

We're off to participate in the Grand Prix!

That is a grand event where heroes gather, and the world's most outstanding seventh-realm adventurers will display their skills in that world!

Have a look.

Even the usually confident Yaotai Zhenyu appeared uneasy at this moment. The intensity of the confrontation was too great, making even her feel uneasy.

"Can I really do it...? My combat power lies entirely in my necromancer, and the necromancer's maintenance depends on my mana reserves. I have more mana than ordinary seventh-realm adventurers, but only a limited amount, incomparable to other necromancers..."

My palms are sweating.

Feng Gu wiped his hands on his stockings and thought to himself, "I hope I won't be too much of a drag on the team. If we fail because of me, I'll be in big trouble!"

"Is everyone here?"

Zuo Chang's voice rang out from the doorway.

"Father."

"Oh! Zuo Chang."

Mayumi and Lychee responded, and Fenggu quickly stood up.

Zuo Chang counted the heads and asked, "Where is Jijiro?"

Mayumi replied, "Kichijiro still hasn't forgotten his defeat at the 'Forest of Whispers.' He feels he's not qualified to compete for the Grand Rank and has refused our invitation."

"Oh……"

Zuo Chang nodded slowly and said, "This mindset isn't right; you need to talk to him and offer some guidance."