My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

On the ancient loess road.

A cold wind blew by, swirling up a few withered yellow leaves.

Li Chen held the gleaming steel shovel high with both hands, his expression fierce and menacing.

His body, however, remained frozen in place, like a weathered stone sculpture.

And in front of him.

The down-on-his-luck scholar, covered in mud and looking utterly helpless, was kneeling on the ground, prostrate in the mud.

The scholar wept uncontrollably, his thin shoulders trembling violently.

"Thank you so much, benefactor, for descending from the heavens and slaying this scoundrel! I will never forget your life-saving grace!"

The scholar's choked sobs, filled with gratitude, echoed across the empty ancient road.

The air was deathly still at that moment.

Li Chen glanced at the shovel in his hand, which he had prepared to use to "kill and silence" the witness, and then at the grateful scholar on the ground.

His eye twitched uncontrollably a few times.

"Cough cough..."

Li Chen's on-the-spot reaction speed, comparable to that of an award-winning actor, was brought to its fullest potential at this moment.

He turned his wrist with an incredibly smooth motion.

The iron shovel, which had been held high above the head and exuded a murderous aura, suddenly drew a smooth arc in mid-air.

Finally, with a "bang," he was slammed to the ground.

Li Chen stretched out a big yawn and let out a comfortable groan.

"Alas, in this desolate wilderness, it is our duty to help those in need."

Li Chen was talking nonsense with a straight face.

He pointed to the thug he had smashed into a meat patty at his feet and said with righteous indignation.

"I think the thief's death was too gruesome and an eyesore."

"I was just going to be merciful and dig a hole to bury him, so as not to offend the eyes of passersby, but I didn't expect to scare you."

Upon hearing this, the scholar was immediately filled with respect.

"My benefactor is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also kind-hearted! I, Ning Xiu, kowtow to my benefactor!"

After saying that, he kowtowed three times with a loud "bang bang bang".

"Alright, alright, get up now."

Li Chen casually tossed the shovel back into his soul space, stepped forward, and pulled the scholar named Ning Xiu out of the mud.

He touched his shrunken belly, which promptly rumbled in protest.

It traversed the void storm and shattered the protective aura around it.

Li Chen was now completely out of mana, unable to mobilize even a trace of true energy. A feeling of hunger surged up like a tidal wave.

"That... Ning Xiu."

Li Chen rubbed his hands together and shamelessly asked, "Do you have any food with you? I used up too much energy with that 'Mount Tai Pressing Down' move, and now I'm so hungry I could eat a whole cow."

Ning Xiu nodded quickly and pulled out two dry, coarse flour flatbreads from the tattered bamboo basket on his back.

A moment later.

On a blue stone beside the ancient road.

Li Chen sat cross-legged without any regard for appearances, holding a large, rock-hard flatbread in his hand, and wolfed it down with the water bottle Ning Xiu handed him.

Ning Xiu sat awkwardly to the side, watching the burly man who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"May I ask your honorable name, my benefactor?" Ning Xiu asked cautiously, bowing with his hands clasped.

"I?"

Li Chen swallowed the dry bread in his mouth, his eyes darting around.

"I am Li Chengqian, the number one reckless man of the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Chen patted his chest and unceremoniously borrowed the title of Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

Far away in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, which is separated by countless star systems.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who was reviewing memorials in the Eastern Palace, suddenly sneezed loudly without warning.

"The Tang Dynasty? A brute? Li Chengqian?"

Ning Xiu frowned and pondered for a long time.

He studied poetry and books diligently, considering himself well-read.

But in this vast cultivation world spanning tens of thousands of miles, he had never heard of any country called the Great Tang.

"My benefactor must come from an extremely distant paradise," Ning Xiu complimented.

Stop talking nonsense.

Li Chen waved his hand, looked at Ning Xiu's disheveled appearance, and asked curiously.

"Looking at your frail, scholarly appearance, how did you end up wandering around this desolate wilderness alone, and even getting involved with those ruthless bandits?"

Hearing Li Chen's question.

Ning Xiu's already pale face instantly darkened.

He lowered his head, his hands gripping the hem of his faded long robe tightly, and his eyes instantly reddened.

"My benefactor is unaware of this."

Ning Xiu's voice was filled with a deep sense of despair and sorrow.

"I was originally just an ordinary scholar in Qingyang City. I have known since childhood that there are immortals in this world, and I have dreamed of seeking immortals and asking questions."

"Unfortunately, I was born with mortal bones and no spiritual roots. I went to more than a dozen sects, but they all kicked me out as a piece of trash."

Ning Xiu gave a bitter laugh, tears streaming down his face.

"It's fine if I can't cultivate immortality, but I originally had a childhood sweetheart."

"We are in love and have already pledged our lives to each other. We are just waiting for me to pass the imperial examinations so that I can marry her."

"But who would have thought..."

As Ning Xiu spoke, his teeth clenched so tightly that they clicked, and intense hatred flashed in his eyes.

"Just last month! Xing'er's biological parents came knocking on our door! They're actually from the Xu family, the number one cultivation family in Qingyang City!"

"The Xu family discovered that Xing'er possessed a rare and exceptional physique, and in their desire to curry favor with the powerful, they disregarded Xing'er's life and forcibly abducted her!"

Ning Xiu wept uncontrollably.

"They betrothed Xing'er to a Golden Core stage elder of the Blood Fiend Sect. That old monster is over three hundred years old, and he married Xing'er to drain her vital essence in order to break through his cultivation realm!"

"I went to the Xu family mansion and begged them desperately, but I was beaten by the Xu family's servants and thrown out like a dead dog."

"They warned me that in three months, it would be the day that the Golden Core Elder would marry Xing'er."

"If I dare to cause trouble again, kill my whole family."

In the end, Ning Xiu clutched his head in despair.

"I was heartbroken and disillusioned, and intended to leave this sorrowful place to end my days, but unexpectedly I encountered bandits on the road..."

On the bluestone.

Only Ning Xiu's suppressed, painful sobs remained.

Li Chen was sitting to the side.

He was currently munching on a flatbread while listening intently.

After hearing this tragic story...

Li Chen didn't show much sympathy; instead, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

He curled his lip and began to criticize without holding back.

"What a melodramatic plot."

Li Chen smacked his lips, wearing a disdainful expression as if he had seen through the vulgarity of worldly dramas.

"I can already guess how they're going to insult you."

"Are you saying that a toad wants to eat swan meat? Are you saying that you, a mere mortal, are completely unworthy of my young lady?"

Ning Xiu suddenly raised his head, looking at Li Chen with a face full of disbelief.

"My benefactor... how did you know? The Xu family steward's exact words were exactly the same as yours!"

"nonsense."

Li Chen rolled his eyes.

"I was sick of seeing this kind of clichéd plot about annulling engagements and stealing wives in online novels in my past life."