Lan Hui was so excited she could hardly contain herself. Not just Lan Hui, everyone was looking at Zai Qian with excitement. For the king of the lordship nation to personally attend Lan Xiaobu’s wedding, what an extraordinary event this was.
Lan Xiaobu was also somewhat stunned. He hadn’t expected the king of Qiyuan Lordship Nation to come to his wedding. But after a moment’s thought, he understood—this was about asking for his help.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for attending my wedding. Please come inside and take a seat,” Lan Xiaobu said with a nod. A king didn’t really excite him much. Let alone a king, he himself had been a Dao Lord of the Divine Realm. To him, it was just a position, nothing remarkable.
“Good, good…” The king repeated the word several times, quickly gesturing for the guards behind him to bring in the gifts. Box after box was carried in, taking a full half-incense time.
He too was thrilled. This showed that Lan Xiaobu, this powerful figure, wasn’t so difficult to deal with, meaning his purpose for coming had been achieved. Unlike others, he knew for certain that the Lan family harboured an extraordinary powerhouse. If it wasn’t Lan Xiaobu himself, it was someone behind him.
Whether it was Lan Xiaobu or the person backing him, as long as they owed him a favour, that was enough.
Several members of the Lan family, seeing even the king take the initiative to attend Lan Xiaobu’s wedding, turned pale with fear. Although much of Lan Feiyu’s wealth had been willingly given to them by Lan Xiaobu, if he so much as mentioned them to the king, they’d be finished.
Lan Xiaobu’s wedding proceeded with unparalleled enthusiasm. With the king’s presence, the event’s prestige and grandeur rose intangibly.
Because the king didn’t just show up and leave, but stayed to genuinely partake in the celebration, many well-informed nobles and dignitaries hurriedly arrived with gifts to offer their congratulations.
For a time, the entire Qiyuan City began celebrating Lan Xiaobu’s wedding. The gifts piled up into a small mountain in the Lan family courtyard, to the point they could no longer fit.
At the same time, beneath Tianyuan City, Gai Xing stood before tens of thousands of troops and declared loudly, “Do you all know why we’re guarding Tianyuan City?”
“Because of the Black Sha Army…” a bold soldier muttered quietly.
Gai Xing shouted, “Exactly, because of the Black Sha Army. The Black Sha Army is like demons from hell. If they enter the city, they’ll slaughter our families and destroy our homes. Can we let them in?”
“No!” This time, all the soldiers shouted in unison.
Gai Xing continued, “But they’re like starving wolves, eyeing our Tianyuan City with greedy, gleaming eyes. We can’t keep the gates shut forever, can we? We are the warriors of Qiyuan Lordship Nation, its guardians. We absolutely won’t allow wolves to stalk us. I, Gai Xing, am willing to give my life to protect Qiyuan Lordship Nation, our families, and the million people of Tianyuan City. If you’re willing too, charge out with me and wipe out these jackals!”
“Wipe them out!” Tens of thousands of soldiers roared together. The city gates swung open, and under Gai Xing’s lead, the troops surged out of Tianyuan City.
The nation’s sole Core Formation Realm advisor, Zhong Qing, joined the tens of thousands of troops, charging toward the Black Sha Army as well. The Black Sha Army had Core Formation experts too, so he had to be there.
The Black Sha Army’s chiliarch, Kas, stationed outside the city, was dumbfounded. He’d never seen a lordship nation’s army dare to openly charge at the Black Sha Army. A rare sight indeed—he was witnessing Qiyuan Lordship Nation’s tens of thousands of troops rushing toward his forces.
But he quickly snapped out of it. This wasn’t an illusion—it was real. He roared, “Meet the enemy, hurry, meet them…”
Yet the Black Sha Army was too close to Tianyuan City. Their long-standing arrogance and overconfidence had convinced them no one would dare attack.
Reality slapped them hard. Not only did a lordship nation strike, but tens of thousands of troops swept in, instantly overwhelming the thousand-strong Black Sha Army.
When the first Black Sha soldier was hacked to death, the scene turned bloody. The fear of the Black Sha Army vanished in that moment. Every Qiyuan soldier frenziedly charged at any isolated Black Sha soldier, surrounding and slaughtering them.
Kas watched as his Black Sha Army dwindled, his face paling. Though he was a Core Formation expert, he didn’t dare act. He knew Zhong Qing was there. If he made a move, Zhong Qing would tie him down, and against Zhong Qing plus tens of thousands of troops, he’d likely die without knowing how.
The Qiyuan Army grew braver with each fight. At first, many soldiers shared the same thought: with tens of thousands against a thousand, even if they lost, they could escape.
As more Black Sha soldiers fell, the Qiyuan Army realised something—the Black Sha Army wasn’t invincible. They had one head, two hands, and could be killed just as easily.
After Kas fled, the Black Sha Army melted away at a visible pace, eventually vanishing entirely.
Zhong Qing saw Kas escape but didn’t pursue. He knew he couldn’t catch him. Besides, killing Kas wouldn’t change the outcome. His main purpose here was to keep Kas from joining the fray.
Kas fled desperately for half a day. When he realised Zhong Qing wasn’t chasing, he stopped, panting heavily.
He then pulled out a flying sword and activated it. The sword turned into a streak of light and shot off.
After sending the flying sword, Kas wondered if the emperor would punish him when they met. After all, he’d lost over a thousand Black Sha troops outside a mere lordship nation’s capital. But he soon figured the emperor would, at most, reprimand him. Over the years, he’d done too many unsavoury deeds for the emperor—things the emperor couldn’t do without him. The Black Sha Army? A thousand dead could be replaced with a thousand more. In time, he’d still be their chiliarch.
As Kas lost himself in thought, a terrifying force suddenly seized him. Before he could struggle, he was yanked into the sky.
Thud! Kas hit the ground, instantly realising where he was—the Heijia Warship. Only one person could pull him from the ground to the warship: Ding Gu, the fiercest man in the Dakong Empire, rumoured to be a Human Immortal.
Kas opened his eyes and, sure enough, saw Emperor Tie Qi, with a refined, immortal-like man sitting beside him.
As Tie Qi’s confidant, Kas knew this ethereal man was Ding Gu, the Dakong Empire’s trump card—a Human Immortal capable of destroying an empire single-handedly. Though, rumour had it, other empires now had Human Immortals too, so Ding Gu alone couldn’t wipe one out anymore.
Tie Qi’s face was dark. Kas quickly knelt. “Kas greets the Emperor. Qiyuan Lordship Nation has committed treason, launching a sneak attack with over a hundred thousand troops. The Black Sha Army was wiped out. I barely escaped to bring back the news…”
“Good, good, very good…” Tie Qi spat out each word deliberately, his emanating killing intent making Kas tremble.
“Since the Black Sha Army is dead, why did you come back?” Tie Qi’s tone was icy.
Kas shivered and hurriedly said, “I risked my life to escape and report this.”
“Heh, report? Took you half a day to report?” After Tie Qi spoke, Ding Gu beside him raised a hand. Kas felt as if a giant suction device pinned him down, and all the vitality in his body was sucked away.
In his final moment, he understood how Ding Gu cultivated. This time, Tie Qi had brought Ding Gu to Qiyuan Lordship Nation clearly to offer the vitality of an entire lordship nation for Ding Gu’s cultivation.
…
After a day of clamour, the Lan residence finally quieted down. Lan Xiaobu looked at Su Cen sitting before him, his thoughts drifting back to many, many years ago.
That time, his wedding with Su Cen had no guests, no feast, just a cramped rental room. Though Su Cen had married him, he could sense her unhappiness.
In the blink of an eye, three reincarnations had passed, spanning countless realms. Here, Su Cen had married him again.
“Husband…” After a long silence, Su Cen called out tremulously.
Lan Xiaobu walked over, gently lifting her veil, and said softly, “Call me Xiaobu. The past is gone like smoke. Today is the first day of our new beginning. After today, I’ll take you away from here, to our own home.”
Su Cen looked up, her eyes misty with tears, staring at Lan Xiaobu. From today, it was the first day of their fresh start.
“Xiaobu, wherever you go, I’ll follow…” Su Cen murmured, her voice so soft she could barely hear herself.
Lan Xiaobu opened his arms, and Su Cen’s soft form fell into his embrace…
“Mm,” Su Cen hummed softly, wrapping her arms around him, her body trembling. Perhaps it was a destined wish, whispering of her own happiness.
The lights gradually dimmed, and the night in Tianyuan City grew unusually still. A few unknown crickets chirped softly in the quiet darkness, as if sharing their thoughts with one another.
