Chapter 102 - 101: After Wedding
The cheers of thousands of cultivators, the clinking of wine cups, and the melodic strumming of celebratory zithers gradually faded into a muffled, distant echo as the doors of the master pavilion clicked shut.
Inside the room, the atmosphere was entirely transformed. The vast, luxurious room was bathed in the warm, flickering light of dozens of red spirit-candles, casting dancing shadows against the rich crimson silk tapestries that adorned the walls. The air was thick with the sweet fragrance of blooming lotus, a stark contrast to the grand main hall.
Lin Yuan walked slowly toward the center of the room, his arms wrapped securely around Bai Qingyue. He carried her with an effortless, reverent grace, as if he were holding the most precious, fragile artifact in the entire province.
Bai Qingyue rested her head gently against his chest, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck. The magnificent crimson wedding dress cascaded gracefully over his arm, its delicate fabric shimmering softly in the light. A deep blush colored her cheeks, adding to her already breathtaking beauty.
"We are finally alone," Lin Yuan murmured, his voice a rich sound that vibrated against her cheek.
He gently lowered her onto the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped softly beneath her weight. Lin Yuan did not immediately step back; instead, he knelt on one knee before her, bringing himself to her eye level. He reached out, his hands gently taking hers.
"Today, the entire province witnessed what I have known since the moment I first saw you," Lin Yuan said softly, his deep purple eyes locking onto her crystalline gaze with an intensity that made her breath hitch. "You are not a discarded Saintess, nor are you a burden. You are my Dao Companion. I promised you a new life, Qingyue. This is only the beginning."
Bai Qingyue’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears of pure joy. She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his, her delicate fingers intertwining with his hands.
"You have given me the heavens, Lin Yuan," she whispered, her voice trembling with overwhelming emotion. "I am yours. In this life, and in the next thousand reincarnations, I am eternally yours."
It was a moment of profound intimacy, a warm-hearted sealing of their karmic bond that transcended the brutal way of the cultivation world.
At that exact, perfect moment....
[Ding!]
[Host has invested profound emotional resonance by publicly marrying Dao Companion, flawlessly demonstrating absolute devotion to their union before Heaven and Earth.]
[Triggering 700,000X Investment Return...]
[Reward generated: The Emperor’s Primordial Sovereign Sword!]
[Description: The blade wielded by the first Ancient Human Emperor during the ancient era, used to cleave the heavens and establish the domain of humanity when gods and demonic beasts ruled the lower world. It is forged from the absolute essence of human willpower and the unyielding laws of the Great Dao.]
[Ability: Absolute Severance of the Heavenly Mandate]
[Effect: When drawn, the sword ignores all defenses unconditionally. A single swing does not just cut flesh or Cultivation; it severs the conceptual laws of the universe. It can instantly sever an enemy’s spell from their will, cut a localized domain into nothingness, or temporarily sever a cultivator’s connection to the ambient energy of heaven and earth, rendering even the most supreme experts completely powerless and unable to cast arts for a specific duration.]
Lin Yuan was deeply impressed. His mind immediately raced to the possibilities.
In a high-stakes battle, if an opponent deployed a suffocating domain, the Emperor’s Primordial Sovereign Sword could simply sever the very concept of the domain itself, cutting it apart as easily as one would cut through a physical object.
More terrifyingly, the blade could even sever a cultivator’s connection to the Great Dao, dragging them down from their lofty state and returning them to the mud.
However, Lin Yuan’s eyes soon settled on the final statement: for a specific duration.
That meant that if he used the sword to sever someone’s connection to the energy of Heaven and Earth, rendering them temporarily unable to use their magical abilities, the effect would not last forever.
Lin Yuan was certain that the duration would also vary according to the target’s cultivation.
Against a Soul Transformation cultivator, the severance might last only a short while.
But against a Spirit Severing expert, whose cultivation was far lacking, the effect would naturally last much longer.
Even so, the ability was terrifying enough.
For a cultivator, being suddenly cut off from the Great Dao, even temporarily, was no different from having their wings ripped away in the middle of a battle.
He was just beginning to fathom the sheer potential of the blade when a sudden, hesitant sound broke the quiet intimacy of the bedroom.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Lin Yuan blinked, his brow furrowed slightly in mild annoyance. He had explicitly instructed that the master pavilion was entirely off-limits for the remainder of the evening.
"Brother-in-law?" Bai Chen’s voice drifted through the wood. "I... I am so incredibly sorry to disturb you and Cousin on tonight of all nights. Truly, I beg your forgiveness."
Lin Yuan gave Bai Qingyue’s hands a gentle, reassuring squeeze before standing up. He smoothed the front of his crimson robes and walked toward the door, pulling it open with a soft glide.
Bai Chen stood in the hallway, looking profoundly uncomfortable, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. His face was pale, entirely stripped of the energy he had carried all day.
"What is it, Bai Chen?" Lin Yuan asked, his voice calm. "I assume the heavens themselves must be falling for you to knock on this door tonight."
Bai Chen swallowed hard. "It... it is not the heavens, Brother-in-law. It is the Lord of the Zhao Province. Lord Zhao Shenming did not leave the estate after the ceremony concluded. He is currently waiting in the second reception room of the main hall. He is formally seeking a private audience with you."
Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly. The absolute ruler of the entire province, a monster standing at the legendary Spirit Severing realm, was waiting in his reception room.
"Is he alone?" Lin Yuan asked.
"Yes," Bai Chen confirmed quickly, nodding his head. "I escorted him there myself. I saw him walk in completely alone."
Lin Yuan nodded. Whatever Lord Zhao Shenming wanted, it was clearly important enough that he had gone out of his way to speak with Lin Yuan personally.
Lin Yuan turned back toward the bedroom. Bai Qingyue was watching him from the edge of the bed, her crystalline eyes carrying a faint trace of concern.
Seeing her expression, Lin Yuan offered a gentle, reassuring smile.
"I’m going to meet Lord Zhao. Wait here for me. I won’t be long."
"Be careful, Husband," she replied smoothly.
Lin Yuan turned back to the hallway. He did not bother walking down the staircases or navigating the corridors.
Zzzzt!
Channeling his spatial authority, the fabric of the physical world folded around him. In a sudden flash of crackling purple lightning, Lin Yuan teleported from the threshold of the master pavilion.
He then materialized instantaneously inside the second reception room of the main hall.
The room was vast, adorned with exquisite landscape paintings and illuminated by soft, glowing spirit-stones. The ambient noise of the wedding banquet outside was completely muffled by the walls.
Standing with his hands clasped casually behind his back, admiring a painting of a withered mountain peak, was Lord Zhao Shenming. The youthful man in simple robes did not exude a single drop of spiritual pressure, yet his mere existence seemed to anchor the very space of the room around him.
Hearing the spatial displacement, Lord Zhao Shenming slowly turned around.
The absolute silence of the room thickened into an undeniable weight as Lin Yuan, the cultivator standing at the Peak of the Nascent Soul realm, and Lord Zhao Shenming, at the Spirit Severing realm, locked their gazes.