Chapter 223: Earthquake of Revelations
Chapter 223: Earthquake of Revelations
Seris’s furious declaration echoed across the utterly silent plaza like a thunderclap.
"HOW DARE YOU CALL MY HUSBAND A CHEATER!"
The word "husband" detonated in the minds of a hundred thousand spectators simultaneously.
"HEAVENLY PHYSIQUE FAIRY IS MARRIED?"
"Woah! The most beautiful, and talented woman in the history of the Solathane Dynasty is married to the strongest genius of the younger generation?"
"Impossible! This must be a nightmare! Please tell me I’m dreaming!"
The millions watching from the projection arrays across Stormveil City erupted into an even greater frenzy.
Among the male cultivators and young nobles scattered throughout the vast audience, the reactions were devastating.
"I’ve been cultivating for twenty years just hoping to one day catch the eye of a girl half as beautiful as her, and this bastard already married the most perfect woman in existence?"
"He’s just nineteen! NINETEEN! He’s the strongest prodigy of the generation, he possesses a Heavenly Flame, and his wife is a True Heavenly Physique? What kind of shit luck is this?"
"Is there any justice left in this world?"
Countless young men clutched their chests as if they had just been stabbed.
The peerless, otherworldly goddess of ice, the girl whose celestial beauty had enchanted the entire Stormveil City the moment she stepped onto the stage... already belonged to someone else!
But amidst the chaotic wailing, someone in the crowd suddenly gasped in a trembling voice.
"Wait... hold on! Don’t you all remember the vow Lady Lyra made two years ago?"
The words landed like a second thunderbolt.
"The vow... My God! She swore in front of the entire Royal Court that she she would marry any man of her age or cultivation who could defeat her in fair combat!"
"Rhain defeated Lyra while at the Spirit Manifestation Realm... below her cultivation... and within the same age bracket!"
"Does that mean... Lyra will also marry him?"
"TWO! He’s going to have TWO wives! A True Heavenly Physique AND the Emberford Queen?"
"Kill me. Just kill me now. I cannot live in the same world as this man."
The male population of Stormveil City collectively felt their souls leave their bodies.
Several young cultivators in the stands literally fainted from the overwhelming jealousy.
Down in the Gold Badge section, Neve stood frozen in place, her face cycling through approximately seventeen different shades of crimson.
Her mind flashed back to the moment Rhain had calmly told her that the fairy on the stage was his wife, and she had laughed in his face until tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I..." Neve’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly.
She covered her face with her hands in shame.
"I want to crawl into a hole and never come out," she whimpered.
Not far away, Zane let out a bitter laugh, "This magnificent bastard. His luck is really enviable."
Jace stared blankly at Rhain with utterly stupefied, hero worshipping gaze.
The man who had saved his life and slaughtered a Level 9 beast with a single punch was now going to be the most envied man in the entire dynasty.
Meanwhile, inside the shattered arena, Lyra was completely dumbfounded.
Her blazing crimson eyes stared at the breathtaking silver-haired girl standing protectively in front of Rhain.
This was Seris! The girl she had secretly designated as her ultimate rival for the title of the strongest in their generation.
And now, this very same rival was looking down at her, scolding her like a spoiled, undisciplined child, all while fiercely defending the man who had just shattered her pride.
The utter humiliation of the situation made Lyra’s blood boil.
"You—!" Lyra gritted her teeth, her furious gaze snapping between Seris and Rhain.
The madness threatened to consume her again.
She opened her mouth to retort, ready to unleash her wrath regardless of the consequences.
"Enough, Lyra."
A calm, authoritative voice descended from the stage.
Swoosh—!
Matriarch Seraphine materialized on the scorched arena floor, stepping gracefully between her daughter and the couple.
Lyra flinched, looking up at her mother with trembling eyes. "Mother, he—"
"Quiet," Seraphine spoke softly, but the sternness in her tone was clear.
Seraphine looked at her daughter’s tear-streaked, dirt-smeared face, at the torn crimson robes and the shattered pride behind those usually defiant eyes, and felt her heart ache with a pain only a mother could understand.
But she did not soften.
"You lost," Seraphine stated. The words were blunt and merciless.
Lyra flinched as if she had been struck.
"But losing once does not mean you have lost forever, Lyra," Seraphine said firmly. "However if you cannot accept your defeat today, if you cannot admit that you lost fairly to a superior opponent... then you will never have the conviction to work hard enough to win back your title as the strongest prodigy of Stormveil City."
The words struck Lyra like a bucket of ice water.
She bit her pink lip so hard it almost bled, the manic denial in her eyes slowly dissolving into a bitter clarity of truth.
For a long moment, Lyra said nothing. Her chest heaved with ragged breaths, and tears continued to fall silently down her bruised cheeks.
Then She looked up at Rhain, who was standing behind Seris, still regarding her with that same, placid calmness.
The hatred, and pride hadn’t disappeared.
But she forced them into her heart to gain some clarity in her mind.
"It’s not so bad," Lyra said, her voice hoarse after crying. "Being invincible was boring anyway. I had no rivals. No one worth chasing. No mountain left to climb."
She raised her chin again with the same haughty pride.
"But now I have one. You gave me a goal, Rhain Voss. And I swear on my name that I will take back everything I lost today. One day, I will stand before you again, and I will not be the one kneeling."
Rhain simply gave a noncommittal shrug.
While Seris gave a contemptuous snort coldly.
Seeing her daughter finally regain her composure and martial heart, Seraphine let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Then, the Matriarch turned her sharp eyes fully upon Rhain.
Her mind inevitably drifted to the public vow her daughter had declared two years ago.
Lyra had made that vow specifically to block Crown Prince Lucius’s endless pestering, secure in the belief that since Crown Prince was already older than her, he had no chance of getting her.
Lyra was extraordinary, but that extraordinariness came with a bitter reality.
It was nearly impossible to find a single man in the entire dynasty who could match Lyra’s talent, and strength.
But now?
Not only had Rhain matched her, he had completely surpassed her.
As Seraphine observed the dark-robed youth, she couldn’t help but marvel.
He possessed peerless talent and unfathomable strength, yet he remained incredibly calm.
There was no trace of the blinding arrogance that usually plagued young geniuses—an arrogance her own daughter was a prime example of.
’He really is the perfect son-in-law,’ Seraphine thought, a trace of regret flashing in her eyes.
If this boy didn’t already have a wife, she would have proposed the marriage right here and now, binding this walking calamity to the Emberford Noble Family forever.
But although she couldn’t do that now, she absolutely could not afford to let this potential future son-in-law harbor a bad impression of her, her daughter, or the Emberford family.
Seraphine took a deliberate step forward.
"Rhain Voss," Seraphine spoke, her tone gentle and remarkably sincere. "I apologize for my daughter’s unsightly behavior. She is young, and entirely unaccustomed to defeat. Please do not take her earlier words to heart."
The entire plaza was struck dumb.
A Domain Master!
The Matriarch of a thousand-year-old Noble Family!
She was actually lowering her head to apologize to a nineteen-year-old boy!
Rhain felt the sincerity radiating from the Matriarch’s words and posture.
He wasn’t an unreasonable person.
For a supreme Matriarch to disregard her exalted identity and publicly apologize to a junior was a massive display of respect.
"You are too polite, Matriarch," Rhain replied politely, returning a respectful nod. "The frustration of defeat is something I understand well. I hold no grudge, and I bear no ill will toward her or the Emberford family."
Seraphine smiled warmly, clearly pleased by his grounded response.
Just then, a red blur descended from the grand stage, landing lightly beside them.
Carmilla stepped forward, her bright, mischievous eyes sweeping across the devastated arena and the awestruck crowds.
"What a magnificent spectacle!" Carmilla’s melodious voice rang out, amplified by her Domain Master essence, ensuring every single person in Stormveil City heard her clearly.
She raised her hand high into the air.
"I hereby announce that the Inner Palace Contest of this year has officially concluded! The undisputed champion is Rhain Voss!"
A thunderous wave of applause and cheering erupted, but Carmilla raised her hand, and the noise instantly died.
"Furthermore," Carmilla declared, "in recognition of his extraordinary strength, his unparalleled martial talent, I, as the Dean of the Stormveil Academy, hereby exercise my authority to elevate Rhain’s status effective immediately to a Core Palace disciple."