Lu Yuan, upon entering the Fagu Civilization, was immediately pulled aside by the First Imperial Son of Fa.
This took place within a secret chamber.
In this chamber, besides the First Imperial Son of Fa, there were several Deputy Rulers of Civilizations present, such as the Deputy Ruler of the Fakong Civilization and the Deputy Ruler of the Liuli Civilization. The Deputy Ruler of the Liuli Civilization was an exceptionally beautiful woman whose eyes immediately lit up upon seeing Lu Yuan enter. In an instant, ten thousand spells erupted, exploding across the confined void.
Every single one of these spells was exquisitely beautiful, and simultaneously, lethally dangerous.
This was the hallmark of the Liuli Civilization’s Deputy Ruler’s magic: beautiful, elegant, yet perilous and venomous.
Lu Yuan did not even bother drawing his sword. Instead, beams of sword energy shot from his eyes. These two gazes of sword energy instantly pierced through the myriad of spells.
These ten thousand spells bloomed and vanished in a breath.
Between their genesis and destruction, vast, cloud-like tsunamis spanned ten thousand li.
“Excellent!” The Deputy Ruler of the Liuli Civilization smiled faintly, possessing a thousand facets of grace. She spoke, “The last time I saw you, you could barely withstand one move from me. Recently, I’ve heard endless reports of your growing strength, but seeing is believing. Now, I finally witness it—you effortlessly weathered my attack of ten thousand spells.” Indeed, the growth was astounding!
It hadn’t been an incredibly long time since Lu Yuan was last in the Fagu Civilization, yet he had grown so much stronger.
The Deputy Ruler of the Liuli Civilization approached Lu Yuan; the faint fragrance she carried was almost discernible. “Lu Yuan, this time you are marrying the Fourth Imperial Daughter. I hear the Ruler of the Fagu Civilization has made a formidable show, intending to bestow an extraordinarily rich dowry.”
It was only right and proper that the groom’s side offered a bride price, and the bride’s side offered a dowry. The Ruler of the Fagu Civilization had already granted substantial dowries when marrying off her three previous daughters, so the dowry for the Fourth Imperial Daughter, promised to be even grander, was certainly something to look forward to.
The First Imperial Son of Fa smiled thinly. “Very well, let us discuss serious matters. The Epoch War has officially begun, and Lu Yuan, you are the only one who has encountered their strongest assassination squad. Please detail everything you know about them.” There were many candidates for the strongest assassination squad; only the first and second positions were reasonably certain, while the others were difficult to confirm. Since Lu Yuan possessed firsthand intelligence, he was sought out.
Lu Yuan stated, “I have encountered members Two, Three, Five, Six, and Seven.”
“We have already confirmed the identity of Number Two. Let us focus on Three, Five, Six, and Seven.”
“Number Seven is the Deputy Ruler of the Huangfeng Civilization.”
“Number Six is the Deputy Ruler of the Xianfeng Civilization.”
“Number Five is the Deputy Ruler of the Dujue Civilization.”
“Number Three is the Deputy Ruler of the Zhenjue Civilization.” Lu Yuan revealed the intelligence he possessed, deliberately omitting the parts he hadn't encountered. Disclosing the unknown portions might allow the enemy to easily deduce the presence of an internal spy, potentially exposing the Deputy Ruler of the Fowu Civilization. However, Lu Yuan added casually, “Number Four seems to be someone from the Xingzhi Civilization.” Hearing Lu Yuan’s report, the others immediately began taking notes. This was frontline intelligence.
To know oneself and know one's enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles; understanding the opponent's intelligence was paramount.
Lu Yuan had provided invaluable assistance this time.
While others discussed different battlefronts, Lu Yuan surveyed the room. He noticed ten colossal star maps. These were clearly the astronomical charts of the Central Celestial Dynasty. Drawn upon these ten maps were various interwoven lines, crisscrossing and locking together, clearly indicating that the current Epoch War was fraught with danger, a storm gathering on the horizon—no, small-scale skirmishes had already erupted.
Of course, no matter how perilous the situation became, weddings must proceed. This marriage possessed multiple layers of significance: binding the Fagu Civilization to the Fwu Alliance with Lu Yuan, and allowing the high command of the Fwu Alliance to convene various strategic war councils.
……
In the Central Celestial Dynasty, in the 709,543rd year of the Central Calendar, on the seventh day of the seventh month.
It was the Renchen Year, the year of the Dragon in the Zodiac, the month of Dingwei, and the day of Jimao.
This day was the Festival of Lovers. In the Central Celestial Dynasty, there was only one Valentine’s Day each year—the seventh day of the seventh month. Many beautiful love stories originated here, such as the tale of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd meeting across the Milky Way—this story was not born in the current epoch, seemingly originating from previous epochs, yet it has endured, still cementing the seventh day of the seventh month as the Lovers’ Festival.
According to the calculations of auspicious dates based on the Yellow Path, the seventh day of the seventh month was perfectly suited for marriages.
And this very day, coincidentally, was the day the Fagu Civilization would marry the Fourth Imperial Daughter to Lu Yuan.
A normal wedding was held twice, once by each side; the groom’s side and the bride’s side. Naturally, the groom’s side was the Sword Gate, and the bride’s side was the Fagu Civilization. The sequence dictated that Lu Yuan would first receive the bride at the Fagu Civilization before proceeding to the Sword Gate. Since the Sword Gate had long since lost its territory, it had temporarily rented an uninhabited planet within the Fagu Civilization as a temporary base.
The entire Fagu Civilization was joyous, adorned with lanterns and festive banners. The important areas were carpeted with the finest material, and streams of seven-colored dust hung everywhere. These dust particles would soon burst into a shower of multi-hued light, adding much ambiance to the wedding and making the ceremony much more spectacular.
At this moment, Yun Xiuxue sat sequestered in her Jiangxue Palace.
Jiangxue Palace was the residence of the Sword Spirit Imperial Daughter.
The palace’s design was not overly ostentatious; its walls were like snow, the ground covered in green grass, dotted with several rockeries and ponds. The courtyard was deep, the corridors winding, elegantly structured and ingeniously designed. Yun Xiuxue was currently adorned with the Phoenix Coronet and the Cloud Robe, dressed entirely in crimson. Accustomed to her usual cold and aloof demeanor, preferring pale attire, she now appeared stunningly vivid in the great red bridal gown, her cheeks slightly flushed, her lips stained with rouge.
Yun Xiuxue sat before the bronze mirror, gazing at her reflection. For most women, marriage was the paramount event in life. Yun Xiuxue had always believed herself to be fiercely self-reliant, determined never to marry, wishing only to stay with her parents. Yet, after meeting Lu Yuan, she realized she longed to marry.
A golden parrot in the hand, a phoenix embroidered on the chest. Stealing glances in secret. Better to marry him, And become a pair of mandarin ducks.
Yun Xiuxue had longed for this day for who knew how long, and now that the moment had finally arrived, her heart pounded violently. Was she truly about to marry Lu Yuan and become Madam Lu? How mortifying, how shy she felt—what was she thinking?
Beside Yun Xiuxue sat many other women. Among them were Yun Xiuxue’s three elder sisters and one younger sister: the Fengran Imperial Daughter, the Yuemei Imperial Daughter, the Roufu Imperial Daughter, and the Faling Imperial Daughter. There were also Imperial Daughters from other Civilizations, such as Wu Xin and Wu Xue from the Wugu Civilization—Wu Xue shared a temperament somewhat similar to Yun Xiuxue’s, while Wu Xin possessed a sweet and obedient countenance—as well as Mingyue Imperial Daughter from the Fengzhi Civilization, and Suyue Mian from the Ruzhi Civilization.
Yao Dan Imperial Daughter from the Yaozhi Civilization was a woman of tranquil composure, seemingly on the verge of merging with the heaven and earth at any moment. Su Zhu from the Tianmu Civilization was a slender girl with astonishingly long, beautiful legs, whose aura certainly did not yield to Yun Xiuxue’s. Sheng Yu Imperial Daughter from the Shengguang Civilization was short, with a youthful face but an extremely ample bust.
Meng Qingqing from the Sanzhi Civilization still held a purple bamboo umbrella, lending her an air of mystique. Ao Fei Imperial Daughter from the Longzhi Civilization showed a great deal of leg and chest; the attire of the Longzhi people was inherently bolder, possessing an exotic flair compared to others. Zhao Yingkong, who came from the Tuzhi Civilization, had an average appearance with deep bags under her eyes, clearly someone who often stayed up late. In truth, Zhao Yingkong was a renowned scholarly talent.
Murong Bingchuan from the Bingzhi Civilization was an extremely cold, stunning yujie type. Nangong Yan Yan from the Huozhi Civilization was a woman fiery with passion, revealing even more leg and chest than the Longzhi Civilization counterpart; half of her cleavage was visible, and her thighs nearly exposed to the root—truly worthy of an Imperial Daughter of the Huozhi Civilization, truly hot-blooded.
Princess Ye Mao from the Yezhi Civilization was a small, cat-like woman, exuding an aura of mystery—her elegance made her quite conspicuous among the crowd. Gongsun Hong from the Niaozhi Civilization wore a great red robe, resembling red wings ready for flight. Murong Honglei represented the Qinzhi Civilization, and the representatives from the Fabao Civilization were naturally the two Baobei Imperial Daughters.
These young women and beautiful matrons included some of Yun Xiuxue’s close friends, while relationships with others were merely cordial.
The identity of these women was remarkably unified: excluding the Fengran Imperial Daughter, who was occupied with other matters and could not serve as a bridesmaid, the others were all designated as bridesmaids—twenty in total. A typical wedding might have one bridesmaid, but as Yun Xiuxue was a Deputy Ruler of the Fagu Civilization, twenty were warranted. In fact, this was restrained; otherwise, two hundred, two thousand, or even twenty thousand bridesmaids would not have been unusual. The Fengran Imperial Daughter, being the First Imperial Daughter of the Fagu Civilization, had other pressing duties.
The identities of these twenty bridesmaids carried profound meaning. Three were from the Fagu Civilization, two from the Wugu Civilization, and fifteen were from other, generally lesser, Civilizations—one dispatched from each. This assignment symbolized the unity of the Fwu Alliance; otherwise, such an arrangement would not have been made.
These bridesmaids were chatting animatedly.
“She’s getting married, I’m so envious. The most valuable bachelors among the younger generation are the Son of Desolation and Lu Yuan. Next up will be Li Taishi, the Son of Fa, the Son of Wu, and others,” Meng Qingqing of the Sanzhi Civilization lamented, “I actually wanted to marry Lu Yuan myself, but now I have no chance.”
“Erm, maybe I could offer myself as a concubine,” suggested Ao Fei Imperial Daughter of the Longzhi Civilization.
Princess Ye Mao of the Yezhi Civilization whispered with hazy eyes, “I truly look forward to Lu Yuan’s appearance.”
Baobei Imperial Daughter leaned close to Yun Xiuxue. “Sister, congratulations.”
Mingyue Imperial Daughter, however, felt a pang of sadness in her heart; she actually rather liked Lu Yuan. Murong Honglei listened to the gossip but did not care for Lu Yuan at all; yet, for some reason, she thought of Li Taishi. Stop, stop, what nonsense am I thinking.
(Ah, that part has arrived!)