Chapter 226 - 224: Falling Into It
The ceremony was starting! With the eye witness of the influential and powerful people of the Xue Country to bear witness, it slightly exceeded the standard ceremonies that the Bloodforge King would have. Of course, the reasons for their presence weren't filled with blessings and excitement, but interest and curiosity.
Over the last three months, this ceremony had been the talk of the entire continent. The lofty and elected Bloodforge King was sending off one of his daughters as a concubine! Furthermore, it was to a mysterious, suspicious alchemist who no one knew or heard of.
Since the beginning of the Bloodforge Continent's history, a princess had never had a status lesser than a wife. This brought about all sorts of mixed and conflicting feelings in their hearts, and even their national pride seemed to have taken a hit. How could this Bloodforge King decide such a matter? And, he wasn't explaining anything to anyone!
Such an abuse of authority! Did he believe his status as the Bloodforge King allowed him to determine other's futures without backlash? These were the thoughts of the citizens, from the wealthy and powerful to the poor and weak.
Outside of the Royal Capital, countless citizens marched at the city walls in protest of this type of engagement. They were fierce with their yells and shouts. Perhaps if they were alone, they wouldn't dare do this due to the fear of being killed off in silence, but with so many people around, how could they be silenced?!
It was also beneficial to them that the Bloodforge King might be heralded as the person with the highest cultivation base and the strongest potential, but he wasn't the strongest person. There were others with cultivation bases at the Second Stage of the Astral Core Realm who resonated with their heartfelt wills! And the difference between them wasn't that big!
These experts were currently in the Royal Capital, sitting in their assigned seats with indifferent expressions, but their eyes radiated displeasure. These figures stood at the same level as Duke Zhao and weren't just limited to the Xue Country, but those who engaged in conflict within the contested territory outside.
In fact, several Earthly Elite rank disciples from the Myriad Monarch Sect had arrived. While they could be considered outsiders, not a single one of them was to be underestimated. Many belonged to the factions of Sky Nobles and Prime Imperial Sages. While these individuals can't set foot on the continent due to their cultivation bases, they could definitely influence things from behind the scene.
The civil unrest was an opportune time for many to make plans to place their hand in the pot that was the Xue Country. Who knows, they might even be able to stage a coup out of this, placing their own selected figurehead as the Bloodforge Continent's representative. This was the same as owning a vast majority of resources in the Bloodforge Continent!
While all this went down, in the Ceremonial Grounds, Xue Yifei was beautifully dressed and her face was expertly touched with exquisite skill. She was gorgeous with her crimson-colored phoenix dress. Accompanying her was her two at-birth maids, Xiu Yi and Xiu Fei. They were also pretty but only served to accentuate the looks of Xue Yifei.
She was the centerpiece of today's event and all focus was on her. Before Xue Yifei were numerous experts or those of high renown both inside and outside the country. If the guests today were any indication of the importance of today's ceremony, it nearly reached levels of a Queen's Wedding with all those of authority and relevancy in the Xue Country being here. Even she was somewhat startled by this.
The Ceremonial Grounds was an open-air venue with various statues depicting past Bloodforge Kings and platforms of worship. One of these platforms was the center stage of the ceremony with Xue Yifei within the middle. A priestess stood behind her, her aura pure and untainted by mortal dust as she was garbed in white. She wore a thin veil with a strange cross hanging around her neck.
The audience was directly before them. They were all seated in delicately arranged locations within the grounds and could be said to be viewing it was every angle.
Xue Duan had a calm look on his face as he regarded all these arrivals. He didn't have an ounce of fear in his heart as he regarded these individuals that obviously were here for a play or sought to instigate trouble. If they knew they were currently trying to interrupt THE Wei Wuyin from accepting a woman, they would definitely regret making such a foolish decision to stick their noses where they shouldn't.
He could only coldly snort in his heart. Regardless of what they do, he didn't have to handle any matters. There's no way a domineering existence like Wei Wuyin wouldn't handle them all with the heaviest of hands. The more he thought about it the better he felt.
He sat in a position of honor amongst the crowd and shrugged off all the ill-glances with an indifferent smile.
The ceremony was all ready to begin, but the character that had created this entire mess was nowhere to be found. Where was this mysterious alchemist? Who was behind the mask? Many wanted to know! They had to know!
Step! Step! Step!
A series of footsteps seemed to quiet the thoughts of everyone as their gazes were subconsciously attracted to a single direction. Coming from this direction was a golden-robed figure with a faceless mask. Even today, he wasn't revealing his identity! This brought about the ire of many!
But as they followed his path to the platform that Xue Yifei stood on, none of them dared to speak a single word. In fact, a very strange set of events happened at this very moment.
Woosh!
Woosh!
Woosh!
Numerous experts within the audience stood up and directly took to the skies, leaving the venue. Their movements were abrupt, and they seemed to act without the slightest hesitation. The shocking thing was...these groups of people were all from the Myriad Monarch Sect! From the Earthly Elites to the Mortal Captains, they departed and left.
In moments, the crowd lost thirty percent of its audience and they vanished into the horizon. Flabbergasted by these events, those of high status and power within the Xue Country was immediately hit with a bout of astounding confusion. A few had connections with these experts and sent spiritual transmissions, but they received no reply.
It was beyond strange!
Before they could react, Wei Wuyin arrived beside the stunned Xue Yifei. Her hazel eyes looked at his faceless mask with all sorts of conflicted emotions. She could say with a hundred percent certainty that this was Wei Wuyin, the Heavenly King and Alchemic King of the Myriad Monarch Sect! Especially after all the members of the sect left.
From the beginning, she felt that she was being used as a tool for an objective, but she couldn't understand...until now. It seems her thoughts were somewhat naive.
The old man who typically stood beside her was also a person with a somewhat clearer grasp of Wei Wuyin's identity and actions, so when he saw the members of the Myriad Monarch Sect depart as if they were paid actors sent off, his heart gripped with fear. Others might not be able to immediately understand what was happening, but he did.
A helplessly sorrowful sigh left his lips and the thought of leaving left his mind. He was old, so it would be best he just accepted his fate. In the end, this world was quite unfair…
Wei Wuyin saw that within her gaze was a moment of understanding, and he smiled behind his mask.
Xue Yifei said suddenly, "Who did you choose?" Her words were soft and delicate but they exuded a unique wisp of refined intelligence often unseen in anyone.
"Chen Xiaowei." A single name left his lips, and this name sent tremors into Xue Yifei's heart. She had to calm herself as she scanned the crowd, witnessing the confused faces of her relatives and high-level members of her country.
"Can you spare these two little ones?" She didn't ask for much, but for Wei Wuyin to spare the lives of Xiu Yi and Xiu Fei. She knew she didn't have the qualifications to do so at the moment.
"Haha. We'll see." Was all he said with a hearty chuckle as his faceless mask turned towards the priestess. Her eyes hidden behind a veil revealed a hint of light and she seemed to have thought of something. With a deep breath, she began the ceremony with a declaration. This brought the attention back to Xue Yifei and the mysterious alchemist.
However, the atmosphere wasn't so good and lively anymore. A lingering air of foreboding started to creep into the hearts of many and many felt like something sinister was lurking behind the scenes.
The Bloodforge King was startled for a moment as well. The abrupt departure of the Myriad Monarch Sect individuals was something he didn't expect. While he knew they might not cause trouble, he didn't think they would leave the moment Wei Wuyin arrived. In that case, why did they come with displeased looks?
Wait…
His heart started to race as he swept the faces of the remaining crowd. All those here were the elite experts of this country, the backbone, and pillar at which he established his candidacy and influence. Their progenies and disciples were also accompanying them. This…
His eyes flicked to Wei Wuyin who hid behind the faceless mask and they donned with a light of realization. While he had walked into the trap without fail, he still realized it directly before it snapped shut. However, it was too late. While he could try to run, try to cause chaos, but perhaps this was also within his calculations.
A chill suffused his heart as his vision began to darken and tremble. He reflected on everything that happened in the last three months and felt as if it lined up perfectly. The only issue left was a patsy was needed. A scapegoat that could be blamed for all of it!
Just as these thoughts were formed, an aura filled with torrential power and mythological force arrived above the skies. A tattered black-robe wearing figure floated within the skies, wearing a hood that gave him a hint of mystery and carrying a black scabbard on his back.
Xue Duan's lips quivered as he whispered in the weakest voice effusing despair, "No…"