The words hung in the air like a thunderclap: "There's no need for such ceremonies, father-in-law." The crowd froze; their breaths caught in collective disbelief. Shi Long's eyes widened, his stoic demeanor cracking as he stared at the silver-haired man before him. The towering figure—Patrick Alexander King—released the city lord's hands, his smile carrying an edge of amusement that sent shivers through the onlookers. The massive carcass of the Screeching Scaled Python lay sprawled behind him, a testament to his unrivaled power.
"Father-in-law?" Shi Long voiced, his tone a mix of confusion and cautious hope. He glanced at Anastasia, who also looked astonished while staring at the tall man.
Time suddenly stopped, caused by Anastasia's rapid heartbeat as she stared at Patrick. Her face turned red as she walked up to Patrick and kissed him, tiptoeing. Athena smiled as she watched Anastasia's happy face. As they were now sister-wives, they were interlinked through Patrick, enabling them to share emotions and thoughts unrestrainedly.
"I was going to wait after things settled before telling him, I didn't know you were this eager to claim me," Anastasia said, her lips stuck between Patrick's teeth.
"Eager, you say?! I'm simply eliminating the reality of anyone putting you up for marriage.
"Well, aren't you the jealous type. *Kiss* My Knight in golden armor." *Kiss*
The couple kissed a few more times and separated their lips as Anastasia returned and stood next to her father. Time unfroze, returning the scene to the City Lord Shi, still staring at Anastasia, expecting an answer.
"Ling'er? - [Passive Skill: Reality Manipulation] Anastasia?" The Shi patriarch asked, with reality suddenly being manipulated by Anastasia, altering her name in the realities of everyone to her original name as Anastasia.
Crossing her hair over her ear, Anastasia blushed slightly as she replied, "Yes, Father. I would like to introduce you to Patrick Alexander King, my husband.
The scene went silent again as everyone stared at the tall Patrick and then at Anastasia. The soldiers glanced at each other in disbelief as they internally agreed in unison.
But contrary to the masses, the four elders rained sweat and panicked faces upon hearing the cordial interaction and identity of this unknown man, who seems not only strong, but also domineering in character. Wang Feng swallowed a mouthful of saliva as he stared at the Ju Empire's envoy, trying to create a sense of dependency on him preceding their inevitable doom.
But met with an unexpected scene, the elder observed the envoy and his group standing in respectful postures, akin to disciplined soldiers. Their previously arrogant demeanors were entirely absent as they respectfully lowered their heads. This observation was shared by the other elders, whose concerns grew with each passing moment. The revelation that this formidable individual is now Shi Long's sudden son-in-law signaled the approaching end of their deception and treachery.
Shi Long was lost in thought as he stared at the tall figure in disbelief, but suddenly regaining his demeanor, he smiled cordially and nodded as he spoke, "Well, I shall not hold you to ceremony then, welcome."
"Your hospitality is much appreciated, please call me King."
"As you wish. Where are my manners? Please pardon me. I would like to introduce the envoy of the Ju Empire, envoy?"
As if being the most luxuriously dressed at the scene wasn't attention-grabbing enough, the City Lord Shi Long just had to bring them into the spotlight in an attempt to introduce them.
The envoy smiled helplessly as he walked forward and cupped his hands, "Please to make your acquaintance, King-
But before the envoy could finish his words, a gravitational pressure descended upon him, sending him crashing into the earth heavily and blurting mouthfuls of blood. Everyone reacted with shock as they watched the envoy, previously the strongest at the scene, suddenly being crushed flat on the ground with his hands still cupped.
The envoy's entourage wanted to act, but without even finalizing their thoughts, they were also sent crashing down, lying flat on the ground with crushed legs and broken bones.
"I don't recall authorizing you to approach me, envoy, let alone utter my name."
Patrick said, he then turned to the envoy's entourage and continued, "As for you, you dare try to attack a guest of my father-in-law? For your disrespectful acts, your punishment is death."
Raising his left hand, Patrick levitated the envoy's group in the air, then with a downward wave of his palm, sent the group heavily smashing into the earth, their bodies instantly exploding and their remains scattering underneath the thousands of soldiers.
Silence echoed the scene as everyone stared at the tall, silver-haired man with horror. His words and unreasonable action of brazenly attacking the envoy and his party were a clear act of support for the City Lord. Some couldn't help but stare at Shi Long, whose face held shock and disbelief.
City Lord Shi Long switched his gaze to Anastasia, expressing his shock at the drastic change in the situation. But seeing Anastasia's calm reaction, he widened his eyes at her as if questioning the situation. But Anastasia nodded, giving him the hint that her husband was aware of everything and was acting based on that information.
Done smashing the envoy's group, Patrick turned to Shi Long, "Please excuse me, father-in-law, I'm a being of principle and couldn't stand the disrespect."
"No-no-no, son-in-law. You need not bother, after all, we are family now, so my territory is as much as yours, so act as you please."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Patrick said, a light smile plastered on his face. Then, turning and directing to the screeching scaled python, he continued, "To commemorate our meeting, I present to you this little worm, please have it as a token of gratitude and your hospitality."
"…," Another shocking scene occurred as everyone ignored the envoy and his party as they stared at the massive carcass of the beast lying behind the man. Most had baffling faces as they collectively murmured the man's words, "little worm?!"
Again taken aback, City Lord Shi could only smile with embarrassment as he replied, "Ah… of course, I would gladly receive Heavenly Master King's token."
"Please, call me King, I insist," Patrick said, interrupting the City Lord.
"Pardon me, King. We don't usually receive guests of your caliber, so referring you as Heavenly Master seemed appropriate, but I shall call you King this time." Shi Long said, a smile replacing his embarrassed face.
"Please, follow me. Excuse my citizens on the streets, we are currently at war, and I have an obligation to ensure their safety," Shi Long said as he directed Patrick and his group into the city.
"I understand," Patrick said, walking behind the city lord and passing by the groups of warriors.
The group continued, with some of the warriors picking up the Ju Empire's envoy with them to the administrative hall.
…
On another territory, hundreds of miles from Dan Shi City, stood a city twice as large as Dan Shi City. The city had posh and decorated buildings, stating their status and advanced projects despite being in a rural location on the planet. This descriptive factor emphasizes the idea that they are being backed and supported by a wealthy powerhouse, unlike Dan Shi City.
At the city gates, the words "Dan Bei City" were engraved on a massive arch. This was the Bei family's city, Dan Bei City, which was twice as wealthy as the Shi family, or at least so the evidence presents. Contrary to Dan Shi City, Dan Bei City was tranquil, even bustling with merry citizens and compatriots. Their streets were free of any refugees, and their markets were filled with goods and merchandise, indicating their stable and prosperous economy.
Similar to Dan Shi City, deep within the core areas of Dan Bei City, within an administrative hall almost three times larger than the one at Dan Shi City, similar groups of men sat in the hall as they were engaging in a banter conversation.
On the high seat was a leader with an arrogant and boisterous attitude. Sitting beside the leader was an envoy of the Ju Empire, evident from his luxurious attire surpassing even the leader and his rows of elders below.
"Brother Bei, I shall personally ensure his majesty, the emperor, is aware of how hospitable Dan Bei City and the Bei family have been towards his envoy. You are indeed more of a dependable subordinate than the Shi family."
Said the envoy as he gulped a bowl of wine, he was fat and had a double chin. But despite his poor physique, no one in the hall dared mock or interrupt him, not even the leader. On the contrary, he held a respectable demeanor as he listened to the envoy with a cuddling face.
"Haha, envoy Yun knows best. Our Bei family has proven how trustworthy an ally we are, especially since this war with the Shi family began. With your hidden support, we have conquered all the sub-families and pillaged all their vassal villages, leaving them with no choice but to exhaust their reserves of Qi Cores and Qi Core Mines.
With how sentimental and emotionally immature he is, Shi Long must have accepted every refugee and asylum seeker that appears at their gates, not knowing that our spies and warriors lie within those so-called refugees, hahaha. I must say, the Ju Empire is quite formidable when facing its enemies."
The Bei patriarch spoke, his words fawning over the Ju Empire's envoy.
"Good. And once this strife with the Shi family is over and we have complete control of Dan Shi City by today's end, I will send a word of recommendation to the top sects for Bei Feng Jian. With his talent, he should make a fine inner disciple."
Hearing the envoy, the Bei patriarch's eyes lit with excitement, a prideful smirk appearing on his face as he leaned back, sipping a bowl of wine. The Bei family elders also exchanged gazes; their moods elevated by the envoy's encouraging words. The thought of a descendant from the Bei family being recruited into any sect alone was too great news for the Bei family, not to mention the top sects, and especially when an elder of the Ju Empire was vouching.
The envoy also had a spoiled expression, relishing the non-stop cuddling from the Bei family members. He laughed heartedly, his ugly and annoying laugh filling the meeting hall as he occasionally stared at the female servants holding trays of food and wine. A lustful expression washed over his face as he drooled disgustingly.
...
Inside the administrative hall of Dan Shi city, the towering silver-haired Patrick sat in the leader's seat with an air of effortless authority, his golden infinity eyes glinting with mystery and regality. The fact that he single-handedly dragged the screeching scaled python beast alone should be a feat worthy of him occupying any leading seat on the continent, let alone the lead seat of a backwater city like Dan Shi city.
And that's not mentioning his other feats of wiping out thousands of mountain beasts, erasing the beast mountain range, and not so long ago, crushing the Ju Empire's envoy and his entourage like ants.
Athena and Anastasia sat beside him, Athena on the left, Anastasia on the right. Athena held a calm and serene smile with elegantly crossed legs, her eyes amused as she side-glanced Anastasia, who sat with a regal posture, a tinge of subtle flush on her face due to her romantic exchange with Patrick earlier. The two omni goddess radiated majestic and aromatic essences, their dresses shimmering faintly under the penetrating rays of sunlight into the hall.
Despite being stacked, the silence in the administrative hall was suffocating, a heavy shroud that draped over every soul present. An unknown sense of rising tension among the onlookers, and especially the four city elders.
Suddenly, echoes of footsteps emerged from the hall's entrance, arrived a group of warriors carrying the immobile body of the Ju Empire's envoy arrived. Most exchanged gazes as they saw and felt the tension in the hall rising even further. Seeing the pitiful state of the envoy, every cultivator in the hall, friend or foe, bowed their heads, trying not to make eye contact with the silver-haired, domineering figure sitting over them.
The four city elders—Wang Feng, Shu Meng, Chen Liang, and Guo Fung—sat opposite city lord Shi Long, sitting on the right side of the hall. The elders' faces showed a gallery of barely concealed panic. Sweat beaded on their foreheads, their hands fidgeting as they exchanged fleeting, nervous glances. The air crackled with unspoken dread, and the soldiers lining the hall—General Wu, General Chun, and their subordinates—shifted uneasily, sensing the impending storm.
Shi Long, still processing the whirlwind of events, cleared his throat, his voice steady but laced with curiosity. "King, I must thank you again for your… decisive action against the envoy. They have brought nothing but disrespect and stain to our Dan Shi City's doorsteps." He paused, glancing at Anastasia with fatherly warmth. "But I sense there is more to address. Anastasia?"
Anastasia sat upright, uncrossed her legs, and rose, her movements graceful and yet deliberate as she strode down the stairs. Her presence captivated the room's attention, the soldiers straightening instinctively, the elders' breaths hitching. The sudden change of events meant their reckoning, bolstering waves of uneasiness in their hearts and minds as they sensed the impending doom.
Patrick leaned back in his seat, a subtle smirk on his lips, knowing what was about to happen, he relished the chaos yet unleashed. Athena's eyes sparkled with quiet pride, her existential bond with Anastasia pulsing with a mix of resolve and excitement.
"Father," Anastasia began, her voice clear and resonant, carrying the weight of a cosmic decree, "the time for pretense ends today. Dan Shi City has stood resilient against external threats—the beast horde eighty years ago, the barbarian invasion, the Ju Empire, the Bei family, and their machinations—but the true rot festers within."
She turned her gaze to the four elders, her eyes narrowing with an intensity that made the air tremble, sending shivers down the men's spines upon being stared at. "These men, entrusted with the city's welfare, have betrayed us all."
A collective gasp rippled through the hall. General Wu's hand tightened on his sword hilt, his weathered face hardening, while General Chun's eyes darted between Anastasia and the elders, searching for truth in her words.
The soldiers murmured among themselves, their loyalty to the city warring with their shock. The elders, however, reacted with a mix of feigned outrage and palpable fear.
Wang Feng, the eldest and most vocal of the four, shot to his feet, his voice quivering with indignation. "This is preposterous! How dare you accuse us, Lady Anastasia? We have served Dan Shi City for decades, bled for its survival—our loyalty is beyond question!"
Guo Fung, a wiry man with a sharp jaw, nodded vigorously, his voice rising. "Yes! What proof do you have of such baseless claims? You cannot slander us without evidence!"
'Yes, she has no proof, since all their soldiers are here and they have no casualties, on what grounds will she accuse us? As long as we talk our way out of this, Shi Long and his little brat will have no grounds to kill us, the most they can do is banish us.'
'That's if they can afford to anyway, our combined forces overwhelm theirs, and this silver-haired young heavenly master doesn't seem all that interested in some mundane affairs of mortals. So we should be fine.'
The elders exchanged thoughts, their minds slowly coming at ease after their calculated analysis.
But seeing the elders' easing faces, Anastasia's smile turned cold, her aura flaring with a subtle golden light that made the hall's torches flicker. The temperature dropped, and a faint hum of power vibrated through the stone floor. "Proof?" she echoed, her tone dripping with disdain. "You dare speak of proof when your treachery has stained this city for decades?
She raised her hand, and the air shimmered as a holographic projection materialized above the hall, its golden light casting eerie shadows on the stone walls. The projection revealed a series of scenes, each one a damning indictment of the elders' crimes. The soldiers and generals leaned forward, their eyes wide, as the images unfolded like a cosmic tapestry of betrayal.
The first scene showed Wang Feng meeting in secret with a Ju Empire emissary, accepting a chest of glowing Qi Cores in exchange for detailed maps of Dan Shi City's defenses. The second revealed Guo Fung sabotaging the city's grain stores, ensuring shortages that forced Shi Long to divert resources from the war effort.
Shu Meng was seen planting false reports to mislead General Wu's scouts, leading to ambushes that cost hundreds of lives. Chen Liang appeared in a shadowy chamber, conspiring with the Bei family to smuggle spies into the city under the guise of refugees, their laughter echoing as they mocked Shi Long's "sentimental" nature.
The hall erupted in murmurs of disbelief and rage. General Chun's face twisted with fury, her voice growled low. "Traitors!" General Wu drew his sword halfway, his knuckles white, but Shi Long raised a hand to stay him, his expression a storm of betrayal and resolve. Shi Long held a dark expression, his head bowed as if in contemplation.
The elders' faces paled; their secrets exposed, and their true treacherous natures revealed. But seeing the tide of opinions shifting from their favor, Wang Feng stepped forward, his desperate defensive and denying words resounding in the hall. "Nonsense, what demonic technique is this? How do you expect us to believe such a false display of an illusion technique? Do you take us for fools, Anastasia?"
Hearing elder Wang Feng, the crowd erupted again, this time their exchanged gazes containing hints of doubt and suspicion. Some began considering the elder's words of the magical display they just witnessed being the effects of an illusion technique.
In the cultivation world, the existence of millions of techniques was common knowledge, although some are rare and impossible to ever lay eyes upon in their lifetimes, they weren't ignorant enough to deny their existence. And in the elder's case, his rebuttal of everything being nothing but an illusion was rational, at least in the realities of the cultivators.
Seeing the crowd slowly drift in their favor, Wang Feng and the other three city elders regained some tranquility, their demeanors shifting from panic dread to confident defendants. Wang Feng even stepped on the throttle.
"Furthermore, you expect us to believe you were in combat and claimed thousands in casualties and deaths, yet you stand here alive, unscathed, and with no more than specs of dust on you and your soldiers. Doesn't the present reality contradict your accusations, little girl?"
The crowd this time sided completely with elder Wang Feng. Even General Chun, General Wu, and their entourages questioned their appearances. Some warriors even frowned, trying to remember what had transpired, or if anything transpired at all.
Patrick held an impassive face as the events unfolded, his reaction not acknowledging the elders or their pathetic charade the least. He leaned his head on his right fist as he amused himself with the drama. Athena also held an amused smile as she stared at Wang Feng.
"I see making every character non-NPC is taking effect, Grace."
"Yes, Master. Since every character, important or not, now thinks realistically, they are capable of countering and replying as any human in Earth 101 thinks and acts. Too bad their opponent is Anastasia, an omni-queen and an infinite existence at that."
Patrick chatted with Grace, his gaze lazy and uninterested as he stared at the elders from an infinite dimensional perspective, which transcends the limitations of time and space, encompassing totality and everything within his grasp of manipulation.
Just as Patrick saw everything in the hall, so did Athena and Anastasia, their perspectives almost similar to his, making reality, time, space, existence, and totality resemble mere strands of essence and tiny thin webs of countless-colored totalities intertwined with each other. Their dimensional perspectives can only truly be imagined, especially as existences beyond the eleven and twelve dimensions, which are the highest theoretical dimensions in human mathematics.
["Goddess Anastasia, the cultivation multiverse requests your permission to eradicate this cultivation universe."]
["Goddess, totality requests to devour this cultivation multiverse for being called 'little girl"]
["Goddess, requesting permission to exterminate this timeline and reality for eternity."]
Series of her omni queen systems messages echoed in Anastasia's consciousness as the event unfolded, especially when Wang Feng called her "little girl," now feeling confident and arrogant thinking they had the upper hand against her.
But with a calm and unbothered reaction, Anastasia rejected the requests, glints of light slowly fading from her view and from above the cultivation multiverse, her action unbeknownst to everyone except Patrick and Athena.
She turned and looked at the Ju Empire's envoy lying on the ground unconscious, blood dripping from his apertures like a dying mammal. But with a thought from her, the envoy's body steadily levitated from the ground as it drifted towards Anastasia. The crowd watched with caution and anticipation as they awaited their mistress' reply to being rebutted.
But as the envoy's body drifted towards her, it simultaneously folded into a ball of meat, thick red blood splattering in the center of the hall, the sound of breaking bones reverberating in the minds of the onlookers.
Seeing this, the crowd reacted with disbelief, some gazing at the young mistress with bulging eyes as they bled beads of sweat simultaneously. The fact that what the little lady just committed was none other than a declaration of war against the Ju Empire and all its allies was too shocking of a reality for many to comprehend in the instant; so most of the lower ranked soldiers simply lost consciousness as they fell in the hall like rows of domino piles.
General Chun and General Wu held disbelieving faces as they watched their mistress, her face calm and unbothered as if she didn't just kill an envoy of the most powerful empire in their continent, and that's not accounting for their alliances with sects and factions which are ten times, if not hundreds of times more powerful than the Ju Empire itself.
General Chun hastily turned to the city lord, Shi Long, expecting a shocked reaction as well, but to her disbelief, Shi Long saw prideful, his expression contented and satisfied with his daughter's action.
But while the crowd and many reacted with disbelief, the four city elders watched as their last thread of hope faded from their grasp like the morning dew evaporated by the rising sun; this hope, in particular crushed into a ball of human meat. Their faces assumed despair as they now gazed at Anastasia.
"I have neither the time nor patience to indulge in your mundane politics, Wang Feng. I simply intend to cleanse Dan Shi city of the pests and parasites that have dug their suckling jaws into the hearts of this city. Your deaths were already written in stone; I am simply tearing down the false wall of pretense.
Hearing this only intensified the city elders' despairing countenances. The fact that Anastasia just killed the Ju Empire's envoy publicly meant she didn't care about politics, or whatever consequences that came with the Ju Empire. But unable to bear the despair, Cheng Liang, being the impatient and emotionally feeble one, erupted in desperation.
"How dare you kill a member of the Ju Empire; do you understand the repercussions this will bring to us and Dan Shi City?!" Done with his desperate chant towards Anastasia, Cheng Liang turned to Shi Long and continued, "Shi Long, how dare you allow such blasphemy and disrespect to the Ju Empire? How dare you sit there and let this little-
*SNAP SPLUSH*
Before Chen Liang could finish his sentence, his body twisted and folded like squeezing water from a towel. His blood splashed on his fellow elders and the soldiers.
"What do you say we stop the charade and skip to the part where we conquer this planet, my dear wife?"