Lu Yin looked troubled. "Your Majesty, is it possible... not to get married?"
Undying Yushan looked at Lu Yin, curious. "Do you already have someone in your heart?"
Lu Yin subconsciously shook his head, but then immediately nodded. "I do."
Undying Yushan chuckled. "Then forget it. This was spoken from Rock Ona's own mouth. If we refuse, the Ona family will lose all face, and it will also give Lianyin Star a reason to laugh at us."
Lu Yin was helpless. "That... actually, I don't like Jenny Ona."
"A person's feelings can't last a lifetime, especially for a cultivator with a lifespan of several hundred years. Emotions don't last long. Two people just live together, that's all. No need to overthink it," Undying Yushan said calmly.
Lu Yin was conflicted. Just as he was thinking of how to refuse, Undying Yushan suddenly thought of something. He leaned forward and stared at Lu Yin. "Little Yin, tell me the truth. Do you have ideas about Wendy?"
Lu Yin blinked, not answering.
Undying Yushan assumed he had guessed correctly and held his head with a slight headache. "Back then, I promised your ancestor, the King of Zishan, that the Yushan clan and the Zishan clan would have a marriage contract, and it had to be between the direct heirs. You and Wendy do indeed have an engagement. This is true, I admit it. But... I cannot make decisions for Wendy. If you want to win her, you must strive for it yourself. All I can do is guarantee that I will not object."
Lu Yin lowered his head.
Undying Yushan sighed. "Little Yin, it's not that I'm trying to discourage you. Wendy is an absolute powerhouse even when compared to the entire universe. You've probably heard of the Astral Combat Rankings, a list compiled by the Astral Combat Academy ranking the young geniuses of the entire universe. Wendy has entered the top 20. In other words, among the younger generation of the entire universe, there are no more than 20 people who can compare to her. Even I cannot underestimate her strength. I can tell you that I have absolutely no intention of using her marriage to strengthen the Great Yu Empire, but she herself is incredibly arrogant, and I cannot control her. If you want to win her, you must at least enter the top 50 of the Astral Combat Rankings, otherwise, it's absolutely impossible."
Lu Yin looked up and said firmly, "Uncle Emperor, I have confidence."
Undying Yushan chuckled. "Confidence is a good thing. In that case, I will speak to the Ona family on your behalf. But it won't be a refusal, but a postponement. Three years at most. If you can't win Wendy over in three years, you must obediently marry Jenny. How about it?"
Lu Yin nodded and said solemnly, "Three years it is. I am confident that in three years, I will make Princess Wendy see me in a new light."
Undying Yushan nodded and watched Lu Yin leave. "See him in a new light? The mindset of a youth. Wendy is the successor of the Innerverse's Myriad Swords Mountain, not someone cultivated by our Great Yu Empire; otherwise, she wouldn't be so strong. For you to enter her sights is not just difficult, it's fundamentally impossible. Well, so be it. Three years is enough for him to temper his mindset."
Leaving the imperial courtyard, Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing I used Wendy Yushan to block the engagement. Three years? What a joke. I'm not the real King of Zishan anyway. In three years, I'll probably be long gone from the Great Yu Empire. Who cares about your engagement.
The moment Lu Yin's front foot left the imperial palace, with his back foot, the news that he wanted to marry the Fifth Princess, Wendy Yushan, spread, causing countless people to mock him.
Wendy Yushan's power was not something ordinary people could comprehend. She was a captain of the Imperial Court's Thirteen Squads, someone who had defeated a Cruiser Realm expert, the successor of a great power in the Innerverse. No one in the younger generation of the Great Yu Empire could catch her eye. For such a figure, even Shuz and Gurbach didn't dare to have fantasies. Yet now, the news spread that Lu Yin wanted to win her over, which was no different from a wild fantasy.
For a time, this matter became the laughingstock of the entire Capital Star.
In the study of the Ona family, the patriarch, Snomo Ona, slammed his hand on the table. "A mere junior from Lianyin Star dares to use my Ona family. I will settle this score sooner or later."
Rock Ona sat indifferently and said in a low voice, "It seems Jenny quite likes Yan Feng."
"So what if she likes him? The environment of a place like Lianyin Star is not suitable for my Ona family's survival. Moreover, once we are allied with Lianyin Star by marriage, how will the Ona family position itself in the Great Yu Empire?" Snomo Ona said.
At this moment, Rock Ona's personal communicator received a message. He glanced at it, frowning, a trace of displeasure in his eyes.
"What is it?" Snomo Ona asked.
Rock Ona's voice was heavy. "The King of Zishan wants to marry Princess Wendy."
Snomo Ona sneered. "He doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Even the likes of Shuz don't have the guts to say such things, and he thinks he can? What, does he look down on Jenny?"
"Jenny was defeated by him in the Earth trial, a complete defeat," Rock Ona said.
Bringing this up made Snomo Ona furious. "Useless thing! Can't even beat a native. Pass down the order: if she doesn't break through to the Melting Realm, she's not to leave the residence."
"What about the King of Zishan?" Rock Ona asked.
Snomo Ona pondered for a moment. "You've already acknowledged this engagement in court, so we can't go back on our word. The royal family and the Zishan clan also have an engagement, so both our sides are justified. No one will mock the Ona family over this. However, this King of Zishan is getting a bit inflated. A few days ago, he openly extorted people. Perhaps we should knock some sense into him, otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause when he marries into the family."
Before long, Jenny Ona was dragged home from a bar. Toleona looked at her with a bitter smile. "Miss, I'm sorry. From today onwards, you cannot leave the residence until you break through to the Melting Realm."
Jenny Ona glared at Toleona. "I heard that Uncle betrothed me to that bastard Lu Yin in court, is that right? And that bastard doesn't even want me, he wants to marry Princess Wendy."
Toleona helplessly spread her hands, not knowing how to answer.
Jenny was furious. "That bastard dares to look down on me! He's just a down-and-out native. I, Jenny Ona, will never marry that kind of person—a robber, a despicable and shameless villain. I wouldn't marry him even if you beat me to death. I'm going to cultivate right now, break through to the Melting Realm as soon as possible, and make him pay back all the humiliation he's caused me!" After speaking, she stormed off angrily.
Toleona sighed. Perhaps she should thank Lu Yin. Without him, Jenny would still be immersed in her admiration for Yan Feng. How could she be so motivated to cultivate?
Remembering the young man who dared to face them directly and threaten them, Toleona felt a trace of admiration. Not every native dared to make demands of the empire, especially when the other party was a Star-Wandering expert.
Unfortunately, a person's talent is destined from birth. Even if his talent was extraordinary, it was limited to the Great Yu Empire. Princess Wendy was a genius recognized by the universe; even Yan Feng couldn't compare to him.
Lu Yin hadn't expected the matter of his marriage to cause such a huge reaction everywhere. Although most of it was mockery, some people were genuinely looking forward to it, for example, the people in the army of the third ring. Even though they hadn't met Lu Yin, they had been paying close attention to him.
In the imperial prison, Siken Maldo was bound by a prison of light. Before him, a young man looked at him in distress. It was his son, Ukai Maldo.
"He wants to marry Princess Wendy? That's too difficult," Siken Maldo sighed.
Ukai Maldo said, "If he really succeeds, it would probably shake the entire Outerverse."
"Not shake the Outerverse, but shake the entire starry sky. Princess Wendy is ranked in the top 20 of the Astral Combat Rankings, the successor of Myriad Swords Mountain, famous throughout the universe. Her every move is watched by countless people. The moment the King of Zishan was ennobled, people were already investigating everything about him. The engagement between the Zishan clan and the Yushan clan is not a secret. Now that the King of Zishan is being so high-profile, the entire starry sky is probably discussing this matter," Siken Maldo said.
"Father, what should we do then? The King of Zishan saved your life," Ukai Maldo said.
Siken Maldo glared at him. "Don't say such things in the future. Go back, don't do anything. And don't contact Las and his group anymore."
Ukai Maldo nodded.
In the depths of the dark universe, a streak of light shot out at extreme speed. It was a medium-sized spaceship, silvery-white in color. On its hull was carved a pattern of soaring wings and a sword. Surrounding it were ten dark shadows—this was the symbol of the universe's Youth Council. These ten dark shadows represented the Ten Arbiters.
Inside the spaceship, more than a dozen people stood tremblingly, afraid. In front of them, a burly man nearly three meters tall was doing a one-finger push-up. Sweat dripped down his face, soaking a large patch of the floor. The hard floor was even cracking under his single finger, the cracks gradually spreading.
Not far away, a number was slowly flashing. It was the gravity value. At this moment, it displayed -- 150.
The burly man's eyes suddenly sharpened. He bent his finger and easily flipped up. A female attendant immediately crushed a water-flow crystal, washing the burly man's body.
"You're saying that King of Zishan from the Great Yu Empire publicly wants to marry Councilor Wendy?" the burly man asked nonchalantly as he wiped himself down.
The dozen people lowered their heads. "Yes, the news came from the Great Yu Empire. Undying Yushan did not object."
The burly man sneered. "Such dog's guts. A savage native fantasizing about swallowing the heavens."
"Lord Barzel, the native may be small, but he is very annoying. If this matter reaches Lord Buyou's ears, the outcome will not be good," one person stepped forward and said in a low voice.