The Violet Flame Grand Capital was a fortress of imposing spiritual might. Its walls, laced with ancient runic arrays, shimmered with a golden defensive light visible from miles away. The city throbbed with the power of its ruling dynasty.
Lin Feng, Xia Qingwu, and Yin Xiu stood overlooking the Eastern Wall. The Blood Oath Ceremony was scheduled for dawn.
"The defenses are focused on aerial attack and direct frontal assault," Yin Xiu whispered, disguised as a common market vendor. "My intel is solid: the Hidden Dragon Canal—a repurposed ancient sewage route—is our only entry point. It's beneath the Eastern barracks, protected by a low-level Water-Seal Array that only a specialist would bother to guard."
Lin Feng, dressed in simple, elegant scholar robes, grinned, the confidence of his Six-Law Crucible radiating. "A sewage system entrance. Perfect. Nothing says 'Sovereign' like arriving covered in effluent."
Xia Qingwu, disguised as a stern attendant, glared at him. "Focus, Feng. If we are caught in that canal, my Phoenix Fire will ignite the methane buildup, and we will be expelled as a greasy stain on the city wall."
"That would certainly be an arrogant entrance, Qingwu," Lin Feng quipped. "But let's aim for a more dignified explosion after the ceremony."
Yin Xiu led them down a hidden maintenance shaft. The air in the canal was immediately vile. Lin Feng, though an Origin King, wrinkled his nose dramatically.
"Ah, the scent of imperial power," he sighed, gesturing theatrically. "Quite pungent. Clearly, Young Master Jian doesn't prioritize sanitation."
Yin Xiu rolled her golden eyes, already gliding ahead like a shadow, easily bypassing the sluggish Water-Seal Array with a flick of her deceptive Qi. "Less commentary, more moving. The main current will pull us directly toward the Inner Palace."
They began navigating the fast, filthy current. Lin Feng used his newly mastered Void Water element to create a small, perfectly dry sphere around himself and his allies, ensuring not a single drop touched them.
"See, Qingwu? Mastery has its perks," Lin Feng boasted, leaning back comfortably in his Void bubble.
Xia Qingwu, however, spotted something ahead. "Stop! We have company. It seems someone did bother to guard the sewage pipe."
Blocking their path was a low-level guard patrol—four Peak Qi Sea cultivators, clearly bored and annoyed by their duty. The lead guard was a massive man picking something distasteful from his armor.
"Halt! Unauthorized entry! Who goes there?" the guard roared, his voice echoing disgustingly off the wet walls.
"We are sanitation inspectors, sent by the Emperor himself to analyze the efficacy of the new drainage system," Lin Feng announced smoothly, stepping out of his protective sphere to be perfectly visible. "And sir, I must report: the system is failing spectacularly. I am detecting dangerous levels of... unpleasantness."
The guards stared, utterly bewildered.
The lead guard frowned. "Sanitation? What nonsense! We are under lockdown for the Blood Oath Ceremony! You're trespassing!"
"Tsk, tsk. Protocol breach," Lin Feng lamented, shaking his head. "Look, my friend," he continued, adopting a dramatically condescending tone. "You clearly have a rigorous, demanding job, spending your evening wading in the imperial rejects. Do you really want to interrupt a man who reports directly to the Emperor's toilet?"
The guards hesitated, utterly confused by his bizarre confidence.
"He's stalling! Attack!" the lead guard finally screamed, lifting his heavy halberd.
Lin Feng didn't even activate his full Origin Domain. He simply focused a terrifying, combined blast of Void Wood and Void Metal Qi.
The Void Wood element instantly constricted the guards' legs with powerful, ethereal vines that burst from the canal walls, binding them tightly. Before they could react, the Void Metal element manifested as five lightning-fast, blunt spikes that struck the guards' pressure points, knocking them unconscious instantly.
The entire fight took less than three seconds. No explosion, no fire, just silence and unconscious guards floating harmlessly in the canal.
Yin Xiu whistled softly, transforming her body into pure shadow and retrieving the maintenance keys from the floating guard. "You have a flair for the dramatic, Feng. And the Void-Wood binding technique is frighteningly fast."
"The quickest way to win is to make the enemy question their career choices," Lin Feng said, wiping a speck of dust from his scholar robe. "Now, to the Inner Palace."
They used the maintenance tunnels Yin Xiu's intel provided, emerging undetected directly beneath the Grand Assembly Hall just as the sun began to rise. The Hall was massive, filled with hundreds of high-ranking cultivators—the entire political and martial backbone of the Dynasty.
Lin Feng and his companions found a discrete vent, giving them a clear view of the ceremony.
At the center stood Young Master Jian, cloaked in shimmering golden robes, his aura arrogant and powerful—a genuine Second Level Origin King, slightly stronger than Lin Feng. Standing beside him was a sight that wrenched Lin Feng's heart.
Su Wanying. She was breathtakingly beautiful, dressed in ornate crimson wedding attire that clashed painfully with her natural, serene Ice Spirit aura. Her silver eyes were downcast, devoid of all light. She looked like a captive goddess, ready to be sacrificed.
Lin Feng felt a protective fury, but forced himself to control it. Ruthlessness toward the enemy, absolute loyalty to his love.
The Dynastic Emperor, a majestic figure, raised his hand to begin the oath.
"Before the Heavens and the Martial Dao," the Emperor boomed, "I hereby seal the bond between my son, Jian, and the Holy Maiden, Su Wanying. May their union--"
"Stop the wedding!"
Lin Feng did not bother with stealth. He channeled his Origin Domain and his unique Six-Law Crucible, unleashing a single, devastating blast of pure, stabilized Void-Earth Qi that shattered the granite floor of the Assembly Hall, creating a perfect, twenty-foot crater directly beneath the altar.
The entire hall erupted in chaos. Dust, debris, and panic.
Lin Feng leaped from the hole, flanked by Xia Qingwu and Yin Xiu. He stood defiantly amidst the chaos, his scholar robes immaculate, his eyes blazing with the cold confidence of a Sovereign.
Young Master Jian staggered back, fury contorting his handsome face. "Who dares?!"
Lin Feng swept a gaze over the shocked Assembly, focusing his entire, massive power directly on Jian. His voice, amplified by his stable Void Domain, was smooth, lethal, and laced with absolute contempt.
"Apologies, Your Highness," Lin Feng said, performing a ridiculously over-the-top bow, still covered in the faint scent of sewage from the canal. "I am the new sanitation inspector. And this marriage? It simply does not meet my quality standards."
He met Su Wanying's silver eyes. The sight of him, standing defiant and alive, broke her despair. A single, crystalline tear tracked down her cheek, quickly replaced by a brilliant flare of hope and love.
The confrontation had begun. Lin Feng had made his arrogant entrance, and now he had to survive the consequences.