Xingli wakes slowly from her cultivation.
The steady circulation of energy in her dantian fades as her awareness returns to the outside world.
At first, she thinks it is only the faint sounds of the city.
But the noise grows louder.
Voices.
Footsteps.
Movement.
Her eyes open.
She sits quietly for a moment, listening.
The sounds outside are not ordinary morning sounds.
Something is happening.
Xingli ends her cultivation and rises from her bed.
She walks to the window and pushes it open.
Cold air flows into the room.
She looks down toward the street below.
Mountain men wearing fur armour run along the road.
Weapons hang at their sides.
Some carry spears.
Others hold axes or bows.
Their movements are hurried.
More warriors appear from nearby streets, moving in the same direction.
Xingli frowns slightly.
Is someone attacking?
Just then, a knock sounds on her door.
A servant's voice calls politely.
"Princess, Elder Mu requests you to come downstairs."
A few minutes later, Xingli sits in the living room with Mu Qiuran and Shi Yinli.
Elder Mu stands near the centre of the room.
Moments later, a royal guard enters.
He bows respectfully.
"Princess."
"The Marquis is leading an army to deal with the three tribes that attacked the city."
The room grows quiet.
Xingli, Qiuran and Yinli all frown.
Elder Mu suddenly stands.
Her expression turns angry.
"I must question the Marquis," she says sharply.
"Does he intend to marry you or not?"
Without waiting for a reply, Elder Mu turns and storms out of the house.
The door closes behind her.
Xingli exchanges glances with her friends.
For a moment, none of them speaks.
Xingli silently hopes for something impossible.
Perhaps the marriage will be cancelled.
If the Marquis dies in battle…
Or if the alliance collapses…
But even as the thought appears, she shakes it away.
Even if this marriage disappears, another will replace it.
Her father will not abandon such a useful political tool.
He will marry her to someone else to strengthen the throne.
Her destiny will remain the same.
Shi Yinli's voice suddenly arrives through wind transmission.
'Xingli, if the marriage is cancelled, you wouldn't have to run.'
Xingli replies quietly through the same spell.
'Even then, I will leave.'
Yinli's voice carries clear surprise.
'Why?'
Before Xingli can answer, Mu Qiuran speaks through the wind.
'Because if it is not Merin, there will be someone else.'
Yinli frowns.
'Then what about my cousin Yang?'
Qiuran answers calmly.
'Can you guarantee Shi Yang has not accepted the sect master's decision and become a Dao partner with the Yi family daughter?'
Yinli sighs heavily.
She leans back against her chair.
"My cousin would never."
Her eyes flash angrily toward Qiuran.
Xingli finally speaks.
Her voice through the wind carries quiet resolve.
"It no longer matters."
"I have made my decision."
"I will not return to my family or my sect."
Silence fills the room again.
The three girls sit quietly.
They wait for Elder Mu to return.
Far away from the city, an army gathers on the frozen plain.
Duan Merin sits cross-legged on the back of a massive mammoth.
The beast was gifted to him by the Mammoth Tribe after their surrender.
Its towering body moves slowly through the snow.
Golden runes glow faintly across its tusks.
Merin's eyes remain closed.
His mind focuses inward.
He ponders the fourth stage of the Virtual Body Technique.
The third stage already allowed his body to advance into the First Stage of Extraordinary.
That advancement did not greatly increase his physical strength.
Instead, it nourished his vitality.
His lifespan extended by another hundred years.
The depth of his energy increased.
His qi refined further into bronze qi of the Outer Qi Refining stage.
The fourth stage will be different.
It will push his body into the Second Stage of Extraordinary.
That stage will greatly increase his physical power.
If he could reach it before attacking the three tribes, his victory would come with far fewer losses.
But whether he advances or not, the outcome will not change.
He will win.
The only question is how many of his soldiers will die.
Unfortunately, advancing the body is not simple.
Law comprehension can raise cultivation instantly.
Physical cultivation cannot.
Even if the understanding exists, the body itself must transform.
That transformation requires time.
And resources.
Both are enormous.
He will not reach the second stage before the war.
Merin's senses suddenly detect someone approaching from the sky.
His eyes open.
A woman descends through the air and lands before the mammoth.
The mammoth roars loudly.
Its trumpet echoes across the plain.
Nearby soldiers immediately surround the woman with weapons raised.
Merin studies her calmly.
He does not recognise her face.
But he recognises her aura.
Purple Lotus Sect.
Third stage peak cultivation.
He recalls Ziqi's report about the princess's escorts.
He gently strokes the mammoth's head with one hand.
With the other, he signals the soldiers to step back.
They obey immediately.
Merin smiles.
"Elder Mu."
"What brings you here?"
Elder Mu's expression burns with anger.
"Marquis Merin," she says sharply.
"Do you have no respect for the Song royal family or the Purple Lotus Sect?"
Merin smiles slightly wider.
"What makes you say that?"
"I hold the greatest respect for both."
Elder Mu steps closer.
"Then why are you leaving?"
"Do you not know that three days from now is an auspicious date for the marriage?"
Merin chuckles softly.
"I have another auspicious day planned."
Elder Mu narrows her eyes.
"When?"
Merin's violet eyes shine faintly.
"When I bring the three totems of the Raven, Red Boar, and Snow Moth tribes."
"When I sacrifice them to heaven and announce the founding of the city."
"The following day, during the celebration…"
"I will marry the princess."
Elder Mu watches him carefully.
"What will be the exact date?"
Merin simply smiles.
"Very soon."
Elder Mu sighs slowly.
"I hope you keep your word."
Without another sentence, she rises into the air and flies away.
Several minutes later, Ziqi rides toward Merin on horseback.
He stops beside the mammoth.
"Lord."
"Everything is ready."
Merin nods once.
Then he rises slowly.
He lifts his hand.
His voice spreads across the gathered army.
"For revenge."
"For victory."
The soldiers roar.
Their voices echo across the frozen land.
The mammoth steps forward.
Its enormous feet move onto the ice bridge stretching across the lake.
Behind it, the soldiers march.
The army begins moving north-west.
From the city walls, Xingli watches.
Mu Qiuran and Shi Yinli stand beside her.
Elder Mu has returned and stands quietly nearby.
The army moves along the frozen edge of the lake.
The mammoth leads the procession.
Xingli watches silently.
Then suddenly she feels something.
Eyes.
Someone is watching her.
The sensation feels strangely familiar.
She slowly turns her head.
Her gaze moves toward the southern mountains.
Toward the direction of the Song Kingdom.
She studies the distant peaks.
But she sees nothing.
After a moment, she sighs quietly and looks back toward the departing army.
Far away on one of the mountain peaks, a man stands silently.
Shi Yang watches the city.
Light energy flows gently around him.
The sunlight bends and twists, hiding his figure from view.
His gaze remains fixed on Xingli.
He does not plan to meet her.
Knowing his father, there will certainly be many members of the sect already inside the city waiting for him.
If he approaches Xingli now, they will notice.
And even if he manages to meet her and escape with her, she will immediately fall into danger.
The sect would hunt them without hesitation.
Yet he will not allow Xingli to slip away from him.
His plan is different.
On the day of the wedding, he will appear before everyone and challenge Duan Merin openly.
In front of the gathered nobles, sect elders, and the entire city, he will defeat him.
If that happens, the sect will hesitate before taking action against him.
And in that moment of hesitation, he will leave with Xingli.
What gives him the confidence to attempt such a plan is the inheritance he recently obtained from the Angel Egg.
After refining the Angel Egg, he received an inheritance sealed within it.
The inheritance contains the Battle Angel Technique, along with combat techniques and several powerful spells.
The Battle Angel Technique is completely different from any cultivation method he has practised before.
It does not resemble the techniques of spiritual refiners.
Nor does it resemble the cultivation methods of warriors.
Its structure is entirely unfamiliar.
The technique is divided into twelve stages.
The first six stages focus on transforming the body.
During these stages, chains of runes must be drawn across the cultivator's body.
Each chain must be engraved and stabilised with precise control of light energy.
As more rune chains accumulate, the body gradually transforms.
When the sixth stage is completed, the body evolves into what the inheritance calls a Light Divine Body.
Only after the Light Divine Body is formed does the second half of the technique begin.
The final six stages focus on the growth of wings.
With each stage, a new pair of wings emerges from the cultivator's back.
When the technique is fully completed, three pairs of pure white wings will grow.
At that point, the cultivator will advance into what the inheritance calls the Saint Stage.
Even judging from the incomplete information he possesses, the technique is clearly far superior to the cultivation methods of his sect.
Shi Yang has already completed the first two stages.
But that is not enough.
To match his current cultivation level, he must reach at least the fifth stage.
Only then will the power of the technique fully align with his spiritual cultivation.
He slowly closes his eyes again.
Light energy begins circulating quietly through his body.
If his understanding is correct, he will not encounter any bottleneck until the fifth stage.
Which means he must reach it as quickly as possible.
Before the day of the challenge arrives.