Lin Xia's voice finally carried a clear trace of mockery, breaking the silence.
"Third Prince, you're right. Rules are important. Especially rules that have been passed down for a thousand years."
A flicker of hope appeared in Dai Mubai's eyes when he heard this. He thought Lin Xia had been intimidated by the authority of the empire's ironclad laws.
However, Lin Xia's next words made him feel as though he had fallen into an icy abyss.
"But..."
Lin Xia's tone suddenly shifted. It became calm yet even sharper, like an unparalleled divine weapon being drawn from its sheath.
"Rules are dead, but people are alive. The purpose of rules is to maintain order, not to become shackles that bind the living, much less a fig leaf for certain people to shirk responsibility and avoid reality."
Lin Xia took a step forward. The pressure of looking down upon him caused Dai Mubai to lower his head even further.
"You say you can't make the decision? You say this engagement concerns the very foundation of the empire?"
Lin Xia gently shook his head, his tone indifferent.
"Dai Mubai, do you really not understand?"
"When you've been indulging in wine and women here in Soto City, flaunting yourself in public with women on both arms, afraid that even your elder brother might not know that you're wasting your life here in pleasure, and when you recklessly released your Martial Soul's pressure and bullied the weak over a mere hotel room without caring about the consequences."
With every sentence Lin Xia spoke, Dai Mubai's face became paler and his body trembled more violently.
Lin Xia's gaze was like a cold probe, exposing his most disgraceful thoughts and actions completely beneath the light of day.
"Did you ever think about this thousand-year-old ironclad law even once? Did you ever think about Zhu Zhuqing's situation and safety as your fiancée? Did you ever think about your responsibilities and dignity as a prince of the Star Luo Empire?"
Lin Xia's voice suddenly turned cold, ringing with the sharpness of metal striking stone.
"You have already trampled upon this so-called ironclad law countless times through your own actions!"
"You never cared about the foundation of the empire represented by this engagement! All you cared about was your own pleasure and your desire to escape from reality!"
"All those grand-sounding excuses you're making today are nothing more than a fig leaf concealing your cowardly, incompetent, selfish, and despicable nature!"
"You... you're slandering me!"
Dai Mubai had been struck directly at the deepest and most shameful part of his heart. Enraged by humiliation, he snarled, but his voice was incredibly weak and completely devoid of confidence.
"Slandering you?"
Lin Xia gave a light laugh and stopped looking at him, as though even another glance was beneath him.
Lin Xia looked at Zhu Zhuqing again. His tone returned to its usual calmness, but it carried overwhelming confidence.
"What Zhuqing wants isn't evasion or excuses. She wants freedom. These shackles must be broken today. As for the so-called ironclad law of the empire."
Lin Xia's gaze returned to Dai Mubai's pale face. He spoke each word clearly.
"It has existed for a thousand years because it once adapted to its era and served the interests of those in power. But when a new force rises, one powerful enough to reshape the rules, then no matter how ancient an ironclad law may be, it will eventually be broken."
"As for His Majesty the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire and the head of the Zhu Family, I, Lin Xia, will personally pay them a visit and have a proper 'discussion' with them. But before that, I need a document."
Lin Xia leaned forward slightly. Although there was still a distance between them, Dai Mubai felt as though an enormous mountain had descended upon him.
"A statement personally written, signed, and sealed by you, Dai Mubai, the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire."
"A statement declaring that you, Dai Mubai, due to your improper conduct and poor character, your inability to fulfill the responsibilities of this engagement, and your willingness to relinquish it, hereby formally terminate your engagement with Miss Zhu Zhuqing effective immediately."
"From this day forward, the two parties shall have no further connection. Both shall be free to marry whom they wish, and neither shall interfere with the other!"
An unyielding sharpness flashed through Lin Xia's eyes.
"This statement will be the beginning of your atonement, and the first step you take toward facing reality."
"Write it down, sign your name, and affix your imperial seal. Then you can continue enjoying your 'carefree' life here in Soto City."
"Otherwise..."
Lin Xia's tone suddenly dropped to freezing point, and the temperature throughout the entire lobby seemed to fall with it.
"I don't mind using my own methods to help you remember how 'rules' are meant to evolve."
"For example, I could record everything you did at this hotel today, especially the utterly pathetic state you're in right now, along with these two beautiful 'travel companions' of yours, exactly as it happened."
"One copy will be sent to Star Luo City and presented to His Majesty. Another will be delivered to the Zhu Family residence. Then I can have the newspapers under the Blacksmith Association publish a summary of it."
"Tell me, when His Majesty and the head of the Zhu Family see how their highly anticipated Third Prince has been 'faithfully upholding the ancestral teachings' and 'protecting the foundation of the empire' here in Soto City, will they be pleased by your understanding of the bigger picture?"
"Or will they think that this thousand-year-old ironclad law, when applied to you, has become nothing more than a complete joke?"
Silence!
A deathly silence!
Lin Xia's words were like the sharpest icicles. They not only tore apart every last bit of Dai Mubai's disguise and false hope, but also left the sword of absolute humiliation hanging directly above his head!
Cold sweat poured from Dai Mubai's forehead and temples like a waterfall, mixing with the blood that had yet to dry as it trickled down onto the expensive but already damaged carpet.
His handsome face, now horribly contorted, had lost every trace of color beneath the overwhelming fear, humiliation, and despair of being completely at another's mercy. Only a deathly pallor remained.
Looking at Lin Xia's calm, expressionless gaze that nevertheless contained the might of thunder, Dai Mubai truly experienced for the first time what it meant to be crushed by absolute, irresistible power!
Everyone else in the lobby, including Tang San and Xiao Wu, held their breaths.
They looked at the blond prince who had been so arrogant and overbearing only moments ago, yet now lay collapsed on the floor like a lifeless heap, trembling before Lin Xia's will. Their expressions were complicated and difficult to describe, there was shock, a sense of satisfaction, and also a profound awe toward such overwhelming power and authority.
Zhu Zhuqing stood quietly beside Lin Xia. Watching Dai Mubai completely crumble before her eyes, the final faint ripple in her heart finally settled.
She tightened her grip on Lin Xia's hand, feeling the warmth and strength coming from his palm. An unprecedented sense of relief and liberation swept through her entire body.
Zhu Zhuqing knew that the humiliation she was witnessing was only temporary. When Lin Xia had spoken of personally paying a visit and having a proper "discussion" with them, his calm confidence had already allowed her to see the dawn of freedom.
And this statement signed by Dai Mubai would be the first and sharpest blade severing her ties to the past.
Lin Xia said nothing more. He simply stood there quietly, waiting for Dai Mubai to make his choice.
The invisible pressure felt almost tangible, leaving Dai Mubai barely able to breathe.
He knew he had absolutely no room for negotiation.
Write it, and he could cling to a humiliating existence.
Refuse, and he would face complete destruction.
Time passed second by second amid Dai Mubai's silent cold sweat and despair.
Lin Xia did not urge him again. He simply stood there calmly, his deep eyes like an ancient, undisturbed well, reflecting Dai Mubai's crumbling figure.
Yet that invisible pressure was heavier than any Soul Skill, crushing the last remnants of Dai Mubai's will to resist.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Every second was torture for Dai Mubai.
He did not dare raise his head to look at Lin Xia, nor did he dare look at Zhu Zhuqing standing beside him, coldly watching him. The contempt in the eyes of the woman who had once been his fiancée in name was like a venom-coated icicle, piercing his heart more painfully than any physical injury.
Finally, under the crushing weight of extreme fear and humiliation, the pitiful remnants of Dai Mubai's pride completely collapsed.
Dai Mubai's Adam's apple struggled to move as he swallowed. A hoarse, broken sound, barely audible, escaped his throat.
"...Paper and a pen..."
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