The fifteenth day of the month was an auspicious day. That was the day the Holy Hall’s holy maiden would be engaged. The holy son-in-law would be parading through the city with the holy maiden to celebrate the occasion.
The entire city was fully decorated in lanterns and colored banners. Joy and laughter were everywhere, and the atmosphere was jovial. The people of the city were all excitedly talking about the engagement.
“I wonder which clan’s son has won the holy maiden’s favor. How enviable.”
“The holy maiden is the prettiest woman in the Holy Earth Hall. She was born favored by the heavens, and his man is most certainly a genius blessed by the heavens as well.”
“This news is too sudden. Why had they not opened the son-in-law recruitment to the public? I have been preparing myself all this while, but now, my goddess has landed in someone else’s embrace. I can’t accept this!”
“I shall see just what kind of a man is worthy of the holy maiden. He better not be disappointing.”
…
Drumrolls erupted from the palace, flooding the air with a festive mood. The residents of the city started gathering around the palace.
From the palace, a group of people emerged. There were hundreds of them, each dressed in a festive outfit. They formed two rows as they marched forward. Those at the front were in charge of playing the music instruments, while those behind them were mostly guards and a few beautiful servants.
At the very end of the procession were a group of servants carrying numerous gifts for the happy occasion, gifts that would be handed out to the people of the city during the parade.
At the very middle of the procession was a luxurious carriage being pulled by eight dragonblood horses. The red satin walls of the carriage drifted about gently. The vague silhouette of a beauty could be seen within. A servant was scattering flowers in the air as the carriage moved forward.
Right before the carriage was a handsome steed with a heroic youth mounted on it. His eyes were as bright as the sun and the moon, and his aura was akin to the blazing sun. He looked like he had descended from the heavens, looking incredibly noble and majestic. This was the holy son-in-law.
A cacophony of voices broke out when the son-in-law appeared. There were praises, there were jeers, and there were also envious words. Seated high atop his steed, Xiang Shaoyun looked down at the cheering crowd, and he couldn’t help but form a prideful smile on his face.
Tuoba Wan’er was loved and respected by everyone in the city. It was understandable why he would feel proud at having such a woman as his fiancée.
When the parade started handing out gifts to the crowd, the excitement in the air grew. Sounds of cheers broke out again and again, well-wishes resounding throughout the city.
Seated on the carriage, Tuoba Wan’er had a slight blush on her face. Her emotions were mixed, with traces of joy among them. She had long known that a day like this would come, but when it finally arrived, it felt unreal.
Looking at Xiang Shaoyun’s straight posture, gentleness surfaced in her eyes. After spending half a month together, she found herself getting used to his presence. Her feelings toward him had grown as well, and now, she felt that this marriage was perhaps something good after all.
The procession moved slowly and would take an entire day to tour the main streets of the city and share the joy with everyone.
Just as they reached a fork in the street, a shrill cry rang out, “Ahhh, snakes! A lot of snakes!”
The shrill cry failed to overcome the sheer noise of the bustling environment, but it soon caused a small disturbance. More and more people started shouting, and chaos spread. Numerous snakes emerged from the ground, and the crowd started fleeing in panic. Chaos and confusion erupted among the crowd.
As for the guards in charge of protecting the procession, they were on full alert. One of them shouted, “Stop moving! All of you, stop moving!”
Unfortunately, with their lives on the line, the disorderly crowd was not very keen on obeying. Many of them even charged into the midst of the procession in their search for safety.
At this time, Xiang Shaoyun commanded, “Protect the holy maiden and speed up.”
He could sense that something was odd. Perhaps someone was coming after him again. Numerous snakes shot over, bombarding Xiang Shaoyun’s mount with attacks. The horse trampled around furiously, stomping numerous snakes to death. However, there were too many snakes for the horse to kill, and it was eventually struck.
Xiang Shaoyun was forced to kill all the snakes around him. The streets sank into complete chaos. The guards were all surrounding Tuoba Wan’er to protect her, with a much smaller number of them around Xiang Shaoyun.
At that moment, several people broke through the defensive perimeter before they abruptly hurled attacks toward Xiang Shaoyun.
The attackers disguised themselves very well, hiding their aura completely. Thus, nobody had been able to sense their strength. But the moment they attacked, it was revealed that they were actually late-stage Emperors. In fact, there were even peak Emperors among them.
Powerful attacks shot out from their weapons and surrounded Xiang Shaoyun. Their cooperation was exquisite, and this barrage of attacks was enough to easily kill a peak Emperor.
Xiang Shaoyun had been on guard, so golden light immediately erupted from his body. Six layers of golden plates appeared around him, and he soared into the sky.
Rumble! Rumble!
Accompanied by a deafening rumble, the horse was turned into mincemeat. As for Xiang Shaoyun, he was sent flying. Where he crashed, a person was waiting. That person lifted his saber and brought it down right at Xiang Shaoyun’s head.
It was unknown if the guards were really that useless, but none of them had arrived in time to help Xiang Shaoyun, watching on helplessly as he was attacked.
“Damn it! Protect the young master!” Tuoba Wan’er roared furiously. She flew out of the carriage and sent a powerful chain flying toward the attacker.
But she was too far away, and there were too many people in her way. Thus, her advance was obstructed. Just as the saber was about to land, Xiang Shaoyun vanished.
Phantom Shift!
Using the Holy Hall’s secret technique, he avoided the attack and appeared beside the attacker. He erupted with full strength and launched a storm of palm attacks at the man.
Major Slab Palm!
Since the attacker had tried to kill him, Xiang Shaoyun wouldn’t hold back. The person before him was a ninth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm expert but was still helplessly turned into mincemeat. Unfortunately, the true danger only revealed itself now. A powerful soul foundation energy suddenly wrapped around Xiang Shaoyun, causing his hairs to stand on end.
