Back at the luxurious airship bearing Lieyan’s mark, Yanzao was waiting respectfully at the bottom of the gangway.

He gave his report to Yueyang in cipher.

Yueyang thought it over briefly, said a few words, and sent him back out to gather more intelligence.

As for the cluster of Sky-rank cultivators who had followed them trying to curry favor — Yueyang paid them no attention whatsoever. Even the steward sent by the Redemption City Lord, bearing a priceless pearl as an offering, was turned away at the door. Did they really think an upper-echelon figure was that easy to get an audience with? The steward showed no surprise at being refused — he simply knelt on the spot and begged for a moment of consideration. If he couldn’t see the great lord herself, he hoped at least that Yueyang might accept the pearl on her behalf.

A gift accepted meant hope remained.

Yueyang had no choice but to go down and deal with the man himself, otherwise who knew how long the fellow intended to kneel there.

“We prefer to keep our whereabouts quiet,” Yueyang told him with practiced ease. “Once the execution at the Divine Punishment Platform is concluded, we will be departing. In the meantime, we trust the Redemption City Lord to exercise discretion — keep this visit from becoming widely known, and ideally proceed as though you are unaware of her ladyship’s arrival altogether. This is an impromptu private excursion on her ladyship’s part, but a personage of such distinction appearing in the lower realm without notice does tend to create… unwanted attention. Her ladyship’s mood is not the best today, and she is not receiving visitors. Should that change, this captain will put in a word on the City Lord’s behalf — though whether her ladyship grants an audience remains entirely at her discretion, and this captain cannot guarantee it.”

Yueyang delivered the whole speech with exactly the right blend of gravity and regret, leaving the steward blinking in stunned confusion.

“City Lord Qianhu will follow her ladyship’s instructions to the letter — not a soul will disturb her ladyship’s rest,” the steward said, bowing reverently toward the airship above as though paying tribute.

He then quietly pressed an exceptional Dragon Blood Stone into Yueyang’s hand.

Accompanied by profuse apologies.

He insisted it was not his intention to pry into her ladyship’s affairs — he merely hoped Yueyang might see fit, in his own good time, to let slip just the smallest detail, enough for him to report back to the City Lord with something.

His manner was about as humble as a living person could manage without actually prostrating himself on the spot. Yueyang privately thought the man was quite the accomplished fox — and put on his own show of reluctance. After a great deal of agonized deliberation and repeated pleading from the steward, he sighed, steeled himself, and finally relented just enough to offer a hint. He raised one finger and held it in the air, and the steward hurriedly extended both palms beneath it, ready to receive whatever was placed there — but Yueyang kept his finger suspended, drawing in the air with slow deliberation, tracing a set of mysterious, intricate rune formations.

Then he sent his voice directly into the steward’s ear in a whisper: “Some time ago, the Lone Wind gentleman of the Four Great Families happened to encounter her ladyship by chance. He addressed her as ‘Your Highness the Commandery Princess’ and presented the Demon Mirror as a tribute in hopes of earning permission to escort her as protection for the journey. Her ladyship found the Demon Mirror inauspicious and bestowed it upon me instead. The young lord Lone Wind was so mortified by the incident that he did not dare accompany her further.”

Yueyang produced the Mirror of Suffering — sealed away in the Demon Suppression Tower — and let it catch the light for just a moment.

If the steward had harbored even the faintest trace of lingering doubt before, this dissolved it completely. He went white, his entire body drenched in cold sweat, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

Not knowing a particular regional sovereign of the Heavenly Realm was perfectly understandable — the Heavenly Realm was vast, and powerful figures beyond counting existed in its corners. But for any Sky-rank cultivator not to know the Four Great Families would be laughable.

Even the Central Divine Temple itself showed the Four Great Families a degree of respect.

The steward knew the Heavenly Realm’s powerful figures well. The Lone Wind gentleman of the Lone Family — how could he not know of him. The Redemption City Lord had spent considerable sums trying to bribe outer disciples of the Lone Family, hoping through intermediaries to forge some connection with that famously unconventional and secretive young lord. The steward had a thorough understanding of Lone Wind’s temperament, appearance, and prized treasures. The Mirror of Suffering — even if he had never seen it in person, he had heard it described more times than he could count. Seeing it appear in Yueyang’s hands sent the pieces falling into place with a crash.

That was Lone Wind’s most treasured possession. Unless he had willingly offered it up of his own accord, who in the world could take it from him? And someone to whom Lone Wind would present his most beloved treasure — not as a pleasing gift, but as a tribute received without particular enthusiasm — what level of nobility must that person represent?

Setting aside the Four Great Families and Lone Wind for the moment — setting aside even the incomprehensible greatness of that distinguished personage — even this personal guard captain, whose surface cultivation appeared to be only Sky-rank Level 3, was clearly a figure of unfathomable depth.

A mere guard captain, yet in possession of a supremely powerful sealing artifact.

Which he used with complete ease.

No flicker of pleasure at the sight of pearls and gemstones presented as tribute — as though such things were commonplace enough to be beneath notice. What kind of person wore an expression that still under those circumstances?

And then there was the matter of his ability. With a surface cultivation of Sky-rank Level 3, he had shown not the slightest fear of Elder Yumu at the peak of Level 5 — a Central Divine Temple enforcer — mocking him openly, retaliating without mercy, and nearly making Yumu look like a fool. A person who would provoke a Divine Temple Elder so openly, with such absolute arrogance, could only do so if they possessed extraordinary personal strength backed by an even more extraordinary patron. No sane person would pick a fight with a Divine Temple Elder otherwise — that was the path to total annihilation. Yet this young man had not only done it, he had done it with a grin.

Putting everything together, there was only one possible conclusion.

This distinguished great lord was the legendary —

The steward forced himself to stop thinking. He was genuinely afraid he might frighten himself into unconsciousness.

Before he realized it, the cold sweat had soaked through his robes entirely. He looked like he’d been fished from a river.

He caught the amused, knowing expression on Yueyang’s face — and was immediately seized by fresh terror. He threw himself flat on the ground, directed his most reverent bow toward the airship above, then turned back to Yueyang with more apologies, insisting repeatedly that he had never intended to pry into her ladyship’s affairs, that he and the City Lord were motivated only by sincere admiration and a humble hope that such a great personage might spare them a moment of her grace.

“Go back,” Yueyang said finally. “If there’s good news, I’ll send Yanzao to let you know.”

“Yes — City Lord Qianhu and I will await the honored command at any hour.”

Seeing Yueyang’s manner soften slightly, the steward nearly bloomed with relief. He bowed with great ceremony and took his leave with admirable self-awareness.

He knew he wasn’t yet in any position to cultivate a direct friendship with a guard captain of this caliber. Just managing to get on good terms with that errand-runner Yanzao would already be the greatest achievement possible. And the small secret Yueyang had let slip — he was confident that when he brought this back, City Lord Qianhu would be extraordinarily satisfied with his work. As for how to actually earn an audience with the distinguished great lord herself — that was the City Lord’s problem to lose sleep over.

Yueyang returned to the airship, turned down the side corridor, and walked into the main cabin.

Bi Lv was there — all sultry curves and vibrant beauty — already smiling and beckoning him over with a wave. Even with the Sovereign Will fortifying his mind, something in his chest gave a little lurch.

Luohua was nowhere to be seen. She had a strong preference for cleanliness, and after half a day wandering the streets, she had almost certainly retreated to take a bath. Lieyan had just finished giving instructions to the Heavenly Realm dragon-women pilots about getting the ship airborne and walked in from the other side. Yueyang pretended not to notice Bi Lv, produced the Dragon Blood Stone from his sleeve, ran it through Nirvana Flames to purify it, and tossed it to Captain Lieyan. “Next time, have Wuhen attach Heavenly Realm runes to it. Whether you embed it in a weapon or armor, it should give you a solid enhancement either way.”

Lieyan nodded.

She had gotten used to receiving things from Yueyang long ago — she no longer felt the reflexive resistance she once had. Especially after the spiritual fusion in his energy field, she had come to understand him in ways she hadn’t before, and his perspective had gradually reshaped her own. The old insistence on an idealized code of the righteous hero had softened considerably.

“How lovely — give me one too!” Bi Lv darted over, plucked it out of Lieyan’s hand, and examined it at length with the look of someone deeply reluctant to give it back. Lieyan was about to tell her to keep it, but Bi Lv laughed and refused, returning the purified Dragon Blood Stone to Lieyan — then settled herself down beside Yueyang and extended one small, pale-jade hand expectantly.

“There isn’t another one — what do you think, that I’ve got a whole basket of them? He only gave me one,” Yueyang said, ignoring her at first. But he genuinely could not endure a little white jade hand waving itself in front of his face indefinitely, let alone Bi Lv’s irresistible fragrant-breath pout.

She was simply built differently. In Yueyang’s experience, setting aside Phoenix Fairy and the Chilong Girl Jiang Ying who were in a category of their own when it came to lethal beauty, Bi Lv was the most sensually captivating woman he’d met. With her true appearance fully revealed, there was a quality about her that seemed to reach straight into the soul and pull.

He produced the priceless pearl the steward had presented.

Rather than placing it properly in her hand, he tossed it with pointed reluctance, making very clear that this was against his will.

Regardless of his attitude, the moment it landed in her palm, Bi Lv’s smile bloomed like a flower. “But wasn’t this meant for little sister Luohua? Are you sure it’s alright for me to have it? Watch out — she’ll pull your ear for this. Here, I’m giving it back.” She said the words, but her grip on the pearl made it very clear she had no intention whatsoever of actually returning it, and Yueyang estimated he would not be getting it back by force either.

Hearing Bi Lv call Luohua “little sister,” Yueyang broke into a quiet sweat. Since when had the two of them gotten that close? Calling each other sisters already?

Bi Lv was sitting entirely too close. Beside the waves of delicate fragrance, there was her laughter — bright and chiming — and even with the Sovereign Will steadying him, Yueyang felt something starting to drift. He made a strategic decision to get up and go find Luohua for a bath together to clear his head.

Which was immediately vetoed by Luohua, who emerged from the corridor at that exact moment wrapped in a towel and turned down his proposal without a second’s hesitation.

By the time Yueyang had taken a cold shower and come back out, he found the three women deep in what appeared to be a very serious discussion of the current situation.

“You’re certain it’s an ancient rune?” Luohua was asking.

“Nine parts certain. But the specific nature of the rune is unknown. According to information from a confidential channel — because of the seal on it, for the ancient rune to emerge, a sacrifice of at least ten thousand Sky-rank lives and their blood is required, along with a hundred King-level Sky-rank cultivators. The execution of the Tairen King is just a pretext — the real purpose is to draw in large numbers of Sky-rank cultivators. Including, of course, any friends of the Tairen King who might try to intervene or negotiate his release. In short, the Central Divine Temple’s Crimson Warden Tantai Tumie will stop at absolutely nothing to obtain this ancient rune.” Bi Lv had set aside her earlier playfulness entirely. Her expression was completely serious.

“How reliable is the source?” Yueyang had been in the shower and missed the beginning — he pressed for details immediately.

“This intelligence was obtained through a secret channel by the Tairen King’s wife. The original source was someone inside the Central Divine Temple — presumably someone who feared that if Tantai Tumie acquired the ancient rune his power would grow to the point of threatening their own position, and so leaked the information to the Tairen King’s wife through a covert channel. They also provided a connection to certain forces within the Four Great Families, with the objective of disrupting the sacrifice. This isn’t only a disaster for Tairen Continent — it’s Central Divine Temple infighting playing out in public. As for us, we’ve simply arrived at an opportune moment.” Bi Lv met Yueyang’s eyes and gave a solemn nod. The intelligence was absolutely reliable.

“If that’s all true, this is enormous,” Lieyan said, unable to fully imagine the consequences if the sacrifice succeeded.

“Sometimes early arrival matters less than timely arrival,” Yueyang said with a smile. “We sit back and let the tigers fight. If the Central Divine Temple’s internal conflict leaves both sides bloodied, we come in and take the prize.”

“Difficult,” Bi Lv said, shaking her head. “You’ve grown fast, but the gap between you and Tantai Tumie is still very wide.”

“If my troublemaker hadn’t broken through to the Innate Sovereign realm, I’d agree with you — but now?” Luohua stood up, walked over, and settled herself squarely into Yueyang’s lap. In full view of the other two women and completely without embarrassment, she looped her arms around his neck and pressed a warm kiss to his cheek. “Yueyang, dear — your City Lord is supporting you this thoroughly. You had better not disappoint her.”

“City Lord, your subordinate will give everything he has and do his absolute best,” Yueyang said — then immediately scooped the beautiful City Lord up in his arms and made a very rapid exit toward the bedroom.

Bi Lv stared at Luohua’s retreating figure in surprise.

Innate Sovereign realm or not — their opponent was Tantai Tumie.

But then, just as quickly, she understood. This was what a wife was supposed to do. Unconditional trust in your husband. Support with every fiber of your being.

Once that thought settled, she turned to look at Captain Lieyan with a bright smile. “Do you also believe he can succeed?”

Lieyan frowned slightly. “Tantai Tumie is genuinely formidable. But Yueyang is someone for whom almost nothing is truly impossible — he’s created miracles that shouldn’t have been possible more times than I can count. Besides, this doesn’t necessarily come down to a direct fight. Maybe the ancient rune will choose Yueyang as its master rather than Tantai Tumie. You haven’t spent that much time with him — I trained with him in the Sky-Reaching Tower for a long time. Nothing has ever truly stopped him. And with so many people behind him… you don’t know how extraordinary those people are. All I can say is — he will succeed. Maybe not today. But I believe he will.”

Bi Lv blinked, genuinely caught off guard by Lieyan’s answer.

Then she laughed softly.

She understood. Lieyan was trying to reassure her.

But when did she need reassurance? Even if her mouth said otherwise, her heart had been rooting for that boy all along. If it hadn’t been, why would she have told him a secret this earth-shattering? Or, having told him, why let him come to Tairen Continent instead of urging him to leave?

The one who believed in him most, who wanted him to succeed most fervently — was herself.

The bedroom door was reasonably well-insulated. But Bi Lv and Lieyan, with their sharp senses, could both hear certain sounds coming from within that left no ambiguity about the nature of the activity taking place.

Both women’s expressions shifted at the same moment.

Bi Lv’s was bashful — a blush rising across her cheeks, her legs instinctively pressing together, the fingers that raised a cup to her lips trembling ever so slightly. Lieyan’s was more awkward than anything else. She had heard it many times and was well aware of Yueyang’s particular level of… enthusiasm in this department. But they weren’t in the Sky Stairway, and Bi Lv wasn’t Sick Beauty or any of the others — so it felt somewhat more uncomfortable here.

“Do he and little sister Luohua do this often?” Bi Lv asked, apparently unaware that she herself bore some responsibility for the current situation — without her deliberate teasing and the unconsciously alluring display she’d been putting on, Yueyang might not have caught fire quite so easily.

“You get used to it,” Lieyan said, having absolutely no desire to continue this topic. She stood up, preparing to retreat to her room.

“Do you ever… have certain thoughts?” Bi Lv pushed further, determined to get to the bottom of it.

“I’m a Giant!” Lieyan stopped mid-step and denied it with great firmness. “Don’t let your imagination run away with you. I’m completely outside his aesthetic preferences. There’s nothing between us.”

“Yes, I’m sure that’s true…” Bi Lv waited until Lieyan was nearly at her door, then set down her cup and sent a quiet whisper after her in cipher: “Have you ever heard of something called the Fairy Sacred Fruit? Even a woman of ordinary appearance who eats one becomes a great beauty. It also reportedly grants the ability to reshape one’s body at will. Perhaps you might want to consider it.”

“Thank you — but I’m not going to chase after something that exists only in legend. I’m fine the way I am. I don’t have those kinds of thoughts, and my relationship with him really is just partnership — not what you’re imagining.” Lieyan shook her head, hand already on the door handle, ready to close it behind her.

“What if I told you,” Bi Lv said, “that I happen to have one?”

Lieyan went completely still.