Chapter 366: The Wedding Day

"Oh?" The young man put down his wine cup and smiled faintly. "I've often heard that among the Seven Nations, Azure Wind is the weakest. I never imagined it would be so pitifully laughable. And the territory here is so small, it's barely a speck of land. I wonder why my father suddenly took an interest in it."

"His Majesty never acts without reason, especially when it comes to such important matters." The black-robed elder chuckled. "I vaguely heard that His Majesty's move is because the Spirit-Earth Palace recently stumbled upon traces of a massive purple crystal mine. This mine is located within Azure Wind, and the best way to secure it before Azure Wind discovers it is naturally... hehe."

"Whether this rumor is true or not, His Majesty has been making careful preparations, but he has no intention of acting in the short term. At the very least, it should be after the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament. It would be a true pity if one nation were missing from this grand event, which occurs only once every twenty years," the red-robed elder said expressionlessly.

"Heh heh," the black-robed elder chuckled faintly. "His Majesty's temporary inaction has nothing to do with the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament. Azure Wind Nation has always been the bottom-feeding joke of the tournament; its presence or absence makes no difference. Now, the 'Primordial Profound Ark' has reappeared, and its gates will open soon. His Majesty's greatest energy is naturally focused on the Primordial Profound Ark. Before exploring its secrets, why would he divert his attention to a small Azure Wind Nation?"

"However, it seems we've arrived at quite an inopportune moment, coinciding exactly with Yun Che's grand wedding." The young man narrowed his eyes. "His influence in this tiny land is quite remarkable; I've heard his name mentioned no less than a hundred times these past few days."

"I heard Yun Che single-handedly annihilated the Burning Heaven Clan, one of Azure Wind's Four Major Sects. Humph, for such a barren land to suddenly produce a genius out of nowhere, the reason is naturally self-evident," the black-robed elder said.

"Bloodline," the red-robed elder stated, his eyelids lowered and his voice devoid of emotion.

"Heh, I wonder whose wild seed accidentally ended up out here, flaunting our Divine Phoenix bloodline in this minor Azure Wind Nation. But since we've happened upon his wedding day, I genuinely feel a little unwilling to spoil it. Besides, going directly like this would be somewhat 'disrespectful,' considering he's marrying the Azure Wind imperial family's sole princess." As the young man spoke, a playful glint sparkled in his eyes. Finally, his gaze fell upon the four members of the Iron Palm Sect, and his smile became even more unbridled.

After eating and drinking their fill, the four members of the Iron Palm Sect left the tavern and headed straight towards the Azure Wind Imperial City. Along the way, whenever their sect's name, "Iron Palm Sect," was mentioned, people around them would instinctively give them a wide berth. As they reached a desolate area, a lazy voice suddenly spoke from behind them: "Friends from the Iron Palm Sect, might we discuss something?"

The voice was soft, yet infused with an arrogant disdain, clearly belonging to someone with ill intentions. The four turned around. Sect Master Tie Ruide scanned the three approaching figures. Seeing that the young man in the middle had extraordinary attire and bearing, he didn't underestimate him. He said indifferently, "What is it? Don't delay the Iron Palm Sect's journey."

He stated the "Iron Palm Sect" name, expecting to startle the other party, but the young man opposite him merely maintained his smiling expression. With a flick of his hand, a white jade folding fan appeared in his palm. He waved the jade fan and said unhurriedly, "It's nothing major. We merely wish to borrow your invitations for a moment."

"You're courting death!" An elder of the Iron Palm Sect stepped forward, his eyebrows furrowed in anger. "Sect Master, these three are clearly looking for trouble. It seems the Iron Palm Sect hasn't been asserting its might much recently, allowing a bunch of rats to dare provoke us."

Tie Ruide's brows furrowed. He said coldly, "If you're here to stir up trouble, I'm afraid you've picked the wrong targets. You have three breaths to get out of my sight, or else..."

"Hahahaha, or else what?" The young man burst into laughter. He closed his jade fan and walked smilingly towards Tie Ruide. "It seems my friends are unwilling to cooperate. In that case, I'll just have to take them myself."

"You reckless junior, you're looking for death!" The Iron Palm Sect elder roared in fury. He stepped forward, extended his right arm, and with a chilling gust of wind from his palm, aimed for the young man's throat.

As members of the "Iron Palm Sect," the core of their cultivation naturally lay in their iron palms. This strike, once unleashed, was powerful enough to leave a deep handprint on refined steel. Yet, in the face of this iron palm, the young man merely sneered. With a slight flick of his wrist, the jade fan in his hand lightly tapped the incoming palm.

"Ahhhhhh!!"

An incredibly shrill scream pierced the air. The attacking Iron Palm Sect elder writhed on the ground, clutching his arm as if pierced by a thousand swords. His entire arm was instantly drenched in blood, and he seemed in such agony that all the flesh and bones of his arm appeared to have been shattered into pieces.

"Great Elder!!"

Tie Ruide's face drained of color. The Great Elder's profound strength was at the third level of the Sky Profound Realm, second only to his own in the Iron Palm Sect, yet he had been critically injured by a casual move from this young man. Overwhelmed by shock, Tie Ruide furiously unleashed his own attack, his palms transforming into an astonishing metallic hue as he lunged towards the young man with a roar.

"Tsk tsk..." The young man scoffed. Facing Tie Ruide's full-force strike, he didn't even take a step back. He merely waved, tapped, and swept with the folding fan in his hand.

*Bang! Bang! Slash!!*

Tie Ruide's iron palm power, strong enough to be at the middle stage of the Sky Profound Realm, vanished in an instant as if a clay ox had entered the sea, leaving no trace. A one-inch transparent blood hole appeared in his throat. Behind him, the throats of the other two elders also bore deep bloody gashes... these two gashes nearly severed their heads from their necks.

"You... you..."

Tie Ruide's eyes were filled with the greatest terror he had ever known. His eyes wide, he fell along with the two elders... all four lay silent.

The four strongest members of the Iron Palm Sect, four immensely powerful Sky Profound experts, were all slain by the young man within a few breaths. Even the two elders who hadn't had a chance to attack died without knowing how they were killed.

"Truly pathetic," the young man said, closing his jade fan, which bore no trace of blood.

The black-robed elder stepped forward, his hand making a grasping motion in the air, and the four spatial rings on the bodies were all drawn into his hand. After finding the invitations, he tossed all four rings aside, not even bothering to glance at their other contents... To them, a sect of this caliber, even its most prized treasures, was nothing more than slightly better garbage.

Opening an invitation, the black-robed elder ran a finger over it, and the original name vanished. He moved his finger again, imprinting a new name onto it with profound energy, then closed it and handed it to the young man.

"Excellent," the young man said, taking the invitation and laughing heartily. "As a land of etiquette, I understand the proper way to be a guest, hahahaha."

"Come, let's go see what kind of person this Yun Che truly is."

Today was arguably the most crowded and liveliest day the Azure Wind Imperial City had seen in centuries.

The vast imperial city was practically bursting with people. All inns and guesthouses, big and small, had been fully booked days ago, and even with prices inflated more than tenfold, people still scrambled for rooms. On the main roads leading to the imperial palace, it was almost impossible for people to even turn around.

As far as the eye could see, the entire imperial city was adorned with lanterns and festive decorations, radiating joy. Bright red lanterns hung everywhere, grand red carpets were laid out, and in front of the palace, lavishly decorated carriages arrived one after another, an incredibly spectacular sight. Inside the palace, colorful ribbons fluttered, and a myriad of flowers bloomed... A princess's wedding naturally warranted a very lavish display, but in a thousand years of the Azure Wind imperial family's history, no princess's wedding had ever seen such an exaggerated spectacle. Moreover, it didn't even look like the princess was marrying out... Choosing the imperial palace as the wedding venue made it seem in every way as if the groom was marrying into the family!

Cang Wanhe had practically transformed this imperial celebration into a national event, eager for the whole world to know that his only daughter was marrying Yun Che. Those new to the Imperial City were dazzled by the opulent display and the endless stream of people, and even some well-informed sect leaders were left dumbfounded.

"My goodness... isn't this a bit too exaggerated?" Ling Jie, who had come to attend the wedding, was stunned for a long time upon arriving above the Imperial City, continuously muttering to himself.

The city lords from all major, secondary, and minor cities had all gathered in the Imperial City, not a single one missing. Renowned sect leaders also congregated there; not one who received an invitation failed to attend, and countless others arrived uninvited. If it were merely the princess marrying out, the scene would never have been like this. But Yun Che... he was destined to be the future paramount ruler of Azure Wind Nation. They were all determined to be present, even if it meant fighting tooth and nail.

At nine in the morning, guest reception began. The imperial palace welcomed all guests, even those uninvited, though their seating arrangements were somewhat remote and humble.

"Feng Hua City Lord Ma Tengyu and his wife have arrived!"

"General Li Liancheng of Pingxi has arrived!"

"Young Manor Master Ling Yun and Ling Jie from Heavenly Sword Villa have arrived."

"Sect Master Du Cangran, Great Elder Du Yuntian, and Young Sect Master Du Ziteng from Taiji Sect have arrived!"

"Cangbei City Lord Ouyang Bo and his wife have arrived."

"Sect Master Xiao Juetian, Great Elder Xiao Boyun, and Medicine Sect Elder Xiao Wuji from Xiao Sect have arrived."

The increasingly intimidating names caused the announcer, holding the invitations at the entrance, to tremble more and more with each call, cold sweat streaming down his forehead. In all his life, he had never known so many influential figures gathered in one place. Those who received invitations were either people Yun Che and the imperial family wished to invite, or powerful dignitaries and sects who dominated a region. Even city lords were only seated in the side halls. As for those influential figures whom common people rarely had a chance to meet, and those renowned sects or families, they didn't even qualify for invitations. Upon arrival, they could only take seats in the remote areas outside the main and side halls, attended by palace eunuchs and guards, yet not one dared to show dissatisfaction... Compared to the names being announced by the master of ceremonies, their own power and prestige were utterly insignificant.

"Young Palace Mistress Xia Qingyue of the Frozen Cloud Asgard and Fairy Bingli Chu Yueli have arrived."

Inside the main hall, Yun Che had been carefully listening to the name of each arriving guest. Upon hearing Xia Qingyue's name, his heart gave a sudden leap, and he swiftly looked up towards the hall entrance.