The Wedding

At the Wu Clan estate, the sound of war drums thundered across the grounds of the main manor. The deep, steady thung, thung of the drums echoed like a tremor through the very marrow of all who heard them a signal marking one of the most grandiose and auspicious days in the clan's long history.

Today was the wedding day of Wu Zhao, the future heir of the Wu Clan, and the only direct-blooded son of the highborn lady Sui Zimeng.

After the recent shocking incident that left Wu Zhao completely crippled, many had believed his cultivation path was finished. Yet his mother had dragged him back from the abyss once again.

By Sui Zimeng's hand, Wu Zhao was able to cultivate anew. Though the system he had always relied on was no longer functional, it no longer mattered to him.

Because today was not a day of battle. It was a day of victory his own kind of triumph.

Today, Wu Zhao would marry fifteen brides. And none of them were ordinary women. Every single one was a Daughter of Destiny. Among them were former teachers, former fiancées, former enemies, and women who had once stood at the highest peak of the cultivation world.

Among them was Zhang Fu, the former master of Lei Chen. Another was Ning Xin, Lei Chen's ex-fiancée known to many for having once given up everything for Wu Zhao.

There was also Yan Lingning, a Saint of the Hehuan Sect who once fought Han Ming when he accepted Rong Lixian as a disciple. She survived the fall of her sect purely by chance, having been absent on that very day.

And there was Hua Jinru, the former teacher of Ye Lin, whose consciousness had broken free from the system's control some time ago.

On the surface, the wedding was a majestic spectacle. The estate was adorned with silk banners and golden spirit blossoms. The skies shimmered with celestial powder scattered by a specially crafted Heaven Array. The notes of a zither floated gently through the air, mingling with the scent of rare dishes released solely to flaunt the Wu Clan's wealth.

But within the bridal chambers, among the assembled brides, the atmosphere was shrouded in a heavy, wordless gloom.

Some avoided each other's eyes. Some forced a smile. Some sat in silence with their heads bowed.

Because in truth… none of them loved Wu Zhao.

Perhaps in the past, some had felt something fleeting confusion, fascination, or brief infatuation. But never anything real. None of it came from the heart. It had all been the work of the system Wu Zhao had used to manipulate their minds.

The invisible system had shackled their consciousness like unseen chains, gradually dulling their hearts and weakening their will without them even realizing it. It made them fall for Wu Zhao, surrender to him completely, incapable of resisting.

But now… with that system fading away, those invisible chains had begun to weaken. Some among them had already severed the connection entirely.

They knew the truth well that every feeling they had once thought real was nothing but the result of control, imposed by a power that should never have existed in this world. Yet among them, all except Ning Xin and Zhang Fu had not yet been physically touched by Wu Zhao, simply because he had always been obsessed with Ning Xin above all others.

Even so, knowing the truth, even after waking up, even after those chains had shattered, they… still could not escape. Because behind the Wu Clan stood a force from the Upper Realm.

A power far beyond anything they could hope to defy. Even those among them with powerful backers from the Upper Realm dared not move. Their protectors simply did not possess the strength to oppose those who stood behind the Wu Clan.

In this world, power was everything. Without it, no matter how deeply your heart ached, no matter how bitter the truth, all you could do was bow your head and accept your fate.

This was a wedding hailed as the most beautiful in the eyes of outsiders. But for the thirteen women stripped of their freedom, it was nothing less than a golden coffin.

The sound of drums and gongs thundered throughout the Wu Clan's main estate. Since early morning, auspicious music had played without pause, driving the atmosphere into one of festive celebration.

Massive red pillars wrapped in deep crimson silk lined the road that led toward the main courtyard. A grand procession of carriages adorned in gold and bearing the Wu Clan's banners fluttered in the wind. The procession stretched as far as the eye could see, filled with hundreds of attendants, servants, and guards moving in perfect order.

At its heart were fifteen crimson bridal sedans, each one reserved for a noble bride about to be delivered into the grand wedding ceremony.

Golden incense burned at every step of the route. The gentle chanting of wedding verses by the women of the Wu Clan rose softly into the air, weaving with the sound of flutes and zithers playing graceful melodies that floated gently on the breeze.

Inside the red bridal sedan chairs, concealed beneath layers of silk from the outside world, each woman sat in perfect stillness, clad in full ceremonial attire.

A red veil covered their faces entirely, as per ancient tradition. At this moment, not even their eyes could be seen.

But beneath that red silk... some kept their heads bowed in silence, some clenched their jaws tightly, and some had tears pooling at the corners of their eyes. Their hearts beat in uneven rhythms, yet they all shared one thing in common: none of them were willing.

The procession passed through the central courtyard of the manor, which had been magnificently adorned. Every corner shimmered with auspicious red lanterns bearing the layered character for "Wu." The wide courtyard was carpeted with red silk, stretching all the way to the ceremonial platform.

Wu Zhao stood at the platform, dressed in his full groom's regalia. Crimson and gold, elegant and regal, he looked like a celestial immortal. His youthful appearance was calm and composed, his gaze cold yet commanding. He was about to stand above fifteen women whose names echoed across the Lower Realm.

The wedding officiant, clad in white ceremonial robes, raised his voice with authority.

"Let the ceremony begin!"

Firecrackers exploded in rapid succession from both sides. Cheers and shouts of celebration rang through the estate as the fifteen bridal sedan chairs were carried into the ceremonial plaza in perfect formation.

Dozens of female attendants rushed forward to open the sedan curtains and carefully helped each bride step out and line up in a row before the stage.

The officiant's voice continued, firm and unrelenting.

"Brides, bow to Heaven and Earth."

All fifteen knelt at once, the rustle of silk rising with their synchronized movement. The air was filled with a suffocating tension invisible to the guests.

"Bow to the ancestors."

Disciples of the Wu Clan lit golden incense at the ancestral altar and handed them to the brides. Each woman raised the incense above her head, then placed it reverently before the altar in unison.

"Bow to the husband."

Again, all fifteen women moved together, kneeling before Wu Zhao.

Behind the veils, their eyes held different truths emptiness, cold resignation, and hidden fury.

When the bows were completed, the striking of the ceremonial gong signaled the end of the main ritual.

The women were then separated according to rank. Each was escorted to her respective bridal chamber, specially arranged throughout the Wu Clan estate.

Three grand halls stood above the rest one for Ning Xin, one for Zhang Fu, and the third… for Hua Jinru.

As the procession concluded and the sun dipped below the horizon, evening descended.

In the grand hall draped in crimson, hundreds of candles illuminated every corner with a warm, flickering glow. Wu Zhao entered in silence, his steps quiet and deliberate.

Hua Jinru, dressed in her wedding gown, sat upon the edge of the bed, facing the wall in accordance with tradition. Her red veil had not yet been lifted.

He approached slowly, picked up the ceremonial stick, and lifted the veil.

The flickering candlelight revealed her beautiful face, but her eyes held not a trace of a smile. Then, slowly… she smiled.

...

...

As the wedding ceremony reached its final stage and the groom, Wu Zhao, entered the grand hall that had been prepared as the bridal chamber, the atmosphere outside visibly began to relax.

Many guests who had traveled from distant lands began to take their leave and return home.

One group came from the Immortal Blossom Holy Land. The elegant women dressed in soft pink walked in graceful formation, their expressions serene, yet their eyes filled with caution and unreadable intentions.

The merchant delegation from the Ten Thousand Oceans Chamber of Commerce also began to withdraw. The elderly man in blue robes who led the group glanced back at the grand hall with a contemplative gaze, then gave the order to depart without uttering a single word.

Not far away, a line of nobles dressed in black and gold stood with solemn dignity. Adorned with golden crow insignias, they were envoys from the Golden Crow Dynasty and part of the allied forces of the Myriad Heavens, whose ties to the dynasty ran deep.

Everyone present understood clearly that attendance at this wedding was not merely to offer blessings to the Wu Clan. It was also a strategic observation of the shifting alliances and rising forces forming within the Lower Realm. One by one, they too began to take their leave.

Within the Wu Clan estate, still aglow with lantern light and filled with laughter, the servants and clan members continued their celebration without restraint. Wine flowed endlessly, delicacies filled every table, and music played without pause.

Laughter, clinking cups, and songs rang out across the courtyard.

But just as the festive noise reached its peak—

Boom!!!

A sudden explosion erupted from within the grand hall, shaking the entire estate.

Flames and a powerful shockwave shattered the colored glass atop the buildings. The entire crowd froze on the spot. Some dropped their cups, others stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

A column of pink light shot up from the rooftop, the impact so immense it felt like the power of a peak Great Emperor.

The red silks decorating the event were torn from their places, some instantly catching fire and turning to ash in the blink of an eye.

The joyous celebration was silenced in a heartbeat, replaced by gasps of panic and the pounding footsteps of people rushing toward the direction of the explosion.

And then, another explosion rang out this time from a place unheard by those outside.

It came from the Wu Clan's internal pocket world, the hidden realm that housed the Soul Hall. It was a treasured artifact granted to them by the Golden Crow Dynasty.