Chapter 21: Trials of the Nine — Lust, Politics, and Assassins [18+]

Eyes on the Crown

The ceremony chamber had barely cooled.

And already, the whispers began.

Lucien stood draped in royal silk, his body still humming from the triple-core fusion. But the glances around him weren't reverent anymore.

They were sharp. Calculating.

System Alert: Host now marked as Prime Heir to the Crimson Crown.] [Warning: Political threat level increased. Multiple aura signatures show elevated hostility.]

Kaelara stepped in beside him, her voice low. "They're going to come for you now. Not all with blades."

Lira, still half-dressed in ceremonial armor, rolled her eyes. "Let them try."

Solenne simply whispered, "The real test wasn't the ceremony. It's what comes after."

Royal Hall of Judgement

The throne chamber was filled.

Dozens of sect leaders, noble clan emissaries, and rival cultivators watched from floating platforms. The Crimson Crown's judges stood in a semicircle behind Lucien's new throne.

The Mistress of Power spoke first.

"Lucien Blackthorn. You have completed Phase One of the Royal Seed Rite. By law, you are now eligible for selection as the next Crown Pillar."

A few gasps. One scoff.

From the far side of the hall, a tall cultivator stepped forward. Pale skin, long blue robes, and eyes like sharpened glass.

"Objection," he said. "The incubus has no clan, no ancestral bond, no oath to the Throne's foundation."

Lucien turned, calm.

"And yet I'm the only one your Crown chose to enter three vessels in one night."

The man sneered. "Lust doesn't earn legacy."

Lucien stepped down from the throne. Slowly. Deliberately.

"Then why is every woman in this room wet with curiosity?"

A ripple of gasps. A few suppressed moans.

Kaelara smirked. Lira chuckled. Solenne simply said, "It begins."

System: Incoming Challenge Request — Dual Aura Trial by Will.]

Lucien accepted without flinching.

He stepped onto the duel circle. The challenger—Arden, Crown-raised, frost-element cultivator—followed.

Lucien cracked his neck. Let his aura rise. Golden. Steady. Sinful.

Arden raised his hand. Unleashed a blast of cold so strong it froze the arena's edge.

Lucien didn't counter. He invited.

Passive Triggered: Emotional Undress – Target's fear of inferiority exposed.]

Lucien stepped through the cold. Unaffected.

Stood chest-to-chest with Arden. Whispered:

"I don't need to fight you. You already know who's king."

Arden shook. Then fell to one knee.

Not from injury. But submission.

The hall erupted. Not in rage. In silence.

Lucien turned. Faced the Council.

"I don't need to prove I'm worthy of the Crown." He gestured at Arden, still kneeling.

"They're proving it for me."

Night fell fast in the Crimson Palace.

After Lucien's aura-dominant victory in the Royal Hall, a ceremonial feast was arranged—not to celebrate him, but to test him under velvet and wine. Everyone present wore masks of silk and smiles of suspicion.

Lucien entered the Grand Crimson Hall flanked by Kaelara, Solenne, and Lira. His robes shimmered with spiritual thread; his aura, tightly coiled and deadly.

System Alert: Political pressure detected. Assassination probability: Moderate.]

The moment he took his seat near the central dais, goblets were raised, and incense laced with charm mist began to flow.

The Mistress of Power gave him a half-smile. "Enjoying your victories, Prince of Passion?"

Lucien sipped his wine. "I prefer claiming more than celebrating."

The table murmured. Eyes followed his every word.

A new figure approached: a woman draped in black-gold robes, skin like stormlight, her voice smooth as aged fire.

"I bring tribute," she said, "from the House of Eclipse."

She unveiled a young cultivator—barely older than Lucien—offered as a personal servant for the night.

System Triggered: Unverified Aura Incoming. Caution Advised.]

The servant bowed. She was beautiful. Too beautiful.

Lucien didn't flinch. "I'll accept the tribute," he said calmly. "But I choose when it serves."

He waved a single finger. Lira intercepted the girl. Kaelara scanned her instantly.

Poison. Subtle. Not in the food. In the kiss the servant was meant to deliver.

Lucien's smile didn't break. He raised his cup. "To the ones who think they can seduce the Incubus System… with shadows."

He drank. The hall applauded.

Threat Neutralized. Political Resistance Logged.] [New Reputation Title: Crownbreaker]

Solenne leaned close. "They're scared. You haven't just taken the Crown's favor… you're making the old bloodlines irrelevant."

Lucien chuckled. "Let them watch. I haven't even started breaking their daughters in yet."

Across the room, one such daughter—a noble cultivator with a royal bond—locked eyes with him.

Challenge accepted.

The feast moved into its second hour, but the tension never left.

Lucien hadn't just survived the assassination attempt — he'd stolen the attention of every power seat in the room. And now, one of them stepped forward.

The noble heiress.

High Lady Isareth of the Violet Flame Sect. Heiress to a royal Yin lineage older than the Crimson Crown itself.

She moved like poetry forged in war.

Her eyes never blinked. Her aura pulsed like coiled thunder, wrapped in jasmine and venom.

Lucien watched her approach, smirk playing on his lips.

System Alert: High Yin Pressure Detected – Legacy Core Variant Active.] [Warning: Mental Overlap Test Imminent.]

Isareth bowed, just barely.

"I wish to challenge the new Prince," she said aloud, "in the sacred court tradition."

Gasps.

One of the Crown Mistresses stepped forward. "Do you understand what that means?"

Isareth nodded. "He will enter my mind. My body. And my will. If I yield—he owns all three."

Lucien stood slowly. Didn't need permission.

"I accept."

Mental Arena – Trial of Will and Desire

The temple's sacred circle lit with violet flame. Lucien and Isareth stepped inside. Their bodies remained motionless. Their minds collided.

Suddenly, Lucien stood in a world built from her emotions.

The ground was obsidian. The sky — lightning. Her defenses were psychic storms and shifting shadows.

She stood before him in nothing but silk flame, eyes glowing.

"You won't break me," she said.

Lucien stepped forward. "I won't need to."

He didn't force his aura in. He whispered it.

Memories surfaced — her longing to be seen not as heir, but woman. Her pain from cold lovers. Her fantasy of being held while losing control.

Lucien offered all of it.

He didn't take her. He let her fall.

She kissed him in her mind first. Then gave her body.

He entered her slowly — not to conquer, but to anchor.

She screamed, not from pain, but because it was too real.

Will Test Passed: Isareth has yielded Mind, Body, and Aura.] [System Trait Gained: Royal Flame Immunity (Passive)]

Lucien opened his eyes. So did she. Tears ran down her cheeks. She knelt.

"I'm yours. My house is yours."

Lucien looked to the council. "Any others want to be convinced?"

The room stayed silent.

Isareth's surrender rippled through the court like a tidal wave.

One of the most untouchable royal heiresses had just given her mind, body, and sect to Lucien—not through brute force or status, but pleasure-fused domination.

He returned to his throne without speaking. He didn't need to.

The eyes watching him now were different.

Fear. Desire. Obsession.

Kaelara leaned over his shoulder. "You're not building a court, Lucien. You're building a cult."

Lira, arms crossed beside the throne, smiled. "Good. They'll worship something worth obeying for once."

Solenne's voice came from behind them, soft but razor-sharp. "That silence isn't respect. It's the kind before blood is spilled."

System Warning: Incoming Aura Spike – Concealed Kill Technique Detected.]

Lucien didn't flinch. He reached for his goblet.

And flicked it.

The wine arced through the air—stopping mid-flight against an invisible figure.

The assassin shimmered into view. Eyes wide. Blade drawn. Mid-strike.

Kaelara moved first.

Steel met bone.

The assassin collapsed, twitching.

But not before whispering, "You shouldn't exist."

Lucien stood over the body. Then looked around the room.

"You think the Crown gave me this seat by mistake?" he asked.

He raised his voice.

"I didn't take their power. I took their future."

He stepped onto the center platform.

"If any sect, bloodline, or bastard thinks I'll bow to old rules… come prove it."

Silence. One by one, noble heads lowered.

The Crimson Crown glowed above. Accepting its new heir.

Title Gained: Crown Prince of the Nine Temples] [System Level-Up In Progress – New World Tier Unlock Pending...]

Lucien turned to Kaelara, Solenne, Lira.

"We leave at dawn."

Lira raised an eyebrow. "To where?"

Lucien smirked.

"To begin the real war."

---

Next Chapter: Empire of Lust — Conquering the Outer Sects [18+]

---

Chapter 22 begins the next arc — a world beyond the palace, where new enemies and deeper pleasures await.

---