"This is my first time… flying through the sky."
Xue Ke's soft voice trembled as she clung to Lu Yuan's arms. The cold night wind whipped past, stealing her breath away. From above, the majestic palaces of the Heaven Dou Empire retreated rapidly beneath them, the lights shrinking into pinpricks on the ground.
Her heart pounded furiously. Lu Yuan was too much!
He had silently crept into her bedroom, lifted her into his arms, and bolted through the window without saying a word. He hadn't even let her change out of her thin pajamas. Just like that, she had been carried straight into the night sky.
Where was this guy planning to take her?
This wasn't going to be… that, was it?
Her mind swirled. Especially since the flush on Lu Yuan's face suggested he had been drinking again. When Lu Yuan got drunk, things usually… escalated. She wasn't ready for that. Not yet.
"Your royal family is too troublesome!" Lu Yuan grumbled as he carried her higher through the night. His voice held irritation.
They wouldn't even let him properly see her inside the palace. What else could he do but steal her away?
At Lu Yuan's Residence
Sooner than she expected, they landed at Lu Yuan's residence. The sudden change unsettled Xue Ke.
"Lu Yuan," she murmured, nervously tugging at his sleeve, "you can put me down now."
"Little princess," he drawled, eyes narrowing with mischief, "why have you been hiding from me lately?"
He set her gently on the bed, his hand lifting her chin with easy arrogance. His eyes burned into hers, a playful yet dangerous intensity in them.
"I… I haven't!" Xue Ke's gaze wavered, her voice a hurried excuse. But her flustered denial betrayed her.
Since their engagement had been announced, she hadn't dared to see him much. The relationship between them had shifted overnight, and along with it, the carefree closeness they once shared had turned heavy with meaning. Now, every encounter made her heart pound wildly, unsure of where to step, unsure of how to act.
Should she welcome this sudden intimacy? Should she refuse?
Before she could fully decide, a warm pressure pressed suddenly against her lips. Her body jolted like electricity shot through it. Her mind went blank.
So—so this is what kissing feels like?
Her eyes fluttered shut on instinct, surrendering to the strange, melting warmth. Just as she was beginning to feel swept away, that warmth vanished.
Her eyes sprang open—and Lu Yuan was gone.
The window banged open with a sharp crash. Sword energy crackled in the air, and in the next instant, Lu Yuan's figure had flashed outside like lightning.
"Stay inside and don't move!" His voice echoed back from the night.
The room shook from the resonance of his spiritual aura. Outside, a terrifying clash was about to begin.
Ambush in the Night
Outside the palace walls, dark clouds billowed as a figure in black was forced into the open by Lu Yuan's merciless sword aura. The stranger stood tall on the roof, clothed head to toe in pitch-black, saying nothing.
Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes. "And just who the hell are you supposed to be?"
His voice carried deadly irritation. Whoever dared to ambush him tonight—interrupting him at such a moment, no less—had chosen the wrong time.
The black-robed figure didn't reply.
Lu Yuan's lips curled mockingly. "Fine, don't talk. I'll just cut you down and see what falls out."
He raised his sword. Spiritual energy flared violently.
"The first soul skill—Surging Power."
"The fourth soul skill—Sword Will."
Both augmentation abilities erupted at once.
Countless strands of sword aura wheeled into existence beside him, swirling like deadly blades orbiting their master.
Lu Yuan slashed upward. A crescent wave of black sword qi tore through the night.
"Snap!"
The man in black finally moved. A whip, long and black as night, lashed outward with a hiss. Eight spirit rings glowed beneath his feet—he was a Contra.
The whip struck Lu Yuan's sword qi with a violent explosion, shattering the wave in midair before it coiled toward Lu Yuan like a venomous snake.
Lu Yuan barked a cold laugh. The orbiting sword qi at his sides surged together, merging into a shield before him.
"Chichichi—"
The whip connected with the barrier of swords, twisting and fraying under the storm of energy.
Smashing off the attack, Lu Yuan leapt like a meteor, sword sweeping toward his enemy's head.
But before his blade struck true, the figure vanished into mist and reappeared behind him, the chill of killing intent clawing at his back.
"Break through the heavens!" Lu Yuan roared, spinning as his sword tore another crescent across the sky.
Sword qi howled, colliding with the man's whip. A glowing purple ring lit the rooftop, releasing tides of corrupted energy that poured outward into the streets like waves of black fog.
Lu Yuan's left arm ignited with power. Transferring that power into his sword, his blade burst into raging flame.
"Burn!"
He swept the fire along the ground, a roaring inferno consuming the darkness.
The collision of black fog and fire split the street below with resounding booms.
A Fierce Clash
"Third soul skill! Sword Formation!" Lu Yuan shouted.
Hundreds of glowing blades rained down from the skies, stabbing like divine punishment.
But the enemy's fourth ring flared again. A shadowy door materialized above him, swallowing every sword qi that touched it. One after another, the rain of spirit swords simply vanished into the void.
Lu Yuan's eyes widened. "A devouring skill?"
His dozen orbiting sword qi redirected suddenly, encircling the black figure from all sides.
"Drink!"
The man's cloak burst apart, revealing not one, but three men in black. Two more figures rolled out, each holding twin blades, their bodies wrapped in the evil aura of Seven-ring Soul Sages.
The sudden change made Lu Yuan curse aloud.
"Three? You've got to be kidding me. Am I drunk?!"
But he sneered, gripping his sword tighter. "Doesn't matter. I'll cut you all the same!"
The Contra's eighth soul ring flared. His whip erupted outward, multiplying into a storm of writhing strike-lines, enveloping Lu Yuan like a nest of serpents.
Lu Yuan's fifth ring lit. "Fifth Soul Skill—Absolute Slash!"
Sword qi howled like a hurricane. His blade feinted one way, the energy suddenly switching toward one of the Soul Sages. Sparks exploded as sword struck steel, tearing through the night with an ear-splitting crash.
From above, a massive phantom sword manifested, towering nearly seven meters tall.
Lu Yuan slammed it down like a falling mountain.
The Soul Sage caught beneath it didn't even have time to scream before his body twisted unnaturally, devoured by the sword's vortex.
But the instant the attack landed, Lu Yuan's heart gave a jolt. A strange, bone-deep chill spread through him. Something about the spiritual energy felt wrong.
His sharp gaze scanned the rooftops. The three figures that had faced him seconds ago had vanished into the darkness.
They… ran?
The Black Shadows Retreat
Two streets away, the two remaining men in black crouched in hiding.
"The master was right. His sword is too strange. We couldn't take him head-on."
"What about Third Brother?"
"…Dead. No one could survive a blow like that."
"…Then what do we do?"
"We return and report."
After the Clash
Back at the rooftop, Lu Yuan exhaled heavily, the dawn light creeping across the horizon. His chest heaved with the aftershocks of battle.
"What a waste of time," he muttered darkly.
The ambush had ruined everything. Just when things were getting interesting with Xue Ke, damned assassins had jumped him out of nowhere.
Xue Ke rushed from the room, eyes filled with worry. She had watched the entire fight from the window, powerless to do anything more than clench her fists.
"Lu Yuan, are you hurt?" she asked breathlessly.
Lu Yuan waved her off, annoyed. "It's fine, it's fine. Just wasted a perfectly good night."
He tipped back the wineskin in his hand, sighing after a long pull.
Finally managing to steal Xue Ke away from the palace—and in the end, this was what he got?
"This is it?" he muttered, more to himself, staring at the whitening sky.
What a disappointment.
--
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