The Kirin needed to rest after every few hours, so it wasn't as if we could fly straight to the imperial capital in one shot. Once night fell, we had the heavenly carriage descend so that we can put the two Kirin into the stables and allow them to rest. Then we would rent rooms in an inn for me, Lan Bei Er and the chauffeur, as well as the other attendants.
"Finally…we can stretch." I bent my back backward and stretched my arms and legs. Sitting inside a carriage for one whole day wasn't very healthy. Lan Bei Er nodded in agreement before she crashed onto the bed, her hands and legs spread.
"Ugh…I don't really like traveling." She raised her head sheepishly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that you're bringing me along, and I'm happy to see the world. I don't think I've been to the imperial capital before…maybe once or twice in the past? I can't remember, I was still very young then. But I rarely get the chance to go out, so I shouldn't be complaining…"
"Nah, it's fine. I know what you mean. The journey is the hard part. It's all right to complain about it. I mean, I'm also whining about it too."
I chuckled and sat down next to her. I really should train a bit more. Whenever I had the chance, I would practice the Nine Suns Slaying Arrow techniques, but I was only able to produce six arrows so far. At this rate, I should be able to hit the peak of Innate Realm once I reached the imperial capital. And just in time too.
Good thing they had a practice place right next to the inn. I had used that before dinner, which was in turn before we retired to our rooms. A good workout, considering I had spent the whole day cooped up inside the damned carriage. I was glad to have the opportunity to train.
Honestly, it was fine if I skipped a day or two of training, but I couldn't wait to attain peak Innate Realm. Once I did that, I could take a small break before proceeding to breakthrough to Saint Realm. Then I didn't have to worry about all those old monsters and sect leaders from the various major sects. I remembered how outmatched I was against Cheng Kun.
I didn't want to feel so helpless again. I would have figured a way out of that predicament, true, but I was pretty sure the result would still end with me being severely injured. I would rather avoid that if possible.
Strength wasn't everything, but it certainly provided an advantage. I would be stupid to dismiss that advantage. On the other hand, I wasn't going to fall into the trap of claiming that only absolute strength mattered. Such authors who claimed so were simply too lazy to conceive of proper strategies or plans to overcome the difference in power, and so they just wrote it off as "schemes are useless in the face of absolute power!" Not exactly. Power was just power. It was a tool, just like a weapon or transport. It depended on how one wielded it. A genius could trick a supposedly absolute power dude into using his power for the wrong things, or manipulate a stronger person into making mistakes or avoid fighting against him. It all depended on how the power or strategy was used.
Look at Zhuo Fan from Demonic Emperor Butler (or Magic Emperor, depending on which translation was being used). Absolute power was useless in the face of his insidious scheming and strategies. He knew how to manipulate people and aim for their weaknesses. He wasn't invincible, but he didn't fall for the "absolute power is invincible" or "everything is useless in the face of absolute power" nonsense. He knew what battles to avoid, and how to win against people who were several cultivation realms above him.
Guy was a monster. More protagonists should learn from him instead of relying on the so-called "absolute power" bullshit. That was just lazy writing, to be honest.
Speaking of strategies…
"Someone's watching us," I muttered with a frown. Lan Bei Er jolted up, confused, and looked around in a panic.
"Who?"
"I don't know." I shrugged. "Seems like an enemy. I can feel her killing intent from here. She's been following us since dinner."
"What should we do?"
"Go to bed," I replied. When Lan Bei Er stared at me incredulously, I shrugged again. "I mean, they haven't done anything yet, so it's not like we can do anything to them? If we attack first, we'll be the ones in the wrong…legally, anyway. So we'll wait and see. If she attacks us, then we have the right to fight back in self-defense."
"That…makes no sense, but you're right. If we strike first, legally we'll be the ones in the wrong." Lan Bei Er sighed and buried her face in her palm. "Sometimes the laws don't make much sense. Wouldn't a preemptive attack count as self-defense?"
"I mean, it's possible that she just hates me but has no intentions of actually doing anything. So we can't just beat people up for no reason." Then again, this was considered stalking, so… "But if you're uncomfortable, I'll call her out and demand to know what she wants."
"That might provoke her into attacking," Lan Bei Er said thoughtfully. "But at least we'll be fighting on our terms, not hers."
"Yeah, I did think of that," I admitted. "But I just want to see what she has planned. That's why I'm a little worried about the possibility that she might simply run away if I call her out. And we don't have the time or manpower to chase her. I don't want her to get away, so I plan on luring her close and catching her. If possible. Of course, that's assuming she plans to attack…"
"I see. Good idea, I guess?"
And so we switched off the spirit stone lights and went to bed. We lay down next to each other, closing our eyes. I had to take my glasses off, of course, and we put up an image of falling asleep. As I suspected, the presence outside continued to watch.
She did nothing for a few moments…perhaps thirty minutes. Once she was sure that we were asleep, she struck. Entering the room through the windows, she hefted up a shining spear and thrust it at me.
Clang!
I deflected it almost effortlessly, drawing Abyssal Edge from my spatial pouch. The assailant sprang back, stunned, but I wouldn't let her go. Jumping out of bed, I swung my sword and unleashed Shadow Sword Strike, knocking her back.
She hit the ground and rolled up, spinning her spear about defensively.
"You…" She growled. "How dare you pretend to sleep?!"
"Are you fucking with me?" I retorted. "You tried to kill us in our sleep for no reason, and you're complaining that we pretended to sleep? Then again, what should I expect from a villain…manhua logic at its finest."
The girl glared at me. Now that I could see her clearly, I saw that she was a pretty girl dressed in a white and red dress, with her chestnut brown hair tied in a ponytail. Not as beautiful as Lan Bei Er, of course. My wife is the most beautiful. She couldn't compare to even Bei Er's little finger.
Okay, that was cringe. Sorry.
However, that didn't change the fact that she had tried to kill me. I watched her suspiciously, my sword still in my hand. She was strong, at least Innate Realm, but she was definitely many levels below me. That didn't mean I could kill her with a single blow, so I chose to be cautious and watch out for an opening.
"Who are you? Why are you trying to kill us?" Lan Bei Er demanded, also extricating her staff and getting ready to fight.
"Kill you both? No, I'm just going to kill that bastard." The girl pointed her spear at me. Despite myself, I raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Why?"
"You are Hei Ye, right? I don't know why my father wishes to marry me off to you, but if you're dead, then you can't marry me!"
Then it hit me. "You're the seventh princess, Huang Wan Hai?"
"That's right. So you do know about me." Huang Wan Hai appeared to grow more furious, her eyes flickering to my wife. "And even though you already have an engagement request, you're still going around sleeping with another woman? I knew all men are perverts! Infidels! You all deserve to die!"
That was a bit harsh, but I wasn't going to bother correcting her. Instead, it was Lan Bei Er who spoke up in my stead.
"You appear to be misunderstanding something, your highness. I'm his wife. Legally and officially. Hei Ye is the son-in-law of the Lan family in Azure Cloud City. My husband is going to the imperial capital to refuse the engagement."
"What?" Huang Wan Hai gaped at her, and then gawked at me. I nodded slowly, lowering my sword.
"My wife is telling the truth. I have no intention of accepting the engagement from his majesty your father. I will stay married only to Bei Er and no one else."
"Hmph." Huang Wan Hai refused to listen. "Men cannot be trusted! Sister, I don't care what your husband tells you, but he'll definitely betray you and dump you for his own advantage! It's better if I kill him now!"
She charged at me, and I deflected her spear to the side once more. She twirled her spear about and tried to stab me, but I parried the blow before kicking her in the midriff. She coughed out blood as she was flung across the room, her body folding over.
"How's this for a solution?" I asked, infusing Abyssal Edge with my black qi. "I kill you here and now, and you won't ever have to worry about marriage or whatever again."
"You dare!?" Huang Wan Hai shot back furiously, still spitting blood out of her mouth. "You know I'm from the royal family! I'm the seventh princess! My father the Emperor will hunt you down and wipe out all generations of your family!"
"Let me get this straight," I said, feeling exasperated at the usual manhua logic. "So you, as the seventh princess, can go around killing people for no reason because you're of royal blood, but if I fight back and kill you, I'll still be hunted down anyway because your father is the emperor?"
"Yes! I mean, I'm not killing you for no reason, but if you want to blame anything, blame it on the fact that you're not born into royalty!"
Of fucking course. Always that sort of logic. What could I expect from cultivation manhua characters? "Oh, I'm better than you, so I'm allowed to kill you, but you're forbidden from fighting back!" Either it was because I was trash (which made no sense, considering I was kicking their asses) or they were from so-and-so family (in this case, the royal family).
"Do you really think I should just give up and let you kill me simply because you're from the royal family?" I rolled my eyes. "You're utterly deluded. If I'm going to die anyway, why should I give you any satisfaction? I might as well drag you down to hell with me."
"Y…you…!" Huang Wan Hai clutched her spear tighter. "You wouldn't…!"
"You dare, but I don't dare? What, you think normal people don't value their lives? That only the royal family is allowed to want to live?"
"I…" Huang Wan Hai gritted her teeth and howled, lunging at me once more. I knocked her spear to the side and kicked her again, this time so hard she demolished the wall and lay sprawled amidst splinters outside. I approached her in a slow, deliberate manner, my Abyssal Edge pointed downward as if to stab her. She scrambled away, blood trickling from her mouth and wounds. Then she looked up and screamed. "What are all of you waiting for?! You're the royal guard! Come protect me now!"
Within moments, twelve people in black and red robes descended, their swords flashing as they slashed at me.