The great hall doors groaned open, and a low rumble, like the growl of some ancient beast, seemed to issue from their very mouths deep within the cavernous space. Adam Yuan hurried onward, his face set behind General Zhou and the woman in green robes-who he came to learn was named Xue Ling-his mind still reeling from his encounter with the Empress.
he heard her words still echoing within his mind, every wore weighing him down with the implication that he was nothing until he proved it.
Adam's fists clenched. He knew what she was doing: testing him, daring him to fail. The system, humming behind his mind like a thrum of power and possibility, would not let him fold. This was a world of danger and intricacy-this was his new reality. He could not afford to lose.
As Adam sauntered casual within the ornamented palace corridors, they blurred together before his eyes. The tiniest bits of wall space were covered with murals of battles that raged between the fierce warriors and the towering cultivators-figures of strength and wisdom. It was a world built upon the very concept of power, and with every corner, it yelled out loud at him that he was nowhere near the center.
He was far away from his destination.
Xue Ling now cut in, her voice slicing through his reverie. "You must be wondering why you are summoned here, of all places.
Adam glanced at her, her cold, sharp gaze fixed forward as they walked. "Yeah," he muttered. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."
He nodded slightly, his face a mask of expectation. "The Sky Phoenix Continent is ruled by the fist. The common intercourse between people in our Sky Phoenix Continents is cultivation. The person with power sways all others, and Empress stands at the very top of that power. But not even she is a match for the forces of people working against her.
Adam frowned. "And that's why I'm here? To help secure her rule?"
General Zhou walked a few paces in front of him, his head turned where Adam was. "You were summoned by forces beyond our understanding. The Seers they had foreseen your arrival, yet even they don't understand why it had to be this way. That which we do understand is that you're to be by the Empress's side to support her rule. You will stabilize her rule.
"And what exactly is cultivation?" Adam finally asked, well betraying his ignorance. He knew bits and pieces from the stories, but this world's version was likely to be more intensive and real than anything he'd ever heard.
"The means to the strongest, cultivation, refines one's body, mind, and spirit by harnessing the energy of the world-the Qi. By cultivation, one lifts themselves into higher realms of powers where, in every stage, more strength, and more longevity are aquired"
Adam swallowed. Was this all a dream? Hed only read a small number of cultivation novels. But then again, here he was, in a world where he'd been dragged in by forces he couldn't comprehend.
"What stage is the Empress?" asked Adam all wonder and trembling with fear.
Zhou immediately said, "the Empress has cultivated to the Heavenly Ascension Realm, which is one of the highest stages known; few have ever reached that level.
Adam froze for a moment, his heart skipping a beat. Ascension to Heaven? The mere thought sounded unimaginable to him. He was supposed to marry this woman who could shatter mountains with a look.
"You have to understand" Xue Ling said, her voice just a fraction softer," the Empress is not only a ruler but the symbol of strength; being her consort-to-be, all eyes are upon you, and to prove oneself is not an easy task.
Adam's head moved very slowly, his body heavy with the weight once more of the task. "And if I should fail?
"Then you will be thrown away," Zhou said coldly, "or worse."
Setting his jaw, Adam knew he could not turn back; he had to make it here. And more than that, he had to thrive.
They stopped in front of a bank of doors-second in size, but still huge-with thousands of phoenixes carved into the surface flying across the sky. Zhou turned to him, his expression unreadable.
"She wanted you to witness the nature of this world prior to the ceremony, so you would know what you were getting yourself into."
It creaked softly as huge doors open, showing him a big chamber full of scrolls, books, and artifacts, with an ornate table lying among them all, atop of which lay the map of the continent showing scratched divisions among sects, territories, and kingdoms.
Xue Ling took a step forward and pointed at the map. "This is the Sky Phoenix Continent. The ground our Empire sits on goes from the north mountains to the south seas, and yet still risks being completely shut in from every direction. To the west, the Iron Serpent Sect which has harbored the hope of toppling our reign for so many years. In the east, the Ten Thousand Blades Sect's territory, and in the south are where various other sects are located.
Adam peered closer to see the map: the lay of the land, the names of the cities and strongholds, the borders that defined the Empress' domain. A big empire indeed.
"The Empress holds them off," Zhou said, pride ringing in the words, "though she alone cannot keep peace for very long. For this, you were brought here-the alliance of marriage, to unite the continent under her hand.
Adam frowned. "How does marrying me change a thing?
Xue Ling slowly met his gaze, "You are an 'unknown factor': foreigner unattached to this world, with no fealty to one fighting against the Empress, the balance of power will shift, for your presence is going to upset the plans of her foes while lending new strength to her rule.
Of course, Adam wasn't so sure that was true, but one thing he did know for certain was that this wasn't a safe world, and if he couldn't find a way to get powerful quite fast, he wouldn't live to see the day with this marriage.
"Enough," Zhou said, cutting into Adam's thoughts. "It is time for the ceremony."
The marriage-it was now. The thought leaped to Adam's throat.
---
They led him by tortuous corridors, through guards and servants who watched him sidewise, till they reached an open spacious courtyard. Across it drums boomed and horns blew, and line on line of people were waiting in the streets beyond, for the Empress and her consort to appear.
It wasn't until he came out into the sun that the full weight hit him between the eyes: the reality of it all was that this wasn't any formality or eye-wash, but flexing the muscles in front of the whole continent.
Standing right in the center of the open courtyard, the tresses of white hair whiplashing behind her like silk in the wind, her crimson eyes were inexorably set on Adam as he drew near. She was robed in deep red and gold, in fire and royal hue; and around her, the air seemed to shimmer with raw energy.
Adam's breath caught in the middle of his throat. She was magnificent. Terrifying. And he was about to marry her.
Adam fell in beside her, the cadence of his drum faltering into silence. The crowd silenced itself in expectation.
The old man, officiating and robed in his flowing ceremonial robes, took another step forward, speaking now in a tongue that Adam heard but did not understand. And as the words filled the air, the system stirred within him, its infinitesimal hum of power coming alive to resonate with the world around him.
It was then, when the words of the officiant finally ceased, that the Empress finally faced Adam fully, her eyes glinting sharp and assessing.
I am Liandra of the Sky Phoenix Continent," she said in a low but crystal-clear voice, "and by the will of this empire, I take you as my consort.".
Adam's heart thundered up against his chest as he stared back at her. No hint of tenderness, no hint of softness was there; it was an exchange, a junction of forces. But masked behind the chill of that, he saw another thing: the challenge.
She was challenging him to fail.
He did not want to fail, though. "I am Adam Yuan," he said, and though his voice rang even now with all the solemnity of the moment, "and by the will of fate, I accept.". Prolonged applause erupted as he raised his arms in a victorious gesture: the marriage was dissolved.
--- System Notification: Quest Completion: Marriage with Empress of Sky Phoenix Continent. Reward: 500 EXP, Skill Unlock - "Infernal Flame."