In the Zhu Family courtyard, Yi Chen stood with his hands behind his back, waiting for about half an hour.
At last, the reception hall doors opened.
Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun walked out side by side. Their eyes were a little red, but they looked much more relaxed than before.
Zhu Zhuqing walked up to Yi Chen and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Master."
Yi Chen looked at her, then at Zhu Zhuyun standing behind her with a complicated expression, and gave a slight nod. "Have you cleared things up?"
"Mm." Zhu Zhuqing nodded gently, her voice carrying a hint of relief. "Sister... she was only ever trying to protect me."
Zhu Zhuyun stepped forward and bowed to Yi Chen, speaking sincerely. "Elder Yi Chen, thank you for bringing Zhuqing back. I've lived with guilt all these years. Being able to resolve this knot in my heart today is all thanks to your kindness."
Yi Chen waved a hand. "We're family. No need for formalities. Zhuqing is my disciple, so it's only right that I, as her master, help her resolve what's troubling her."
He paused, then changed the subject. "Now that you sisters have reconciled, the next step is a visit to the Star Luo Imperial Palace."
Zhu Zhuqing looked up, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes. "Master, I'll go with you."
"No need." Yi Chen shook his head. "Stay with the Zhu Family and have a proper talk with your sister. I can handle the palace by myself."
Zhu Zhuqing wanted to say more, but seeing how unruffled Yi Chen looked, she finally nodded. "Then please be careful, Master."
Yi Chen smiled without saying more, then turned and headed for the gates of Zhu Mansion.
The Star Luo Imperial Palace stood at the very center of Star Luo City. It covered a vast area, with golden tiles and red walls, and an imposing grandeur.
A squad of fully armed imperial guards stood before the palace gates. Every one of them had a steady aura, and even the weakest was at the Soul King rank.
Yi Chen approached the gates with his hands behind his back. A captain of the imperial guards stepped forward to stop him and said sternly, "Halt! The imperial palace is off-limits to unauthorized visitors!"
Yi Chen did not stop. He merely raised a golden token bearing the title of honorary elder of Spirit Hall.
The captain read the words on the token and his expression shifted, but he still did not move aside. "So you're an elder of Spirit Hall. May I ask what brings you here?"
"I'm here to see your emperor." Yi Chen's tone was calm, but carried an authority that brooked no refusal.
The captain looked troubled. "Elder, His Majesty has no visitors scheduled today. Could you register first, and then I can report your arrival..."
Before he could finish, Yi Chen had already walked past him and headed straight through the palace gates.
"Elder!" The captain was horrified. He hurriedly reached out to stop him, only to find himself as if he had collided with an invisible wall. He was flung backward and crashed heavily to the ground.
The other imperial guards drew their weapons and rushed forward to surround Yi Chen.
Yi Chen stopped and cast a casual glance over the guards around him.
At just one look, the guards felt as if an ancient Ferocious Beast had fixed its gaze upon them. Their weapons trembled in their hands, and their legs felt as heavy as lead. They could not take a single step.
Yi Chen withdrew his gaze and continued deeper into the palace.
His pace was unhurried, but each step fell with a peculiar rhythm.
When the palace guards and maids saw him, they tried to stop him, only to find they could not even speak. All they could do was watch as he passed through one palace gate after another, heading toward the grandest hall.
Taiji Hall.
The main hall of the Star Luo Empire, where the emperor handled state affairs and received foreign officials.
At that moment, Emperor Dai Tianfeng of the Star Luo Empire sat on the throne, discussing affairs of state with several ministers.
Suddenly, a eunuch came stumbling in, rolling and scrambling. His voice was shrill with terror. "Y-Your Majesty! Someone has forced their way into the palace!"
Dai Tianfeng frowned and was about to fly into a rage when a clear voice came from outside the hall:
"Yi Chen, honorary elder of Spirit Hall, pays his respects to Your Majesty."
As the words fell, a tall figure dressed in white appeared at the entrance.
Sunlight streamed in behind him, casting a long shadow across the floor.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his white robes as pristine as snow. His features were strikingly handsome, and he carried himself with calm composure, as if he were merely a neighbor dropping by rather than a brazen intruder.
Dai Tianfeng's pupils contracted slightly.
He had been emperor for many years and had witnessed countless grand occasions, but this young man before him gave him a sense of oppression unlike any he had felt before.
It was like being watched by a slumbering giant dragon. One careless move, and he would be reduced to dust.
What weighed even more heavily on him was the name Yi Chen. He knew it well.
The creator of the game that had recently stirred up a storm across the continent, Teamfight Tactics, was named Yi Chen.
Spirit Hall's all-out promotion, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's enthusiastic support, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's public endorsement... This young man was the one pulling the strings behind it all.
Dai Tianfeng had once assumed that someone capable of stirring the winds and clouds across the continent would at least be an old monster who had cultivated for many years. He had never expected his opponent to be so young.
"Elder Yi Chen?" Dai Tianfeng suppressed his shock and said solemnly,
"I've heard that you've recently been promoting a game across the continent called Teamfight Tactics, and that it's become quite the sensation. What brings you to force your way into the palace today?"
Yi Chen walked into the hall. Under the gaze of the assembled officials, he strode calmly to the very front and gave a slight cupped-hand salute. "Your Majesty is well-informed. Indeed, Teamfight Tactics was created by me. But I've come today on a personal matter."
"What personal matter?"
"The engagement between your country's Third Prince, Dai Mubai, and my disciple, Zhu Zhuqing."
Yi Chen got straight to the point. "I hope Your Majesty will issue an edict to dissolve this engagement."
At once, an uproar swept through the hall.
"Outrageous!"
"How dare a mere game merchant meddle in the marriage of the Star Luo Imperial Family?"
"Your Majesty, this man has shown contempt for imperial authority. He must be seized at once!"
Several ministers shouted rebukes, and a few military officers even gripped the hilts of their swords, waiting only for the emperor's command before moving to arrest him.
Dai Tianfeng raised a hand to quiet the ministers, then fixed a dark gaze on Yi Chen. "Elder Yi Chen, you may have some reputation among the common people, but my respect for you does not mean you can push your luck. This engagement is an agreement handed down through generations between the Star Luo Imperial Family and the Zhu Family. How can it be dissolved just because you say so?"
"I know." Yi Chen nodded, his tone still calm.
"But I also know that my disciple, Zhu Zhuqing, does not want to marry Dai Mubai. As her master, it's only natural that I make the decision on her behalf."
"Make the decision?" Dai Tianfeng gave a cold laugh. "You teach people to play games. What right do you have to make decisions for a daughter of the Zhu Family?"
Yi Chen did not answer immediately. He simply looked at Dai Tianfeng, his gaze as still as water.
Then, he slowly released his aura.
Boom!!!
An utterly terrifying pressure descended with the force of heaven and earth collapsing!
All of Taiji Hall shook violently! The roof tiles rattled, and the beams and pillars groaned as if they could barely bear the strain!
Every official in the hall, regardless of their cultivation, was forced to their knees in the same instant!
The weaker civil officials even fainted on the spot!
Dai Tianfeng clutched the arms of his throne with both hands, barely managing to keep from sliding off.
But his face had already gone as pale as paper. The veins on his forehead bulged, and cold sweat streamed down his face.
He tried to speak, only to find he could not even open his mouth!
What horrified everyone present even more was what appeared behind Yi Chen: nine Soul Rings, slowly emerging.
All nine Soul Rings were a deep, eerie blood red!
Blood red!
Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings!
A full nine Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings!
The nine blood-red Soul Rings hung behind Yi Chen like nine blood moons, slowly revolving.
With each turn, the air around them seemed to grow more solid, and that terrifying pressure grew heavier.
The blood-red light pierced through the palace roof and shot into the sky, tinting the heavens above all of Star Luo City a faint crimson.
At the center of the nine Soul Rings, Yi Chen's Martial Soul slowly took shape.
It was a mass of shifting golden light. At times, it turned into a pitch-black heavy hammer, dark-golden patterns flowing over its head as it radiated an overbearing aura capable of destroying heaven and earth.
At other times, it became a gleaming white longsword, its edge flashing with a frigid light as if it could sever anything.
Then it became a crimson spear, flames blazing along its shaft and warping the air around it with their heat.
The Clear Sky Hammer, the Seven Kill Sword, the Angel Holy Sword, the Asura Demon Sword, the Sea God Trident...
One after another, the famed divine weapons and Martial Soul manifestations of the Douluo Continent appeared in succession within that mass of golden light, as if proclaiming to the world that every weapon under heaven was under his control.
The Omni-Weapon Martial Soul.
Dai Tianfeng stared at the scene before him, his heart churning like storm-tossed seas.
Nine Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings!
The Omni-Weapon Martial Soul!
This young man was no ordinary Titled Douluo!
He was a Limit Douluo!
A true Limit Douluo!
Moreover, he suddenly recalled a piece of information Spirit Hall had deliberately kept under wraps: the creator of Teamfight Tactics was himself an unparalleled powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of the continent.
He had simply always presented himself as a promoter of the game, leading people to overlook his true strength.
Yi Chen spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, yet it rang clearly in the ears of everyone present:
"Your Majesty, do I have the right now?"
The hall fell utterly silent.
No one dared to answer. No one could answer.
The ministers who had just been shouting for Yi Chen to be seized now lay prostrate on the floor, not even daring to raise their heads.
Their bodies trembled, and their souls quaked.
Before absolute strength, the emperor's authority, the imperial family's dignity, and the empire's glory all seemed so pale and powerless.
After a long while, Dai Tianfeng finally managed to speak, his voice hoarse and bitter. "W-We'll do as you say, Elder. I... will issue an edict at once to dissolve the engagement between Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing."
Yi Chen slowly withdrew his pressure and Martial Soul. The nine blood-red Soul Rings receded like the tide, and the light in the hall dimmed with them.
The terrifying aura that had left everyone struggling to breathe also vanished without a trace, as if it had never appeared.
He gave a slight cupped-hand salute, his tone returning to its earlier calm. "Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty."
With that, he turned and walked toward the hall's exit, his hands behind his back.
When he reached the entrance, he stopped and said without turning his head, "By the way, Your Majesty. Please tell the Third Prince not to bother Zhuqing again. Otherwise..."
He paused, a faint trace of amusement in his voice. "Next time I come, I won't be here just to dissolve an engagement."
Before his words had fully faded, his figure had already disappeared into the sunlight outside.
Taiji Hall lay in ruins.
Dai Tianfeng slumped on his throne and stared at the vanished figure for a long time without a word.
There was only one thought in his mind.
The Star Luo Empire could not afford to provoke this man.