At the end of February in the eighth year of the Genesis Era, two days before the Great Huan Dynasty's Kingdom Ascension Ceremony.
Purple Radiance Hall, where guests were received in the Nine Dragons Imperial Capital.
Xiao Ying, Xiao He, Martial-Calming King Lan Ge, Grand Commandant Han Xin, and the other core ministers of the Great Huan Dynasty had gathered, along with more than a dozen leading figures from the Great Qin Empire and the Radiant Divine Kingdom, including Empress Huating and the Radiant Emperor.
The three powers had assembled to discuss the Kingdom Ascension Ceremony, the matters that would follow, and arrangements within their respective territories.
Huan Emperor Xiao Ying sat quietly in the seat of honor, listening to their discussion in silence and scarcely offering an opinion. He had yet to recover from the earlier farewells, and his spirits remained low.
Eight years had passed since Forging the Sacred Court began operating, and many old friends had faded from memory or grown distant with time. Now, only four people remained most deeply etched in Xiao Ying's memory-or rather, most entangled with him and bound to him by the strongest karmic ties: Yun Feng, Lin Qianlian, Qingyang, and Lan Ying.
Thus, Xiao Ying had deliberately paid them a final farewell, lest lingering attachments leave him with any regrets.
With Yun Feng, Xiao Ying had cut through the tangled knot with a swift blade, plainly declaring, "Once I leave, this farewell is forever," and leaving nothing behind.
With Lin Qianlian, Xiao Ying's familial affection outweighed romantic desire. Besides explaining the peril surrounding the Kingdom Ascension Ceremony and hinting at the arrangements afterward, he had left her the faint hope that "only through ascension can we meet again," along with a Nine-Dragon Martial Huan Token representing Great Huan's Marquis Rank.
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