As the days went by, more disciples came to Nine-linked Mountains.
A while ago, the southern region was completely devoid of people outside of the old woodcutter. However, a few have appeared in Great Desolate Mountain to search for the dao. Of course, no one really wanted to pick this place due to its murderous energy.
With people came news and gossips.
“The princess of the Bingchi is coming.” Someone revealed this information.
“Which one? That one?” Another asked curiously.
“How many do they have? I thought just one.” Someone became surprised.
“Far more than one, don’t you remember one of them being married to that new king?” Another disciple responded.
“That’s not a real princess from the Bingchi.” The guy understood and shook his head: “She was only a puppet. Her name is Bingchi Yingjian from a fallen branch with no authority and influence, only bestowed the title of a princess to be a sacrifice. The clan only has one real princess – Bingchi Hanyu.”
“Oh, so Princess Hanyu is coming here? Doesn’t that mean Eight Formation True Emperor is coming as well?” A different disciple joined in.
“How are the two things connected?” A disciple unaware of the current situation casually asked.
“I heard Eight Formation True Emperor is Princess Hanyu’s fiance now.” The knowledgeable disciple said.
“Myriad Formation Kingdom is having a marriage alliance with the Bingchi?” The crowd became surprised.
“This is old news, everyone knows by now.” An older man jumped in: “It’s not surprising at all. When the Bingchi was surrounded by the five legions, Myriad Formation was the first to come help. It shows how close the two powers are. Plus, after the new king had lost his throne, the world is chasing after this supreme authority. It makes sense for them to team up, especially with a marriage alliance.”
“But, I thought Princess Hanyu was betrothed to the king? Didn’t the supreme ancestor from that clan have a marriage pact with the late king? It seems rather strange for her to be engaged to Eight Formation True Emperor now.” A young one quietly said, aware of this potentially dangerous statement.
The cultivators nearby looked around and found that no one from these two powers was around. They felt much better.
“The time has changed.” The old cultivator shook his head: “Lucidity King was still alive back then with all of the authority, who would dare to refuse him? The crown prince at that point was useless but still had a prestigious status. Once he became emperor, he would be standing at the top of Nine Secrets. Under those circumstances, Princes Hanyu might be noble but not much before absolute authority. Marrying the new king meant being exposed to this power, so the princess was actually reaching up…”
The experienced old man sighed before continuing: “Unfortunately, the party didn’t last long. The death of Lucidity King heralded a total collapse of War Saint. The royal rule has lost its brilliance and the new king is useless. How could the princess marry such a person? That’s just life. You can’t blame anyone for it. When standing at the top, people naturally flock to you. When you fall into the abyss, people will leave, some will even throw rocks down at you.”
“Promise, marriage pact? All useless.” A vigorous youth said: “They’re nothing before absolute power. A fallen king wanting to marry Princess Hanyu? That’s a frog wanting to eat swan’s meat.”
“Exactly.” A different cultivator echoed the sentiment: “The Bingchi still sent another princess to the royal palace, which is in accordance with the marriage pact. They were already nice enough, it’s the king’s fault for being so lecherous, harassing innocent girls and losing his kingdom over a woman.”
The crowd became silent after hearing this.
It was a world of the strong – everyone found this normal and acceptable.
In their eyes, the fallen king was no longer worthy of Princess Hanyu. The Bingchi was nice enough to send a different princess to him.
Honor, promise, and morality weren’t worth much in the minds of many masters.
“Princess Hanyu is a genius and a kingdom-toppling beauty. Who is worthy of a woman like her? Definitely not the useless king. Only the brilliant Eight Formation True Emperor, a heaven’s favorite, is worthy of her.”
“Indeed.” Another youth added: “The two are indeed a match made in heaven, a perfect union. Nothing can be better.”
People supported this particular marriage because Eight Formation True Emperor was one of the strongest members of the young generation. He only had two palaces for now but his potential was limitless. Some even thought that he could take over Nine Secrets in the future.
“If he becomes the next king, the Princess Hanyu will become the queen. Looks like she is meant to be a queen, one way or another.” Someone else thought it was fate.
“Hey, I actually heard that the new king is in Nine-linked Mountain.” A non-tactful person suddenly said.
The atmosphere turned cold right away; no one uttered a word and started glancing at each other.
The new king was here? Princess Hanyu and Eight Formation True Emperor were coming as well. What would happen during the meeting of these three?
In fact, this piece of news has been spreading at a rapid rate. The new king has been missing since the fall of Skywrap. Many were searching for him in secret, wanting to use him as a puppet to take reign.
Furthermore, some became worried about the potential of war. However, no legions came, contrary to everyone’s expectations.
The Bingchi, Myriad Formation, and War Saint Dynasty didn’t mobilize. Some big shots were certainly arriving in secrecy, but nothing of a bigger scale was materializing. No one tried to invade the mountains and kidnap the new king, not even Eight Formation True Emperor and his men.
Everyone suddenly realized that this lack of action wasn’t due to a lack of interest, but rather because of Nine-linked Mountains’ strength.
The older cultivators found that these great powers didn’t dare to act recklessly here.
In the beginning, the youths didn’t care much about Nine-linked Mountains either. After all, it had too few disciples. Some even treated it as a hotel and came and went as they pleased.
However, as the storm was approaching, even the behemoths didn’t dare to do anything. The ignorant ones finally realized that the truly strong masters were afraid – including Eight Formation.
“No wonder why Lucidity King kept a low profile when coming here instead of marching with Silver Secret. Looks like this sect is unfathomable.” Someone from the last generation murmured.
Even the great king of three generations gave this sect face? Their true power must be immense.