"What are you saying? What's wrong? Lena Lin isn't good enough for you? Look at that dumb look on your face—how old are you and you're still a single dog? I'm worried for you, you know! It's not easy to find a girl who's got both looks and strength, and now you're complaining?"
Evan Chu curled his lip. No matter how much Desmond Mansfield resisted, it wouldn’t make a difference—Evan had already made up his mind. This was set in stone.
"What’s so great about her? I just don’t see it! If Lena Lin is so amazing, why don’t you marry her yourself?"
"Bullshit! I’ve got enough on my plate, okay! Quit dragging me into this—right now we’re talking about you. Anyway, I’ve already given you a heads-up: when you go see your future father-in-law, you’d better change your attitude."
"No way! Shouldn’t this kind of thing be about mutual feelings? You’re all just forcing me into marriage! I don’t accept it! If you want a political alliance, marry her yourself!"
Evan didn’t expect Desmond’s resistance to be this fierce, but he wasn’t about to back down. "Kid, watch your mouth. If your sisters-in-law hear you talking like that, don’t say I didn’t warn you."
Anyway, if you agree, great. If you don’t, I’ll just drug you two and make sure you end up in the same bed!"
Desmond’s shoulders trembled. He thought of Evan’s wives—yeah, better keep his mouth shut… If another sister-in-law popped up, how would he survive? He was already worn out from all the new army training as it was.
But seriously, why did he have to be the one to step up for this? Didn’t Lance Li also not have a wife?
Fine, Desmond really didn’t know—the whole marriage thing with Lena Lin was actually first brought up by Liam Savage. The guy was worried that the Brotherhood’s merger into Dragon‑Chen wouldn’t be solid enough, so he came up with this idea.
The key thing is, Desmond was the one who first received the five Holy Emperors from the Savage Brotherhood. The kid’s not bad-looking, knows how to talk, handles things well, and he’s got top-tier talent and smarts.
So when Evan Chu sent Nathan Yates and Lance Li to meet with Liam Savage, he just laid it all out right then and there.
Yvonne Xuan, Roxanne Lin, Serena Hua, and the other women all worked together to talk Lena Lin into it. Old Goldwing and Shadow loved joining the fun—after six whole months, everything was ready, just like when Nathan married Lydia Hong. All that was left was for the groom to come out of seclusion!
Evan didn’t show his face, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t taking it seriously. In fact, he’d already set everything up—using Flowing‑Light Dynasty’s star‑region, he was throwing a huge banquet. Last time, at Nathan’s wedding, he made out like a bandit with all the gifts; this time, the more the merrier.
Of course, Desmond knew that, behind the scenes, Evan had actually set him up too.
Last time, Nathan used his wedding as an excuse to invite all the big shots. Evan wanted to see where the dynasties stood and what Dragon‑Chen Legion’s status was in the Star‑River Dominion. The results were great—and he picked up a ton of intel too.
More than two years have passed, and a lot has happened. First, Evan’s Dragon‑Chen Legion is now fully allied with Flowing‑Light Dynasty—and the relationship is pretty ambiguous. At the same time, the five heads of the Savage Brotherhood have shown up to negotiate with Dragon‑Chen. All this news has already spread to every power out there.
Right now, Dragon‑Chen Legion has truly taken shape and become a local heavyweight. Aside from not having its own star‑region base or orthodox Trial World, Dragon‑Chen’s strength isn’t any weaker than a mid-tier dynasty.
So now, when Evan throws another big banquet, it means something totally different.
This time, the invitation list is just like last time—but probably less than half will actually show up. Not for any other reason, but because Evan’s recent moves have all targeted Frostbane Dynasty, and everyone’s noticed.
First, Evan openly isolated Frostbane Dynasty’s imperial guards, then cozied up to the defeated Flowing‑Light Dynasty, and finally took in bandits—earning himself a pretty nasty reputation.
Now, relying on his strength, he ignores Frostbane’s orders. Ever since the end of the dynasty war, Evan hasn’t gone back to report in—instead, he’s been sending less and less tribute, and even stripped the Frostbane symbols off Dragon‑Chen Legion’s armor.
At a moment like this, Evan throws a huge banquet. Anyone invited has to think twice—hell, they’d be stupid not to. This time, it’s a real test of sides!
Struggles over the Star‑River Dominion never really stop. Sure, the dynasty war just ended, and Frostbane came out on top, so things seem quiet for now. But there’s a huge undercurrent brewing—when it finally explodes, it’ll be a tidal wave.
Two tigers can’t share one mountain, two masters can’t rule one day. Dragon‑Chen Legion keeps growing without caring about the consequences—sooner or later, trouble’s coming.
Evan knows it, everyone knows it—but what can you do? To reach the goal set by the Ninefold Sacred Emperor, Evan has to push forward. Unless Frostbane’s current Holy Emperor steps down and hands over power to Evan, the third person to conquer a Trial World.
But looking at Frostbane’s latest moves, Holden Hong seems ready to go head‑to‑head with Evan.
Jun Yang and Mad‑Blade Li have always been close to Evan. Now, even though both have been promoted to chief elders, they’ve lost their real military power.
The Blazing‑Flame Legion and Mad‑Blade Legion are now under Holden Hong’s direct command—nobody listens to Jun Yang or Mad‑Blade Li anymore. The reason is obvious, and it’s hurt a lot of feelings behind the scenes.
It’s like Frostbane’s cutting off its own flesh! How did things get so bad? Plenty of people don’t get it—even the Four Temple Masters are baffled. But when they tried talking Holden Hong down, they suddenly found a bunch of unfamiliar faces running the show.
These people are all Holy Emperor‑level, some even stronger than mid‑stage Holy Emperors. They quickly took over all the key positions and seized control of Frostbane’s core power.
All the old guard got shunted to useless posts—or just sidelined completely.
Things are shifting fast. With Evan’s banquet, he wants to see who really trusts Dragon‑Chen Legion, who’s just playing both sides, and who’s a Frostbane spy he needs to root out.
That’s why this wedding has to happen—Lena Lin has to marry, Desmond has to take her!