Objection?
What objection could he possibly have? Serena Feng had already fought for the greatest possible benefit for him; with Serena present, he had nothing to worry about. He wouldn’t suffer any serious losses in this battle.
Sean Xuan raised his eyebrows and smiled, saying, "We'll do as Ninth Royal Uncle says. I have no objections."
Sean Xuan was clever, too. He knew that in this contest, Ninth Royal Uncle was at a disadvantage—not that it was Nolan’s intention—and he deliberately teased him about it.
"Since Palace Master Sean has no objection, we'll split up and act separately." Now that he’d agreed to make their cooperation public, Ninth Royal Uncle had nothing left to hesitate over. In this world, circumstances change in an instant—who knows if today’s loss might turn into tomorrow’s gain.
Since his opponent didn’t respond, Sean Xuan couldn’t keep pressing, so he said, "Alright, I’ll take thirty thousand Skyvault Palace disciples down the mountain and cut them off from behind. The rest is up to you, Ninth Royal Uncle."
Sean Xuan made his forces clear, and at the same time, showed his trust.
Skyvault Palace once boasted a hundred thousand disciples, but that was at its peak. Now, having fifty thousand is considered good. Over seven thousand died or were injured last night, and with Sean leading thirty thousand away, Skyvault Palace has little strength left.
Sean Xuan was handing Skyvault Palace over to Ninth Royal Uncle. With the main force gone, Skyvault Palace was like a beautiful woman stripped bare before Nolan, left for him to take as he wished.
If Ninth Royal Uncle led his thirty thousand troops and turned on Skyvault Palace, the sect would definitely fall into new hands.
"This prince has said before—I'm not interested in Skyvault Palace." Ninth Royal Uncle restated his position.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in Skyvault Palace; it was just that, compared to the sect, he found Sean Xuan far more intriguing. Skyvault Palace in his hands would be just another ordinary power, but in Sean’s, it could maintain its extraordinary status. After this cooperation, their tacit understanding and trust would only grow. In the future...
Who could say what the future held? In Ninth Royal Uncle’s eyes, as long as he acted, anything was possible.
Ninth Royal Uncle had made his stance clear again, so Sean Xuan didn’t press further. Still, he was curious—if Nolan wasn’t here for Skyvault Palace, what had brought him here with such effort?
Of course, Sean Xuan knew Nolan would never tell him. He could only stay curious, maybe forever.
So, Ninth Royal Uncle took command at Skyvault Palace, directing his thirty thousand troops and the palace’s mechanisms and traps, while Sean Xuan led the disciples down the secret path, ready to coordinate with Nolan’s attack.
The entire Skyvault Palace rebelled against the order—even the Eighteen Gentlemen of Skyvault, who’d always stayed hidden, stepped forward to oppose it.
Handing Skyvault Palace over to Ninth Royal Uncle was like letting a tiger guard the sheep. Would they ever get it back?
Sean Xuan said nothing more, just looked to Ninth Royal Uncle. Nolan swept his gaze coldly over everyone and said indifferently, "Let me repeat: I have no interest in Skyvault Palace. Even if I’m a tiger, I have no interest in food delivered to my mouth—I only like the hunt. If I wanted Skyvault Palace, I’d take it by force, openly."
Pfft... Ninth Royal Uncle’s words nearly made everyone in Skyvault Palace choke with anger. In other words, Nolan didn’t care about Skyvault Palace at all—even if they handed it to him on a silver platter, he wouldn’t bother to look.
Alright, Ninth Royal Uncle’s authority was absolute. After his declaration, whether they believed him or not, everyone in Skyvault Palace stopped objecting and quietly held their positions.
William Wang Jinling saw that Ninth Royal Uncle had stabilized the situation, so he pulled Serena Feng aside.
"Don’t worry. We’re definitely going to win this battle." William knew Serena had a unique charisma on the battlefield, but...
This time, though, it wasn’t a fight Serena could join. The scenes of life-and-death slaughter would be too bloody, too cruel. And this was more than just a battle—it was a test of trust between Ninth Royal Uncle and Sean Xuan. If Serena got involved, Sean would never fully trust Nolan.
Sean Xuan dared to entrust Skyvault Palace’s fate to Ninth Royal Uncle not because he trusted Nolan, but because he trusted Serena Feng. He believed that as long as Serena was there, Nolan would never harm Skyvault Palace.
William took Serena away partly for selfish reasons, but mostly to help Ninth Royal Uncle. After all, he and Nolan were allies; romance was one thing, but in matters of principle, they had to stand together. Making Sean trust Nolan completely was crucial for all of them.
Once outside, Serena pulled her hand free and smiled brightly at William. "I believe in them. They’ll win for sure."
The Three-Kingdom Coalition Army started with a hundred thousand men—half were wiped out in one day. Their morale was shattered, and now, with Ninth Royal Uncle and Sean Xuan attacking from both sides, there was nowhere left to run.
"Exactly. They’re bound to win, so we don’t need to worry. Serena, while Nolan and Sean are busy, let’s find something fun to do." William’s eyes lit up as he glanced at the warhorses nearby, suddenly wanting to let loose for once.
"What do you want to do?" Serena was surprised to see William so lively. And since there was nothing much to do here, she let him decide.
William pointed to the warhorses ahead, grabbed Serena’s hand, and led her forward. Serena didn’t refuse, jogging to catch up.
Right in front of the Skyvault Palace disciples, William untied a horse, mounted it in one smooth motion, and reached out to Serena: "Serena, let’s elope!"
It sounded like a joke, but it was William’s true wish. He really did want to forget everything and run away with Serena.
Ninth Royal Uncle was wrong—William didn’t care about being Wang Clan Patriarch. If Serena would say yes, he’d drop it all in a heartbeat and disappear with her to a place no one could find.
Elope?
Serena was stunned for a moment, but when she saw William’s dazzling smile, she reached out and placed her hand in his.
William was just fooling around—there was no need for her to take it seriously.
"Alright, I’ll give you one chance—take me away." With William’s help, Serena swung herself onto the horse, sitting in front of him.
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"Then I’ll really take you away." William wrapped one arm around Serena, gripped the reins with the other, squeezed the horse’s sides, and rode forward. His hearty laughter told Serena he was in a great mood—and that he’d made the right move.
Everything William said to Ninth Royal Uncle was true. By stepping back into the role of confidant, he wasn’t giving up—he’d chosen it because he understood that only a confidant could approach Serena freely, without triggering her defenses.
Ninth Royal Uncle, you’d better pray Serena spends her whole life loyally fighting for you. You’d better hope her heart stays as hard as steel, or one day, I’ll be the one she chooses.
William glanced back toward where Ninth Royal Uncle stood, a sly smile on his face.
You’re not the only one from Eastlyn who knows how to play dirty, Nolan. William could too—he’d just never wanted to use those tricks on Serena. Nolan, I can’t wait to see you lose your cool.
"Hyah, hyah..." William sped up, reveling in the thrill of riding fast with a beauty in his arms.
William was an excellent rider—even going downhill, he kept them steady. Serena knew there was no danger, so she relaxed and enjoyed the wild gallop, laughing all the way.
With the two sharing one horse, they quickly vanished from the disciples’ sight. When Sean Xuan had finished organizing his troops and went looking for Serena, a disciple reported: "The Grand Heir and Miss Serena have gone down the mountain. He said he was taking her to elope."
The path William and Serena took down the mountain was the same one Sean Xuan had led them up. They wouldn’t run into the main army, and Sean had already ordered that within Skyvault Palace, Serena could do anything, go anywhere, and no one was allowed to stop her.
So when William took Serena away, no one tried to stop them or report it. The road was lined with their own people—it would have been easy to block them, but no one wanted to play the villain and risk angering the Palace Master or Miss Serena.
"Elope?" Sean Xuan couldn’t help but laugh. William’s move was more than clever—it forced him to trust Ninth Royal Uncle completely.