Evan Chu entered Lydia Hong's bridal tent. Though it was only a temporary setup, the furnishings and decorations inside and out made it look just like a miniature palace.
"Lydia."
He had just finished his seclusion. When he appeared before Lydia Hong again, he was already a true Holy Emperor–realm powerhouse, his aura overwhelmingly strong. Given a little more time and enough resources, he could even condense his own Holy Emperor Avatar!
"You've come out of seclusion?"
"Yeah, I just came out. This time, I owe it to the Throne for making a move—otherwise, I wouldn’t have reached this realm. Finding a suitable star was just too difficult."
"It’s good you broke through. Hurry and get ready—the time is almost here." As Lydia said this, her cheeks flushed slightly. It was clear she had accepted everything.
"Sisters, let’s head out too."
"Of course—now it’s time for the newlyweds to have their moment."
"Lydia, don’t forget what we told you before!"
Lydia nodded to show she understood.
These days, the Dragon-Chen Legion was packed with women. First, there were Evan Chu’s wives and beauties. Then you had Lydia Hong, Nathan Yates’ new bride. The Red Lark Legion had plenty of female officers too. And soon, the Savage Brotherhood would be joining the ranks—with their own band of wild heroines. Lena Lin was just one of many.
In the Star-River Dominion, there’s no fixed sun. Daylight is all about the stars! Usually, the small star-regions orbit a fixed star, and those base star-regions of the three thousand dynasties are what people call ‘stars.’
Small star-regions are just planets. Their orbits and positions aren’t fixed at all. As they revolve around the star, they spin on their own axes. Whichever side faces the base star-region’s star, that’s daytime. The other side? Night!
So every star-region has its own day-night cycle, its own way of keeping time. And with every powerhouse living basically forever, nobody cares much about time anyway—the concept gets fuzzy.
Right now, according to this star-region’s clock, it was exactly noon—the most auspicious hour for a wedding!
Desmond Mansfield, as the master of ceremonies, stepped up first and shouted for Evan Chu and Throne Red Lark to take the stage.
This move by Evan Chu had two purposes. One, to get the Dragon-Chen Legion mixing it up with all the powers in this star-region—just like the Frostbane Dynasty, stepping straight into the peak circle. Two, to put Desmond Mansfield front and center as the Legion’s spokesman, showing everyone that Dragon-Chen now had a genius, monstrous strategist: Desmond himself!
It was also a public recognition of Desmond’s status.
“Today the Dragon-Chen Legion’s Deputy Throne and Miss Lydia Hong are tying the knot—a joyous event for all under heaven! By order of Throne Chu, I host this wedding feast here. If our hospitality falls short, I ask our honored guests to forgive us!”
Desmond Mansfield appeared in a plain white robe, sticking out like a sore thumb in the sea of red decorations. He held a folding fan, his manner elegant and unhurried—you had to admit, the kid had style.
Earlier, when he was speaking with Evan Chu, Desmond Mansfield was still at the Saint Lord late-stage peak. But now, with each step he took up onto the platform, his aura and cultivation surged. First step: Saint Lord late-stage peak power exploded. Second step: his momentum shot up, sharp as a blade piercing the heavens. And then, with the third step—BOOM!
The entire high platform seemed ready to collapse, but then instantly stabilized. Now, looking at Desmond Mansfield again—this kid had already reached early-stage Saint Venerable.
What?! In just a single breath, three simple steps, and he broke through? That easy? What kind of freak is this? How is that even possible? That's a Saint Venerable, not some random scrub!
Everyone in the audience was shaken. What kind of monsters were gathering in the Dragon-Chen Legion, how could they all be this insane? Even the Holy Emperor representatives from the Mansfield Family were stunned. Desmond Mansfield was their own heir—how could they not know him? But now, what the hell was going on?!
And in this whole crowd, the only one who truly understood was Throne Chu.
Only he had really seen through Desmond Mansfield's cultivation. And honestly, that's exactly why Desmond was convinced—why this proud, stubborn guy was willing to bow his head.
Evan Chu was stronger. For Desmond Mansfield, if he wanted to stand out, he'd have to either defeat Evan Chu or submit to him. With Evan's character, there couldn't be two kings under one sky—unless the other was willing to listen to him.
Now, Desmond Mansfield had the qualifications to chase the same peak as Evan Chu. But deep down, he knew he couldn't beat Evan. Evan was just too strong—so strong even Desmond had to look up to him.
But Desmond was way too proud to fade into obscurity. So, the middle road: if you can't be Evan's enemy, you might as well be his ally.
He'd thought this before, but now Desmond was absolutely sure.
He'd snuck ten powerful treasures out of the Mansfield Family. As for what they were, he never told anyone—not even Evan Chu, except for that starship. But now, Desmond had all kinds of tricks, plenty of hidden cards, and layers of concealment.
But even with all those tricks, he still couldn't fool Evan Chu. Desmond's breakthrough to Saint Venerable was never going to slip past him. Desmond had actually broken through while Evan was secluded at the Mansfield estate, but with those treasures, even mid-stage Holy Emperors couldn't sense his real cultivation.
Even his grandfather, Mason Mansfield, just had suspicions—nothing more. The only one who saw through Desmond's hidden strength was Evan Chu!
How to put it? The potential and foundation Evan Chu showed right now were way beyond ordinary peak late-stage Holy Emperors. That's why, even as an early Saint Venerable, he could easily slay early Holy Emperors.
Desmond Mansfield was convinced, he surrendered, and he was satisfied. Taking the chief strategist role for the Dragon-Chen Legion? Not a loss at all—in fact, it was a win.
"Let the ceremony begin!"
Desmond's aura faded, and with his final shout, Nathan Yates and Lydia Hong—the main couple—finally made their entrance. But even as they appeared, they barely drew a third of the crowd's attention. Most of the powerful figures present were thinking about only one thing: how to deal with the Dragon-Chen Legion from now on.
The Dragon-Chen Legion was just too strong. They could go toe-to-toe with the Frostbane Dynasty all on their own. That wasn't an exaggeration—everyone understood it now!
So with things like this, how should everyone treat the Dragon-Chen Legion in the future?
A lot of people knew that Evan Chu's roots inside the Frostbane Dynasty weren't deep. He hadn't spent much time on the dynasty's base star-region, so most folks didn't know what Frostbane's attitude toward him really was.
If Frostbane valued him, then why was the Dragon-Chen Legion always left to fend for itself? Hardly any supplies, barely any support. Ever since the Legion set up in the Pearl-Mountain Star-Region, they barely interacted with Frostbane at all.
But if Frostbane didn't care about him? That made even less sense. Everyone had heard about the Yellow-Blade Star-Region incident—Lord Jun Yang and Mad-Blade Li mobilized two whole legions to back Evan Chu, no matter the cost. That kind of support wasn't something just anyone could get.
So it's weird. What exactly is the relationship between the Dragon-Chen Legion and the Frostbane Dynasty?