I Can Help You Break the Formation

Damian Black looked at her, his gaze dark and unreadable.

Lily Bai waved her hand. "Let's go!"

But Damian took her hand, lifted her sleeve, and stared at the bite mark.

"What are you doing? Planning to bite me again?" Lily snapped, pulling her hand back.

Instead, he pressed his palm over the bite mark; red light surged where their hands met.

When he lifted his hand, the mark on her arm was completely gone—and it didn't hurt anymore.

"I'm serious," Damian said. "If you want to break the array, come to me. Anyway... the real Damian is tired of all this. Maybe it's time to end it."

"What?" Lily asked.

Damian let go of her, looking her straight in the eyes. "I can help you break the array."

"I'm asking—just now, you said he's tired? Tired of what?"

"Endless slaughter and conquest," Damian replied. "He's tired of it."

Lily paused for a moment. "...You're not him. You don't get to say things like that."

Damian was about to say more when a knock sounded from outside. "Little Fish?"

Damian vanished instantly.

Lily dropped her Spirit Barrier and went to open the door. It was her aunt, who said Fourth Highness Henry Xiao was waiting for her by the lake outside.

Lily frowned but went anyway.

He stood by Immortal Duckweed Lake outside her aunt's courtyard, dressed in an elegant black Divine Robe that made him look every inch the jade-like noble prince.

"Fourth Highness," Lily greeted him with a formal salute.

"I've told you before, when you see me, you don't need to salute," Henry Xiao said.

Lily said, "Etiquette cannot be abolished. Is there a reason you've come to see me, Fourth Highness?"

"It's... nothing, really." He seemed a little nervous. "Did you see my mother today?"

"Yes, the Celestial Empress summoned me."

"Did she say that if you break the Tribulation Storm Array... she'll set our betrothal?" Henry stepped closer to her.

Lily nodded slightly.

"That array is deadly. When the time comes, you mustn't go in yourself," Henry blurted out.

Lily's eyes went cold. "Fourth Highness, I'm Senior Sister of the Sigil Sect and a role model for all my disciples. How could I hide while sending my juniors to risk their lives?"

Henry stared at her, suddenly dazed for a moment, lost in thought.

"Fourth Highness?" Lily prompted.

He snapped back to himself. "I understand! But you mustn't force yourself. Even if the array can't be broken, I'll beg my mother to agree to our betrothal anyway."

Lily smiled. "Fourth Highness, I won't push myself recklessly."

"Little Fish." Henry Xiao took off a string of beads from his wrist. "This is for you."

"What is this?" Lily asked.

"It's the protective bead bracelet I've worn since I was a kid," Henry said. "It's pretty good at defense."

Lily opened her Heavenly Eye to inspect it. Its defensive power was more than just 'pretty good'—it was excellent!

It was a genuine lower-grade Divine Artifact, offering powerful protection when worn.

"I can't accept this," Lily shook her head. "It's too valuable."

But Henry fastened the bright red beads onto her wrist, saying, "It's nothing! Anything good I get from now on, I'll give to you."

Lily looked at him, and for some reason remembered Damian's assessment: "A complete idiot."

She didn't really think he was stupid—just genuinely innocent.

With the black clouds hanging over the White Clan, she had no idea what to do about the array or the marriage. So she stopped protesting, looked at the beads on her wrist, and said, "Fine, I'll just borrow it for now. Once the array is broken, I'll give it back to you."

Henry brightened immediately. "If you break the array, you won't have to return it at all!"

Lily had zero interest in arguing about marriage any further, so she switched topics: "Fourth Highness, lately I've been hearing the name 'Lucia Lu' everywhere. May I ask, who is she?"