"What? That was Deputy Sanctuary Lord Huang's story?" The woman was furious.
"Mm. What else do you have to say?" The man was dizzy from his mischievous daughter.
The woman said, "Anyway, you never believe anything I say, so I don't need to report to you."
"You—well, you've got a point. But you've been gone for days, leaving all the candidates here. Did you ever consider your father's feelings?" The man was a bit annoyed.
"Did you ever consider my feelings? Why do cultivators have to get married? Isn't focusing on cultivation good enough?" the woman retorted.
"You—what are you saying? Are you planning to never marry?" The man was angry.
"Exactly. There are plenty of people in the Immortal Realm who never marry. One more or less won't matter." the woman said stubbornly.
"You're rebelling, you really are! If you keep this up, I'll just marry you off to the Huang Clan!" the man said, furious.
Hearing about that Huang brat, the woman felt a headache coming and quickly said, "Marry him? I'd rather die!"
"You—fine, fine. Didn't you say you wanted to choose a husband? Pick one for me now, all right?" Worried his daughter might actually mean it, the man finally backed down a step.
"Do I really have to choose?" the woman asked.
"Is there any room not to? If you really refuse, I'll cripple your cultivation right now!" The man had already backed down as far as he could, and couldn't retreat any further.
"I just don't get it—why are you so set on marrying me off? Do you really dislike me that much?" The woman couldn't help saying, feeling hurt inside.
The man was stunned. He hadn't expected his youngest daughter to say something like that. But he was doing this for Ethereal Sanctuary; he had no choice, because he needed to pick one of the pre-arranged candidates. Their backgrounds weren't as strong as the Huang Clan, but at least they could help Ethereal Sanctuary.
The woman had no idea she was being sacrificed for a political marriage.
"What I say goes! If you run away again, I'll cripple you for real. Let's see how you wander after that." The man said harshly.
"Fine, you win. I'll choose, but it's still by my criteria. If none of them qualify, don't blame me." the woman said.
"How do you want to choose?" the man asked.
"Of course I'll be the one to choose." the woman said.
"What if you don't pick anyone? Wouldn't that screw me over?" the man said.
"I'll pick one, all right?" the woman said angrily.
"That's more like it. No matter what, you have to pick someone. Otherwise, it'll count as breaking the rules." the man said.
"So no matter who I pick, you won't interfere?" the woman asked.
"I promise—as long as you choose from the candidates, I absolutely won't interfere." the man said.
"Fine." the woman said, secretly cursing, "Worst case, I'll pick someone easy to bully, with no background. Once I've chosen him, I'll get rid of him. Let's see how this marriage works out then!"
The man had no idea what the woman was thinking, but he thought to himself, "Those with no background, I'll just make them withdraw. One way or another, she'll end up picking someone good."
Both had their own schemes. "All right, put on a smile. Today's your husband selection day."
"This isn't what I want. You're forcing me." the woman said.
"If you really act like that, I'll cripple you ahead of time and lock you in the palace." the man said.
"You're ruthless." the woman said.
"Let's go," the man said, but sighed inwardly, "All for the Sanctuary, you'll just have to put up with it."
The man led the woman away. The maid sensed the odd atmosphere and could only follow behind her lady, not daring to make a sound.
The three walked through the palace. Soon, they heard a commotion ahead. That place was split into two floors—the first floor was packed with people, surrounded by guards keeping order. Many core figures from great clans or major sects were there, all waiting these days for the husband selection, but hadn't seen a single candidate.
Everyone was starting to get a little annoyed.
Until the man appeared on the second floor, while the woman and the maid waited behind a barrier upstairs.
Once the crowd saw the man upstairs, everyone quieted down. Many knew his identity—sixth-tier Emperor, an impressive figure. Most of them were only at the Heavenly-Immortal realm, nowhere near bold enough to challenge him.
Seeing the crowd fall silent, the man spoke, "I assume everyone is here for the husband selection. Sorry for keeping you waiting these past days. As Palace Lord of Ethereal Sanctuary, I owe you all an apology."
The crowd thought to themselves that this Palace Lord wasn't so arrogant after all, so everyone accepted it and things quieted down. Someone finally said, "Palace Lord, you're too polite. Waiting is only proper."
Everyone echoed, "Waiting is only proper."
Normally, the Palace Lord of Ethereal Sanctuary was extremely proud, but if not for the political marriage, he wouldn't be so polite. So seeing everyone accept it, he smiled and said, "All right, let's start the husband selection today."
"What about the distinguished young lady?" someone asked, and the others looked on curiously, waiting for the mysterious woman to appear.
The Palace Lord smiled, "My youngest daughter is a bit shy, but I'll have her come out and apologize to everyone." With that, he motioned for the woman to come out.
The woman absolutely refused; seeing those people annoyed her, especially since each was so arrogant thanks to their backing. "Still not coming out?" the Palace Lord sent a voice transmission.
The woman still stood there. The Palace Lord waved his hand and she was swept forward, suddenly appearing on the second-floor platform in everyone's line of sight.
Naturally, many people exclaimed, secretly thinking she was a true beauty. Many started scheming how to win her favor.
At the man's signal, the woman forced a stiff smile. The man spoke for her: "Today she'll choose her husband, so whoever she picks, I'll support."
"Good!" the crowd rejoiced—at least one person would win her favor.
Seeing the hundreds of people below, all kinds, the woman cursed inwardly in annoyance. But there was no choice—she had to endure the scene and look for a chance to pick someone weak.
How to choose? She couldn't just ask for the weakest to step forward. After thinking, she said, "With hundreds of people here, picking just one at once is a bit difficult."
"That's true. What are your thoughts?" the man smiled, and the people below waited expectantly.
"I love freedom, so the person I pick must have no clan backing," the woman said.
As soon as she said this, the place erupted. The crowd grew noisy, and the man was exasperated—this wasn't his intention. He wanted their backing, their clans, major sects, and big influences.
"Isn't that a bit much?" the man frowned.
"You said so yourself. Are you going back on your word?" the woman said.
"I agreed to let you choose, but not like this," the man sent via voice transmission.
"Then just cripple me. I won't be of any use then," the woman said.
The man was stunned, realizing pushing her too far was no good. He thought for a moment—if not big clans, then at least major sects would do.
He had to accept it, but the woman's next words infuriated him. She said, "Besides no clan, it must be a small sect. By small sect, I mean one whose influence doesn't cover more than ten planets."
"Are you trying to drive me crazy?" the man sent angrily via voice transmission.
"Then just cripple me now," the woman said. She was planning to recruit someone later, then cripple him; with a weak power, she'd have it easy—that was her goal.
"You can't. I won't allow it," the man said. The woman retorted, "Then cripple me."
The crowd was already in an uproar—this excluded most people, leaving only a few. Those remaining were delighted; who knew that having no clan or major sect could be so advantageous.
But the Palace Lord didn't agree; he kept communicating with her via voice transmission, but she stayed stubborn.
In the end, the man said to the crowd, "Everyone, take a break. I'll see if there's another way. We can't just dismiss so many people so quickly."
Hearing the Palace Lord's words, everyone relaxed, but the woman was unhappy. She had no choice and was forcibly dragged away by the man.
After being dragged to a nearby secret room, the man said, "What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you? Do you really want me to pick a random stranger?" The woman couldn't help but feel a bit sad.
"You're my only daughter now. But do you know how many planets Ethereal Sanctuary has? How many subjects? Do you know how many lives are at stake?" the man said, his voice rising.
"Don't say that to me. I'm not a savior. If you find it so difficult, I'll just stop being Palace Lord and leave Ethereal Sanctuary," the woman said.
"Leave? You think this is an inn? Come and go as you please? I fought hard for this position. Your brothers and sisters are all successful, but you—I just want to find you a good match, so why must you be like this?" The man tried a softer approach to move her.
"Find me a good match? Why must I have one? I'm living just fine," the woman said stubbornly.
"Enough. If you bring up such harsh conditions again, I'll lock you up right now and won't let you leave," the man said.
"Who cares! Lock me up," the woman said. Her bottom line was to exclude those big clans and sects; if he didn't agree, she'd rather be locked up.
"Fine, I'll lock you up for a few days and see if you're still so stubborn," the man couldn't help but say, and immediately had her taken away.
After she was taken away, the man said to the crowd, "I've decided to extend the husband selection period. So for now, everyone can stay in the palace, and I'll keep an eye on you. If I see someone suitable, I'll pick them."
Everyone understood the Palace Lord's meaning—he wanted to observe their daily lives to find his ideal son-in-law. They had no objections, but the Palace Lord really just wanted to buy time. And so, the crowd was dismissed.
Evan Yang was walking through the palace when he saw two guards escorting the woman. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't get away, since both guards were Emperor-level experts.