The auction house was in a state of utter devastation. Tongues of fire rolled and licked across the floor, while sparks of electricity continued to flicker and flash in the air.
The wall lamp covers had all shattered, and the crystal cores lay scattered on the ground, their light as dim as dying candle flames.
Through the cracked dome ceiling, the cold moonlight poured down.
The man lowered his head slightly. His warm golden hair was thick and curly, gleaming with a metallic luster.
His flawless skin was like white jade, and his deep-set features possessed a sculpted exquisiteness.
A modest and kind smile graced his handsome, well-defined face, making him look remarkably harmless and exceedingly elegant.
He looked as if he had just stepped out of a royal banquet. The jewelry and gems adorning him were invaluable, yet he exuded an effortless, relaxed grace.
The man wore a silver-red coat with a lapel collar. On the hem and cuffs, gold and silver threads and pearls were woven into enchanting rose vines.
The shirt underneath featured intricate folds and layered lace at the cuffs, and his light-colored gloves were smooth and polished.
The tight, fitted leather clearly outlined his long, slender, and powerful fingers, faintly revealing the contours of the rings he wore beneath them.
This man wore six rings across both hands, almost reaching the absolute limit.
The belt buckle, faintly visible beneath the hem of his coat, looked like a roaring lion's head holding an intricately carved gold coin in its mouth.
"..."
Su Cheng's gaze paused as she realized the other party was also looking at her. She quickly averted her eyes.
The blond man bowed his head with impeccable grace, looking as if he were nodding in gratitude.
His earrings were two golden-green cat's-eye stones, fringed with starlike crushed diamonds that refracted brilliant colors in the firelight and moonlight.
The pendants were teardrop-shaped, resembling swaying tears, with two narrow streaks of light that shifted as the pendants turned.
They looked like the dilating and contracting pupils of some predatory animal in the play of light and shadow.
Su Cheng nodded to him.
She was currently wearing a full-face mask, revealing only her eyes. If possible, she didn't want to make a single sound.
The blond man raised an eyebrow slightly. "Well then—"
He turned his head to look at the attacker not far away.
The man, maintaining an upward-looking posture, stumbled backward a few steps and suddenly collapsed to the ground.
His mouth had been pierced by a golden blade of light. The gaping wound at the back of his neck extended all the way to the base of his skull, with flesh and brain matter oozing from the fissure.
A moment later, Su Cheng realized that this was no magical anomaly.
It was materialized battle aura.
Originating from the elegant and luxurious man standing beside her.
Not only had the battle aura solidified into a tangible form, but it could also maintain this materialized state for a long time even after leaving its master.
Perhaps many mid-tier warriors could achieve the former, but keeping it from dissipating for so long was an entirely different matter.
Watching the scene unfold before her, Su Cheng suddenly felt a strange sensation.
A certain kind of power.
A power that felt both familiar and foreign.
She had never encountered this specific aura of power before, but the way it operated gave her a sense of deja vu.
"Ah...!"
The attacker's eyes trembled in their sockets. His eyeballs seemed to begin melting in the intense heat, and bloody water continuously flowed from the corners of his eyes.
The screams and curses in his throat were completely crushed by the blade of light, turning into agonized, scorched whimpers.
A dense, fine golden light continued to spread, blooming downward along his neck. It quickly filled every blood vessel, weaving between the rapidly proliferating scales.
His chest began to heave violently, and strange patterns appeared on his skin.
Next to his lips, which were stuffed with the blade of light, fine golden dust scattered into the air with every breath.
"You... die..."
The attacker seemed to want to say something more. He reached out, attempting to point at someone, his fingertips wavering between the woman and the man in front of him.
Su Cheng tilted her head.
The attacker's outstretched fingers gradually stiffened, and exquisite golden facets crystallized at his joints.
He seemed to want to stand up, but failed upon exerting the slightest effort. When he fell to his knees again, his kneecaps shattered into scattered golden fragments upon hitting the ground.
Like a gold statue having its dust scraped off.
Then, his expression froze forever in that moment, locked in anger, hatred, and agony.
All his muscles and blood vessels, skin and bones, were forged into solid gold, and his pupils were covered with intricate golden patterns.
Only a golden statue remained on the ground.
Su Cheng finally understood what that familiar yet foreign feeling was.
It was the resonance of a God's Favored sensing another God's Favored using their power.
But because they served different gods, she was unfamiliar with the aura of other deities' power, which was why it also felt foreign.
Su Cheng almost wanted to speak up and ask.
However, remembering her current situation, she decided it was best to keep quiet.
"...It's fine."
The blond man beside her suddenly spoke. "If one does not hold an invitation and is not on the guest list, the moment they enter the Marigold Palace, they will be 'rejected'."
Su Cheng looked at him in astonishment.
A few seconds later, two guards walked up from behind. They both bore the crest of the Aulu family, and upon hearing his words, they bowed deeply.
Su Cheng then realized the Duke was probably talking to them.
Or rather—
He was only superficially speaking to them.
Su Cheng: "..."
Su Cheng silently walked toward the window.
"You can't leave through the window," Duke Aulu suddenly stated. "There are many magical arrays outside the Marigold Palace."
Su Cheng thought to herself, what good are magical arrays when almost everyone here is dead?
Showing no emotion on her face, she silently turned and walked toward the corridor.
The guards might have originally considered stopping her, but because of the Duke's earlier words, they didn't move, simply watching her walk away.
Su Cheng still remembered the way she came, and since there was more than one exit in this place, she anxiously made her way out of the Marigold Palace.
The moment she breathed in the air of the streets outside, she couldn't help but relax slightly, then turned to look back.
It was still that high wall covered in vines. The towering buildings inside were faintly visible, showing not the slightest trace of the battle that had occurred.
Clearly, some sort of illusion covering the exterior was still active.
Su Cheng turned and broke into a mad dash.
She was actually quite exhausted; the muscles in her limbs were sore and heavy, and she felt as if she could fall asleep at any moment.
But her excited and stimulated mood had yet to settle, and she was eager to get far away from this place.
It was just past midnight, and there weren't many people on the streets. She sprinted through a street like lightning, paused briefly at a corner, and suddenly saw a familiar figure.
The man standing in the long alley looked at her, and in the next second, he was standing right in front of her, his tall frame casting a long shadow.
Su Cheng: "...This isn't the rendezvous point, is it? Why did you come here? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Is anyone following me?"
Kai shook his head slightly.
Su Cheng completely let her guard down. "Great. Oh, regarding our mission, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
She had wanted to keep him in suspense, but the man in front of her frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over her from head to toe.
From her thin shirt down to her bare feet.
He looked somewhat concerned.
Kai didn't respond to her question. "Where are your shoes? Be careful not to catch a cold."
Su Cheng: "...Do you remember that I've been practicing your battle aura? Theoretically speaking, even if I lay down in the snow to sleep right now, I'd be perfectly fine, right?"
He was silent for two seconds. "Sorry, I forgot."
Su Cheng was speechless for a moment, then felt a bit dejected. "Aren't you even going to ask how the mission went?"
The black-haired man watched her silently, a certain emotion floating in his piercing golden eyes. "I could sense what was happening inside. In that moment, I regretted it. I shouldn't have let you take such a risk. This matter isn't important at all—"
"Come on," Su Cheng puffed out her cheeks. "Is it really not important? That's not the answer I want to hear right now."
She remembered that in the original novel, Lin Yun hadn't completed it so perfectly.
He seemed to have only gotten a fragment; anyway, it was much worse than now.
"In comparison..." He sighed softly. "I know it must have been very hard, and I guess you got your hands on the item."
Su Cheng was dumbfounded.
She pursed her lips, feeling very deflated. "It wasn't particularly hard. If anything, riding the dragon eagle earlier was—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the man in front of her suddenly leaned down, wrapped an arm around her waist, and lifted her right up.
His animal-skin cloak slipped outward as his strong, muscular arm bent, holding her steadily with effortless but earnest care.
Su Cheng leaned against his shoulder, pressing against his broad, solid chest, and felt his powerful heartbeat.
She also caught a faint scent of wine, a very pleasant aroma that mixed the richness of grain with the freshness of flowers and fruits.
There was also the smell of metal and leather coming from him.
Everything fermented in the man's slightly cool body temperature.
Su Cheng blinked. "I—"
She actually had so much she wanted to say.
When she was in the Marigold Palace, even when she was still in trouble, she couldn't help but fantasize about this scene—
How she would report to the commander after getting the dragon bone, and how she would act like it was no big deal.
She had even composed more than one set of lines in her head.
But in this moment, she forgot them all completely.
Kai held her up. "Are you hurt?"
Su Cheng shook her head slightly. "...But speaking of that, some things didn't go so smoothly."
Before she finished, he suddenly moved, shooting out like an arrow from a bow and disappearing into the bustling night of the imperial capital.
Su Cheng wrapped her arms around the man's strong neck. "First, Duke Aulu might know that I used some means to enter the Marigold Palace."
She thought the commander would ask for a reason, but the latter merely nodded calmly. "Hmm."
Su Cheng: "...Secondly, do you know anyone who, well, can disguise themselves as someone else, but not using blood magic like Camus?"
She briefly mentioned killing Aquila.
To get to the point, Su Cheng completely skipped the beginning, not even mentioning why she had to kill the Prince.
Kai didn't question her actions either; he carried her through a window, returning to the room in the Evening Star Manor.
The heavy brocade curtains fluttered behind them.
"Black mist?" he repeated. "You mean you used the power of the God-favored, but only destroyed the shell it was controlling."
"Yes, I was wondering, is it because it was playing Aquila, so in that situation, only Aquila received the explosive punishment?"
But could a dead person still be punished?
"Some magicians can control people's bodies. They destroy the soul, or wear it down until only a tiny fragment remains."
He thought for a moment. "This way, in the judgment of many magical mechanisms, that person is still considered 'alive,' but such a person is essentially no different from being dead."
Su Cheng slowly nodded. "Then it probably exploited that loophole. Oh, and that person also said it would take everything from me as a price."
She carefully recalled what the black mist had said. "It said I ruined its mission and plan. The word 'plan' can be active, but doesn't 'mission' usually imply something else? Did it play the Prince on someone else's orders? Or was it some kind of hired commission? Also, was it just venting its emotions when it threatened me? Or was it some kind of formal notification?"
As she spoke, Su Cheng took out the cracked bracelet. "Here is the dragon bone for you first."
She then placed the crystal box containing the ancient zither aside. "I'm a bit tired, I'm going to get some sleep first—"
The God of Magic had granted her power earlier, allowing her to tear the attacker apart with her bare hands. That brief, ultimate physical enhancement also came with a price.
She was actually quite glad that the commander had been willing to carry her back.
At the same time—
The other two teammates came in through the window one after another.
Su Cheng waved at them, stood up, and yawned. "If the God of Lust and Filth comes here, give him that zither. Uh, though I'm not sure if that will happen."
Sasha: "..."
Camus: "......"
Their expressions were quite spectacular.
Kai looked at her quietly for a moment. "Alright, if he really comes, I will do that."
As Su Cheng walked past the blood mage, she met those dark steel-blue eyes and couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.
Su Cheng: "I'm not sure if they trace the cause of Prince Aquila's death, whether they'll trace it back to Vanessa and go looking for trouble with the Ring of the Silencers."
Camus: "It doesn't matter. Did your curse act up?"
Su Cheng slowly looked at the ancient zither on the floor.
The blood mage sneered, turned directly back to his room, and slammed the door heavily.
Sasha couldn't help but laugh, though he also looked a bit displeased. "I imagine your experience tonight must have been quite exciting?"
Su Cheng sighed. "Sigh, don't mention it, I—"
She paused.
Kai was looking at her.
Su Cheng noticed the suppressed gloominess between the man's brows and swallowed back the words that had rushed to her lips.
Su Cheng: "It was quite fun, except that I might have exposed my identity. But then again, he has no evidence, so I can just deny it."
Sasha noticed the meaningful glances between the two of them and couldn't help but twitch his lips. "...It looks like there's still a lot to deal with. I'll go gather some information first."
Saying that, he went out through the window again.
Only the two of them were left in the suite's living room.
"...Thank you."
A deep voice suddenly rang out in the quiet room.
The black-haired man looked at her earnestly, his golden eyes flickering with a kind of regret and self-blame.
"Those bones to me... are not unimportant, but they are absolutely not worth you risking your life."
Su Cheng also fell silent.
"Alright," she sighed again. "I want to help you. I don't want to exchange pleasantries anymore. I had a hard time today, I almost died. I've never been a smart person, my brain often isn't enough, and I don't really like facing those kinds of scenes. Whether it's killing someone or seeing a bunch of people get killed, I don't enjoy it. I'd rather use this time to eat and drink. But I feel it's all worth it, because I just want to help you—"
Her wrist tightened as it was grasped by long, cold, and powerful fingers.
"I know, and that is why I am incredibly grateful to you."
Kai gently held the slender arm in his hand, then lowered his head and solemnly planted a kiss on the back of the young woman's hand.
"You have all my vows."
...
On the outskirts of the imperial capital, inside a training ground at the Sword and Martial Arts Academy of Nanhe College.
"Getting a recommendation to enter the trial is only the first step—"
An instructor handed a scroll to the young man in white standing beside him. "Although there is still some time before the trial begins, there are certain things you need to prepare for in advance."
Young students passed by from time to time. Catching snippets of the conversation, they all cast envious glances at the young man.
The Dragon Knight Trial!
Those qualified to participate were all young elites of the imperial capital. By the same token, the dragons willing to take part in the trial were, at the very least, sub-dragons.
There were also a considerable number of wyverns, and even a handful of true dragons.
The noble lineage and origins of these dragons were beyond question.
If an ordinary person could forge a covenant with one, their status would undoubtedly skyrocket overnight.
But then again, setting aside the fact that commoners could never obtain the qualifications to participate, it would be utterly useless even if they did.
These dragons possessed great intelligence—the more powerful they were, the wiser they became—and they simply looked down on ordinary mortals.
"Murong Yue."
The instructor spoke softly, "If you wish to earn the acknowledgment of the dragon clan, especially the wyverns and true dragons, you must show absolute sincerity and prove your worth. This is no joke. Put away your arrogance and pride. If you think your talents excuse you from proving yourself, then in their eyes, you are nothing but a stubborn stone refusing to be measured. They are dragons; the history they have lived through far exceeds anything you have ever read."
The young man in white furrowed his brows slightly.
"...And depending on the level of acknowledgment the dragon grants you, the oath between dragon and knight is divided into several tiers. The lowest is merely fighting side by side."
"And the highest?"
"To share in glory and disgrace, and to be bound in life and death."
