Northern Region, Zhenbei City. Early dawn.
Eighteen spirit-powered flying ships surged forward in a vast formation, rising from the horizon bathed in morning light, their thunderous rumble shaking the air as they approached.
Xu Ning stood with his hands behind his back, looking down upon Zhenbei City from above, his expression calm and distant, carrying an air of natural superiority.
At his side, Yao Ling’er, dressed in a flowing green skirt, gently lifted a hand to brush the strands of hair by her ear. However, her delicate face was slightly pale—yesterday’s events had clearly struck her deeply.
Sensing her unease, Xu Ning reached out and softly took her hand. “What’s wrong? Are you still thinking about Long Lingtian?”
“Husband…” Her face turned even paler, and her beautiful eyes flickered with conflicted emotions.
As a married woman, she was still thinking of another man. Not only would Xu Ning find it unacceptable—even she herself felt overwhelmed with shame.
As for Long Lingtian, ever since the wedding day, when Xu Ning exposed his true nature, all her lingering feelings had vanished. What remained was only disgust.
She had once believed him to be her destined partner, yet now it was clear—he was nothing more than a hypocritical and scheming man who coveted her Mystic Spirit Body.
That realization had shattered her heart.
Meanwhile, over the past two days, she had come to see Xu Ning in a new light. He was nothing like the rumors described—a frivolous, pleasure-seeking wastrel. On the contrary, although he was calculating and shrewd, he treated her very well.
Last night, their wedding night, she had still felt unwilling, yet she had prepared herself to give herself to him.
But Xu Ning never came.
Whether he had seen through her reluctance or simply did not care for her, she did not know.
Xu Ning smiled gently, as if bathed in a spring breeze, and pulled her softly into his arms. “Ling’er, you are my woman. I will never let you suffer even the slightest grievance.”
Faced with such tenderness, her body trembled slightly. An indescribable emotion surged within her, and she buried her face in his chest as tears fell uncontrollably.
Xu Ning looked down at Yao Ling’er, who was crying softly in his arms, and a cold smile flickered across his lips.
A woman who had just lost love was the most vulnerable. As her husband, and with his status and appearance, winning over a pure girl like her was simply a matter of time.
“Husband, I’m sorry!” After a long while, Yao Ling’er finally spoke.
[Host has subdued the Daughter of Destiny Yao Ling’er. Yao Ling’er will now continuously gather fortune for the host.]
Hearing the system notification, Xu Ning was briefly stunned. Then, delight rose within him.
He had only intended to comfort her, yet it had unexpectedly triggered such a mechanism.
A pleasant surprise indeed.
“So that means, as long as I gather more Daughters of Destiny, won’t I have an endless supply of fortune points?” he thought, inwardly astonished.
At that moment, a furious shout suddenly rang out from afar, “Who goes there? Halt at once!”
Looking ahead, above the distant city shrouded in darkness, a middle-aged man appeared. He wore a luxurious purple-gold robe, his aura deep and unfathomable, as if he had merged with heaven and earth itself.
He was unmistakably a Heavenly Venerable.
Beside him stood two young women, both breathtakingly beautiful. One had a graceful figure, her long hair flowing like a waterfall. The other was petite and charming, her twin ponytails swaying with youthful vitality.
Behind them stood countless soldiers clad in black armor, forming a dense, endless formation.
When Xu Ning saw the two women, his pupils contracted slightly.
Both of them were bearers of great destiny. The girl with twin ponytails had four strands of Primordial Purple Qi, while the long-haired woman had eight.
[Host has discovered a Daughter of Destiny.]
As if confirming his thoughts, the system’s voice sounded again.
“Daughter of Destiny? Both of them?” Xu Ning asked inwardly.
[Daughters of Destiny and Children of Destiny complement each other. There can only be one.]
The system did not answer directly.
Xu Ning frowned slightly, but from that response, he deduced an important point—there could only be one Daughter of Destiny for each Child of Destiny.
Since Yao Ling’er belonged to Long Lingtian, then one of these two must belong to another Child of Destiny.
“You dare block my path. Who exactly are you?” Xu Ning stepped forward and spoke calmly.
The middle-aged man glanced at Xu Ning, saw that he was young and only at the Nine Transformations of the Creation Realm, and immediately sneered. “I am the Patriarch of the Yuwen Family, Yuwen Wuji!”
“You approach Zhenbei City without permission. If you cannot give me a proper explanation, don’t blame me for being merciless!” His tone was aggressive, laced with disdain.
The news of the Mystic Saint Empress executing Yuwen Wushuang had not yet reached here.
Seeing this, Xu Ning couldn’t help but laugh softly. He gestured to a subordinate, who immediately stepped forward holding the imperial decree and read aloud, “By the will of the heavens, the Mystic Saint Empress decrees: Yuwen Wuji, Grand General of the Northern Region, has colluded with the Northern Underworld Divine Domain and betrayed the Mystic Saint Heavenly Domain. I loathe this to my core and cannot bear it, thus I decree the extermination of his entire clan!”
“Xu Ning, young yet accomplished, has seen through Yuwen Wuji’s schemes. He is hereby appointed Grand General of the Northern Region and Confiscation Executor, tasked with purging the Yuwen Family’s remnants and replacing Yuwen Wushuang. This decree is absolute!”
The words struck like thunder in Yuwen Wuji’s ears, causing his expression to change drastically.
His face darkened, and a chilling gloom filled his brows.
He knew full well of his family’s betrayal. He also knew that their ancestor had led twenty Heavenly Venerables to the Royal Capital yesterday, intending to destroy the Xu Family as a token of allegiance.
Yet no matter how he thought about it, he could not believe that their ancestor had fallen there.
“Hmph! Such audacity—you dare forge the Empress’s decree and deceive the throne!” he shouted, trying to seize the initiative.
“Northern Army, heed my command! Follow me and destroy these rebels!”
With a roar, his spiritual energy surged violently. The terrifying pressure of the Heavenly Venerable Realm descended like divine wrath. In an instant, he stepped hundreds of meters forward and struck down with a palm from the air toward Xu Ning.
Xu Ning remained calm and said, “Elders Xuanming, make your move.”
He had already anticipated today’s situation, which was why he had mobilized six Heavenly Venerables from his family as guards.
Although the Yuwen Family was powerful, after losing their ancestor and twenty Heavenly Venerables in the Royal Capital, the forces stationed in Zhenbei City could not possibly withstand six Heavenly Venerables.
As soon as he spoke, two figures—one in black and one in white—appeared before him and struck simultaneously.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, terrifying power swept across the area. The once-arrogant Yuwen Wuji was blasted backward, blood spilling from his mouth.
“Not good! These rebels came prepared!” Yuwen Wuji gritted his teeth. He pulled out a token and shouted, “City-protecting barrier, activate!”
At his command, Zhenbei City trembled. An invisible barrier rose, enveloping the entire city.
The moment the barrier appeared, the two Elders Xuanming’s expressions changed. They immediately unleashed their strongest attacks, striking the barrier.
However, their world-shattering blows only caused faint ripples across the invisible shield.
Their faces turned grim. They continued their assault, but the barrier remained unbroken.
Inside the barrier, Yuwen Wuji sneered, wiping the blood from his lips as he cast a contemptuous glance at Xu Ning. “This is the Four Symbols City-Protecting Formation. It is not something traitors like you can break. Give up!”
With that, he turned and left, intending to return to his clan and use a secret method to escape with his family.
Helpless, the two Elders Xuanming returned to the flying ship and knelt before Xu Ning. “Young Master, this old one was careless and missed the opportunity, causing such a disaster. Please punish me,” said the white-robed elder.
Given the Yuwen Family’s foundation, they certainly had means to escape.
If that happened, Xu Ning’s mission to purge the rebels would fail. With the Mystic Saint Empress’s strict nature, even the slightest failure could mean death—at worst, extermination of his entire clan.
Yet Xu Ning remained calm, as if everything was under his control. He slowly shook his head. “No need to blame yourselves.”
He had long expected the Yuwen Family to activate the city-protecting formation. That was why, before departing, he had requested a Boundary-Breaking Edict from the Mystic Saint Empress.
This edict could break all city-protecting formations within the Mystic Saint Heavenly Domain, specifically designed to deal with rebellious forces like the Yuwen Family.
Taking out a scroll, he tossed it into the air. It immediately unfolded to a length of over 10 meters, radiating divine light.
The moment this light shone upon the barrier, the protective shield began to dissolve at a visible speed.
Inside the city, Yuwen Wuji’s eyes nearly split from rage at the sight.
“Men! Capture every last one of the Yuwen traitors alive!” Xu Ning ordered, his hands still clasped behind his back as he looked down upon Zhenbei City.
Originally, he had intended to execute all the rebels and build a mound of their corpses to display his dominance, befitting his role as a villain.
However, after seeing the two women beside Yuwen Wuji, he changed his mind.
Subduing a Daughter of Destiny and keeping her by his side as a source of fortune points—wasn’t that far more appealing?