Library of Heaven’s Path

It was a bustling sight within the Luo Clan. Festive lanterns were hung all around, and auspicious red cloth cloaked the buildings throughout Shrouding Ethereal City, indicating a joyous celebration.

On this jolly day, the First Elder of the Luo Clan, Luo Qingchen, was dressed in a grand robe stitched with golden lining as he stood at the entrance to the main hall of the Luo Clan with a radiant smile on his wrinkled face.

“The head of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Fangyou, has arrived with thirty Saint 8-dan beasts to congratulation the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan on their engagement!”

“The head of the Mu Clan, Mu Hengzhen, has arrived with three boxes of thousand-year-old medicinal herbs and ten stalks of the Truespirit Pipa Tree to congratulate the union of the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan!”

“The head of the Shui Clan, Shui Fangtian, has arrived with three thousand Wateranima Crystals, five thousand Southern Sea Diamonds, and two hundred 7-star Dragon Eyes to offer early congratulations to the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan for their matrimony!”

…

Such declarations sounded one after another as eminent figures of the Master Teacher Continent arrived one after another with wide smiles on their faces.

Even a stomp of one of these figures’ feet would resound loudly throughout the continent, but at that moment, they were personally delivering invaluable gifts to the Luo Clan, not daring to show the slightest hint of impoliteness.

Looking at the bustle all around, one of the elders in charge of welcoming the guests could not help but remark in awe. “It seems like the entire continent has heard of Zhang shi’s affairs in the Empire Alliance just a few days ago. This is just the engagement ceremony, but they are already delivering such generous gifts. I can’t begin to imagine how long the queue of gifts will be for the official wedding…”

While the Luo Clan wielded considerable influence on the Master Teacher Continent, it was far beyond its means to gather so many powerhouses together on the spur of the moment.

In fact, even the Zhang Clan would have trouble pulling something like that off.

But Zhang Xuan, the current head of the Zhang Clan, had managed to do it during a mere engagement ceremony. There was no doubt that the official marriage ceremony would be far grander than this, such that even the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would feel compelled to send an envoy down to relay their blessings.

Of course, the reason for this unprecedented grandeur could only be attributed to the magnificent show of power from Zhang Xuan a few days earlier. By now, the news should have already spread far and wide across the entire continent.

In the tens of thousands of years since the establishment of the Master Teacher Pavilion, no one had ever successfully escaped from its arrest warrant before. However, Zhang Xuan had created history on that very day. Not only did the world learn that the future head of the Combat Master Hall, the master of the Poison Hall, the chief of the Glacier Plain Court, and so on were all his students, he was even the head of the Sanctum of Sages and Yang shi’s senior.

That news had really shocked the entire world.

With so many distinguished identities to his name, how could these shrewd powers possibly remain oblivious to the stance that they ought to take?

It was also with knowledge of this that the Zhang Clan did not hesitate to conduct the inauguration ceremony to officialize Zhang Xuan’s position as the clan head. Under Zhang Xuan’s halo, the Zhang Clan’s position was immediately brought to an unprecedented height. With so many formidable powers under the Zhang Clan’s sphere of influence, the Zhang Clan would only grow stronger with time.

Given so, who would dare snub the Zhang Clan’s dignity and refuse to offer their congratulations?

Putting aside something as important as an engagement ceremony, even if Zhang Xuan suffered the slightest cold, there was no doubt that an army of clan heads and sect leaders would swiftly deliver medicine and artifacts over as a display of goodwill!

“Indeed. How many years has it been since our Luo Clan last enjoyed such splendor?” another elder by the side replied deeply.

Even when their little princess had shocked the world by successfully assimilated the Dimension Silencer, thus elevating the reputation of the Luo Clan to new heights, only a couple of clans had come to the Luo Clan to offer their congratulations. Yet, in this very moment, nearly all of the notable powers throughout the Master Teacher Continent had arrived to convey their best wishes.

It was no wonder the two elders felt as they did.

“Previously, when there was completely no news from the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan, I had still been lamenting at how unfair the engagement was for the little princess. Who could have thought that the young prodigy would suddenly appear before our eyes once more with such magnificence, reminiscent to how it was when he was born back then!”

“Indeed, indeed! Born as a Connate Saint, even Kong shi’s sculpture levitated into the air to pay its respects to him, and the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters specially sent an envoy down to relay their goodwill. There was no one in the world back then who didn’t know about the extraordinary young prodigy of the Zhang Clan! Truly, he didn’t disappoint us even after all these years!”

“Well, a star will eventually shine, but more importantly, who could have thought that person the little princess likes would actually be him too! I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am for the little princess. After all the heavy tension over the past few months, it seems like everything will be resolved perfectly…”

Many elders nodded delightfully in agreement at those words.

Despite the glory cast on the Luo Clan as a result of the marriage with the Zhang Clan, as long as the little princess was not fond of her fiancé, it would be like dynamite had been planted in their midst, waiting to explode at a trigger.

Fortunately, it had been found that the little princess and the young prodigy actually had mutual feelings for one another, and this was the best ending that everyone hoped to see.

…

Away from the bustle at the forefront, there was a small residence deep in the Luo Clan that was filled with resplendent flowers. Within one of the rooms, a young lady sat before a mirror, carefully dressing herself up.

A maid standing behind the young lady combed her hair carefully as she excitedly exclaimed, “Young Mistress, doesn’t it sound very lively outside? I heard that many distinguished figures have come to our Luo Clan!”

“I know, I know. This is the third time that you have said that!” The young lady shook her head with a helpless smile.

“Back then, I couldn’t understand why someone as outstanding as our Young Mistress would fancy a principal from a Tier-1 Empire’s Master Teacher Academy, but it turns out that the future Young Master is actually a remarkable figure! Without saying a word at all, so many powers have already come to offer their congratulations. Other than the Master Teacher Pavilion, I can’t think of any power that could possibly wield such influence!” the maid combing the young lady’s hair remarked with admiration twinkling in her eyes.

“Not to forget, the Master Teacher Pavilion is without its real pavilion master at the moment, so it would be difficult for it to rally so many people at once!” another maid chirped in with a chuckle.

“Our Young Mistress is truly a person blessed by the heavens!”

Just like that, the two maids chatted delightfully among themselves.

The young lady seated in front of the mirror looked at her impeccable appearance in the mirror, and a blissful smile crept onto her lips.

All of a sudden, the young lady turned around to look at the maid behind her, and the blissful smile on her face was replaced by uncertainty and apprehension. “Have you found out what I asked you to investigate? Zhang shi… did he say anything when he arrived yesterday?”

“This…”

The maid was taken aback by the young lady’s sudden actions. Just as she was about to speak, footsteps abruptly sounded outside, and cheerful laughter filled the air. “There’s no need to ask them. I have already checked on your behalf!”

“Young Master!” Upon seeing who the person who had just walked into the room was, the maids quickly bowed down.

“Un!” Luo Xuanqing waved his hands, gesturing for the maids to rest easy. Looking at his younger sister, he chuckled. “When I spoke of you before the lad yesterday, he was so agitated that he would have flown right to your side if he could. If not for me holding him back, he really might have done so!”

“He was… agitated?” The young lady’s face reddened in embarrassment. “Elder Brother, please don’t make fun of me! Are you certain that he was agitated because of me?”

“Aren’t you asking the obvious? He’s already here to ask for your hand in marriage, so how could he not know who you are? There’s no need to worry!” Luo Xuanqing shook his head, not understanding his younger sister’s worries.

Perhaps this was how brides were. The closer they were to their marriage, the more unnerved they became.

“That’s a relief. I was just thinking that when I had disguised my appearance when I first met him…” the little princess replied with an awkward smile. “I was afraid that he wouldn’t recognize me after seeing my true appearance.”

“Young Mistress, rest assured! I have seen your disguised look, too, and the current you looks at least ten times prettier than you did back then! There’s no way the future Young Master wouldn’t be charmed by your beauty!” a maid remarked joyfully.

“That’s surely the case, Young Mistress. I can swear on my life that if you meet him with your current looks, he will swiftly fall in love with you all over again,” the other maid teased with a smile.

“The two of you only know how to tease me!” the young lady retorted with a crimson blush on her face. Turning her gaze back to Luo Xuanqing, she asked, “Elder Brother, where is he at the moment?”

“He has some matters to attend to, so he’s currently out at the moment, but he should be returning very soon. Yuxin, you don’t have to worry about anything. I’m sure that you don’t want him to see you with a fretful frown on your face, right?” Luo Xuanqing chuckled as he massaged the young lady’s glabella to loosen the deep creases there.

“Un!” The young lady nodded with a smile.

As far as she could remember, she had always carried the burden of an engagement. She had thought that this was the only path that she could follow, and the only thing that she could do was compromise. As such, she had never dared imagine a life where she walked down the long journey of life with the person whom she loved till the end of their time.

Perhaps, the heavens were not as heartless as she thought.