Ning Fengzhi gave a faint smile in response to the Gu Rong’s question, though the curve of his lips was touched with solemnity.
“It’s not the marriage itself, Elder Gu,” he replied evenly, “but rather... the implications of it.”
He held up the invitation letter and unfolded it with care, letting its ornate script catch the light. Then, with a motion of his hand, he pointed at a particular line.
“‘Illegitimate daughter of the Vice Deputy Head of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan,’” he read aloud.
Gu Rong raised a eyebrow. “Bold phrasing.”
“Exactly,” Ning Fengzhi replied. “Too bold.”
He lowered the letter and turned to face the old Douluo directly. “Tell me honestly, Elder Gu—what kind of noble family would allow such wording to be included in a public wedding invitation?”
Gu Rong gave a small grunt. “None, unless they wish to invite mockery and scandal.”
Ning Fengzhi nodded. “Precisely. Among nobles, the existence of illegitimate children is a quiet reality. Everyone knows, but no one names them openly especially not in a formal document like this.”
He walked slowly across the marble floor, the hem of his robe trailing softly behind him.
“This isn't just tasteless, it’s deliberate,” he said. “The bride, Liu Erlong, wouldn’t use such a term to describe herself, not unless someone manipulated the invitation... or fabricated it entirely.”
Gu Rong tilted his head, a flicker of understanding sparking in his eyes. “So, you think this is no ordinary wedding announcement.”
“No,” Ning Fengzhi said firmly. “It’s a calculated provocation. A marriage between cousins, already frowned upon by the public, combined with the exposure of a noble’s ‘illegitimate’ lineage? It’s a direct strike at the dignity of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.”
He paused, letting his words sink in.
Gu Rong raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with indifference as he leaned against the wooden column of the pavilion. “Then it’s the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan’s problem. Why must you take it so seriously, Fengzhi?”
Ning Fengzhi didn’t reply immediately. His gaze drifted outside, the bustling streets of Heaven Dou City thrummed with life , merchants hawking wares, nobles in silk robes walking under canopies, spirit masters darting through the air or atop beasts. The vibrant city seemed ignorant of the tremors that this single letter might unleash.
“The Spirit Hall,” Ning Fengzhi finally said, his voice soft, “has grown far too powerful these past few years. Their influence has reached deep into both the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires. Sooner or later… there will be a shift in the balance.”
He turned slightly, his calm face now shadowed by the curtain’s edge. “When that happens, when the old order begins to crack, the Three Great Clans and the Two Empires must stand united, or we will fall one by one. If even one clan's prestige is eroded, even through something as small as this letter… it weakens the entire foundation.”
He turned back to Gu Rong, his eyes sharp with intent.
“And I do not intend to let them succeed.”
Gu Rong’s brows furrowed slightly, his expression turning thoughtful.
Fengzhi folded the letter neatly, then slid it into the sleeve of his robe. “As a member of the Three Great Clans, we cannot interfere directly. That would risk overstepping our bounds and provoking internal conflict.”
Fengzhi continued " However, I fear the perpetrator behind this must have spread this news to all the influential people in Heaven Dou City."
A long pause followed. The air between them grew heavier, the kind of silence that suggested preparation before a storm.
----
Spirit Hall Branch
Heaven Dou City
“...The news has already reached the ears of nearly every noble house and influential clan in Heaven Dou City,” she said, her words cutting through the silence like a blade of light. “Even if the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is informed immediately, with their distance and current movements, it will take them no less than two days — perhaps even two and a half — to reach the village.”
A somber hush filled the grand office chamber of the Spirit Hall's Heaven Dou City Branch. The light from the cathedral-shaped windows filtered down like divine judgment, catching the dust motes in golden shafts. There, on an elevated marble beneath a mural of a six-winged angel, sat Qian Renxue.
Her beauty was unearthly, the kind that did not inspire mere admiration, but reverence. Silken golden locks framed her delicate features, and her piercing purple eyes seemed to glow faintly beneath the dappled light, as if they saw through masks, lies, and hearts alike. Her posture was serene.
With a hand resting beneath her chin, she spoke in a calm, composed voice that echoed slightly in the vaulted chamber.
She paused, her gaze shifting from the air to the man kneeling before her.
“I want you to ensure that members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan arrive on the day of the marriage,” she continued, voice now cool and commanding. “However, under no circumstance must Spirit Hall’s name surface in any investigation or rumor that follows. I trust that you understand the gravity of this, Salas.”
Salas, one of the high-ranking Bishops of the Spirit Hall in the Heaven Dou region, knelt with both hands clasped tightly in reverence. Sweat beaded on his forehead, not from fear , but from awe.
Looking up at the divine figure seated before him, haloed by holy light and framed by celestial murals, he felt a shiver crawl down his spine. She was no ordinary girl, her presence was unshakable.
“Yes, Your Holiness,” he whispered, almost breathlessly. “I shall ensure that it is done. No one shall trace the act, back to Spirit Hall. I will personally handle it… as if it were never our hand at all.”
A faint smile touched Qian Renxue’s lips. It was the smile of a queen whose chessboard moved exactly as she intended.
As Salas bowed lower, his forehead brushing against the cold marble, Ghost Douluo ,silent until now, also stepped forward and bowed deeper.