Chapter Three: First Discussion of the Marriage Proposal

Carlo Star was not a planet of life, but a colossal terraformed world—an artificial sphere made habitable by human hands, with a manufactured atmosphere. The entire planet was enveloped by nearly a hundred energy shields, each forming a separate city, dividing the land into five great districts: east, south, west, north, and central. Its size was nearly ten times that of the Berserker Star.

A planet without natural life naturally had no water, either. The surface of Carlo Star was covered entirely in manmade structures, and according to official statistics, the population was a staggering twenty-three billion. When Kuangchi first heard this number, his jaw hung open in astonishment for a long while.

As the Empire’s premier institution for the education and cultivation of young nobles, the Imperial Academy of the Carlo Empire was, of course, situated in the bustling central district of Carlo Star.

When the airship carrying Kuangchi descended from the space base in orbit to the central district’s starport, Zixia had already arrived at the exit with the four sisters of the You family and her two maids, having heard the news of his arrival.

Seeing the tear-streaked faces of the four You sisters, Kuangchi couldn’t help but laugh, which earned him a sharp pinch on his right arm from Zixia.

He yelped in pain and protested, “Zixia, do you have to do that? You greet me by pinching me?”

Zixia replied with a touch of annoyance, “And yet you’re still laughing! These four sisters have been worrying about you day and night since they heard of your disappearance, and now, the moment you see them in tears, you laugh!”

Kuangchi, still smiling, moved to stand before the four You sisters and said, “Come now, don’t cry. See? I’m back safe and sound.”

The sisters glanced at Zixia and said no more.

Zixia chuckled and gently tugged Kuangchi’s arm. Only then did he notice the many curious onlookers surrounding them.

The architecture of the Imperial Academy was a testament to the nobles’ fondness for the classical, with all the buildings no more than four stories high, each an ancient-style pavilion. Between the buildings stood tall, thick trees of unknown species, some reaching dozens of meters in height and requiring two people to encircle them. The ground beneath the woods was lush with green grass. From the moment Kuangchi entered the Academy, he found himself falling in love with it.

The Academy sprawled across tens of thousands of square meters, occupying the entire summit of a vast mountain, essentially forming a small city of its own. Yet, the student body numbered only a few hundred thousand, making the campus seem even more spacious. Thus, some powerful nobles could rent independent villas within the Academy. Following the advice of Kuangchi’s grandfather, Zixia had already secured such a three-story villa with its own private courtyard.

Never having lived in such a house before, Kuangchi eagerly explored every corner as soon as he entered.

In the end, Zixia had to ask Youdu to drag him down from the rooftop.

Upon seeing Zixia, Kuangchi exclaimed in delight, “Zixia, this place is beautiful. I could happily live here forever.”

Zixia looked at him in confusion, “Fatty, you’ve never lived in a house like this before?”

Kuangchi nodded. Zixia smiled and asked, “With all those vacation islands your family owns, you’ve never visited any of them?”

At this point, Youjian interjected, “Miss Zixia, our young master has always been busy with his training—he’s never had time for such things.”

The mention of training prompted Zixia to scrutinize Kuangchi. “Fatty, you must have reached the Innate Realm by now, haven’t you?”

Kuangchi nodded with a smile. “I’m almost catching up to you! Once I master my martial arts, let’s spar.”

Zixia smiled. “There’s no rush to spar with me. But you should know, someone else is already eager to challenge you.”

“Who?” Kuangchi was surprised that anyone would want to spar with him.

Zixia smiled again and turned to Youjian. “Jian’er, why don’t you tell your young master?”

Youjian put on a peculiar smile and, glancing at the still-bewildered Kuangchi, said, “Young Master, you’ll need to be careful. There are many who want to spar with you here, but none you need to worry about—except your future second wife. She declared a year ago that she wanted to fight you.”

Kuangchi had heard much about his fiancée from the Karachi family—her strange temper and personality, her vocal dissatisfaction with their arranged marriage, and her lack of noble refinement at social gatherings. The more he heard, the less fond he felt toward her.

Learning this now, Kuangchi was not worried. His year of hardship had not been for nothing. If, a year ago, he might have feared Zixia’s challenge, now he welcomed the chance to spar.

During his months on Berserker Star, his grandfather had taught him martial arts techniques specially prepared by his great-grandfather. Especially after sparring with the clan’s experts, Kuangchi realized that the Ghost Shadow Whip and Heaven’s Wound Fist he had learned from the Phantom Thief were top-tier skills, no less powerful than his family’s own secret techniques—perhaps even superior in some respects.

This gave him even greater confidence, and he had not slackened in his practice.

At this, Zixia spoke up with some concern. “Fatty, your mother wrote that the friend who saved you also taught you two advanced martial arts—formidable skills. But don’t get careless. Phoebe’s divine beast is a fire-type, a Three-headed Flame Serpent. Its defenses are formidable, its attack power immense. The explosive fireballs it spits out are so powerful that not even other fire-type beasts dare take them head-on, let alone those of other elements.”

Kuangchi realized Zixia’s concern stemmed from the fact that his own divine beast, Little Flower, was a plant-type—which was naturally weak against fire-types. But Little Flower was an exception among exceptions, though he didn’t feel like explaining that now.

After a laugh, he said, “Surely she wouldn’t actually summon her divine beast to fight me? Does she want to kill me?”

Zixia nodded worriedly. “If you agree to spar and fail to satisfy her, she might just kill you.”

Kuangchi let out a cry of astonishment, then, angry now, continued, “She doesn’t want to marry me? Then don’t! I’m not desperate to marry her.”

Zixia sighed and smiled. “You think it’s that simple? That she can refuse the marriage just because she wants to? Do you think her family, her grandfather, would allow it? Even if they did, would your own family be so easily appeased? If her family so much as voiced such an intention, the elders of your Kuang clan would storm their doors. Just look at what happened after your recent attack—the elders nearly overturned the entire Empire.”

Kuangchi asked, puzzled, “What did the elders do?”

Zixia gave him a glare. “What else? After your attack, those elders spent over a year challenging every family they suspected might have been involved. For over a year, the hottest topic in the Empire has been your clan’s elders delivering challenge letters everywhere, vowing to exterminate the families behind the attack if they ever found out who was responsible.”

Kuangchi was stunned, and after a long pause, said, “That can’t be right. Our family isn’t that powerful. We may have a planet as our fief, but it’s not especially wealthy, and we’re only a middling noble house in the Empire. Who would believe the elders went that far?”

Zixia smiled and scolded him. “Your mother told me not to let you know these things, so you wouldn’t be distracted from your training, but clearly you know far too little. If you keep this up, you’ll become a laughingstock. There are some things you need to understand—first among them, your family’s influence in human society.”

She paused, then continued, “You do know your family has produced two War Gods, don’t you?”

Kuangchi certainly knew—this was his family’s greatest pride. In all of human history, no sect or family had ever produced two War Gods. And what was a War God? Someone who could single-handedly defeat an entire regular space legion; someone who could, if they landed on a planet, destroy it alone. In tens of thousands of years, humanity had not invented a weapon capable of killing a War God.

Zixia went on, “Would Miss Li Bing of the Gale Empire—who helped bring you home—have contacted Count Solomon if it weren’t for your family?”

“How do you even know that?” Kuangchi exclaimed in shock. “Did my mother tell you everything?”

Zixia huffed and didn’t answer, just continued, “She was willing to help, even if she had her own motives, and we should thank her. The Kuang clan sent nearly a hundred experts to the Gale Empire, and I had my grandfather send dozens of swordsmen to help her for a few years.”

Kuangchi smiled, and Zixia continued, “So remember this: you are now the Kuang clan’s legal heir. In social settings, you must be careful—never say what mustn’t be said, especially what you just said. Your engagement to Phoebe was the first marriage arranged by your great-grandfather, and only later was I added to the arrangement, which is why Phoebe resents it. But you are a man, and you must be tolerant. She may have gone too far in some respects, but you must learn to forgive. As for breaking off the engagement, you must never mention it. There are things too complicated to explain now, and you don’t need to understand them. Just focus on your training.”

Brothers and sisters, please cast your votes—thank you!