Celestial Capital

Become a Titled Battle God and extend your lifespan by a century!? While Somia added a qualifier — “possibly” — for something like this, even a one-in-ten-thousand chance, or an even smaller, more minuscule glimmer of hope, would compel anyone, regardless of their strength, to seize it! No wonder the young masters from prestigious noble families, recently pursuing Frinda, have been exhausting every scheme and trick to curry favor with her, sparing no effort to undermine their rivals.

To say nothing of the power of a Titled Battle God, merely an extra century of life is enough to drive countless people to madness. What could be more thrilling, more maddening, than extending one's lifespan? The only pity was that Du Chen, of all people, couldn't care less about it!

Touching his nose, he slowly said, “I understand now. The true content of the agreement between my mother and your family back then was for the Saint Dak family to help me become a Titled Battle God, and for me to marry Frinda, thereby indirectly joining the Saint Dak family! Is that right?”

When Somia nodded, Du Chen chuckled, “And then? My mother painstakingly paved a grand path for me to become a Titled Battle God; there must be further guidance, mustn't there?”

Somia confirmed Du Chen's speculation, “There was another clause in that agreement: after Saan's Light helps you become a Titled Battle God, our Saint Dak family will assist you in entering… the Celestial Capital!”

“The Celestial Capital? What kind of place is that?”

Facing Du Chen's question, Somia smiled, “It's a place only true Titled Battle Gods can enter! Don't bother pondering it; besides the core members of our Five Families of Fallen Gods, virtually no one else in the world knows the way there! Even Madam Phil doesn't know — otherwise, she wouldn't have made such an agreement with us! And I imagine, by now, few even remember the name 'Celestial Capital'.”

Finishing, Somia spread her hands. “You now understand everything Madam Phil left behind all those years ago: marry Frinda, and you'll have the chance to become a Titled Battle God, and further pursue Madam Phil's… guidance!” After a moment's thought, she explained, “Your aunt *really* hopes you'll marry Frinda, because the current situation is already very chaotic. Unless you marry Frinda, otherwise…”

“Chaotic situation? Is Auntie referring to those young masters pursuing Frinda?”

Somia nodded. “Yes, to be honest, originally, our family's opinion regarding Frinda's marriage was unanimous — a promise made back then meant she *must* marry you! But earlier this year, our family encountered an extremely serious situation… anyway, we were forced to resort to publicly recruiting a husband for Frinda to appease our rivals! But rest assured, on May 13th, the day of the public recruitment, as long as you participate, our family will go all out to help you win Frinda's favor!”

Du Chen's mind raced. Hearing this, he couldn't help but sneer, “Understood, I completely and utterly understand! Auntie, I suppose someone else also wants to marry Frinda, and your family couldn't refuse them directly. So, you had to use the roundabout method of a public husband recruitment to fob off your opponents, using those young masters to distract them, and then secretly help me win at the husband recruitment event, hmm? That must be it, right?”

Somia's expression shifted, then she smiled. “Francis, your perception truly surprises me!”

Du Chen shook his head, his expression cool. “Thank you for the compliment, but I stand by what I said: I already have someone in my heart, and I don't wish to marry Miss Frinda! So, I don't mind telling you clearly, I, Francis, will not be participating in that husband recruitment event!”

“How can this be? Madam Phil and we already…”

Du Chen had already made his intentions perfectly clear. A fierce thought solidified in his heart: *I'm refusing you, so what? Could your Saint Dak family really be so shameless as to make trouble for the son of your savior? Even if you dare, I'll take everything you throw at me!* Thinking this, Du Chen pulled back the tent flap and chuckled, “Auntie Somia, I don't want to discuss this problem anymore! Now, about these three destroyed dormitories, how do you intend to compensate for them?”

“This… I'll have someone deliver the compensation to you tomorrow!”

“Auntie, it seems you've misunderstood. These are academy dormitories; I merely rent a room here. Compensation should rightfully go to the academy!” Du Chen pushed aside the curtain and walked out. “You are my mother's friend and my elder; how could a junior like me impose such an expense on you? Besides, you didn't do it intentionally. Heh heh, I'll just go to the Disciplinary Affairs Office and pay the compensation myself. *However*, does this mean the Saint Dak family can be so overbearing as to destroy others' residences at will? Fortunately, none of us were in the dorms… But what if, by unfortunate chance, someone *had* been inside, and by another unfortunate chance, was injured, or even worse… could you truly live with that? I need to check on the other dorms for any casualties, so I won't keep you company, Madam Somia of the Saint Dak family!”

With that, Du Chen turned and left. Somia's face went from pale to red, from red to green, and finally, it turned utterly livid. She stood frozen in place.

“Well, well, Sister Somia, did you get an earful too? Haha!” Betty entered with her distinctive laugh, and seeing Somia's crestfallen expression, she guessed seven or eight tenths of what had happened. “Oh, I originally thought Francis's sweetheart was Frinda, and in that case, Annie would have nothing to say! But who would've thought… could it really *not* be Frinda?”

Somia stamped her foot. “If only it were so! Damn it, who *is* his sweetheart? Are the daughters of our two families truly incomparable to this mysterious love interest!?”

Betty also fumed, “Damn it, we'll find out! I refuse to believe it. Can't our two great families, working together, uncover the true identity of Francis's sweetheart!?”

“Lower your voice! Have some noble decorum!” Somia said, displeased. “Aren't you afraid someone will overhear your loud mouth?”

“Hmph! And you think *you* have noble decorum? I heard everything young Francis said just now; it was classic! Besides, how many people in this world could possibly evade my Spiritual Power and your Primordial Military Branch and still eavesdrop!?”

As night fell, the lamplight in the tent grew dim. The two ladies labored to figure out the identity of Du Chen's 'sweetheart.' In another tent far off, Martin's eyes were slightly closed, his glasses no longer on his nose but held in his hand, constantly being wiped. The candlelight crackled, and his honest, impoverished student appearance truly looked guileless, though no one knew what thoughts were stirring within this seemingly simple fellow.

Du Chen confirmed in detail that there were no casualties, making him sigh with a momentary regret — if anyone had been injured, there would have been an opportunity to do a good deed. As for rebuilding the dorms, with ample funds and Professor Mina, the Vice Director of the school office, it was no issue at all, thus hardly counting as a charitable act. The construction team arrived the very next morning. For the time being, however, Du Chen and his entire family had to stay on the Belkus.

The silver moon retreated, and the stars shone brilliantly. The late April, early May night sky was exceptionally beautiful. Du Chen knocked Cassian unconscious, tossed the scoundrel into the Precious Lotus Scripture, and then, with Flaying, Deboning, and Gode, quietly kept watch. The Foremost Assassin under Heaven hadn't appeared on April 1st. Would he come on May 1st?

Du Chen was disappointed again. Despite all his elaborate preparations, the Foremost Assassin under Heaven still hadn't arrived. A few days later, however, he received news from Professor Mina: on the “Silver Moon's Retreat” day this month, the Foremost Assassin under Heaven had eliminated a pirate gang near the Palkin Sea. From the location of the attack, it seemed he was drawing ever closer to Battle God Isle.

On May 5th, Du Chen received news that on the 13th, the young masters pursuing Frinda would all travel to a small island east of Battle God Isle. There, they would compete for Frinda's hand. Du Chen also received an invitation. He casually tossed it aside.

On the night of May 12th, Du Chen walked along the path to the Belkus docked at the pier, mulling over what Aunt Sherine had just told him.

“Francis, I've tried my best to gather all the information you wanted about the Celestial Capital, but alas, there's very little… Legend has it that in the middle stages of the War of Fallen Gods, humanity, like a scattered plate of sand, was repeatedly defeated by the organized and long-scheming Fiendkind. Finally, the leaders of humanity's major powers and allied races, along with the strongest Battle Gods of the time, convened an alliance meeting in a place called the Celestial Capital. There, they swore a blood oath to jointly resist the Fiendkind… It was at this very meeting that the Holy Alliance was officially established, publicly electing ‘Divine Emperor’ Prince as their Supreme Grand Speaker. And it was precisely because of this meeting that humanity turned the tide, utterly annihilating the Fiendkind! One could say, the Celestial Capital was the turning point in the history of the Three Continents. However, to ensure the smooth progress of the alliance meeting, all nations strictly sealed off any news regarding the Celestial Capital. Only the Eminences who attended knew how to get there… Back then, only a handful of people knew; now, a millennium later… Auntie truly couldn't uncover anything more!”

It seems Somia wasn't lying when she said only the Five Families of Fallen Gods knew the location of the Celestial Capital! Presumably, their ancestors also participated in that meeting.

Du Chen then recalled Grand Matriarch Lily's words.

“The Celestial Capital? I know of the place, but precisely *how* to get there is top-secret Military Edict information. Even Lieutenant General Julie wasn't entirely clear on it back then. Oh, and Francis, I finally caught you! How should we deal with your skipping Elite Training? Explain yourself clearly… Not bad, your strength has improved again, so I'll forgive you this once. But don't let there be a next time!”

A smile curved his lips. “Grand Matriarch Lily truly is an excellent instructor… Damn it, to continue searching for Phil, must I really marry Frinda just to get the Celestial Capital's location?” Du Chen muttered to himself, his brow furrowed. He arrived near the pier where the Belkus was anchored.

Suddenly, Du Chen stared at the pier, dumbfounded.

Where was the Belkus!?

Just then, a pier guard ran up. “Mr. Francis, your… your ship was forcibly sailed away just now! We couldn't stop him, couldn't even get a clear look at his face!”

The guard nervously handed over a letter-slip, its texture very peculiar: two fingers wide, silvery-white, seemingly a softened ice-shard condensed from battle qi. “He… he only left this. And that person propelled the Belkus with battle qi; its speed was incredible! Our naval ships couldn't possibly keep up…”

Du Chen snatched the letter-slip. On it was written a line of bold, flowing characters: “The Silver Moon's Retreat, the Stellar Canopy Bright. An invitation to parley, in homage to the stars!”

He abruptly looked up, gazing at the night sky. “Damn it, it's mid-month now, the moon should still be… Hmph!” As it turned out, tonight the dark clouds veiled the moon, leaving only distant pinpricks of starlight. It truly was the Silver Moon's Retreat, a time when the stars reigned supreme across the heavens…