Above the clouds, the astral wind cut like a knife.
As far as the eye could see, endless blood-red clouds churned.
Beneath her feet was a towering throne built from piles of bleached bones.
The sky was painted with thick, dark-golden clouds. The stairs leading to the throne were strewn with broken weapons and dried divine blood.
Lin Xiyue stood atop the mountain of ten thousand bones.
Those once-mighty gods were now nothing more than twisted corpses, reduced to dust beneath her feet.
Shattered wings, broken horns, and withered scales lay scattered across the scorched earth, silently recounting the world-destroying battle that had just concluded.
She wore a set of legendary-grade armor, the [Lightbringer].
The runes engraved on the breastplate flowed with dazzling liquid Holy Light.
The fierce lions carved on the shoulders seemed to come to life, breathing out solar prominences that dispelled evil with every breath she took.
The gilded pauldrons traced a perfect arc, and the holy radiance materialized into wings that unfurled behind her.
A giant tower shield, [Phase Barrier], engraved with the Seven Days of Creation's Divine Words, stood firmly by her side.
In her other hand, she held the [Sky-Cleaver], a Great Sword burning with purifying flames.
She swung the sword carelessly.
The sea of clouds before her was brutally torn open, creating a ten-thousand-foot rift that revealed the dazzlingly silent river of stars behind it.
"...This is just too damn satisfying."
Lin Xiyue looked down at her palm.
An unprecedented surge of power roared like an angry ocean through her Meridians.
She was no longer that meat shield who could only stand in the front row, taking the hardest hits while watching her teammates' damage output with longing eyes.
Now, she was the Supreme Paladin, dominating three classes and combining attack and defense into one.
With a single thought, she could withstand a meteor shower that could scrub the earth clean.
With a single sword strike, she could shatter a God's status.
With a flick of her finger, she could forcibly drag a soul from the threshold of the Underworld back into the mortal realm!
Wild joy swept through her heart. This feeling of ruling the world was more intoxicating than eating ten top-tier feasts personally cooked by her Sis in a row.
Just as the pleasure of being invincible under heaven climbed to its peak, the surrounding scenery rippled gently, like a stone thrown into a pool of water.
The blood-stained battlefield rapidly melted away, like lingering snow under the sun.
The scene reassembled.
Carved beams and painted rafters, red candles burning high.
In the magnificent wedding hall, the phoenix flute played, and the zither and qin harmonized.
The rich fragrance of osmanthus and silk tree flowers intertwined in the air, sweet enough to make one feel tipsy.
"The auspicious hour has arrived!"
The master of ceremonies' joyful voice echoed through the resplendent space.
This was Lin Xiyue's wedding of the century.
Looking along the red carpet strewn with gold leaf flakes, Su Wan sat formally on the high platform.
The Mage, usually as cold as an iceberg, was now draped in a phoenix crown and cloud robe woven with gold and dotted with kingfisher feathers, shimmering with radiant light and dazzling jewels, making her features as beautiful as a painting, her elegance unparalleled.
Her deep blue hair was styled into an ornate flying immortal bun, and the gold step-shake hairpin set with aquamarine gemstones sparkled brilliantly.
She turned around, and that Young Mistress's face, which always maintained a haughty and aloof air, was now filled with tenderness and affection that could not be melted away, as she extended her slender fingers, clad in gold-threaded gloves, toward Lin Xiyue.
"Come here, my great hero."
Lin Xiyue lowered her head and found that, without knowing when, she had already changed into a red wedding dress with auspicious qilin and cloud patterns, her figure tall and straight, extraordinarily heroic.
She strode forward on her long legs, under the envious gazes of a crowd of gods and nobles, walked toward Su Wan, and wrapped one arm around that slender waist that could not be grasped by one hand.
This kind of satisfaction of climbing to the peak of life was simply more exhilarating than leveling up ten times in a row.
Lin Xiyue smiled so widely that her molars were almost exposed, her tense nerves completely relaxed, leaving only endless inflation and smugness.
"The newlyweds are in position, please present the wedding rings, witness!" the master of ceremonies announced loudly.
"Coming, coming!"
A voice, charming to the bone, rang out.
A pink-haired woman wearing a pink bridesmaid's xiuhe dress, with a huge pink peony on her head, was running over busily.
She held a red velvet tray in her hands, the smile on her face doting to the extreme.
That was her older sister, Lin Qingyue.
This sister, who always treated her as a coolie in the past, was now offering the wedding rings with both hands, her smile sweet to the point of being cloying.
"Sis will rely on you to cover for her from now on, my dear World's Number One Paladin! If anyone dares to provoke me, you just slice them up with that Sky-Cleaver Great Sword!"
These words, like a feather, precisely tickled the most secret itchy spot in Lin Xiyue's heart.
Turning the tables to become the master!
The serf is now singing the song!
This kind of thrill of treating her older sister, who used to call the shots in the past, like a mere leg-accessory was a top-tier pleasure that no amount of god-tier gear could buy!
The frustration of being the meat shield taking all the hits was given an epic-level release at this moment.
She even wanted to put her hands on her hips and laugh wildly, proclaiming her glory to the whole world.
"Sure, sure."
Lin Xiyue waved her hand heroically, extending her fingertips, preparing to pinch up that ring.
The very instant her fingertip was about to touch the metal, the skin on the back of her neck suddenly tightened.
The combat intuition she had cultivated from constantly walking the line between life and death for years set off a shrill alarm in her head.
Something was wrong.
Lin Xiyue stared intently at the humble and submissive Lin Qingyue before her.
That face, which was almost identical to her own, remained pretty enough to get punched, and the pink long hair was still as smooth as ever.
But this woman usually kicked her butt with enough force to directly dent a steel plate.
To be smiling so flatteringly today, and even calling her "World's Number One Paladin"?
If this nauseatingly sweet flattery wasn't sarcasm, what else could it be?!
Was there not a spring-loaded boxing glove hidden under this ring, ready to blast her face open as soon as she touched it?!
A hundred tragic scenarios of being publicly pranked by her own older sister into a social death instantly flooded her mind.
The bloated pleasure of ruling the world was like a balloon pricked by a steel needle, deflating in an instant.
Taking its place was a bone-chilling cold.
Her hand, suspended in mid-air, froze.
-
In the same time and space, within a reflection of another dimension.
At the peak of the Far North Icefield, a palace carved from ten-thousand-year-old Mystic Ice shimmered with a faint blue light under the aurora.
The Mystic Ice Imperial Throne radiated a chill that could freeze even Epic-grade Demonic Beasts to powder.
Yet Su Wan rested her chin on one hand, reclining lazily upon it.
The neat and conservative Mage's robe was nowhere to be seen. In its place was an aggressively provocative deep blue imperial gown, its neckline plunging and its skirt slit high, every inch of its curves exuding a lethal allure.
In her hand, she held the Supreme Scepter, embedded with seven World-Ending Elemental Cores.
The Frost Crown atop her head proclaimed her status as the Elemental Sovereign, adding a touch of imperious majesty as she looked down upon all living beings.
Below the main hall, a dense crowd knelt prostrate on the ground.
In the front row, her parents stood prominently.
Those two high-level Professionals, who in reality always wore stern faces and lectured her with rules and dogma for "not focusing on her proper duties," were now bowing deeply to her.
"As expected of our family's once-in-a-century genius, you are our pride and the glory of the entire family!"
Her father, who once only used the family's honor to oppress her, spoke with a voice trembling with emotion, filled with awe and admiration.
"You are the greatest Mage in the history of our family. We are immensely proud of you, and all your decisions are truth itself."
The rebellion she had suppressed for over a decade found its most complete release at this moment.
Su Wan lightly stroked the scepter, savoring the exquisite sense of conquest that came from achieving ultimate success after defying all conventions.
Her red lips parted slightly, uttering two words.
"Dismissed."
The light syllables, yet they were like a divine decree.
Those elders, usually so haughty, backed away from the hall as if granted a great amnesty, their faces filled with gratitude.
She lowered her eyelashes, gazing at the scepter in her hand.
The dignity, elegance, and conformity she had been taught since childhood had now become a colossal joke.
The sense of immorality and the desire for conquest brought by her rebellion turned into the sweetest poisonous wine, sliding scaldingly into her stomach, leaving her in a state of intoxicatingly light-headed exhilaration.
This is how it should be.
This young lady was born to control everything.
Why should I have to cater to the whims of those old fossils?