The sky was clear, but the air still carried traces of recent violence. The city walls had been repaired only on the surface. Deep cracks remained in several places.
Shen Lanyue gave one final look toward Moonwatch.
Mei Qingxue did the same.
For Mei Qingxue, leaving the city felt unreal. Not long ago, she had been a maid walking quiet halls with lowered eyes. Now she stood beside the man who had conquered the same city and was already bored of it.
For Shen Lanyue, it was different. She understood what had changed. The Shen Family had been raised high too quickly, and quick ascension always attracted knives. But with Tuo Shan guarding the family, with the top city cultivators either dead, branded, or terrified, and with every faction forced into obedience, the Shen Family would survive long enough to become used to authority.
That was enough.
Long Shenyu did not look back.
Ning Huang stepped forward and lifted one hand. A flash of lightning-bright light flowed from her spatial ring, spreading outward in the air. The object unfolded like a palace-born bird of prey.
It was a Low-Rank Heaven flying artifact.
Its body was long and sleek, forged from pale thunderwood, cloudsteel, and bright aurora jade. Thin lightning patterns ran along its sides like veins. Its prow curved upward in the shape of a spearhead wrapped by wings. Three layers of defensive inscriptions shimmered faintly beneath its surface, and the rear formation held a condensed storm-core that pulsed with quiet power.
Mei Qingxue's eyes widened.
"It's beautiful…"
Shen Lanyue's gaze sharpened with technical interest. "The formation work is extremely stable. Even the side channels are balanced. Whoever refined this understood both speed and endurance."
Ning Huang's expression remained proud, but there was a faint satisfaction in her eyes.
"This is the Thundercloud Jade Skiff. It is not the finest artifact of my palace, but in the Lower Domains it is more than enough."
Long Shenyu glanced at it once.
"Acceptable."
Ning Huang turned her head slowly. "Acceptable?"
He smiled. "It flies, doesn't it?"
"This is a Low-Rank Heaven flying artifact."
"And I said it was acceptable."
Mei Qingxue quietly looked away before she laughed. Shen Lanyue sighed as if she had expected nothing else.
Ning Huang stared at him as if deciding whether the artifact should leave without him.
Before she could speak, a heavy killing pressure cut across the roadside.
Long Shenyin appeared.
She did not walk like someone arriving late. She walked like the road had been wasting her time by existing. Her Black Sun Tyrant Spear rested across one shoulder, its dark shaft swallowing the morning light around it. Her aura was tighter than before, sharper, more condensed, like a blade pressed against the skin from the inside.
Long Shenyu looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"You're on the edge of a breakthrough."
Long Shenyin's eyes narrowed.
"Shut up."
She pointed her spear at him.
"When I establish my own force, I'm recruiting everyone with proper killing instinct and leaving you with the soft ones."
Long Shenyu looked at Mei Qingxue, Shen Lanyue, and Ning Huang.
Then he smiled.
"Good. I prefer beautiful, dangerous women over the mad people you'll raise."
Ning Huang immediately said, "Do not include me in that sentence."
He answered without hesitation, "Too late. You were the most obvious one."
Mei Qingxue giggled.
Shen Lanyue sighed. "Stop wasting time."
Long Shenyin ignored all of them and stepped onto the flying artifact. Long Shenyu chuckled and followed.
Ning Huang piloted the Thundercloud Jade Skiff toward River Ridge City.
The artifact rose smoothly. Moonwatch dropped beneath them. The city shrank, its walls becoming lines, its factions becoming dots, its entire struggle becoming something small enough to fit in Long Shenyu's palm.
Once the Thundercloud Jade Skiff reached full speed, the group naturally divided.
Long Shenyin went to the farthest corner of the deck, sat cross-legged with her spear across her knees, and began condensing her aura. The air around her twitched with slaughter force. Every breath she took seemed to sharpen the artifact's interior pressure. A few times, scarlet-black lines crawled faintly across her arms, then vanished.
Long Shenyu noticed and shook his head.
"Still as unreasonable as ever."
Long Shenyin did not open her eyes. "Say that again when I use an Emperor's skull as my breakthrough stone."
"You say that like you think I'd object."
"I say it because you'll try to take the stronger one first."
"Naturally."
Her lips curved coldly. "Then I'll kill faster."
Mei Qingxue and Shen Lanyue explored the artifact.
Mei Qingxue moved carefully, touching almost nothing at first. The deck was polished enough to reflect the sky. Spirit inscriptions glowed beneath her feet, carrying the artifact through the clouds with barely any vibration. She looked at the formation nodes with the awe of someone who had never imagined standing on such a treasure.
Shen Lanyue was more composed, but her eyes revealed interest. She studied the side arrays, the defensive panels, the storm-core, the way the artifact converted lightning-aspect energy into acceleration without destabilizing the deck.
"This is far beyond anything Moonwatch could refine," Shen Lanyue said.
Ning Huang, who stood near the control platform, replied, "Naturally. Moonwatch's best refiners would need several generations to understand the outer formation shell."
Long Shenyu said from nearby, "And yet it still needs you to pilot it."
Ning Huang glanced over. "Artifacts of this grade require proper control."
"Or better inscriptions."
Her brow twitched. "Do you criticize everything?"
"No. Only things that can be improved."
Shen Lanyue gave him a flat look. "That means everything."
Long Shenyu smiled. "Exactly."
Ning Huang eventually turned away and cultivated near the front of the artifact, lightning flickering softly around her. Her Aurora Judgment Lightning moved in controlled arcs, less violent than before, but still proud, dazzling, and sharp. The faint warmth left behind by Long Shenyu's Dragon Soul during her healing had not vanished completely. It lingered in her circulation like a stabilizing ember, smoothing some of the harsher edges of her lightning.
She hated that she found it comfortable.
She hated even more that she missed it when she cultivated alone.
Long Shenyu did not disturb her immediately.
He stood near the side railing, watching clouds break beneath the artifact.
From an outside perspective, it would have made more sense to remain in Moonwatch for several weeks. Consolidate the Shen Family. Refine resources. Raise Mei Qingxue and Shen Lanyue further. Let Ning Huang recover completely. Let rumors spread slowly. Let enemies reveal themselves.
That was the cautious path.
Long Shenyu dismissed it almost instantly.
Moonwatch's Source Energy was too thin. Its atmosphere was too weak. Even after conquest luck stirred within him, the city's environment placed a natural limit on how quickly he, Mei Qingxue, and Shen Lanyue could improve. Their dual cultivation had already started slowing compared to the explosive leaps of the earlier days. That was not because their bond weakened. It was because the land itself was poor.
River Ridge was different.
Its atmosphere was several times denser. Its families had ties to Noble Domain sects. Its trade routes carried higher-grade resources. Its conflicts were deeper. Its enemies were stronger. Its women, treasures, and grudges would be more useful.
Long Shenyu's thoughts remained calm.
'Anyone under Sage Ruler, I can handle. With Shenyin, even a first-layer Sage Ruler is not impossible.'
He was not blind to the danger. A true Sage Ruler was qualitatively different from Sky Lord. Sage Qi carried deeper truth. Their Dao comprehension was structured, their presence authoritative, their techniques no longer merely energetic but principled. Even Long Shenyu would not treat one like a random Origin Core elder.
But he understood hierarchy better than anyone.
Sage Rulers did not personally run after every rumor. In the Lower Domains, even a Sky Lord was enough to shake cities. In the Noble Domains, Sage Rulers held status, territory, inheritance, and long-term ambitions. They would not immediately lower themselves because someone claimed two Origin Core juniors had defeated Sky Lords.
The report was too absurd.
The more credible the source, the more unbelievable the claim became.
By the time a Sage Ruler decided the rumor deserved personal attention, Long Shenyu expected to have advanced again.
And if Ning Huang became his wife before then, the situation would change even faster.
His eyes shifted toward her.
She had every reason to leave.
She was healed. Her cultivation was stable. Her pride was intact enough that she could return to Heaven's Edict Thunder Palace and report what happened. She could distance herself from Moonwatch, from the siblings, from the madness forming around them.
But she had not once said she wanted to go.
Long Shenyu had been prepared to persuade her.
Since she never raised the topic, he never bothered.
That, to him, was already an answer.
…
During the first half of the journey, Long Shenyu gave his attention to Mei Qingxue and Shen Lanyue.
He did not treat it as some formal romantic scene. That would have made Mei Qingxue too nervous and Shen Lanyue too guarded. Instead, he moved naturally, as if affection was simply part of breathing.
He found Mei Qingxue near the side railing, watching the clouds flow beneath them.
Her hands rested lightly on the rail. Wind tugged at her hair. She looked both happy and overwhelmed.
Long Shenyu came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist.
She stiffened for a heartbeat.
Then, recognizing him, she relaxed.
"Young Master…"
"You still sound surprised every time."
"I am not used to being held while flying above the clouds."
"Then I'll help you get used to it."
Her face warmed. "That is not a proper solution."
"It's the best solution."
She looked down at the rolling white mist beneath the skiff. "When I was younger, I thought flying artifacts were only for important people."
"You are important."
She fell silent.
He did not tease her immediately. He let the words settle.
Mei Qingxue's fingers tightened slightly on the railing. "Sometimes it feels too fast."
"What does?"
"Everything. I was in Moonwatch, then I was cultivating beside you, then the city was kneeling, and now we're leaving it behind. I know I should be happy. I am happy. But sometimes I feel as if I'm still the same girl who carried food through the side halls."
Long Shenyu rested his chin lightly near her hair.
"You are the same girl."
Her heart tightened.
Then he continued, "That is why you are precious."
She turned slightly, startled.
He smiled. "Power changes what people can do. It doesn't always improve what they are. You stayed kind when you were weak. You stayed loyal when there was no reward. Now you're becoming strong. That does not erase the girl from those side halls. It gives her a blade."
Mei Qingxue's eyes softened until she had to lower them.
"You always know what to say."
"No. I always say what I think."
"That is worse."
"You and Lanyue both keep saying that."
"Because it is true."
He turned her gently and kissed her forehead.
Mei Qingxue's blush rose at once, but she did not pull away. Instead, she leaned into him, her hands slowly clutching his robe.
For a while they simply stood there, with the artifact cutting through the sky and Moonwatch becoming memory behind them.
Later, he found Shen Lanyue studying one of the artifact's auxiliary inscriptions.
"You're either admiring the formation or planning to take it apart," he said.
Shen Lanyue did not look up. "Both."
"Should I warn Ning Huang?"
"You should warn her artifact."
Long Shenyu laughed softly.
Shen Lanyue finally glanced at him. "You're in a good mood."
"I'm leaving a conquered city behind with three beautiful women. Why wouldn't I be?"
"You make disaster sound like leisure."
"Only because everyone else insists on making leisure difficult."
She shook her head and returned her attention to the inscription. "This array channels lightning through three conversion rings before entering the acceleration path. It is efficient, but arrogant."
"That sounds like Ning Huang."
"It also means the artifact responds best to forceful control. If the pilot hesitates, speed drops sharply."
Long Shenyu leaned closer. "You noticed that quickly."
"I am not here just to be held."
"No," he said, voice lowering with warmth. "You are here because you are useful, dangerous, beautiful, and mine."
Her hand paused over the inscription.
Only for an instant.
But he saw it.
"You enjoy saying things in the most shameless way possible," she said.
"I said four true things. Which one offended you?"
She looked at him.
"Mine."
His smile deepened. "That was the one you liked most."
The air grew still for a breath.
Shen Lanyue's face remained composed, but color touched the edge of her ears. "You are extremely confident."
"I've earned it."
"With enemies, perhaps."
"With you especially."
She looked away first.
That was rare.
So Long Shenyu did not push harder. He stepped behind her, wrapped one arm around her waist, and rested his other hand over hers near the inscription.
Her body stiffened, then slowly adjusted to him.
He said, "You handled Moonwatch well."
"It was administration."
"It was conquest aftercare."
"That phrase is terrible."
"It's accurate."
"It is still terrible."
He smiled against her hair. "You saw what needed to be done and did it before anyone could argue. That matters. Later, when my territory is no longer a single city, I will need people who can turn victory into structure."
Shen Lanyue's expression changed slightly.
Her voice became quieter. "You truly intend to go that far."
"Farther."
"How far?"
"As far as there is something above me."
"That is not an answer."
"It is the only answer."
Shen Lanyue looked out toward the endless sky.
Then she said, "Then you will need more than strength."
"I know."
"And more than women who blush when you speak."
He laughed. "I know that too."
She turned slightly, eyes cool but not distant. "Good."
He kissed her.
Not roughly. Not performatively. Just directly enough to make her composure fracture.
When he pulled back, her eyes were sharper than before, but her breathing had changed.
"You are abusing your advantage," she said.
"I am enjoying it."
"You admit it?"
"Always."
From a distance, Mei Qingxue saw Shen Lanyue's expression and smiled helplessly.
Ning Huang also saw it.
She looked away too quickly.
Later, while Long Shenyin cultivated and Ning Huang remained near the front of the skiff, Long Shenyu sat with Mei Qingxue and Shen Lanyue in a quieter side chamber of the artifact.
The room was small but elegant, designed for brief rest during long flights. The walls were lined with pale jade panels that reduced wind vibration. Outside the thin crystal window, clouds streamed past like white rivers.
Mei Qingxue sat close to him without needing to be pulled now. Shen Lanyue sat on his other side, pretending she had chosen the position for convenience.
Long Shenyu let them have that illusion.
For a while, they spoke of simple things. Moonwatch's old streets. How different the sky looked from above. What kind of resources River Ridge might hold. Whether the Shen Family elders would become bold or terrified under their sudden rise.
Eventually, Long Shenyu said, "I'll spend time with Ning Huang later."
Mei Qingxue's expression changed first.
It was subtle, but he caught it.
Shen Lanyue's eyes lowered slightly.
Long Shenyu had spend time with Ning Huang before privately, but that was under the context of healing her. Now, it was more than evident he was doing it to pursue her.
Mei Qingxue said softly, "She isn't going to leave us?"
"No."
"You expected her to."
"I expected her to consider it."
Shen Lanyue asked, "And if she had?"
"I would have persuaded her."
"With words?"
Long Shenyu smiled. "At first."
Shen Lanyue sighed. "Of course."
Mei Qingxue hesitated, then said, "She is proud. But she keeps watching you."
"So do you."
Mei Qingxue's face reddened. "That is different."
"How?"
She opened her mouth, failed to answer, and lowered her head.
Shen Lanyue rescued her. "Ning Huang is not like us. She comes from a higher power. She has her own status, her own pride, her own path. If you pursue her, she will not yield simply because you are strong."
Long Shenyu looked amused. "Good."
"You enjoy difficulty."
"I enjoy women worth the effort."
Mei Qingxue looked at him, and for a moment longing flickered openly in her eyes. Not jealousy exactly. Something more vulnerable.
Long Shenyu saw it and drew both women closer.
"You two are thinking too much."
Shen Lanyue said, "That is usually better than thinking too little."
"Not here." His voice softened. "No one is being replaced."
Mei Qingxue looked up.
He continued, "When Ning Huang stands with us, she stands beside you, not over you. My heart only grows wider, not narrower."
Shen Lanyue's gaze steadied on him. "And if more women come later?"
"They will have to be worthy of joining what already exists."
That answer struck both of them differently.
Mei Qingxue felt reassured.
Shen Lanyue felt the shape of future trouble.
Long Shenyu added, "Besides, you two should be more confident."
Mei Qingxue blinked. "Confident?"
"You are my first wife and my coldest wife."
Shen Lanyue immediately said, "Do not assign titles like that."
Mei Qingxue's face went red. "First…"
Long Shenyu looked pleased. "See? Both accurate."
Shen Lanyue pressed fingers to her brow. "You are impossible to discipline."
"Many have tried."
"And failed?"
"Spectacularly."
Mei Qingxue laughed despite herself.
Long Shenyu kissed her until the laughter melted into embarrassed silence. Then he turned to Shen Lanyue and kissed her too, ignoring the way she tried to glare while leaning closer at the same time.