Two weeks had passed since the "Great Heavenly Zap."
The Soaring Cloud Sect—now rebranded under Gu Ling's efficiency algorithms as "Sector 01"—was unrecognizable.
Gone were the winding paths and meditative gardens. Everything was straight lines and chrome. Disciples didn't walk; they moved on automated conveyor belts Gu Ling had installed to "optimize transit velocity."
The training grounds were run by Yun Xi. The sounds of "CLEAN UP YOUR FORM!" and the subsequent crashes of bodies hitting pavement echoed from dawn till dusk. The disciples were terrified, bruised, and stronger than ever.
The air smelled faintly of lavender and gunpowder, courtesy of Su Qing's new large-scale alchemical vents.
And in the center of it all, in Hut 402, sat the Supreme Elder.
Jiang Fan was currently "meditating." Which meant he was lying in a hammock strung between two automated pillars that gently rocked him, with a silk eye mask on.
Snack, the Void-Eater, was curled up on his chest, purring like a chainsaw.
Life was good. Life was quiet.
HOOOOOONK.
A sound shattering enough to crack stone echoed across the mountains.
Jiang Fan groaned. Snack hissed in his sleep.
"Yun Xi," Jiang Fan murmured without removing his eye mask. "Someone is making noise. Sanitize them."
THE GOLDEN ARRIVAL
Outside, the disciples of Sector 01 froze on their conveyor belts.
Descending from the clouds was a ship. It wasn't the rugged Sky-Whale type. This vessel was pure, polished gold. It was shaped like a dragon, sleek and ostentatious, with the Imperial Crest—a five-clawed dragon clutching a sun—emblazoned on the side.
It didn't dock at the pier. It just landed in the main plaza, crushing Gu Ling's newly installed decorative fountain.
"My hydraulics," Gu Ling sighed, rolling out of the Main Hall in her chair. "That's coming out of their parking validation."
The golden ramp extended. A dozen Imperial Guards in shining armor marched out, snapping to attention.
Following them came Eunuch Wei. He was tall, pale, wore robes embroidered with real pearls, and held a golden scroll as if it were a newborn baby.
Eunuch Wei looked around at the chrome pathways and the conveyor belts with open disdain.
"Barbarians," he sniffed. "No sense of aesthetic."
He unfurled the scroll.
"By decree of the Eternal Emperor of the Golden Dragon Empire! The Imperial Court demands the presence of the one known as Jiang Fan!"
Wei looked down his nose at Gu Ling.
"You there. Crippled girl. Fetch your master. And tell him to kneel when he receives the Emperor's messenger."
The air temperature dropped.
Gu Ling didn't move. Her mechanical spider-legs slowly unfolded from the back of her chair, clicking sharply on the stone tiles.
"Correction," Gu Ling said, her voice amplified and metallic. "I am not a 'crippled girl.' I am Sect Master Gu, the Iron Queen of Sector 01. And you are parked in a loading zone."
Eunuch Wei spluttered. "Sect Master? A woman? In a chair? Absurd! Where is the man who defeated Ren Tian?"
"He is in a meeting," Yun Xi walked up, carrying her giant spiked mace over her shoulder like a handbag. She glared at the Imperial guards, daring them to move.
"A meeting?" Wei asked skeptically.
"A high-level respiratory strategy session," Yun Xi lied smoothly. (He was snoring).
"Enough!" Wei stomped his foot. "Imperial orders supersede sleep! Guards, seize this 'Jiang Fan' and drag him here!"
The twelve guards moved forward.
Yun Xi sighed. She dropped the mace. It cracked the pavement.
"I just mopped this plaza," she growled.
THE AWAKENING
Jiang Fan was having a lovely dream involving a mountain made of pillows when his hut shook.
He heard the distinct sound of armor crunching, followed by Yun Xi yelling something about "proper waste disposal."
"System," Jiang Fan groaned, lifting his eye mask. "What is the threat level? Is the mountain exploding again?"
[ System Alert: New Faction Encounter. ] [ Faction: The Imperial Court. ] [ Threat Level: High (Politically). Medium (Physically). ] [ Current Status: Your Maid is playing bowling with the Imperial Guards. ]
Jiang Fan rubbed his face. "Cannot a man nap in peace?"
He rolled out of the hammock. Snack latched onto his shoulder.
He walked outside, still in his pajamas and slippers.
The plaza was a mess. Six guards were groaning on the ground. The other six were huddled behind Eunuch Wei, who was trembling with rage. Yun Xi was dusting off her hands.
"Stop!" Jiang Fan yelled, yawning deeply.
Everyone froze.
Eunuch Wei straightened up, trying to regain his dignity.
"Are you Jiang Fan?" Wei demanded. "You look like a vagrant."
"And you look like a noisy chandelier," Jiang Fan retorted, digging wax out of his ear. "You woke me up. This better be good. Did you bring snacks? A tribute?"
"Tribute?!" Wei shrieked. "You are being summoned to the Capital! You spent one hundred million Heavenly Dao Tokens at the Sky City Auction. The Emperor demands to know where you got such wealth, and why you used a Heavenly Tribulation as a weapon!"
He pointed a shaking finger.
"You are a destabilizing element! You will come in chains to answer for your crimes!"
Jiang Fan sighed. He looked at Gu Ling.
"Chains. So dramatic. Can we just... not go?"
"Technically, refusing an Imperial Summon is treason," Gu Ling noted, pulling up the legal code on her holographic display. "Penalty is death by a thousand cuts."
"Sounds tedious." Jiang Fan looked at Wei. "Okay, listen, Goldie. I'm busy. I have a very strict schedule of doing nothing today. Come back next year."
He turned to walk back inside.
"Insolence! Guards! Kill him!" Wei ordered the remaining, terrified guards.
Before they could move, a shadow fell over the plaza.
Something massive landed on top of the golden Imperial ship, shaking the ground.
It was a Golden Griffin. A Stage 6 Spirit Beast, with feathers like razor blades and eyes like molten gold. It roared, a sound that made the weaker disciples faint.
Sitting on the Griffin's back was a girl.
She was perhaps nineteen. She wore armor made of white dragon scales and gold trim. Her hair was fiery red, tied back in a high ponytail. She was devastatingly beautiful, in an untouchable, royal sort of way.
But her eyes were bored. So very bored.
She hopped off the Griffin, landing silently.
Eunuch Wei instantly dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead to the dirty ground.
"Her Royal Highness! Princess Zhao Ling!"
The Princess ignored him. She walked right up to Jiang Fan, looking him up and down.
Most men crumbled when she looked at them. They stammered, they bowed, they tried to impress her.
Jiang Fan just looked annoyed.
"Great," Jiang Fan muttered to Snack. "Another loud one. And she brought a giant chicken."
The Griffin squawked indignantly.
Princess Zhao Ling blinked. No one had ever called her Royal Griffin a chicken.
"You are Jiang Fan," she stated. Her voice was melodic, but commanding.
"That's what the mail says."
"You bought the Fallen Saintess for fifty million just to make her a maid." She gestured to Yun Xi.
"Good help is hard to find."
"And you killed Ren Tian by tricking the Heavens into striking him down."
"He needed a tan."
The Princess stared at him. He was wearing pajamas. He had bedhead. He was holding a fat, useless-looking kitten. And he was looking at her, the Princess of the Empire, like she was a door-to-door salesman interrupting his dinner.
For the first time in months, Princess Zhao Ling felt something other than boredom.
She smiled. It was a dangerous, intrigued smile.
"Eunuch Wei," the Princess said without looking away from Jiang Fan. "Get up. Stop embarrassing yourself."
Wei scrambled to his feet. "But Your Highness! This peasant—"
"Is interesting," she finished.
She took a step closer to Jiang Fan, invading his personal space. She smelled like expensive perfume and ozone.
"You refused the summons," she said. "You don't fear the Emperor?"
Jiang Fan yawned again, a real jaw-cracker.
"Does the Emperor have a comfortable guest bed?" Jiang Fan asked seriously. "Because my hammock is really dialed in right now. Leaving it is a major downgrade."
The Princess laughed. It was a genuine, bell-like laugh that surprised her guards.
"A bed? You are worried about a bed?" She shook her head. "Fine. Keep your hammock."
She turned to Eunuch Wei.
"Change of plans, Wei. We aren't taking him back in chains."
She looked back at Jiang Fan, her golden eyes shining with amusement.
"I'm staying here."
Jiang Fan froze. "What?"
"I'm bored of the Palace," the Princess declared, petting her giant Griffin. "Your little metal sect is amusing. And you are the weirdest thing I've seen all year. I hereby commandeer a guest room."
She pointed at the Griffin.
"And Goldie needs a stable. Make sure it's temperature controlled. He gets cranky when it's drafty."
Jiang Fan stared at her.
He looked at Gu Ling, whose sensors were overheating. He looked at Yun Xi, who looked ready to fight a Griffin with a broom. He looked at Snack, who just wanted to eat the Griffin.
"System," Jiang Fan whispered miserably. "Can I refund this entire situation?"
[ System Alert: New Objective. ] [ Objective: Survive the Princess's "Vacation." ] [ Reward: Imperial Favor (and a massive headache). ]
Jiang Fan sighed, defeated.
"Yun Xi," he mumbled, walking back to his hut. "Prepare the guest room. And buy a lot of birdseed."
He paused at his door and looked back at the smiling Princess.
"And try not to be too loud. Some of us have serious work to do."
He slammed the door and immediately went back to sleep.
Princess Zhao Ling watched the closed door, her smile widening.
"Oh," she whispered. "This is going to be fun."