The return to Sector 01 was supposed to be a victory lap.
Yun Xi and Princess Zhao Ling arrived with a convoy of hover-carts loaded with rare Spirit-Iron, secured at a 0% tax rate. The disciples cheered. Boss Pang cried tears of joy (and greed).
Jiang Fan was waiting in the plaza. He wasn't asleep. He was actually standing up, holding a clipboard.
"Zero percent," Jiang Fan nodded, checking the manifest. "And you didn't kill anyone important?"
"Only a kneecap," the Princess said, floating over in her Golden Lotus Pod. She looked tired but proud. "The Iron-Blood Guild has agreed to... structural renovations."
"Excellent," Jiang Fan tossed the clipboard to Boss Pang. "Go rest. Su Qing made a batch of 'Muscle-Relaxant Tea'. It tastes like dirt, but it works."
The Princess smiled. For a moment, everything felt perfect. She had a place here. She had a purpose.
Then, the sky darkened.
It wasn't a storm. It was a fleet.
Ten massive Imperial Warships broke through the cloud layer. They didn't land; they hovered menacingly over the sect, aiming their heavy ballistae at the Main Hall.
A beam of light shot down from the flagship.
Eunuch Wei descended again. But this time, he wasn't alone. Standing beside him was a towering man draped in grey furs, wearing a helmet made from a wolf's skull.
This was General Boru of the Northern Wolf Clan. A Stage 7 barbarian warlord known for eating the hearts of his enemies.
He looked around Sector 01 with a sneer. His eyes landed on the Princess in her floating chair.
"So," Boru grunted, his voice sounding like gravel in a blender. "The rumors are true. The Golden Phoenix is broken."
THE DECREE
The Princess's face went pale. She gripped her armrests.
"General Boru," she said coldly. "What are you doing here? This is a sovereign sect."
"Not anymore," Eunuch Wei stepped forward, unrolling a scroll made of red dragon-skin. "By Decree of the Eternal Emperor!"
Wei cleared his throat, enjoying the moment.
"Princess Zhao Ling has been away too long. Her rebellious phase has endangered the stability of the Empire. Therefore, the Emperor has secured a new alliance."
Wei smirked.
"Princess Zhao Ling is hereby betrothed to General Boru of the Northern Wolf Clan. She will return to the Capital immediately for the wedding ceremony. In exchange, the Wolf Clan will crush the rebellion of Sector 01."
The silence in the plaza was deafening.
Gu Ling rolled forward, her mechanical eyes glowing red. "That is an illogical transaction. The Princess is not currency."
"She is whatever the Emperor says she is!" Wei shrieked.
General Boru stepped forward. He walked up to the Princess. He didn't bow. He reached out and grabbed her chin with a rough, calloused hand.
The Princess flinched. She couldn't move backward—Boru had stepped inside the safety sensor range, confusing the chair's AI.
"A pity," Boru muttered, inspecting her paralyzed legs. "I preferred you when you could dance. But your bloodline is still royal. You will breed strong sons for my clan."
He released her face with a shove.
"Pack your things, woman. We leave in one hour. If you refuse, my fleet will burn this mountain to ash."
THE DECISION
The Princess sat frozen in her pod.
She looked at the warships aiming their cannons at the disciples. She looked at Gu Ling, whose workshop would be destroyed. She looked at Jiang Fan.
If she stayed, they died. Jiang Fan was strong, but fighting the entire Northern Wolf Army and the Imperial Guard? It was suicide.
"I accept," the Princess whispered.
"Your Highness!" Yun Xi shouted, stepping forward.
"Silence!" Zhao Ling commanded. Her voice broke, then hardened into diamond. "I am the Princess of the Empire. It is my duty to secure the borders."
She turned her pod toward Jiang Fan. She couldn't look him in the eye.
"Thank you for the hospitality, Jiang Fan. But my vacation is over. Please... send the bill to the Palace."
She began to float toward the beam of light.
"Wait."
Jiang Fan spoke.
It wasn't a shout. It was a casual, bored tone.
He walked past Yun Xi. He walked past Gu Ling. He stood between the Princess and General Boru.
"Jiang Fan, stop," the Princess hissed, tears welling in her eyes. "Don't be a hero. He is Stage 7. He has an army."
Jiang Fan ignored her. He looked at General Boru.
"Hey, Wolf-Breath," Jiang Fan said.
Boru looked down. "You are the Sect Master? The sleepy one?"
"Supreme Elder," Jiang Fan corrected. "And I have a question about this wedding."
"There are no questions. It is decreed."
"Right, right," Jiang Fan scratched his head. "But here's the thing. She signed a lease."
Boru blinked. "A... lease?"
"Yeah. Tenancy agreement. Hut 403. She paid up front for six months." Jiang Fan pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket (it was actually a dumpling wrapper). "Breaking a lease requires a 30-day notice and a penalty fee."
"You are mad," Boru growled. "I am taking her to be my wife. I don't care about your lease!"
"I do," Jiang Fan sighed. "I hate paperwork. And I hate moving furniture."
He looked at the Princess.
"Ling. Do you want to go with him?"
"It doesn't matter what I want!" she cried.
"It matters to me," Jiang Fan said softly. "Because you're my tenant. And I have a very strict 'No Trespassing' policy."
General Boru lost his patience. "Enough! Die, insect!"
Boru drew his saber—a massive, curved blade made of Wolf-Bone. He swung it at Jiang Fan's neck.
CLANG.
The blade stopped.
It wasn't stopped by a fan. Or a shield.
It was stopped by a Maid.
Yun Xi had blurred into motion. She caught the massive bone-saber with her bare hand. Her glove tore, but her skin—hardened by the Heavenly Sword Physique—didn't bleed.
"The Master is speaking," Yun Xi said, her eyes burning with cold fury. "Do not interrupt."
"What?!" Boru gasped, trying to pull his sword back. It wouldn't move. She was holding it like a vice.
Jiang Fan didn't even flinch at the sword swing. He kept looking at the Princess.
"Ling," he repeated. "Yes or no?"
The Princess looked at Boru, the man who saw her as a breeder. She looked at Jiang Fan, the man who built her legs because he was "tired of carrying her."
"No," she whispered. "I don't want to go."
"Okay," Jiang Fan turned to Boru.
"The lady says no. And the landlord says get off my lawn."
Jiang Fan opened his fan.
"Yun Xi. Throw him out."
THE OBJECTION
"With pleasure."
Yun Xi twisted her wrist.
SNAP.
General Boru's legendary Wolf-Bone Saber shattered into a thousand shards.
"My sword!" Boru screamed.
Yun Xi didn't stop. She stepped inside his guard. She grabbed him by the fur collar of his armor.
"You called her broken," Yun Xi hissed. "Let me show you what broken looks like."
She headbutted him.
CRACK.
It sounded like a melon hitting a wall. Boru's nose imploded. He stumbled back, dazed.
"Kill them!" Eunuch Wei shrieked from the ramp. "Fleet! Fire! Destroy the mountain!"
The ten warships overhead charged their cannons. The air hummed with destructive energy.
"Gu Ling," Jiang Fan yawned. "The sky is noisy."
Gu Ling rolled forward. She tapped her wristpad.
"I have been waiting to test this," she smiled. A cruel, scientific smile.
[ System Activate: The Iron Dome. ]
Around the perimeter of Sector 01, twelve massive pillars shot out of the ground. They weren't stone; they were pure Spirit-Conductive Copper.
Lightning arced between them, forming a massive, violet energy shield over the entire mountain.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.
The warships fired. The blasts hit the shield and rippled harmlessly away.
"Shield integrity at 98%," Gu Ling noted. "Your ballistae are outdated."
She pressed another button.
"Now, returning fire."
The pillars changed mode. They became Tesla Coils.
ZZZ-ZAP.
Chain lightning shot from the dome, arcing upward. It hit the first ship, then jumped to the second, then the third.
The warships' engines fried instantly. They began to smoke and list lazily to the side.
"Mayday! Systems failing! We are falling!"
General Boru, bleeding from his face, stared at the chaos. His fleet was neutralized in ten seconds. His sword was broken.
Jiang Fan stepped closer to him.
"You made a mistake," Jiang Fan said quietly. "You tried to take something that belongs to me."
He placed a hand on the Princess's shoulder.
"She's not a political pawn. She's my annoying, loud, high-maintenance roommate. And I don't like it when people touch my stuff."
Jiang Fan raised his hand. Gravity Field: Focused.
Boru fell to his knees. The gravity crushed him into the stone, cracking his armor.
"Go back to the Emperor," Jiang Fan said, looking down at the warlord. "Tell him the wedding is off. The bride has a prior engagement."
"What... engagement?" Boru wheezed.
Jiang Fan looked at the Princess. She was staring at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.
"She's busy," Jiang Fan shrugged. "We have a business to run. And I need someone to yell at the suppliers."
He kicked Boru.
"Now, get out."
THE AFTERMATH
The Wolf Army retreated, dragging their crushed General and their smoking ships away.
The plaza was quiet.
The Princess sat in her pod, trembling.
"You just declared war on the Empire," she whispered. "And the Northern Wolf Clan. At the same time."
"Sounds like a busy Tuesday," Jiang Fan sighed. "I'm going back to bed. Yun Xi, make me tea. Calming tea."
He turned to leave.
"Jiang Fan!"
The Princess lunged her pod forward. She grabbed his hand.
"Why?" she asked, tears streaming down her face. "Why risk everything for a cripple?"
Jiang Fan looked at her hand on his. Then he looked at her.
"I told you," he said gently, wiping a tear from her face with his thumb. "I hate moving furniture. You stay right here."
He walked away, Snack trailing behind him.
Yun Xi watched him go. She looked at the Princess, who was sobbing with relief and something deeper.
Yun Xi sighed. She picked up her broom.
"Well," Yun Xi muttered. "I guess we are fighting the world now. Su Qing, brew more poison. We're going to need it."