The Spirit Island was bustling with activity.
The palace stood tall and imposing, its grandeur breathtaking. Though only a month had passed, those five hundred mortals had completed its construction before the deadline with astonishing perseverance and resolve.
After all, countless rare and precious materials had been consumed in the process. The entire palace shimmered with gold and jade, its beams carved and its pillars painted with elaborate designs. Neither Yang Kai nor Li Jiao had ever seen a palace of such scale.
Wu Chen was directing the mortals as they decorated every corner of the palace. Today was the final day of the deadline. Tomorrow was the day of the Dragon Clan's grand wedding, and no one could afford to be careless.
Hundreds of people streamed in and out, continuously placing small furnishings and ornaments throughout the palace, filling the spacious halls with color and life.
"Brother Yang, it's been a while."
Upon seeing Yang Kai approach, Wu Chen greeted him with a hearty smile.
He didn't ask where Yang Kai had been these past days. After all, their relationship wasn't particularly close, and saying too much to someone you barely knew was a grave taboo. Li Jiao's appearance, on the other hand, puzzled him — he had no idea how a dragon descendant had suddenly appeared here.
If he remembered correctly, that dragon descendant was supposed to have been taken away to cultivate Dragon Blood Flowers.
"Tomorrow is the wedding day?" Yang Kai asked, his expression calm.
Wu Chen's demeanor turned serious, and he nodded. "That's right, it's tomorrow. Thank heavens we made it in time, or I'm afraid all of us would be dead."
"Brother Wu, you've worked yourself to the bone," Yang Kai said with a nod.
Wu Chen chuckled. "Can't be helped. When the Dragon Clan gives you a task, you don't say no — I don't fancy dying either. Oh, Brother Yang, since you're here, don't leave."
Yang Kai looked at him with suspicion.
Wu Chen explained. "The Dragon Clan's grand wedding is an enormous affair. Naturally, it needs to be festive. But as you know, the Dragon Clan doesn't have all that many members, so this time they've made a special exception — allowing the rest of us to stay and witness the ceremony, to liven things up."
A sharp glint flashed through Yang Kai's eyes, and he nodded. "That's exactly what I was hoping for."
He'd been wondering how to find a way to stay. If the Dragon Clan had actually ordered everyone to leave at this point, he'd have had no choice but to hide and wait for tomorrow. He hadn't expected them to allow those few hundred mortals to remain and observe the ceremony — that saved him a great deal of trouble.
With the Dragon Clan's permission, he could wait openly and in broad daylight for Zhu Qing's arrival.
"Tomorrow should be quite the show," Wu Chen said with a laugh.
"Indeed." Yang Kai nodded, then suddenly furrowed his brow and turned to look at Wu Chen, a note of surprise in his voice. "Brother Wu, you've actually broken through?"
This Wu Chen had previously been only at the second-stage Emperor Realm. Meeting him again today, he had already reached the third-stage Emperor Realm. Yang Kai hadn't noticed at first, but once he did, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of astonishment.
Breaking through from the second stage of the Emperor Realm to the third was no simple feat. The difficulty was at least ten times greater than the jump from the Dao Origin Realm to the Emperor Realm. He had no idea how Wu Chen had managed it.
Wu Chen smiled bitterly. "Brother Yang, you have no idea what this past month has been like for me. I nearly died more times than I can count. It was only through sheer luck that I managed to break through. One wrong step along the way, and I wouldn't be standing here. I suppose my luck held out. As for many of the other brothers… well, let's not speak of it."
He shook his head repeatedly, his face still carrying the lingering look of someone who'd been through a nightmare.
Yang Kai paused, then spread his spiritual sense outward like a tide. Moments later, his expression shifted.
He'd discovered that there were only around three hundred people remaining here.
After all, when Fu Qi had brought them over a month ago, there had been a full five hundred. Now the number had dropped by nearly forty percent. The palace was already completed — there was no longer any need to go out and mine materials. In other words, that missing forty percent had most likely all died.
Building a palace had been this dangerous? Yang Kai knew that mining Ice Soul Snow Jade could cost lives — Lu Sanniang had mentioned before that a few people had been frozen to death by the cold. But surely not all of those missing people had been frozen?
Then he noticed something else peculiar.
Among the warriors moving in and out, very few were at the Emperor Realm, and not a single one was at the third stage. Moreover, every one of these people — men, women, old, young, regardless of cultivation level — seemed to be terrified of Wu Chen. They gave him a wide berth, not daring to approach.
What on earth had happened over the past month to give Wu Chen such intimidating authority in their eyes?
"Brother Yang, why don't you go rest first? Come back tomorrow to watch the show." Wu Chen patted his chest. "Everything here is under my care. Don't worry about a thing — I guarantee everything will be prepared perfectly."
Yang Kai nodded. "Very well."
He had no intention of getting involved with the palace. Being here already made him want to tear the whole thing apart — how could he possibly volunteer to help?
Instead, he found a place with Li Jiao to rest and gather his strength.
"That Wu Chen — he's not simple," Li Jiao said with a frown.
"What did you pick up?" Yang Kai asked, looking at him.
Li Jiao shook his head. "Nothing specific. I just get the feeling there's something… off about him. Brother Yang, you should be on your guard around him."
"I know," Yang Kai said evenly. "As long as he doesn't get in my way, we'll be fine. But if he dares to stand against me, I won't show mercy."
"Oh, Brother Yang — what's your grudge with that Fu Chi?" Li Jiao asked, puzzled.
Earlier, when Yang Kai had said he was going to teach Fu Chi a lesson, Li Jiao hadn't thought much of it. Now, settling down to consider it, the question surfaced — and from the look of things, Yang Kai's enmity with Fu Chi was no less serious than his own.
"Tomorrow's wedding is between Fu Chi and Zhu Qing."