Her golden eyes flickered between defiance and something that might have been shame. "I didn't know the walls would be so weak. In my homeland, structures are built to withstand spiritual surges. I never intended—"

"So you're saying," Tianlong interrupted smoothly, "that my architecture is inferior to what you're accustomed to?"

The trap was elegant in its simplicity. Either she insulted his craftsmanship, or she admitted to lacking control over her own power.

"That's not what I—" she began, then stopped, realizing how any answer would sound to the watching crowd.

Tianlong sighed dramatically, playing his role to perfection. "It's fine," he said, his voice carrying just the right note of resigned disappointment.

He turned to address the gathered mortals, his expression shifting to one of apologetic humility. "Forgive me, my people. It's just that I am weaker than this woman, so I cannot punish her for the damage she's caused."

The effect was instantaneous and exactly what he'd hoped for.

Outraged murmurs rippled through the crowd as simple farmers and merchants—people who had never dreamed their emperor would apologize to them—rose to his defense.

"Your Majesty, you honor us too much!" called out a blacksmith, his voice thick with emotion.

"We understand this world better than anyone!" shouted the elderly farmer. "Power is everything, and you've already shown us more kindness than we ever hoped for!"

"You invited us to your wedding!" cried a woman clutching her young daughter. "Fed us like royalty! No emperor in history has ever cared for common folk like us!"

One by one, they voiced their gratitude and understanding, their words creating a wall of social pressure that made Kitsune Yuki's ears flatten further against her head.

The fox woman's expression grew increasingly uncomfortable as she realized how the crowd's sentiment was turning against her.

These weren't cultivators who understood to whom they were speaking in a world where power is everything—these were simple people who genuinely loved their emperor.

'Stupid mortals, fools!' Even though they meant nothing to her, they were enough to make her feel uncomfortable, especially considering that despite destroying the restaurant, she had used her tail to prevent the rubble from falling on their heads, saving many.

Though, she could not say that, especially since it was she who caused it in the first place.

"Don't cross the line," she said sharply, her voice carrying an edge of warning as she felt dozens of mortal eyes glaring at her with increasing hostility.

She took a step forward, her tails rising behind her in a display of dominance. "You forget your place. I am—"

Killing intent began radiating from her form, spiritual pressure designed to remind these insects of their mortality.

But the pressure never reached them.

The sound was barely audible—the whisper of steel being drawn from its sheath. But to Kitsune Yuki's enhanced senses, it was as loud as thunder.

Something impossibly sharp pressed against her throat, so precise and deadly that even breathing felt dangerous.

The blade hadn't cut her, but she could feel its hunger, its eagerness to spill her blood across the rubble.

"In the wedding reception, I ignored such behavior because my Master seemed to allow you to speak," came a gravelly voice from behind her. "But remember this, child—even your mother would have thought twice before moving right now."

Zhang Wuji stood there like death personified, his weathered face completely calm as he held his legendary blade against the fox woman's throat.

The killing intent radiating from him was so refined, so perfectly controlled, that it made her own spiritual pressure seem like the tantrum of a spoiled child.

Of course, he might not be stronger than her, but strength and cultivation prowess mattered much more towards the alignment of raw power or concentrated power.

His was the concentrated type, the sword so sharp that brute force could be sliced in half.

Same as a waterfall that can in the long run make big rocks tumble down, and another was a small gust of sharp water stream that can cut that same big rock.

Kitsune Yuki's eyes widened in shock, her mouth twitching as she recognized the caliber of opponent she was facing.

This wasn't just some sect elder or palace guard—this was someone who was aware of her mother, who was typically the village head of her tribe.

"Who are you?" she whispered, not daring to move with the blade so close to her jugular.

From nearby, Tianlong's voice carried a note of dark amusement. "Oh, can you tell me more about her mother, Wuji?"

"...."

The rubble-strewn plaza fell into tense silence, broken only by the distant sounds of wedding celebration and the faint whistle of wind through damaged walls.

Zhang Wuji's blade remained pressed against Kitsune Yuki's throat, so still and precise that it seemed to cut the breeze touching it.

"Her mother, Kitsune Akane," Zhang Wuji said calmly, never taking his eyes off the fox woman beneath his blade. "Nine-tailed fox matriarch of the Northern Guardian Tribe. Peak Great Vehicle realm, specializing in illusion techniques and dimensional barriers."

Yuki's golden eyes flashed with shock. Few beings in this realm knew her mother's true name, let alone her power specialty... of course, the power level was naturally as true as her own—so no one could guess her mother, let alone her power level.

"I encountered her once, 200 years ago," Wuji continued, his tone conversational despite the deadly situation. "She was... strong. Fought me to a standstill for three weeks before we agreed to part ways rather than destroy half the Northern regions."

Tianlong's eyebrows rose with genuine interest, first realizing that just like Yuki's levels were fake, her mother's would be too.

And second, that woman seemed not as hot-headed as Yuki, since she decided to part ways rather than escalating the matter, which—given she was her mother—was unexpected.

"And why do you think her mother would have reconsidered attacking you if she is that strong?"

A ghost of calmness flickered across Zhang Wuji's lips. "Akane was a warrior who understood that some battles aren't worth fighting. Her daughter..." His eyes flickered down to meet Yuki's gaze. "...appears to have inherited her power but not her wisdom."

"You dare—" Yuki began, her tails bristling with indignation.

The blade pressed infinitesimally closer, drawing a thin line of crimson across her pale throat that healed as soon as it appeared, showing the dangerously fast regenerative power of the fox tribe.

"I dare nothing," Wuji said quietly. "I simply observe. Your mother would have assessed the situation, recognized that threatening mortals under my Master's protection was foolish, and found a more diplomatic solution."

The gathered crowd watched in fascination as their emperor's most trusted retainer lectured what was clearly a powerful being.

To them, this was like watching a drama they had only heard about from wandering singers—stories of strong people.

Tianlong closed his eyes for a moment, his mind racing through possibilities with the calculating precision of someone who had consumed thousands of web novels.

If this world was a web novel—which it was—then it had to follow those cultivation cliché plots.

"Wuji, tell me about their tribe," Tianlong inquired, as given, the luck of his wives might just be playing a proportion here and if it did, then... he might really hit the bullseye.

Naturally, he would not have had that much interest if not for knowing how. As per what he had observed in this woman, she was unlike Yu Xiang, not the smart type but rather one who was like a spoiled brat.

Wuji was keeping her in check, and it was good timing, where through her reaction—already noticing how mentally weak she was—he could confirm his suspicion or get some information which he could use to fulfill his wife Yue's wish.

Yeah, she wished for him to marry someone else other than this woman—so why not Yuki's mother?

Though both would also do the trick.

"Yes, Master." Wuji gave a nod and then added, "Their tribe protects the dimensional barriers that keep something sealed away from this realm; that is all I am aware of."

"..." Tianlong, standing there, just felt how you could also guess this much from how this woman paused and told those words.

There was nothing important about this, and he gave a blank, disappointed look towards Zhang Wuji, as if he proved himself useless.

'Now... this is just useless information... come on Wuji.'

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