Chapter 790- Banquet Hall
The banquet moved forward.
The dishes, the rare spirit-beast meats and the glowing spirit-fruits, continued to arrive. The servants, the young men and women in formal Azure Cloud livery, moved between the tables with practiced efficiency. The wine, the aged spiritual vintage, flowed. The dancers, the young women in flowing silk, their bodies graceful, their movements timed to the zither and the flute, performed on the central platform.
The second introduction was announced.
"Minister Chen of the Lower Court," the herald called. His voice, the trained, projecting voice of a palace announcer, filled the hall. "Representing the Lower Court of the Azure Cloud Province."
The minister, an old man in dark blue robes, his face lined with decades of political service, stood. His bow, the formal, deep bow of a subordinate, was there. His eyes, on Tianlong, held the wariness. The careful, political wariness of a man who had heard the rumors and was now in the presence of the rumor’s source.
"General Zhao of the Eastern Garrison," the herald continued. "Representing the military forces of the Azure Cloud Province."
The general, a middle-aged man in dark armor, his face scarred, his body stocky, stood. His bow, the military bow, fist-to-palm, was there. His eyes, on Tianlong, held the assessment. The professional, soldier’s assessment of a man measuring a potential threat.
The introductions, the formal, diplomatic, status-acknowledging introductions, continued. Sect leaders. Court officials. Garrison commanders. Each stood, bowed, announced their name and station, and sat.
Through all of this, Princess Yuexin sat.
She was still. Her posture, the formal, princess-like posture, was perfect. Her back, straight. Her hands, in her lap, were folded. Her face, the composed, controlled, porcelain face, was there. To any observer, she was the picture of royal composure. A princess at a banquet, watching the proceedings with appropriate dignity.
Inside, she was screaming.
’You bastard. You devil. You animal.’
Her thighs, beneath her robes, were pressed together. Tight. The sensation, the wet, warm, slimy sensation between her thighs, was there. His seed. His cum. Inside her. In her womb. The panty, the silk undergarment, was soaked. The fabric, the wet, clinging fabric, was against her pussy. His cum, the thick, white, divine fluid, was leaking. Slowly. Steadily. The warmth, the persistent, impossible warmth of divine seed, was there.
She could feel it. Every movement, every shift, every breath — she could feel it. The slime. The wetness. The warmth. The fullness. The phantom, the ghost, the impossible phantom of his cock inside her. The stretch, the impossible, reality-altering stretch that had torn her virgin pussy and remade it around the shape of his divine organ. The sensation, the lingering, persistent, unshakeable sensation, was there.
Her lips, bitten, were there. The blood, the small drop from her bitten lip, was on her tongue. The copper taste, the taste of her own frustration, was there.
’He fucked me. On the balcony. In front of everyone. And no one saw. No one knew. He kissed me, stripped me, fucked me, came inside me — and everyone thought we were having a polite conversation.’
’Devil. Monster. Bastard.’
She glared. Not openly. Not visibly. The glare, the internal, burning, furious glare, was directed at the back of Tianlong’s head. At his dark hair. At his golden neck. At the man who sat at the head table, eating, drinking, smiling, as if he had not just violated a princess on a balcony.
’I cannot tell anyone. I cannot tell Father. I cannot tell Mother. I cannot tell Brother Mu. If I tell, he reveals my secret. My meetings with Brother Mu. My alliance with a commoner. The political damage, the scandal, the punishment — it would destroy everything.’
’He has me. He has me completely.’
Her hands, in her lap, trembled. The fists, the clenched, white-knuckled fists, were there. The nails, the short, trimmed nails, dug into her palms. The pain, the small, grounding pain, was there.
’I wanted to protect Brother Mu. I wanted to be his sword inside the palace. I wanted to destroy this emperor. And instead, I got fucked. On my back. On the jade floor. Legs spread. Crying. Begging. And then... asking for more.’
The memory, the shameful, burning, impossible memory of her own corrupted voice saying "More," hit. The flush, the deep, crimson, visible-if-you-looked-closely flush on her cheeks, was there.
’What kind of woman begs for more after being... after being...’
She closed her eyes. The breath, the slow, controlled, meditative breath, was there. The composure, the forced, desperate composure, was maintained.
Then she felt it.
The warmth. Not the external warmth of his seed on her skin. The internal warmth. In her womb. The heat, the growing, spreading, radiating heat, was there. From her womb, outward. Through her meridians. Through her dantian. Through her spiritual core.
The divine qi. The spiritual energy contained in his cum. The energy that had been flowing into her since the balcony. Slowly. Steadily. Invisibly. And now, reaching critical mass.
Her eyes, the dark eyes, opened. Wide. The realization, the physical, spiritual, unmistakable realization that something was happening inside her, was there.
She looked. At Tianlong, at the emperor, at her mother. They were leaving. The formal, diplomatic departure from the banquet, the emperor and his guest walking toward the exit, the empress following, was happening.
The princess, still seated, watched them go. Her hands, on the dishes, the half-eaten food, the porcelain plates, were there. Her fingers, the trembling fingers, gripped the table edge.
She closed her eyes. And meditated.
~~ The Breakthrough
The meditation was instinctive. Not planned. Not chosen. The spiritual energy inside her, the divine qi from Tianlong’s seed, had reached a tipping point. Her dantian, her spiritual core, the late-stage Soul Formation cultivation she had maintained for a decade, was responding.
The energy, the divine, transcendent, royal-infused qi, flowed. From her womb, through her meridians, into her dantian. The core, the spiritual core, was filling. Expanding. The bottleneck, the decade-old, immovable, frustrating bottleneck that had kept her at Soul Formation late stage for ten years, was there.
And it was cracking.
’What... what is happening?’
Her internal thoughts, the confused, shocked, frightened thoughts, were there. The sensation, the feeling of her own cultivation responding to an external energy source, was unfamiliar. She had cultivated for decades. Had meditated. Had taken pills. Had trained. Had fought. Had done everything a prodigy was supposed to do. And the bottleneck had held. For ten years.
And now, the seed of a man she hated, the cum of an emperor who had violated her on a balcony, was breaking through.
The energy surged. The qi, the divine, transcendent qi, hit the bottleneck. The wall, the spiritual wall, the barrier between Soul Formation and Divine Integration — the barrier that separated mortals from immortals, that separated the talented from the truly gifted — cracked.
The light ignited.
Golden, blazing, overwhelming golden light erupted from her body. The qi, the spiritual energy, the breakthrough qi, shot upward. Through the roof of the banquet hall. Through the jade and crystal. Into the sky. A pillar of golden light, visible across the entire capital, was there.
~~ Outside — The Emperor’s Surprise
Emperor Yun, walking beside Tianlong, his kind face, the polite smile, was there. The corridor, the jade-walled passage between the banquet hall and the guest quarters, was there.
"Emperor Tianlong," Emperor Yun said. His voice was warm. "Do you have interest in staying here for longer? The province has much to offer. The spirit-mountains, the cultivation grounds, the—"
"No," Tianlong said. His voice was calm. The interruption, the polite, direct interruption, was there. "I just gave some enlightenment tips to the princess. My staying here would delay things. Since my brother’s health is... like that."