Chapter 418: The Rite is Complete
Chapter 418: Chapter 418: The Rite is Complete
"Utter nonsense. As long as your Yu family line isn’t extinct, your bloodline will naturally be passed down. After Ming Che’s father passed away, your family utterly failed in its duty to raise him. Instead, many of you harbored ill intentions toward him, causing him to face danger on several occasions. The fact that he hasn’t come looking for trouble is a testament to his benevolence. You should be grateful, yet you still dare to come and disrupt our Contract ceremony." As Ning Xuan spoke, Yan Fuzhen had already, at her signal, led his men to surround the Yu Family.
Yu Shouxin snorted coldly. "Regardless of what has been said, I am his biological uncle. A major life event like his marriage requires my input. I do not agree to him marrying into another family. If you’re so interested in him, then you should marry into our Yu Family and become a Yu from now on."
The moment Yu Shouxin finished speaking, the guests burst into an uproar.
"Yu Family Master, you must be daydreaming! High Level women hold an esteemed position, Miss Ning Xuan is exceptionally gifted, and she’s the youngest Alchemy Master in the history of the Federation. How could she possibly marry into another family? If you don’t want your nephew to marry, then just take him and leave. Do you have any idea how many men are desperate for the position of Miss Ning Xuan’s husband?" The guest who spoke was a member of the Controller Protection Association and also hailed from a great family with no shortage of excellent young men.
Upon arrival, he had received a gift from Ning Xuan’s steward. The box contained several extremely high-grade medicines, each a different color, all crystal-clear and without a single impurity. What shocked him even more was that at the bottom of the box lay two perfectly round Elixir Pills. The difficulty of producing Elixir Pills far exceeds that of creating medicine; in fact, the ability to refine them is one of the strict criteria for becoming an Alchemy Master.
A considerable number of guests had come to offer their congratulations today. If every one of them received such a gift, it was an incredibly grand gesture on Ning Xuan’s part. To give away Elixir Pills so generously meant they must have been personally refined by her. ’Who wouldn’t be green with envy over such a young Alchemy Master?’
Forget becoming her legally protected husband; even just being one of Ning Xuan’s Contractors would surely come with immense benefits.
"That’s right," someone in the crowd agreed. Clearly, the weight carried by a young, female Alchemy Master was not to be underestimated.
If the world had known sooner that Ning Xuan was an Alchemy Master, it wouldn’t have just been agents from the Extraordinary Influences scheming after her in the shadows.
Yu Mingche’s expression darkened as he heard the growing chorus of agreement from the guests. He glared at the members of the Yu Family. He had known for a long time that these so-called relatives of his could not stand to see him prosper.
Yu Mingche felt an urge to step forward but was pulled back by Ning Xuan. She took a step, shielding him behind her as her powerful spiritual power washed over the room like a tidal wave.
Ning Xuan’s spiritual power was gentle and serene; it wouldn’t cause any harm. However, its sheer density and force still exerted an intense pressure that startled everyone present.
"I believe you all have forgotten whose residence this is." Her voice was not loud, yet it instantly silenced the great hall. "My marriage is my own affair, and it is not for others to interfere. I welcome those who came today to offer congratulations. As for anyone with other intentions, they will be thrown out. Yan Fuzhen, escort these troublemakers out." Ning Xuan commanded, pointing a finger at Yu Shouxin and his entourage.
With a wave of his hand, Yan Fuzhen had a dozen guards in patterned masks converge on Yu Shouxin.
"Yu Mingche is a member of the Yu Family! To take him as your husband, protocol dictates that you must negotiate the marriage with my Yu Family. By ignoring us, you are breaking the rules. You’re from a Garbage Star, so you don’t understand these protocols, but the officials from the Bonding Relationship Management Center—do you not understand them either?" Yu Shouxin shouted furiously, pointing at Ning Xuan.
Being called out so publicly, the representative from the Bonding Relationship Management Center looked deeply uncomfortable. They had, in fact, intended to notify the Yu Family, but Yu Mingche himself had rejected the notion, stating that he had long ago severed all ties with them and that they were strangers to one another.
"According to Federation law, as an adult male, Yu Mingche has complete autonomy over his own contractual relationships. Ming Che does not acknowledge any connection to you, which makes you a stranger to us. How dare you come to my home and shout about rules? Yan Fuzhen, what are you waiting for?" Ning Xuan urged.
"Stop! Let go of me! Yu Mingche, don’t you want to know what happened to your father? Don’t you want to know who your mother was?" Yu Shouxin and his men all possessed high Spiritual Power Levels and a Comprehensive Combat Power of S-Class or above, but they were utterly powerless against the guards led by Yan Fuzhen, suppressed to the point of being unable to resist.
He never imagined he would be defeated so humiliatingly. As he was being dragged out, he couldn’t stop himself from yelling.
A scornful smile touched Yu Mingche’s lips as he heard Yu Shouxin’s cries. He knew his uncle was just trying to bluff him. He had already spent years investigating everything he could, and he was certain that if he hadn’t been able to find anything, Yu Shouxin wouldn’t know a thing either.
And just like that, the Yu Family was thrown out. The remaining guests were secretly in awe of the power Yan Fuzhen had demonstrated. The atmosphere in the hall quickly became harmonious once more, with guests rushing to offer their congratulations, their eyes fixed on Yu Mingche with undisguised envy.
Before, they had known Yu Mingche as one of the few Seventh Rank Governors in the entire Federation. When they learned he was entering a Contract with a female Spirit Controller from a Low-class Star who had no powerful background to speak of, most of them had pitied him, feeling it was a great waste.
However, attending the Contract ceremony today and discovering that this no-name Spirit Controller had actually passed the examination to become an Alchemy Master left them with a complicated feeling.
Yan Fuzhen and Feng Linran directed their subordinates to maintain order as the ceremony resumed. Guided by the officiant, Ning Xuan and Yu Mingche exchanged keepsakes. For the first bow, they faced heaven and earth, vowing to be of one heart and mind. Ning Xuan and Yu Mingche intertwined their fingers, palms pressing together, their warmth flowing into one another.
The second bow was to honor the ancestors and inherit their glory. This bow should have been for Ning Xuan’s parents, but since this body’s parents were deceased, she instead drew the sigil of Tianhe City to act as her family crest. Igniting it with Spiritual Fire, she prayed silently in her heart to her parents far away on Earth, ’I hope you’re both doing well. Wait for me to come back and be with you again.’
For the third bow, Yu Mingche, the Contractor, kowtowed before his Contractor, Ning Xuan, who needed only to bow in return. With the rites concluded, Ning Xuan helped Yu Mingche to his feet. She looked deep into his profound eyes, and he gazed back, the rest of the world fading away. At that moment, Yu Mingche’s heart surged with emotion.
As the two shared a deep, loving gaze, the officiant declared loudly, "The ceremony is complete!"
"With Divine Soul as the contract and bloodline as the pact, you shall share glory and disgrace, inseparable in life and death!" As the officiant’s voice faded, a contract array ignited around both Ning Xuan and Yu Mingche. A two-toned radiance of gold and red intertwined and surged upwards, transforming into a sky full of fluttering, spiritual butterflies. The scene was breathtakingly romantic.