"Father, what is the reason you asked me to return home urgently? Although after the recent battles, almost the entire Wild Territory is under our control, I believe it would be wise not to underestimate our enemies and to remain vigilant. The best course of action would be to continue strengthening our positions to easily resist in case the Fire Emperor's army launches an offensive in the future and..."

"Enough, Yu Fengying!", interrupted the Lightning Emperor from his throne. "I know how much this war means to you and that you've dedicated more than half of your life to conquering the entire Wild Territory. However, you must understand that this war, like anything else in this world, cannot go on indefinitely..."

"But father, victory is almost ours. If..."

"Yu Fengying, you still lack the necessary experience to question my decisions. Do you think the Fire Emperor will endlessly tolerate watching his army being humiliated? Although both the Fire Emperor and I do not wish to directly confront each other as it would jeopardize our path to ascension and immortality, neither of us will accept being disrespected by our adversaries. Otherwise, what purpose would immortality serve if one had to spend it in shame? In any case, I have already signed a peace agreement with the Fire Emperor before ordering you to return, in which a third of the Wild Territory will be ceded to him. This agreement will be implemented in three days, coinciding with the beginning of your wedding to the youngest son of the Fire Emperor.

"Congratulations, older sister. I've been looking forward to toasting at your wedding...", chuckled Yu Tao, the only son of the Thunder Emperor, who sat on a throne to the right of his father, while Yu Fengying remained stunned, struggling to understand what she had heard.

"What? What wedding are you talking about? You're not joking, are you?", Yu Fengying asked, full of confusion, scanning the faces of those present in the throne room, trying to find any clue that this entire affair was just a well-elaborated prank.

Unfortunately, neither her parents nor the others present seemed to be in the mood for jokes; well, except for her younger brother, who appeared highly amused by what was happening.

"So, this is my reward after so many years of hard work? To become the wife of a wretched dog who can't keep his drool in check every time he sees me? No, I told you long ago that I have no intention of becoming anyone's wife. No... I will never accept such a thing...", Yu Fengying finally said, preparing to leave the throne room as soon as possible, realizing that no one in that place was her ally.

"It seems your wings have hardened, Yu Fengying! Daring to turn your back on your father...", thundered the Lightning Emperor, letting all the pressure exerted by his cultivation, which had reached the Mahayana Realm for over seven thousand years, fall onto Yu Fengying.

With no chance of resisting the pressure of her father's cultivation, which was two levels higher than hers, Yu Fengying fell to her knees, her mouth filling with blood due to internal injuries that continued to accumulate with each passing fraction of a second, feeling as if she was crushed by a huge mountain.

Considering that his daughter had gravely insulted him since he was accustomed to having his decisions treated as laws by the citizens of his empire and by all those around him, the Lightning Emperor continued to press Yu Fengying with his cultivation for a full minute, until cracks began to appear in her dantian, a sign that she was on the verge of losing her life.

"Hmph, is it enough for you, Yu Fengying? Will you continue to insult your father with your stubbornness?", asked the Lightning Emperor, his tone more suitable for a father who had punished his daughter by denying her access to her favorite things or sentencing her to spend a day confined to her room, not for one who had almost brought his daughter to the brink of death, a sign that his anger had somewhat subsided.

"Cough! Cough... I'd rather... die...", Yu Fengying replied as she choked on her own blood, aware that her chances of escaping her father's gaze in her current condition were zero. Her only hope of avoiding an unacceptable future for her was to convince her father to change his mind by showing him that her determination was unyielding, thinking that her father had at least a little affection for her and wouldn't risk losing her forever.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Why do you continue to be stubborn, Yu Fengying? Are you not aware of the trouble you will cause your father by refusing this marriage?", asked the Lightning Emperor coldly, but no longer controlled by fury. He then rose from his throne and walked towards his daughter, in front of whom a pool of blood had formed as she opened her mouth to refuse him again.

Arriving in front of Yu Fengying and seeing her condition, the Lightning Emperor sighed resignedly and began to gently stroke her head, like a rider caressing the head of his horse that had only a few moments left to live.

"My daughter... I believe you are aware that, thanks to the resources discovered in the Wild Territory, I, your father, have the chance to become the first immortal this world has seen in the last million years. But can I fully retire and dedicate myself to cultivation as long as a lasting peace is not guaranteed, allowing your brother to take my place at the helm of the empire? Of course, the answer to this question is no. So, it was mandatory to conclude a peace treaty that would shield your brother from a conflict with the Fire Emperor for at least 500 years, during which time, I am confident that I will successfully ascend. As for your marriage to the youngest son of the Fire Emperor, it was one of the things the Fire Emperor had no intention of giving up. He said that only by uniting our blood could a lasting peace be guaranteed, so, in the end, I had to accept, even at the risk of making you consider me cruel..."

After uttering these words, seemingly aimed only at justifying his decision in front of those present rather than convincing Yu Fengying to accept the marriage to the Fire Emperor's youngest son, the Lightning Emperor drew a few symbols in the air with the hand that, until then, had been caressing his daughter's head. These symbols activated a formation around Yu Fengying, generating dozens of shining chains that seemed to be formed by interwoven lightning bolts.

"I didn't want to use such a drastic measure as sealing your cultivation, but you left me no choice...", the Lightning Emperor continued in the same resigned tone, and after making another brief sign in the air, the lightning chains began to penetrate Yu Fengying's body from all directions, advancing at high speed toward her dantian, their purpose being to completely cut off her access to spiritual energy, turning her from a perfected warrior into a harmless beauty with no ability to defend herself against another cultivator.

"Aaaaahhh!!!"

....................................

"Aaaahhh!!!", Liu Fengying screamed in her sleep as she dreamed of the moment when her father from her past life sealed her cultivation. The pain she endured during that process was so intense that even the memory of it seemed to have the power to tear her soul apart.

"Bang!"

"Damn it, I'll kill him, I'll kill them all! Kill...kill...", Liu Fengying began to repeat with eyes full of obsession. She woke up suddenly, accidentally hitting a nightstand near her bed as she squirmed in her sleep.

It took Liu Fengying almost 2 minutes to realize where she was and that everything she had dreamt of were events that happened in a time and place she might never have access to again. However, this realization did not seem to help her control her anger at all; on the contrary, it managed to amplify it, because seeking revenge with her own hands against those who betrayed her would likely remain an eternal dream.

"No, I won't accept this. I've turned the impossible into reality before... Everyone said that because of my constitution, I would have no chance to advance beyond the Nascent Soul Realm, but I showed them all how much they underestimated me. I am the cultivator who reached the Body Fusion Realm the fastest in the last hundred thousand years. Yes, maybe this world is not conducive to cultivation, but as long as I'm still alive, there's a chance I'll discover something that will allow me to return to my former world. And then, everyone will pay...", Liu Fengying finally said, but whether she truly believed in these words or just tried to deceive herself to calm down, she couldn't tell.

After managing to calm down somewhat, Liu Fengying laid her head back on the pillow, and while she was watching a spider casually assembling a fly trap between the light bulb and the ceiling, she began to organize the memories she relived during her sleep, trying to mimic its cold-blooded criminal temperament to avoid being controlled by emotions again.

The first memory she relived in the dream was the moment her younger brother was born, witnessing, for the first time in her life, what her parents looked like when they were truly happy.

Yu Fengying, who was only ten years old at that time, couldn't recall ever receiving so much praise as her brother did in the first few hours after his birth when all he did was cry and be ugly, while she was often ignored or treated with indifference no matter what accomplishments she achieved.

'Heh, it didn't take long after that day for me to find out why Yu Tao's treatment was so different from mine, as I often overheard my maids whispering in corners, thinking I wasn't around, about how my constitution, Blooming Lotus by Day, wasn't one that would take me far on the cultivation path, and how Yu Tao, with the same constitution as my father, Lightning-Eating Dragon, was considered a talent that appears only once every 10,000 years, and they were certain he would be the one to succeed the empire in the future...'