It was the 998th year of the Holy Calender, the eleventh month of the year and the first day of the month. On a quiet road in the plains, a figure was flying, following the stone path. A small wooden sign was next to the road, and printed on it was an arrow that pointed to the path, reading 'The Holy Church'. The figure's handsome face was convulsed in a dreadful panic, as he used all his Dou Qi1 to fly as fast as possible in the direction of the path. His black clothes and gray robe fluttered against the wind, but he simply flew too fast for anyone to hear any sound.
He had dark eyes and black hair, which the latter had stains of vermillion red. The figure appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties, but anyone who saw someone so young fly would be stunned, for it indicated a massive level of power and cultivation!
"Yue Yue, Yue Yue... don't leave me... please don't leave me... don't leave Ah Dai..."
The figure's cruel muttering held desperation and love in its tone. This figure was Ah Dai2, 3rd Generation Disciple of the Tian Gang Sword Sect, heir to the King of Hell, and infamously known as The Death God! His life was full of hardships, deaths, and tragedies - but Ah Dai still clung on to his final strand of hope and love, Xuan Yue3. After being separated from his first mentor, the alchemist Gliss, and witnessing the death of his second mentor Owen, he wound up as Yue Yue's lackey in her escapade through the continent. As the holy daughter of the Holy Church and granddaughter to the Pope, Xuan Yue was a prodigy in magic and was spoiled rotten. Curious about the outside, she runs away from the Holy Church, bumping into Ah Dai as they attend a Magician's exam. After forcing Ah Dai into traveling with her for a year, they set off on a journey to the Death Mountains.
During the trip, both of them fell in deeply in love, but Ah Dai being inherently rather slow-witted and dumb, had not realized it. It was only until they were forced apart did they realize this, but even after 3 years of separation they still held onto their love. Then, after reuniting and returning to the Elven Forest, Ah Dai's naive heart gets deceived by Ba Bu Yi, Xuan Yue's arranged fiance. After running away from the forest, he goes on a suicidal rampage to avenge Owen, uprooting the entire Assassins guild in one year.
After all of this mania, Ah Dai learned that Xuan Yue, now the 5th Red-robed Bishop of the Holy Church, has been arranged to be married this very day. Ah Dai's heart still yearns to be with Xuan Yue, however difficult it may be and so is desperately rushing to the Holy Church, situated in the middle of the continent.
Ah Dai furiously used his Shengsheng Dou Qi4, speeding up the journey as much as possible to catch up with the wedding. Even at his maximum speed, getting to the Holy Church would still take an extremely long amount of time, so every second was needed to get there. He didn't know when exactly during the day it was going to start, and he had already flown all night in his great rush, so he had no idea of what time it was.
An hour passed with his flying, the small road merging with other roads to create one main one, and then in the distance, he could see a massive, grand structure. Ah Dai recognized it immediately, unleashing all his Shensheng Dou Qi to rush there. His entire body glowed with the white Dou Qi, looking nearly ghost-like to an eyewitness. He flew closer and closer, the features of the Holy Church becoming clearer and clearer. The whole structure was adorned with gold and white, exuding a domineering yet holy aura. It was split into several different regions - A massive hall, living quarters, different shrines and more. Ah Dai had been here before, after his healing by the Pope, but didn't stay for long.
He soon arrived at the gate, being ivory in color and proudly guarding the Holy Church, but Ah Dai saw it as only a troublesome pest. Several of the Holy Churches knights, clad in silver armor and massive swords, had rushed out to stop the unknown figure.
"Stop! Identify yourself and your purpose, and by the grace of God we shall spare you!" A knight fiercely warned Ah Dai. He didn't bother to respond to them, merely sneering as he rapidly approached them. They readied their stances, instantly unleashing their Dou Qi, creating a powerful aura around them. But to Ah Dai's eyes, this was mere child play, reaching for his gray Tiangang5 sword from his cloak, then unleashed his own Qi.
The knight's felt their bodies instantly weigh them down, the surrounding air compressing and suffocating them. Tinges of fear appeared on their faces, their previously emotionless appearance now breaking into cold sweat, and for good reason. Ah Dai's cultivation in swordplay and Dou Qi had far outstripped theirs, so much so that fighting him was essentially a death sentence.
But they were the Holy Church's knights and was trained to fight for the Holy Church no matter what the odds were. They believed that God was with them, protecting them, and even if they give the ultimate sacrifice of death they would not suffer but be immortalized. They had nothing to lose against this intruder. Ah Dai swung his Tiangang sword at the knights, each of them preparing in pure defensive stances, for they knew that Ah Dai was too strong to actively fight against.
Clash! Boom!
His sword clashed violently against the knight's swords, each of them blown away by the sheer strength in the slash. They felt as if a mountain had just been thrown at their bodies, unstoppable in force and power. The Knights coughed up blood but quickly readied to defend against the rapidly advancing Ah Dai. Ah Dai had no intentions of killing them, for he truly detesting killing people if not necessary, innocents even more so. But he needed to quickly gain information on where in the Holy Church the wedding is going to be held so he could stop it, so these knights were the best option.
"Knight's of The Holy Church, tell me one thing and I will spare your lives, where is the wedding of the Cardinal held at?" Ah Dai's voice was soft, not deep nor high but like a gentle wave on a beach, soothing and pleasant. His voice also reflected on his personality, soft, kind, and still a bit naive. Even if he was not as kind, he had another good reason to end this fight as soon as possible, as he was is quite bad condition after flying at maximum speed for two days. He expected these knights to give him the answer quickly, but they were stubborn as a mule.
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"In your dreams, bastard! God shall punish you for your trespass of the Holy Church, and you will atone for your sins." Ah Dai sighed, responding to the knight's determined and gruff answer saying:
"I don't wish to hurt you, truly I don't. Please just quickly tell me, don't force me otherwise." When they did not respond, Ah Dai readied his giant Tiangang sword to clash with them again, but another voice stopped him.
"We'll tell you, alright! Just don't hurt my company anymore, please!" This was a different voice from the other knight who had responded originally to his question, sounding much more smoother and not as gruff.
"Captain, you traitor!" The other knight shouted. The captain knight retorted.
"Don't be foolish. The intruder's martial prowess far exceeds us, fighting him would only lead to more harm. The wedding's location, anyway, is not even a secret by any means."
The captain knight turned to Ah Dai.
"You see that great big hall?" The knight pointed towards the majestic, gold colored structure. "It's held in there. Please, let us go now."
Ah Dai nodded, and without a word, swung his Tiangang sword at the gate, crumbling it, and rushed towards the hall. As other guards and knights realized his presence, they too came blitzing in an attempt to stop him. He had no time to waste on these knights, avoiding them if possible, with the occasional swing that sent them flying. Soon enough, Ah Dai arrived in front of the hall.
There in front of the hall were white marble steps that lead up to a giant, golden framed door. The steps were so incredibly high, the steps seemingly endless in number. Ah Dai hurriedly sprinted up them, his breathing now very heavy from the exhaustion from flying so long. Even so, he kept going as fast as Ah Dai could, for his love of Xuan Yue was so deep that he would give up everything for her.
Huff, puff...
One step, another step...
-
Xuan Yue stared at the marble ground, hands tightly scrunched in grief. Her long, silk dress draping on the carpet, white as snow, woven meticulously and fitted perfectly on her. Xuan Yue lifted her head, her beautiful cerulean eyes looking towards her grandfather - the Pope.
"Do you, Ba Bu Yi, as the most faithful of God, willing to unite with the woman beside you, the Red-robed Bishop Xuan Yue? Are you willing to use your life to respect her, love her, even pay with your life with no regrets?"
-
Huff, puff...
Ah Dai took the tenth step, eleventh step, then the twelfth...
-
Ba Bu Yi's face flushed red from the excitement. Replying loudly, and trembling slightly:
"I am willing, I am willing to use all of my life to take care of her, and even if I must pay with my life I will never regret it. She is the only love of my life."
-
Huff puff...
He took the forty-sixth step, then the forty-seventh, then the forty- eighth...
-
'Is this it? Am I truly going to marry Ba Bu Yi? Ah Dai, oh Ah Dai, why have you not come? Does our love end with only a hopeless dream? Oh, Ah Dai, my heart is filled with pain and agony, let it be that I will be eternally loveless if I marry Ba Bu Yi.'
Xuan Yue thought with despair. The Pope turned to her, and through the pain and suffering, she too could see the unwillingness in his eyes. Xuan Yue knew he disapproved of her marrying someone she did not love, but she had no choice.
"As the most faithful of God, are you willing to unite with the man beside you, the Holy Judge Ba Bu Yi? Are you willing to use your life to respect him, love him, even pay with your life without regret?"
-
Ah Dai was nearly at the top now. There were only a few steps separating him from his true love! His arm shook with a combination of exhaustion, yearning, and anxiousness. A few knights guarding the hall attacked him, but Ah Dai defeated them very quickly.
-
She paused for a moment, pouring all her hopes into Ah Dai coming. The silence reigned, one second, two seconds, three seconds, then Xuan Yue's fragile heart shattered.
"I am - "
-
He crossed the last step. Ah Dai rushed to the massive door, all guards converging on his defeated with a single swing of his sword. The massive door was magically reinforced, so Ah Dai chose to break open it with his sword. He smashed with all his might, all his Shengsheng Dou Qi poured into this attack.
-
"... Willing."
"I now pronounce you husband - "
-
The door crumbled under the gigantic pressure and crashed downwards into the hall. The massive hall was crowded with people; guards, Imperial visitors, influential guests, all seeing the most important wedding in generations. Everyone turned to look at commotion Ah Dai caused, in utter shock and silence, but not before the Pope finished.
" - And wife."
Ah Dai's heard this, and his heart broke. First shock, then denial, then pure rage and fury erupted.
"NO!"
-
Unrelated to the story, but here are some notes to take care of (chinese prinicples you may not know of)
1Dou Qi - Translate to 'Battle force' or 'Battle power'. In most wuxia/xianxia (as with this one), imagine this as the fighters equilivant to mana.
2Ah Dai - Our main protaganist's name. Translates to litterally 'Dumb', reflecting on his rather slow and naive mind.
3Xuan Yue - Another main protaganist's name and also love interest. Translates to 'Mysterious Moon'.
4Shengsheng Dou Qi - See above, but translates to 'Boundless Life Battle Force'
5Tiangang - Translates to 'Sky steel' or 'Heavenly steel'