Imperial Palace
The opulent hall was thick with tension. The Emperor of Great Wei sat with a face like storm clouds, gripping the report in his hands. Over two hundred thousand troops, half a year of preparation—and she had escaped. Not just escaped, but walked on water, crossing the raging river as if it were solid ground.
To him, this was the mark of an immortal. Envy and terror coiled in his gut.
"Issue a nationwide arrest warrant immediately," he said after a measured breath, forcing calm into his voice.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
A eunuch scurried out to execute the order. Alone, the emperor slumped over his desk, gasping like a drowned man.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Fear gnawed at him—fear of her vengeance, fear of waking to a blade at his throat. Emperors were paranoid by nature, and he was no exception. He knew what he'd done. A common girl? He wouldn't have spared a glance. But this one?
To pinpoint the weakest link in an encirclement of hundreds of thousands, to stride through fire and flood—even if she was just a girl, she terrified him.
"Your Majesty, perhaps reconsider my proposal. With her gone, your warrants will be useless against her power."
The rasping voice slithered from the jade talisman at his side. The emperor's jaw twitched. Ten daughters. Not just any ten—unmarried, young, healthy ones.
"Think carefully, Your Majesty. Given her display, she may already be at the Qi Refining stage."
"I'll make the selections," the emperor snapped, icy. He had over two hundred children. A few sickly ones wouldn't be missed.
"Your Majesty, General Sun requests an audience."
The eunuch's announcement shattered his composure. His face darkened further. One death. Nearly a thousand injured—burns, smoke inhalation. But the one death was the old general's eldest grandson. The same general who'd collapsed in court days ago.
That grandson had been his pride, cut down in his prime. Steeling himself, the emperor waved the man in. The once-indomitable general now looked decades older, his spirit broken.
"Your Majesty, I come to resign."
No preamble. The old man placed his commander's seal on the desk. No blame for the girl—his grandson had fallen in fair combat. But to mobilize two hundred thousand for one girl? A farce. He'd been inspecting the northern borders, only to return to this madness.
And what he'd seen… the omens of collapse. Too weary to fight, he chose exile.
~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~
"Finally gone, that old fool."
"Summon my ten daughters," the emperor ordered, exhilaration cutting through the gloom. With the military's patriarch gone, power was his alone.
He would be eternal. His descendants? Threats to be pruned.
Southern Wilderness
Moonlight bathed the hilltop where Su Min lounged, finally at ease. The river had been her salvation. Crossing it had severed pursuit—moving an army that size across such waters was no small feat.
The arrest warrants plastered everywhere meant little to her. She avoided roads, sticking to untamed wilds. Along the way, she'd even killed a tiger and two bears.
"Now, to plan."
Unfurling a map bought before the warrants spread south, she compared it to memories of the game. This wasn't a linear adventure. No clear "main quest"—just exploration, cultivation, and uncovering lost arts. But threads existed.
"The first chapter's events should be unfolding now."
Her original plan had been to flee to the Southern Sea, but Time's Glimpse demanded more than passive waiting.
This divine ability wasn't just about time—it thrived on action. Heal the sick, and it might grant restorative arts. Live as a thief, and stealth techniques would follow.
A versatile tool, if used wisely.