Abyssal Awakening

That night, the clamours of guests coming from the wedding could be heard from afar as Hualing looked out her window at the city.

Red lanterns and red silk could be seen hanging on the walls while fireworks were being let off in the distance.

Guests were greeted by members of both families, exchanging pleasantries with a smile on their faces.

The venue was naturally the Vermillion clan compound as it's the biggest in the city. Plus, she was marrying into the family so it's only natural that the wedding was being held here.

Looking at her own reflection in the mirror, Hualing took a deep breath and tried the best smile she could muster.

Right now, maids were sorting out her hair and the wedding dress was placed by the side.

In mere moments, she would be wed to Xiao An.

'Should I run?' Hualing couldn't help but think to herself but shook her head.

Running would only cause more trouble. Not to mention the fact that it'll implicate Xiao An.

Regardless, she's already made peace with it now so what use is it to worry about it?

After her make up was done, she received help to put on the crimson wedding dress as a veil was draped over her head.

Taking one last deep breath, she made her way towards the venue. The path towards the altar was sprinkled with flowers and countless eyes were focused on her.

Hualing felt her skin crawl. It was akin to being a flower on display, no use other than to look pretty.

Clenching her teeth, she stepped up and saw Xiao An waiting next to the officiator of the wedding with her father nearby.

With slow and steady steps, Hualing approached Xiao An against the alter. Despite coming to terms with everything, she could still feel her heart hammering against her chest. The ringing in her ears.

Each second felt more dreadful than the last.

The guest's murmuring became blurred, serving as nothing but white noise in her ears. Even the words of the officiator were drowned out by the ringing in her ear.

Xiao An was clearly worried about her well being as he leaned down to check if she was alright. But Hualing simply smiled and shook her head, reassuring him despite her own anxiety and nervousness. Her hands clenched around the bouquet, mustering up all her effort just to stay still without running away. Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

"Today, under the blessings of the heavens, we gather to witness the union of these two souls. May their fates intertwine as husband and wife, may their bond be unbreakable and their love eternal."

Hualing's lips trembled beneath her veil. Each of the words felt like cuts against her body.

"You may lift the veil."

Turning to Xiao An, Hualing watched as he lifted the veil over her head.

Despite them knowing that this was arranged and that neither of them wanted to marry, he was still stunned by her beauty.

"What? Surprised by how pretty I look?" Hualing teased, trying to calm her nerves as Xiao An nodded his head with a soft smile.

"I am."

As the officiator began the final part of the ceremony, Hualing felt her world darken. Suffocation overwhelmed her as she glanced down at the floor.

She only had one thought in her mind.

Someone save me please...

As though the heavens had heard her plea, an eerie stillness washed over the venue. The air turned frigid and no one dared to take a single breath.

Many guests couldn't stop the instinctive panic that filled their minds as a wave of killing intent erupted by the front gates.

Sensing this killing intent, Xiao An immediately stepped in front of Hualing to protect her as energy surged around his body.

*BANG!!!!

The doors were kicked open and flung into the air, crashing against the ground as a single woman could be seen.

"Hi~ good evening~ I hope I'm not interrupting anything important. Ohya? Aiyo!!! It's a wedding." Alice's voice could be heard as she walked into the venue with a guard unconscious in her hands.

Narrowing her eye with a grin, she twisted her body and threw the guard towards the elders before slamming down with her hands.

*BANG!!!

A wave of blood immediately erupted, forming a swirling defensive wall that warded against the sudden attacks of the Vermillion family guards.

Upon seeing the distinctive split hair, the elders understood who this was.

"Demoness! You dare interrupt Vermillion clan's business! Pay with your life!" One of the Vermillion clan elders shouted out as crimson energy burst out from his body.

Activating his resonance, armour wrapped around his arm as he took a single step towards her.

Yet that step was enough to cover the distance between them.

Energy converged towards his fist as the elder held his breath. He believed that one punch was all he needed.

Dominating Fist!

*BANG!!!!

An explosion erupted but the target that got hit wasn't Alice!

A portal had opened up in front of her at the last moment and redirected the fist back at the elder!

"Pft, why are you punching yourself? Uwahhh~ That looks like it hurt too. And you were thinking of hiding a pretty girl like me with that brutish fist of yours. Tsk tsk tsk." Alice mocked, kicking the body of the unconscious elder who wasn't prepared for the sudden attack.

Not only that, but his attack was actually amplified thanks to Alice accelerating his punch through the portal!

Seeing the elder get taken out in an instant, the guests immediately started to scramble away, racing each other to leave the premises but there was no need to. After all, Alice only wanted to fight the clan members with martial arts and not the civilians.

Granted, she wasn't even planning on attacking today. She saw that it was a wedding and merely wanted to check things out. What she didn't expect was to see Hualing by the alter, clearly looking distressed and panicked.

Since that was the case, she might as well push up her plans a little.

"Protect the guests! I'll deal with the demoness!" The clan head of the Vermillion clan shouted out as an oppressive aura burst out from his body.

"Hou~ Are you going to fight first? You seem pretty strong." Alice asked while sauntering over to the table and grabbing a jug of wine.

Smelling the fragrance of the alcohol, she couldn't help but lick her lips and took a drink.

*BANG!!!

Phoenix Step + Dominating Fist!

Despite launching a sneak attack the moment Alice took her eyes off him, his punch was caught by her with 'ease'.

"So rude. When someone takes a drink, you should let them finish you know? And that punch of yours… If I f*ck with the space you have to throw it, you can't generate enough power can you?" Alice rolled her eye with a smile before adjusting her grip on his hand.

Blood converged into a single blade as she activated her Zone.

Instant Draw – Killing Arc!

*CLANG!!!

Just as her attack was about to land, Hualing's father intercepted.

Willow Step – Drifting Leaf!

Losing all power in her sword slash, Alice couldn't help but raise her eyebrows as she watched her blade her pushed to the side.

One focused on defence and the other focused on offence!

Not letting this chance be wasted, the Vermillion clan head activated his resonance as black and red armour wrapped around his body.

Molten Strike – Shattering Avalanche!

Just as his punch was about to connect, portals opened up once more but he was prepared.

Transforming his punch into a grab, he had the Chi family head redirect his palm downwards to avoid the portal.

Phantom Swallow Steps – Veil!

Alice's body blurred backwards as her arm whipped into a counter.

Rippling Palm – Ebbing Current!

Her attack brushed past the Vermillion Clan head as he continued his strike.

'Ah screw it, martial arts aren't my forte in the first place.' Alice shrugged as energy coursed through her body.

Void Flux!

*BANG!!!!

Firing a Void Flux at her feet, the explosion of energy sent both clan heads crashing backwards as they didn't expect her to cast a spell with such speed and power!

Neither of them had a chance to react.

###

Watching both clan heads get taken out in such a manner, both Xiao An and Hualing were shocked as neither were taking it easy. Rather, it was the nature of the martial arts that they were using that caused the weakness.

The Vermillion Clan's marital art needed time to 'ramp up'. With each hit, energy would build up in their body preparing for one final strike.

On the other hand, the Chi Clan's martial art needed high perception to execute.

Yet one attack grasped both the weaknesses and took out the practitioners before they could fight back!

It wasn't like the clan head's defences were weak either. The Resonance directly addresses the issue of long charge time by increasing the defence.

But despite that, it was futile.

"You should run. Use this confusion to escape." Xiao An suggested as Hualing glanced up in confusion.

"If you go missing during this confusion, they can't pin it on your family can they?" He chuckled, understanding that she truly didn't want this marriage.

Pausing momentarily, Hualing glanced down with a soft smile.

"That may be so. But do you know what else is better?" Hualing asked as she began to tear off pieces of her wedding dress. It was too restrictive and didn't help with movement.

"Using this as an excuse to join the Demon Extermination Squad. I've always wanted to join you know? Just never got the chance." Hualing grinned.

"Have you been drinking?" Xiao An raised an eyebrow.

This side of Hualing only showed when she was drunk since it was a stark contrast to the mentality needed for the Chi Clan martial arts. It's also the personality that caused the destruction in the city.

"Simply drunk off the atmosphere." Hualing chuckled.

Seeing that she was determined, Xiao An shook his head with a smile as he was reminded of the past.

"You were always the one who got injured first. Seems like that tomboy flare hasn't disappeared yet. Should I cover for you or are you covering for me?" Xiao An asked as red markings appeared across his body.

"We'll switch if the situation calls for it!"

Stomping down, a blue halo appeared above Hualing's head as she rushed towards Alice.