Chapter 3527: Six Weddings

The Palaces were impossible to miss, not just because of their size, but because of how starkly different they were from the rest of the city.

The Olive Canopy Kingdom’s council hall was a fusion of architecture and nature. Massive trees had been grown into its structure, their trunks forming pillars and walls. Vines draped across balconies and roofs, flowering plants blooming along walkways. It looked less like a palace and more like a cultivated forest given form.

The Alabaster Plains Kingdom’s palace was the complete opposite. Clean lines, sharp angles, and massive stone blocks defined its structure. Everything was symmetrical, orderly, and unyielding. Even the air around it felt heavier, as if weighed down by invisible laws.

The Great Steppe Kingdom’s palace, meanwhile, was rugged and martial.

Beast hides stretched across rooftops and awnings, reinforced with metal frames. Totems and banners fluttered in the wind, depicting horses, spears, and open plains. It felt less like a seat of governance and more like a war camp that had grown permanent roots.

"These palaces," Daoist Chu said quietly, "were built on the site of the old Butterfly Kingdom’s royal palace."

Lin Mu nodded. He had read as much.

"They razed it," Daoist Chu continued, his tone neutral. "Split the land into three, and raised these in its place. And where the royal square once stood, they erected the Three Union Statues."

Cattaleya clicked her tongue. "Subtle."

Before entering the city proper, Lin Mu guided them to land about a kilometer away, in a shallow valley hidden behind a low hill. Once there, he dismissed Little Shrubby, sending him back into the Sleepscape. The massive beast vanished with a faint ripple, leaving the air suddenly feeling emptier.

From there, they approached the city on foot and light flight.

The gates of Three Union City were massive, wide enough for several caravans to pass through side by side. Formation arrays glimmered faintly across the stone, and guards stood in disciplined rows. These were not mere Spirit Realm cultivators. Lin Mu sensed Immortals among them, many at the First and Second Tribulation stages.

They were stopped at the gate.

The questioning was thorough.

Where were they from. Why had they come. How long did they intend to stay. Where were they heading next.

Lin Mu answered calmly, providing half truths where necessary and full truths where it did not matter. They were travelers passing through. Their destination lay beyond this world. They intended no trouble.

Most of the scrutiny, however, fell on Elyon.

The guards’ eyes lingered on him longer than the others. Their questions shifted subtly, circling around his origins, his affiliations, his purpose.

Fifteen minutes passed.

Elyon remained patient, though Lin Mu could sense his irritation simmering beneath the surface. Eventually, Elyon produced a mercenary badge from another world, its markings unfamiliar but clearly legitimate.

Only then did the guards relent.

They waved the group through, though not without lingering looks.

As they entered the city, Meng Bai frowned. "They’re really wary of beastkin here."

A man walking beside them overheard and chuckled.

"You could say that," he said. He was a traveler too, judging by his attire and the light pack on his back. "Bad timing for you to arrive, honestly."

Lin Mu glanced at him. "Why is that?"

The man leaned closer, lowering his voice. "There’s a big event coming up. Security’s been tightened across the city."

"A royal wedding?" Meng Bai guessed from some of the decoration supplies being carried in.

The man shook his head, eyes gleaming. "Bigger."

Lin Mu raised an eyebrow. "How so."

"It’s not one wedding," the man said. "It’s six."

That made all of them pause.

"Six weddings?" Daoist Chu repeated.

"A cross alliance," the man explained. "The three kingdoms are marrying into two major sects. The Golden Urn Light Sect and the Boundless River Sect."

Cattaleya let out a low whistle. "That’s... ambitious."

Lin Mu’s gaze drifted toward the distant palaces and towering statues.

Six weddings. Three kingdoms. Two major sects.

This was not merely a celebration.

It was a consolidation of power.

And suddenly, the Bear King’s warning made far more sense.

Too many feet on the ground.

Too many eyes open.

Three Union City was not just prosperous.

It was preparing for something big.

Lin Mu parted ways with the traveler after offering a brief nod of thanks, and the group continued deeper into Three Union City.

None of them spoke for a short while.

The revelation about the alliance weddings lingered in the air, not as excitement, but as a quiet pressure. Large scale events like this were rarely simple celebrations. They were statements. Declarations of unity, power, and intent. And whenever multiple major powers moved in unison, the ripples tended to spread far wider than anticipated.

"I don’t like the timing," Meng Bai muttered after a few minutes.

Lin Mu glanced at him. "Because of security?"

Meng Bai shook his head. "Not exactly. More like... congestion. Too many people. Too many variables."

"That’s fair," Daoist Chu said calmly. "But worrying won’t help. Teleportation arrays are run on rigid schedules. If there’s a delay, we’ll find out soon enough."

Cattaleya folded her arms and snorted. "And if there is a delay, then there is one. It’s not like we can punch time into moving faster."

Lin Mu gave her a brief look. "You’d try if you could."

She grinned unapologetically.

After another half hour of walking through increasingly dense districts, the scenery began to change. Markets thinned out, residential buildings became more orderly, and the roads widened. Formation arrays embedded into the ground became more frequent, subtly guiding foot traffic.

Then the teleportation hall came into view.

It stood to the south of the city center, a massive structure that radiated age and authority.

Four tall towers surrounded the main building, each etched with ancient runes that glowed faintly with stabilized spatial energy. The central hall itself was constructed from pale white Immortal Alabaster Granite, its surface smooth and unblemished despite the centuries it had endured.

"This place is old," Daoist Chu remarked. "Older than Three Union City itself."

Lin Mu nodded. "It predates the division. Butterfly Kingdom infrastructure."

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