My Celestial Ascension

"Shall we head to the palace and meet your family?" Yuan said to Valeria with a soft smile, gently draping his arm over her shoulder as he gazed into her eyes.

Valeria was taller than Yuan, so he had to look up slightly, and her build was noticeably larger than his other wives'. But Yuan wasn't bothered by this; in fact, she often lowered her head slightly to kiss him.

"To tell you the truth, I'm excited to see the shocked expressions on my family's faces. I'm sure they'll be stunned to learn that I've gotten myself a very young and handsome husband," Valeria said with a grin. She then cupped his face and kissed him passionately.

'They can be so shameless sometimes…doing this so openly,' Miss Zara thought, sighing and rolling her eyes as she felt her heart begin to race.

"Mom? What are they doing? Why is Big Sister Valeria kissing Big Brother Yuan on the lips? Shouldn't she just kiss him on the cheek or forehead?" Little Zoe asked curiously, watching them with wide eyes. She wondered what it would feel like to kiss on the lips like that.

Both Yuan and Valeria seemed to be savoring the kiss, almost like it was a delicious dessert, which only made Little Zoe more curious.

When the kiss ended, Valeria leaned in and whispered with a laugh, "Now, let's go meet my family. My pathetic brother must have spent the night having nightmares about me."

"After all, he's always been my personal punching bag when I needed to let off some steam. Just like any devoted big sister, I made sure to train him every day so he wouldn't get bullied at the Royal Academy of Magic," Valeria added with a huge grin.

"I see… I understand now why he's so terrified of you. I think he should man up and stop acting like a coward around you," Yuan replied, sighing as he imagined the tragic childhood his brother-in-law must have had under Valeria's 'training.'

Yuan could only picture the daily torment his brother-in-law likely endured. He knew Valeria's training regimen well, and it was intense—even for him.

'It all makes sense now why she has such a strong, resilient body. Her training has clearly paid off, and she's becoming stronger each day,' Yuan thought with a smile.

Yuan then lifted into the sky effortlessly, without using his Empyreal Oblivion technique. Xi Meili and Fang Xiaoyan followed, also flying without their swords. Anna and the others, however, hadn't reached the Spirit Grandmaster level or mastered Qi Manifestation yet, so they flew on their swords.

Anna took Miss Zara along with her, while Lily carried Little Zoe on her flying sword, smiling as the child's eyes sparkled with excitement at the sight of the Imperial Palace in the distance, gleaming under the sunlight.

"Wow! The Imperial Palace looks so beautiful! It's huge!" Little Zoe exclaimed, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Fufu~ Just wait until you see the inside. Oh, and there's a big flower garden in the palace—I'm sure you'll love it," Valeria said with a soft smile.

"Really?! Am I allowed to visit the garden?" Little Zoe asked, her excitement growing.

"Yes, dear. And if anyone tries to stop you, I'll make sure to set them straight," Valeria replied with a smile as they continued flying.

'It seems Valeria and Little Zoe have grown closer, which is nice. And Little Zoe doesn't seem to shy away from her anymore,' Yuan thought with a smile.

A few seconds later, Yuan and his group arrived above the Imperial Palace, circling it to observe the grand structure from every angle. As they continued to hover, a few of the Imperial guards noticed them and immediately became alert. Once they recognized Valeria's face among the group, they began trembling as though they'd encountered death itself.

"I-Isn't that Princess Valeria Lionheart—the Ruthless Lioness?" one of the Imperial guards mumbled, disbelief plastered across his face, his legs shaking in fear.

"S-So…the rumors of her return to the city are true… Could it be related to the auction happening in two days?" another guard stammered, also visibly shaken.

One of the guards hurried inside the palace to inform the Imperial Family of Valeria's arrival, fearing the consequences of any delay.

Meanwhile, Valeria hovered above the palace's main entrance, gazing at the panicked guards below, who were scrambling around like frightened kittens.

"Just look at them, running around and trembling like scared kittens. How pathetic… My foolish brother is raising an army of cowards," Valeria muttered, sneering as if witnessing something distasteful.

"You can't blame him for everything, Valeria," Yuan said, moving closer to her in the air and giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "After all, he can't oversee everything himself, especially with the auction just two days away. He must be busy."

Valeria chuckled. "Are you taking my brother's side? Remember, as my husband, you're supposed to support me."

"Why would I support a brother-in-law I haven't even met?" Yuan replied with a smile.

Valeria chuckled, kissed him on the cheek, and whispered, "I'm just teasing, Yuan."

Meanwhile, as soon as the Imperial Family received word of Valeria's arrival, they rushed outside, aware of the repercussions of wasting her time.

"Do you think she'll do something outrageous, like last time, after returning from five years of training?" Concubine Priscilla asked, looking anxious at the thought of facing Valeria's temper.

Concubine Priscilla was Emperor Philip's third wife, a kind yet sometimes cruel woman he married for political reasons. She shared a good relationship with Empress Selena, his first wife, and was understanding of her husband's burdens.

"I don't know… She can be unpredictable. I just hope she doesn't do anything drastic," Emperor Philip sighed, his heart racing as he approached the entrance, feeling as though he were walking into a lion's den.

Seeing the pale expression on his father's face, Crown Prince Daniel held back laughter, deeply amused by the rare sight of his father looking so vulnerable.

'Father usually carries himself with such pride and authority. But now… he looks like a frightened, wet kitten. I've never seen him like this,' Crown Prince Daniel thought, barely able to suppress a grin.

Everyone's faces held a mixture of apprehension as they reached the palace entrance. What they saw left them stunned, their eyes wide with shock.

"…"

"W-What in the world is happening?" Emperor Philip murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, as though he'd just seen a ghost.

"T-They're flying…" Princess Elara mumbled in disbelief.

Empress Selena's gaze fixed on the young man hovering in the air, surrounded by beautiful women. His handsome face immediately drew her attention; he was too striking to overlook. Her eyes then met the gazes of the women beside him, and to her surprise, she couldn't discern anything about them, as if they were beings beyond her comprehension.

'How powerful are they that I can't see through them? They appear as ordinary humans, without a hint of magic, yet there's a profound aura around them that's…frightening,' Empress Selena thought, inwardly shaken.

Her eyes shifted to Valeria, and she was struck by the changes in her. Valeria looked nothing like before, exuding a presence both unfamiliar and intense, as if she had been reborn.

"Valeria, you've returned, yet you didn't even come to greet me first. I thought I was a friend you could trust. Am I no longer that friend?" Empress Selena said, casting Valeria an unhappy glance and letting out a slight snort.

Valeria chuckled, descending slowly to land before Selena with a proud grin as she stored her sword in her spatial ring.

"What… What happened to you? You look so…different," Empress Selena said softly, covering her mouth with one hand in surprise.

"Well, things happened, and now here I am," Valeria replied with a soft smile.

"'Things happened'?! Don't joke with me, Valeria. You've changed entirely! You're like a completely different person from the one I remember!" Empress Selena exclaimed, a mix of surprise and curiosity in her voice.

"Well, let's discuss that later. For now, let's go inside—I'd rather not stand out here explaining," Valeria said with an air of confidence, turning toward the palace.

Yuan and his wives landed as well, following Valeria inside without sparing a glance at the Emperor and his family, their expressions indifferent.

"Yuan, aren't you going to greet me now that you're here?" Crown Prince Daniel called out from behind, catching Yuan's attention.

"Oh, Daniel, I almost forgot you were here! What's going on? Have you stopped training since returning from the Royal Capital?" Yuan asked, turning with a wide grin.

"What?! Do you think I'm a slacker? I train every single day!" Daniel retorted, looking irritated.

With a grin, Daniel stepped closer and said, "Enough about me—let's talk about you. I see two new women with you, and one of them has a child. Who are they?"

"Well, the one with the child is a close friend of ours. And the woman with crimson hair is my wife, Fang Xiaoyan," Yuan explained, introducing them to Daniel.

Miss Zara greeted Daniel, but Fang Xiaoyan only looked at him with a cold stare, as though ready to burn him alive if Yuan weren't by her side.