Chapter 22 — The Prophet Awakens: Shedding the Worthless Shell

The Dai Thien Truong was full of people before noon. Rumors about a "big incident" spread quickly during the night, no one knew the origin, but tens of thousands of people still flocked there, mixed with curiosity and insecurity.

On the highest stand, Ước Liêm Phong stood there, his crimson cape fluttering in the wind. Next to him, Tang Vũ Tiêu held Tiểu Nguyệt tightly, a dagger placed close to her neck.

"Let go of my child!"

Tuyết Doanh's scream rang out when the group rushed into the arena, breaking through the loose guard fence that was deliberately poorly arranged so they could easily enter - part of the drama that Liêm Phong had staged.

"The Queen arrived on time." Liêm Phong laughed coldly, his voice echoing throughout the arena thanks to the ancient sound amplification technique. "Please take your seats. The show is about to begin."

"Wish of Liêm Phong!" Vọng Thần rushed forward, his face no longer showing any traces of stupidity. "Let my daughter go now."

"What's the hurry?" Liêm Phong raised his hand to signal, Tang Vũ Tiêu tightened his grip around Tiểu Nguyệt, making her cower in fear. "First of all, I want the whole Northern Cuong to see the real you, Cố Vọng Thần. Or should I call you by another name?"

The crowd stirred. No one understood what was going on, but the atmosphere was as tense as a bowstring.

"What do you want?" Vọng Thần growled, clenching his fists until they turned white.

"It's simple." Liêm Phong walked down a few steps, his eyes cold. "You completely revealed yourself, in front of everyone here. Prove to the whole of Bắcương that the Thousand Year Agreement has been broken - not because Xa Tuyết Doanh married a useless person, but because she secretly married a force beyond human control, hiding this truth from the council of elders for six years."

"That's a wild accusation!" Elder Bách Niên, present in the crowd, loudly protested.

"Really?" Liêm Phong smiled faintly. "Then let him answer it himself."

All eyes turned to Vọng Thần. He stood there, in the middle of the arena, his daughter was holding a knife to her neck, his wife was trembling with anger and helplessness, and tens of thousands of eyes in the whole of Bắcương were waiting for an answer.

***

There was no more time to calculate, to hide, to choose the perfect moment as he had wished.

"Okay." Vọng Thần stepped forward, his voice rang out clearly, without any evasion. "You want to know the truth? I will show you."

He raised his hands to the sky. A faint silver light began to radiate from his body, and the clouds above the arena suddenly moved according to a strange pattern, arranging to form an eye in the middle of a crescent moon surrounded by seven stars — the symbol of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion that no one in the crowd had ever seen, but that made the oldest people, those who remembered the most ancient legends, tremble in fear.

"No way..." Elder Bách Niên muttered, his eyes widening. "That is the mark of Thiên Cơ Các, an organization that was extinct more than a hundred years ago!"

Murmurs of surprise spread like waves throughout the arena. But Liêm Phong, even though he was a little shocked at the unprecedented scene, still maintained his calm appearance on the outside.

"So it's as I suspected." He laughed loudly. "Xa Tuyết Doanh, you married a ghost from an evil sect that was eliminated because of its own crimes! This is the clearest evidence that the Thousand Year Agreement has been completely broken!"

"You are wrong," Vọng Thần replied, his voice cold as ice, step by step towards Liêm Phong, the power around him had not diminished. "Thiên Cơ Các is not an evil cult. We are people who read the destiny of heaven and earth to protect vulnerable lands, not to dominate or cause disaster. And the Thousand Year Agreement has not been broken - it has been carried out exactly as the Bắcương ancestors predicted, it's just that no one remembers its true meaning."

***

Just as the tension reached its peak, a horn sounded from the north of the arena, followed by the thunderous sound of horse hooves.

"Reinforcements! Blue Lang Bộ has arrived!"

Lăng Chiêu Dương led five hundred warriors, destroying the mercenary barrier that Liêm Phong secretly placed outside Đại Thí Trường to prevent incidents - an army that he believed was capable of suppressing any outside intervention before Northern Cuong reinforcements could arrive.

Almost at the same time, from the south, a series of train horns sounded in the distance. The West Sea Bo fleet approached the Nam Xuyên coast, completely cutting off the waterway retreat that Liêm Phong may have considered as a final escape plan.

Liêm Phong's face changed color in an instant. He did not expect that Tuyết Doanh had secretly built such a solid alliance network, far beyond what he had calculated through many months of reconnaissance.

"No way..." He took a step back, showing panic for the first time. "When did you guys prepare?"

"A long time ago, Wish Liêm Phong." Tuyết Doanh stepped forward, her eyes sharp as knives. "Do you think I will sit still and wait for your plot to ripen? Every tribe loyal to Northern Cuong, every alliance I have worked hard to build over the years, has been waiting for this moment."

The siege outside the arena was now completely broken, Liêm Phong's forces were either captured, or fled in disarray before the overwhelming power of the Bắcương coalition. But inside the arena, Tang Vũ Tiêu still held Tiểu Nguyệt tightly, the knife was still close to her neck, and Liêm Phong, despite losing his military advantage, still held the last card - the child's life.

"Don't think you've won." Liêm Phong roared, his eyes filled with the madness of someone cornered. "If I give the signal, she will die right before your eyes. Back! Everyone back!"

The arena was filled with suffocating silence. All eyes turned to the blade trembling close to Tiểu Nguyệt's delicate skin, and to Vọng Thần - the only person who may still have a chance to turn the situation around in this moment of life and death.

***

"Everyone step back as he orders," Vọng Thần said, his voice was low but loud enough for the entire coalition behind to hear clearly. Lăng Chiêu Dương, although impatient, still signaled his warriors to stop and keep a safe distance.

Tuyết Doanh stood still, all her mother's instincts screamed for her to rush over immediately, but the reason of a battle-hardened princess held her back. Any impulsive action at this time could be the last straw that causes Tang Vũ Tiêu to take action.

"Wish Liêm Phong." Vọng Thần stepped forward, slowly but surely, each step seemed to suppress a giant anger waiting to explode. "You have achieved what you wanted. The whole of Bắcương has seen the truth about me. Now, release my daughter. This is between you and me, it does not need to involve an innocent child."

"Isn't it relevant?" Liêm Phong smiled coldly, even though cold sweat had begun to roll down his forehead under the pressure of the surrounding coalition troops. "She is the only thing keeping my balance right now. Do you think I would be foolish enough to let her go?"

"So what are you going to do next?" Tuyết Doanh spoke up, trying to keep her voice calm even though she was screaming inside. "You've lost your army, you've lost your way out, you've lost the support of anyone who still believes in your cause. Do you think keeping a child hostage will help you get out of this situation?"

Liêm Phong was silent, his eyes quickly scanned the arena, looking for a way out that he knew no longer existed. Cold sweat soaked the back of his shirt under the harsh midday sun, while Tang Vũ Tiêu, sensing his master's hesitation, tightened his grip around Tiểu Nguyệt, making her burst into sobbing tears of pain and fear.

"Dad..." Tiểu Nguyệt's weak call rang out amidst the tense silence, tearing the hearts of both Vọng Thần and Tuyết Doanh.

Vọng Thần clenched his fist, the silver light around his body suddenly became stronger, reflecting a determination that had nothing left to lose. "Wish Liêm Phong, this is the last chance I give you. Let her go, and I promise to let the council of elders judge you according to the ancient law. Otherwise..." He didn't finish his sentence, but his eyes said everything that needed to be said.

Liêm Phong looked into those eyes, and for the first time during his months-long plot, he felt real fear — not fear of the sword or the army, but fear of the man standing in front of him, a man who had been pushed to the last limit of his patience.