With a mere two weeks to prepare, the entire Deep Sea King sect and World-Rending Behemoth sect sprang into frenzied action. The World-Rending Behemoth sect sent over any craftsmen they could spare, aiding the Deep Sea King sect with the decoration and construction that had to be done quickly.

A normal wedding would not warrant such a frenzied state, but the people getting married were the son of the Wave King and the daughter of the Iron Tiger Lord. Even if they both had over 100 children, each of those marriages was still a sufficiently big matter, especially when the person they were marrying had a similar status in one of their allied sects.

Thanks to the combined efforts of all the craftsmen, the entire Deep Sea King sect was quickly shrouded in a tint of crimson and gold. And it wasn't just the main island that the sect resided on, all the auxiliary islands around them were also decorated in the same manner for the grand celebration.

But these preparations didn't have anything to do with Li Yang or Mei Kongxu, it wasn't like the sects could make the bride and groom work on preparing things for their own wedding. They got a great deal of peace thanks to this and could spend the days as they wished, allowing them to learn a bit more about each other's habits.

Li Yang's habits were exactly what he had shown, he sauntered around and did as he pleased during the morning and the day but spent a fair portion of the night cultivating. To his slight surprise, Mei Kongxu was quite opposite to him when it came to this regard.

She went to bed surprisingly early, usually around nine in the evening every day. She would then sleep for 12 hours or more, and upon waking she would eat a quick breakfast before she spent a few hours cultivating. It also didn't seem like she slept for so long on purpose. When she first slept, she wouldn't wake up unless you actually touched her or she woke up on her own.

Li Yang had tried quite a few methods and made more than just a little racket and noise, but she only ever woke up if he actually laid his hands on her. It was the first time he had ever meet someone who could sleep so deeply yet also so softly, and above all, someone who could sleep so many hours in a row every day. But she had no explanation as to why she got tired so early and slept for so long, it was just how she had been all along, so neither of them continued to care about the topic.

And with almost everyone in the two sects whipped up to such a frenzied state, time slipped through their fingers like sand. The day of the wedding arrived despite all the craftsmen wishing for it to come even a single day slower, the entire sect buzzing with sounds before the sun even rose.

Li Yang rose from the couch he was sleeping on when the first rays of the morning sun poked through the windows. He rubbed his face in a weary manner and stretched his body, the rhythmic sound of his joints popping one by one echoing through the room.

Two weeks was neither short nor long to a cultivator of his age, and while his body cultivation hadn't improved much during this time, he had succeeded in carving his fourth force rune. It only gave him a minor increase in Qi, but carving this fourth rune put his law of force on equal footing with his law of gravity and his law of speed, which was a necessity if he wanted to reach the next cultivation realm.

He finished stretching his body and sauntered over to the bathroom, activating the array located in one corner to create a shower. He gave his body a quick clean and then dried himself, slipping into a clean white robe. He then pushed open the door to the bedroom, throwing the now wet towel at Mei Kongxu.

"Get up, we've got a wedding to get through."

He walked away from the room as Mei Kongxu's surprised yelp sounded out, leaving the house on his own. There were certain preparations they both had to go through before the wedding so they would be split up even if they did show up together. As he casually sauntered through the sect, he allowed his gaze to sweep around the now crimson-golden surroundings.

Every building had crimson and golden cloth hanging from the roof or fluttering in the wind in the form of flags, each one adorned with the guardian beast of the two respective sects. They were called guardian beasts, but they had died long ago alongside the ancestors of the sect, only the top 20 ranked sects still had guardian beasts that were still alive.

The guardian beast of the Deep Sea King sect had the body of a hydra, six serpentine necks stretching out from the body. But the heads resting at the ends of the necks looked like they belonged on sharks, and while the hydra had four thick limbs it also had countless tentacles that grew out between the limbs. Fittingly enough, this beast was known as the Shark-Headed Kraken, a variant Demonic beast that could have evolved into a Divine Beast if it managed to evolve one or two more times.

The guardian beast representing the World-Rending Behemoth sect was the same, a variant Demonic beast that had the chance to become a Divine Beast. But it had the body and head of a large tiger, six backwards pointing crystalline horns adorning its head. Similar crystals ran down the spine of the tiger, finally gathering together into what looked like a jagged mace on the tiger's tail.

It was known as a Crystal-Fanged Tiger, but the last known one of them on the Heretic Song continent was killed almost 50 000 years ago. A new one might have mutated into existence, but no new sightings had been reported yet, so for all they knew, it had already become extinct on this continent.

Li Yang continued his nonchalant sauntering as he headed for the main building where the wedding would take place, a massive dome that stood only a few tens of kilometres away from the palace serving as the island's centrepiece. The people he passed greeted him politely and enthusiastically, even those he had teased and humiliated several times in the past.

After all, today was his big day, he and his future wife would be the centre of attention as they performed their wedding rites to further cement the alliance between the two sects. Antagonizing him today wouldn't be a great idea considering the fact that several other sects and clans were sending over representatives, it could harm their sect's reputation.

Li Yang returned some of the greetings, but some he simply couldn't be bothered to even acknowledge. He was very aware of exactly who it was that had sneered at him in disdain when he hid his strength, he really couldn't be bothered to interact with such two-faced people. Well, if that interaction led to him humiliating them then he would certainly take part in it, but he didn't really have that chance right now.

It took a bit of time since he sauntered around so casually, but he reached the entrance of the decorated dome after two hours. The several metres tall and wide double doors were already pushed open, revealing the massive hall filled with tables and chairs. At the very end of the room were two elevated sections, the highest one featuring eight seats while the one directly below it only housed two seats. A crimson carpet went from the open doors all the way to the elevated sections, a mixture of blue and yellow flower petals scattered along the entire carpet.

The hall was full of people that were hurriedly placing the final finishing touches while they still could, but everyone made sure to not step on the slightly narrow crimson carpet. Li Yang swept the hall with a quick gaze before he spotted the tall and scarred man he was looking for, sauntering down the carpet in a lazy manner.

"Yo, Elder brother Voyun. I heard that you're in charge of dolling me up all nice and pretty? Please leave out the scars in the make-up, I'd rather be able to look at my own face in the mirror without suddenly fearing that a ghost has risen from Naraka."

Li Voyun didn't respond to Li Yang's taunts, he had long since gotten used to the insufferable personality of his younger brother. He stepped past Li Yang and started heading for one of the doors scattered about at the sides of the hall, beckoning Li Yang with his finger.

"Just follow me and don't embarrass the sect later, especially not in front of the six esteemed guests."

Li Yang followed after his elder brother, not bothered by the gruff tone he used. With how many children Li Tian had, it was impossible for all of them to be on good terms. That was especially the case for Li Yang, who was a black sheep that had even purposefully pretended to not cultivate just so that he could humiliate people.

The two men stepped through one of the doors and entered a small room that only contained a small pool filled with steaming water, a large mirror, and a single chair. Li Yang disrobed before Li Voyun could tell him anything, slipping into the warm water that had various flowers and fragrant herbs floating around in it.

He stretched his body for a moment as he soaked in the water, dipping his head beneath the surface to drench his hair. He surfaced shortly after and leaned against the edge of the pool, waving his hand casually.

"You can just get started. But please be gentle, I don't think my sensitive scalp can handle your big rugged hands."

There was no verbal response from Li Voyun, he simply got to work on Li Yang's hair, grooming it until it turned silk-like. He swept the hair back and kept it in place by tying it up into a neat bun at the back, fastening it with an ocean-blue hairpin. With his hair done, Li Yang rose from the pool and dried his body, sitting down in front of the mirror so that Li Voyun could fix his makeup.

But Li Yang was lucky and had been blessed with a dashing and delicate appearance thanks to the fact that he took after his mother, so there wasn't really any need to apply any makeup. As such, while the bath had taken almost an hour, the process of applying the makeup took less than five minutes.

The final touch that had to be applied was his clothing, Li Voyun pulling out a robe from his interspatial bracelet. The robe was ocean-blue in colour, golden lines running along the back and gathering together into the image of the sect's guardian beast. Similar golden lines ran along the sleeves and hem of the robe, forming several aquatic Demonic beasts to put the finishing touches on the somewhat simple robe. With his task finished, Li Voyun tossed out a wooden plaque and a golden ring inlaid with two sapphires.

"Here. She'll be ready in a few minutes, you can start the walk then."

Li Yang caught the two items as Li Voyun left the room, putting away the ring and inserting a bit of Qi into the wooden plaque. The words engraved into the plaque lit up and caused space around Li Yang to twist for a short moment, teleporting him away. The place he arrived in was a simple room that only contained two chairs and nothing else, not even a window.

It was just as Li Voyun said, space within the room twisted once more only a few minutes after Li Yang arrived, Mei Kongxu appearing in the centre of the twisted space. Her snow-white hair had been silk-like from the start and wasn't tied up in any way, allowing it to freely cascade down below her buttocks. She was in the same boat as Li Yang and didn't need any makeup, the only decoration adorning her being a crimson orchid that had been tucked into her hair.

She was clad in the official wedding robes of her sect, a crimson robe adorned with golden lines along the back that formed her sect's guardian beast. But rather than have golden lines form beasts along the hem of the robe and her sleeves, the lines gathered together to form various flowers, adding a more graceful and sensual touch to her clothing. Li Yang wasn't shy about his admiration, she was a beauty after all. He allowed his eyes to roam up and down her body for a bit, especially her long and shapely legs, eventually retracting his gaze and nodding towards the sole door in the room.

"Alright, let's get this nonsensical parade underway."