The Heavenly Sovereign's Divine Artifact Set Me Up - Chapter 1

“Go, go! Star-Eclipse is coming again. If something puts it in a bad mood, it’ll start whipping people.”

The divine lords in the great hall scattered at once. Some hurried away with what dignity they could salvage; others simply ran.

I was ready to flee with them. I was only a minor immortal. The Star-Eclipse Divine Whip was far beyond anything I could afford to provoke.

Before I could make it out of the hall, however, a whip wreathed in flowing violet light shot through the doors and lashed out at the immortals in its path.

I tried to slip away while no one was looking. Too late. Star-Eclipse turned and flew straight at me.

I covered my head on instinct. Anywhere but the face!

The expected pain never came.

I lowered my hands. The whip was trembling in front of me. A moment later, it lightly lifted my chin.

Every divine lord around me stared. I was no less dumbfounded than they were.

No one could guess what new mischief Star-Eclipse had invented today.

Before I could make sense of it, the whip dropped into my arms and went still.

What kind of scam was this? I had not touched it. How had it suddenly become my responsibility?

My face burned beneath the astonished stares around me. Pointing at the whip, I stammered, “I-it’s trying to frame me.”

The instant I spoke, the tip of the whip perked up. It wound itself around my wrist and even rubbed against me with shameless affection.

I nearly panicked. I had no idea what it wanted, and if the Heavenly Sovereign blamed me for this, what was I supposed to do? This was his bonded divine artifact.

The hall erupted in murmurs. Everyone pointed at the whip coiled around my wrist.

Then someone entered from outside.

“Since when,” he asked, “did my whip learn to stage an accident?”

The newcomer was Lou Yuan, the Heavenly Sovereign himself—and the master of this whip.

I bowed at once. It was his bonded divine artifact, after all, and I had no wish to offend the Heavenly Sovereign on my very first day inside the divine palace.

“Your Sovereignty, I didn’t mean to anger your whip.”

Lou Yuan raised a brow. He glanced thoughtfully at the whip around my wrist.

As if it sensed his gaze, Star-Eclipse crawled even farther up my arm.

I shifted my wrist, suddenly uncomfortable.

Lou Yuan’s voice turned cold. “Move one more time and I’ll have you taken apart and thrown into Duan Yue’s furnace.”

I froze in terror.

Duan Yue was the divine lord responsible for forging artifacts. If I was thrown into his furnace, would anything be left of me?

My legs began to shake. I was about to drop to my knees and beg forgiveness, though I still had no idea how I had offended the Heavenly Sovereign.

“P-please spare my life, Your Sovereignty.”

Lou Yuan caught my arm before I could kneel.

Under my bewildered gaze, he took hold of the whip’s handle.

“Star-Eclipse. I won’t say it twice.”

Perhaps I imagined it, but the whip around my arm seemed to shudder. It obediently unwound itself and returned to Lou Yuan’s hand, though slowly and with obvious reluctance.

I dared neither speak nor ask questions.

After putting away the whip, Lou Yuan looked back at me. “Come with me to my palace.”

I stared. “What?”

He laughed softly. “Star-Eclipse doesn’t cling to strangers without a reason. You’re coming back with me so I can examine this properly.”

My legs started trembling again.

Was he taking me away to interrogate me after all? I was a newly ascended minor immortal. I would never survive questioning by the Heavenly Sovereign.

I remained terrified throughout the journey.

Even after we reached his palace, I did not dare raise my eyes to Lou Yuan.

“What is your name?”

I bowed my head. “This minor immortal is Xu Yanzhi, an attendant of the Water God’s Palace. I ascended only recently, and today was my first time entering the divine palace…”

Whenever I grew nervous, my mind stopped working and every thought in it came tumbling out. Only after I finished did I realize how much I had said.

The Heavenly Sovereign was famously quiet and aloof. Would he find me annoying?

While I was still worrying, Lou Yuan gave an unexpected laugh. He walked to a table and pointed to the seat opposite him.

“Sit.”

That frightened me even more.

What virtue or standing did I possess that would let me sit as the Heavenly Sovereign’s equal?

Before I could think, I dropped to my knees with a thud loud enough to echo through the hall.

Even Lou Yuan looked startled. A heartbeat later, Star-Eclipse flew from his side, hauled me upright, and considerately dusted the fabric over my knees.

“Why are you kneeling?”

Suppressing my trembling, I bowed my head. “Your Sovereignty, proper etiquette must be observed.”

Lou Yuan was silent for several seconds. Then, with a sweep of his hand, he drew me directly in front of him and flicked me on the forehead.

“Then let me tell you now: in front of me, you don’t need to concern yourself with etiquette. Sit.”

I covered my forehead and stared at him.

Rumor painted the Heavenly Sovereign as stern, cold, and unsmiling. No one had ever mentioned that he flicked people on the forehead.

I had never known before becoming an immortal that the Heavenly Sovereign could be so approachable.

Finally relaxing, I found the courage to sit opposite him.

“May I ask why Your Sovereignty brought me here?”

Surely he had not truly summoned me to demand justice for Star-Eclipse.

Lou Yuan turned the cup before him twice, then pushed it across the table.

“A jade dew of my own making. Would you like to try it?”

I carefully lifted the cup and took a sip. My mind cleared at once, and a pleasant lightness swept through my entire body.

I stole a glance at Lou Yuan and found him watching me with a smile.

The look made me choke on the jade dew. He merely propped his head on one hand and continued watching.

“You asked why I brought you here. What if I said I rather like you? Would you be willing to become my…”

My head swelled with heat. My thoughts ran wild.

Lou Yuan had said he liked me!

Become his what? His divine partner?

Had I not cultivated and ascended precisely because I admired him and longed to meet him? Had I somehow reached the final step in one leap?

My gaze sharpened with resolve. “I am!”

“Your Sovereignty, I’m willing! The truth is, I like you too. I’ve liked you for a very long time!”

Lou Yuan froze.

His lips moved, and he finally completed the sentence I had interrupted.

“…divine attendant.”