Before the Great Holy Hall, where the Holy Tree Illusion was rooted, Royal Guards were forcefully blocking a silver-haired, dragon-horned girl.
There was only one person in the entire Imperial Capital who bore the traits of a Demon Dragon. Moreover, thanks to a certain "Branch of Prosperity," Reiya had recently made a major impression on the Imperial Capital's nobility.
However, the Reiya of this moment was drastically different from the one in everyone's memory.
Her long, silver-white hair cascaded down like a waterfall. A single lock of her bangs hung before her slightly lowered eyelids, her exquisitely perfect face—like something out of a myth—a mixture of sternness and delicate beauty.
Her magnificent, gem-like eyes, a blend of deep, mysterious navy purple and pure, clear azure, stood in stark contrast to her gaze. It was disdainful and cold, as if it could freeze the very soul of anyone who met it.
She wore a form-fitting battle dress of pure white and sky blue, its coattail-like hem falling behind her and moving as if in an unseen wind. Her full bust stretched the white fabric taut, leaving not a single wrinkle. A cincher wrapped around her flat stomach, her waist unbelievably slender.
Her legs were also inhumanly long and shapely. As the battle dress did not cover her lower body, she instead wore black over-the-knee socks. The heart-stopping sight of her fair, delicate skin was breathtaking. She wore black, high-top soft boots, and the cuffs and collar of her dress were neatly turned up, giving her an elegant and proper appearance.
If not for the incredibly conspicuous pair of dragon horns, no one would have ever connected the silver-haired girl before them with the cripple in a wheelchair.
"Her Highness Reiya, please halt."
The Royal Guards crossed their halberds, forming an iron wall that blocked Reiya's path. The surrounding Guards also glared at the Silver-haired Princess with hostility.
The Silver-haired Princess merely gave them a contemptuous glance.
"You can't stop me, because you don't have the authority to kill me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Reiya walked forward without another thought, her snow-white neck nearly crashing right into the sharp edge of a halberd. A wound immediately split open.
The Guards were so frightened they instantly dropped their weapons and stumbled backward.
Emotionally, these Guards, loyal to the Royal Family, wished Reiya had never existed. Given the chance, they wouldn't have minded kicking her while she was down. However, they would never dare to decide the life or death of a royal heir on their own.
The Royal Guard was thus forced to retreat, allowing Reiya to get close enough to the Royal Family's private levitating platform.
The Silver-haired Dragon Lady shouted, "Your Royal Highness, the Regent King, I have something to say to you!"
Hearing this, the people on the levitating platform all took notice and began to whisper among themselves.
The Regent King frowned at the sight and questioned the Royal Guard Captain:
"How did she get here?!"
The Royal Guard Captain was instantly drenched in a cold sweat.
"She came from behind the Holy Hall. The Holy Law Guard is stationed there, so we thought..."
The area behind the Great Holy Hall was guarded by the Holy Law Guard. For the Royal Guard, it was a place that required no attention. What petty thief would dare approach the Holy Tree Illusion?
'This is bad,' the Regent King thought, turning her head to look...
"What is *that hybrid* doing here?!"
The moment Yaligong saw Reiya, he was like an exploding powder keg, roaring with fury:
"And another thing! Why are her legs perfectly fine... No, are those prosthetics? Who gave her such expensive prosthetics?! Imperial Sister, what in the world is going on?!"
Seeing the youth with choppy, fiery-red hair glaring at her while gritting his teeth, Sylvia pressed her temples with a budding headache and waved her hand dismissively.
"Yaligong, calm down first!"
The Red-haired Prince crushed the armrest of his chair. "Calm down?! How do you expect me to calm down?! Imperial Sister! What else are you hiding from me?"
"I will tell you. For now, just calm down."
Sylvia did her best to soothe Yaligong, saying:
"She's already before the Great Holy Hall. The Divine Ancestor might be watching even now. Don't be willful. We need to handle this matter properly."
The gaze of the Divine Ancestor.
This was more effective than any persuasion.
"I understand. That hybrid will have to pay the price for her blasphemy and audacity."
Yaligong finally calmed down a bit and followed the Regent King to the edge of the levitating platform, looking down on Reiya from above.
"Princess Reiya, what is it that you want to say? Must you declare it before the sanctity of the Great Holy Hall?"
"I simply wish to participate in the Secret Realm Trial. However, neither the palace guards nor the priests of the Holy Hall believe I am qualified. That is why I have come to ask for permission from Her Royal Highness, the Regent King."
Reiya spoke with her head held high. Although she was the one looking up, she showed not a trace of humility as she faced the people standing in the light, as if she were the one in power.
"Hah? Are you saying you think you're qualified to join the Trial? Know your place, you hybrid!"
Yaligong couldn't help but sneer, "The Divine Ancestor's Trial is a grand ceremony to honor those with merit. The Divine Ancestor's loyal servants can participate, the Imperial subjects can participate, even envoys from allied nations can observe. But you! A hybrid with filthy, defiled blood flowing through your veins, you have absolutely no chance to profane this sacred event!"
The Silver-haired Dragon Lady's magnificent eyes met the venomous gaze of her half-brother and she said:
"Perhaps so, but you don't get to decide."
"You!"
Yaligong's eyes widened in fury. He took a step forward, about to leap off the levitating platform, but Sylvia stopped him.
The Regent King looked down at her younger sister and said coolly:
"Why do you suddenly wish to participate in the Secret Realm Trial?"
"I just want a chance to become better. A chance to take my life from negative, to zero, and then to positive. In other words, it is merely my faint hope."
Sylvia sighed softly and shook her head.
"You cannot participate in the Trial. We cannot allow someone with mixed Dragon Blood to ascend the Divine Ancestor's stage."
Reiya raised an eyebrow and retorted:
"Why? Why can't I participate?"
The Regent King didn't speak, but Yaligong had already voiced the thoughts of most people present:
"Hybrid, don't you get it yet? Because it's blasphemy! Your sins are heavy and unforgivable! You shameless piece of dragon-blooded filth! Not only do you refuse to reflect on and admit your sins, but you also dare to dream of defiling this sacred ceremony. How utterly laughable."
"I see. So I am guilty, is that it?"
Reiya let out a relieved laugh. The Silver-haired Dragon Lady tilted her head back, calmly surveying the crowd that stared at her with expressions of disgust, and slowly asked:
"Then may I ask, from where do my sins originate?"
The Silver-haired Princess immediately received the answer she wanted.
"You ask even though you know..."
"Your sins are simply innumerable!"
"Pah! Hybrid!"
"You killed my daughter!"
"And my brother!"
"A stain on the Royal Family! The shame of the Empire!"
"..."
Facing the endless curses and calls for reckoning, Reiya nodded.
"I see. So it was I who caused your family and friends to die tragic deaths. It was I who defiled the honor and purity of the Royal Family... But whose fault was that?! Answer me!"
The girl's question echoed across Temple Square, yet no one could answer. Reiya took a step forward, placed a hand on her chest, and said:
"I am indeed guilty, but not of any of the crimes you have so self-righteously pinned on me."
"I admit to the one and only sin I have committed—being born a Dragon!"
The Silver-haired Dragon Lady extended her arm. Upon that slender, pale limb, azure lightning coiled like surging electric serpents, emitting a blinding light.
"!!!"
Everyone who witnessed this scene fell deathly silent, as if their breath had been caught in their throats.
"Is that... Dragon Thunder?"
"There's no mistake, that's Dragon Thunder..."
"Damn it, before the Holy Hall! How dare she?!"
"Kill her! Kill that hybrid!"
"Grind her bones to dust!"
Panic, disgust, fear, suspicion... all sorts of gazes devolved into chaos the moment they saw the azure lightning.
The spectators, who had merely been observing the Royal Family's internal confrontation, now roared in anger. Whether noble or commoner, they all saw the beautiful figure wreathed in azure lightning as a thorn in their side.
Yaligong let out a wild, unhinged laugh.
"Hybrid! Dragon-blooded Hybrid! You finally couldn't hide it anymore! You've shown your fangs at last!"
Reiya's eyelids lowered slightly, the corners of her lips turning up. 'I only wish this moment had come sooner. Suppressing my true nature, for so long... I've never felt so... exhilarated.'
The Silver-haired Princess, wreathed in lightning, took a few more steps forward. The surrounding Royal Guard retreated in unison, aiming their axes, hooks, and halberds at Reiya.
Reiya scoffed at the Guards' expressions, as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
"What are you so afraid of? Are you afraid I'm going to hurt you? How ridiculous. My strength doesn't compare to any single one of you."
Spreading her arms, Reiya again looked at everyone watching her—those on the ground and those in the sky.
At the people who stared at her with hostility and hatred.
At the people who endlessly cursed and insulted her.
She smiled and said:
"My soul is serene and clear, like mountains at sunrise, like a sea of flowers in the morning. Yet you see me as cold and evil, a hateful, detestable clown. You laugh at my misery, and while you laugh, you still hate me."
"You all live such gloomy, dreadful, meaningless lives. You are like a patch of dark clouds, terrified of the lightning that will pierce you! I mock your darkness and your gravity. I am that falling thunderbolt!"