Weapon seller in the world of magic

Lan Jingyi’s voice was gentle but undeniably firm as she spoke again. ”If the weight doesn’t change, son, then even an immortal cannot lift such mass. Only a deity could shoulder something like that. And you’re not a deity.”

Mark winced. It felt as though someone had slapped the sense back into him.

Shen Ling folded her arms under her sleeves, her gaze sharp. ”And that’s not all. Even assuming you could carry it, what happens inside during those sixty minutes? No sunlight. No air movement. No tides. No spiritual flow. You would freeze or suffocate every living being before you even reach the second portal.” Her voice softened only slightly. ”And if you misplace it by even a fraction, or face trouble on the way... you will doom everyone.”

Mark shut his eyes and exhaled deeply.

”Then what’s the solution?” he said quietly. ”I can’t abandon the clan. I can’t transport the world. You can’t come to the clan without leaving your responsibilities here. And I cannot, absolutely cannot, live away from my daughter again.”

He lowered his head, voice trembling ever so slightly.

”And because of the enemies I made back there, all of you would be targets if I just leave you here. What happened last time... I won’t allow anything like that to happen again.”

The room fell into a heavy silence.

Shen Ling watched him for several seconds, then slowly leaned forward. Her voice softened in a way she rarely allowed anyone to see.

”Husband....” Her eyes narrowed in thought. ”Can your former clan head do it? Your great grandfather?”

Lan Jing shook his head almost instantly, his voice carrying certainty. ”You misunderstand, Miss Shen. My grandnephew here didn’t inherit the sect by trials or luck. He defeated the former sect master. A third-stage transcendant. A true god realm expert. If Xiao Zhen cannot move a world, then neither can my father.”

Mark nodded. ”Agreed.”

He paused.

Then he whispered almost reluctantly:

”But I know a person who can.”

Shen Ling’s brows rose. Song Yue leaned closer. Even Lan Jing waited.

Mark clenched his fists.

”Hei Zhenyu,” he said.

Lan Jing stiffened at that name. ”Lord Hei?”

As others wondered who it was, Mark continued, ”He is a fourth-stage transcendant, someone as powerful as the trues deities sitting up there in Jade Emperor’s court. If I ask him... he’ll surely help.”

Shen Ling leaned in. ”Then ask him.”

Mark closed his eyes.

”But there is a problem with it,” he said, voice tightening. ”If I ask for this favor... There is a high chance that he might force me to accept the imperial marriage pact. I will have to betroth Shen Yi to the Emperor’s unborn grandson.”

A cold silence fell.

Shen Ling’s expression darkened immediately.

Song Yue’s eyes widened, her arms reflexively wrapping around the sleeping toddlers more tightly.

Lan Jing murmured, horrified, ”Yi’er is still a baby...”

Mark’s jaw tightened.

”And I will never use my daughter as leverage. Not for power. Not for peace. Not for anything.”

”Eh? Betrothal? What are you talking about?”

Song Yue’s voice rose before she could stop herself, eyes widening in confusion. Mark exhaled and returned to the sofa, settling down with Shen Yi curled safely in his arms. He kissed the top of her tiny head before he finally answered.

”Right now, I was negotiating a peace treaty with the Heavenly Ocean Empire, the strongest power in the entire Ice and Fire Plane,” he began, tone heavy but steady, ” I want to take the Lan Sect and all twenty-one worlds of the Azure Frost Dominion out of their control. I even sent an official declaration of independence.”

Everyone startled at once. Shen Ling stiffened. Lan Jingyi blinked. Song Yue frowned deeply. Even little Lu Shan, sensing the tension, hugged Mark’s arm tighter.

Mark continued, ”And one of the conditions they put forward for peace... was the betrothal of Shen Yi to the Emperor’s future grandson. Or Shang Jiao marrying an imperial prince.”

His parents froze on the spot, stunned speechless.

”My current advantage means I can refuse,” Mark added after a moment. ”They can’t force me... unless I ask the Emperor for help again.”

Shang Fu, his father, leaned forward with a frown. ”Did Jiao’er love someone?”

Mark blinked. ”F-Father? That’s not the point...”

”I’m asking,” Shang Fu insisted. ”If she loves no one, then what about this prince? What kind of person is he? What’s his station? His character?”

Lan Jingyi frowned deeply. ”Dear, this is not the conversation to have right now.”

Shang Fu lifted a hand. ”I’m simply saying, Jiao’er is already of marriageable age by now. If it is for her security and a stable alliance...”

”Father,” Mark interrupted flatly, ”I don’t want a political marriage forced on her.”

His voice held no hesitation.

”And even if we think politically, Shang Jiao is not just any girl. She’s a demigod. She’s the inheritor of Blizzard Pegasus. She cannot become a side consort of an imperial prince. Even the palace knows that.”

He paused, jaw tightening.

”The only reason they want her, or Yi’er, is to tie my hands. To keep me from acting freely.”

Song Yue groaned softly and rubbed her forehead. ”Honestly, it’s just better if you leave the clan and come home, dear. Why complicate all of this?”

Mark’s expression softened at her words, but the helplessness in his eyes was unmistakable.

”My schatz... it’s not that simple.”

He stroked Shen Yi’s hair, feeling the child nuzzle into his chest.

”I caused too much chaos there. If I abandon the clan now, the imperial family will crush them. Completely. They won’t survive the political backlash of choosing me.”

Lan Jing sighed heavily. ”He is right. If he leaves now, the dominion will be punished for its rebellion.”

Shen Ling crossed her arms. ”So leaving is not an option. But nor is sacrificing Shen Yi.”

Mark nodded slowly.

”That’s why I’m stuck. I’m pulled from all sides: duty, family, loyalty, and survival. And every choice ruins someone’s future.”

He looked around the room, meeting everyone’s eyes one by one, his wives, his parents, his children, and even his sister, who stood quietly near the door with a troubled expression.

”I came home to fix things. Not to lose anyone.”

Silence fell.

A long, unbearably tense silence.

Shen Ling’s eyes narrowed with sudden calculation, as if a new pathway had opened in her mind. She leaned forward slightly and asked, ”Say... how long did it take you to come from the clan to here?”

Mark paused and thought back. ”Roughly thirty-five minutes. Most of the time was spent walking inside the null point. The travel itself was quick.”

Shen Ling tapped her fingers on her knee and nodded slowly. ”Then why don’t we all just live at your home? You have your house in the clan, right? I can commute from there to this palace every morning. Like a common worker going to the office. I return here in the morning and go back with you at night. After sunset, the palace hardly needs me unless there’s a major emergency. And if something urgent happens, Fu Sheng and the cabinet can handle it.”

The idea stunned the room. Even Mark blinked at her, surprised at how simple, and brilliant it sounded.

He imagined Shen Ling moving freely between planes, ruling the world here during the day and returning to their shared home in the dominion each night, just like an office worker. It was unexpectedly... normal.

He ran through the logistics in his head, thinking about the null point, the portal travel, and how inconvenient it would be for her to walk that empty, silent, endless stretch twice a day.

What if there were a direct corridor? A private shortcut? If he could he create a fixed portal linking his sect home directly to the palace gates?

As the thought solidified, Mark remembered Lan Xia’s earlier advice, ”Think like a ruler, not a runaway.” That caution made him pause.

”Ling’er... can I ask you something?” he said, turning to her with a more serious look.

Shen Ling raised a brow. ”What is it?”

”I know you conquered the world,” he began carefully, ”but I want to know... how connected are you to the people of this world? Emotionally. Politically. Spiritually. If you left the throne to rule somewhere else, would it hurt you? Or are you tied more to the role than the citizens?”

Shen Ling stared at him for a long second before replying, her tone dry. ”Are you planning to make me appoint a puppet queen to sit in my place while I run off with you to oversee another dominion?”