The main courtyard of the Minister's estate was packed. The High Priest stood on the raised dais, his silver bells jingling with nervous energy, while Lang sat beside the Minister, looking like a fragile, wilting lily in his damp white silks.
"Lord Minister," Lang sobbed, his voice carrying to every ear in the crowd. "Your son has been corrupted. He uses 'magic boxes' to keep the dead alive, and his Omega... that tragic boy... he attacked me! He pushed me into the pond because he fears I am the only one who truly knows Cheng's heart."
The Minister looked toward the forge, his face a mask of iron. "Cheng! Come forth and answer for this 'magic' and the behavior of your mate!"
Step 1: The Scholar's Entrance
The heavy iron doors of the forge swung open. Cheng stepped out, but he wasn't alone. He held Heng firmly by the waist, his large hand possessively anchored on the Omega's hip. In Cheng's other hand was a strange, long tube of reinforced steel—the "Dragon's Breath" he had built using the System's blueprints.
[SYSTEM MISSION: "The Lotus Crush"]
Objective: Expose Lang's lies and establish absolute dominance.
[REWARD: 1,000 Evolution Points & "Advanced Concrete" Formula.]
"Father," Cheng's voice was a low, vibrating command that silenced the whispers. "I don't use magic. I use the laws of the universe. And as for the 'White Lotus' beside you... he didn't get pushed. He jumped."
Step 2: The Scientific Exposure
Lang shivered, his eyes wide. "Lies! You weren't even looking!"
"I don't need to look with my eyes to see a fraud," Cheng stepped toward the pond, dragging the Minister with him. "Look at the mud, Father. If a man is pushed, his footprints slide forward. But look at these tracks. The heels are dug deep into the bank. Lang spent three seconds bracing himself to jump. He wasn't a victim; he was a diver."
The crowd gasped. The Minister leaned down, his battle-hardened eyes seeing the truth in the soil. He looked back at Lang, his expression turning lethal.
"And this?" The High Priest pointed at the steel tube in Cheng's hand. "This is the devil's toy!"
"No," Cheng smiled—a dark, predatory expression. "This is why you are obsolete."
Cheng raised the "Dragon's Breath" toward a stone target fifty yards away. He pulled the trigger. A thunderous BOOM echoed through the estate as a streak of fire and lead shattered the stone into dust. The High Priest fell to his knees, dropping his bells, while Lang screamed and scrambled backward, falling into the mud once again—this time, for real.
The Ultra-Long Spicy Coronation
The Minister stood in stunned silence. "You... you have changed the world, Cheng."
"I am just getting started," Cheng rasped. He didn't wait for the applause. He swept Heng up into his arms and carried him back into the forge, locking the heavy iron doors behind them.
Inside the heat of the forge, the "sweet-spice" scent of their bond exploded. Heng was trembling, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and intoxicating worship. "You... you saved me again. You made them all look like fools."
"I told you, Little Soul," Cheng groaned, pinning Heng against the cooling stone of the central anvil. The System screen flickered in his peripheral vision: [Mission Complete: Reward Claimed. Relationship Depth: MAX.]
. Cheng worshiped Heng's body with a raw, primal intensity, his hands marking the Omega's porcelain skin with the soot and heat of the forge. He wasn't just a Scholar anymore; he was a King who had just proven his power to the world. Every thrust was a claim, every bite on Heng's neck was a seal of protection. He claimed him amidst the smell of gunpowder and iron, ensuring that Heng knew he was the only one who mattered in this new, modern empire.
"No more White Lotuses," Cheng whispered against Heng's lips, his thrusts deep and rhythmic. "No more Priests. Just my science, my steel... and my Omega."