On the snowy slope of a mountain among a mountain chain was a massive complex. This area was its own world, its own haven among the desolate whiteness and coldness of nature.

A long step of stairs led up the mountain to the complex. The steps were half-covered with snow. A young man covered with snow to the point where the color of his robes couldn't be seen was making his way up the steps. The winds were howling, but his steps were firm and steady. One step, two steps, he made his way up.

The sky was white, the falling snows were white, and the snow-covered ground and building in the distance were also white. Everything was pure white.

The young man eventually made his way up to the top.

Another man stood at the top waiting. His age was similar to the man, he was also handsome. He wore a fine purple robe. There was a symbol of a silver hawk embroidered on his robe. Not even a speck of snow could be found on his body. The two men stood facing each other.

The two immediately gave each other a warm hug.

"Come in, it's cold outside. My father is waiting for you," the man in purple said.

The man in purple led his snow-covered guest inside the building. Once the man was inside, the ice on his clothes was instantly melted, revealing his deep blue robe. The building was massive, not only was the roof very high and space spacious, but everything was finely decorated.

After some time they headed deeper into the compound and entered the Province Lord's reception hall.

The Tai Province Lord was seated behind a wooden desk. He was a scholarly-looking man. He looked like a man in his 30s. He looked young for a man who had grown up children and was a patriarch of a powerful family and one of the powerful nobles of the Empire.

"Uncle, my father sent me to deliver a letter to you," the blue-robed young man, Alyan, said.

Alyan gave the letter to his friend Shen, the man in purple. Shen gave then went up to his father and handed him the letter.

The Tai Province Lord spread the large letter and gave it a careful look. He then put it down when he was done. The content was what he had expected.

The Tai Province Lord looked at Alyan and shook his head.

"This is not a small matter. I cannot give your father an immediate reply. I need time to consider."

"Yes, uncle." Alyan could only reply that way.

It would seem that his task would not be easily accomplished.

"You must be tired from your travel. Shen, take him to his room."

"Yes, father." Shen replied. He then went up to Alyan and the two left together.

Alyan was given a guest room to rest in.

Alyan settled himself in the room, although he really didn't need the rest at the moment. It was not even dark out yet. Just as he was contemplating what to do next, he heard a melodious voice from outside.

He rushed to open the window of his room and the sound became even clearer. It was the sound of a girl singing.

The sound was soft and indescribably beautiful. The song she was singing was very wonderful and pleasant.

The sound was so wonderful and unlike anything the man had ever heard in his life before. He heard seen many beautiful women and listened to many famous singers, but this was the first time in his life that his heart was moved this much.

How nice it would be if he could hear this song whenever he wanted. How nice it would be if this girl was his.

No, both this wonderful song and the woman will be his. He would make them his, no matter what!

..

The whole household was in an uproar in preparation for Shura's marriage. The least busy person in the busy house was none other than the groom himself. He had been anticipating for this big event for five years. For five whole years, Shura had practiced and trained himself nonstop.

Throughout the years, everything had been peaceful in the house. Although he really didn't know or care about the world outside his home, he had sensed a sort of tension. When he finally bothered to learn about it, he realized the world wasn't the peaceful place he had sought, and he couldn't really relax at all. Under the veil of peace, the world was in upheaval and conflict could erupt at any time.

The Great Emperor of the Empire had recently withdrawn himself from all worldly affairs. This was an implicit message of: "do whatever you want" to everyone with any sort of power in the entire realm.

Shura had no idea why an Emperor would do this or how this sort of thing even came about, but f he learned that an undercurrent of potential conflict was spreading throughout the empire. There were ambitious people and the various lords were already making and joining factions.

That was why he had trained so hard all these years. His Heaven Truesoul had gradually lost its brilliance throughout the years. He had known this from the beginning. It would continue to degrade until it became an Earth Truesoul, and then finally a Mortal Truesoul.

At first, this wasn't a problem at all. He had anticipated living a peaceful life. But now it was certain that his family would be dragged into a war for hegemony or whatever. The fate of the defeated didn't need to be mentioned. Since this was the case, he needed the power to defend himself.

Shura was like a newcomer in town who also happened to be a novice. The town was full of masters and grandmasters. If he got into a fight with one of them, the result was obvious.

As long as he had a Heaven Truesoul or an Earth Truesoul, he had enough power to deal with whatever threat these people could throw at him. His Truesoul's strength was enough to create an overwhelming power to break through any troubles. But once his Truesoul regressed into a Mortal Truesoul, then he could only rely on whatever strength he had cultivated in this lifetime, and if he didn't work hard, how could he hold his own against people who had started before him?

When it finally became a Mortal Truesoul and Shura still couldn't reach the peak of strength of this world or even somewhere beyond it, then he would really be in trouble.

Fortunately, Shura's fears did not happen. Within these five years, his Truesoul degraded to the level of an Earth Truesoul, but he had already reached the pinnacle of strength of this world.

What this meant was that if he went against any of the countless people out there in the world at the peak level of strength, there was a fifty-fifty chance of him or the other person dying. This was a crude estimate, but it was still unacceptable. To the Shura who was used to the certainty of overpowering his oppositions with absolute power, equal strength wasn't enough. He needed an edge.

This was why he had been trying to break through this limit of strength, even slightly. As long as he was the only one in the world who could break through the limit, it would mean he had no equals. And he was sure that no one had accomplished it before.

Seeing as how his family had the time and resource to prepare for this wedding, it didn't seem like the situation was that bad just yet. He was glad.

But even if things turned ugly at any moment, Shura was confident that he could deal with it, somehow.

"Are you ready? Today is your big day after all." Shura's mother came up to him and gave him a hug.

"My boy is already this big and he's going get married now. It won't be long before I see a grandchild, will it?"

"Oh, come on, Mom! There's no rush. And, yes, I am prepared. It's hard not to be prepared for something when you've been waiting for five whole years."

Although Shura said this, inwardly he was nervous. Being prepared and being nervous were two different things.

Shura held his mom's hand and said, "Mom, can we go over what I'm supposed to do, say, and when?"

Shura's mother smiled and laughed. It was not every day that she saw her calm and composed son being nervous and unsure of himself.

"Don't worry, you can do it. Mom will be cheering on for you."

Shura smiled wryly. Was this something he was supposed to be cheered on?

'The bride should be arriving soon...' Shura thought. It was at that moment that he remembered that he had never met his future wife before. Two people who didn't know anything about each other at all marrying each other... So this is what the phrase 'marriage before love' referred to.