Enlightened Empire - Chapter 430: Informant

What would you say is the most valuable thing in this world?

“No one looks at you. No one touches you. You’re a Whitehall now... And you’re mine.” Roman’s voice was a low, dangerous growl against her neck.She tilted her chin, meeting the predator in his eyes with her own cold fire. “I belong to no one, Roman, certainly not a beast in a jersey. If you want to claim me, you’ll have to do better than your father’s signature on a contract.”She spun her wheelchair to leave, but he was faster. His hand locked around her waist, dragging her back as his palm slammed against the wall beside her head.“Don’t you fucking dare me, Estelle.”—Estelle Rutledge was the Ice Queen of the Rutledge sports dynasty: national treasure, global brand, and the financial backbone of her family’s empire.Until one catastrophic crack on the ice shattered her career… and left her in a wheelchair.In the elite world of the one percent, a broken asset becomes a liability.With the Rutledge legacy collapsing under a mountain of debt, Estelle’s own mother did the unthinkable. She sold her daughter to the highest bidder, trading Estelle’s freedom for a check from Magnus Whitehall, the ruthless billionaire owner of a professional hockey empire.But Magnus didn’t buy Estelle for himself. He bought her to be his son’s leash.Roman Whitehall is the NHL’s most dangerous beast. A volatile heir with a scandal-soaked reputation and a temper that threatens the family’s billions. To the league’s board, he’s a loose cannon. To his father, he’s a problem that needs a wife to clean up his image.The command was simple: “Be the one thing he can’t avoid… or lose your legs.”Now Estelle is legally bound to a man who sees their marriage as a cage, and her as the bars holding him in. Roman believes she’s a fragile burden. Estelle thinks he’s a monster fueled by rage and secrets.But inside the Whitehall mansion, built on power, money, and lies, Estelle discovers a terrifying truth: she is not the first “Ice Queen” Magnus Whitehall has broken.Trapped in dynasty politics and a contract signed in blood, Estelle faces an impossible choice. Will she let the Whitehalls destroy what’s left of her… or join forces with the beast she hates most and burn their empire to the ground?Because even though she hates it, Roman Whitehall may be the only man who can help her stand again.Even if he has to break her first.

What is martial arts?Martial Arts has nothing to do with musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, painting, treasures or secret manuals, nor is there so much talk about being the best in the world. Martial Arts is a technique, a method that gives the weak a chance to draw their blades against the strong.What is chivalry (xiá)?Chivalry is not about romantic affairs, traditional culture, or being gentle, respectful, frugal, and compliant. Chivalry is violence, it's the bayonet forged by those driven to Mount Liang to use against tyrants.Cao Mo pledged with a dagger, (Returning to) Lu to invade. Zhuan Zhu entered with grilled meat, (Pacifying) Wu to usurp the throne. Brother Zhang cried in the market, avenging his lord by defiling a lavatory. Suicide by cutting one's own throat to seek justice, acting while concealing his sleeve. The tyrant of Qin seized souls, the coward gained courage.This is a martial artist's story.In the 1930s, a group of like-minded young people came together, striving to change the world.Then, two hundred years later, in a garbage landfill, Xiang Shan, the Progenitor of Cyber Martial Arts who had once rebooted heaven and earth, woke up reciting the name of his enemy, having lost all his memories.“Perhaps it's because I lost back then that the world has become what it is...”“So this time, I won't be defeated again!”This is the story of a person changing the world once more!

He rose from abjection and achieved eternity in glory.
He embraced the prettiest beauties and killed the strongest opponents.
He was able to shift the clouds into rain and cover the sky with one hand.
He could overrun the entire world and go anywhere as he pleased.
He pacified wars and held the world in awe.
He was matchless in the world.
However, his hair turned white overnight for his beloved woman and he was on the verge of death.
He was surrounded by enemies who were trying to take his life.
He struggled his way to become mighty and fought for everything he cherished.
For this age, he was the only king of the Dark World.
His name was a byword for might.
As a man living in the world, his only ideal was to pursue brilliance.