Chapter 117: King Meets King! |
Daxia Imperial Palace.
The old emperor received intel from his spies.
Contrary to what he expected, the Fifth Prince of Great Sui, Ye Yunzhou, did not harbor bitter hatred toward his daughter Zhao Lu.
By all logic, a dignified man should be enraged after suffering such humiliation.
Especially when the other party is a royal prince.
But Ye Yunzhou, instead, felt rather fortunate.
The old emperor frowned slightly and let out a cold snort.
There was a small hiccup in the plan, but nothing serious.
It didn’t affect the overall strategy.
The old emperor dragged his long dragon robe, barefoot, hunched over, and walked slowly step by step.
The Ten Thousand Souls Banner required more power.
He needed more—more people.
To feed the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
Now the identity of Panlong City's City Lord could no longer be used.
Especially since the Panlong City Lord incident had prompted Mount Shushan to fully investigate the whereabouts of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
The old emperor dared not repeat his previous moves.
In times of peace, the disappearance of large numbers of people would draw too much attention.
Even if those five Mount Shushan disciples hadn’t accidentally entered his Ten Thousand Souls Banner,
Mount Shushan would still have noticed the missing population of Panlong City.
So, only chaos under heaven would do.
Only war could give him the opportunity.
And as emperor, without a legitimate reason to start a war,
the court wouldn’t support it, nor would the people.
Most importantly, Mount Shushan would become suspicious.
Unless he had a very good reason.
His most beloved youngest daughter was killed by Great Sui.
He would send troops to avenge her!
Perfectly justified.
Years ago, Xuantian Sword Sect had supported Great Sui.
They were deeply connected with the Great Sui royal family.
Once Daxia went to war with Great Sui,
Xuantian Sword Sect would inevitably be drawn into it.
And his daughter was a disciple of Mount Shushan.
If a Mount Shushan disciple was killed, the sect would demand an explanation.
At that point, maybe even Mount Shushan could be dragged into the conflict.
Either way, he could fish in troubled waters.
Where there is war, there are countless deaths, countless people gone missing.
Once a great war begins, no one pays attention to missing persons anymore.
The old emperor sat on his throne.
“Where the hll is that dmn transmigrator? Where the h*ll do I find him!”
.......
Li Xuanxiao shivered, feeling a wave of cold dread.
Who’s talking about me?
He’d always been careful and didn’t have many enemies.
Just Liu Qiushui, Di Nü Feng and the like...
Yeah, not many.
But top-tier quality.
Most Foundation Establishment cultivators might offend someone at the Golden Core Stage at most.
He, on the other hand, didn’t offend often—but when he did, it was to the death!
And they were infamous Demon Lords to boot.
Li Xuanxiao shook his head. This Demon Elimination Tournament probably wouldn’t go peacefully.
That’s why he basically brought all his trump cards this time.
He looked solemnly at the distant outline of the Daxia Capital.
.........
Mount Shushan’s flying boat landed in the Daxia Capital.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites came to receive them and led them to the Imperial Palace.
At this point, people from Xuantian Sword Sect had already arrived.
Xuantian Sword Sect sent over twenty people this time.
Four times more than Mount Shushan.
And Great Sui came in even more extravagantly, with hundreds including various guards.
Li Xuanxiao quietly followed behind his Senior Brothers and Sisters, blending in and drawing no attention.
The group entered the hall, personally received by the Daxia Emperor.
Li Xuanxiao’s thoughts weren’t on the exquisite food in front of him.
From the moment he stepped into the hall, he was already paying attention to escape routes.
And in case a formation suddenly appeared—how he would respond.........
He silently chanted the Clear Heart Mantra, his gaze first landing on the distant Fifth Prince of Great Sui, Ye Yunzhou, then shifting to a few members of Xuantian Sword Sect.
A strange place, unfamiliar faces, and the big boss hadn’t shown up yet.
Li Xuanxiao didn’t relax for even a second.
“I’m late.”
Finally!!
Li Xuanxiao stood up with everyone else and gave a Daoist salute.
Disciples of Mount Shushan didn’t kneel to emperors—a simple salute was already showing face.
Come to think of it, this was Li Xuanxiao’s second time facing this old emperor who, like him, was also a transmigrator.
The first time, he had used a scapegoat and viewed him through a Gu insect’s eyes.
Now, standing right in front of the guy, it felt much more direct.
So this was Zhao Lu’s father.
Another transmigrator like himself.
Li Xuanxiao thought to himself.
King meets king!
Too bad nothing happened. Given his low seniority and cultivation level, Li Xuanxiao didn’t have the chance to speak at all in this kind of event.
So he just kept his behavior perfectly normal.
Watching the elders converse, occasionally bringing food to his mouth from the table.
But that was all for show.
In truth, Li Xuanxiao didn’t eat a single bite.
This was a skill he had honed over the years—fake eating!
He was a master of the craft.
Halfway through the banquet, the old emperor unexpectedly came down to toast everyone one by one.
He walked straight to the back of the banquet and started with Li Xuanxiao.
Li Xuanxiao was on high alert but maintained a calm appearance.
First layer of disguise: the calm bearing of a Mount Shushan disciple.
Second layer: a young disciple’s nervousness when facing the emperor.
The old emperor raised his wine cup. “One toast to the rising sun, one toast to...”
Li Xuanxiao blinked.
“Haha! Hey boy, know what I love to eat? Take a guess—what’s crispy and delicious that we all love?”
Li Xuanxiao: ......
“Ah hahaha, hey! Boy, your dignity dropped, quick—pick it up!”
“My what dropped?” Li Xuanxiao looked blank.
The old emperor shook his head, didn’t explain, and walked away.
Li Xuanxiao let out a breath of relief.
D*mn, this old geezer’s probing who the transmigrator is.
So sneaky!
Just then, a paper airplane floated into Li Xuanxiao’s sight.
“Do you think this plane looks nice?”
“What... is this?”
The old emperor shook his head and moved on to the next table.
Li Xuanxiao sat back down, but gave the old emperor a strange look.
That’s what a normal person would do.
This was exactly the time not to act like nothing happened.
Acting like nothing happened meant you were guilty.
This was also part of the test!!
A normal person, after hearing such bizarre nonsense, should give a bizarre look back.
Sure enough, after Li Xuanxiao gave the old emperor a strange look for a while,
the emperor finally withdrew his divine sense from him.
Over the next three days, everyone—including Li Xuanxiao—was subjected to various invisible tests by the old emperor.
After the three-day banquet ended,
they finally began discussing the details of the Demon Elimination Tournament.
In the past, the tournament was just the four sects’ young disciples sparring with each other.
But this time, the old emperor suddenly proposed a new idea.
It was said that remnants of the Asura Hall had been discovered within Daxia’s territory.
The leader of those remnants was at the Golden Core Stage.
Since it was the Demon Elimination Tournament, why not send the four sects’ disciples to capture them?
The other three sects had no objections.
After all, the tournament had always involved the four groups working together to eliminate demons.
It’s just that nowadays, with the five great immortal sects in charge, demons and monsters no longer roamed as freely as before.
Li Xuanxiao’s mind spun.
What exactly is this old emperor planning?