“Uncle… I thought you got refined to ashes…” Wang Meng wiped his eyes and was the first to come and hug Feiyun. The guy was huge; just his hand alone was big enough to wrap Feiyun’s entire head.
“Stop, stop.” Feiyun’s hair got ruined by the excited guy’s display of affection.
Wang Meng laughed and began praising: “Like I said, my Martial Uncle is the best. There’s no way you could have fallen so easily.”
Numerous cultivators crowded the area with Feiyun at the center. The two fighters were completely forgotten because this news was too much to take.
Su Yun and the scholar only came to chat; they weren’t surprised at all. Feiyun’s fake death could have tricked others but definitely not the scholar.
Feiyun also sensed a great animosity so he glanced over. On a jade stairway leading to a palace stood a man in a golden robe - Long Shenya.
The guy thought Feiyun was dead for sure after finding the King’s Order, not expecting for Feiyun to still be alive on top of prancing around unnoticed in front of him for the last few days.
“The gambling hall got ruined by this asshole? Why does such a treacherous spawn exist in my lifetime, damn it!” Xiyue Anluan clenched his fists, resisting the urge to run over and beat up the guy.
Long Qingyang’s eyes became misty and glowed as she looked at the star: “Such a handsome guy after taking off his hat, who is he?”
Anluan coldly said: “That’s the number one genius of Jin, the youngest Divine King in history, Feng Feiyun.”
Her eyes flashed even brighter like two stars.
Princess Luofu was inside the tallest palace in the city next to the blazing cauldron. Her eyes as beautiful as jewels; the forty-five strands of draconic aura around her intensified.
The wind slightly lifted her veil, revealing half of her wondrous features making the maids go crazy.
With a breath as sweet as orchid, her voice echoed across half of the capital: “The four Divine Consorts wish for Feng Feiyun to enter the Sky Hall.”
Her voice resembled the cry of a phoenix - pleasant yet penetrating.
Feiyun could clearly hear her despite being dozens of miles away. He looked at the sky and saw a golden palace floating in the air. The princess stood there, her hair fluttering in the wind. She looked like a jade statue or an empress looking down at her subjects.
People all thought they were looking at a great ruler in the nine firmaments.
‘Such a big revelation like this and the emperor still won’t come out? Looks like he really isn’t at the capital then.’ Feiyun thought.
The Sky Hall was one of the largest palaces in the capital, an entrance to the forbidden palace. Official business of the court was carried out here.
Plenty of experts resided at the capital but few were qualified to enter this place.
It was in the evening with the sun shining down, resulting in the palace reflecting a golden glow on Feiyun.
He took off his black attire in favor of the official Divine King’s uniform and crest. He straightened his back, looking quite heroic as he made his way into the palace - eyes straight forward as if no one else mattered.
The Divine King was the leader of the royal clan without the emperor present; even the four consorts were beneath him. The three Prestigious Directors were on the same level as him at best. Moreover, this was the imperial city, the territory of the royal clan, so they weren’t in a position to interfere. That’s why Feiyun didn’t need to care for anyone.
This golden palace towered in height. Entering the main chamber was the same as entering a massive square.
The four consorts were sitting together; each beautiful and mighty with an unreachable air. Ordinary girls couldn’t have this same presence.
From left to right: Consort Ji, Consort Hua, Consort Beiming, and Consort Luo.
Several ancestors of the royal clan, Long Shenya, Princess Luofu, and many important officials were present as well. This event was clearly shocking to everyone.
“Bring a seat out for the Divine King.” Consort Hua was in charge of the harem and had the Queen’s Order.
Two eunuchs brought over a golden chair. Feiyun sat down right away without any hesitation.
The atmosphere seemed a bit strange. After a while, Consort Ji broke the silence by nervously asking: “Your Excellency, is Yue’er… alive?”
Ji Lingxuan grew haggardly in recent days due to despair. However, Feiyun’s appearance gave her hope again, so her complexion became pinker.
Feiyun hesitated for a moment before answering: “Cangyue… I’m sorry, Consort, I failed to take care of her.”
Lingxuan seemed struck by lightning. Her face turned pale once more with a strand of blood running down her lips. Her black hair suddenly turned white, even whiter than her paleness.
She was still as young as a seventeen-year-old girl, but her heart was dead.
Long Cangyue was naturally alive, but Feiyun couldn’t reveal this right now. He felt that it was a little too cruel and decided to find Lingxuan later to tell her.
Princess Luofu now stood behind him. Despite the veil, one could still see the joy in her eyes: “Your Excellency, how did you escape? Who were the attackers?”
Long Shenya became anxious but the old fox Beiming was still nonchalant as ever.
Feiyun took note of this and was impressed by this fearless old man.
“The mansion has secret passages that could overcome the sealing formations. Nevertheless, I paid a great price to escape. As for the culprits, I still don’t know. They consumed poison before attacking so when I captured them, they activated it and turned into a pool of blood, not leaving any clue.” He answered.
Shenya felt much better after hearing this.
Feiyun feigned ignorance because it was useless right now. Forcing the issue might even ruin his current plans. Moreover, it would give the old fox time to prepare.
Beiming Moshou stroked his beard and said: “Clearly the method of top assassins. No one else dares to do so besides the Supreme Fate Ending Palace. Hmph! They’re insane, may I suggest for the mobilization of the martial army to destroy them?”
The people under his banner quickly voiced their support - wanting to kill to make an example out of these assassins, to prolong the prestige of the dynasty. Of course, they were just shouting without offering concrete plans.
Feiyun said: “Right, right! The world belongs to the emperor, but does anyone know where the Supreme Fate Ending Palace is located? Please, tell me how we can destroy them if we don’t even know where they are.”
“Uhh… well…”
“Don’t worry, the authority of the dynasty is untouchable, they will be destroyed sooner or later.”
“The martial army is unstoppable and will put an end to them in the blink of an eye!”
All shamelessly chirped for their own agenda.
Feiyun looked down at them in his mind before answering: “I suggest we leave this for later. What do you all think?”
“True, this is a crucial moment of the groom competition and we can’t afford to be distracted.”
“Wise you are, Divine King.”
“I concur.”
Beiming Moshou closed his eyes and spoke: “Your Excellency, you should have shown up earlier to spare us from grieving so hard for you. White silks are still hanging over your mansion.”
The Furious Marquis jumped in: “Your Excellency, you are betrothed to Princess Yue, so I don’t think it is appropriate for you to be in this competition.”
He was a follower of Moshou so the attack began.
Another old man, one of the Nine Ministers, said seriously: “It is unethical indeed, Princess Yue has yet to grow cold so you should be building a tomb for her while wearing a grieving robe, mourning for three years before being able to marry again. She would be so sad otherwise in the afterlife. Please reconsider.”
“Please reconsider!”
“Please reconsider!”
Moshou interrupted them and said: “Your Excellency, this matter does require more thoughts, not just for the sake of Princess Yue but also Consort Ji. Look how her hair has grown gray in just one day, I am stricken with sadness. You need to spend more time with her so that she could soon recover.”
These people didn’t want Feiyun to marry the princess. A combination of these two would increase her chance of becoming the next empress.
They all supported the current crown prince, so if he were to lose, it wouldn’t end well for them. Once she became an empress, she would massacre their entire clans. This had happened too many times in the past so they had no choice but to stop him.
Moshou was even more direct. He knew about the fling between Feiyun and Ji Lingxuan, so he brought this up in order to threaten Feiyun.