Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Emperor Xia pondered over what was asked of him, turned to look at Ye Futian, and said, “Ye Futian, this is an internal affair of the Dali Dynasty. If a war between realms were to break out, if I were to simply interfere and take the imperial advisor away, Emperor Li can just show up at Emperor Xia’s Realm and take him back, no?”
Even if a war were to break out, there still needed to be a balance. Renhuangs would have attacked easily. If they were to kill people below the Renhuang plane, it would be tantamount to genocide. No one else would be able to fight the Renhuangs.
Emperor Xia claimed that even if a war were to break out, the imperial advisor was still a representative of the Dali Dynasty. If he were to interfere in the imperial advisor’s execution through the use of force, it would anger Emperor Li.
Ye Futian knew that, which was why he advised the imperial advisor to consider settling in the Crimson Dragon Realm.
“Father,” Xia Qingyuan called. The emperor turned to her.
Shen then said, “We remained on the defensive in the battle at Crimson Dragon Realm. We retaliated only after Li Yao and the others made a move against us. Li Yao was also leading the others to violate principles of the Battle of Empty Realm. Do you think that we took everything thrown at us lying down?”
The emperor looked at them and, with a bitter smile, shook his head. He then said to Ye Futian, “I shall take you to Emperor Li’s Realm, but I’m afraid that Emperor Li is already thinking about what to do with the imperial advisor as we speak. I can’t guarantee the outcome of the matter. The fate of the imperial advisor and the Imperial Advisor’s Residence depend solely on them.”
“Thank you, your majesty,” Ye Futian bowed. Despite what Emperor Xia said, there was hope as long as he was willing to act on his own.
Emperor Xia lifted his head and, in an instant, his will swept all over the place.
The Will of Renhuang was tremendously powerful, capable of shrouding vast areas within mere moments, enveloping the entire royal palace within. It continued to extend outwards, reaching extremely far places.
The Swordmaster of Lihen had just returned to Lihen Heaven. He then looked up at the 33rd Layer of Heaven and said, “Your majesty.”
A spectral face appeared in Lihen Heaven, and it was none other than Emperor Xia’s face.
“I’m going to Dali for a bit, would you mind joining me?” Emperor Xia asked.
The Swordmaster of Lihen nodded and answered, “Not at all.”
“We shall depart immediately,” the emperor said.
There were also several other mighty figures there aside from the Swordmaster of Lihen, who received Emperor Xia’s orders. They took to the air right away.
A gale swept through Emperor Xia’s Palace and Will of Renhuang swept all over the place, taking many within.
Ye Futian was also in that storm. His silhouette vanished from the palace at that moment. Not even he knew where he was going.
Xia Qingyuan stayed where she was. She stood as she watched the people in front of her vanish.
Emperor Xia, Ye Futian, and the Great Shaman had disappeared, taken away by her father.
Countless people in the royal palace looked up at the palace in the Ninth Layer of Heaven. All of them sensed the raging might, and they wondered where Emperor Xia was heading.
Xia Rong was also in the royal palace. He initially intended to see his father, but he quickly noticed the changing clouds in the sky. He was somewhat shocked but knew that Ye Futian had gone along with Xia Qingyuan to see his father.
“Is father heading to the Dali Dynasty now?” he wondered.
***
When Ye Futian and the others returned to Emperor Xia’s Palace, the mighty ones from Dali who had gone to the Crimson Dragon Realm returned to the Dali Dynasty.
News swept throughout Dali Imperial City—the imperial advisor had betrayed Dali, aiding those from Emperor Xia’s Realm who were responsible for Li Yao’s death and letting them escape.
The news was earth-shattering, causing a huge commotion throughout the city. Everyone sensed that a terrifying storm was coming.
No one had completely forgotten what had happened when the imperial advisor had let Ye Futian of Emperor Xia’s Realm escape. That caused quite a bit of noise in Dali, and the Prince Regent dealt with it personally. Now, another incident of such magnitude happened again, and everyone wondered what consequences awaited.
Furthermore, some high-level figures had long known of Li Yao’s death, and the news came from Emperor Li’s Palace.
However, no one knew exactly what had happened just yet.
As the news of the imperial advisor’s treason spread, one could imagine the intense commotion it caused.
All of Dali Imperial City became shrouded in a stifling atmosphere.
The imperial advisor of Dali had been a top-notch figure who had served one and reigned above all in the Dali Dynasty.
Nan Zhai caught wind of the news in the Imperial Advisor’s Residence, and he finally understood why the place was being watched.
Something had happened, after all.
Li Yao had been killed in Crimson Dragon Realm. His teacher had gone there to take charge of the battle, and so his teacher naturally was responsible for Li Yao’s death.
But just how did Li Yao die?
And how did such news spread?
Things in the royal palace were dreadful. A thundercloud seemed to have shrouded everyone’s heads.
The imperial advisor was someone with great influence in the royal palace, even affecting the supreme being he served.
It was said that he sold out his nation, so one could imagine what was going through the mind of that supreme being.
A group of mighty ones stepped into Dali Imperial City.
The imperial advisor, the Prince Regent, Li Zhen, the third prince, Cao Kong, the demonic leader, and many other top-notch figures were there. They had traveled straight for the royal palace at blitzing speeds above Emperor Li’s Realm.
The imperial advisor was surrounded, at his flanks, by the Prince Regent, Cao Kong, and all the others. They looked extremely cold.
Regardless of how encompassing and tolerant the imperial advisor had acted—a testament of his breadth of character, Ye Futian was nonetheless seen as an enemy of Dali.
Murderous intent was vaguely in the Prince Regent’s eyes even as he deemed the imperial advisor’s actions as a death wish.
In the past, he had waited for the imperial advisor to make a mistake so that he could ask the advisor to step down from the center of power. It would enable the Prince Regent to reclaim his powers and retake the glory that belonged to the royal members of Dali.
He never thought of killing the imperial advisor, though. Not even Emperor Li would do anything against the imperial advisor unless he had committed some grave, utterly unforgivable crime.
However, the imperial advisor had indeed committed a grave, utterly unforgivable crime.
It was more than just the death of Li Yao. If the prince were to die in battle, the imperial advisor might have only needed to shoulder some responsibility for it.
The case was worse because despite being the imperial advisor of Dali, he did nothing after Li Yao died. He had gone so far as to spare Ye Futian, the man who Dali wanted to capture, the man responsible for causing Li Yao’s death.
What he did amounted to treason.
“Imperial advisor,” the Prince Regent called after seeing him stop.
“Yan Yuan, get back to the house with everyone else,” the imperial advisor said to Yan Yuan and those around him.
The Prince Regent frowned and said, “Best head to see his majesty first.”
The imperial advisor shot a plain glance at him and continued, “I’m the only one responsible for the offense. I would go with you all to his majesty to stand trial. It has nothing to do with my students.”
The Prince Regent wanted to insist, but he did not say much more after seeing the imperial advisor’s cold expression, “After you, then.”
If Yan Yuan and the others were to leave with the imperial advisor, they would have nowhere to go.
They would likely get pinned down in Dali Imperial City.
Yan Yuan stopped and looked to where his teacher headed. Mu Chunyang and the others were at his side, as well. None of them followed their teacher although they wanted very much to do so.
“Let’s head back,” Yan Yuan said. He knew his teacher’s intentions and remembered what his teacher had said to him.
“Look after Feixue.”
Even if something were to happen to their teacher, all of them still had their missions to accomplish.
As such, they did not head to the royal palace with the imperial advisor.
Countless witnesses looked up at Emperor Li’s path, seeing the imperial advisor and the others streaking by. They were reluctant to believe that the imperial advisor had betrayed Dali.
It seemed impossible.
If the imperial advisor had intended to betray Dali, he wouldn’t have needed to wait until now.
Furthermore, the imperial advisor had no reason to betray Dali.
Those who had immense respect for the imperial advisor had a hard time believing any of the accusations.
However, all of them felt extreme anxiety seeing the looks of the ones traveling above.
Many had even headed to and gathered around the royal palace, wanting to receive first-hand news, to see what would happen from that point on in the royal palace.
The royal palace was already a sight. The atmosphere both in and around it was stifling.
The imperial advisor looked at the majestic palace buildings and sighed deeply.
He was trained in the Deed of Thorough Comprehension, enabling him to see things that a lot of people were unable to see. It was all very mystical.
He knew that the trip would not be a smooth one, that it would affect the fate of Dali. However, some matters were set in stone, and even if one were able to foresee them, it did not mean that one could simply change those matters as they wished.
The group walked towards the royal palace with especially heavy steps.
The atmosphere throughout the entire royal palace seemed unusually severe, and a lot of people were around.
They walked towards the tall, majestic, grand hall in the royal palace one step at a time. Many mighty ones were around. Even members of the royal family were present.
A figure was seen standing above the steps of that hall. He looked supreme and undeniable simply by standing and looking on those below him.
That figure was none other than Emperor Li.
The Prince Regent and the others arrived. The Prince Regent took Li Yao’s body from the person behind him.
He carried Li Yao, walked to the steps, and then knelt on the floor, putting Li Yao down.
“I have failed, your majesty. Please see to my punishment,” the Prince Regent said, and his voice was heard throughout the air.
Everyone claimed that it was the imperial advisor who had committed treason and was to blame.
But then again, those high-level figures had also some responsibility for the death of his majesty’s son.
The Prince Regent would not have been foolish enough to attack the imperial advisor. He apologized for his mistakes before anything else.
“I, too, have failed you, father,” Li Zhen the third prince knelt on the ground, lowering his head and not daring to look at Emperor Li.
Emperor Li stood at the top of the steps and looked at Li Yao’s dead body. He then stepped forward and began walking down.
He walked very slowly, and everyone focused on each step. Many knelt and silently prostrated themselves on the ground.
Emperor Li did not have the highest regard for Li Yao, nonetheless, he was of the emperor’s bloodline and his biological offspring. One could only imagine the implications of his majesty’s son dying out there.
Even if the emperor were to punish all of them, it would still have been reasonable.
