The Legend of Futian

Xiang Nan looked at Li Yao and said with a smile, “This thing we discussed is not only about getting one more city of the Crimson Dragon Realms. It involves Renhuang’s Realms. I need time to rethink it.”

Li Yao looked into Xiang Nan’s eyes but couldn’t tell what was on his mind, so he nodded and said, “Alright. I will be waiting for your reply, Xiang Nan.”

Li Yao stood up and left. Xiang Nan saw him out in person.

After Li Yao left, Xiang Nan had a sneer across his face. Li Yao was trying to drag others from Renhuang’s Realms into this. He was a calculating person indeed.

If things went as Li Yao planned and the conflict intensified, a more serious war could break out. The war might even be between Realms. If Emperor Xia’s Realm had to fight against two of Renhuang’s Realms, that would be the end of Emperor Xia’s Realm.

And Li Yao’s compensation for Xiang Nan was nothing but the Imperial-level Cultivation Method stolen by Ye Futian, or Yu Sheng’s demonic martial art. Li Yao was generous at the expense of others.

“I need someone here,” said Xiang Nan.

A subordinate came and bowed, saluting him.”Your Highness.”

“I will write a letter. You take it to Thousand Leaves City and give it to Ye Futian. Don’t attract anyone’s attention,” said Xiang Nan.

“Aye.” That servant nodded. Xiang Nan wrote a letter and handed it to him. The servant took the letter and soon departed for Thousand Leaves City.

Meanwhile, Li Yao was heading for the Ancient Imperial City.

The Ancient Imperial City was different from other cities. There was only one power that dominated the whole area.

The Lord of the Ancient Imperial City was the Ninth Servant. It was said that the Ninth Servant had entered the Renhuang Plane and recruited many talented people.

The Ancient Imperial City had a special status among all the cities of the Crimson Dragon Realm.

The Lord Residence of the Ancient Imperial City was enclosed by lofty walls. The Residence was like an antique castle, at the center of which stood a giant bronze gate.

There were very few guards guarding at the gate, but every one of them had a very intimidating life force.

However, there was an old man sitting over by the castle. He was clothed in rags but looked clean. There was no sign of life force coming from his body.

Li Yao and the others didn’t dare to look down at him. He saluted. “Sir, Li Yao of Dali is here to salute you.”

The old man took a look at Li Yao. His cloudy eyes looked dull. He spent awhile narrowing his eyes to see Li Yao’s face clearly. He asked, “What brings you here?”

“I am Li Yao, and I am here to request to see the Lord,” said Li Yao, bending slightly to show courtesy.

Even though he was the Prince of the Dali Empire, this was the Crimson Dragon Realm, not Emperor Li’s Realm. Here, he didn’t have a distinguished identity. Not to mention that the people who stood at the top of Saint Plane didn’t really care about the prince’s identity.

Besides, the person he wanted to visit was the Ninth Servant, who claimed to be the strongest being in all of the Crimson Dragon Cities.

If no Renhuangs from other Realms stepped into the Crimson Dragon Realm, the Ninth Servant was probably the most powerful figure in this broad land. He didn’t need to care about anyone, whether the person was a son of a Renhuang or anyone else.

“The Lord is cultivating in seclusion. He will not see anyone. If you have any matters to discuss with him, please tell me and I will send the message to him,” said the old man slowly. He didn’t show much respect to this prince of Dali.

Li Yao looked calm. He was not irritated at all. However, if he was not able to meet the Lord, the time he’d spent to make this visit had been in vain.

“May I pay a visit to Xing Qiu Highness then?” asked Li Yao.

“The Second Young Master has been strengthening his cultivation since he entered the Saint Plane. I apologize, but he isn’t welcoming any guests either,” said the old man, nodding.

The soldier standing next to Li Yao frowned and stared at the old man with his intimidating, piercing eyes.

How dare he decline the request of Li Yao, the Dali Prince, to visit Xing Qiu!

This old guy didn’t know how to show respect to a person as noble as a prince.

“Sir, I came here for an extremely important issue which relates to an Imperial-level treasure. I sincerely hope you will allow me to visit,” continued Li Yao.

“You can just say it here. I will let the Lord and the Second Young Master know,” replied the old man.

Li Yao looked sullen and kept staring at him, but the old man was still expressionless. It was like he didn’t notice them.

“Fine. We should leave,” Li Yao said, departing with his people.

He had visited three cities so far, the Peacock City, Xiang City, and the Ancient Imperial City.

The trip hadn’t gone well. Not one of these cities had promised to cooperate with him in the wars.

Kong Xuan of the Peacock City had immediately rejected his request. He hadn’t been able to see anyone in the Ancient Imperial City. Xiang Nan of the Xiang City had his own concerns.

Such an outcome was far from his goal.

Of course, he’d come to visit them just to try his luck. He would be happy if anyone formed an alliance with him, but if not, he would rely on the strength of Emperor Li’s Realm alone.

…

In the Lord’s Residence of Thousand Leaves City, Ye Futian received the message that someone from Xiang City was requesting to see him.

It made Ye Futian suspicious. What had the person from Xiang City come here for?

Earlier on, Xiang Nan of Xiang City had hurt Wu Chen in the Battle of the Crimson River. He was then injured by Yu Sheng. Since the Battle of Crimson River had ended, the matter should have been forgotten. He didn’t want to start a war between two Renhuang Realms over the non-fatal Battle of Crimson River.

But during such a sensitive period, he still had to meet the envoy of Xiang City.

“Lord Ye.” The person saluted Ye Futian in a very polite manner.

“Welcome. Sir, tell me what brings you here,” said Ye Futian.

“My lord wrote a letter and told me to present it to you,” replied the messenger. He passed the letter to Ye Futian.

Ye Futian took it and opened it with confusion. There was just one line in the letter.

Ye Futian calmly put the letter aside after he read it. He said to the messenger, “What else did Xiang Nan Highness ask you to bring to me?”

“Nothing. My lord only told me to send the letter,” he said. He waited after handing over the letter, showing no intention of leaving.

He seemed to be waiting for Ye Futian’s reply.

Ye Futian nodded and took out a storage ring and gave it to him, saying, “I greatly appreciate that Xiang Nan Highness was kind enough to notify me. Here is my humble gift to express my thankfulness to him. Please pass it on to Xiang Nan.”

“Aye. I will pass your kind words and the gift along to my lord,” he replied. “Now I shall return.”

“All right,” Ye Futian said, nodding. “I apologize that I will not be seeing you off. Safe journey.”

“Thank you very much, Lord Ye.” The messenger withdrew.

After he left, Xia Qingyuan asked Ye Futian, “What did Xiang Nan want?”

Ye Futian gave her the letter and said, “Read this.”

He narrowed his eyes. His expression was cold and his stare was like the sharp blade. The smile in his eyes totally disappeared.

There was also a coldness in Xia Qingyuan’s eyes after she read the letter. She released the Force of Sword, tearing the letter to pieces in her hand.

The letter said that Li Yao had just visited Xiang Nan and intentionally mentioned that Li Yao was planning to give the Deed of Thorough Comprehension, Yu Sheng’s demonic martial art method, and the Thousand Leaves City, to him. Xiang Nan had sent the messenger to inform them.

The letter reminded them of the things that had happened.

But there was no friendship between Ye Futian and Xiang Nan. If he wanted to reject Li Yao, he could directly do that. Did he have to inform them?

Furthermore, the letter didn’t indicate that Xiang Nan had declined Li Yao’s request. Rather, it just stated the fact.

The important point was that he’d bluntly listed all the conditions, including the Deed of Thorough Comprehension, Yu Sheng’s demonic martial art, and Thousand Leaves City.

In the end, his messenger had waited for Ye Futian’s response.

What did Xiang Nan want?

Since Li Yao had offered these generous rewards to convince Xiang Nan to cooperate in an attack on Thousand Leaves City, shouldn’t Ye Futian also offer some rewards to him?

Xiang Nan wanted to see what generous compensation Thousand Leaves City could offer.

He was trying to fish in troubled waters.

If Thousand Leaves City’s attitude was sincere enough, Xiang Nan would not cooperate with Li Yao. If so, Xiang Nan could benefit from it and wouldn’t need to join the war.

“What did you give him?” asked Xia Qingyuan.

“Half of the rewards I earned from the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon were in the storage ring. The rewards were substantial,” said Ye Futian. “But I don’t think that can satisfy his appetite.”

“Then why did you do it?” Xia Qingyuan asked, staring at him.

“Li Yao let Xiang Nan choose. Xiang Nan sent the messenger, which means that Xiang Nan was not willing to make the choice. That’s why he asked us to help him. I showed my attitude with that gift, and now it is his business to make the decision,” said Ye Futian. “Besides, given the current situation, do you think we can afford to make Xiang Nan our enemy?”

What stood behind Xiang Nan was Emperor Xiang’s Realm.

Things would get tricky if Emperor Xiang’s Realm got involved in this.

Xia Qingyuan didn’t say a word. The situation was getting more and more complex.

“Princess,” a voice called out. The Great Shaman appeared.

“Great Shaman,” greeted Xia Qingyuan.

“The First Prince is here,” said the Great Shaman.

Xia Qingyuan paused for a second, looking surprised. She smiled and said, “Great, let’s go.”

They headed outside together.

Outside the Lord’s Residence, a huge group of people had arrived. They seemed to belong to the army. Everyone had a very strong life force. Almost all of them were of the Saint Plane.

The lead person had a handsome but imposing appearance and a dignified demeanor. His smile was comfortable like a warm spring breeze.

He was the manifestation of both the iron will of a warrior and the noble spirit of a prince.

The First Prince of Emperor Xia’s Realm, Xia Rong, the Unblemished Saint of the Third Saint Plane, had been raised in the army. He rarely stayed in the palace.

Now, the First Prince had become the Deputy General of Tian, second only to the Sacred General of Tian of the Nirvana Plane. He had a great reputation in the army as a genuine, iron-willed prince.

However, at this moment, Xia Rong had hidden his military temperament and put on a mild smile when he saw Xia Qingyuan coming. He called to her, “Qingyuan.”

“I didn’t know you were coming today, Brother,” Xia Qingyuan said excitedly. Although Xia Rong had been in the army for years, every time he came back to the Imperial Palace, he came to see her. He’d watched her grow up and had pampered her a lot. For her, he was her brother and also a father. Their relationship was very positive.

“Nowadays, Emperor Li’s Realm is preparing to cause a disturbance. The Dali Imperial Advisor came here with his people. I am worried about your safety, so I asked permission from Father to come here,” said Xia Rong.

“Thank you, Brother,” said Xia Qingyuan.

Xia Rong looked at Ye Futian who was standing near Xia Qingyuan. Ye Futian stepped forward and took a bow, making a salute. “Ye Futian is here to meet you, sir.”

“No need for unnecessary courtesies,” Xia Rong said with a smile. “I was expecting to meet you but didn’t have a chance in the army. Now I know you look like an outstanding person. No wonder Qingyuan…”

“Brother!” Xia Qingyuan cut in, glaring at him. Xia Rong saw it and laughed, waved his hands, and said, “Sorry for my loose lips!”