The Legend of Futian

The entire feast quieted down at Fengxiao’s words. Everyone looked over at her with great interest.

A single person had swept away everyone under the Saint level in Lihen Heaven?

Old Man Xiao smiled and said, “I have heard that a junior of Lihen Heaven, Wang Chuan, is said by the elders of Lihen Heaven to stand alone on his plane. Who below the Saint plane has as much ambition that they could sweep away all the cultivators of Lihen Heaven below the Saint plane?”

Many people guessed what she was really talking about, and their gazes turned towards Ye Futian.

Ye Futian had previously been named the Princess’s valet, leading to some turmoil. Some of the most powerful holy lands were paying close attention to this situation.

Seeing many people look at Ye Futian, Old Man Xiao also turned towards him. He smiled and said, “Ah, so it is Qingyuan’s valet who is so ambitious. Excellent.”

Xia Qingyuan looked over towards Ye Futian. That guy was never inconspicuous.

But she did not think that he was all talk. Whatever he boasted of, he could do.

Her father had praised him, saying he could command the Nine States all by himself. Even if he did not use all his techniques, Wang Chuan could probably still not defeat him.

“So you are Ye Futian?” Queen Xiao’s gaze fell upon him, and she smiled slightly. Although she was smiling, there was still an air of nobility about her that no one would dare to profane.

Ye Futian rose and bowed to Queen Xiao. “I am Ye Futian, Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace in the Barren State. Greetings, My Lady.”

Queen Xiao nodded at him. “You are truly a dragon among men. No wonder His Majesty thinks so highly of you. I wish you the best in your cultivation.”

“Thank you, My Lady,” said Ye Futian. He sat back down.

Ye Futian was of the younger generation, so even if there was wild boasting about him, the Saints would not say anything. Moreover, the hosts of today’s feast were Old Man Xiao and Queen Xiao, and since they had not said too much, naturally no one else would dare to.

However, these words had been a bit too flattering.

“Wang Chuan of Lihen Heaven, Xuanyuan Ao of Xuanyuan Palace, Gongsun Zhong of Divine Cloud Valley, Qin Bai of Qin Palace, and Yao Xi of Yaotai Divine Palace are all said to be nearly peerless below the Saint Level,” said Xiao Qianhe from beside Old Man Xiao. His gaze fell upon Ye Futian and he said, “Of course, you and Yu Sheng once fought your way through Jiutian Temple to the Ninth Layer of Heaven. And not long ago, Yu Sheng defeated Lu Cheng, so presumably the two of you are worthy of being on the same level as them. This is why His Majesty regards you so highly and has named you the Princess’s valet. But you are still young. Please do not forget how you got where you are and look down upon the great figures of Emperor Xia’s Realm. Cultivate your righteousness and guard against arrogance, and serve well at the Princess’s side. Give her your full dedication, and your future will be unlimited.”

Everyone nodded at his words. Xiao Qianhe was the Princess’s uncle, so he naturally had the right to remind Ye Futian of his place.

There was nothing improper in what he had said.

Xia Qingyuan glanced at Xiao Qianhe. She had not expected him to speak. He was her uncle, and there had been nothing wrong with his words, but she knew that Ye Futian was different than other people. He was a man who was prideful down to his very bones. Even when facing her he had not lowered his head at all, and had even fought her at the Imperial Mausoleum.

Moreover, her father had not named him her valet because he really wanted him to serve and protect her. It was to remind the people of his realm not to act against him casually.

Ye Futians’ current status was also very mysterious, and he must be very clear about why her father had helped him. After all, she knew that he had been depressed for a while, and as far as she knew he did not know how her father had handled him during that time. Not knowing if he was going to live or die coupled with the loss of his wife had led to his depression.

Later, her father had chosen to protect him. He did not ask why, but he must have speculated. So, this guy definitely did not fear her, and did not think of himself as her valet.

Xiao Qianhe’s words would have had no problems if they were directed at other valets, but Ye Futian would be unhappy with them.

She looked at Ye Futian and saw him look up at Xiao Qianhe. There was no joy or anger in his deep eyes, but it was Yu Sheng behind him who looked unhappy.

It seemed that he did not think it fell to Xiao Qianhe to give pointers to Ye Futian.

Ye Futian smiled at Xiao Qianhe and nodded. “I will of course remember my elder’s words.”

Xiao Qianhe stared at him. Seeing his attitude, he was suddenly a bit unsatisfied.

“But…” he started.

But at that moment, Ye Futian continued, “Although I have received His Majesty’s favor and have been made the Princess’s valet, I have never felt self-satisfied due to this. As for looking down upon the great figures of the world, let me say this: when the Sages of Lihen Heaven were defeated, their Saint got involved. All of Emperor Xia’s Realm must know this, as many cultivators personally witnessed it. So when I say that there is no one worthy in Lihen Heaven below the Saint level, none can find fault with those words.”

This was too much.

It was fine if people wanted to say he was arrogant, or didn’t know his place. But a Saint getting involved was a Saint getting involved. They had surrounded Ye Wuchen, and the Sword Saint of Liyang had wounded him. And then they had wanted to pretend like nothing had happened. That was impossible.

“What a stubborn fellow,” many people thought secretly as they looked at Ye Futian. He was like this even in front of the Queen and her own brother. He was truly a crazy and arrogant junior.

It was obvious that Ye Futian would not accept Xiao Qianhe’s admonition.

He persisted in his arrogance.

Xiao Qianhe’s gaze was fixed on Ye Futian. Then he smiled and said, “So there is some enmity between you and Lihen Heaven. There’s nothing wrong with that. This is just a bit of disharmony on the path of cultivation. I hope that you can be so passionate in your service to the Princess.”

Ye Futian looked back at Xiao Qianhe. Although Xiao Qianhe talked like there was no problem, he had a feeling that he was trying to sound him out.

Moreover, who was it that had invited him to come today?

Old Man Xiao would not care about the affairs of his juniors.

And Queen Xiao and Xia Qingyuan were even less likely. As for Xiao Sheng, it was probably not in his power.

It seemed that the only possibility was Xiao Qianhe.

What was he trying to find out?

Why had he invited him and then tried to provoke him by his words?

“His Majesty and the Princess know my disposition. They can understand me.” Ye Futian was still exceedingly polite. No matter what he was thinking, he could not offend the Queen’s brother in front of her face.

He would naturally be respectful enough to Xia Qingyuan outside.

Emperor Xia had deliberately protected him, both by sealing off news about the sacred war and by naming him the Princess’s valet. He was very clear on his place in this arrangement, and knew that the Emperor and the Princess supported him.

If it had just been Lihen Heaven he could have completely humiliated them, after all they had acted first. If Emperor Xia was there, they would not dare do anything.

But Xiao Qianhe was the Emperor’s uncle, and had a close relationship with Emperor Xia and Xia Qingyuan. If it was possible to not offend him, he wouldn’t.

However, he would not let the fact that he did not want to offend Xiao Qianhe make his determination waver.

“Xiao Qianhe really places a lot of importance on you, Lord Ye,” said Yao Xi with a quiet laugh right beside Ye Futian.

“Places importance on me?” responded Ye Futian. He seemed to disagree with these words. Why had she said that?

“You must not have heard that Xiao Qianhe previously told Queen Xiao that he wanted Xiao Sheng to enter Emperor Xia’s Palace,” said Yao Xi with a smile. “The Xiao clan is prosperous right now since the Queen is from their family, but they obviously want to go a step further. Xiao Sheng is an outstanding talent and is a relative of Queen Xiao and the Princess. What a close relationship! Him entering the palace is obviously so that in the future he can help Xia Qingyuan…” Yao Xi lowered her head and continued. “You tell me, is this not placing importance on someone?”

Although she was speaking unclearly, Ye Futian understood what she meant. He was surprised. Did she really see things so clearly?

He never would have thought of this.

Among the Emperor’s children, his favorite was Xia Qingyuan, and he had even said that her talent exceeded his own. Many people predicted that the one who would rule Emperor Xia’s Realm was not the Prince, but the Princess.

Xia Qingyuan was the Queen’s only daughter, and so the Xiao clan would naturally support her. Due to this, the relationship between Xia Qingyuan and Xiao Sheng was much closer than that between other half-siblings. So if Xiao Sheng became Xia Qingyuan’s assistant, how high would his position be in a few years?

And a marriage alliance between the Xiao clan and Divine Cloud Valley would only help this along.

Given this, Xiao Qianhe naturally would not want to see someone else beside Xia Qingyuan whom the Emperor would value highly.

Ye Futian had come from the Lower Realm and was in Emperor Xia’s faction, and moreover had been made the Princess’s valet. Perhaps it was because of this that he had attracted Xiao Qianhe’s attention.

Ye Futian suddenly realized why he felt like Xiao Qianhe was sounding him out. He was indeed sounding him out, and not just that, he was probably sounding out the Princess’s intentions at the same time.

In that case, obtaining the favor of Emperor Xia and the Princess was equal to offending Xiao Qianhe.

His opponent’s position had been set from the start. This had nothing to do with Lihen Heaven.

And his arrogance had even less to do with it.

“Thank you for the reminder,” he said to Yao Xi. If not for her, he would not have seen things so clearly.

The two of them were communicating through spiritual will, so it took only a short time.

Xiao Qianhe was silent for a while, then smiled and said, “Many people have said that you are unequaled in the Nine States and are highly favored by His Majesty. Since you persist in your self-confidence, perhaps you truly do have the qualifications necessary to have your name be heard throughout the world. If so, I will say no more. Do you have anything to add, Qingyuan?”

He turned and looked at Xia Qingyuan.

Ye Futian narrowed his gaze slightly. This Xiao Qianhe was shrewd. Today was Xia Qingyuan’s grandfather’s birthday. Him being at the feast was equivalent to defying Xiao Qianhe. And since Xiao Qianhe was Xia Qingyuan’s uncle, him asking her if she had anything to add meant she had to declare her position.

Xia Qingyuan stared at Ye Futian with her beautiful eyes as everyone’s gaze fell upon her. It seemed that they all wanted to know how she felt towards Ye Futian.

“This fellow is arrogant and doesn’t know his place. He does not understand the rules,” she said. Xiao Qianhe smiled upon hearing this.

But Xia Qingyuan continued. “Ye Futian, you have boasted that there is no one of note under the Sage level in Lihen Heaven. This has offended the people of Lihen Heaven. Let’s take this opportunity to settle the matter. And if you lose, you must return to the Lower Realm.”

There was anger in her voice!