Chapter 99: Chapter 78: A Weasel Asking for Ennoblement

"You jest, Crown Prince."

"I am but an ordinary eunuch."

Su Chen smiled faintly and pushed the teacup back toward him.

"The Crown Prince offers you tea. How dare you not drink it?"

General Lei stood a full ten feet tall, his face hidden behind the mask of a ferocious ghost. Looking every bit the fierce god, he opened his mouth, and his voice boomed like a thunderclap.

He even reached for his saber.

However, Su Chen merely lifted his gaze and shot him a single glance. The First Grade expert, a man on the verge of reaching the Peak, felt as if a mountain was crushing down on him, forcing him uncontrollably to his knees.

"Forgive him."

"There was an issue when he used an Immortal Technique to accelerate his Mortal Cultivation. He lost his seven souls and was left somewhat witless. I hope Lord Xu can forgive him."

As he spoke, Crown Prince Jie poured a second cup of tea for Su Chen. Along with the cup, he also pushed over a bright yellow scroll.

It was a Late Emperor’s Decree.

Penned by the Xuanlong Emperor himself.

And stamped with the National Seal!

It declared Crown Prince Flame a traitor and appointed the imperial grandson, Jie, as the New Emperor.

"I have always been a partner of the Western Depot. With Chief Steward Ye now missing, I have no choice but to bypass Chief Steward Yu and work directly with you, Captain Xu."

"I am the successor personally designated by the Xuanlong Emperor!"

The autumn wind began to stir.

Looking at this Late Emperor’s Decree, Su Chen fell silent.

’This one is real, too.’

’So what did that make the decree he held in his hands? The one he’d gotten from the Princess of Qii, which named Long Xuanjun the new emperor.’

"I don’t understand what Your Highness means."

"You can discuss these matters with Chief Steward Yu."

"I only know a little about cultivation and dare not interfere in matters of imperial authority."

Su Chen pushed the teacup back but kept the second Late Emperor’s Decree.

This time, it was Crown Prince Jie who fell silent.

After a long moment.

He let out a sigh.

Nevertheless, he poured a third cup of tea for Su Chen.

"It seems, Eunuch Xu, that you already have a candidate for New Emperor in mind?"

"I, Jie, also hold the common people in my heart."

"I also cannot condone the actions of my father, Flame."

"I, Jie, intend to emulate my Imperial Grandfather, bring stability to all people under Heaven, and unite Zhou and Liang as one family. Where do I fall short, compared to the person you have in your heart, Eunuch Xu?"

Crown Prince Jie pushed the third cup of tea across the table.

The rebellion of the kings.

Three hundred thousand armored soldiers.

A multitude of First Grade experts.

Yet they were all suppressed by the Flame Emperor, who turned the tables by leveraging the overwhelming will of the Great Zhou people.

His power was already consolidated.

Originally, he had been utterly disheartened, and had taken this Late Emperor’s Decree and returned to the Old Zhou Capital.

But then, unexpectedly, the empire was unified. The Wind Snow Sword Immortal reappeared in the Imperial City, stunning the world. He himself had also received a Creation from Great Yu, broken through to the Fourth Layer, and been named Regent Crown Prince. Only then was his hope rekindled.

And yet, this Wind Snow Sword Immortal had not chosen him.

’Why!’

’He just wanted to ask why!’

’How, exactly, was he inferior to the person this Wind Snow Sword Immortal had in mind!’

"You are good."

"You are good in every way."

"It’s just... she... is very important..."

Su Chen did not answer directly, but simply gazed up at the roof of the Library Pavilion.

A Cyan Sparrow was perched there.

"She is also of Imperial Blood?"

"Yes."

"Imperial Blood of the Liang Race."

At this, Crown Prince Jie fell silent.

After the Heavenly Fall.

A shackle was placed upon the cultivation of the Royal Race. They required the fortune of the Dynasty, and only an Emperor could reach the pinnacle of Qi Cultivation Immortals.

Otherwise, just as it had been for him, the Third Layer of the Qi Cultivation Immortal Tier was the absolute limit.

’Why had the Flame Emperor committed patricide?’

’Was it to decry the injustice done to the Zhou People, or was it to reach the peak of the Immortal Dao? He didn’t know.’

’But he himself was doing it for the Immortal Dao.’

’If he could win the approval of the Wind Snow Sword Immortal before him, he was willing to make the Zhou People suffer a little longer to bring peace to the thirty million people of Liang.’

’A pity.’

’In the cultivation of the Royal Race, if one person reaches the summit, all others must die.’

’He was aiming for that summit.’

’He and the other candidate were already enemies, not allies.’

"When we first met in that ruined temple."

"I saw that you were no ordinary person. I thought we would become friends."

After a long moment, Crown Prince Jie removed the black blindfold from his eyes, revealing a pair that glowed with a crystalline light. He stared intently at Su Chen and spoke.

"You once hailed from the Black Abyss, so I searched the world over and found this Four Holy Pearl. I thought you would like it. It would have been the perfect gift to seal an alliance."

"Now, I shall use it to repay the debt of your protection over the Library Pavilion."

A dull, lightless orb appeared on the stone table. Inside it was a Firebird—the very same astonishing Firebird of the Yaksha Ghost that had once hunted the Ancient Qi Cultivation Immortal.

Having said his piece, Crown Prince Jie rose to his feet and, with General Lei in tow, walked out of the Library Pavilion.

Outside the Library Pavilion.

He stopped.

"Lord Su, I have always admired you. Can you not, for the sake of all the people under Heaven, forsake her and choose me? If we join forces, bringing peace to the world would be effortless."

"Not even the Great Yu Immortals could halt our progress..."

Jie paused. He was waiting, waiting for a single word from Su Chen that would give him a reason to turn back.

But he waited, and waited.

That word never came.

After a long moment, Su Chen sighed.

"If I were to make you Emperor, would you abandon your pursuit of the Immortal Dao’s peak?"

This time, it was Jie’s turn to fall silent.

’He wouldn’t.’

"So be it."

"You will regret this."

"This is no longer a world ruled by Mortal Cultivation."

Jie left.

There was no more hesitation.

"What a pity..."

Jie said.

The autumn wind grew ever more desolate, sending withered yellow leaves swirling before the Library Pavilion’s doors. It flowed between the two men, one inside and one out, like a chasm that could never again be crossed.

Outside the Library Pavilion.

Thirty Iron Armor guards stood shouldering a Black Dragon Palanquin. Before stepping into it, Crown Prince Jie glanced up at the bright moon and clear stars in the night sky and shook his head.

"I don’t like this sky."

"Since you will not choose me, then let all the people under Heaven continue to be soaked by the rain."

He was gone.

From this day forward, they were strangers on separate paths.

Perhaps the next time they met, it would be a battle to the death.

"Born with Spiritual Eyes."

"A talent comparable to an Earth Spiritual Root, according to the Immortal Record?"

At the entrance to the Library Pavilion, Su Chen watched as Crown Prince Jie’s procession departed.

The sky grew dim.

There was no thunder.

SPLASH.

After a long time, the rain began to fall once more.

’In just one year, he went from being barely comparable to a First Grade expert to a Qi Cultivation Immortal no weaker than a Grandmaster, able to wield all kinds of Immortal Skills at will.’

’Such talent was nothing short of astonishing.’

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