Chapter 176 - Facing Great Emperor Mingwu (2/2)

“They were intercepted by my subordinates. The night when Lake Ming was sealed, they discovered that someone had released messenger hawks from the island, and shot them down,” Great Emperor Mingwu said.

Master Apothecary Xuanyi was unable to restrain his anger. His hands holding the letters kept shaking. This betrayal made his heart ache painfully.

“I’ve treated them so kindly but they ignored our relationship as master and apprentice, and even contacted outsiders to deal with me!” Master Apothecary flew into a rage. Although he had some doubts about Lei Yi and the others, he was still unwilling to believe that they would betray him. However, now that the evidence was conclusive, Master Apothecary Xuanyi had to believe it.

“Master Apothecary, even if you don’t kill those ungrateful people, it’s best if you revoke their rights as your apprentice as soon as possible. If you don’t want to do it yourself, I can do it for you,” Great Emperor Mingwu responded calmly. Master Apothecary Xuanyi was too gentle and soft-hearted. If it were him and he was betrayed by his officials, they would be killed without forgiveness!

Master Apothecary Xuanyi put away the letters. His expression was gloomy and dejected as he waved his hand. “Let me think about this.”

Great Emperor Mingwu knew Master Apothecary Xuanyi’s temperament and did not disturb him anymore, lest he affected Master Apothecary Xuanyi’s alchemy. However, at Master Apothecary Xuanyi’s level, his alchemy would not be affected by emotions which would lead to failure.

After finishing speaking with Master Apothecary Xuanyi, Great Emperor Mingwu rose and walked over to Ye Chen with a faint smile on his face.

Ye Chen was currently cultivating his Celestial Chi. Upon sensing Great Emperor Mingwu approaching him, he opened his eyes. Although Great Emperor Mingwu was smiling, he could feel the faint mighty aura. However, although Great Emperor Mingwu was an emperor, Ye Chen would not allow himself to kneel before him. In Ye Chen’s life, he would only kneel before Heaven and Earth as well as his parents. He would kneel to no one else.

However, Ye Chen still had to heed ordinary etiquette. After all, the Yin royal family behind Great Emperor Mingwu was still the largest clan in the Xiwu Empire, so he still needed to show some respect. Ye Chen pretended to get up.

“No need. This isn’t the imperial palace, so there’s no need for that.” Great Emperor Mingwu smiled faintly, but a light flashed in his eyes. He saw that Ye Chen did not have the intention to get up. For a seventeen-year-old boy to be so calm and completely fearless before him, he had something to rely on. To be able to keep his cool despite being faced with a Heavenly Venerable Rank’s might, was he just a Tenth Level combatant? Perhaps everyone had underestimated this young man.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Ye Chen said respectfully. He also raised his head to look at Great Emperor Mingwu and saw the sight of a middle-aged man in his forties. He had heroic features and his bearing was distinguished and there was also a hint of sharpness in his aura.

Great Emperor Mingwu lifted his robes and sat on a mat in front of Ye Chen.

“I heard Imperial Uncle Yin mention you as a young man of outstanding ability with extraordinary talent. Now that I’ve seen you today, I see that he was right.” Great Emperor Mingwu’s eyes blazed as he stared with Ye Chen as if he was searching for something.

With the mention of Yin Mengtian, Ye Chen’s hostility eased slightly as he said, “I don’t deserve that much praise.”

“Haha, since Imperial Uncle Yin said so, there must be a reason.” Great Emperor Mingwu laughed brightly. “Even when I was your age, I didn’t have such accomplishments. You don’t have to be modest.”

“Your Majesty didn’t come to see me to talk about that. May I know what Your Majesty wants from me?” Ye Chen asked, speculating on Great Emperor Mingwu’s purpose. He kept his tone casual as he spoke.

“It’s nothing. The pills will be finished by tomorrow, so I’ll be here to protect all of you. I simply came over to have a chat with you.” Great Emperor Mingwu smiled and turned a blind eye to Ye Chen’s rudeness. Geniuses always had bad tempers. He lamented, “Recently, I flipped through some old books. A thousand years ago, the Ye Clan was a large clan in the Xiwu Empire and also had marital ties with the Yin royal family. Unfortunately, the Ye Clan ended declining. I didn’t expect the Ye Clan to regain its prestige so soon. It’s a blessing for my Xiwu Empire.”

Ye Chen was shocked. Great Emperor Mingwu had dug up marital affinities from one thousand years ago. Was it to seek contact with him? If Great Emperor Mingwu truly cared about the Ye Clan, why did he not give the Ye Clan a hand when it had declined? If Ye Chen grew up in this world, he might have been fooled by Great Emperor Mingwu and might even feel grateful and bow to him. However, Ye Chen was not a pedantic and loyal follower!

“Your Majesty is exaggerating. My Ye Clan is just a small clan in Donglin County and never contributed any merits to the country, much less be a blessing to the Xiwu Empire. It’s extremely difficult for a small clan to survive and we’ve now barely been able to gain a foothold in Donglin County. I thank Your Majesty for your thoughts.” Ye Chen thought of what to say. Even if the other party was the emperor, he had Master Apothecary Xuanyi as a shield and his Astral Body also had the strength of a beginner Heavenly Venerable One. Even if Ye Chen could not defeat Great Emperor Mingwu, he still had some bargaining chips.

Great Emperor Mingwu looked slightly stunned. Although Ye Chen was still very young, it seemed he was much more difficult to deal with than he had imagined. If he took on the position of an emperor now, their relationship would reach a deadlock. A talent like Ye Chen would end up at least a Heavenly Venerable One in the future, so it was best if Great Emperor Mingwu could rope in the young man with him. Even if he could not, he had to at least maintain friendly relations.

The identity of the emperor was useless against combatants that truly stood at the top. The Xiwu Empire was just a large martial arts family! Great Emperor Mingwu narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly. “Let’s move the topic along. Recently, the Capital City isn’t very peaceful, making me worried. Prime Minister Qiu Ying was assassinated. It’s an extraordinary shame to the Xiwu Empire. I heard that Prime Minister Qiu Ying had some history with Imperial Uncle Yin Mengtian and you?”