Chapter 344: Surprised Xue Wei (1/2)
”That would be me,” Xue Wei answered with a nod of his head. He had no idea that the delegation had told the Emperor that he had died on the trip, and thus he held nothing back.
”Tell me about your trip towards the Demon Phoenix Continent.” The Emperor asked this question, not for the sake of knowing what treasures he had obtained, but because he wanted to know what else the delegation had lied about.
”You want to know about our trip?” Xue Wei was puzzled. What purpose could he possibly have?
Thinking that Xue Wei might have been alert, the Emperor quickly decided to diffuse the situation. ”I heard from the delegation that a Sovereign Beast joined their group in Yan Dalu, however, he died underway.”
”Died underway?” Xue Wei's face turned slightly ugly. Although he had not expected anything from the delegation, he had not expected them to curse him tofor being dead. He had, after all, saved them before.
Xue Wei understood what worries the Emperor had then, and he quickly explained their trip. He skipped the valuables he had gained on the way, but he did remember to announce that he was a two-colored rainbow alchemist.
Even in a continent like The Demon Phoenix Continent, two-colored rainbow alchemists were immensely rare, and a lot of attention was placed upon them.
The more the Emperor heard, the darker his face became. Xue Wei had done so much for this delegation, but when he encountered problems, they did nothing to assist him, instead they ran away and claimed he had died.
That they ran away could somewhat be explained. Everyone would be fearful in such a situation, but when they arrived at the Demon Phoenix Continent, they should have announced that a Sovereign Beast was in trouble and required assistance. They had not done so; they had said he was dead.
Xue Wei was not too upset about it, he just felt that they were ungrateful, but the Emperor was angry.
He was unhappy with his men's lack of loyalty, and that they lied to him was a thing that could never be excused.
Sovereign Beasts were the royals amongst all beasts, but he had been betrayed by the men he had saved. Was that really the kind of people he wanted in his court?
He had already decided that it was time to do some cleansing amongst his ambassadors when he returned to the palace.
Xue Wei was unaware that the Emperor was this angry over the information, and the Emperor said nothing about it, as he changed the subject.
The two conversed about various details of their travel towards the Phoenix Demon Continent.
They did not start discussing the state of the Phoenix Demon Continent; neither did they discuss why Xue Wei had arrived at the continent. All in all, they kept the subject tame and ensured that they would not face a disagreement.
As they arrived at the palace, the Emperor personally led Xue Wei into a study room while the soldiers returned to their places, and eunuchs led Xue Wei's friends to some rooms that had been prepared for them.
When they were seated in the study room, the expression of the Emperor finally turned a bit more serious.
”What brings you to the Demon Phoenix Continent?” he asked, and Xue Wei pondered on how to answer. He could not very well say that he wanted their Thunder Flame Crown right away, as this crown was the mark of the Emperor.
”Lan asked me to retrieve something for him,” Xue Wei said with a sigh after deciding that it would be best to forge a good relationship first.
”I cannot go into details about what it is he wants, as I don't know much about it either, but I have been tasked with getting something back to him. At the same time, I am also hunting for fortunate encounters so that I can increase my strength.”
Xue Wei began explaining the situation back at Chang'an. ”I am not a peace-loving creature, nor do I wish to lead a country, but I want the millennia-long war to end. Mainly for my own personal reasons as my sweetheart is a human.”
The Emperor was surprised when he heard that Xue Wei had found a human sweetheart. It was evident that they would never be able to give birth to children, as different races could no longer could breed with one anothers, but even so, he wished to be with this human. Such pure feelings made the Emperor astounded.
”Will the Azure Dragons allow you to be with a human?” He could not help but ask worriedly. In the Vermilion Bird Clan that he was part of, you could only marry with others of the same race. This was because they were already few in numbers, if they let their youngsters fall in love with other races, then they would turn extinct.
”I think that the Azure Dragon Clan has collapsed,” Xue Wei said seriously. ”I have only met one other Azure Dragon, and that is my uncle. It is now many years since I last saw him, and I don't know anything about others of my kind.”
”How can this be?” The Emperor was shocked, but Xue Wei quickly explained that he had grown up amongst humans.
”I see.” The Emperor was in deep thought. If he was a beast that thought he was a human for many years, then it made sense that he wished for the war to end.
”I have eleven sons,” the Emperor suddenly changed the subject. ”Amongst these eleven sons, I will need to find one heir. Right now the spot as Crown Prince is unoccupied.
”Soon, I will open up the sacred realm of our ancestor, the Ascended's Realm,” the Emperor began explaining. ”This Ascended's Realm is not only connected to our continent but also a few other continents, so when I open it, many experts will join, humans, spirits, beasts, chimeras. Every race you can imagine will appear within the Ascended’s Realm.
”There is much fortune to be found within this realm — not only resources but also the inheritance of our ancestors and other Sovereign Beasts.
”I am letting you and your companions join the group entering the Ascended's Realm. This can become a large fortune for you, but at the same time, I hope, if you encounter my sons, you can lend them a helping hand.