The Legend of Futian - Chapter 127

Chapter 127: The Imperial Advisor

Hua Jieyu was still in a daze. How did she suddenly become a princess of the Cangye Kingdom?

Hua Fengliu and Nandou Wenyin also froze momentarily. Then, they broke out into a smile. This way, it could be said that they had gained a footing in the Cangye Kingdom. This would solve many of the worries they had.

Many nobles stood to bow at Hue Jieyu. “Greetings, Princess Jieyu.” Even though Hua Jieyu was an outsider given the title of princess and did not equal a real princess, everyone understood the emperor’s intentions. From now on, Ye Futian’s trio was definitely going to be of an extraordinary status. The people must show respect to the emperor’s decisions. Besides, it was very logical for Emperor Ye to confer the title upon Hua Jieyu. Conferring her was equal to conferring Ye Futian. The man a princess was in love with would naturally become a prince in the future.

“What should Jieyu call Your Majesty?” Ye Futian asked the emperor.

“It’s just a title, not of importance. For now, she can call me however she pleases. When she gets used to this title, she may even call me Godfather if she is willing,” smiled Emperor Ye.

Hua Jieyu looked at Ye Futian and then at her parents. She was not perfect without proper etiquette. Emperor Ye was so nice to her and had agreed to heal her father. How could she be casual with what she called him? She looked at Emperor and bowed, “Greetings to Godfather from Jieyu.”

Emperor Ye smiled brightly. He went on to say, “Talented young men and women have demonstrated their gifts at the Cangye Kingdom’s Fenghua Banquet. Hua Jieyu has proven herself to be beautiful and capable like no other. I am very happy to have her as my goddaughter.”

“Congratulations, Father,” said the princes and princesses beside him.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty,” the nobles congratulated once again. They stood and held out both hands while they bowed to the emperor. Some people in the crowd looked toward Cangye Kingdom’s number one beauty, Lin Yueyao, who was still standing on the Fenghua Platform.

Emperor Ye had said that Hua Jieyu was ‘beautiful like no other’. There was no need for explanation. Hua Jieyu was indeed more beautiful than Lin Yueyao. Now, Hua Jieyu had been bestowed the title of princess and was the recipient of everyone’s unless praises. It seemed like the title of Cangye Kingdom’s number one beauty was going to have to transfer over to someone else.

“Jieyu, I don’t have a welcoming gift prepared at hand, but I will personally make a request to the imperial advisor for him to help your father,” Emperor Ye said, smiling. Many people looked at Hua Fengliu enviously. He must have been so proud to have such a disciple and such a daughter.

“Thank you, Godfather.” The smile on Hua Jieyu’s face was big and bright. The imperial advisor must have been a person of great power, seeing how the emperor said he would “make a request’.

“As for everyone else’s rewards, I have already prepared them in the Cangye Kingdom library. According to your placing on the Fenghua Rank, you may choose one out of three things: a treasure, a spell book, or battle tactic book. You may all follow me into the imperial palace.” Emperor Ye stood up and continued, “The Fenghua Banquet is now officially over.” After he was done speaking, he turned to guide the empress on to the carriage. The princes and princesses followed after them.

Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu looked at each other and smiled. The Cangye Kingdom’s Fenghua Banquet had finally come to an end with great results. They hadn’t wasted a trip.

“Master, let’s head into the palace,” Ye Futian said to Hua Fengliu.

“Let’s go.” Nandou Wenyin sighed loudly and said, “Do you think there’s a chance they could repair your Life Spirit as well?”

“My Life Spirit was shattered into pieces. It’s not that easy,” said Hua Fengliu. He did not have high hopes. As long as they were able to heal his injuries so that he could live like a normal person, he was happy.

A large group of people followed the emperor into the imperial palace. However, there were still some people who remained standing around the Fenghua Platform, not wanting to leave. The Fenghua Banquet was a gathering of cultivators in the Cangye Kingdom but instead, the spotlight had been stolen by the trio from the Nandou Nation. The three of them did not seem to be of any special background but they were all incredibly powerful.

At the Fenghua Banquet, Ye Futian got first place, Hua Jieyu was given the title of princess, and Yu Sheng received high regards from the emperor. They three of them were destined for greatness. Besides that, everyone witnessed just how powerful Ye Wuchen was. He was invincible on the Fenghua platform.

However, Lin Yueyao who was the center of attention and the most outstanding female in Cangye Kingdom before the Fenghua Banquet, was completely outshined by Hua Jieyu. She had received a mere last place on the Fenghua Rank. Even Hua Zhixin had placed higher than her.

Only when they saw the large group of figures disappear slowly, did the people around the platform go their separate ways. Afterward, the news spread rapidly all over the imperial Cangye City.

In the imperial palace, the carriage was moving forward. Just then, an imperial bodyguard beside the carriage came to Ye Futian, “His Majesty has requested you.”

Ye Futian nodded and headed for the carriage ahead. Lin Yueyao, Bai Qiu, Zuo Qianfan, and the others watched Ye Futian’s silhouette with a mix of emotions. They were all thinking something different.

Ye Futian arrived next to the carriage. “Your Majesty,” he greeted the emperor seated in the carriage.

“There are still many things you have yet to explain. As talented as you are, what is the Royal Luo family’s reason for wanting you dead?” asked Emperor Luo.

“Your Majesty, it might have had something to do with a prophecy told by the Nandou Nation’s left minister, Minister Zuo,” answered Ye Futian.

“I know that Minister Zuo is an astrologer. Explain,” said Emperor Luo.

“I once traveled with Minister Zuo. It was then that he might have told my fortune. He bestowed the Decree of the Minister upon me afterward. Then by chance, he also told Jieyu’s fortune. Because of this, the Crown Prince became aware of us. He went all the way to Donghai Academy to see me. He asked for me to follow under his leadership and told me that he would make me his minister once he became the emperor but I rejected. Then came an imperial order from Emperor Luo. He made me the Crown Prince’s study attendant and Jieyu the Crown Princess. Our only choice was to defy the order and flee for our lives,” Ye Futian did not keep anything from Emperor Ye because he could easily find out the truth by sending someone to Donghai City.

The emperor’s eyes brightened. Based on what Ye Futian had said, many things became clear. It was obvious that Emperor Luo gave such an order on purpose as an excuse to get rid of Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu.

“Looks like you and Jieyu were destined to become emperor and empress,” Emperor Ye laughed at Ye Futian.

“But I’ve never even thought about becoming emperor. I had no intentions of stealing the Nandou Nation throne,” said Ye Futian. He did not mention that he indeed was fated to be emperor but not the emperor of a country.

“You didn’t think of it before but after what happened, there’s a chance of it happening. This is probably what they call fate,” smiled Emperor Ye. Ye Futian did not say anything. He was not going to become the emperor of a country, those were not his intentions, but the royal family of the Nandou Nation must be eliminated. He was willing to do anything to make sure this happened.

“The Luo’s found an excuse to kill you and yet you were able to escape?” Emperor Luo was curious. If Emperor Luo gave out such an order, then it would only make sense that he would have made sure that there was no way Ye Futian could make it out alive.

“We barely made it,” said Ye Futian. “My grandmaster sacrificed his life to make sure we survived and Yu Sheng’s master, Senior Yi Xiang, is still missing.” He did not tell the emperor that even though such grave sacrifices were made, they never would have made it out of Donghai City alive if it hadn’t been for the emperor’s will in his body. What Ye Futian didn’t know, was that even with the emperor’s will, he almost didn’t make it out of Donghai City.

“Your grandmaster is very respectable. As for Yi Xiang, I will send people to find him, but since he is on the run, he may be in hiding. It won’t be easy to find him. Unless you are able to let him know that you’re here,” said Emperor Ye. Ye Futian nodded. He understood what the emperor was trying to say.

They continued through the imperial palace. The empress and others left first. Emperor Ye ordered someone to lead Ye Wuchen and others on the Fenghua Rank to the imperial library while he personally led Ye Futian’s group to another place in the palace. Accompanying them was Princess Ye Lingxi.

Deep within the imperial palace was a mountain. It was quiet on the mountain. The only things on the mountain were the ancient trees and a single residence. Everything was peaceful and quiet. Emperor Ye personally guided Ye Futian and the rest on to the mountain. As soon as they entered the residence, an elder came out to welcome them. The elder had white hair and a white beard. He looked wise, like a sage. However, his eyes were shut tight, even in the presence of the emperor.

On the way up, Ye Lingxi had told them that the imperial advisor could not see.

“You’re here, Your Majesty,” greeted the imperial advisor. Even though he was blind, it was like he could see who had arrived. He walked directly towards the emperor.

“Teacher, it’s been a while since I came to bother you,” said Emperor Ye. Ye Futian and the others had a look of surprise on their faces. The imperial advisor was Emperor Ye’s teacher.

“Your Majesty, have you come because of him?” the imperial advisor turned in Hua Fengliu’s direction.

“That’s correct. Teacher, the Fenghua Banquet ended today. This is Ye Futian, Hua Jieyu, and Yu Sheng. The three of them are unbelievably gifted and have a lot of potential. They may even surpass me in the future. Ye Futian ranked first and his request was for his master’s injuries to be healed. Originally, I did not want to disturb you but then I took Jieyu as my goddaughter. So, the only thing I could do was to ask you to help heal her father,” explained Emperor Ye.

“They are extraordinary indeed,” nodded the imperial advisor. He turned to Hua Fengliu and asked, “How are your injuries?”

Hua Fengliu released his broken Life Spirit once again. Then leaned against Nandou Wenyin fatigued. He didn’t even have energy to speak. Ye Futian spoke for him. “Master forcefully summoned his Life Spirit in a battle after it was disabled.”

“I can heal him but it’s not something I can do in a day. Especially since his Life Spirit is shattered. It will take a long time to recover fully,” said the imperial advisor.

“You can repair his Life Spirit?” asked Ye Futian with a shaking voice. Even Hua Fengliu’s heart skipped a beat. He had never even dared to dream of it.

“There’s nothing surprising about Teacher being able to do what others can’t,” chuckled Emperor Ye. Hearing this, everyone was surprised and happy. All of them bowed to Emperor again. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“You guys should be thanking my teacher,” laughed Emperor Ye.

The imperial advisor waved his hand. “Since His Majesty has requested, it is only right for me to oblige. He will need to stay here for treatment. As for the rest of you, if you don’t mind that there isn’t much to offer here, you guys can stay here as well.”

“Thank you, Senior,” Ye Futian put his hands together and bowed at the elder with great gratitude. Hua Jieyu was excited. Her father’s Life Spirit could actually be healed!

Nandou Wenyin’s eyes were getting red. All these years, she’d never had any high hopes.

“Then you guys shall stay here with Teacher. If anything happens, you go down the mountains and find someone to report directly to me,” Emperor Ye instructed the group and then departed with Princess Ye Lingxi.

…

Just when the Cangye Kingdom’s Fenghua Banquet ended, in the Nandou Nation’s imperial city, cultivators gathered for their country-wide event.

The Nandou Nation’s Tingfeng Banquet was about to begin!

Chapter 128: Emperor Luo Against Fate

Countless strong cultivators gathered here in the magnificent Imperial City of Nandou nation. There were 36 prefectures in the Nandou nation, with many cities in each prefecture and academies in each city. At this time, the younger generation of talents from all the cities gathered here in Nandou City for the Tingfeng Banquet held by the Nandou nation. Different from the Fenghua Banquet of Cangye Kingdom, the Tingfeng Banquet had no preliminary test. Any young person could participate and show their talents.

The Fenghua Banquet was held every three years in Cangye Kingdom, so efficiency was highlighted and it was fast-paced. As for the Tingfeng Banquet, held every ten years, it was grander.

People from the East Sea Prefecture gradually arrived at the Imperial City. Not only young participants came but also those strong cultivators who wanted to witness the grand banquet.

The strong cultivators from Donghai Academy of the East Sea Prefecture definitely would not miss such a grand banquet. Yan Shao, the headmaster of the School of Emperor Star, led his excellent disciples together with the other headmasters. Stepping into the city, a group of demon beasts flew in the sky. The disciples looked over the magnificent ancient city below, feeling slight butterflies. They wondered whether they would stand out in this Tingfeng Banquet.

Amongst the crowd was Zhuo Qing, who was thought the most highly by Yan Shao, the headmaster. Standing on a beast, Zhuo Qing looked over at the capital, full of ambition. Talented as he was, there was a big possibility for him to win a place for himself even though there were countless talents gathered at this banquet. However, Zhuo Qing was not completely confident. No one knew how many powerful figures were born during the past ten years. Nobody dared claim that he could stand out.

At this time, a figure appeared in Zhuo Qing’s mind. If that talented youth was here, he must be the winner. However, it had been only about one month since the Donghai City event. He was probably still on the run.

Zhou Mu was also with the group of people, as well as his teacher, the Art Saint.

Lin Xiyue was also here. She had matured from when she met Ye Futian on the ship in the East Sea. 17-year-old Lin Xiyue was now more beautiful and her body more curved.

At the beginning of this year, she attended the spring quarter examination held by the Donghai Academy and passed. Hearing that the Tingfeng Banquet was to be held, she wanted to have a look too.

In the distance, another line of figures descended. Someone called out, “Headmaster Yan.”

Yan Shao turned to look and smiled. “The disciples from the Nandou clan are going to attend this banquet too?” These people arriving were from the Nandou clan.

“Yes.” One of the strong cultivators from the Nandou clan nodded slightly with complex feelings. What happened to the Nandou clan on the last day of the Divine calendar changed a lot of things. They had to show more reliance on the royal authority in order to survive. Therefore, they came to the Tingfeng Banquet.

The two lines moved on silently. Above them were countless other strong cultivators. As they advanced, they could make out the grand palace before them. It was even more solemn and sacred under the sunlight.

At this time, Emperor Luo stood in the main hall of the palace, reading a message from his guard. The message was about the Fenghua Banquet held in Cangye Kingdom. It was held every three years and many outstanding persons would emerge. Nandou nation would naturally pay attention to such news. However, Emperor Luo generally wouldn’t care about such things. Countless talents emerged every three years. How could he, the Emperor of the Nandou nation, have enough energy to care about these trivial matters? But this message was sent to his hands because several names that should not have appeared were on the Fenghua Rank.

First place was Ye Futian.

What a familiar name!

As the Emperor, he should not pay attention to a youth. However, Minister Zuo, Minister Hua, and the prince all showed a great interest in him. Therefore, one month ago, the Emperor Luo had sent a decree that everybody in Nandou nation shall listen to him for he stood for God. However, Ye Futian still escaped from Nandou nation. The Emperor didn’t expect that he would next see Ye Futian’s name on the Fenghua Rank of the Cangye Kingdom.

“Joining the Fenghua Banquet as a full-attribute genius with twin spirits. Of course he would win.” Emperor Luo laughed. Ye Futian had displayed his horrible talent at the Nandou clan so the emperor was not surprised that Ye Futian was the winner. Once he attended, he would definitely win the first place.

The fourth was Hua Jieyu. This name was also quite familiar to him. She should have been the crown princess of Nandou nation.

“Declare my will…” Emperor Luo raised his head and delivered an order again. Just like last month, it was still about Ye Futian. He knew this decree was even more impossible to complete, but he still sent it.

…..

In the Cangye Kingdom’s palace, Ye Futian and Yu Sheng were cultivating in tranquility on a hill while waiting for their teacher to recover. They didn’t go out. Ye Futian knew that since he had won the first place on the Banquet and revealed the Nandou event in public, he must be more careful.

“Master.” When practicing the music, Ye Futian saw a figure coming. He stopped playing and smiled. It was Hua Fengliu. He walked alone and looked more energetic than before. He would recover completely soon.

Nandou Wenyin and Tang Lan had been by his side all these days. Sometimes, Ye Futian knew that Aunt Tang still wanted to be with Hua Fengliu, despite her words. Even the masteress had accepted her dedication to Hua Fengliu. When Hua Fengliu first returned to Donghai City, it was Tang Lan who took care of him.

“How do you feel?” At this time, a wise imperial advisor came near and asked Hua Fengliu.

“I feel much better. Thank you for these past few days,” Hua Fengliu responded.

“Take a good rest. Don’t use your strength over the next few days. You still have to wait for a long time before the life spirit’s complete recovery. You’d better not leave the mountain these days,” the imperial advisor told him.

“I know.” Hua Fengliu nodded.

The imperial advisor looked at Hua Jieyu and asked, “I sensed your cultivation yesterday. Can I have a look at your life spirit?”

“Okay.” Hua Jieyu nodded slightly and moved forward a step. She released her gorgeous life spirit like a noble queen with a crown.

The imperial advisor stood still but his body shivered involuntarily. He turned to Nandou Wenyin and asked, “How about yours?”

Nandou Wenyin felt puzzled but still released her life spirit. Her life spirit was not as gorgeous as Hua Jieyu’s but it was still extraordinary.

The imperial advisor trembled. He slowly knelt and prostrated on the ground to pay his respect. “Greetings, my princess!”

“This…” The group’s expression changed. Ye Futian stood up and looked at this scene with some astonishment.

“I was the imperial sorcerer of Nandou nation, Mo He,” the old man said with a trembling voice. “I never thought there would be a day where I could see His Majesty’s descendants.”

“Senior, please rise.” Nandou Wenyin was shocked. No one here had expected that the imperial advisor of Cangye Kingdom used to be the imperial sorcerer of the Nandou nation. Of course, he was from the previous Nandou nation, not the present one…

“Are you the descendant of the Emperor Jue?” the old man stood up slowly and asked with a trembling voice.

“Yes, he is my grandfather. It is said that he escaped to the Nandou clan in the Donghai City after the Luo’s took the power.” Nadou Wenyin nodded.

“His Highness did the right thing. If he did not leave, he would only die in the end. Luo Tianyin would not let him go.” The old man’s voice was tinged with hatred.

“What happened in those years? Why did my grandfather and parents leave Nandou clan and never come back? What does this have to do with Emperor Luo?” Nandou Wenyin asked. Luo Tianyin was Emperor Luo’s real name. She only knew that 300 years ago, Donghuang the Great and Emperor Ye Qing unified the divine prefectures of the East. Forces in the world were in unrest. The emperor of the Nandou nation ran into an accident and the whole nation was in a chaos. Countless forces fought for the throne. The Nandou clan had lost too many strong cultivators for this. And at that time, Luo Tianyin turned out to win with his Noble Plane and ascended the throne. Since then, the Luos replaced Nandou royalty.

After Emperor Luo took power, panic rose through the nation. In order to show the emperor’s bearing, Emperor Luo ordered a nationwide amnesty. He forgave his rivals. Soon, the whole nation bowed down to him and the Nandou nation was stabilized. The Nandou clan returned to Donghai City and survived this crisis.

“Luo Tianyin, that b*stard, used to be His Majesty’s personal bodyguard. Because of his great talent, His Majesty treated him as a disciple. During a turbulent time, His Majesty left the nation for the pursuit of stronger power. Luo Tianyin and I followed. However, Luo Tianyin was wildly ambitious. Taking advantage of His Majesty’s crisis, he made his move when His Majesty let down his guard. His Majesty’s fate was taken and I lost my eyes. Perhaps even Luo Tianyin thinks that I’d died.”

The old man shook and said, “Luo Tianyin went against the heavens and changed fate to ascend the throne and replace Nandou’s royalty. In order not to be despised by the world, he did not hurt the Nandou clan but still had dirty underhand tricks. Princess, you said His Majesty and your father disappeared. I am afraid they were investigating the things of that year and had misfortunes.”

“Why don’t you announce his evil deeds to the world?” Hearing about the past events, Nandou Wenyin was furious.

“If I do so, the Nandou clan will perish completely.” The old man sighed. “I settled in Cangye Kingdom with a disguised identity for so many years. I taught the emperor how to cultivate so the Cangye Kingdom can become stronger and one day overthrow the Luo reign.”

Ye Futian didn’t expect this secret and suddenly understood many things. The reason why Emperor Luo declared in Donghai City to confer Hua Jieyu with the title of crown princess was not only because of Minister Zuo’s augury. The poor Nandou clan didn’t know that the emperor would definitely not let Hua Jieyu rise unless she became subordinate to him and became the crown princess. Moreover, Emperor Luo had once gone against fate. He was not afraid of fate at all. Now he’d become stronger. As the emperor, how would he fear the two fated youths?

When they were discussing this issue, a messenger from the Nandou nation came to visit the emperor of the Cangye Kingdom!