The Legend of Futian - Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Attending the Banquet

In the main hall of the Cangye Kingdom’s imperial palace, an ambassador from the Nandou Nation had arrived. Emperor Ye met him seated on his throne.

“Greetings, Emperor Ye,” said the ambassador. He knelt down on the floor in a deep bow.

“Rise,” said Emperor Ye.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” The ambassador rose from the ground and looked at Emperor Ye. “I have come under the order of His Majesty of the Nandou Nation. We heard that traitors of our country, Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu, were here at the Cangye Palace. His Majesty has sent me in a request that they be returned to the Nandou Nation for punishment.”

“They are already citizens of the Cangye Kingdom. Furthermore, I have already conferred the title of princess upon Hua Jieyu and she is now my goddaughter. Relay the message to your emperor, they no longer have anything to do with your country. Do not use the term ‘traitor’ in reference to them anymore,” Emperor Ye said with a cold demeanor. He was dignified and stern.

“They were once citizens of the Nandou Nation’s East Sea Prefecture and have defied the orders of the emperor. They are traitors and deserve capital punishment. Is it really proper for Emperor Ye to handle things this way?” the ambassador asked the emperor without fear.

“How preposterous!” said someone on the sideline. They stared at the ambassador with cold eyes but he only lifted his head to look at Emperor Ye calmly, neither haughty nor humble.

“I will repeat myself once more. They are now part of the Cangye Kingdom. Hua Jieyu is a princess and, in the future, Ye Futian will be a prince. Did you hear me clearly?” said with a natural sternness. Noble will befell the ambassador and he could feel an invisible force pushing down on his head.

“Our country is willing to trade a city for each of them,” the ambassador bowed his head.

“If I want one your cities, I will fight for it myself. You may head back to answer to your emperor now,” said Emperor Ye. Battles always happened at the borders of the two countries. One day, the border cities belonged to the Nandou Nation, the next, to the Cangye Kingdom. It changed hands every couple of days. To an emperor of an entire country, of what use was one city?

The ambassador reached both hands out, bowed down, and said “The Nandou Nation’s Tingfeng Banquet is about to begin. We are inviting emperors of each country to attend. Our emperor has sent me here with an invitation, inviting Emperor Ye to attend.” He fished out an invitation and submitted it with both hands. Someone took the invitation and then handed it to Emperor Ye. He read it over and smiled. “Very well. Tell your emperor that I will be attending the banquet.”

“The Nandou Nation awaits Emperor Ye’s presence. I will excuse myself now,” the ambassador bowed his head and retreated backward. He continued out of the hall before bowing once again and only then, did he turn his back to leave.

After he left, Emperor Ye put down the invitation in his hand and went into deep thought. Emperor Luo is actually inviting emperors of different countries to attend the Tingfeng Banquet. Was he that confident in this year’s banquet?

Standing up, Emperor Ye walked out of the main hall.

Ye Futian had no idea of this. Although he knew that the results of the Fenghua Banquet might attract attention from the Nandou Nation, he never thought they would send someone so quickly.

On the mountain, Imperial Advisor Mo He, said to Hua Jieyu, “Princess Jieyu’s Life Spirit seems to have evolved. Back in the old Nandou Nation, I used to follow His Majesty around and have a pretty good understanding of this Life Spirit. Princess Jieyu, you can continue to cultivate here and I can teach you what I know.”

Hua Jieyu’s eyes sparkled and she quickly nodded. “Thank you, Senior.”

“I have hidden my name for so long, not even His Majesty, Emperor Ye, knows my true identity. In public, you can continue to call me Imperial Advisor,” said Mo He.

“Okay.” everyone nodded. Ye Futian was moved. Who would have thought that in a foreign land, they would be able to meet the imperial sorcerer of the Nandou Nation’s previous royal family? Years ago, the royal Nandou family was stripped of their title and moved out of the East Sea Prefecture to avoid danger. They did not dare to even think of revolting because they were afraid that Emperor Luo might try to kill them. Once an imperial bodyguard, Luo Tianyin, had become emperor. One imperial order from him was able to scare the wits out of the entire clan. What a joke.

“Someone’s here,” said the imperial advisor. He walked outside and moments later, Prince Ye Danchen and Princess Ye Lingxi arrived.

“Greetings, Imperial Advisor.” The two of them bowed at the elder in respect.

“No need for formalities, Your Highness,” said Mo He.

“Imperial Advisor, we are here for Ye Futian and the others,” said Ye Danchen.

Mo He nodded. Ye Futian walked over and asked, “What is it, Your Highness?”

“Not long ago, an ambassador of the Nandou Nation came to see Father, asking him to hand you two over,” Ye Danchen explained. Ye Futian’s eyes faltered. That was quick.

“Father rejected, of course. However, the ambassador then brought out an invitation, inviting Father to the Tingfeng Banquet. Father wants to bring all ten of the cultivators on the Fenghua Rank along with him and wants to know if you guys would be willing to do so,” Ye Danchen asked Ye Futian.

“The Tingfeng Banquet.” Ye Futian was frozen. It was a familiar name. Once upon a time, back in the Nandou Nation, Minister Zuo had wanted him to head to the imperial city in the Spring to attend the Tingfeng Banquet. Ye Futian had the same idea himself and prepared to make the trip. But in the span of a mere month, which seemed like such a long time, hearing about the banquet, it seemed so foreign.

Was the Tingfeng Banquet about to begin?

“We’ll go,” Ye Futian nodded without hesitation. He wanted to see Emperor Luo for himself, the man who ruined his life with one imperial order. As for his safety, Ye Futian was not worried. Even though the Cangye Kingdom and the Nandou nation had been rivals for hundreds of years, there had never been any battles significant enough to ruin either country. Even when there were more serious battles, both countries knew their limits. There was a strange equilibrium in the relationship between both countries. It was something that no one would destroy.

The reason was simple. Both emperors were powerful cultivators in the Noble Plane. Neither person had an advantage over the other. What truly determined the fate of a country was not the strength of its army but the ability of its leader, the ability of the emperor. For example, in the old Nandou Nation, the emperor had fallen and led to the entire family being overthrown, becoming history.

If Ye Futian attended the banquet with Emperor Ye, Emperor Luo wouldn’t kill him even if he wanted to because what would happen if Emperor Ye charged into the Nandou Nation’s imperial palace in a fit of rage? Fighting with a person in the Noble Plane would only mean death. Even between rival countries, there was a mutual understanding. No one was allowed to cross the line and break equilibrium. Or else, there would be heavy consequences. That was, unless, one of the emperors was already strong enough to kill the other on the spot.

In the world of cultivation, personal abilities were more important than anything else. Even royal power was the result of a person’s abilities.

Since Emperor Ye had Ye Danchen come to ask Ye Futian to attend, it was obvious that he had also realized this point. Emperor Luo wouldn’t dare to touch Ye Futian, especially not in his own country.

“Are you all going?” Ye Lingxi asked, looking at Yu Sheng and Hua Jieyu.

“Jieyu shouldn’t go. She should stay to take care of Master,” said Ye Futian. In reality, Hua Fengliu was fine under the care of Nandou Wenyin and Tang Lan. Besides, his injuries had already gotten a lot better, but Hua Jieyu had to stay and cultivate with the imperial advisor. It had to do with her future in cultivation.

“Alright,” nodded Ye Danchen. “I’ll go ask the others now. I’ll come find you again when it’s time to go.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Ye Futian nodded in response. Ye Danchen and Ye Lingxi left afterward.

“Are you really going to the Nandou Nation’s imperial city?” Hua Fengliu asked Ye Futian.

“Yeah. I had already planned to do so. This is the perfect opportunity.” Ye Futian smiled.

“Be careful,” warned Hua Fengliu.

“Master, don’t worry and focus on your treatment. You have to repair your Life Spirit, or else it’ll be really embarrassing for you when I surpass you in a couple of years,” laughed Ye Futian.

“Okay. When I’m fully healed, I can guide your cultivation properly.” Hua Fengliu smiled at his disciple.

Ye Futian shivered at the fake smile on his face. “Master, your gifts are peerless. When you’re fully healed, you’ll definitely do great things. I cannot compare.”

Only then did Hua Fengliu nod in satisfaction. Deep down, Ye Futian was cursing him for being so shameless. He’s such a bully to his disciple!

…

The next morning, a group had gathered outside the imperial palace. They were the brilliant cultivators from the Fenghua Banquet. Their attention fell on Ye Futian, Yu Sheng, and Ye Danchen when the stepped out. Everyone had a different look on their faces.

Wasn’t Ye Futian from the Nandou Nation? Going to attend the Tingfeng Banquet was the perfect chance for them to check out just how powerful the cultivators in the Nandou Nation were.

“Where’s Hua Jieyu?” Lin Yueyao could not help but ask when she noticed that Hue Jieyu was missing.

“She has other business to attend to and won’t be coming with us,” Ye Futian answered. He was quite surprised. He didn’t expect that Lin Yueyao would ask about Jieyu.

Lin Yueyao nodded her head lightly and didn’t say anything else.

Moments later, a group of people came out from the palace. It was Emperor Ye and his people. Besides the emperor, there were a few very dignified looking individuals. They must have been people of very high cultivation.

A loud roar came from within the imperial palace. Everyone looked up and saw a fearsome creature headed toward them. The scary beast was a flood dragon. The Flood Dragon approached and moved to stay near Emperor Ye.

“Let’s head out since we’re all here. I wanted to bring you guys on this trip to show you guys cultivators of other countries. Do not limit yourselves to the Cangye Kingdom. There may be a day when you will leave here.” Emperor Ye smiled and walked to the Flood Dragon. Everyone followed the emperor on to the dragon’s back.

With a loud roar and a huge gust of wind, the Flood Dragon lifted into the air, rising higher and higher. It broke through the clouds at an alarming speed, headed in the direction of the Nandou Nation.

The Cangye Kingdom was over a hundred kilometers away from the Nandou Nation. However, because of the Flood Dragon’s high cultivation, it moved with the wind and they arrived in the Nandou Nation’s imperial city in a single day.

Presently, powerful cultivators from all around the country had gathered in the imperial city. Emperor Luo had also invited emperors from other countries to attend the banquet. Countless beasts soared through the skies, filling the air with their cries. But when the Flood Dragon flew by, everyone stared from far away. They looked at the line of people mounted on the dragon as they tried to guess their identity.

The Flood Dragon was a ferocious beast like no other. It must be a powerful demon beast. What kind of person would be able to control such a beast?

Emperor Ye stood on the dragon’s back quietly, allowing the wind to blow freely on him. His long hair blew in the wind. Beside him stood Ye Futian, who was looking down on the imperial city.

“What are you thinking?” asked Emperor Ye with a smile. Ye Futian must have been experiencing a wave of emotions, coming back here.

“I was thinking about when I can finally wipe out the imperial Nandou Palace,” Ye Futian replied as he looked out far ahead. A light smile crossed his face, his tone calm.

Chapter 130: Take Ye Futian Down

As the dragon came closer to the palace of the Nandou Nation, a line of figures flew over. The dragon roared ferociously.

“Stop!” Emperor Ye said. Then the dragon halted.

Those comers bowed and said, “Your Majesty!”

“What’s the matter?” the emperor asked.

“We were ordered by our emperor to welcome you. The accommodation has been arranged for you,” the man said.

“Lead the way,” Emperor Ye said lightly. The other nodded and walked in front, leading the way. Soon, they arrived at a giant palace near the imperial palace. Though the two nations were rivals, courtesy was necessary since the emperor was invited here. Everything in the palace for the stay had been arranged well for them. Since Emperor Ye was the emperor of the Cangye Kingdom, only people from the Cangye Kingdom could share the palace with him.

“Ye Futian, come with me. Emperor Luo won’t hurt you but don’t leave the palace for safety reasons. If you really have to go out for some reason, let Jing Yu go with you,” Emperor Ye warned Ye Futian. Jing Yu was the emperor’s bodyguard. The emperor had assigned Jing Yu many things in his daily life.

“I’ll be careful.” Ye Futian nodded. Although Emperor Luo wouldn’t hurt him in public, there was still the possibility for him to arrange an assassination or kill him by another’s hand without any evidence left. Emperor Ye couldn’t blame it on him then.

The group settled down in the palace while the outside world was stirred up. The Tingfeng Banquet was to be held the next day. The decennial banquet was more magnificent than the Fenghua Banquet of the Cangye Kingdom. The whole nation paid great attention to it and all the heroes would attend. A sensation was inevitable. Everyone was looking forward to the opening of the Tingfeng Banquet the next day.

One hour later outside the palace, a row of figures strode over and went directly into the palace. The leader was a beautiful woman. She seemed like an unordinary person. Following behind her were her strong bodyguards.

Jing Yu stood before her and said, “This is the Emperor Ye’s palace. Any intruders will be killed without pardon.”

“I’m looking for Ye Futian.” The woman looked up to Jing Yu and Jing Yu suddenly grew hesitant. “Since this is Emperor Ye’s palace, what do you think we can do?” the woman continued.

Jing Yu thought for a while then said, “Follow me.” He led the way and the woman’s people followed behind. They came to a place in the palace where Ye Futian’s group lived.

Seeing many people coming over, Lin Yueyao and the others went to Ye Futian’s room out of curiosity. Ye Futian sat in the courtyard. When he saw the newcomer, he was stunned.

“Ye Futian, why did you join the Cangye Kingdom?” the woman asked angrily. She seemed to come here for an explanation.

Ye Futian looked up to this beautiful but capricious woman and said indifferently, “Are you talking to me?”

This woman turned out to be the princess of the Nandou Nation, the daughter of Emperor Luo and the sister of the crown prince.

“My teacher gave you the minister’s decree and my brother let you be minister but you rejected him,” Luo Mengyan said. “My father even conferred you with the study attendant of the crown prince. What did we do to you? Is it just because of Hua Jieyu? Is Hua Jieyu the reason why you joined the Cangye Kingdom?”

“Get out.” Ye Futian looked at her coldly. Was this girl stupid? What did they do to him?

You…” Luo Menyan pointed at Ye Futian and shouted, “You are a jerk. I’ll kill you!” She pounced forward. Ye Futian stood up and stepped forward too. As if remembering something bad, Luo Mengyan froze in place.

“I’m here to accompany His Majesty, not for recalling past days. Princess, please leave,” Ye Futian responded nonchalantly. Only then did people know that this woman was the princess of the Nandou Nation.

Many people looked at Ye Futian curiously. What did this guy do to the princess?

“It’s your own choice to betray Nandou Nation, but you shouldn’t trouble my teacher. Because of you, my teacher doesn’t pay attention to the outside world anymore and even neglects me. It’s all because of you!” Luo Mengyan’s eyes grew red. Ye Futian was surprised. He didn’t mean to trouble Minister Zuo. It could be said that this whole thing was triggered by Minister Zuo but he knew that Minister Zuo was thinking for his good. The emperor’s decree should have nothing to do with Minister Zuo. Did the astrologist minister not care about anything anymore?

Ye Futian took out the Decree of the Minister and threw it to Luo Mengyan. “Return it to Minister Zuo and tell him that I won’t blame him.”

“You won’t blame him?” Luo Mengyan took the token and asked indignantly in return.

“You can leave now.” Ye Futian was kicking them out.

Luo Mengyan looked at Ye Futian coldly and turned away.

People around the court moved aside but Luo Mengyan stopped and turned around. She asked, “You said that your girlfriend is more beautiful than me? How beautiful is she that you could betray the Nandou Nation for her?”

“You don’t deserve to be compared with her,” Ye Futian answered indifferently. Luo Mengyan is so naïve. Does she really think that Emperor Luo and the crown prince were thinking for his good? Or maybe it’s just hard for her to think of her father and brother as bad people.

Luo Mengyan looked coldly at Ye Futian and left.

After she left, Lin Yueyao asked Ye Futian in confusion, “What have you done to the princess of the Nandou Nation?”

Ye Futian looked at Lin Yueyao and smiled slightly. “Do you want to try?”

Seeing Ye Futian’s mean smirk, Lin Yueyao said, “No, thank you.”

With that, she left. Bai Qiu and Yu Jiang watched the whole thing silently. As the top beauty of the Cangye Kingdom, Lin Yueyao was always very aloof but she had struck up a conversation with Ye Futian several times. However, Ye Futian just directly ignored this beauty, which annoyed the onlookers very much. The difference between them… But Ye Futian’s girlfriend was indeed more beautiful than Lin Yueyao.

“Let’s go out for a walk,” Zuo Qianfan suggested. All the strong cultivators gathered here in the Nandou Nation. They could go take a look. Since the emperor of the Nandou Nation invited them, he wouldn’t stoop so low as to play tricks on them.

“Good idea.” Yu Jiang nodded and went out.

Ye Futian didn’t go with them but continued his cultivation.

The next morning, people from the Nandou Nation came to the palace and visited Emperor Ye. He went to greet them and Ye Futian’s group also showed up. The people from Nandou Nation bowed and said, “My majesty ordered me to invite Your Highness to the imperial palace so that all their majesties can attend the Tingfeng Banquet together.”

“What about them?” Emperor Ye asked, looking to Ye Futian’s and others.

“Only the emperors have been invited. The rest shall go separately. They can meet Your Majesty in the imperial palace,” the man answered and smiled.

Emperor Ye didn’t respond but turned to Jing Yu. “You take them there.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Jing Yu nodded. Emperor Ye followed the people and left.

“Let’s go,” Jing Yu said. Other than him, there were many other strong cultivators of the Cangye Kingdom. The group of people went out and walked directly toward the imperial palace.

Outside the palace, there were people from other kingdoms also moving toward the imperial palace. The Tingfeng Banquet was held outside the north gate of the imperial palace where there was already a sea of people. The number of the attendees of the Tingfeng Banquet was bigger than that of the Fenghua Banquet.

When Ye Futian’s people arrived, they were almost submerged by the sea of people. Outside the north gate, there were nine tall platforms erected in a row which was surrounded by a vast open space. The throne and the stands were set opposite the platforms. Ordinary people would not be allowed to enter that area. People from all over the Nandou Nation were gathered here, naturally including the people from the East Sea Prefecture.

The Nandou clan stood in the crowd and watched the throne and the stands in front of platforms where the royal families sat. The Nandou clan could sit there before but at this time, they could only stand in the crowd.

“One month ago, if that thing did not happen, Jieyu would be the crown princess now,” a Nandou youth said. “Then we could also sit over there.” All of this was destroyed by Ye Futian.

“Don’t think about it anymore and don’t mention Hua Jieyu again,” an elder reprimanded. Hua Jieyu was a sinner of the Nandou Nation. They had to cut all ties with Her.

“Okay.” That youth nodded and looked at the crowd. The youth would participate in this banquet so every strong cultivator here might be his opponent. He continued to observe and stopped when somewhere. He frowned, looked backward, and found a line of figures.

“Ye Futian?” the youth called. People from the Nandou clan all turned to him.

An elder said, “Nonsense!” How could Ye Futian appear at the Tingfeng Banquet?

“He is there.” The youth pointed somewhere with great shock in his eyes. He didn’t believe it either but he definitely had seen Ye Futian.

The Nandou clan all looked toward the direction he pointed in and their eyes fell on a handsome figure. Every cultivator of the Nandou clan was stunned and their eyes flashed. Ye Futian dared to attend the Tingfeng Banquet? Did he want to die?

“Go take him down.” The strong cultivators from the Nandou clan immediately bolted in that direction. They had never forgotten what had taken place in Donghai City a while ago. Hua Jieyu was taken away and a group of strong cultivators of Nandou clan also disappeared. And Ye Futian was the reason.

“Don’t let him go!” a youth shouted, worrying that Ye Futian would mingle within the crowd. This guy is really bold. How dare he come back to where the Tingfeng Banquet is held?

“Take him and give him to the emperor,” someone said. He’d even planned how to execute Ye Futian. Ye Futian went against Emperor’s order. He was a criminal and must be handed over to Emperor Luo!