Emperor’s Domination

A’Bao gritted his teeth and said: “Hmph! That Minor-Form Crown Prince is too contemptuous. His Majesty is still in the same generation as his father. He only got lucky drinking some treasure blood; that’s the only reason why he is ahead of First Brother, he’s nothing special. Without that fortune, he wouldn’t be stronger than First Brother!”

“No need to be angry.” Yi Chuan shook his head: “As long as you’re strong enough, no one will dare to mock you. The Minor-Form Crown Prince’s words are not all that unreasonable. His talents are indeed higher than your First Brother’s. You all still have a long way to go before you can compete with him. This is true for your First Brother as well.”

Yi Chuan didn’t have exceptional talents, but he had great eyesight and kindness. Because of this, Suhang continued to grow under his leadership.

A’Bao only scowled without saying anything else. The other disciples couldn’t swallow this anger from being humiliated either. Yi Chuan was the only one who took it in stride.

“Let us go. Since the crown prince left so early, it seems like Her Highness is about to arrive.” Yi Chuan let a disciple pay the bill while ordering the other disciples.

These disciples immediately turned excited again after hearing about being able to see Her Highness.

“Little friend, I hope that we can meet again.” Before leaving, Yi Chuan was still as polite as ever towards Li Qiye.

Li Qiye smiled and nodded. He continued to drink his wine and was in no hurry.

The group made their way towards the Waterside Garden. Along the way, A’Li curiously asked: “Master, why are you so courteous towards that Li Qiye? Does he really have that much potential?”

She wasn’t the only one who wanted to know. The rest of the group wanted to ask as well.

Yi Chuan gently shook his head in response: “Child, you cannot judge and look down on other people based on appearances alone. Sometimes, the most powerful expert would seem like the most common bystander.”

A’Bao said with skepticism: “Master is saying that Li Qiye is already very powerful? I feel like he’s only a mortal, though.”

Yi Chuan continued: “This Fellow Daoist Li might not necessarily be powerful, but his future will be bright or even unlimited. All of you think that you are strong. With regards to cultivation and background, this Fellow Li might be weaker than you, but the truth is that in terms of dao heart, wisdom, and perseverance, all of you can’t compare to him at all. This isn’t only because of his determination, it is because he would remain undaunted even in the face of a landslide.” With that, Yi Chuan looked at the juniors: “Cultivation is not just about becoming more powerful. It requires strengthening your mind as well! Only when one’s cultivation and mind are both powerful would one be able to walk even further on the dao.”

“Remember well, geniuses aren’t the only ones who will become the strongest.” Yi Chuan thoughtfully explained: “For ages now, countless geniuses and brilliant experts were born into the world, but only one will become the Immortal Emperor in the end. Moreover, there were plenty who were even more incredible compared to the emperors, but in the end, they became nothing…”

He paused for a second before continuing: “More often than not, it wasn’t because these geniuses were not strong enough. It was due to the fact that their dao hearts were lacking. Some couldn’t rise again after a minor setback and forever disappeared among the crowd. I know you are all very prideful, but think about it, if you started as a mortal or a vagrant cultivator, would you be so carefree and relaxed as you are today?”

The group turned quiet after hearing this. This speech functioned as a warning for them.

In the winehouse, Li Qiye finished his fine wine before leaving. He asked for directions to the Waterside Garden and then headed there.

In fact, he wasn’t the only one to do so; many cultivators were heading there. A lot of them were vagrant cultivators.

Prior to this, the news of the great lord’s southern patrol had been spread far and wide. All the cultivators here came running in order to see her once.

Many people loved talking about Ye Chuyun. It could even be said that in the entire Southern Tang, many people saw her as their pride.

They spoke of her tales as if they knew it like the palm of their hand. For example, she had surpassed her Life Reduction many years ago and became one of the youngest Virtuous Paragons in the Barren Earth after the Difficult Dao Era ended!

“The great lord’s story can only be described as brilliant.” These cultivators couldn’t contain their excitement as they discussed her stories.

A youth narrated: “That’s right, our lord is the number one expert among our Southern Tang’s younger generation. Way back then, she visited the Eastern Hundred Cities and trained at the Heavenly Dao Academy. She even became a student in the Sacred Era Hall!”

Another spoke while full of admiration: “Yes, the Sacred Era Hall! This is the gathering place of the greatest talents in the Mortal Emperor World. So many geniuses couldn’t get in!”

“Her glorious deeds didn’t stop there. Rumor has it that she had even climbed to the top of the World Tree, something that even imperial descendants couldn’t do. People said that only a few people like Deity Jikong Wudi and Goddess Mei Suyao made it to the top, yet our lord was able to do so as well. It is easy to imagine just how powerful she is…”

Self-restraint became a rare sight when the topic was about Ye Chuyun’s past.

***

The Waterside Garden was located in the southern area of this city. It was surrounded by rivers and beautiful sceneries. Moreover, spirit energy was flowing all around. This type of land was not something a mortal could own.

This was the property of a great power. This sect immediately prepared it to greet the great lord that was about to make her appearance.

The moment Li Qiye arrived, many experts and vagabonds had already been quietly waiting.

Any cultivator was able to meet her during her patrol, no matter their background or current sect. Thus, the garden was completely packed and consisted of people ranging from royal lords and sect masters to cultivators with humble beginnings…

There was no other requirement to gain entry outside of being a cultivator. Nevertheless, the garden still had bodyguards to prevent any mishaps.

“Mortals cannot enter!” The guards immediately stopped Li Qiye at the gate. Without a doubt, he was included in the no-entry category.

Even if he was not a mortal, he still couldn’t enter with his current shabby appearance. Letting someone like this in was an affront to their Southern Tang’s reputation.

“Get out of my way.” Li Qiye flipped his hair while looking at the two guards that blocked him with their spears.

The moment his calm eyes fell upon them, the two guards couldn’t help but quiver. This pair of dull eyes didn’t have any prestige. However, it exuded an unspeakable oppressive force that caused them to feel an instinctive fear as their legs grew weak!

The two had weak cultivations, so how could they withstand his glare? They simply didn’t dare to stop him and let him in.

After Li Qiye entered, the two guards finally heaved a sigh of relief. They felt a cold chill and glanced at each other: “That, that was so bizarre!” 1

At this point, the cultivators quietly stood there, waiting for the arrival of the great lord. The leaders who knew each other started to converse.

As for the vagabonds and lowly cultivators, they knew themselves full well and chose to stay in the far corners. They didn’t dare to compete against those experts and leaders for the better spots.

Of course, the powerful leaders were sitting at the front. They were qualified to meet the great lord first.

During their friendly greetings, someone saw Li Qiye coming in and asked with surprise: “Who is that?”

Suddenly, many looked at him. They noticed his appearance and frowned.

“Where did this beggar come from? Why was such a fellow allowed in?” A sect master saw him and furrowed his brows.

In their eyes, the reception for the great lord was a big event. How could they be happy to see a beggar in this place?

“Hmph, why is he here? Is this a place where he can come?” A’Bao, who had always been unhappy with Li Qiye, snorted.

Even Yi Chuan was caught off guard to see Li Qiye here.

“Junior, are you lost?” A sect master was completely disgruntled towards Li Qiye and raised his voice aggressively. A mortal would fall to the ground due to this aura.

Li Qiye slowly turned to face him and asked: “Is this the Waterside Garden?”

“Yes, this place is the Waterside Garden, but it isn’t a place where you can come and go as you please…” The sect master spoke as a royal aura emerged from his body.

Li Qiye waved his hand dismissively and interrupted him: “Then it’s right, I didn’t come to the wrong place.”

“Oh? Isn’t this Royal Lord Yi Chuan’s friend? What’s going on, does your friend want to come here to beg?” A sarcastic voice came about. It was the Minor-Form Crown Prince.

The prince did this in order to humiliate Yi Chuan before everyone. He was deliberately causing trouble.

1. Raw was, “we’ve truly met a ghost!” But the meaning in the localized version has the same meaning in this case. The ghost expression feels a bit weird here for this usage.