Emperor’s Domination

Many quickly shifted their gaze over towards Yi Chuan. A few sect masters who wanted to chase Li Qiye away looked to Yi Chuan as well.

As the old saying goes, one has to look at the owner before beating their dog. Yi Chuan was a big character in Southern Tang. Anyone would have to show some consideration towards him. The Minor-Form Crown Prince’s frank attitude towards him was part of the minority.

A’Bao’s group, at this moment, were angrily glaring at Li Qiye. In their eyes, Li Qiye was throwing away their country’s face. He was purposely making it hard for their ruler to step down!

Yi Chuan was a bit embarrassed. He coughed and said: “I do know this little friend.” He didn’t deny being Li Qiye’s acquaintance.

Li Qiye waved his hand and said: “Me coming here has nothing to do with Royal Lord Li. There’s no need for all of you to worry, just do as you please.”

“Haha, brat, if Yi Chuan didn’t bring you here, how could you enter in the first place?” The crown prince provoked again.

“Which eye of yours saw Our Majesty bring him here?!” A’Bao couldn’t help but glare at the prince’s blatant attempt at shaming their king. 1

“A’Bao, do not be rude.” Yi Chuan gently shook his head: “It is not a big deal even if I brought this little friend here. Our great lord’s patrol is meant for everyone to see.”

Li Qiye only smiled and proceeded to sit even in this situation.

“Junior, scram to the side, that isn’t a place for you to sit!” A royal lord immediately shouted after seeing him sit down.

Cold glares fell upon him. In their opinion, Li Qiye was truly too outrageous to actually be sitting all the way at the front. They thought that someone like him should be sitting in some obscure corner. Perhaps even the vagrant cultivators wouldn’t want to sit beside him.

But now, he did just the opposite and took the front row, grabbing everyone’s attention. This was simply asking for a beating.

Li Qiye slowly turned around to look at this royal lord and leisurely said: “I can sit above the nine heavens, let alone this spot. Shut the hell up!”

“You…” The royal lord was shaking from anger and furiously glared at Li Qiye. It was too humiliating to be shouted at by a nobody such as him.

“Haha, it seems like someone is relying on Royal Lord Yi Chuan’s prestige to act so arrogantly.” The Minor-Form Crown Prince sneered. His country and Suhang had always been at odds, so he was fanning the flames to humiliate Yi Chuan.

The royal lord who yelled at Li Qiye earlier told Yi Chuan in a serious tone: “Royal Lord Yi, if this is your disciple, then discipline him to avoid being shamed before the great lord.”

If Li Qiye was Yi Chuan’s disciple, then it wasn’t his place to discipline him, so he wanted to pressure Yi Chuan instead.

“Royal Lord Yi, you need to reign a disciple like this better, how shameful! Junior, go sit behind your senior, this is not the place to act disrespectfully!” Another sect master was very unhappy with Li Qiye’s actions and coldly voiced his objection.

Even A’Bao’s group was glaring at Li Qiye. Li Qiye’s actions made it very awkward for their king and lost him all face.

Yi Chuan was a bit embarrassed. He couldn’t help but wave at Li Qiye: “Little friend, come sit behind me. You are sitting in a sect master’s spot.”

Yi Chuan’s attitude was very friendly towards Li Qiye. If it was someone else, they wouldn’t bother protecting Li Qiye.

Li Qiye sat there firmly and motionless. He only smiled and said: “Royal Lord Yi, thank you for being considerate, but I rather like this seat right now.”

Yi Chuan could only smile wryly at this while A’Bao indignantly said: “Your Majesty, just leave this ungrateful person alone.”

All kinds of expressions were present among the crowd as they gazed at Li Qiye. Some felt that this brat was crazy while others thought that he was quite interesting. A few sect masters and royal lords thought that Li Qiye was challenging their authority by taking one of their spots.

“Junior, if you continue to not know any better, I will throw you out myself.” The royal lord from earlier uttered with ill intent.

“Shut up.” Li Qiye closed his eyes and interrupted him harshly: “If you keep buzzing in my ears, I’ll twist you up like a piece of bread!”

The royal lord vomited blood from anger after hearing this. He immediately stood up while his blood energy erupted!

“The great lord is here.” Right when this royal lord was about to take action, a message came from outside.

“The great lord is here.” Everyone inside the garden stood up and went to greet their lord.

The royal lord that wanted to attack Li Qiye scowled and swallowed his anger, then he quickly went to greet the lord as well.

Under the receptive crowd, the current ruler of Southern Tang, the Pure Lotus School’s Ye Chuyun appeared before everyone.

“Welcome, great lord.” Everyone hurriedly greeted Ye Chuyun. It was not only because she was the great lord of the region, but also because she was a Virtuous Paragon.

Across the entire Barren Earth, very few people in the younger generation were Virtuous Paragons. It could be said that those who reached this level could be counted on one’s hand, and she had become one many years ago on top of that. She was plenty powerful enough, someone worthy to become the pride and fear of her people.

Li Qiye looked for Ye Chuyun who was surrounded by the crowd. After so many years, her style was even more brilliant than before.

She was still wearing an aqua colored dress and her almond eyes contained a hint of charm and elegance. Her aura of nature was accompanied by a dignified and noble air that had a touch of indescribable femininity.

Unlike the past, the current Ye Chuyun’s actions had a world-turning momentum as if she could cause rain to fall with the flip of her palm.

There was no doubt that reaching Virtuous Paragon carried a great significance. It was the first step into the supreme grand dao, the beginning of a deified title in the future!

Outside of the sect masters and royal lords gathering around her, even regular cultivators and vagabonds tried to find an opportunity to introduce themselves and leave behind a good impression. In the future, if they needed help from Southern Tang or the Pure Lotus School, at least they could pretend to be acquaintances.

Yi Chuan also brought his juniors to meet her. A’Bao’s group was excited to see Ye Chuyun for the first time. For both the males and females, the great lord was their goddess and role model; it was their honor to be able to see her in person.

Ye Chuyun was not arrogant. She nodded her head as a greeting towards everyone. Before she knew it, she was surrounded by sect masters and royal lords.

At this point, her gaze paused for a moment as she inadvertently saw a lone person sitting at the front. His clothes were ragged, but that figure, that back was all too familiar.

Ye Chuyun was shocked because he had been missing for a very long time. No one knew his whereabouts, but now, he suddenly appeared in this place — this was quite astounding.

“Your Majesty, this beggar snuck in here, let me chase him out!” The Minor-Form Crown Prince thought that the great lord was angry from seeing the beggar and quickly headed for him in order to claim this merit.

“Fouled Beggar, get out of here, don’t defile Her Majesty’s view!” The prince shouted and reached for Li Qiye.

“Pop!” The prince couldn’t catch him before a crisp slapping noise resounded. No one saw how Li Qiye slapped him. The prince spat out a mouthful of blood; all of his teeth were broken.

“Little bastard!” The prince became furious and wanted to behead Li Qiye.

Ye Chuyun composed herself and shouted: “Step down!” She was a Virtuous Paragon. Her shout alone was enough to cause the prince to take several steps backward before falling down. He was no longer able to stand up since the gap between the two was too large.

Li Qiye remained seated with dirt and grit all over his face. He looked at her and smiled: “Miss Ye, long time no see.”

This address left many people breathless. In Southern Tang, no one dared to call the great lord by her name outside of Virtuous Paragons from the previous generation.

Ye Chuyun quickly walked towards him and replied: “Brother Li, long time no see. I didn’t expect for Brother Li to make an entrance. If you told me, I would have personally gone to greet you.” 2

This scene left the sect masters and royal lords present dumbfounded. One could imagine the person’s identity if their great lord had to act so politely.

A’Bao’s group behind Yi Chuan was watching on in disbelief. Li Qiye was completely filthy. No matter how they looked at it, he was not worthy of such grand treatment.

Li Qiye smiled and shook his head: “You are too polite. I have only recently returned and just happened to come across Southern Tang. However, I do have something to ask of you.”

Ye Chuyun looked at Li Qiye. Though she didn’t know what had transpired, she understood that Li Qiye had experienced something incredible. Just think about it, this man before her could nonchalantly destroy a sect. A slight gesture from him could trap many ancestors from imperial lineages to death. 3

“I will do my best to provide assistance for whatever you need.” Ye Chuyun quickly answered: “You must be tired from the journey. If you don’t mind, how about staying at my place for a few days?”

“Very well, since Miss Ye is showing such magnificent hospitality, I can only obey.” Li Qiye smiled and nodded his head, intending to stand up.

Ye Chuyun quickly helped him up. She ordered the disciple next to her before personally accompanying him away.

1. This expression is not used in English. I could have done “when did you see” to make it less jarring, but I left it in to maintain the disrespectful/angry tone.

2. “I” here is “this little sister” from Ye Chuyun.

3. Heavenly Dao Academy’s arc.