Chapter 2770 – Hence Resolved
Translator: Silavin & frozenfire
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
This person was the daughter of the Great Emperor. Without mentioning her extraordinary beauty that was sufficient to enrapture the soul of any man, even if she were horribly ugly, just her status was more than enough to curry favour with her.
This resulting scene caused Xiao Chen’s expression to sink. With a soft snort, he took the initiative to welcome Lan Xun.
Upon approaching, he revealed a gentle smile and said in a soft voice, “What are you doing here, Princess?”
Lan Xun nodded gently towards him to return his greeting, before her expression turned serious, “By order of the Great Emperor, I am here to deliver his judgment!”
The audience’s expressions were filled with reverence upon hearing her words.
There were ten Great Emperors under the Heavens. However, the Great Emperor that was mentioned by Lan Xun was without a doubt the Master of Star Soul Palace, the Bright Moon Great Emperor, the pillar of the entire Southern Territory. Just like how the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor would be respected by anyone in the Northern Territory, the Bright Moon Great Emperor was the existence that was respected by everyone within the Southern Territory.
“We respectfully receive the Great Emperor’s command!” Wen Zi Shan shouted back with a solemn expression on his face.
Solemn expressions were also present on the faces of the various guests present as they awaited the order.
Lan Xun nodded before commenting, “This is not the place to speak. May I trouble Uncle Wen to prepare a secure room?”
Clearly, she was indicating that this place was crowded and prone to induce gossip. Nevertheless, the guests present here did not dare to show even the slightest bit of dissatisfaction. From a certain point of view, Lan Xun was now representing the Bright Moon Great Emperor, so who would dare to not show due respect?
“This way, please!” Wen Zi Shan turned to give way.
Lan Xun nodded her head slightly, taking the lead to move towards the palace in front. As she moved past Yang Kai, she came to a halt and turned her head, “Please come too, Senior Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai remained silent for an instant, before moving and following behind. Lan Xun coming here was definitely something that was tied to him. Therefore, being involved in this matter, he definitely had to follow along.
Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao exchanged glances before they too appeared behind Lan Xun with a flicker. Being interested in what was about to transpire for many reasons, Xiao Chen was not willing to stay behind.
It did not take long for the group of people to appear within the palace. Wen Zi Shan waved his hand, and the large doors immediately closed shut.
Walking up to the platform within the palace hall, Lan Xun turned around and looked down. Present were three Third-Order Emperors, with Yang Kai and Xiao Chen standing by their sides.
A smile appeared on Lan Xun’s face as she looked over towards Yang Kai and spoke, “I have to first congratulate Senior Brother Yang for becoming an Elder of Azure Sun Temple from this day onwards!”
Wrinkles appeared on the foreheads of Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao upon hearing her words, as they were able to faintly gleam the underlying message behind her words.
Yang Kai replied, “You’re too courteous, Princess.”
Lan Xun replied in a displeased tone, “What’s with the overly formal tone, Senior Brother Yang? Little Sister Xiao Qi and I are as close as sisters, and with you being just like her Big Brother, just call me Lan Xun, alright?”
“He dares!” Xiao Chen’s eyes immediately turned red and round upon hearing those words. How could any man enjoy such a privilege to call her with such intimacy? He had grown up with Lan Xun since young, and till this day, was only able to address her as such in private settings while still maintaining formal etiquette in accordance with their social statuses in public.
“Since Sister Lan Xun has said so, I will not be polite. Congratulations to you as well for breaking through to the Emperor Realm,” Yang Kai replied while shooting a glance over at Xiao Chen, causing the latter to boil with such anger it appeared he was on the verge of exploding.
On the other hand, the three Third-Order Emperors present were filled with shock, firstly due to Lan Xun’s attitude towards Yang Kai, and secondly because of the words Lan Xun had spoke. A person that could be treated as a sister by Lan Xun was definitely no ordinary existence.
“Xiao Qi?” Xiao Yu Yang muttered, “Could it be that lass from Spirit Beast Island?”
Xue Zheng Mao and Wen Zi Shan snapped abruptly back to their senses before shooting astonished looks at Yang Kai. Both of them appeared to not have imagined that Yang Kai was actually able to form a relationship with the princess of Spirit Beast Island. Furthermore, the implied meaning behind Lan Xun’s words showed that this relationship was not just one of acquaintances.
“It’s precisely that girl from Spirit Beast Island,” Lan Xun covered her grin with her hand, “The few of you don’t know, but Little Sister Xiao Qi has a very intimate relationship with Senior Brother Yang. Earlier, when I followed my father to visit Spirit Beast Island, Little Sister Xiao Qi was constantly asking me for news about Senior Brother Yang. It’s a pity that Senior Brother Yang is like a hidden dragon who shows his tail but never his face, so I was unable to tell her much, leaving her disappointed for quite a while.”
With their relationship, Lan Xun might not have informed Mo Xiao Qi even if she was privy to news of Yang Kai.
Although Lan Xun did not place any emphasis on her words, huge shockwaves had swelled up in the hearts of the three Third-Order Emperors present.
Although Mo Xiao Qi didn’t count for much on her own, none of them were able to ignore the person standing behind her. That was an existence that stood shoulder to shoulder with the Bright Moon Great Emperor. Yang Kai’s close relationship with Mo Xiao Qi meant that he was being sheltered by the towering tree that was Spirit Beast Island. One would need to weigh the pros and cons carefully before daring to touch him...
The Bright Moon Great Emperor doted on Lan Xun greatly, but the same could be said of the Martial Beast Great Emperor towards Mo Xiao Qi. Any tantrum whipped up by the latter was more than sufficient to turn the Great Emperor’s knees weak.
At this moment, Xue Zheng Mao couldn’t help but feel relieved that he hadn’t done anything serious towards Yang Kai. If not, he would have no way of extricating himself. The matter of Tan Jun Hao could now only be handled by the Great Emperor.
With his brow twitching, Xue Zheng Mao asked, “Princess, what are the orders of the Great Emperor?”
Wen Zi Shan and Xiao Yu Yang both turned their heads towards Lan Xun in anticipation.
Lan Xun’s expression turned serious as she replied, “Despite being an Elder of Star Soul Palace, not only did Tan Jun Han not set a proper example for the billions of Southern Territory cultivators, he went on to commit disgraceful acts and harmed numerous Emperors of the Southern Territory. Wu Ming acted complicit in these heinous acts, helping a tyrant to oppress the innocent. These matters have already been investigated by the Great Emperor thoroughly and he has judged their deaths not worth pitying. By the order of the Great Emperor, the matter regarding Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming is hence resolved, and no one is allowed to raise any objections.’’
As soon as she finished giving the order, Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao both cupped their fists and bowed, “We heed the Great Emperor’s order!”
Wen Zi Shan grinned and cupped his fists too, “The Great Emperor is both wise and fair! Praise the Great Emperor!”
Yang Kai also added, “Many thanks to the Great Emperor!”
Yang Kai finally breathed a deep sigh of relief in his heart. A person that was able to become a Great Emperor was indeed wise and magnanimous. With the Great Emperor’s order, Yang Kai would no longer need to worry about this matter.
Nevertheless, generally speaking, Star Soul Palace should be grateful towards him for cleaning up their trash in the form of killing Tan Jun Hao and Wu Ming; however, these were just trivial matters, as being the overlord of the Southern Territory, it was already magnanimous for Star Soul Palace to not pursue the matter of the deaths of their Elder and Deacon, much less showing gratitude.
“There is another matter that father has entrusted to me that I have to discuss with Senior Brother Yang,” Lan Xun turned her eyes around and landed them on Yang Kai.
The people present did not miss the subtle change in the way she addressed the Bright Moon Great Emperor. Ever since her arrival, Lan Xun had always used the title ‘Great Emperor’ in her speech; however, it had just changed to ‘father’. In other words, the following discussion did not involve the status of the Great Emperor.
“Would it be possible for me to ask about the details?” Yang Kai asked.
Lan Xun replied, “My father wished to know the whereabouts of Tan Jun Han’s Golden Armor Heavenly Book.”
Right as her words rang out, everyone within the palace focused their gazes towards Yang Kai. Clearly, the three Third-Order Emperors knew about the famed Golden Armor Heavenly Book.
Although there were quite a few Emperor Artifacts present within the Star Boundary, there were only a handful of famous ones out there. An example would be the Mountain and Rivers Bell in Yang Kai’s possession, which was an Ancient Exotic Artifact that was precious enough for even Great Emperors to covet.
Although Tan Jun Han’s Golden Armor Heavenly Book was inferior to the Mountain and Rivers Bell, it was no ordinary Emperor Artifact. In fact, it was among the highest grades of Emperor Artifacts.
A frown appeared on Yang Kai’s face, while a sliver of unease surfaced from the depths of his heart. Nevertheless, he replied, “The Golden Armor Heavenly Book is with me.”
As he replied, he retrieved the Golden Armor Heavenly Book and placed it in his hand.
The golden light radiating from it instantly drew everyone’s eyes over.
Nodding her head, Lan Xun continued in a soft voice, “It’s like this, Senior Brother Yang. Father hopes that you are able to hand the Golden Armor Heavenly Book to me to bring back…”
Yang Kai’s expression immediately sank as he heard those words, as he understood that his prediction had come true.
He was all too clear of the might the Golden Armor Heavenly Book could unleash. During his fight against Tan Jun Hao, if not for the latter’s carelessness of underestimating him, Yang Kai might have needed to pay a huge price to kill Tan Jun Hao after the latter unleashed the full might of the Golden Armor Heavenly Book. In fact, it was possible that Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to kill him even if he were to go all out once that happened.
Therefore, he naturally did not wish to hand such a good treasure over to other people. Furthermore, he had been refining the Golden Armor Heavenly Book for a while. Being able to use this artifact alongside his own abilities was something he was greatly looking forward to.
At this moment, Lan Xun’s single sentence of wanting him to return it was something that he truly could not accept. Yet, there would definitely be no happy ending if he did not return it. Nevertheless, Yang Kai knew that if it was a trade, Soul Star Palace would absolutely not resort to brutish tactics.
Raising his head, he looked at Lan Xun, wanting to hear what else she had to say.
“The Golden Armor Heavenly Book can be considered to be Senior Brother Yang’s spoils of war. By that logic, our Star Soul Palace doesn’t have the authority to ask you to return it. Therefore, we have no choice but to inform Senior Brother Yang that the Golden Armor Heavenly Book is not only an Emperor Artifact, but also a key that opens a Sealed World within our Star Soul Palace.”
“A key to open a Sealed World?” Yang Kai gawked in surprise.
“Indeed,” Lan Xun nodded lightly, “Our Star Soul Palace has a Sealed World that is known as the Grand Illusion Realm. It is naturally an Independent Small World, and can only be opened using the Golden Armour Heavenly Book. Both Elder Xiao and Elder Xue know about this too.”
Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao both nodded their heads in confirmation of Lan Xue’s words.
“En, the Grand Illusion Realm is something I too know of,” Wen Zi Shan chimed in from the side, “However, I never imagined that Sealed World would need the Golden Armor Heavenly Book to be accessed.”
“Access to that Sealed World was controlled by Tan Jun Hao. Therefore, the Golden Armor Heavenly Book was assigned to him. With the loss of that key, the Sealed World can no longer be accessed. This is a huge loss for our Star Soul Palace, as that is a place where many of our Star Soul Palace disciples go to train. Even now, there are a few dozen disciples trapped inside, unable to leave.” Lan Xun shot a sincere look at Yang Kai, “Therefore, regardless of anything, Lan Xun hopes that Senior Brother Yang can return the Golden Armor Heavenly Book. Before coming here, Father had informed me that if Senior Brother Yang is willing to return the Golden Armor Heavenly Book, he can choose one of three forms of compensation.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “What three compensations?”
If Star Soul Palace insisted on taking back the Golden Armor Heavenly Book, Yang Kai would have had no way of keeping it from them. Therefore, he would have no choice but to hand it over regardless. However, Lan Xun mentioning three forms of compensation caused the turmoil in his heart to subside substantially.
“First would be Star Soul Palace will compensate Brother Yang with two hundred million High-Rank Source Crystals!” Lan Xun replied.
Wen Zi Shan’s expression changed immediately.
200 million High-Rank Source Crystals! That was not a small amount.
Most Emperor Artifacts were not worth more than ten or twenty million, with those better grade ones worth around thirty or forty million. 200 million was a very extravagant price to pay for one. Although the Golden Armor Heavenly Book’s worth as an Emperor Artifact definitely did not amount to that, being the key to a Sealed World would definitely drive its value up immensely.