Following behind Princess Red-Swallow, Qingfeng Li, Li Yang, and Black Puppy walked toward the third floor of the Phoenix Palace.
The Third Princess sat by the window on the third floor of the Phoenix Palace. The seat was in a good location; the people on the streets below were clearly visible, as was the scenery of the entire Imperial City.
The Phoenix Palace was luxurious to the extreme; the floor was paved entirely of white crystal and shone with a silver light. It was like the palace of a true phoenix.
The staircase was also forged from white jade, smooth and warm to the touch. Luminescent pearls were set into the walls by the stairs where they gave off a white glow.
The suspended ceiling was covered in a thin layer of gold, which had been poured directly onto the structure. The entire restaurant was decorated in splendid opulence.
Qingfeng Li knew that even an Emperor’s palace in the Ancient Continents could not have been more finely furnished. No wonder the Third Princess had chosen to meet her friends for tea here, it was simply magnificent.
In just a few moments, Princess Red-Swallow had arrived on the third floor with Qingfeng Li, Black Puppy, and Li Yang.
Looking ahead, Qingfeng Li saw a row of bamboo curtains. Behind them sat a woman; she wore a white dress and had long, flowing hair.
A translucent veil covered her face, obscuring her true appearance from view. Seeing her, a look of surprise came over Princess Red-Swallow’s eyes.
She clearly remembered that, when she had left to invite Qingfeng Li upstairs, the Third Princess had not yet pulled down the bamboo curtain, nor had she been wearing the veil. But in that time, she had put on the veil. It was apparent that she did not want Qingfeng Li to see her face.
Princess Red-Swallow wondered quietly to herself if this handsome young man knew the Third Princess somehow. From what she knew of the Third Princess, the beautiful woman had always been rather mysterious.
The Third Princess had never lived in the Imperial City before. But just a few months ago, she suddenly arrived in the city and had since then become the Emperor’s favorite princess.
The Third Princess was a daughter that the Emperor had left elsewhere. Now, she had found her way back.
As a Princess herself, Princess Red-Swallow often frequented the Imperial Palace. She was therefore on good terms with the Third Princess; it could be said that the two were best friends.
Princess Red-Swallow knew that the Third Princess did not have any male friends. But today, she willingly invited this handsome young man for a meeting. No matter how you looked at it, the situation was rather unusual.
Qingfeng Li used voice transmission on the Black Puppy. “Puppy, can you smell this woman’s scent?”
Black Puppy nodded, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.
“Qingfeng Li,” the Black Puppy spoke using voice transmission. “The woman I sensed in front of us before was indeed Mengyao Xu. But she seems to be using a powerful technique to hide her presence; it’s different from what I smelled earlier.”
Qingfeng Li nodded. If this woman before them was indeed Mengyao Xu, then she must have quite the background. It wouldn’t be strange, then, if she were practicing an Immortal level technique. With his own chance encounters, Qingfeng Li had several Immortal level techniques himself.
Looking at the woman before him, Qingfeng Li spoke. “Third Princess, may I know what you called me up for?”
The veiled woman behind the bamboo curtain stared at Qingfeng Li without a word. But deep in her eyes, there was a complex mix of emotions, which Qingfeng Li caught.
These eyes were familiar to Qingfeng Li, they should belong to Mengyao Xu. But the energy radiating from this woman was an unfamiliar one.
The woman radiated the energy of a self-cultivator and a powerful one at that. Mixed in with this energy was the presence of Mengyao Fu from the Talisman-Emperor Sect on Earth.
Before Qingfeng Li’s questioning, the Third Princess only stared at him quietly, her beautiful eyes opened wide. She did not answer.
Using his clairvoyance vision, Qingfeng Li tried to look though the curtain at the Third Princess. However, his vision could only see things within a meter of him, and there were five meters between him and the Third Princess; he could not get a clear view.
He took a step forward toward the Third Princess, intending to pull the silver curtain aside and see who this Third Princess really was for himself.
Just as he took the first step, Princess Red-Swallow moved from beside him, blocking his way. She stopped him from going further.
“Stop,” she said, staring at Qingfeng Li. “If you wish to speak with the Third Princess, you must stand five meters away.”
Qingfeng Li furrowed his brows. Although he wanted to find out who the Third Princess was, he still had to respect Princess Red-Swallow’s authority. He could feel clearly that she was a Spirit Emperor Ream master.
Of course, Qingfeng Li had now broken through to the Eighth Level Spirit Emperor Realm, and he was confident that he could defeat anyone of the same realm. If he were to fight Princess Red-Swallow, he was sure he could win.
But as Princess Red-Swallow was a friend of the Third Princess, Qingfeng Li did not attack her. He stood quietly in place.
Just as Qingfeng Li and the Third Princess were staring at one another, a sudden commotion came from down below.
“Let me go up,” a furious voice sounded from the door of the Phoenix Palace. “Who dares to stop me?”
Of course, the four towering guards at the door weren’t about to let him in, not when the Third Princess was dining inside.
However, the four of them did not dare to attack the man with their spears, either. This man was of distinguished background; he was a Young Prince, son of King Ning.
The lead guard bowed deeply. “Young Prince, the Third Princess is inside with a guest,” he said. “We’ve been ordered not to let anyone enter.”
The young prince was a handsome young man of about twenty years old, with a straight nose, thick brows, and dark skin. He wore python-patterned robes, and his whole body emitted a powerful energy.
The young prince sneered. Suddenly, he struck out with his hand, landing a blow on the guard’s face. The guard fell heavily to the ground, his face swollen and bleeding. His head fell to the side; he had been knocked out.
Beside him, the other guards backed up, shock on their faces. They had long known that the Young Prince was audacious; he had no respect for anyone in the Imperial City. Today, they learned the true extent of his arrogance. The tall guard had only spoken one sentence, and he had been knocked unconscious.
The Young Prince glared at the three remaining guards before walking inside the Phoenix Palace with an old man who had been standing behind him.
The other three guards ground their teeth, finally deciding that they would still better stop the Young Prince. Otherwise, if the Third Princess were angered, there would be hell to pay.
The young prince continued to walk forward. Without even turning his head, he threw another blow behind him, releasing a massive hand of vital essence and knocking out the three guards.
The young prince had been enjoying himself elsewhere when, suddenly, he heard from a servant that a young man had been invited up to the Phoenix Palace to meet with the Third Princess. He wanted to see just who this man was.