Many people clustered around Yan Yuntian, just like how stars cluster around the moon. The aura he exuded was also completely different from Zhou Bao’s. The old Yan Yuntian practiced the Way of the Emperor, so his Qi Power was extremely astonishing. Even if he just stood there, without being angry, he would exclude power that was intimidating at first glance. However, that was only true for ordinary people and the average practitioners. In Zhou Bao’s eyes, he was nothing at all.
But today, Yan Yuntian was obviously different. Even from the outset, he gave Zhou Bao a forceful attack.
Instead of wearing the yellow robe today, he wore a black cloak. This black cloak was a celestial device that exuded a suppressive Qi Power. Of course, the item that attracted most of Zhou Bao’s attention was the crown on Yan Yuntian’s head. This crown had 12 ornaments constituting unknown materials that looked deep and remote. The ones on top were black like the color of his cloak. The others were of a rare red color. Zhou Bao knew that the black color of the ornaments on top was a symbol of heaven and the red color was a symbol of earth. The entire crown was a symbol of heaven and earth. The 12 ornaments each had five jade diamonds arranged in the color sequence of pink, white, grey, yellow, and black. The distance between each jade was about 1 inch. Hence, each sequence was about 12 inches along.
Heavenly Crown of Peace!
Seeing the Heavenly Crown of Peace on his head, Zhou Bao finally recognized that the Jin Dynasty’s Yan Family had two Pure Yang Celestial Devices. One of them was the pagoda that Zhou Bao stole to give Li Xiu. The other device was this Heavenly Crown of Peace that suppressed the fate of the entire Royal Yan Family.
Although Zhou Bao had a Pure Yang Celestial Device on him, he could not help but let out a sigh when he saw the Heavenly Crown of Peace. Disregarding its power, its purple radiation alone could firmly suppress the entire Western Capital. Just this property alone defined it as on par with other Pure Yang Celestial Devices.
There were also a few unfamiliar people that surrounded Yan Yuntian. And there was surprisingly no one from the Royal Yan Family.
“You must be Yunzhou Zhou Bao. So it is as the legend says – your power is incredible!” said a middle-aged man standing beside Yan Yuntian slowly while looking at Zhou Bao. This man, although being neither handsome nor tall, was about 1.7 meter in height if Zhou Bao could use a measurement from his previous life. But it was precisely this man that gave Zhou Bao a sense of danger.
Was he very powerful?
No, he wasn’t. This middle-aged man only had a cultivation of Level Nine; yet, the aura he exuded was so strong. It was as strong as a mountain, as big as a sea, and as firm as a rock. Nothing could move it.
“This man’s will is seriously too strong. If he can break through the Mysterious Realm and reach the Genuine Immortal realm, he could probably pass through six to seven Divine Tribulations in one go and become a figure of the Lord of Heaven Realm!” Zhou Bao’s spiritual mind was extremely sharp; he could see with one look that the middle-aged man in front of him had a willpower that was beyond one’s imagination. His heart was very strong, even stronger than Zhou Bao’s. It was exactly because he had such a strong heart and mind that he could let Zhou Bao feel such a strong pressure from him.
However, no matter how strong the heart may be, it would not last long in the face of absolute strength. After hearing the man’s voice, Zhou Bao smiled faintly. “I’m not too strong. It’s just your subordinate’s strength is way too weak. What kind of people are you? Don’t tell me these are men from the Royal Capital. The last time I came to the Royal Capital, I didn’t sense any of your spirits!”
“I am Chen Shoubai, the Divine Wind Palace’s third deacon in Chen’s ancestral temple. The purpose of my visit to your Central Mainland Region’s Jin Dynasty this time is to participate in the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony!” Chen Shoubai announced in a calm and firm tone.
“Chen’s ancestral temple?!” Even Zhou Bao knew that the Divine Wind Palace possessed a lot of influences and families, the intersection place of power politics. But when he heard the three words “Chen’s ancestral temple,” Zhou Bao could not help but feel strange. “Ancestral temple? Do not all those people live in the ancestral temple?”
“Zhou Bao, the ancestral temple is the Divine Wind Palace’s special location for the Human Emperor-selecting ceremony. All its rules and procedures are under the purview of Chen’s ancestral temple. Mr. Shoubai is responsible for escorting me over to the Penglai Region to participate in the Human Emperor-selecting ceremony this time. All these people are the students of Mr. Shoubai!” Yan Yuntian pointed at the surrounding people.
Mr. Shoubai!
This name was somewhat interesting. Zhou Bao thought about it again, and he felt that this Mr. Shoubai was not a martial arts master or an expert. Instead, he looked like a great scholar who only read poetry books. As for his students, although all of them had reasonable skills and power, they all lowered their head in front of him and had an expression of humility on their faces.
“The Divine Wind Palace will surely stir up trouble. Chen’s ancestral temple seems like the Ministry of Rites in the imperial court. They may not have much power or authority, but its role is indispensable and one that no one dares to look down on. This is because many things in the Ministry of Rites cannot afford to go wrong. Even if there would be one tiny mistake, the punishment would be death. Say, a general who lost on the battlefield still has a chance to redeem himself through good service. If there were a conspiracy with others, a web of connections could even save the entire army from punishment. However, if it would be on the birthday of the Emperor or on a day when a Queen dies, one would definitely die if a tiny mistake would be made regardless of how strong your relationships were with the court or how strong one’s support was. In the worst case scenario, all your offsprings would be involved.
Hence, when all is said and done, it was a very troublesome existence.
“So it’s Mr. Shoubai!” Zhou Bao smiled and put his hands together in greeting. He looked at the man who flew out and was then rescued just now and said, “He is your student?!”
“Yes, Yuanchu is my student!” Chen Shoubai nodded his head. He did not seem to be upset that Zhou Bao had hurt one of his students.
“I know you are very powerful and thus have nothing to worry about. The dignified Imperial City symbolizes the authority of the Jin Dynasty and it’s not appropriate for you to casually move through time-space!”
“I am a brute, accustomed to rudeness!” Zhou Bao smiled faintly.
“It was okay in the past. But now that Your Majesty wants to be a contestant in the Human Emperor-selection, you cannot be so rude anymore. The Human Emperor-selection is a selection by the Gods. Even an immortal would be controlled. You are a citizen of the Jin Dynasty and the son-in-law of the emperor; it is expected of you to be a good example for everyone else!” Chen Shoubai said directly. His tone was strict as if he was teaching his own disciple.
“I don’t need you to tell me what to do!” Zhou Bao looked quite unhappy. “If you really don’t like me, you can teach me a lesson if you have the skill for that!”
“What big guts!” A subordinate of Chen Shoubai furrowed his brows and stood up. “Then let me teach you a lesson!”
“Yuanlong, stop!” Without waiting for Zhou Bao’s reply, Chen Shoubai glared at that man and interrupted him. Then, he looked towards Zhou Bao with a smile and said, “My disciple is a bit rude. It must have been a joke to you. What I’ve said is for your own good. The power of the candidate of the Human Emperor will not bear any provocation!”
The light in Zhou Bao’s eyes froze and he murderously glared at Chen Shoubai. He said very sinisterly, “Your Excellency must be mistaken. I do not intend to provoke the candidate for the Human Emperor. Currently, the Human Emperor candidate has not even been selected yet. How can I provoke? Even if he were to be selected, it must be my father-in-law. I don’t have any reason to provoke His Highness, don’t you say so?!”
“That’s right, that’s right!” With Yan Yuntian’s shrewdness, how could he not understand what Chen Shoubai was truly saying? But there is a saying: “People who are under the care of someone have to bow their heads.” And now he was under Chen Shoubai’s care. In the Human Emperor-selection, Chen’s ancestral temple did not have the right to say much. But if one would really offend this fella from Chen’s ancestral temple, kicking the offender out of the selection was an effortless move. Therefore, Yan Yuntian had to fear Chen Shoubai a bit.
“Hahahaha, great. It is rare that Your Excellency has so much faith in yourself. Seems like, with your help, His Majesty’s chance of obtaining the Human Emperor’s position will increase manifolds!” Hearing the two’s words, Chen Shoubai knew that his true motives had been seen through by them. Yet he still looked undisturbed. He only laughed, brushed the matter aside, and said, “Your Majesty, don’t waste time anymore. Since the person you’ve been waiting for has arrived, then please be on your way. Anyway, you have already handed over what is needed!” Chen Shoubai said gently. However, there was an air of indubitably in his tone.
Regarding this, Yan Yuntian did not object and nodded. “That fine too. Zhou Bao, what about you?!”
“Alright. There’s nothing much that’s worth seeing for me in this Royal Capital anyway!” Zhou Bao smiled and glanced at the Heavenly Crown of Peace. “But don’t you think bringing that thing with you is too ostentatious?!”
“That’s not a matter. The Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony is based on one’s Qi Power. If I lose out on Qi Power right from the outset, then it will be hard to win it back. You have not experienced something like this before. But once you get there, I’m sure you’ll understand. The Human Emperor’s position is very competitive. Those who are qualified to fight for it are all emperors who are very successful. Everyone practices the Way of the Emperor, and there are even some who have broken through Level Nine and entered the Mysterious Realm. Without sufficient power, fighting for the Human Emperor’s position is a self-defeating pursuit!” Chen Shoubai said as he looked at Zhou Bao, seemingly implying something. “Moreover, the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony is not a place for fierce battles. The Human Emperor must be a well-refined man. A person who relies on brute force is not suited to be the Human Emperor!”
“Chen Shoubai stands on our side. Chen’s ancestral temple has a special position in the Divine Wind Palace. Its rules are also extremely eccentric. Him escorting me this time around is a symbol of his support for me. If I can gain the Human Emperor position, he will also gain huge benefits. But obviously, he doesn’t think well of me!” Just when Zhou Bao was curious about this Chen Shoubai, he received a wave of thoughts from Yan Yuntian.
“So he’s an unlucky duck that has been driven onto a perch!” Zhou Bao felt Yan Yuntian’s thoughts and couldn’t help laughing.