Edited by RED

Chu Li left with two geniuses. The atmosphere was oppressive.

At that moment, Gu Ying stood up and said to the Emperor, “Master, the Gu Gu Clan has things to do. I have to leave as well.”

Gu Ying disappeared.

Lin Feng watched him disappear and smiled on the inside; the Gu Gu Clan and the Lun Bi Empire were already allies.

People were leaving because the three princes were ignoring almost everybody except the geniuses they were clinging to at that moment. Maybe wasn’t a bad idea, either?

The old man watched Gu Ying disappear, knowing it was too late.

The atmosphere became more and more tense. The Five Heroes didn’t intend to change their minds, though. They were in the Fa Lan Empire now, so why not stay?

Garuḍa didn’t care. She hadn’t received any instructions from anyone in the Ancient Beast Clan, which meant she could either choose the Lun Bi Empire or the Fa Lan Empire.

“Mu Feng, little friend, from now on, you are an honored guest of our empire. You can come and leave the imperial palace whenever you wish. Nobody can stop you,” declared the Emperor, glancing at the three princes. They had all given precious items to Lin Feng, but none of them had managed to convince to stay with them. He had nearly left with Chu Li, and now the old man was being extremely generous to him.

Lin Feng looked at the old man skeptically, but then laughed. He had reached his goal quite easily in the end. Seeing Yan Ran Xue wouldn’t be as difficult anymore.

“Thank you very much, Master. I am extremely pleased,” Lin Feng answered the old man honestly.

The old man nodded and smiled. He was pleased too.

Fa Duo smiled as well. Having someone like Mu Feng in the Fa Lan Empire was great, and would be extremely beneficial. He was sure that Lin Feng was going to break through to the Great Supreme God layer at some point without any issues. Then the Fa Lan Empire would have another Great Supreme God, which would change everything.

Even though some people had left angry, the Fa Lan Empire was also winning a lot: the Ancient Soul Clan’s Five Heroes, Garuḍa, and the most important one, Mu Feng!

——

The banquet ended quickly. Lin Feng was still in the imperial palace; Fa Duo came to him and gave him a residence in the imperial palace, with ponds and water lilies about it. The Fa Lan Empire really considered Lin Feng an important asset.

Apart from that, Great Prince Fa Chun, Second Prince Fa He, and Fourth Prince Fa Yin all left the imperial palace. The Emperor insulted and scolded them all before they left.

Garuḍa and the Five Heroes stayed in the imperial palace temporarily, but not like Lin Feng. Lin Feng didn’t need anyone’s authorization to stay there.

That night, Lin Feng stayed in the palace Fa Duo had given to him. He didn’t go out, not being in a rush to rescue Yan Ran Xue. He was in the Fa Lan Empire, why not stay longer? Besides, Lin Feng couldn’t draw people’s attention and have them doubt him.

——–

The next day, Lin Feng opened the door and took a deep breath. The sky was blue, the sun was slowly rising, the grass smelled good and was wet with dew.

But incredible news spread in the imperial palace, Lin Feng learned of it during lunch. Of course, he knew everything already.

Fa Xuan joined hands with all the disciples of the borderland city and fought a battle. Fa Xuan was severely injured and had arrived back in the imperial palace, his Qi unstable.

The Emperor came to talk to Fa Xuan. At the beginning, he was furious that Fa Xuan had come, but when he saw Fa Xuan like that and Fa Xuan told him the whole story, the Emperor felt sad.

Fa Xuan told him everything about the rebellion. He also told him that the Ri Guang Empire would probably take advantage of the civil war to steal a part of the Fa Lan Empire’s territory.

The Emperor was furious. All this was happening because the borderland city hadn’t received any food or goods for six months.

By the time Lin Feng arrived in the hall, the old man was furious. He had already started an investigation, and in the end, everything pointed to Fa Chun! He was the one in charge of sending goods and food to the borderland city. Because of Fa Chun, the city had risen up in rebellion!

The Emperor healed Fa Xuan’s injuries and gave him a courtyard to rest in. He didn’t ask him to leave for the time being.

Lin Feng arrived in the room and saw the Emperor, but he didn’t ask anything about Fa Xuan. He didn’t want to let the Emperor believe he was on good terms with Fa Xuan or that he had sided with him or anything.

The Emperor explained the issue to Lin Feng patiently. He also explained some things to him about the imperial palace. Apart from a few secret places, Lin Feng could go anywhere. He also gave him a map, and the cold palace (Translator’s Note: place in which disfavored queens and concubines were imprisoned) was on the map, too.

Cold palaces were a place every imperial city had.

Lin Feng told the Emperor he was going for a walk. He hoped the Emperor wouldn’t mind.

Lin Feng walked through every single room, the Hidden Dragon Hall where he had just met the Emperor, some rivers, some gardens, and then he arrived where Fa Xuan was taking a rest.

There was nobody there and the place was lonely. Even though the Emperor had some compassion for Fa Xuan, he still didn’t grant him any privileges. He continued making him live in poor conditions, as if he weren’t his son.

Lin Feng entered the courtyard and quickly noticed Fa Xuan. Fa Xuan looked happy to see him and stood up.

“You’re here!” said Fa Xuan smiling honestly. He was still pale, and his Qi was still unstable.

Lin Feng smiled, “It seems like you’re not afraid to die, either.”

“I just thought I had to do my best. However, I only did half of what you told me,” Fa Xuan said apologetically.

Lin Feng was surprised and waited to hear more.

“I did negotiate with the servants and was about to pretend I was sick; I hadn’t thought some of my people would betray us. The Ri Guang Empire knew we were in a weak position, so they attacked us by surprise at night, but luckily we had gotten ready to fight. Hundreds of people died, but in the end, we managed to protect the area,” said Fa Chun sadly. The disciples of the city were his old friends and brothers, he was furious that they had been killed. Great Prince Fa Chun was responsible for those people’s deaths!

However, the Emperor liked Fa Chun. Was it over now? Would he punish Fa Chun for what he had done to the city?

Fa Xuan shook his head and preferred not to think about it.

“I need to go and talk to my father to get him to understand. I need justice too,” said Fa Xuan after a long time. A debt of blood must be paid in blood!

Lin Feng shook his head. Fa Xuan didn’t understand.

“Why not?” asked Fa Xuan.

“Of course, half of the plan worked. Why destroy it halfway? Your father is now paying attention to you. He has some compassion for you, otherwise, you wouldn’t be here. But if you start acting recklessly and want to attack wildly, then he will quickly forget about you again.

“Hehe, if that happens, he will even punish you, and not the Great Prince.”

“You know the Emperor likes the Great Prince, so don’t infuriate the Great Prince,” Lin Feng said.

Fa Xuan nodded but he was too impulsive. Besides, hundreds of disciples had died!

“I understand how you feel but now you need to be discreet. The plan is just starting.”

“The best thing to do is to go and see your father, tell him you’re going back to the borderland city, even though it’s dangerous, you don’t want to abandon the borderland city, and that you want to protect it from the Ri Guang Empire.

“But don’t tell him any secrets. With time, the Emperor will respect you more and more. He will forget the anger he feels for you and he will start hating the Great Prince. Someday, you will surpass the Great Prince and your people will rest in peace,” Lin Feng said. Fa Xuan was too impulsive and couldn’t come up with such plans.

Fa Xuan was amazed by Lin Feng’s plan.

“Thank you very much. We’ll need to get drunk,” said Fa Xuan. He ran away from the courtyard and disappeared from Lin Feng’s sight.

“Bring some alcohol then,” Lin Feng said, smiling wryly.

“You found a suitable prince, it seems,” said a voice behind Lin Feng. Lin Feng’s expression fell. He turned around and saw an old man laughing softly