Chapter 472: Be as Respectful to Him as You Are to Me, The Four Great Dukes, The Rumors Are Wrong

Chapter 472: Chapter 160: Be as Respectful to Him as You Are to Me, The Four Great Dukes, The Rumors Are Wrong

‘As for the Dust Sect, I’ve already started making my move. I just wonder if Ye Ming will notice.’

Xia Jin knew Jiang Lan was talking about the Dust Sect. Her expression immediately turned solemn. “Rest assured, Your Highness. I will investigate this carefully. I will not betray your trust.”

‘For Jiang Lan to tell me something so important… this truly is a sign of his immense trust in me.’

‘If she were to shield the Dust Sect out of lingering affection for her former sect, wouldn’t his efforts have been in vain?’

But Jiang Lan knew Xia Jin’s character. She had always been uncompromisingly just, unable to tolerate the slightest injustice. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have left the Dust Sect to enter the world and travel to the Southern Wilderness Province to fight the Barbarian Race.

That was why he wasn’t the least bit worried that Xia Jin would cover for them.

“If General Xia Jin says so, then I am relieved.” Jiang Lan gave a slight nod, then turned to look down upon Immortal Ascension Island below.

Seeing that Jiang Lan had no intention of mentioning what happened yesterday, Xia Jin breathed a small sigh of relief. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment before she gave a slight shake of her head and reined in her thoughts.

Her only duty on this trip was to escort Jiang Lan to Immortal Ascension Island. Now that they were here, it was time for them to part ways.

On Immortal Ascension Island, the Four Great Dukes had always been led by Prince Zhong. At this moment, within the sprawling complex of Prince Zhong’s Mansion, there was a spacious, brightly lit, and lavishly decorated room.

Inside, a plain-faced young woman in a white dress sat leisurely in a grandmaster’s chair, a cup of fragrant tea in hand, gently blowing on the rising steam.

Hanging from her waist was a golden Token. Inscribed upon it was the imperial character for “I,” which emanated an incredibly dense aura of sovereignty—as if the Emperor himself had descended, his presence shaking the world.

Four middle-aged men, all with different appearances and builds but uniformly dressed in Python Dragon Robes, waited cautiously to the side. Their posture was deferential, and they were exceedingly respectful toward the young woman in white.

If any resident of Immortal Ascension Island were to witness this scene, they would be struck absolutely speechless.

The Four Great Dukes were all major figures, as elusive as a Divine Dragon that shows its head but never its tail. They wielded immense power; even the three great Guardian Families would never dare to show them the slightest disrespect.

And yet, here the four Dukes were, all gathered together.

“My Lady, these are the records of the recent disturbances at the Demon Abyss. Our Four Great Royal Families have guarded this place for generations. We have never forgotten our mission, and we have always fulfilled our duties diligently, without a moment of laxity.”

“We have also dispatched men to investigate the recent disturbances at the Demon Abyss. However, the three great Guardian Families and the Elder Pavilion have already sent their own patrols, so our people have not been able to achieve much…”

This generation’s Prince Zhong was a well-built, middle-aged man with a square-jawed face, thick eyebrows, and a straight nose, giving him an honest and dependable appearance.

He was now respectfully offering a bundle of bamboo slips with both hands, waiting for the young woman in white to accept it.

However, the young woman merely gave the slips a casual glance before she went back to savoring her tea, showing no intention of reading them.

But Prince Zhong did not dare show the slightest hint of impatience.

It was the same for the other three Dukes; they all maintained their expressions of utmost respect.

‘To Prince Zhong, this young woman in white was far more terrifying than the old ancestor cultivating in seclusion in the deepest part of the mansion. She had silently torn through the Void and appeared in his private cultivation chamber.’

‘A single glance from her had suppressed all of his Magical Power, rendering it inert and turning him into a mere mortal in an instant.’

‘In all his years of cultivation, he had never encountered anything like it. To say it was like seeing a ghost would not be an exaggeration.’

‘The countless Restrictions and Array Patterns of Prince Zhong’s Mansion had been rendered completely useless, as if they weren’t even there.’

‘He had almost thought some unknown enemy had come for him, and the shock had made him break out in a cold sweat.’

Fortunately, the mysterious young woman in white had quickly produced the golden Token representing Emperor Xia, revealing her identity as an Imperial Envoy and allowing Prince Zhong to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

‘But he was still reeling internally. When had the Great Xia Dynasty gained such a terrifying figure?’

As for the other three Dukes, they had rushed to Prince Zhong’s Mansion after he contacted them. They personally paid their respects to the mysterious young woman, and, awed by her unfathomably terrifying power, they did not dare show any disrespect.

‘They had always assumed that the person sent by the Great Xia Dynasty to investigate the Demon Abyss was still on their way, and they hadn’t paid it much mind.’

‘Who could have expected this young woman in white to appear like this? Her arrival had completely disrupted their initial plans.’

“The person truly in charge of investigating the disturbances at the Demon Abyss—you will meet him soon.”

“When you see him, get rid of those little schemes of yours. Tell him everything you are supposed to tell him.”

“You will be as respectful to him as you are to me.”

The young woman in white was, of course, Jiang Ruxian, who had left the Imperial Capital.

She set down her teacup and casually swept her gaze over the four men, her tone calm and indifferent, as if she knew exactly what they were thinking.

“Rest assured, My Lady. We would never dare to be disrespectful.”

Hearing this, the four Dukes hastily agreed. In the face of absolute power, they didn’t dare to harbor any extraneous thoughts.

The Four Great Dukes had been guarding the overseas Immortal Ascension Island for several thousand years and had not once set foot in the Celestial Central Province in all that time. They had never even met the current Emperor of Great Xia, and he was certainly not the same former emperor their ancestors had sworn allegiance to.

‘Were they supposed to meekly obey the arrangements and commands of the current Emperor Xia based on an oath made long ago?’

‘Of course not. The hearts of men are not meant to be tested, especially not over thousands of years.’

In the present day, the Four Great Royal Families were, in fact, not much different from any other reclusive noble family.

But then came the recent disturbances at the Demon Abyss. News of it reached the ears of the current Emperor, causing Great Xia to once again turn its attention this way and send an imperial edict, informing them that a minister would be dispatched to investigate the matter.