Chapter 40: The Sensible Xue Ke

Arriving at the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, which was ten times more magnificent than the Gu Lei Royal Palace, it was truly worthy of being a great empire that occupied half the territory of the Douluo Continent; the aura of the imperial guards alone was far beyond what the guards of the Gu Lei Kingdom could compare to.

The Gu Lei Kingdom was not a militarily powerful nation to begin with.

In the main hall of the imperial palace, the Great Emperor Xue Ye was already seated on the dragon throne. Nan Feihuang stepped forward to pay his respects, saying, "Nan Feihuang of the Gu Lei Kingdom, greets Your Majesty!"

Nan Feihuang's status was special; he was not only the crown prince of a kingdom but also the son of a Title Douluo, so even when facing the Great Emperor Xue Ye, he did not need to kneel and could simply perform a cupped-hand salute.

The Great Emperor Xue Ye looked at Nan Feihuang below; although he was not yet ten years old, a Spirit Master's development was always slightly faster than an ordinary person's, and Nan Feihuang possessed an especially unique constitution.

Now, he looked no different from a youth of thirteen or fourteen.

With a handsome face and a spirited air, his talent was inherited from his mother, and it was said he already possessed the strength of a Great Soul Master. The Great Emperor Xue Ye nodded with satisfaction. "Feihuang, dispense with the formalities. You are truly worthy of being my future son-in-law. The day Brother Nan proposed the marriage to me, he was indeed not boasting. I am very happy to have such an outstanding son-in-law as you."

"Your Majesty, you overpraise me. Princess Xue Ke is a golden branch and jade leaf; it is my great honor to be betrothed to her. Coming here this time, besides learning the Spirit Master knowledge of your esteemed academy, I also hope to have more contact with Her Highness the Princess to cultivate our relationship," Nan Feihuang said.

"Haha, good, you are thoughtful. Qing He, give Feihuang one of your Eastern Palace tokens," the Great Emperor Xue Ye said, looking at Xue Qinghe.

"Yes, Father Emperor!" Xue Qinghe took a token from his bosom and handed it to Nan Feihuang, saying, "Feihuang, this is my Eastern Palace token. From now on, you may use it to enter the palace at any time. My little sister has always been raised by me, and she doesn't live far from me, though sometimes she doesn't reside in the palace often. Perhaps she might be staying at Yuexuan; you can also go there to find her."

Nan Feihuang took the token, "Many thanks, Brother Xue."

"Then, you may withdraw. Qing He, you go with Ke'er later and take Feihuang to familiarize himself with the campus."

Xue Ye gave the order, and Xue Qinghe immediately responded, "Yes, Father Emperor! Feihuang, follow me."

"Your Majesty, Nan Feihuang takes his leave!"

The two had just left the palace when they saw a gentle girl walking over, who first performed a graceful bow to Xue Qinghe, "Big Brother!"

The person who arrived was none other than Xue Ke; the Great Emperor Xue Ye had just sent someone to call for her.

Her fiancé had arrived, and if the fiancée did not come to greet him, it would be too derelict of duty.

The current Xue Ke looked to have an even better temperament than she did three years ago.

If Nan Feihuang had the appearance of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old, then she had the maturity of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old.

Yuexuan was indeed a good school; girls were naturally precocious, and Xue Ke was an honor student. These three years had taught her a great deal.

"Brother Feihuang, long time no see!"

Compared to her ignorance back then, her expression as she looked at Nan Feihuang now was somewhat complex. After all, at six years old, she hadn't understood what "fiancé" and "fiancée" meant, thinking only that two people playing together and sleeping in the same bed in the future to blow on their brothers was all there was to it.

But now she understood that the two were meant to be mutually respectful and dependent, the kind who would marry and have children.

To tell the truth, although she did not dislike Nan Feihuang and had been very happy blowing on her brother together, she didn't have much affection for him; after all, the two had had very little contact.

Of course, she did not reject this betrothal. Sensible as she was, she already understood that her cultivation aptitude was very weak. As a girl, her father would not let her touch anything political.

If she was good at neither literature nor martial arts, then what other reason could there be for sending her to Yuexuan to learn etiquette, music, and dance, and to cultivate her temperament, other than to increase her bargaining chips for future marriage alliances with other powers?

As a princess, while enjoying the noble status of the Heaven Dou Empire, she also had a life that was not under her own control.

Since she would be married off for an alliance sooner or later, marrying someone she did not dislike could be considered a kind of luck.

Nan Feihuang had a good appearance, his personality was quite good upon contact, his aptitude was extraordinary, and he lacked the dissolute temperament and bullying behavior of other nobles. What more could she be dissatisfied with in marrying such a person?

Therefore, when Xue Ye asked her to have more contact with Nan Feihuang during this time, she agreed. She would strive to make herself fall in love with Nan Feihuang, and that would count as a happy marriage.

"Princess Xue Ke, it has been three years, your temperament has become increasingly outstanding," Nan Feihuang praised. In truth, his thoughts were similar to Xue Ke's; he did not love Xue Ke right now, it was merely a pure marriage of interests, but he hoped that he would at least be able to grow fond of Xue Ke in the future.

For a woman so full of etiquette and with such a gentle temperament, it shouldn't be difficult to develop some affection.

Xue Ke smiled, "Thank you for the compliment, Brother Feihuang. Let's go, Brother Feihuang, Big Brother and I will take you to see the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and we will introduce it to you properly."

"Then I will trouble Your Highness the Princess." The three left the imperial palace together and boarded a carriage.

The Heaven Dou Royal Academy was located on Heaven Dou Mountain, just outside the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

The luxury of this academy was not much inferior to the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, and its land area was astonishing, occupying almost the entire mountaintop.

"Feihuang, I will take you to meet the Three Education Committee Members of the Royal Academy now. You must be polite when the time comes; they are all Spirit Douluo of the eightieth level or higher," Xue Qinghe reminded him.

"Mm, I know, Brother Xue. This place is really huge, and super luxurious; it's even prettier than our Gu Lei Royal City!" Nan Feihuang couldn't help but exclaim.

This was sincere; the area of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was almost comparable to a small city, and yet this was merely an academy—it was truly extravagant beyond measure.

"That is only natural. The students who come to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy are all of noble birth; they could never endure those bitter days," Xue Qinghe said, his words carrying a hint of disdain when he mentioned the word "noble."

Perhaps when the emperors of Heaven Dou established this academy, the goal was indeed to help the empire cultivate talent, but now, the atmosphere here had changed; the nobles lived extravagantly and did not put cultivation to heart at all.

Even if they relied on their family's resources to forcibly raise their levels, their combat ability was pathetically weak.

"Big Brother, I am also a student of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, it's just that because my major is etiquette, I don't often return to the academy for classes," Xue Ke couldn't help but say.

Xue Qinghe only then remembered his little sister was there too, and he ruffled Xue Ke's hair, "Hehe, of course, my little sister is different from those dissolute sons; you are a true golden branch and jade leaf, with the bearing of a noble."

Xue Ke lifted the corners of her mouth proudly, clearly quite pleased by her brother's praise.

While speaking, the three had already arrived at the Dean's Office, the place where the three highest-ranking Education Committee Members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy usually lived and cultivated.

Upon learning of Xue Qinghe's arrival, they immediately came out to welcome him.

These three people, besides the short, fat Bai Baoshan whom he had already met, the other two—one was as thin as a bamboo pole but very tall, and the other had a normal build.

Nan Feihuang complained inwardly: one short and fat, one tall and thin, plus one normal; if you add them together and average them out, they are still three people of normal build. This configuration is not bad.

(End of chapter)