Chapter 117: The Spring Hunt Assembly opens, dark tides surging

The first ray of morning sunlight pierced through the thin mist, shining on the gate tower of the Beimen of the imperial capital, the golden brilliance reflecting off the glazed tiles on the gate tower, shining brightly.

The soldiers on the city wall and the imperial guards near the main gate stood straight, their eyes like torches!

With the sound of a crisp horn, a large group of people marched out from the Beimen in a long line, starting this year's Spring Hunt journey.

Li Chen was dressed in golden dragon light armor, riding on a majestic black horse; this horse was named Long Xiang Heiyao, possessing dragon bloodline, its whole body as pitch-black as ink jade, its figure tall and strong, muscles bulging, lines smooth, full of explosive power.

Its four limbs were strong and powerful, every step it took seemed to be able to shake the mountains and rivers, showing its extraordinary ferocity.

The stronger the bloodline of the horse, the harder it was to tame; sometimes it would still disturb the imperial carriage, so generally, there would be royal experts nearby to deter it.

But the one sitting on Long Xiang Heiyao was Li Chen; Long Xiang Heiyao could also feel that vast divine power, its steps only so steady, fearing to make Li Chen feel any shaking.

The royal family members who specialized in taming horses nearby all felt that beasts were beasts; they would submit when encountering a powerful master.

Li Chen naturally appeared at the very front of the team; those generals and military officers in the court, as well as royal disciples, descendants of great nobles, and royal relatives, followed behind one after another on their own mounts.

This team was vast, with thousands of people.

They were dressed in various extraordinary light armors, each piece of armor gleaming enough to reflect a person's shadow.

Those who could come to participate were not making up the numbers; they were the elite of the elite.

These people were tall and straight, carrying exquisite bows and arrows on their backs, their eyes filled with confidence and determination.

The Great General of the Protectorate, Guo Guo Po Yun, although old, was still strong; he rode a tall warhorse, following closely behind Li Chen, telling Li Chen about some of his past battle achievements.

While letting Li Chen have some recognition of himself, it was also telling stories to Li Chen to relieve boredom.

Those who could get close to Li Chen all had a certain status in the May Tian Ce Dynasty.

Relatively close to the front in the large team was the Princess of the Prince of Jing'an, Li Ling; she was dressed in sportswear, heroic and spirited, not inferior to men.

Her eyes revealed a desire for power and freedom, urgently wanting to show her skills in this Spring Hunt.

Beside Li Ling was her husband, Chen Xuannan; if Li Ling hadn't introduced him, everyone would have thought he was just a follower.

Chen Xuannan had always been very low-key, and coupled with his plain appearance, indeed not many people cared.

But he was hidden very deep, his strength quite high; this time he came to help Li Ling achieve better results.

Further back in the team was the descendant of the great noble Liu clan, Liu Hao; this kid had prepared for this Spring Hunt for a long time, and the subordinates he brought were all hunting experts, and they often cooperated together.

Liu Hao had always yearned to be like his father, able to ride in the north and open up territory for the May Tian Ce Dynasty.

There was a relatively casual existence in this team, and that was the Crown Prince of the Prince of Zhennan, Xu Zifeng; Xu Zifeng had no interest in the Northern Expedition, and this time he was purely here to cause trouble.

He looked around distractedly, curious about where the Second Imperial Prince Li Xian was hiding.

Beside Xu Zifeng was his helper, Ma Hei from the Witch Gu Holy Land.

Ma Hei was very much looking forward to this Spring Hunt; he really wanted to see the performance of other Sage Realm experts.

With the deepening of the team, they finally arrived at Xiaoshi City.

The Manghuang Mountain Range outside Xiaoshi City was undulating, like a giant python winding and circling.

At the foot of the mountain, the venue for the Spring Hunt had long been prepared, and various prey were carefully placed in cages, waiting for the arrival of the hunters.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites were reading the rules of the Spring Hunt.

There were two forms to obtain points for the Spring Hunt.

The first form was hunting the prey in the cages.

In a moment, those extremely fast prey in the cages would be released back into the Manghuang Mountain Range; after a period of time, hunters could go to track and capture them.

This would test the hunters' tracking ability and reaction speed.

These prey included rabbit demons, birds, tiger demons, wolf demons, etc., numbering hundreds, each with a mark, and the Ministry of Rites had registered them.

Only by hunting the designated prey and returning could one obtain points, which was also to avoid people cheating by preparing prey in advance to fill the numbers.

The difficulty of the prey was different, and the points obtained were also different.

At the current stage, hunters could observe these prey and then track them later.

The second way to obtain points was to follow Li Chen; when Li Chen passed through the Manghuang Mountain Range, whatever he saw, he could designate, and the ministers around would swarm up to hunt; whoever caught it would obtain points.

This was relatively random, testing the ministers' ability to perform in front of Li Chen.

After the Ministry of Rites official finished reading the rules, everyone's gaze looked at Li Chen.

He was the absolute core of this Spring Hunt, and whether it was the ministers nearby or the chaotic officials and thieves hidden in other places, they were all waiting for his instructions.

With Li Chen's permission, the Ministry of Rites official immediately released the hundreds of demon beasts in the cages.

Hundreds of demon beasts ran in a vast line, that deafening power sweeping across this land, making the ground tremble slightly.

The demon beasts on the ground were roaring, and the birds and beasts in the sky flapped their wings and flew.

With the rush of the demon beasts, the horses nearby began to be startled; they neighed uneasily, their four hooves kicking wildly, trying to break free from the shackles of the reins.

The ministers tried hard to control their mounts; they looked serious, their hands tightly gripping the reins, fearing the horses wouldn't listen and would collide with people nearby.

And Li Chen's mount, Long Xiang Heiyao, didn't have any unstable emotions; looking at the demon beasts in front of it, it was like looking at a group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Finally, as the demon beasts gradually entered the depths of the Manghuang Mountain Range, the shocking movement gradually subsided.

However, in the depths of the forest, countless birds and beasts were awakened by this sudden frenzy; they fled in panic, and the entire forest fell into chaos.

Some experienced hunters were already observing and locking onto the direction the demon beasts were fleeing, just waiting for Li Chen to give the order.

Li Chen had also been to the Spring Hunt a few times, and he was very familiar with the process.

He rode Long Xiang Heiyao to the front of the crowd, then turned his horse's head, looked at the thousands of people in front of him, and said loudly: "All ministers are the pillars of the May Tian Ce Dynasty. Today's Spring Hunt is not just for the joy of hunting, but also a good opportunity for you to show your talents and temper your will. I hope that you can take this Spring Hunt as an opportunity to perform well and exert your full ability!"

As soon as the words fell, a cheer sounded around.

"Long live His Majesty, May Tian Ce will last forever!"

"Long live His Majesty, May Tian Ce will last forever!"

"Long live His Majesty, May Tian Ce will last forever!"

The sound echoed throughout the area, making the small-minded people hidden around feel some shock.

Although there were very few like Xu Zifeng who were perfunctory, the vast majority of ministers were very excited and shouted from the bottom of their hearts.

It could indeed make others feel that the core of this dynasty had cohesion.

Especially the spies from other countries, all looked serious.

Looking at the expressions of these ministers, Li Chen was very satisfied; the joy of a monarch was just so simple and unadorned.

With a wave of Li Chen's hand, those ministers who were prepared to obtain points by hunting designated demon beasts swarmed up one after another, rushing toward the Manghuang Mountain Range in a scramble.

They not only had to face the dangerous environment in the Manghuang Mountain Range but also had to fight wits and courage with the people around them; it could be said to be an invisible competition.

Whoever could get good results could get a certain status in the Northern Expedition, and then military merits would be within reach.

Liu Hao led the team and rushed very fast, being the first to rush in; his late-stage Void Realm cultivation was considered top-notch among the noble descendants, and he was also bold and skilled.

Following closely behind was Princess Li Ling; Li Ling's strength was much worse, and like Chu Ruoyan, she was still in the Piercing Void Realm, but the Chen Xuannan beside her had a mid-stage Union Realm cultivation, which could protect Li Ling's safety.

The helpers around these people were all retainers in the family.

The family had supported them for so long, and they also wanted to perform well to reflect their own value.

Almost half of the people went to chase the designated prey.

The other half who remained were mostly old ministers like the Great General of the Protectorate Guo Guo Po Yun, who were powerful themselves and just wanted to perform in front of Li Chen.

If they pleased Li Chen and made Li Chen feel they were capable, perhaps they would be rewarded on the spot.

Liu Hao and Li Ling and those others naturally felt they couldn't compete with old ministers like Guo Guo Po Yun, so they chose to chase the designated prey.

As for the others who remained by Li Chen's side, either they were like Xu Zifeng, purely to cause trouble, or they were royal relatives who had no interest in the Northern Expedition and were purely here to show their faces.

It is worth mentioning that Chu Ruoyan's father, Chu Jingsong, also came to the Spring Hunt scene; he was a proper royal relative, and Zhao Wenyuan had to give him some face.

Because Li Chen's harem now only had Chu Ruoyan, who dared to offend Chu Jingsong?

Chu Jingsong had no status, but his identity was there.

He was also very excited this time; he didn't consider the Northern Expedition at all, just tried hard to record the details of this time, and went back to drink and brag with his old brothers, letting his old brothers also envy him.

And he could get to know some high-level nobles in the imperial capital during this Spring Hunt, which would be of great help to the subsequent development of the Chu family.

Chu Ruoyan actually wanted to come this time; she was a practitioner and often fought with demon beasts before entering the palace.

However, she didn't rest well last night and didn't want to get up this morning, really couldn't get out of bed, so she didn't come.

Li Sining didn't like riding horses, feeling it was bumpy and uncomfortable, so she continued to meditate and cultivate. However, many people followed secretly, excluding those spies from major forces, because they were just scouting for information and didn't mean to take action against Li Chen.

There were roughly three forces hostile to Li Chen.

The first force was naturally the Second Imperial Prince Li Xian's team; they were waiting for Li Chen to enter their trap and then take action. Lord Dingtian was among them, but not with Li Xian.

The second force was the remnants of the previous dynasty; according to the Fifth Imperial Prince Li Ran, these people had already lurked into the palace, and their restoration cause did not allow a monarch like Li Chen to exist.

The third force was hidden deeper, from overseas forces in the West; their cultivation methods were not quite the same as the May Tian Ce Dynasty's cultivators, but their ambition was very great, and they wished for the May Tian Ce Dynasty to be in chaos so they could open up territory.

These guys had already set up traps in advance, just waiting for Li Chen to take the bait.

After the ministers chasing the designated prey left, the Minister of Rites Yan Hai handed the route map to Li Chen; there were three relatively easy roads to choose from.

Actually, here, the Second Imperial Prince asked Yan Hai to hint that Li Chen should take the leftmost road, but Yan Hai was somewhat worried that Li Chen would discover the clues, so he didn't dare to speak all along, letting Li Chen choose for himself.

When hearing Li Chen choose the leftmost road, Yan Hai's heart was very complicated.

This did indeed meet the Second Imperial Prince's requirements, but if something happened to His Majesty, the imperial capital would again appear in a chaotic situation.

He neither hoped the Second Imperial Prince would fail nor hoped His Majesty would have an accident, but he was just a chess piece, had no right to make decisions, and had no way.

!

On one side was the Second Imperial Prince's cultivation, on the other side was His Majesty's trust.

In these few days, Yan Hai's hair had turned white quite a bit.

"Minister Yan has been working hard these few days." Li Chen felt Yan Hai's handling efficiency was okay, especially his look of not having rested well; as a superior, he naturally had to comfort him.

This sentence made Yan Hai somewhat flattered, and he immediately expressed: "The humble minister is not tired; sharing worries for His Majesty is the humble minister's duty."

He spoke with somewhat insufficient confidence, but things had reached this point, and he could only wait for news here.

Whether His Majesty won or the Second Imperial Prince won, he had his own preparations.

Yan Hai didn't want to be a wall-grass, but in the court, how many could decide their own fate?

Today, Prime Minister Zhao Wenyuan didn't come; he was just a scholar, and this old bone of his really couldn't withstand the bumps of this occasion.

But he wasn't at the scene, which didn't mean he had no arrangements.

The Spring Hunt was hosted by him, and if something happened to Li Chen, he would also be hard to blame.

The mysterious person who had always protected him was also hidden in the Spring Hunt team, ready to take coping measures.

Zhao Wenyuan knew Li Chen was very strong, but this didn't mean he didn't need to complete his work.

Prime Minister's Mansion, Zhao Wenyuan was tasting the coarse tea in the living room, and subordinates had been reporting progress.

"I have coping strategies for troubles below the Sage Realm, but for those above the Sage Realm, I can only rely on His Majesty."

Zhao Wenyuan had also reported yesterday, and Li Chen said there was no problem, presumably he was prepared, so he didn't struggle anymore.

Troubles above the Sage Realm were not that he didn't want to help, but that he didn't have this ability.

Zhao Wenyuan had also gone to find Yu Fuzi in these few days, but Yu Fuzi didn't agree to his request.

This was also within his expectations; after all, Li Chen hadn't given Yu Fuzi face last time.

Although Yu F

However, what Zhao Wenyuan did not expect was that Master Yu actually went this time, just not to help—at least, that was the case for now.

Outside Little Stone City, Li Chen went hunting along the originally planned route.

In those vast, wild mountain ranges, Li Chen was galloping on his Long Xiang Heiyao.

Every time Long Xiang Heiyao's hooves fell, it seemed as if it could shatter the void, whipping up gusts of wind that forced the surrounding grass and trees to bow their heads.

Li Chen used to be an Imperial Prince and only came here to play the part of a bystander; this time, he wanted to experience the feeling of being an Emperor—he was simply here to have fun.

Since they were still far from the dangerous areas, he took an interest in hunting.

While traversing the wild mountain ranges, Li Chen was also scanning for prey in the surroundings.

At this moment, he seemed to have arrived in the territory of some demonic beasts.

Suddenly, a fierce wolf demon darted out from the grass, its speed so fast it was like a gray bolt of lightning, running straight toward the distance.

The corners of the wolf demon's mouth were covered in blood; it must have just been hunting other demonic beasts, but upon sensing the large group of people approaching, it felt the danger and fled.

Yet, in this flight, it happened to be spotted by Li Chen.

Li Chen took a deep breath, adjusted his posture, and leaned his body slightly forward, as if he had merged into one with Long Xiang Heiyao.

His eyes flashed with calmness, and the bow and arrow in his hand had already quietly aimed at the wolf demon.

"Whoosh!"

A crisp sound of the bowstring rang out, and the arrow, like a bolt released from the string, instantly tore through the sky, carrying a whistling wind as it headed straight for the wolf demon.

The speed and power of the arrow were so great that it seemed as if even the air had been torn apart, and it passed precisely through the gaps in the jungle.

The wolf demon also seemed to sense the danger; it turned its head in terror, trying to dodge this fatal blow.

However, it was already too late.

The arrow precisely pierced through its body, pinning it firmly to the ground.

"Good!"

Seeing this, the surrounding officials burst into cheers.

Their eyes were filled with awe.

"His Majesty is truly a master archer; piercing a wolf demon with a single arrow—truly heroic!"

"His Majesty is mighty; this is truly a blessing for our dynasty!"

The officials' flattery poured in like a tide, every word filled with sincerity.

Seeing this, the Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward and seized the wolf demon that had been shot through.

Their movements were swift, and they completed their work with proficiency.

They had expected to encounter fierce resistance from the wolf demon, but it had been heavily wounded by the arrow and had no strength left to fight back.

Only the Imperial Guards who inspected the wolf demon's wound knew just how powerful and heavy Li Chen's arrow had been.

The most terrifying part was that Li Chen hadn't even channeled his spiritual power; it was all based on his own physical strength.

However, this was only the beginning of Li Chen's hunting trip.

He saw a shadow on the ground, then closed his eyes to listen to the sounds around him.

The courtiers could see a fully-fledged hunting hawk soaring in the sky, its silhouette elongated in the sunlight as if it had merged with the heavens.

The difficulty of this was simply too high, especially given the hawk's altitude, which was already beyond the range of a bow and arrow.

Li Chen smiled slightly; he didn't even look at the target, shooting his bow and arrow casually into the sky, this time channeling a bit of spiritual power.

"Whoosh!"

Another crisp sound of the bowstring rang out, and the arrow tore through the sky once more, heading straight for the hunting hawk.

This time, with the addition of spiritual power, the arrow seemed to have grown eyes, piercing directly through the bird's chest.

The bird let out a shrill cry and instantly plummeted from the sky.

Its silhouette traced a graceful arc in the air, and before it could hit the ground, a bold Imperial Guard captain predicted the landing spot and caught the hawk directly.

This prevented the hawk from being smashed on the ground, and it also showed his skill.

Showing off a little skill like this could indeed help one stand out in front of Li Chen.

Other nearby Imperial Guard captains cursed this guy for being so fast; they couldn't compete with him.

"His Majesty truly never misses a shot; he can hit the target without even looking—he is simply a god among men!"

The courtiers praised him again; if Li Chen had missed, they would have had words of consolation ready.

This was how it had been when accompanying the late Emperor on hunts, and even when accompanying other powerful figures, these words would be used.

But Li Chen was simply too accurate, so their flattery came from the heart, without any tone of hypocrisy.

Only Xu Zifeng, who was behind him, muttered to himself: This guy just knows how to show off, and he actually pulled it off!

He even began to suspect if that hunting hawk was a plant hired by Li Chen; how could he be so accurate?

Xu Zifeng glanced at Ma Hei beside him and found that Ma Hei's face was also filled with shock.

(End of chapter)