Chapter 1422

Wanyan Tianyue's martial arts were far inferior to Hu Xiaotian's; seeing Hu Xiaotian display such divine might, he couldn't help but feel some regret. Seeing Hu Xiaotian kick a person toward him, coming with fierce momentum, his first thought was not to catch it but to hastily dodge to the side. Whether others fell to their death was none of his concern; he only wished not to be injured himself.

At that moment, a man in green robes rose from his seat like a wisp of green smoke, stepped forward, extended his hand, and struck out with an invisible palm strike in midair. The unseen palm force struck the body that Hu Xiaotian had thrown. The man had been screaming, his limbs flailing, thinking he would surely fall half-dead, but at the last moment it seemed as if a pair of invisible hands caught him, and he landed steadily on the ground, not only landing but also standing upright. He was so frightened his whole body trembled, unable to believe he had landed safely.

Everyone looked up, and the green‑clad man who rose at this critical moment was none other than the Beggar Gang's deputy chief, Shangguan Yun Chong. Shangguan Yun Chong had not touched the man's clothes at all; seeing the man land unharmed, the crowd shouted approval in unison, feeling that Shangguan Yun Chong's display was clearly superior to Hu Xiaotian's.

Hu Xiaotian coldly stared at Shangguan Yun Chong and said, "Who the hell are you? Which belt came loose to expose you?" Actually, he had just thrown that man toward Wanyan Tianyue, which amounted to throwing him at Shangguan Yun Chong as well, since the two were sitting together; Wanyan Tianyue chose to dodge, while Shangguan Yun Chong could not dodge any further, making this strike unavoidable.

Shangguan Yun Chong and Hu Xiaotian had long‑standing grudges; hearing his insolent, biting words, a cold killing intent flashed in his eyes: "Killing someone is just a matter of knocking their head to the ground. We're all gathered here for the sake of the King of Tianxiang's face, Master Hu, you'd better think twice before acting."

Given Murong Feiyan's understanding of Hu Xiaotian, she certainly knew he was no rash person; today's performance almost certainly had a deeper meaning. Yet as the deputy commander of the Fengying Guard, she bore the responsibility of keeping order among these hundred people. Approaching Hu Xiaotian, she said, "Gentlemen, this is the Tianxiang King's palace; fighting here is disrespect to the king!"

Shangguan Yun Chong frowned slightly; clearly Hu Xiaotian had provoked first and he was merely forced to retaliate, yet in her view the blame was shared equally. But he had not forgotten his purpose for coming today. A little forbearance prevents great schemes; there was no need to clash with him before the final selection—everything could wait until today ended. Hu Xiaotian truly does not know the times; the account with Tong Tie Jin remains unsettled, yet he dares to provoke actively—does he not realize that Tianxiang State is the headquarters of the Beggar Gang? Shangguan Yun Chong cupped his fists toward Murong Feiyan, turned, and returned to his seat.

Hu Xiaotian, however, would not relent: "Afraid! I say you're at least the Beggar Gang's deputy chief—how can you wander the jianghu with such little courage?"

Shangguan Yun Chong abruptly turned away; Murong Feiyan stepped between them, her expression stern: "Please, everyone, remain calm and do not act rashly. The king will receive you shortly in the Tianhe Dian; please conduct yourselves with dignity."

Hu Xiaotian laughed heartily, turned, and returned to his former seat, saying: "After all these days, we finally get an audience with your great king. I must say, your king certainly knows how to put on a show."

Hu Xiaotian's remark immediately resonated with many; the prince of Shajia, He Erdan, said: "Indeed, it's truly hard to get an audience with your great king!"

Someone remarked, "We haven't even seen the king; this time we didn't come to see the king at all. We want to see the princess!" Instantly the palace hall became noisy.

Murong Feiyan glared fiercely at Hu Xiaotian, evidently thinking he was deliberately stirring trouble. Hu Xiaotian secretly amused, knowing Murong Feiyan would never guess his plan for today.

Murong Feiyan finally managed to persuade the crowd to calm down.

After half an hour passed with still no summons from the Tianxiang King, the crowd grew impatient again. Xu Mu Bai bowed slightly to Hu Xiaotian and said, "Cousin, today's situation seems a bit off!"

Hu Xiaotian asked, "What's wrong?"

He Erdan beside them said, "We've been here since early morning, and we've already waited nearly an hour in this side hall; seeing the king is already difficult, let alone seeing the princess—who knows when that will happen, perhaps not until the Year of the Monkey and Month of the Horse."

Hu Xiaotian, however, showed considerable patience now: "Good food fears no delay; I trust Tianxiang State won't stand up so many of us." He lowered his voice to He Erdan: "Brother, do you still count on what you said earlier?"

He Erdan, not knowing what Hu Xiaotian was asking, replied, "I naturally keep my word."

Hu Xiaotian then said to Xu Mu Bai, "Later I intend to teach that beggar's son a lesson—will you help me?"

Xu Mu Bai, hearing this, knew the matter wasn't over; Hu Xiaotian still wanted to cause trouble, and his target was clearly Shangguan Yun Chong. He thought to himself, "After all, this is the Tianxiang King's palace; even if we cause a disturbance, it won't escalate." He nodded and said, "I'll naturally help you."

Hu Xiaotian gave a knowing smile, lifted his Chazan and took a sip.

At that moment, two palace maids entered from outside, carrying a painted screen to the center of the main hall and set it down.

Everyone began to whisper among themselves, wondering what trick they were up to.

Murong Feiyan said, "Thank you for your patience; this screen bears an embroidered portrait of our Yingyue Princess. Please take a look first."

Having heard they'd waited half a day only to be shown a single embroidered image, tempers flared. Someone snapped, "What's this? We came to select a consort, saying we'd see your king, yet after an hour we still haven't been summoned—waiting is bad enough, but we traveled thousands of miles to see the princess, not the king. Now you won't let us see her and instead bring out a painting—are we supposed to marry a picture?"

Murong Feiyan bit her lip; the situation was beyond her control—she was merely following orders. She gestured for the workers to lift the cloth covering the screen. As it turned out, the screen was double‑sided embroidery, and the side now revealed bore the image of Long Xi Yue.

Everyone saw the embroidered screen depicting a beauty capable of overthrowing kingdoms; she truly had the poise of a sinking fish and falling geese, the grace of a hidden moon and shy flowers. Combined with the exquisite embroidery that made the figure lifelike, at first glance the person on the screen seemed about to step out.

While admiration for the embroidery's skill was secondary, the crowd's focus remained on the portrait. Among the many candidates present, aside from Hu Xiaotian, nobody had ever seen Long Xi Yue's true face.

In Hu Xiaotian's view, the portrait was passably lifelike, yet no matter how fine the embroidery, it could not capture Long Xi Yue's peerless elegance.

The Seventh Prince of Da Yong, Xue Daoming, stared blankly at the portrait. Unlike the others, who were lost in Long Xi Yue's beauty, his expression was one of utter disappointment. The embroidered image bore no resemblance to Long Xi Yue's true appearance. Xue Daoming had long reached the point where "the sea's waters are hard to part, save for the Wu Mountain clouds," and he mused inwardly, "Why is the Yingyue Princess on this picture completely different from Long Xi Yue? It seems I was mistaken! I thought Xi Yue was the Yingyue Princess—I clearly saw her die with my own eyes; how could the dead return to life?" Thinking this, Xue Daoming could not help but feel a deep sorrow.

Hu Xiaotian noticed Murong Feiyan being led out by a Fengying Guard, whose expression was panicked. He thought to himself, "Based on the timing, Yang Longjing ought to have already received everyone in the Tianhe Dian; it seems my plan has succeeded, and Ji Feihua has almost certainly succeeded as well."

The appearance of this embroidered image indeed calmed the crowd somewhat, and they began to chatter about the Yingyue Princess's looks.

Hu Xiaotian said to He Erdan, "Things don't seem right—even Commander Rong has left."

He Erdan also felt something was off, whispering, "Could they be deliberately testing our patience?"

Xu Mu Bai said, "I don't think it's that; such a test method is unheard of." As they spoke, however, they saw Hu Xiaotian walk toward the front of the embroidery, point at Shangguan Yun Chong, and ask, "What are you looking at me for?"

Shangguan Yun Chong was inwardly furious; he had just tolerated this fellow, thinking he could keep the peace in the palace today, yet did not expect him to provoke again. He coldly stared at Hu Xiaotian and said, "If you're not looking at me, how do you know I'm looking at you?"

Hu Xiaotian snorted coldly: "A beggar daring to sit on equal footing with us is nothing short of an insult to me!" Before his voice faded, he darted forward in a quick step and threw a punch at Shangguan Yun Chong.

Shangguan Yun Chong exploded with rage; he had been preparing to settle accounts with Hu Xiaotian after the consort selection ended, never expecting this fellow to be so arrogant as to strike him inside the Tianxiang King's palace. Shangguan Yun Chong stepped forward with a bow stance and threw a straight punch straight at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian's punch was precisely the Divine Demon World‑Destroying Fist taught by his grandfather; he exerted his full strength in the strike. Facing the so‑called first prodigy of the Beggar Gang, self‑created over a thousand years, Hu Xiaotian did not dare to be overconfident. Although he had drawn vast internal energy through the Void Great Law, he still could not fully unleash his power even today.

The two clashed fist‑to‑fist; their fists collided with a loud "Peng!" The resulting powerful shockwave radiated outward from their bodies, knocking several nearby individuals with poor martial skills off their feet and sending them tumbling to the ground. About half the people around instinctively narrowed their eyes and stepped back.

Seeing Shangguan Yun Chong remain utterly unmoved despite his full‑force blow, Hu Xiaotian secretly admired him, thinking, "This man truly lives up to his reputation."

Shangguan Yun Chong also drew a sharp breath from the depths of his heart, astonished that Hu Xiaotian's strength could be so great. Knowing he had received internal energy from three transmission elders, his own inner force ranked among the foremost of the present age; Hu Xiaotian, though younger, possessed internal strength that was in no way inferior to his. Shangguan Yun Chong did not realize that Hu Xiaotian could only draw out twenty percent of his internal energy, while he himself had already reached his peak state. Hu Xiaotian, too, wished he could unleash it all—he hated that he could not shatter Shangguan Yun Chong with a single punch, for though he possessed vast internal energy, he could not fully exert it.

Just as Hu Xiaotian and Shangguan Yun Chong began their exchange, the Black‑Hu Eighth Prince, Wanyan Tianyue, snatched a chair and hurled it at Hu Xiaotian—an opportunistic strike. He had long taken a dislike to Hu Xiaotian, and the resentment from earlier had not yet faded.

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