Chapter 124: Hidden Lethal Intent

Inside the Great Chu Imperial Palace, a man with a tiger's back and bear's waist, his face as hard and unyielding as iron, sat majestically in the center of the Yongle Dadian, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

Before him, a character 【Ba】 dominated his vision.

Except for the ultimate domineering intent, everything else was ignored in his eyes.

After gazing for a long time, the youth finally shifted his gaze; as his perspective moved, he exhaled like a dragon, squeezing all the air from his lungs.

He took a deep breath, and the room responded to his breathing with a rustling sound.

Immediately, he raised his right arm slightly, and a robust white-haired old man suddenly appeared behind him.

"Crown Prince, what are your orders?" the old man said respectfully.

Before him stood the Great Chu Imperial Prince ranked first on the Hidden Dragon List, Xiang Xitao!

"I feel my body, spirit, and skills have all reached their limits; no matter how hard I cultivate, I cannot advance further."

Xiang Xitao said with a calmness like an ancient well: "Therefore, I am preparing to challenge my limits and open the Domineering Emperor Trial alone!"

Whoosh!

Almost the instant Xiang Xitao's words fell, the old man raised his head in shock.

The so-called Domineering Emperor Trial is a test that members of the imperial family must undergo before turning twenty.

The content of the trial is to hunt a martial artist of the Ascent-to-Heaven Road level alone; only by succeeding in the hunt can one prove to be a qualified heir to the Great Chu's future.

But most heirs of previous generations only began hunting after just entering the First Turn.

After all, the gap between the Ascent-to-Heaven Road and the Mortal Flesh Transformation is the difference between a human and an immortal.

Like Xiang Xitao, participating in the hunt at the ninth level of the Profound Gate is rare, with only two cases.

The first was the founding monarch of the Great Chu, and the second was the Great Chu Overlord who narrowly lost to the ruler of the Great Expansion State; both were figures who once dominated a region.

The old man's body trembled with excitement, as if seeing a mythological legend come to life.

He lowered his head bit by bit and said in an excited tone: "I respectfully obey the Crown Prince's orders; this old servant will go handle it immediately."

As his words fell, the old man's figure had already vanished, and the room was once again filled with dead silence.

The view returned to outside the city of Cangren, where Fang Can gazed at the graceful figure inside the phoenix carriage, lost in thought.

Connecting the Martial Arts Restriction Order with the other party's lack of martial arts, this time, this location, plus the destination they were heading to.

Fang Can almost blurted out the words "Imperial Selection."

But it didn't matter; the so-called Emperor's Grand Election meant nothing to him. Now, he lacked neither money nor women; what use was the throne to him? It couldn't even be used for cultivation.

This was also the thought of many Imperial Princes and Princesses; after all, becoming Emperor meant one could never cultivate for the rest of one's life, so one might as well practice martial arts directly.

At least, leaning on the royal family, under the supply of massive resources, working hard to reach the First Turn was no big deal.

By then, living two hundred years without illness or disaster would be more comfortable than being an ordinary Emperor who died in a few decades, wouldn't it?

And... which man doesn't dream of the throne?

The dream here naturally wasn't of a restricted throne, but of the absolute power fantasy where all under heaven is imperial land, and all within the seas are royal subjects.

The saying "the Emperor rotates, next year it's my turn," Fang Can even considered that after his strength increased, he would stage a dictatorship and enjoy being Emperor for a few days.

So... bombarding the Golden Hall is too low.

When the time comes, if you want to play, just designate Ye Qingshi as the Empress, borrow the palace as a filming set, with full legitimacy, and bombard it however you want.

After briefly chatting with Commander Yan, Fang Can politely chose to rejoin the formation.

After all, Ye Qingshi was still on the city tower blowing in the cold wind; he needed to pick her up quickly.

Leaping up the city tower in a few steps, Fang Can smiled and said, "How was it? Just a few trash; it shouldn't have taken long."

"Your blade just now cut me," Ye Qingshi said leisurely, making Fang Can's face stiffen.

As she spoke, Ye Qingshi subconsciously touched her Bai Xi neck, still carrying some fear.

Although the distance was far, the sensation wasn't very obvious.

But she never expected that her first time being involved in a battle between martial artists would be accidentally injured by Fang Can.

"Sorry, sorry, do you need me to comfort you?" Fang Can said with a sheepish smile at the girl, his expression somewhat awkward.

"How do you comfort?"

"For example, how about I rub it for you?" Fang Can said seriously, yet it made her face turn slightly red, and she subconsciously didn't know where her mind went.

Inside the red sedan below, a pale hand parted the side curtain and looked at the figure on the city tower, asking curiously, "Is that Fang Can?"

"Yes, Princess, that is Fang Can." The maid beside her nodded gently, her eyes also carrying barely concealed excitement.

Serving the Princess on her side, this was also the first time she had seen a battle between martial artists.

Just as she stood frozen gazing, Commander Yan, acting as guard, stepped forward and knelt on one knee, saying, "Princess, this subordinate has a matter to request."

"Commander Yan, speak freely."

"Recently the situation is sensitive; our group is small and weak, and I fear it will be difficult to protect the Princess's safety. If any villains wish to harm her, this subordinate fears he cannot guard her. Therefore, I wish to follow that young hero Fang's group all the way north back to the capital."

"... Very well, then follow Commander Yan's opinion."

"As commanded." Commander Yan clasped his hands to receive the order, then immediately turned and walked toward Fang Can's deity-worshipping formation, directly stating this request to Ye Yonglie.

"Following us?" Ye Yonglie was somewhat surprised but casually agreed; as long as it didn't affect the group, they could follow however they wanted, and they would just consult the deity later.

Moreover, this trip was originally to bring the deity's fame to the forefront; the more followers, the better.

Just now, in that battle, at least a thousand people inside the entire city of Cangren became potential believers of the deity.

Afterwards, as long as a few trusted believers remained in the city, it wouldn't take long for a deity branch to be built here.

And inside the sedan, Fang Can, who had walked back into the sedan with Ye Qingshi, gently pinched his eyebrows.

Just now, he felt a rather ominous sense of crisis.

It wasn't fierce, but it was like a maggot attached to the bone, bringing a nauseating feeling of vomiting.

Thinking of this, Fang Can subconsciously rubbed his brow, tallying the gains from this battle.

Most importantly, the acquisition of the Sky Soaring Startling Tide Slash, a single strike capable of directly cleaving the Heart-Image, provided a massive boost to combat.

Even techniques like the Stone Rock Observation, which focus on guarding the mind, would be torn open by such a desperate move.

The reason Fang Can remained expressionless was naturally because the capacity of his Heart-Image was thirty or forty times that of an ordinary person, allowing him to endure through sheer quantity.

However, in the future, when encountering enemies of the same realm, facing a single strike that burns thirty or forty times the Heart-Image would not be so easy.

'Indeed, challenging more is right; I have learned another lesson.' Fang Can thought with satisfaction, then his temples throbbed slightly, causing him to frown involuntarily.

'So... where is the danger?' Fang Can instinctively glanced around.

Since defeating those few people, this ominous premonition had arisen, as if someone was watching him from the shadows.

At the same time, on the other side, Wan Chenyu, who was preparing to return to the Capital, saw Ghost Uncle beside him pause in his movement.

(End of this chapter)