Chapter 288: Meeting the Emperor

October 2.

After a five-day train ride, the Crown Prince's party finally arrived at the Lanling City.

A group of officials and an honor guard had been waiting outside the station early, waiting to welcome His Highness the Crown Prince.

The entire train station had been under martial law since 8:00 AM, with all trains stopped and other trains prohibited from entering the station.

Those who wanted to catch a train could only wait outside the station first.

Regarding this, no one dared to express dissatisfaction; after all, this was making way for the current Crown Prince.

At 9:08 AM, the special train pulled into the station.

A cordon had already been set up in the square outside the station, and guards with live ammunition separated the crowd.

People who came here to catch a train and those who came to watch the excitement gathered in the square, all craning their necks and looking at the station's exit.

"They're here! They're here!"

The crowd suddenly became restless.

Only to see three people walking out from the exit first.

The person in the lead was wearing a bright yellow python robe, with a noble temperament fully revealed; it was none other than His Highness the Crown Prince!

He was holding the arms of two people, one on his left and one on his right, with a smile on his face, just like that, walking out of the station.

"Who are those two people?"

"That monk should be the youngest Martial Arts Master in history, Master Ming Qi of the Pudu Temple."

"That one with a righteous face should be the champion of this Martial Arts Exchange Tournament, the First in History, Li Fei."

"..."

People were discussing heatedly, all recognizing who the people His Highness the Crown Prince was holding on his left and right were.

After all, the just-concluded Martial Arts Exchange Tournament was the first national live television broadcast tournament in history, and major newspaper offices and broadcasting stations had all reported on it, with very high popularity nationwide, already becoming a matter of heated discussion for the whole nation!

So now, many people already knew that Ming Qi had become the youngest Martial Arts Master in history, and also knew that Li Fei was the champion of this tournament.

It could be said that although the two were coming to the Lanling City for the first time, this Imperial Capital already had their legends!

Today, the Crown Prince held the two and walked out of the station together in front of so many people, fully displaying the posture of respecting the virtuous and lowering himself; this matter would inevitably spread throughout the Lanling City very quickly, making the reputation of Li Fei and Ming Qi even higher.

Soon, the Crown Prince, Li Fei, and Ming Qi boarded a "Golden Dragon."

Like the "Qilin," this was also a heavy-duty bulletproof car, and its defensive performance was even better than the "Qilin"!

However, the "Golden Dragon" was exclusive to the royal family, and only members of the royal family could ride this car when traveling.

By rights, Li Fei and Ming Qi were not qualified to ride this car.

But in full view of the public, the Crown Prince personally invited the two to get into the car and ride in the same car as himself.

Soon, the motorcade passed through the outer city with great momentum, entered the inner city, and finally entered the Imperial City.

Inside a luxurious mansion in the inner city, a man whose eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to the Crown Prince was sitting by a pond fishing.

The man was also wearing a bright yellow python robe, and it was a four-clawed eight-python robe.

Only second to His Highness the Crown Prince's four-clawed nine-python robe!

"Your Highness."

A maid with an ordinary appearance walked behind the man and described what happened at the train station today in detail.

After listening, the man smiled slightly: "Our Crown Prince is still as good at buying people's hearts as ever; the Emperor let him inspect the southwest, and he can bring back two First in History after one trip; who can be unconvinced?"

Being able to wear a four-clawed eight-python robe and calling "Father Emperor" (the Emperor), the man could only be an Imperial Prince.

He was the Third Imperial Prince, born to Imperial Noble Consort Liu in the palace.

The maid with an ordinary appearance stood quietly behind the Third Imperial Prince, having no intention of taking up the conversation.

The Third Imperial Prince did not mind, continuing to ask:

"Xiaohua, in your view, how are these two First in History?"

The maid named "Xiaohua" said calmly:

"They can be killed."

In her eyes, there were only two kinds of opponents in this world:

Those that can be killed and those that cannot be killed for the time being.

The Third Imperial Prince was also accustomed to this.

He suddenly tugged on the fishing rod in his hand, caught a fat and delicious big fish from the pond, and could not help but reveal a smile:

"Hey, it's hooked!"

"Young Master, please this way."

Under the guidance of a maid, Li Fei walked into a separate small courtyard.

He had ridden the Crown Prince's "Golden Dragon" into the Imperial City; next, the Crown Prince had to enter the palace, so naturally, it was impossible to continue taking him and Ming Qi inside directly, so he arranged for the two to stay temporarily in the Imperial City.

With His Highness the Crown Prince's style, naturally, it was impossible to arrange two rooms for the two, but instead, he arranged a courtyard for each of them.

"If the Young Master has any needs, just tell this servant."

The maid leading the way bowed to Li Fei and said softly.

"I want to cultivate in the courtyard; when the meals are delivered, just put them at the door; if there is no urgent matter, don't let anyone come in to disturb me."

Li Fei instructed.

"Yes."

The maid bowed, then turned and bid farewell.

Coming to the Imperial Capital to meet the Emperor this time, Li Fei's goal was very simple, which was just to obtain a copy of "Jin Gang Eight Parts."

But many things were not transferred by his will.

The Imperial Capital was deep, and the current Crown Prince was undoubtedly the center of the vortex!

When His Highness the Crown Prince brought himself into the Imperial City in such a high-profile manner today, Li Fei knew that many things would likely be very difficult for him to avoid.

On the special train, the Crown Prince said he knew he would definitely ascend that throne in the future, saying it with great confidence, but in fact, his status was not unshakable.

Before coming, Li Fei had specifically used his secret inspector authority to let Lu Mengyang give him some information about the Imperial Capital:

The current Emperor had a total of seven Imperial Princes and four Imperial Princesses.

Besides the Crown Prince, there were two Imperial Princes who were currently the most powerful and had the strongest forces.

One was the First Imperial Prince, and the other was the Third Imperial Prince.

These two Imperial Princes had been fighting with the Crown Prince for more than a year or two.

The Eastern Palace had been established early; whether for the purpose of balance or for the purpose of tempering the Crown Prince, a qualified emperor would specifically foster one or two Imperial Princes to "compete" with the Crown Prince.

This kind of method, although old-fashioned, was indeed effective.

Li Fei naturally did not want to be drawn into this vortex of Imperial Princes fighting, but the Crown Prince wanted to personally recommend him to the Emperor, and he had no way to refuse.

Now he could only meet moves with moves, only hoping to obtain "Jin Gang Eight Parts" as soon as possible, and then return to the Datong Prefecture.

Inside the small courtyard, Li Fei continued his cultivation.

It was not until after nightfall that Li Fei ended his cultivation, walked to the door of the small courtyard, and opened the courtyard gate.

That maid from before had been guarding outside the door, and seeing Li Fei open the door, she immediately bowed:

"Young Master, has your cultivation ended? Would you like to dine?"

"Yes."

"Please wait a moment, Young Master."

Subsequently, the maid left.

A few minutes later, she walked over carrying a heavy food box.

Li Fei took the food box at the door, thanked the other party, and then walked back to the room to prepare for dinner.

The food box had several layers, with exquisite snacks and meals inside, and also a note...

Li Fei was startled, picked up the note, and after opening it, there was only one sentence on it:

"Meeting the Emperor tomorrow, the First Imperial Prince will make things difficult for you!"

Li Fei carefully checked this note, there were no other clues, and he discovered that the handwriting on the note was rapidly fading, until it completely disappeared.

"This is... a technique?"

Li Fei guessed that this should be some kind of brilliant technique, which would be activated after being touched by someone else's gaze, thereby causing the handwriting to disappear.

Who sent the note?

This was actually not hard to guess, because if the Crown Prince wanted to remind Li Fei, there was no need to use this method at all.

The content on the note said that the First Imperial Prince was going to make things difficult for Li Fei, so the person who secretly reminded him was very likely the Third Imperial Prince.

"Meeting the Emperor tomorrow? The First Imperial Prince wants to make things difficult for me; what kind of means will he use?"

Li Fei pondered for a moment, discovering that he actually couldn't prepare anything even if he worried in advance.

Involving this level of struggle, it was very difficult for him to prepare anything in advance.

"Fortunately, this title of First in History is still somewhat useful."

Li Fei smiled self-deprecatingly.

Then he dined calmly, and continued his cultivation after the meal.

Regardless, only stronger strength could master one's own destiny!

October 3.

At 5:30 AM, the courtyard gate where Li Fei lived was knocked.

Li Fei quickly got dressed and went to open the door; standing outside the door was an old eunuch, who smiled and said to Li Fei:

"His Highness the Crown Prince asked me to tell you that you are to meet the Emperor today, so please come with me."

"Wait a moment."

Li Fei returned to the room to wash up simply, took his Ghost-Slaying Blade, and followed this old eunuch to leave.

The two soon got into a car and arrived outside the palace walls.

Next, this old eunuch led Li Fei to walk into the Imperial Palace.

Li Fei originally thought he would be taken to a great hall to meet the Emperor, but instead, he was first taken to another courtyard.

Next, someone changed his clothes, tidied up his appearance, and then began to teach him various etiquettes.

This tossing took nearly two hours.

Now Li Fei knew why he had to be brought into the palace so early...

Subsequently, under the leadership of the old eunuch, he passed through one palace after another and walked into a very wide square.

The first thing that came into view was the towering and solemn great hall directly in front; its height made one involuntarily look up, as if wanting to explore the end of the sky!

The roof of the great hall was covered with yellow glazed tiles, flashing with dazzling golden light in the sun, like dragon scales. The flying eaves and upturned corners were carved with exquisite blue auspicious cloud patterns, engraved with the traces of time.

This was a place with a history of more than five hundred years!

This was the Zheng Lan Hall, where the Emperor of the Great Lan Dynasty and the civil and military officials held court meetings.

The Zijie Hall of the Cabinet Academy and this Zheng Lan Hall, one could be seen as the heart of the Great Lan Dynasty, and one could be seen as the brain of the Great Lan Dynasty.

"Please wait here first, Young Master."

The old eunuch said to Li Fei with a smile.

Obviously, this meeting with the Emperor did not mean that Li Fei could enter to see the Emperor immediately upon arrival.

Even if he was already the First in History, he did not have this weight now.

"Good."

Li Fei looked at the vast square before his eyes and the majestic great hall in front, and a sentence inexplicably jumped into his mind:

"That year I was eighteen, standing like a lackey."

He smiled, but didn't feel anything.

Before long, Ming Qi, wearing a white monk's robe and looking as clean and transparent as glass, also walked over under the guidance of another eunuch.

Li Fei and Ming Qi looked at each other, and the two nodded to each other in greeting.

Then the two waited quietly in the shadow of a palace wall.

This wait lasted for more than an hour.

Until a certain moment:

"Proclaim, Ming Qi of Pudu Temple, Li Fei of Wu'an University, to have an audience—"

A somewhat sharp but very loud voice came from the great hall in front, clearly spreading throughout the entire square.

Li Fei, who had been closing his eyes to study the Hunyuan Jin Gang Force, slowly opened his eyes, calming the force in his body.

"The two of you, please."

The two old eunuchs signaled to the two.

Naturally, the Ghost-Slaying Blade Li Fei was carrying could not be brought inside, so it was deposited outside.

Subsequently, the two passed through the vast square, walked up hundreds of steps, and finally walked into the Zheng Lan Hall.

Stepping into the hall, the tall eaves pillars supported the entire space, and the dragon and phoenix and seal paintings jumped between the beams and pillars.

On the left and right sides of the hall stood the civil and military officials.

Those who could participate in the court meeting in this great hall were at least fourth-rank officials.

Court officials were not even qualified to enter!

Li Fei walked up along the path in the middle with a calm mood, and after walking until he was more than twenty meters away from the Dan steps in front, he and Ming Qi stopped together.

"Commoner Li Fei."

"Poor monk Ming Qi."

"Have met the Emperor."

Li Fei cupped his hands, Ming Qi put his hands together, and they bowed together in greeting.

The Great Lan Dynasty was founded on martial arts and treated martial arts powerhouses very favorably.

The founding Emperor established the rule:

Martial artists above the Dao Foundation stage do not need to kneel to see the monarch!

So neither Li Fei nor Ming Qi performed the kneeling ceremony, but only bowed in greeting.

"Exempt from the ceremony, both First in History, lift your heads, let Zhen (the royal "I") take a good look."

A somewhat aged voice came from above the Dan steps.

Upon hearing this, Li Fei lifted his head, only then being able to openly examine this Nine-Five Supreme.

Only to see a man who was clearly somewhat aged sitting on the throne.

He was wearing a yellow silk dragon robe, with vivid and lifelike embroidery, nine five-clawed golden dragons baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, as if they would soar out from the fabric at any time.

The man was the one with the most noble status and greatest power in the entire Great Lan Dynasty, and even the whole world—His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Lan Dynasty!

Li Fei could clearly feel a kind of "momentum" from the other party.

It was different from the Heart Intent power of martial arts powerhouses, and also different from the mental hallucinations created by sorcery.

This was a kind of momentum that was like substance, like the sun, moon, and stars; although it could not be touched, just by taking a look, it made people's hearts submit!

Li Fei had even seen the Inspection Commissioner, but he had never felt such momentum from the so-called frontier officials.

It seemed that the Emperor of this world was not as simple as he had imagined!

"Not bad, indeed peerless geniuses."

The Emperor said with a smile.

He didn't know how he could tell.

"Father Emperor."

The Crown Prince stood up from his seat in the front row and walked out, "For this second Martial Arts Exchange Tournament, after I consulted opinions from all sides, I invited the Pudu Temple to participate in the tournament, and in the end, the Pudu Temple achieved the best results in this tournament! This Master Ming Qi even broke through on the spot, becoming the youngest Martial Arts Master in history!"

His voice resounded in the great hall, and he bowed to the Emperor in greeting:

"Father Emperor, the thirteen universities and the three Daoist sects are all serving the country; why not give a chance to a more excellent sect like the Pudu Temple?"

"Hmm, what ideas does the Crown Prince have?"

The Emperor asked.

The Crown Prince stated his suggestion without hesitation:

"I think we can widely build Buddhist halls, letting the Pudu Temple and Buddhist temples in various places provide people and effort to cultivate more talents for our Great Lan Dynasty!"

PS: I went to another place to attend a friend's wedding banquet today, so I can only have one update today.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 289 =====