Chapter 502: Meeting the Emperor

October 2nd.

After a five-day journey, the Crown Prince and his entourage finally arrived at Lanling City.

A crowd of officials and a guard of honor had been waiting outside the station for a long time to welcome His Highness the Crown Prince.

The entire train station had been under martial law since 8:00 AM; all trains had ceased departures, and no other trains were permitted to enter the station.

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

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.

Warning lines had already been set up on the plaza outside the station, and guards with live ammunition separated the crowd.

People who had come to catch trains and those who had come to watch the spectacle gathered on the plaza, all craning their necks and looking toward the station exit.

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

The crowd suddenly became restless.

Three people were seen walking out of the exit first.

The person in the lead wore a bright yellow python robe, his noble aura fully visible; it was none other than His Highness the Crown Prince!

He held the arms of two people, one on his left and one on his right, with a smile on his face as he walked out of the station.

"Who are those two people?"

"That monk should be the youngest martial arts master in history, Master Master Ming Qi of Mount Pudu Temple."

"The one with the righteous look should be the champion of this martial arts exchange tournament, the first in history, Li Fei."

"."

People discussed it heatedly, all recognizing who the two people held by the Crown Prince were.

After all, the recently concluded martial arts exchange tournament was the first nationally televised competition in history, reported by all major newspapers and broadcasting stations, and its popularity across the country was extremely high; it had become a matter of national discussion!

Therefore, many people now already knew that Master Ming Qi had become the youngest martial arts master in history, and also knew that Li Fei was the winner of this tournament.

It could be said that although the two were visiting Lanling City for the first time, this imperial capital already had legends of them!

Today, with the Crown Prince holding the two of them and walking out of the station in front of so many people, he had fully displayed the gesture of valuing the virtuous and condescending to the lowly. This matter would surely spread throughout Lanling City quickly, raising the reputations of Li Fei and Master Ming Qi to a higher level.

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

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

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

Logically speaking, Li Fei and Master Ming Qi were not qualified to ride in this car.

But in full view of everyone, the Crown Prince personally invited the two to get into the car and ride with him.

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 brows 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, specifically a four-clawed, eight-python robe.

It was second only 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 in detail what had happened at the train station today.

After listening, the man smiled slightly: "Our Crown Prince is as good at winning people's hearts as ever. His Imperial Father sent him to inspect the southwest, and he brings back two 'firsts in history' from one trip. Who could be unconvinced?"

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

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

The ordinary-looking maid stood quietly behind the Third Imperial Prince, with no intention of continuing the conversation.

The Third Imperial Prince did not mind and continued to ask:

"Xiaohua, in your opinion, how are these two 'firsts in history'?"

The maid named "Xiaohua" said calmly:

"They can be killed."

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

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

The Third Imperial Prince was accustomed to this.

He suddenly tugged on the fishing rod in his hand, pulling a plump, big fish out of the pond, and could not help but smile:

"Heh, it's hooked!"

"This way, Young Master."

Led by a maid, Li Fei walked into a separate small courtyard.

He had entered the imperial city in the Crown Prince's "Golden Dragon," but since the Crown Prince had to enter the palace next, he naturally could not continue to take him and Master Ming Qi inside, so he arranged for the two to stay temporarily within the imperial city.

With the Crown Prince's generosity, he naturally would not arrange two rooms for the two of them, but instead provided each with a courtyard.

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

The leading maid bowed to Li Fei and said softly.

"I want to cultivate in the courtyard. When the meals are delivered, just leave them at the door. If there is nothing urgent, do not let anyone come in to disturb me."

Li Fei instructed.

"Yes."

The maid bowed and then turned to leave.

Coming to the imperial capital to meet the Emperor this time, Li Fei's goal was very simple: just to obtain a copy of the "Vajra Eight Sections."

But many things were not determined by his will.

The waters of the imperial capital were deep, and the current Crown Prince was undoubtedly the center of the vortex!

When the Crown Prince brought him into the imperial city in such a high-profile manner today, Li Fei knew that it would be difficult for him to avoid many things.

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

Before coming, Li Fei had specifically used his authority as a secret inspector to have Lu Lu Mengyang give him some intelligence on 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 with the greatest momentum and the strongest power.

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

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

With the Crown Prince already established, whether for the purpose of balance or to hone the Crown Prince, a qualified Emperor would deliberately foster one or two Imperial Princes to "compete" with the Crown Prince.

Although this method was old-fashioned, it was indeed effective.

Li Fei naturally did not want to get involved in this vortex of imperial competition, but since the Crown Prince wanted to personally recommend him to the Emperor, he could not refuse.

Now he could only take things as they came, hoping to get the "Vajra Eight Sections" as soon as possible and then return to Datong Prefecture.

Inside the small courtyard, Li Fei continued his cultivation.

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

The maid from before had been guarding outside the door; seeing Li Fei open it, she immediately bowed:

"Has the Young Master finished cultivating? Would you like to dine?"

"Yes."

"Please wait a moment, Young Master."

Then 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 her, and walked back to the room to prepare for dinner.

The food box had several layers, containing exquisite snacks and dishes, as well as a note.

Li Fei was startled; he picked up the note, and after unfolding 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 the note; there were no other clues, and he discovered that the handwriting on the note was rapidly fading until it disappeared completely.

"This is... a technique?"

Li Fei guessed that this must be some kind of advanced technique that would be triggered once touched by someone's gaze, causing the handwriting to vanish.

Who sent the note?

This was actually not hard to guess, because if the Crown Prince wanted to warn Li Fei, there would be no need to use such a method.

The content of the note said that the First Imperial Prince was going to make things difficult for Li Fei, so the person giving this secret warning was very likely the Third Imperial Prince.

"I can meet the Emperor tomorrow? If the First Imperial Prince wants to make things difficult for me, what means will he use?"

Li Fei pondered for a moment and found that worrying in advance was actually useless.

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

"Fortunately, this title of 'first in history' is still somewhat useful."

Li Fei gave a self-deprecating smile.

Then he ate calmly and continued his cultivation after the meal.

In any case, only stronger strength could control one's own destiny!

October 3rd.

At 5:30 AM, the gate of the courtyard where Li Fei was staying was knocked upon.

Li Fei quickly dressed and went to open the door. Outside stood an old eunuch, who said to Li Fei with a smile:

"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 his room to wash up briefly, took his Ghost-Slaying Blade, and left with this old Eunuch.

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

Next, this old Eunuch led Li Fei on foot into the Imperial Palace.

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

Then, someone changed his clothes, groomed him, and began teaching him various etiquette.

This whole ordeal took nearly two hours.

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

Afterward, led by the old Eunuch, he passed through one palace after another and walked into a very spacious plaza.

The first thing that caught his eye was the towering and solemn great hall directly ahead; its height made one involuntarily tilt their head back, as if trying to probe the end of the sky!

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

This was a place with over five hundred years of history!

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

The Purple Extreme Hall of the Cabinet and this Zheng Lan Hall—one could be seen as the heart of the Great Lan Dynasty, and the other as its brain.

"I trouble you to wait here for a moment, Young Master."

The old Eunuch said to Li Fei with a smile.

Clearly, this audience with the Emperor did not mean Li Fei could go in and see him the moment he arrived.

Even though he was already the first in history, he did not yet have that kind of weight.

"Alright."

Li Fei looked at the vast plaza before him and the majestic great hall ahead, and a sentence inexplicably popped into his mind:

"At eighteen that year, standing like a lackey."

He smiled, not feeling much about it.

Before long, Ming Qi, wearing a white monk's robe and looking as clean and transparent as glazed 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 over an hour.

Until a certain moment:

"Proclaim: Mount Pudu Temple's Ming Qi, Wu'an University's Li Fei, come forward for an audience—"

A somewhat sharp but very resonant voice rang out from the great hall ahead, clearly spreading across the entire plaza.

Li Fei, who had been closing his eyes to study the Hunyuan Vajra Force, slowly opened his eyes and calmed the force within his body.

"The two of you, please."

The two old Eunuchs gestured to them.

Naturally, the Ghost-Slaying Blade Li Fei was carrying could not be brought inside and was checked at the door.

Afterward, the two crossed the vast plaza, walked up hundreds of steps, and finally entered the Zheng Lan Hall.

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

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

Those able to participate in the court session within this great hall were at least fourth-rank officials.

Imperial court officials didn't even have the qualifications to enter!

Li Fei walked calmly up the path in the very center, and after reaching a position about twenty meters from the imperial dais in front, he and Ming Qi stopped together.

"Commoner Li Fei."

"Little monk Ming Qi."

"Pay respects to Your Majesty."

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

The Great Lan Dynasty was founded on martial arts and treated martial arts experts with great favor.

The founding Emperor had set a rule:

Martial artists at or above the Dao Foundation realm do not need to kneel before the monarch!

Therefore, neither Li Fei nor Ming Qi performed the kneeling ritual; they only bowed.

"No need for formalities. Both of you, the first in history, raise your heads and let Us take a good look."

A somewhat aged voice came from above the imperial dais.

Hearing this, Li Fei raised his head, finally able to openly observe this Supreme Ruler.

He saw a man who looked clearly aged sitting on the throne.

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

This man was the one with the highest status and greatest power in the entire Great Lan Dynasty, and even the whole world—the Emperor of the Great Lan Dynasty!

Li Fei could clearly feel a sense of 'momentum' from him.

It was different from the willpower of martial arts experts, and different from the mental illusions created by sorcery.

This was a substantial kind of aura, like the sun, moon, and stars; though untouchable, even just a single glance made one's heart submit!

Li Fei had even met the Inspection Commissioner and had never felt such an aura from those so-called high-ranking regional officials.

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

"Not bad, truly peerless geniuses."

The Emperor said with a smile.

It was unknown how he had discerned it.

"Father Emperor."

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

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

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

"Hmm, what are the Crown Prince's thoughts?"

The Emperor asked.

The Crown Prince stated his suggestion without hesitation:

"I believe we can widely build Buddhist halls, allowing Mount Pudu Temple and Buddhist temples everywhere to contribute their people and efforts to cultivate more talent for our Great Lan Dynasty!"

PS: I went out of town to attend a friend's wedding banquet today, so I can only provide one update today.

(End of chapter)