Free Web NovelChapter 1638: Chapter 75: If You Don’t Want Dignity, I’ll Give You Dignity!
Imperial Palace.
Under the gilded sunlight overhead, the Taiji Hall shone with resplendent gold and jade.
Ji Xuan stood upon the Nine-layered Platform, looking at the great hall stretching out beneath his feet, thoughts surging in his eyes.
"Old slave congratulates Your Highness!" Behind him, a withered old man suddenly appeared, slowly, the old man clad in a dull gray robe, face hairless, eyes turbid.
"What is there to congratulate?" Ji Xuan said blandly.
"Your Highness now oversees the affairs of court; you are the uncrowned king of Great Xia. Once the time is ripe, with but a single thought from Your Highness, the heavens themselves can be overturned. This is a matter of great joy." The withered old man said.
Ji Xuan gently shook his head, his tone calm and without ripples: "Overturn the heavens? If this king had wanted that seat, I could have sat upon it a hundred years ago. What I seek now is no longer worldly Authority."
The withered old man bowed even lower: "This old slave has misspoken. It is only that the opportunity on the path Your Highness has schemed for over a hundred years was obstructed by that Dongling Marquis. Now that he has returned to the Royal Capital, why did Your Highness not seize upon the moment in court to strike at him on the spot? With Your Highness’ might, even with the State Preceptor shielding him, you could still suppress him with thunderous force."
Ji Xuan turned, gazing toward the vast sky outside the hall, his eyes seeming to pierce the palace walls, falling in the direction of the National Master Mansion.
"Him? He is not worthy of making me lose face in open court. A junior, even if hailed as the foremost Martial Arts talent in eight hundred years, ultimately has yet to form true foundation! If this king wished to act, I could suppress him with the turn of a hand. But for me to personally make a move would truly disgrace the face of the Imperial Family and invite the world’s derision."
"Besides... this king must, in the end, give that one some face."
Hearing these words, the withered old man at his side lowered his head even further.
"Why need Your Highness be bound by the face of the Imperial Clan!"
"This king bears the surname Ji, and is the Imperial Uncle of the present Holy Emperor." Ji Xuan’s tone was level.
"Then Your Highness means..." the withered old man asked.
"You will personally make a trip to the National Master Mansion and invite her back!" He paused for a moment, then continued: "Remember, this matter must not be made a great spectacle, must not be spread for all sides to know! Do not let the Imperial Family lose face!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" The withered old man lowered his head in acknowledgment.
Soon after, within the Taiji Hall, only Ji Xuan remained.
He stood alone in the vast and silent Taiji Hall, looking at the clear sky beyond the hall.
"Li Yuan, I wonder how many more years you can live." He murmured in his heart, thinking of that Martial Saint who had pressed down upon the world for over eight hundred years—a mountain so lofty that even one as proud as he could only sigh at being unable to surpass it.
The farther he walked, the more he saw, and the more he feared that one.
...
The other side.
National Master Mansion.
After breakfast.
Jiang Ning took his leave of Su Qingying and the others.
At the early-morning court in the hours of 3 a.m. to 5 a.m, though he had not clashed with Ji Xuan in any way, he did not believe Ji Xuan would simply let the matter lie.
He had already come to understand much of Ji Xuan’s character.
With all that he had displayed thus far, he was far from qualified to make Ji Xuan choose to ignore this matter.
Precisely because of this, a sense of urgency instead rose in Jiang Ning’s heart. frёeωebɳovel.com
Before coming into direct conflict with Ji Xuan, he had to raise his strength as quickly as possible and gain a greater backing.
Last night he had met the Martial Saint, and from the Martial Saint’s own mouth learned more information regarding Ji Xuan.
Thus he had already thought it through just now: what could efficiently raise his strength now was to condense a Dao Embryo, forge a Yin Yang Dao Embryo, and step into the realm of Immortal of Primordial Spirit.
So he needed to make a trip to Yang Lake, to attempt whether he could, by his own power, enter the Shangyang Cave Heaven above Yang Lake. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
The time required for this journey was unknown; he needed Su Qingying’s assistance.
After explaining matters clearly to Su Qingying, he walked out of the National Master Mansion.
Just as he was about to depart, he suddenly looked toward one side of the street, his gaze tightening.
He saw the void ripple, faintly stirring with waves, and a withered old man in gray robes appeared by the roadside.
Looking at this old man, Jiang Ning’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His intuition told him that this withered old man’s strength was extremely great.
For the formless aura emanating from his entire body had already formed an imperceptible domain.
That was when a lifeform grew powerful to a certain degree—its life field’s influence and radiation upon the surrounding heaven and earth.
"Mixed Element Realm, or perhaps above! And with no shallow attainments in space!" He made his judgment inwardly.
Yet he did not panic.
For this old man had clearly already reached his twilight years, his great limit approaching; his condition was not much better than that Martial Saint he had seen.
Sooner, three to five years; later, eight, nine, ten years—he would surely die of old age.
Any Martial Artist, no matter how invincible his bearing at his Peak, once old age arrived, his bodily functions would utterly decline, his Qi-Blood wither, and his full strength could only be exerted at three or four tenths; the courage of his Peak was hard to regain.
"Greetings, Dongling Marquis!" The old man, seeing Jiang Ning appear, bowed with a salute, his voice hoarse and low: "This old slave comes today in the name of His Highness to invite Princess Consort Qi to return to the residence."
Jiang Ning’s heart stirred, but his expression did not change.
"The Princess Consort is an honored guest of the State Preceptor. If His Highness wishes to invite her, he should come himself!"
The old man’s turbid eyeballs turned slightly as he spoke in a low tone: "Why must the Marquis speak in circles? You and I are both clever men. I ask only that the Marquis think this through clearly. His Highness is merely preserving the face of the Imperial Family and unwilling to stir up great commotion. But if Dongling Marquis insists on obstruction..." His aura suddenly plummeted downward, the stone slabs on the ground silently cracking, a powerful pressure surging toward Jiang Ning like mountains collapsing and seas roaring.
"This old slave holds a lowly status, and thus has little to scruple over!"
As the old man’s voice fell, the air instantly solidified.
Because State Preceptor Su Qingying cherished quiet, the National Master Mansion was situated in a remote spot; there was no one on the surrounding streets, only the old man and Jiang Ning locked in silent confrontation here, and Hong Mian behind them who had yet to return to the residence.
At this moment Hong Mian stood behind Jiang Ning, looking at that white-skinned, gray-robed old man with a tense expression upon her face.
From the verbal clash just now, how could she not understand that this self-proclaimed old slave was a household retainer of the Side-by-Side King, Ji Xuan.
