Free Web NovelChapter 148: Chapter 148: A Mere Warlock Dares to Spy on Me
The Ninth Princess hurried out, rushing to the palace gates.
By this time, a crowd had already gathered at the gates. The Emperor of the Martial Kingdom was there with the various princes, waiting to bid Shen Daoxing a final farewell.
"Father Emperor, has Brother Daoxing already left?"
The Ninth Princess looked around at the crowd, her heart sinking a little when she couldn’t find any sign of Shen Daoxing.
The Eldest Prince looked puzzled. "We have been waiting here for quite some time, but we haven’t seen Shen Daoxing."
Beside him, the Seventh Prince paused before wondering aloud, "Could it be that he left quietly on his own?"
The Martial Kingdom’s Emperor frowned, sensing that something was wrong.
"Your Majesty!"
Just then, Eunuch Li approached from a short distance away and came to the Emperor’s side, bowing respectfully. "A short while ago, the Old Ancestor summoned Shen Daoxing."
The princes were instantly confused. "Why would the Old Ancestor want to see Shen Daoxing?"
’This is bad!’
The Martial Kingdom Emperor’s heart skipped a beat. He knew this was a terrible development. The princes didn’t know the Old Ancestor’s intentions, but he knew them all too well.
With that, the Emperor of the Martial Kingdom immediately rushed toward Qing’an Hall, where the Old Ancestor resided.
The Ninth Princess and the other princes froze for a moment. Although they didn’t know what was happening, judging by their father’s reaction, it was definitely not good news. They quickly followed after him.
「...」
When the Emperor of the Martial Kingdom arrived at Qing’an Hall, he found its doors shut tight. A golden light flowed across their surface, occasionally sending out ripples like the surface of water.
From within the hall, the sound of fighting—BANG! BANG!—could be heard intermittently.
The Martial Kingdom’s Emperor felt a sense of dread and hurried forward. "Old Ancestor, Shen Daoxing cannot die!"
Suddenly, two figures blocked their path.
"Brother, the Old Ancestor is discussing important matters with Shen Daoxing. It’s not convenient for us to disturb them!"
King Zhenwu and King Xianqing stepped out, calmly blocking the entrance.
"Get out of my way!"
The Emperor of the Martial Kingdom didn’t slow down, roaring at them fiercely.
But King Zhenwu and King Xianqing remained motionless, as if they hadn’t heard the command.
The Emperor’s face immediately darkened. He looked at the two of them coldly. "King Zhenwu, King Xianqing, do you still recognize me as the sovereign of this kingdom?"
King Xianqing smiled faintly. "Brother, you are, of course, still the sovereign of our Martial Kingdom. However, the Old Ancestor has given an order: no one is to disturb him today, not even you."
"Fine! Just fine! King Zhenwu, King Xianqing, are you two staging a rebellion?"
The Emperor of the Martial Kingdom’s face turned ashen. A tremendous aura erupted from him as he took a single step forward. Instantly, a crack split the ground and spread rapidly toward King Zhenwu and King Xianqing.
"Brother! We are doing this for the future of the Martial Kingdom!"
A brilliant golden light flared from within King Zhenwu’s body as he also took a step forward, instantly halting the crack in the ground.
"How dare you! King Zhenwu, are you truly going to raise your hand against me? Is this not rebellion?"
The Emperor of the Martial Kingdom was furious.
Just as the tension between them reached its peak and they were on the verge of fighting...
CREAK!
The great doors of Qing’an Hall slowly swung open, and the withered old man and Shen Daoxing walked out.
Seeing Shen Daoxing safe and sound, the Emperor of the Martial Kingdom instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
Overjoyed, the Ninth Princess rushed forward and threw herself at him. "Brother Daoxing, thank goodness you’re all right!"
Shen Daoxing caught the Ninth Princess in his arms and gently stroked her head. "Of course I’m all right!"
King Zhenwu and King Xianqing stared with wide eyes.
King Zhenwu pointed at Shen Daoxing in disbelief. "Old Ancestor, you’re just letting this brat go like that—"
SLAP!
Before he could finish his sentence, the withered old man suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of King Zhenwu, striking him across the face.
THUD!
King Zhenwu’s body was sent flying backward, and he crashed heavily to the ground.
"Insolence! Do not be so disrespectful to our mas—no... our Young Master Shen. Remember this: from this day forward, he is an honored guest of our Martial Kingdom. Anyone who dares to touch a single hair on his head will be my enemy, and an enemy of the entire Martial Kingdom."
The withered old man shot a cold glare at King Zhenwu and King Xianqing.
After speaking, he immediately turned back around, a fawning smile on his face, and gestured for Shen Daoxing to proceed. "Young Master Shen, please rest assured. After you leave, I will absolutely not allow Yawei to suffer even the slightest harm."
The old man’s demeanor was as humble as could be, as if he were Shen Daoxing’s own servant.
King Zhenwu scrambled to his feet, clutching his reddened cheek. He exchanged a look of utter disbelief with King Xianqing, completely unable to comprehend why the Old Ancestor was treating Shen Daoxing this way.
The withered old man escorted Shen Daoxing all the way out of the Imperial Palace to the gates of the Imperial City, where the group finally came to a stop.
Shen Daoxing looked at the Ninth Princess’s reluctant expression and smiled faintly. "Don’t worry, I will definitely come back."
"Mhm!"
The Ninth Princess nodded obediently. "Brother Daoxing, I believe you!"
"Alright, the road ahead is long. We’ll part ways here. In the future, I’ll have to ask you two to look after the Sword Institute."
Shen Daoxing looked up at the withered old man and the Emperor of the Martial Kingdom, clasping his fist in a salute.
"Ah, you honor me too much, you truly do!"
The withered old man quickly grabbed Shen Daoxing’s hand. "Young Master, rest assured, I will take care of everything here!"
Shen Daoxing nodded, then turned and left.
He hadn’t walked more than a few steps when he saw several figures standing on a distant hilltop, watching him from afar. It was the people from the Sword Institute.
Shen Daoxing raised his hand and waved, bidding them a distant farewell.
On the hilltop, Bai Yi watched Shen Daoxing’s departing figure with a look of regret. "Fate is a cruel trickster. It’s so rare to find such a talented disciple. He could have been the one to inherit my legacy."
"With Shen Daoxing’s talent, keeping him here would be too much of a waste," Lin Haitao remarked with a sigh.
Ling Shuanghua silently watched Shen Daoxing’s back, her thoughts swirling. It seemed there was something she wanted to say, but in the end, she said nothing.
"Elder Blood Dragon, with the power of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land... can you deal with them?" Shen Daoxing asked with sudden curiosity as he walked along the road.
Within the Venerable Domain, a small red snake snorted with contempt. "A measly Celestial Profound Sacred Land? With this Venerable Supreme’s former strength, it would have been a matter of lifting a finger."
"What about now?" Shen Daoxing asked.
"I can’t!" the little red snake replied.
"..."
Shen Daoxing was speechless.
Shen Daoxing thought for a moment, then continued, "Then what about the elder on the third level of the Venerable Domain?"
"Her?"
The little red snake glanced at a nearby mountain peak, its tone gloating. "She’s in even worse shape than I am!"
As it said this, the little red snake seemed to sense something. It suddenly shot a cold glare in a certain direction. "A mere Warlock dares to spy on this Venerable Supreme? You’re courting death!"
In the unseen world, Shen Daoxing thought he felt a muffled groan.
"Elder, what was that?" Shen Daoxing asked, looking confused.
"Just some fool who didn’t know his place, trying to spy on us," the little red snake said dismissively.
"A Celestial Secret Warlock?"
Shen Daoxing immediately thought of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land. He was shocked; he hadn’t expected them to detect him so quickly.
"Mhm."
The little red snake nodded. "But he only managed to glimpse a blurry image of you."
