Ultimate Scheming System

At this point, the Fire Emperor had somewhat made a decision within his mind. Since Ye Chang Feng had been defeated, he decided to see if this Ye Liang Chen could emerge victorious after the remaining challenges and eventually become the Prince Consort.

In fact, he was hoping to use this Ye Liang Chen as a connecting thread to every other member of the Heavenly Explosion Faction. He wanted to recruit every outstanding member within that sect to flock towards the Fire Nation and serve him.

The Fire Emperor believed that as long as he granted wealth and statuses to these members of the Heavenly Explosion Faction, he would be able to attract them to come under his charge. He even believed that if these methods didn’t work, he could use the charm of women to entice them. As long as he had the assistance from the Heavenly Explosion Faction, becoming Emperor of all the five nations wouldn’t be a problem.

However, when the Flaming Sun Princess and Zi Xuan saw the Emperor walking out of the hall, their faces fell. They didn’t know how to open their mouths and stop him from recruiting them.

The pair of them looked at each other in the eye. Zi Xuan was filled with anxiety and fear while the Flaming Sun Princess had a look of confusion and helplessness across her face.

"Princess, what... What should we do?" Zi Xuan looked towards the Flaming Sun Princess and asked her nervously.

"Forget it. After all that’s been said and done, we’ve had to face this day sooner or later. He’s after the maps of the Imperial Tombs so I shall give it to him." The Flaming Sun Princess whispered.

The reason she didn’t hold the Fire Emperor back was because she knew that Xu Que would eventually meet him anyway. She realized that he had returned and made a huge show of it. She was also certain that he would make it all the way to the last round.

Since Xu Que was bound to meet the Emperor, there was no need to obstruct the Emperor from meeting him now.

"Let’s go out as well. You should find the chance to pass him the map. After all, he’s within the palace and wouldn’t dare to create havoc." The Flaming Sun Princess spoke with her expression was as cold as ice before she walked out.

"Princess..." Zi Xuan curtsied once before she followed the Princess out.

Right at the same time, outside the hall...

Xu Que had already emerged from the training grounds.

After defeating Ye Chang Feng in a landslide victory, he made it to the third round. Right as he was considering which weapon to use next, his opponent surrendered immediately.

He didn’t see any other option. To fight someone who defeated Ye Chang Feng within two strokes was asking for death.

That cultivator was very smart. As soon as he appeared on the stage, he surrendered and ran away.

Xu Que had accepted his third straight victory begrudgingly. Since he passed this round so quickly, he could only wait for everyone else to finish up their combat round. Right after winning three rounds, the surviving candidates would participate in a poem contest. Only after that would they move onto the next round.

Xu Que wasn’t the least anxious about it. When he finally found Tang Liu Feng in the crowd, he was the subject of his bootlickery.

"Brother Li, you’re truly talented in so many aspects. Apart from being proficient in reciting poems, you’re actually such a skilled swordsman. You are truly a role model for students in our generation!" Tang Liu Feng was evidently impressed by Xu Que’s strength on the arena as his face revealed how startled he was as he sang praises to him.

"You’re over praising me! He’s just a warm-up. Come, let’s have a cigarette to celebrate this victory!" Xu Que smiled from ear to ear as he pulled a cigarette out and gave it to Tang Liu Feng.

Tang Liu Feng was elated to receive it, for he had always been curious about what it was. In fact, he realized that cigarettes were the talk of the entire city and became a huge hit soon after Xu Que first smoked it. He had always been shy to request for a cigarette and was thus elated when he was finally offered one.

Xu Que slipped a lighter out from his robes as he lit his cigarette up.

However, as soon as his cigarette was ignited, an old eunuch sprinted out from the throne room and shouted in a high pitched voice, "The arrival of the Emperor!"

In that second, everyone scattered as they looked up at the stone stairs leading up to the throne room.

Even those who were in the middle of combat paused, their faces were filled with astonishment.

At the next moment, a figure which looked extremely awe-inspiring in his dragon embroidered robes stepped out from behind the door.

A certain aura of fearsomeness diffused from him into the air.

The expressions of everyone who saw the Emperor fell as they turned pale in fright.

The hundreds of people outside the hall immediately fell to their knees.

Soon after, all the Imperial Guards and cultivators within the palace fell to their knees as well. Even the few elders of the great sects bowed deeply out of respect.

"Long live, long live, long live the Emperor!"

The crowd shouted out simultaneously, their voices echoed all across the lands and coursed throughout the entire palace.

Indeed, the shadow of a black robed figure was standing in the midst of an entire group of people who were on their knees.

A gust of wind blew across gently, causing his robes to flap in the wind.

This person was none other than Xu Que.

The Emperor frowned as he casted his sharp glance across everyone before it rested on Xu Que.

The Flaming Sun Princess and Zi Xuan had just emerged from the hall as well and saw this scene play out before their eyes.

They started to turn pale.

"You, why didn’t you kneel?" The Fire Emperor stood right outside the hall as he looked down at Xu Que coldly.

His words were dignified and extremely intimidating. His voice carried the strength of a thousand clouds as a terrifying aura emanated out from his body while he asked why Xu Que refused to kneel.

As soon as the crowd heard the Emperor’s words, they all turned around to look and saw that someone was indeed standing in defiance. Their eyelids twitched in shock.

"Is this kid crazy? Why didn’t he kneel before the Fire Emperor?"

"Brother Li, what are you doing? Showing disrespect to the Emperor is a severe crime!"

Tang Liu Feng was stupefied as well, as he hurriedly extended a hand to pull Xu Que down onto his knees.

However, as soon as Xu Que saw the Fire Emperor, the memories from his previous life flooded into his mind like a torrential wave.

The memories were so vivid, they almost seemed like he had experienced them himself as it had been imprinted in his brain.

Six years ago, it was the Fire Emperor who took him up from the Great Lake and brought him into the palace to become the Prince Consort. He provided Xu Que with innumerable treasures and even allowed him to stay within the palace for six years.

About half a year ago, it was this same Fire Emperor who vanquished his powers with a single strike and ordered for his corpse to be strewn elsewhere.

The familiar yet foreign feeling of intense hatred along with fury welled up within his heart. Killing intent started radiating out from his body and permeated all around.

"Hehe!" In that second, the fiery flames of anger had vanished, to be replaced by a cold smile across Xu Que’s face.

With a flick of his fingers, the half smoked cigarette flew into the air before dropping to the ground, causing sparks to dance around it.

The entire scene was filled with tense silence, as everyone watched him intently, their hearts were beating in astonishment.

"What’s wrong with this Ye Liang Chen? Why was killing intent radiating out from him just now?"

"He actually dared to show disrespect towards the Fire Emperor?"

The Flaming Sun Princess and Zi Xuan who were standing right outside the throne room watched his every movement as their faces started becoming paler by the second.

What is he trying to do?

Before long, a sense of discomfort and uneasiness crept up upon them.

Moments ago, the Flaming Sun Princess and Zi Xuan assumed that Xu Que had come to the palace to search them out in order to obtain the maps. None of them expected him to show such disrespect towards the Emperor. He actually stood before the Emperor and emanated killing intent from his body as if he wished to murder the Emperor!

The Fire Emperor’s eyes squinted in anger. As one of the strongest cultivator across all the five nations, he was of the Infant Transformation Stage level six and had felt Xu Que’s killing intent circulating around his black robes.

"Outrageous! Who are you to stand before me and you even dare to show such utter disrespect?" Almost immediately, the Fire Emperor lashed out in anger as he sent out an immense wave of crushing pressure, which sealed the heavens and blocked the earth as the wave of energy soared towards Xu Que.

This boundless energy sent out by the Emperor was so powerful, that everyone down below who were on their knees could feel their soul strength trembling. They felt like their souls were on the brink of being shattered. However, to Xu Que whose soul strength had been tempered repeatedly over the course of his journeys, such pressure didn’t even tickle.

The old eunuch hurriedly ran towards the Emperor and whispered to him, "Your Majesty, this person is Ye Liang Chen of the Heavenly Explosion Faction."