Lu Xuan didn't reject Xia Xi's invitation. Xia Xi instructed the servants to prepare a banquet. After a round of toasting, Lu Xuan found out the names of the other two. One of them was called Duan Lian, a bladesman. The other was called Yan Hua, a rather exquisite spear artist. Both of them were at the seventh level of the Origin Realm.
In fact, before Lu Xuan appeared, the two of them had sparred with Tian Xin before and were ultimately defeated. When they saw how Lu Xuan, who was only at the fourth level of the Origin Realm, was able to fight evenly with Tian Xin, they were even more convinced of Lu Xuan's abilities. It was a pity that the two of them didn't practice the sword dao. If not, they would definitely be like Tian Xin and seek guidance from Lu Xuan.
As for Tian Xin, he didn't stay for long before bidding farewell to Xia Xi. He wanted to go back and digest the insights he gained from Lu Xuan. Xia Xi naturally agreed. The stronger Tian Xin was, the higher his chances of success tomorrow.
The next morning, Lu Xuan, Xia Xi, and the others gathered together. They were going to follow Xia Xi into the Nine Dragons Empire's palace. Lu Xuan was rather curious about the Nine Dragons Empire's palace. He might be at the fourth level of the Origin Realm now, but he had never entered a kingdom's palace before.
Once they stepped into the palace, Lu Xuan felt a solemn atmosphere. The palace guards stood upright and looked extremely solemn. Because Lu Xuan and the others were brought in by Xia Xi, they didn't need to check their belongings. They didn't even need to remove their storage tools. If a regular person wanted to enter the palace, they would have to hand over their storage rings to the palace guards for safekeeping.
Under Xia Xi's lead, they passed through the palace doors. When Lu Xuan was feeling a little dizzy, they finally arrived at the True Dragon Hall. The Nine Dragons Empire's daily court meetings were held here.
At that moment, there were already quite a few people in the True Dragon Palace. Apart from some guards from the imperial palace, there were also a few groups of people. After Lu Xuan identified them, he thought that they should be the other princes of the Nine Dragons Dynasty, who were also Xia Xi's competitors.
As expected, Xia Xi introduced softly, "The one at the front is the crown prince, Xia Qian. However, although he's the crown prince, our Nine Dragons Dynasty is different from the empires in the secular world. It's not certain that the crown prince will inherit the throne."
"The man in armour behind Xia Qian is my second brother, Xia Feng. To be honest, my greatest competitor this time around isn't the Crown Prince, but Xia Feng. He has fought hard in the army for many years, and in terms of strength, he isn't the least bit inferior to Xia Qian. According to what I know, the helpers he found this time around are all experts in the army."
Lu Xuan couldn't help but take a few more glances at Xia Xi when he saw how much he valued and feared Xia Feng. Xia Feng's face was full of righteousness, and he had a dignified air about him. Even if he couldn't ascend to the throne, he would definitely be an outstanding general.
"Isn't there the seventh prince, Xia Jie?" Lu Xuan couldn't help but ask when Xia Xi stopped introducing him.
"Seventh brother hasn't arrived yet. The other brothers are probably just here to go through the motions. They won't enter the Nine Dragon Jade Seal," Xia Xi answered.
At this moment, another group of people entered the hall. Xia Xi turned around and immediately chuckled. "Speaking of which, this is my seventh brother, Xia Jie. He's just taking advantage of father's favor. Since father has chosen to let us compete in the Nine Dragon Jade Seal, his threat has been greatly reduced."
Lu Xuan understood. If Xia Qi really liked the seventh prince very much, he could directly pass the throne to him, and Xia Xi wouldn't be able to do anything about it. However, Xia Qi had chosen this method to pass the throne to him, which meant that he had already put his feelings behind him. An emperor naturally wouldn't be swayed by emotions. Moreover, the Nine Dragons Dynasty was a rank four faction, one of the few powerful existences in the Central Plains.
"Hey, big brother, second brother, fourth brother, you're all here so early." Xia Jie greeted Xia Xi and the others with a smile as soon as he entered.
The crown prince, Xia Qian, turned a deaf ear to him, while the second prince, Xia Feng, only responded with a soft grunt and didn't say anything else. However, Xia Xi replied, "I've also just arrived, just a little earlier than you, seventh brother."
"I see." Xia Jie nodded and sized up Lu Xuan and the others. He clicked his tongue and said, "Are these the experts you've found, fourth brother? Their auras are indeed extraordinary."
"These are all my friends. When they heard that I needed help, they came over," Xia Xi said with a smile.
"Fourth brother, you're truly the strongest among us brothers. Even a few of your friends are so powerful," Xia Jie said in admiration.
This time, Xia Xi only smiled and didn't say anything. When Lu Xuan saw that Xia Xi seemed to be on good terms with Xia Jie, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, are you on good terms with the seventh prince?"
The corner of Xia Xi's mouth twitched slightly as he said, "He's a smiling tiger."
At this moment, another series of footsteps rang out. It was a group of people walking out from the back of the hall. Lu Xuan saw a familiar person with a single glance. It was the South Protector Duke, Xia Zhengwen. He was currently supporting an old man with all his might as they slowly walked towards the throne in the hall.
Lu Xuan was astonished. Could this old man be the Nine Dragon Dynasty's emperor, Xia Qi? Xia Xi and the others didn't look very old. Lu Xuan didn't expect Xia Qi to be this old. However, it wasn't appropriate for him to ask.
Xia Xi seemed to know what Lu Xuan and the others were thinking. He sighed and said, "Father was really badly harmed by that demonic aura. The baleful aura in his body kept corroding his life force. In just a short month, he seemed to have aged several decades."
"Cough, cough. Are they all here?" Xia Qi sat shakily on the throne and coughed twice. His voice was filled with a deathly aura.
"Father, eighth brother and thirteenth brother aren't here yet," Crown Prince Xia Qian answered first.
Xia Qi waved his hand and said, "There's no need to wait. If they aren't here, so be it. Those of you who are here, are you all prepared? Those who want to sit on my throne will have to go to the Nine Dragon Imperial Jade Seal later. "
Xia Jie suddenly walked out and said, "Father, I have something to say."
"Speak. Cough, cough." Xia Qi coughed violently again. Xia Zhengwen hurriedly sent some Origin Energy into his body to help soothe him.
"The Nine Dragon Imperial Jade Seal is an important national weapon of our dynasty. It's very important. Although Father wants us to bring our own helpers to deal with the dragon soul, I think we shouldn't let some people of unknown origins enter in case they have ulterior motives."
Lu Xuan couldn't help but be slightly stunned when he heard this. Why did it sound like he was talking about him? As expected, when he looked at Xia Jie, Xia Jie also looked at him.
Now, Lu Xuan finally understood why Xia Xi said that Xia Jie was a smiling tiger. Xia Jie had been talking to Xia Xi amiably, but in the blink of an eye, he had turned around and started making things difficult for Xia Xi. He wanted to exclude Lu Xuan. Perhaps Xia Jie wasn't afraid of Lu Xuan's strength, but if he could disrupt Xia Xi's plans now, it would definitely not be a good thing for Xia Xi.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
