After a while, Baiyi and the other two successfully entered the palace. Although the palace was dazzling with gold and jade, a closer look would reveal that the furnishings and decorations were all luxurious and lacking in heritage. Famous paintings, antiques, and flowers were scarce. Instead, there were armors, weapons, and even stone spears, stone axes, and animal hides hanging on the walls. It was a ridiculous sight to behold.
From this, one could tell that the owner of this place had terrible taste in aesthetics. In fact, most of the strange furnishings were the spoils of war that the Emperor had plundered during his expeditions. Although Baiyi found them a little funny, they were still very famous in this era. For example, the hideous stone axe was the weapon of a warrior from a powerful tribe. That warrior had used it to make a name for himself. It was said that he had even slain a dragon with it! With such spoils of war hanging in such a conspicuous place, when neighboring countries came to negotiate or cause trouble, they would unconsciously revere this powerful empire.
Mia took a look at the absurd decorations around her and could not help but frown. Sneaking a glance at Baiyi, she wondered if her teacher's aesthetic sense had been inherited from the same generation as her teacher. 'Will I become like him in the future?' Little Mia could not help but worry.
Soon, a few sorcerers, accompanied by a few maids, appeared in front of the group. Before an audience with the Emperor, one had to hand over one's personal belongings and weapons. Dotton, who had been muddle-headed along the way, shuddered. He rummaged through his pockets for a long time, but all he managed to find were a few gold coins and three mediocre military medals. He looked a little shabby.
Just as he was about to hand over the medals, Baiyi whispered, "You should've pinned them to your chest."
Dotton snapped out of his daze and quickly put away the medals. He gave Baiyi a grateful look.
Then, it was Baiyi and Mia's turn. Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, the two of them casually took out storage pouches from their pockets and threw them onto the tray that the maidservant was holding.
In this era, storage pouches had been invented, but they were still extremely rare, almost a luxury item. Commoners could forget about having one, and even sorcerers did not have one. Only those with high social status and wealth could own one. Most of the time, it was not used as a storage pouch, but as an ornament, hanging it on one's belt to show off one's status.
According to unspoken custom, such precious accessories were not required to be handed over. Baiyi and Mia, however, acted like the craziest nouveau riche, and the storage pouches they took out piled up into a small mountain on the tray! The maids and guards, who had been wearing cold expressions, were shocked. Dotton's jaw dropped, and he could not close it for a long time.
In his worldview, this kind of luxury item was only available to chiliarchs and corps commanders. An ordinary centurion like him really had no use for such a high-end item. However, in the hands of these two unknown fellows, they were casually tossing it out like it was cabbage?
Baiyi did not care about their shock. Instead, he turned to Mia and asked, "Can you tell which one is yours and which one is mine?"
Mia nodded confidently and replied, "The fragrant one is mine, and the stinky one is daddy's …"
What the hell is this girl talking about? Just as Baiyi was about to teach her a lesson, Mia stuck out her tongue playfully and said, "Well, the things inside are pretty much the same, right? It's okay if you can't tell them apart. "
'Hmm … That's true.' Baiyi nodded, agreeing with his youngest daughter's words.
However, Baiyi's words had successfully piqued the curiosity of the crowd. One of the guards asked, "Can we have a look at the things inside?"
"Of course," Baiyi replied. Baiyi replied as he casually picked up a storage pouch and was about to open it. The others immediately held their breaths as they raised their heads and looked at him expectantly.
Just the storage pouch alone was enough to show off one's wealth. What about the things inside? Just how rich were the country huckster and the pretty little girl? Everyone wanted to open their eyes and see what was inside.
However, what appeared in front of them were a few blankets, quilts, pots and pans, and other daily necessities. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was a pair of white underpants with a cute picture of a bear printed on it.
The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward. Even Mia looked at him suspiciously.
"Ahem, ahem. I think I put this in the wrong pouch," Baiyi said as he quickly kept the white underpants. Baiyi said as he hurriedly put away the white underwear. Then, he picked out another one from the pile of storage pouches and stuffed it inside.
"Anyway, that's all I have. Is there a problem?" Baiyi asked, keeping his composure.
"N-no problem …" The guard replied awkwardly. His face looked very stiff. Who would have thought that there would be a psychopath who would use such expensive things to store daily necessities? And what's with that pair of underpants? It doesn't look like it's for you to use, does it? Is it really appropriate to put such underwear inside? The crowd around them cursed inwardly.
After this little interlude, the three of them finally arrived at the main entrance of the palace. After a simple ceremony, an attendant led the three of them in.
The moment they stepped into the main hall, the first thing that caught their eyes was a middle-aged man sitting on a throne. He had an air of arrogance and aloofness about him, and he was silently studying the crowd. He looked to be about 40 years old, and he did not look anxious or uneasy. Instead, he looked a little quiet and melancholic. He leaned casually on a scepter, and his generous face was as square as a mahjong tile.
This was the first time Mia had seen the Emperor when he was young, and she could not help but gape in astonishment. According to the Emperor's personal accounts and various historical portraits, he was supposed to be a gentle, melancholy, yet arrogant and domineering handsome man. But looking at him now, his generous face did not seem to fit the word handsome at all, did it?
'Tsk, tsk. You're disillusioned, aren't you?' Baiyi observed Mia's expression, feeling amused. He took a few steps forward and immediately felt a ripple from a barrier. According to his memory, this was the protective barrier that was hidden beneath the main hall. It was a very powerful barrier, and it had many functions. Once activated, not only could it silence, weaken, and imprison the target, but it could also cast more than ten powerful spells. It also had a teleportation function, and it even had the ability to mute the target's voice.
If Baiyi did not use his Void Energy, he would not be able to defeat the Emperor even if he lost the Book of Servitude. This was the first barrier that the Emperor had set up after his ascension to the throne, and it was the reason why the Emperor had the confidence to meet Baiyi despite losing the Book of Servitude.
However, as the Archmage's disciple, Baiyi was very familiar with the barrier's functions and workings. In fact, the barriers that Baiyi had set up in his house and Da Xue were all simplified versions of the Rohlserlian Barrier, which the Emperor had named after him. Even the Empire-level Defense Formation that the future Emperor had set up was an enlarged version of this barrier. Thus, Baiyi was very familiar with its weaknesses. He quietly walked to a seemingly random spot in the middle of the hall and looked up at the Emperor, who was sitting on the throne.
The Emperor saw where he was standing, and a strange look flashed across his face. Others might not know anything, but he knew that the position was the only weak point of this masterpiece. As long as magic was used to attack the nodes of the matrix directly below, the power of the entire barrier would be greatly reduced, and it might even cause a complete collapse.
This was an absolute secret buried in the depths of his heart. No one knew about it, and no one could see through it on the surface, including the sorcerers who helped him set up the barrier. They all thought that the Rohserlian Barrier was flawless, but this country bumpkin in front of him easily saw through it. Was it a coincidence? Or was it that the Emperor's power had exceeded his expectations? Did he discover the barrier's weakness in an instant? Or was he a true prophet who had seen the future and discovered this secret?
For a moment, the Emperor's thoughts were a little chaotic. Even though there seemed to be no change on the surface, there was a huge wave in his heart. Even so, he absolutely could not lose his imposing manner. Thus, he opened his mouth and ordered in a tone that was difficult for ordinary people to resist, "Kneel!"
Dotton fell to his knees. Little Mia followed suit, and the guards and maidservants all fell to their knees. Baiyi, on the other hand, looked at the Emperor, and hesitantly half-kneeled.
He should not have hesitated. The old man had given him everything, so kneeling was only natural. But the Emperor did not seem to be the same old man who was both a teacher and a father to him. Baiyi felt a little uncomfortable.
"Take off your helmet!" The Emperor commanded.
Baiyi did as he was told, revealing his horror movie-quality disguise.
Although the Emperor was not a master of illusions, he was quite adept at discerning illusions. With just a glance, he saw through the Soul Armature's disguise. "This is an illusion! What are you trying to hide?!" Displeased, the Emperor snapped.
"I don't think that's the point," Baiyi replied calmly. Without the Emperor's permission, he slowly rose to his feet and said, "Your Majesty, this is not what you should be concerned about."
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