Chapter 176: Facing Great Emperor Mingwu

Ye Chen watched the three Earthly Venerable Ones with his Astral Body before keeping it away and returning to this side courtyard.

Xi Yang's death was only a prelude to the coming storm. Ye Chen did not know when the people from the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect would come, so he continued to step up and strengthen his cultivation. Ye Chen had obtained some new understanding of his Astral Body and the Flying Dagger after the battle with Xi Yang earlier.

Using the Astral Body in battle was different from ordinary battles. Strong surges suffered during the battle would affect offensive power, so he had to make his Astral Body more stable to cope with fiercer battles.

As for the Flying Dagger, Ye Chen had discovered another use for it. As long as the Flying Dagger hit the opponent, it would leave a trace of Celestial Chi in the opponent's body, which could detonate with just a thought! This new discovery was extremely useful in battle. Once the Flying Dagger had hit someone, it would be like burying a time bomb in that person's body!

Ye Chen looked at Xi Yang's Heaven-Earth Pouch and found more than twenty thousand Chi-amassing Pills and three hundred Chi Deposition Pills. In addition, there was also a Tier One spirit artifact longsword. Ye Chen put those items away and threw them into the armguard space. As for the Earth Varmint, it was not necessary for the time being, so he left it to its own devices on Central Lake Island.

As usual, Ye Chen returned to the alchemy room.

Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Li Xu looked somewhat solemn. The appearance of a mysterious Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant had made them feel great pressure. The Human Tier medicinal pill would be completed soon. Who knew what kind of storm it would cause?

"Li Xu, go and find Mingwu. I have something to say to him!" Master Apothecary Xuanyi said as he made a decision. Although Great Emperor Mingwu also wanted the Human Tier medicinal pill, he would take into consideration their friendship and not resort to robbery. However, that did not apply to others.

Although the seven Earthly Venerable Ones under Master Apothecary Xuanyi could stand up to a Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant, it was difficult to defend against accidents. According to what Old Five and Old Six had said, the mysterious Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant was extremely powerful and not inferior to Great Emperor Mingwu.

"Yes, I'll go immediately!" Li Xu nodded and hurriedly left.

About an hour later, Great Emperor Mingwu and Li Xu entered the alchemy room together.

This world's emperors were different from Ye Chen's imagination. Ye Chen thought that emperors were very ostentatious and constantly surrounded by numerous guards and accompanied by palace maids. However, Great Emperor Mingwu moved alone. Apart from the golden armor and the imposing aura of superiority he had, there was nothing special.

Great Emperor Mingwu was a Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant. What was the use of having guards following behind him?

After Great Emperor Mingwu had entered the room, he nodded to Master Apothecary Xuanyi and turned to look at Ye Chen. Ye Chen's heroic spirit pressed aggressively and his eyes were like stars, making him stand out from the others. However, he looked like an ordinary young man on the whole. Great Emperor Mingwu had some doubts. It was this young man who had caught the Purple-gold Divine Fish and caused such a storm in the Capital City?

"Why was Master Apothecary looking for me?" Great Emperor Mingwu turned and asked Master Apothecary Xuanyi.

"Something happened here last night. For an unknown reason, Xi Yang from the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect arrived on the island but was killed in the forest. According to our inference, the culprit should be a Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant! The pill will be finished in a day, so I'd like for you to protect us until then," Master Apothecary Xuanyi said solemnly.

"A Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant?" Great Emperor Mingwu's expression flickered. "Could it be the Taiyi Sword Sect Master?"

"Judging by Xi Yang's injury, the killer's method was rather strange. He used a longsword as well as a Flying Dagger. It doesn't seem to be the work of the Three Major Sect Leaders." Master Apothecary Xuanyi shook his head. Of course, Great Emperor Mingwu could be ruled out as well.

"A longsword and a Flying Dagger?" Great Emperor Mingwu frowned. He had never heard of a Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant who had used a longsword and a Flying Dagger in the Xiwu Empire. Could it be that a Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant from another country had infiltrated the Xiwu Empire? Besides the Three Major Sect Leaders and him, there was another Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant in the Capital City, who was someone from the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce. However, the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce valued their business throughout the entire Great Eastern Continent and had never participated in disputes. They would not try to steal the medicinal pill. Furthermore, that Heavenly Venerable One used a sword. Great Emperor Mingwu said, "Since the pill will be finished tomorrow, I'll stay here for a day. If chance permits, perhaps I'll encounter that master!"

Master Apothecary Xuanyi nodded and said, "This place is simple and crude, and not as grand as the imperial palace. Do as you please." Master Apothecary Xuanyi was not overly courteous to Great Emperor Mingwu. It was clear that the friendship between the two sides was quite good.

"By the way, Master Apothecary, I have some things to give you." Great Emperor Mingwu took out several letters and handed them to Master Apothecary Xuanyi.

"What are these?" Master Apothecary Xuanyi glanced at Great Emperor Mingwu doubtfully and opened the letters. They were written by Lei Yi, Hao Feng, and the others. Several letters were for the Hao Clan to send to Taiyi Sword Sect and Emerald Cloud Sect, and some letters were to contact their respective families.

"They were intercepted by my subordinates. The night when Lake Ming was sealed, they discovered that someone had released messenger hawks from the island, and shot them down," Great Emperor Mingwu said.

Master Apothecary Xuanyi was unable to restrain his anger. His hands holding the letters kept shaking. This betrayal made his heart ache painfully.

"I've treated them so kindly but they ignored our relationship as master and apprentice, and even contacted outsiders to deal with me!" Master Apothecary flew into a rage. Although he had some doubts about Lei Yi and the others, he was still unwilling to believe that they would betray him. However, now that the evidence was conclusive, Master Apothecary Xuanyi had to believe it.

"Master Apothecary, even if you don't kill those ungrateful people, it's best if you revoke their rights as your apprentice as soon as possible. If you don't want to do it yourself, I can do it for you," Great Emperor Mingwu responded calmly. Master Apothecary Xuanyi was too gentle and soft-hearted. If it were him and he was betrayed by his officials, they would be killed without forgiveness!

Master Apothecary Xuanyi put away the letters. His expression was gloomy and dejected as he waved his hand. "Let me think about this."

Great Emperor Mingwu knew Master Apothecary Xuanyi's temperament and did not disturb him anymore, lest he affected Master Apothecary Xuanyi's alchemy. However, at Master Apothecary Xuanyi's level, his alchemy would not be affected by emotions which would lead to failure.

After finishing speaking with Master Apothecary Xuanyi, Great Emperor Mingwu rose and walked over to Ye Chen with a faint smile on his face.

Ye Chen was currently cultivating his Celestial Chi. Upon sensing Great Emperor Mingwu approaching him, he opened his eyes. Although Great Emperor Mingwu was smiling, he could feel the faint mighty aura. However, although Great Emperor Mingwu was an emperor, Ye Chen would not allow himself to kneel before him. In Ye Chen's life, he would only kneel before Heaven and Earth as well as his parents. He would kneel to no one else.

However, Ye Chen still had to heed ordinary etiquette. After all, the Yin royal family behind Great Emperor Mingwu was still the largest clan in the Xiwu Empire, so he still needed to show some respect. Ye Chen pretended to get up.

"No need. This isn't the imperial palace, so there's no need for that." Great Emperor Mingwu smiled faintly, but a light flashed in his eyes. He saw that Ye Chen did not have the intention to get up. For a seventeen-year-old boy to be so calm and completely fearless before him, he had something to rely on. To be able to keep his cool despite being faced with a Heavenly Venerable Rank's might, was he just a Tenth Level combatant? Perhaps everyone had underestimated this young man.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Ye Chen said respectfully. He also raised his head to look at Great Emperor Mingwu and saw the sight of a middle-aged man in his forties. He had heroic features and his bearing was distinguished and there was also a hint of sharpness in his aura.

Great Emperor Mingwu lifted his robes and sat on a mat in front of Ye Chen.

"I heard Imperial Uncle Yin mention you as a young man of outstanding ability with extraordinary talent. Now that I've seen you today, I see that he was right." Great Emperor Mingwu's eyes blazed as he stared with Ye Chen as if he was searching for something.

With the mention of Yin Mengtian, Ye Chen's hostility eased slightly as he said, "I don't deserve that much praise."

"Haha, since Imperial Uncle Yin said so, there must be a reason." Great Emperor Mingwu laughed brightly. "Even when I was your age, I didn't have such accomplishments. You don't have to be modest."

"Your Majesty didn't come to see me to talk about that. May I know what Your Majesty wants from me?" Ye Chen asked, speculating on Great Emperor Mingwu's purpose. He kept his tone casual as he spoke.

"It's nothing. The pills will be finished by tomorrow, so I'll be here to protect all of you. I simply came over to have a chat with you." Great Emperor Mingwu smiled and turned a blind eye to Ye Chen's rudeness. Geniuses always had bad tempers. He lamented, "Recently, I flipped through some old books. A thousand years ago, the Ye Clan was a large clan in the Xiwu Empire and also had marital ties with the Yin royal family. Unfortunately, the Ye Clan ended declining. I didn't expect the Ye Clan to regain its prestige so soon. It's a blessing for my Xiwu Empire."

Ye Chen was shocked. Great Emperor Mingwu had dug up marital affinities from one thousand years ago. Was it to seek contact with him? If Great Emperor Mingwu truly cared about the Ye Clan, why did he not give the Ye Clan a hand when it had declined? If Ye Chen grew up in this world, he might have been fooled by Great Emperor Mingwu and might even feel grateful and bow to him. However, Ye Chen was not a pedantic and loyal follower!

"Your Majesty is exaggerating. My Ye Clan is just a small clan in Donglin County and never contributed any merits to the country, much less be a blessing to the Xiwu Empire. It's extremely difficult for a small clan to survive and we've now barely been able to gain a foothold in Donglin County. I thank Your Majesty for your thoughts." Ye Chen thought of what to say. Even if the other party was the emperor, he had Master Apothecary Xuanyi as a shield and his Astral Body also had the strength of a beginner Heavenly Venerable One. Even if Ye Chen could not defeat Great Emperor Mingwu, he still had some bargaining chips.

Great Emperor Mingwu looked slightly stunned. Although Ye Chen was still very young, it seemed he was much more difficult to deal with than he had imagined. If he took on the position of an emperor now, their relationship would reach a deadlock. A talent like Ye Chen would end up at least a Heavenly Venerable One in the future, so it was best if Great Emperor Mingwu could rope in the young man with him. Even if he could not, he had to at least maintain friendly relations.

The identity of the emperor was useless against combatants that truly stood at the top. The Xiwu Empire was just a large martial arts family! Great Emperor Mingwu narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly. "Let's move the topic along. Recently, the Capital City isn't very peaceful, making me worried. Prime Minister Qiu Ying was assassinated. It's an extraordinary shame to the Xiwu Empire. I heard that Prime Minister Qiu Ying had some history with Imperial Uncle Yin Mengtian and you?"