Chapter 1818: Making Things Difficult

"Heh. What makes you think you're qualified to be on par with us?" Helian Tulong sniffed. "You have two options: either kneel or get out of here!"

Feng Chongwu and Yun Changxiao laughed mockingly at the side. "What a joke! Has he even seen himself in the mirror?"

Ignoring the jibes and insults, Chen Xiaobei looked at the Luo Qiongcang. "Your grace, my name is Chen Xiaobei, has Princess Puti never mentioned me?"

Luo Qiongcang looked taken aback. "What? Chen Xiaobei? Aren't you Chen Zhufeng?"

Chen Xiaobei's brows furrowed, "My surname is Chen. Xiaobei is my given name, and Zhufeng is my alias!"

Luo Puti did not reveal this fact to anyone to protect Chen Xiaobei.

With Saint Duke knee-deep in war, he would be in grave danger should the enemy find out about his real identity.

Luo Puti was absent so she could not confirm Chen Xiaobei's identity.

Luo Qiongcang said, "I don't care if you're called Chen Xiaobei or Chen Zhufeng. Today, you will do as Childe Tulong says!"

A satisfied grin played on Helian Tulong's lips, his chin tilted upwards.

He was clearly trying to humiliate Chen Xiaobei in the worst way possible.

The hundreds of people around him looked amused as if Chen Xiaobei was the stand-up and them, the audience, waiting for the punchline.

Chen Xiaobei was obstinate. "There's a rumor going around that Helian Tulong has already been preordained to be the next Fuma candidate! I didn't want to believe it at first, but it looks like the rumor was true! The distinguished Saint Duke Starfield opened the betrothal contest to all Nine Zonex but at the end of the day, it's just a shameless farce! How laughable! How pathetic!"

"Nonsense!" Luo Qiongcang boomed. "This betrothal contest is fair, impartial and transparent! There's no predetermined fuma!"

"Heh!" Chen Xiaobei sniggered. "The people's eyes are clear. The way you treat me today will be made known throughout the entire Nine Zones by tomorrow! Not only will the people say that Saint Duke had already predetermined a fuma, but they would also say you have already predetermined its future emperor!

"You presumptuous fool! I'm not dead yet! Who dares become the new emperor of Saint Duke? Who?" Luo Qiongcang thundered. He was so angry he was on his feet.

Luo Qiongcang was the second most powerful elite on the Nine Zones Heaven leaderboard, the imposing presence he exuded was extremely powerful.

The people fell silent at this display of wrath.

Only Chen Xiaobei was unstirred. "You are the emperor but yet, you've allowed Helian Tulong to make the decisions! If I didn't put it out there, many people would have still said that Helian Tulong will be the new emperor of Saint Duke!"

"You..." Luo Qiongcang began but could not find the right words.

Indeed, gossip was a fearful thing! Whatever that rolled off the tongues of people was impossible to control!

If this matter was leaked to the public, Luo Qiongcang and the entire Saint Duke Starfield would become the topic of ridicule in the entire Nine Zones!

Chen Xiaobei pressed on. "Being laughed at is nothing! Being seen as the enemy is even scarier!"

Wh... What do you mean?" Luo Qiongcang's heart was in his throat.

Saint Duke was already in a precarious circumstance and could barely cope with their existing enemies. They would not dare acquire more.

"In the preliminary competition, tens of thousands of people went all out to join the betrothal contest. How many people sold their family's fortune to bring you Earth-God materials during the first elimination round? How many people have risked their lives to hunt for the Giant Barbaric Tiger in the mountains during the second elimination round?" Chen Xiaobei asked. "If all these people who paid such a high price to participate in the betrothal contest find out that it was all a fictitious scheme, your grace, can you guess how many of them would see Saint Duke as the enemy?"

Luo Qiongcang inhaled sharply.

All the other members of the imperial family and officials were disquieted.

What Chen Xiaobei said was the fact of the matter!

The betrothal contest's participation was widespread, and the participants made many sacrifices, in their wealth and safety - just to be a part of it!

If these people, some of whom have come from powerful families or organizations, were to discover that all the money and blood they shed were all for a fraudulent cause, Saint Duke would find themselves with hundreds and thousands of additional enemies!

Luo Qiongcang understood the delicacy of the situation so he quickly changed his tone. "Alright! You don't have to do as Childe Tulong says! Chen Xiaobei, you don't have to kneel!"

The smile on Helian Tulong's face froze before transforming into a cringe.

Even so, Luo Qiongcang was not to be trifled with. "You don't have to kneel but if you want to have a seat, you must have the corresponding qualifications!"

"What are they?" Chen Xiaobei asked.

"First, you have to come from a faction!" The emperor said.

Chen Xiaobei answered, "I am the leader of a Bei Xuan faction!"

"What? What faction is that?" Helian Tulong cut in, his tone thick with contempt. "I've never even heard of this hogwash faction, and you have the nerve to even mention it."

"Bei Xuan faction?" Feng Chongwu piled on. "Your name is Chen Xiaobei? Did you just make it up?"

Yun Changxiao scoffed, "The three of us are disciples of Heaven Dominating Faction! Compared to Heaven Dominating Faction, Bei Xuan faction is trash! The scum of the universe!"

Laughter could be heard roaring in the hall.

Most of them present have never heard of Bei Xuan faction. To them, Chen Xiaobei was just making a fool of himself.

Chen Xiaobei was not in the mood to argue. "Have the three of you forgotten about the existence of the Saint Duke emperor?"

"We..." Helian Tulong, Feng Chongwu, and Yun Changxiao pursed their lips together, bereft of speech.

No matter what, they were in Luo Qiongcang's territory. If word spread about how they stole Luo Qiongcang's spotlight in front of so many people, Luo Qiongcang was not going to be happy.

Chen Xiaobei continued, "Your grace has only said that I need to belong to a faction. You never said what kind of faction."

Luo Qiongcang frowned. "It must be overseen by at least one Earth-God!"

Chen Xiaobei answered, "From what I know, you haven't reached Earth-God cultivation yourself, have you?"

Luo Qiongcang said sourly, "I don't but I have Earth-God Instruments to keep my people safe!"

"Oh, is that so? I have a Giant Barbaric Tiger. It can also guard my faction. Does that count?"

"You..." Luo Qiongcang could feel the blood rush into his head. The plan was to make things difficult for Chen Xiaobei but he was able to find a way around it.

Chen Xiaobei smiled. "If you don't believe me, I can take my little tiger out so he can say hi to everyone!"

"You... What are you doing...?" Luo Qiongcang was suddenly nervous.

Chen Xiaobei smiled. "It looks like everyone knows how powerful my tiger is. Stop all this nonsense and bring me a chair! Let's get down to business as quickly as possible! Let's see whose betrothal gift can win Princess Puti's heart! Your grace, you want the betrothal competition to draw to a close as quickly as possible, right?"

Luo Qiongcang deliberated for a bit before quickly instructing his men to bring Chen Xiaobei a chair.