Chapter 178 First Appearance In The Gen Empire
First Appearance in the Gen Empire
"Xue Bai, that fool is trying to attack me again! Though he is an ignorant fool, even ignorance has its limits as an excuse." Liu Mei said to Xue Bai, who laid on her back.
The two had spent the past few days flying around the Mountain Province, getting a few important things that Xue Bai needed, and only now returning to the Gen Empire.
Thankfully Xue Bai remembered what time the entrance exam started, so he was able to plan around it and return without being late.
But since he didn't know of the Gen Empire's stupid tradition of being early, he came at his own pace.
However, as they flew in, they also drew the attention of the Imperial Guard Leader Long Zhenyu as they flew in.
Liu Mei was a large demonic beast, and her wingspan could even enshroud the sun. So it was only right that Long Zhenyu noticed her and tried to stop her from entering the capital.
Yet when he came face to face with her Xiantian Great Realm cultivation base, he didn't dare to use force to accomplish his mission but rather a threat.
Though Liu Mei was strong, the Gen Empire wasn't weak either, and they certainly had the means to take down an arrogant Xiantian Great Realm bird.
Of course, this was all in Xue Bai's calculations. Before flying over the capital, he had made Liu Mei suppress her cultivation to the 2nd stage of the Spirit Awakening realm. This way, she would still be overwhelmingly strong in the weak Gen Empire but not enough to completely suppress the ambitions of Long Tian and his allies.
Xue Bai had a feeling that Long Tian wasn't alone in his schemes and either had a backer or a strong friend at his side.
If not, how could he be so blatant with his schemes and ignore the half-step Xiantian Great Realm, Feng Hai?
Though Long Tian was at the peak of the Domain Lord realm and Feng Hai was old, and at the end of his rope, his half-step Xiantian Great Realm cultivation base was far from something Long Tian could handle.
So this meant two things, either that Long Tian was just a reckless fool or had a backer that suppressed Feng Hai from doing anything drastic.
However, since it was more than known that Long Tian was a cautious and calculative man, the former was out of the question. That meant that somewhere, unbeknownst to everyone else, Long Tian had a person stronger than Feng Hai at his back, which stopped the Academy Head from doing anything.
And while Xue Bai didn't know who exactly his backer was, he had Liu Mei. So she was his key to figuring out who it was and disposing of him.
This is why he made her suppress her cultivation base by a few realms. After all, once the person at Long Tian's back saw her Spirit Expansion Realm cultivation base, he would be gone the next morning, and with him, so would Long Tian.
So until both the Grand Duke and his backer were caught together, Liu Mei had to hold back a little.
At first, the Heaven Chasing Eagle was extremely against the idea of suppressing her cultivation so far, but after Xue Bai promised to get her something, she agreed on the condition she would be able to fight back against anyone who disrespected her.
And that clause was being taken into effect right now with Long Zhenyu, almost about to send an attack at her.
Xue Bai knew this and could only let her do as she wished.
"You can do what you want, but don't kill the man. He's extremely important. Killing him would most likely cause Long Tian to do something drastic." Xue Bai sighed.
Liu Mei only grunted in response before turning around at the man who had been pestering her for so long.
"Get off my back, Xue Bai. I want to beat this man down personally!" Liu Mei said as she shifted into her human form.
Xue Bai obeyed and pulled out a flying sword he had recently 'bought' and levitated on it using his Sword Law comprehension.
"Again, all you need to do is keep him alive. Also, don't cripple him." Xue Bai sighed as he watched Liu Mei enter her human form.
But this time, like her cultivation, Xue Bai made her keep her wings out. Though the Heaven Chasing Eagle was a rare demonic beast and almost no one in the Baishen Plane knew of its existence, once Long Tian saw Liu Mei with a perfect human form, they would know she had a high tier bloodline even if they didn't know its name.
For this matter, Liu Mei didn't care much. She loved her demonic beast form much more than her human form, so the wings being out only made her more comfortable when she kept them hidden.
However, after a second of thought, Xue Bai added something, "Much."
Liu Mei nodded with excitement and cracked her knuckles.
But unlike Liu Mei's overflowing excitement, Long Zhenyu was terrified and started to back up.
"Miss, I'm just a man doing my job. Surely you can't get angry at a humble worker like me?" Long Zhenyu awkwardly laughed as he tried to defuse the situation.
Yet Liu Mei wasn't having his sugarcoated nonsense. And with cheerful laughter, her fists glowed with a bright white light as she charged at the Imperial Guard Leader.
Long Zhenyu could tell that there was no way out of a fight, so rather than cowardly back down and damage his image in the minds of the Gen Empire civilians down below, he chose to fight.
"Demonic beast! I'll take you down on behalf of both the Gen Empire and the Heavens themselves!" Long Zhenyu shouted out in hopes of gaining some confidence, but even as he did, he still felt none.
Liu Mei wasn't dismayed by his shouts but instead was ignited with a fighting spirit. It had been too long since her last fight!
"Don't croak too early, human!"
Down below, near the entrance to the Gen Empire Academy, a large crowd was starting to gather as more and more people wanted to see what was happening in the skies above. Plus, by grouping up, less knowledgeable cultivators could hear the commentary of the peak powerhouses in attendance.
"Your Majesty, isn't that… him?" Eunuch Lu couldn't help but whisper at Feng Fei.
Xue Bai right now had long taken off his bamboo hat and full-body cloak so right now he was perfectly visible to the people down below.
The only change in his appearance was from the 1000-year-old Tree Heart, where he gained back some of his muscle and vitality. However, those changes weren't anywhere near drastic enough to fully change his appearance.
So it went without question that Eunuch Lu and Feng Fei could recognize him, which was something he wanted.
The larger the shock factor he made to the people down below, the better the first impression.
And in order to create a faction that would have to go against Long Tian and his entourage, he needed a damn good first impression.
Liu Mei was perfect for that role.
"It is, Old Lu!" Feng Fei's previously desolate expression immediately lit up as she noticed Xue Bai above. The signature full body-length purple hair was something that no other human she knew had.
"But who is that lady with him? He was only gone for a week. So how the hell did he get a Xiantian Great Realm demonic beast to be a mount?" Old Lu thought aloud.
"Does it matter? A demonic beast in the Xiantian Great Realm is now on our side, Old Lu! With such a powerhouse on our side, even Long Tian wouldn't dare let out a fuss." Excited, Feng Fei started to plan for the bright future she could envision.
Away from the two, Long Tian and his grandson Long San were questioning what was happening up in the skies.
"Grandfather, is that boy on the sword the Prince Consort?" Long San asked as he squinted up at Xue Bai. However, as his tone was polite and his words just as elegant as his appearance, his facial expression couldn't be more different.
Long San's mouth was stretched out in such a sinister smile it would scare most children, while his eyes exuded a ferocity that no human his age could possess.
It was almost as if Long San was a demonic beast in human form that a human right now.
Long Tian could also see the ferocity coming out of his grandson, so instead of answering his question, he first smacked the back of the young man's neck.
"You're revealing your ferocious side again. How many times must I tell you never to reveal it in public? Must you expose our plans to the entire empire before you get it into your thick skull!" Long Tian scolded Long San.
Long San, however, was in no condition to respond as his grandfather barely held back his strength in the slap, and as a result, Long San was sent tumbling forward with a stinging headache.
Yet he didn't complain nor even cry but only held his head in pain and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
"And yes, that is the Prince Consort and your enemy." Long Tian said as he focused on the 'fight' happening up in the skies.
But though he called it a fight, at this point, it could only be called a one-sided beatdown.
"Come on, human! Where's all the tenacity you had earlier!" Liu Mei insulted as she sent Long Zhenyu into the ground below with a kick.
"Weren't you going to take the place of the Heavens and smite me down? Why are you the one falling?" Liu Mei laughed as she flew down to chase the Imperial Guard Leader.
"Father, I need assistance to take down this demon! So please take up your sword once again and help me keep the peace of the empire!" Long Zhenyu shouted out as he tried to suppress the raging internal damage he had.
Since Xue Bai had to tell her not to kill the man, Liu Mei had only been attacking using penetrative skills that would damage the insides of a cultivator while leaving his outer appearance relatively intact.
This way, she could turn anyone she beat into a pig head!
It was a genius method she discovered herself.
And right now, her method was working, as while Long Zhenyu had been beaten down for 3 minutes, nothing other than his face was hit. And to call his current appearance deformed would be an understatement.
If it weren't for his armor that no one else would dare to wear and the fact they had seen Long Zhenyu inside the fight, no person in the crowd would've correlated the two, not even Long Tian, the man's father.
Long Tian could also see the outcome of the fight, and since he knew that he would only join his son's fate should he join in, Long Tian decided to instead admit on his son's behalf and stop it.
Taking a wide step, Long Tian appeared in front of Long Zhenyu and ignored the still-charging Liu Mei and looked up at Xue Bai, who was still floating up in the sky.
"Prince Consort, surely this is enough of an opening act? Any more, and you might injure Imperial Guard Zhenyu so severely that he won't be able to recover in a short time. And since Imperial Guard Zhenyu is such a major key fighter for us, if the nearby empires got a hold of the news of his injury, they certainly won't hesitate to start a small-scale invasion. Are you willing to shoulder the blame of war and the many soldier and civilian deaths that would follow?"
'Holy fuck, this guy is good!' Xue Bai couldn't speak a word.
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