Chapter 186 His Highness

His Highness

Long Tian didn't care that he just indirectly ordered a massacre, so after he entered his palace gates, he closed the gates behind him as well.

Now, inside his own home, Long Tian's arrogant and disdainful facial expression swapped, and he instantly turned from an Emperor who disdained everything below him to a lackey that hugged the thigh of his boss.

Disregarding his injuries and less-than-clean appearance, Long Tian quickly ran over to the main hall of his Tianmen Palace.

There on the replica Imperial Throne that Long Tian made sat a cloaked figure.

Though the figure was completely covered in a black cloak, one could still see its figure and stature. It wasn't tall nor short, while also wasn't very burly or frail. However, due to the lack of breasts, one could at least assume it was a male or, at the very least, a flat-chested woman.

Long Tian didn't dare to look the figure in the eye, so after he entered the main hall, he kept his eyes on the ground and walked robotically to the base of the throne, where he quickly assumed a kneeling position.

"Your Highness!" Long Tian called out respectfully as he walked in.

The figure was calm in the face of Long Tian's worship, and only after a minute of silence did he speak up.

"What is it, Long Tian? You look worse for wear. Did something happen?" The figure casually said as he cupped his chin with his palm and rested it on the throne's armrest.

"Your Highness, do you remember that purple-haired boy who mysteriously arrived here half a year ago?" Long Tian carefully spoke.

The figure nodded in response.

Seeing that the figure nodded, Long Tian then proceeded to explain everything that just happened an hour ago, from Xue Bai's bizarre sword slash to everything about Liu Mei. Since the figure was the only link to the mysterious Master he submitted to, holding back any key information would only do him harm rather than good.

After Long Tian explained everything to the figure, it sat quiet and motionless. Obviously, it was thinking over everything that Long Tian said and mulling over how to respond next.

Minutes slowly passed, and from every second that did, another drop of sweat appeared on Long Tian's face.

Eventually, the figure spoke up.

"Don't make a move against this Xue Bai yet. Master is still in the middle of his breakthrough. While this Liu Mei you talked about is strong, her cultivation is still at most in the Spirit Awakening realm. If it were higher, the formation of the Academy would've been set off. After Master breaks through to the Spirit Severing realm, that bird would be nothing to us." The figure said casually.

"However, what do I do until then?" Long Tian wasn't very pleased with the decision.

"I already said what you'll do." The figure sensed Long Tian's discontent, but it didn't care at all.

"Nothing. Think of Xue Bai's over-the-top performance as a last act. Master will break through within three years. How long do you think he'll grow in 3 years? Master is at the peak of the Spirit Awakening realm and half a step into the Spirit Severing realm. No matter how prominent Xue Bai's background is or how talented he is, there is no way he can reach the Xiantian Great Realm in 3 years."

"And as for the bird with him, that's even less of a concern. Demonic Beasts are known to need a long time to break through each cultivation stage. That is why they live for so long. So the chance for her to break through to the Spirit Severing realm in 3 years before Master is 0%."

"But, Your Highness, what about Xue Bai's background and the faction with him? Li Ming told me that Xue Bai has, at the very minimum, an Earth-grade Martial Vein. Such talent is something far beyond what the Northern Continent has, even if we include the Heaven Province."

Li Ming was the full name of Head Instructor LI, and the second that Li Ming left the company of Xue Bai, he also told Long Tian everything that happened in the building. So it was only right for Long Tian to also convey this information to the figure.

Hearing this, the figure went silent for another minute. Such a thing was certainly a road bump for their plan.

If they killed Xue Bai and Liu Mei carelessly while the two had a background far beyond their reach, it wasn't unlikely that they would be killed once Xue Bai's faction found him.

"This matter cannot be decided by me." The figure eventually spoke, "I will convey this to Master, but my previous decision remains. Do not under any circumstances touch Xue Bai, Feng Fei, or that bird of his. Since Xue Bai has a chance to have an extremely prominent background, we can't be careless."

"Master will investigate news from the Central Continent and try to find out which power lost a genius matching Xue Bai's description. If we find the power to be too strong, then we'll change our plans accordingly, but if they are weaker than us, then we'll simply kill the two immediately."

"But, Your Highness! What about how they beat my son and me so brutally? Are Zhenyu and I supposed to swallow this grievance?" Long Tian couldn't help but shout the second he sensed the figure to have finished his thoughts.

He had come all the way over here to be avenged, but instead, he was told to not only not touch Xue Bai, but he couldn't even plot against Feng Fei! If he knew this would happen, he wouldn't have relayed the news at all and avenged himself.

Long Tian was still unresigned at having to wait years for vengeance, but just as he shouted his complaints, the figure released a cold blast of air that silenced Long Tian from speaking any further.

"My decision is final! Master cannot be disturbed by such minor conflicts. If you can even suppress such anger for a mere three years, how can you be fit to rule an Empire?"

And without waiting for Long Tian to reply, he stood up from the throne and walked out of the main hall.

Long Tian saw this and could only sigh. What could he do?

That cold blast of air that the figure sent out was one of the legendary Innate Abilities one would awaken after they broke through to the Xiantian Great Realm. And since Long Tian was still only in the Houtian Great Realm, even though he was at the peak of it, he didn't dare face the figure who was stronger than him.

However, even if the figure he referred to as 'Your Highness' was weaker than Long Tian, he didn't dare do anything to him.

Not even adding in the fact that the man referred to as 'Your Highness' was much stronger than him, the Master that the two talked about was nearby.

The second that Long Tian tried to attack the cloaked figure, the Master would surely sense the fight and kill him on the spot.

No matter how valuable Long Tian was, the cloaked figure was the personal disciple of the Master. And in the cruel Baishen Plane, Master and disciple relationships were the closest bonds one could have other than a parent to child.

So while he was unwilling to give up on his previous goal, he didn't have any choice in the matter. Sighing disappointedly, he stood up from his kneeling position and left the main hall, and went to his own part of the palace.

Since he couldn't do anything to Xue Bai, he could only attack them with other methods.

No matter how strong Liu Mei was or how talented Xue Bai was, strength wasn't the deciding factor in this world!

–

"Xue Bai, this place is so desolate! There is almost no Spiritual Qi in the air! How the hell did you get used to this?" Liu Mei complained as she walked into Xue Bai's courtyard.

Xue Bai had just sent her a message saying that she could enter the Academy along with his location. However, just as she entered the courtyard, she started to complain.

Even though forbidden areas were dangerous, they were prime areas for cultivation. Each forbidden area had dense and pure Spiritual Qi, so once Liu Mei left the Hysteria Forest, she obviously noticed the sharp drop in Spiritual Qi quantity and quality.

But once she walked in, she started talking about Xue Bai's time in the Immortal World, which made him cough madly.

"What happened to you? Did you inhale pepper or something?" Liu Mei didn't know the true reason why Xue Bai started having a coughing fit and innocently joked.

"No, not that. I just remembered a joke." Xue Bai lied as easily did breathe.

"But forget about the joke. When you flew into the capital, did you sense any strong people? Long Tian's backer must be close, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that he is in the capital." Xue Bai interrupted Liu Mei, who was about to continue her previous question.

Liu Mei was slightly angered at the fact that he had interrupted her so rudely, but since Xue Bai wanted to be serious, she didn't make a fuss and answered the question.

"I sensed someone who was at the 1st stage of the Xiantian Great Realm inside one of the palaces while we flew over. However, not the Imperial Palace you told me about, the other one. So I think it's the Grand Dukes." Liu Mei responded.

Xue Bai didn't expect that, so once he heard it, he couldn't help but start thinking about who the person Liu Mei sensed was.

'Someone at the 1st stage of the Xiantian Great Realm isn't strong enough for Long Tian to submit willingly to and have Feng Hai act so cowardly. So this person is most likely a middleman between Long Tian and the true backer.'

Xue Bai reached a reasonable conclusion rather quickly with the information he got.

"Are you sure you didn't sense anyone else? Why don't you fly over the capital once more and double-check? I still can't help but think Long Tian's backer is in the capital itself." Xue Bai asked Liu Mei, who just sat down on a rock nearby.

"I am in the Spirit Expansion realm Xue Bai. I can scan the entire capital with my Spiritual Sense, so my position doesn't matter. If I didn't sense him when we flew in, that means he's either stronger than me, he isn't here, or he doesn't exist." Liu Mei calmly said as she dipped her feet into the pond.

It went without saying that the first courtyard of the Black-Robed Students was a beautiful one.

With lush green grass and crystal clear ponds, to a picturesque view of the capital, it was a beautiful place to live in. And while Xue Bai thought that his previous two courtyards were better, such a place would do until he fixed the Long Tian problem.

Xue Bai didn't continue pestering Liu Mei after she finished her words but instead stood up and planned to leave.

"Liu Mei, I'm going to speak with Feng Hai. If anyone tries to come in or bother you, just kick them out rudely. Almost everyone in the Academy is on Long Tian's side, so there is no reason to be polite."

And after giving the eagle simple instructions, he left.