Chapter 343: 343
The white-winged woman was filled with reverence and fear as she looked at the Emperor . She had expected them to put great importance on her news, but to come out himself, she would never have expected this .
Although she was honored, she also suddenly started to doubt herself . Was it indeed a Sovereign Beast she had encountered? Had she not just been confused?
If she had made a mistake, she did not doubt that she would end up dead . Lying to the Emperor was, without a doubt, the biggest taboo of them all .
"This . . . this way," she said trembling as she started to walk out the palace with trembling legs .
The Emperor could not walk to the harbor; it was not befitting for someone of his status . As soon as they exited the palace, a luxurious carriage was waiting for them .
Outside the carriage wasere a regiment of soldiers, all of them were standing motionless, their eyes sharp and their bodies taut .
No one knew the purpose of this Sovereign Beast that had just appeared, if heit was here to cause problems, then they needed a lot of people to deal with him, but if he was here as a friend, then they also needed to show him due respect .
While the rumors of an unknown sovereign beast started to spread from the palace, and cause many to become nervous, Xue Wei was casual and relaxed at the harbor, finishing all procedures .
He was calm and collected, not at all worried . "Should we leave the harbor?" Lin Xiao asked when they had stored the ship in their storage treasure, but Xue Wei just shook his head .
"They can't find us if we leave," he said confidently . "Who?" Lin Xiao was perplexed . They knew no one in the Demon Phoenix Continent, so who should look for them?
"Did you not notice how hurriedfast that winged lady was with leaving?" Xue Wei asked with a slight smile on her face, and Lin Xiao suddenly realized it . She had left veryso fast .
"She is fetching someone?" Lin Xiao suddenly understood what Xue Wei meant, and his face showed signs of worry .
"She should have told the Emperor about my appearance," Xue Wei said with a nod of his head .
"Aren't you worried about them suddenly capturing you?" Lin Xiao continued, but Xue Wei shook his head .
"He should be treating me with respect . " Xue Wei said with certainty . "I might not be of his race, but I am a Sovereign Beast . The four Sovereign Beast races are all friends . It is unnatural for them to attack one another . "
Hearing Xue Wei's words, they calmed down . If he said that there was a sense of brotherhood between Sovereign Beasts, then they would trust in him .
Xue Wei was sometimes a bit too cruel and bloodthirsty, but he would never lie to them, nor had he put their lives at risk intentionally .
Since that was the case, they were eager to see who was the one that was sent to greet them . Was it going to be an essential official? Was it going to maybe even be a prince? They were quite curious as to how much importance would be put on them .
They did not have to wait for long before they heard the commotion at the northern entrance to the harbor .
A large entourage was arriving, there were around five hundred Primordial Beasts, all of them at the Heavenly Knight rank, and on top of that were ten Ordinary Saints .
In the middle of this army of experts was a sizeable luxurious carriage . The carriage was very different from others Xue Wei had seen, it was as if it had been created solely from rare materials such as moonstone and star gems .
"We might have hooked a big fish this time," Xue Wei muttered, his eyes displaying how stunned he was, but he said nothing and continued to observe this army of experts .
Flying in front of them all was a figure they had instantly recognized . It was the white-winged woman, but she looked anything but comfortable, her eyes were showing tinges of panic, her body was trembling, and when she noticed that Xue Wei and the others were casually standing around the southern parts of the harbor, she seemed as if she had found her savior .
She started leading the entourage towards them . Everyone they came across quickly made way for the carriage, no one dared to be in the way .
Xue Wei was quite surprised . From what he could see, the one who had appeared was of very high standing . Otherwise, he would not be followed by such a large entourage .
"Could it be . . . " Seeing how everyone was filled with awe and reverence as the carriage passed, Xue Wei was somewhat confident that the person within this carriage was of exceptional standing .
Even the country's prime minister would not be treated with such reverence . A prince? Perhaps, but it had to be a prince of a certain standing .
Even if it was a prince, he should not have the power to summon this many supporters, only with the Emperor's accept would it be possible to send this many people out to greet them .
This also left one rather frightening option . The Emperor could have come himself .
Just the thought of that made Xue Wei feel a chill run down his spine . If the Emperor himself had arrived, it would naturally be a good thing if he was friendly . However, it was also a possibility that he would take Xue Wei as someone who had overstepped his boundaries, and someone who wanted to take over his kingdom .
Thinking like this, a slight bit of worry appeared in his heart . He knew, from his inherited Azure Dragon memories, that the Sovereign Beasts had a brotherly relationship .
However, one thing was what he knew from memories; another was what was real . He had never encountered another sovereign beast, so the actual reaction was unknown .
Of course, he did not tell his friends about his worries . He knew that if they were aware, they would be filled with fear, so he stayed silent and looked calm and composed outside .
The speed atof which the entourage was traveling was rather fast; they were not caring about whether or not people would move out of the way, if they did not, they would simply be pushed away .
Although the soldiers killed no one, many ended up wounded in various ways .
Even when they were wounded, no one dared to say anything about it . They were not even paid any kind of remuneration, but they still felt awed when looking at the carriage .
"They are here, Your Majesty . " the white-winged woman said as she looked at Xue Wei . Hope sprung into her eyes once more, but it quickly died . There was no longer any Sovereign Beast aura around him .
The first soldiers came to a stop right next to Xue Wei, and everyone present observed with big eyes .
Many of the citizens of the capital had seen the moonstone carriage drive through town and had followed it out of curiosity . Amongst the observers were also many of the merchants and sailors, who had seen their arrogant entrance .
Their eyes were bulging out when they saw that even a moonstone carriage had come to greet them .
Even more shocked were they when they saw who stepped out of the carriage .
A middle-aged man appeared . He had long red hair that flowed in the wind, his eyebrows were like sharp swords, and his eyes were red like crimson blood .
He seemed to be smiling, but the smile did not reach his eyes . His aura was overwhelming and oppressive; it was as if the entire world felt a need to bow before this being .
Even humans like Lin Xiao and spirits like Luoluo and Bai Tianyi felt their hearts move, while Hei Gou was standing on trembling legs, to avoid bowing down . Xue Fu had already bowed down; sweat was pouring down her forehead .
The Emperor was looking straight at Xue Wei, his eyes twinkling with interest .
Xue Wei did not bow down either, but he cupped his fists and said, "It is this one's honor to meet the revered Emperor of the Demon Phoenix Continent," he said, and his words made his friends suck in a cold breath of air .
"Little friend is too polite," the Emperor said with a nod of his head . His voice was amicable and friendly, and although he still looked stern and cold, there was a twinkle of friendliness in his expression .
Sensing that he held absolutely no hostility towards him, and instead was incredibly polite, Xue Wei released a deep breath of air in relief .
"So maybe this little friend would be willing to follow this Emperor back to Our palace . We have a lot to discuss with Oour little friend . "
Xue Wei had hoped for this and made a slight bow, "It would be my honor," he said .
"Prepare horses for Oour friend's companions," the Emperor yelled, and suddenly some of the soldiers dismounted their Fire Dragon Horses, leaving them to Xue Wei's friends, while the soldiers themselves started following behind .
Xue Wei, on the other hand, was invited into the moonstone carriage .
The people who were observing were unaware of what was going on . Why was the usually frightening Emperor so friendly and polite to this young man?
What was his identity for him to be allowed into the moonstone carriage? One has to know that only two beings were allowed to use it - the Emperor and the Crown Prince .
But now, this young man, who no one knew, was invited inside by the Emperor himself . He was getting more respect than even the other Sovereign Beasts in the Vermilion Bird Clan .
Xue Wei did not stand on ceremony and entered the carriage together with the Emperor .
When they sat down, the Emperor said nothing at the start, he just looked at Xue Wei with his deep red eyes that seemed as if they could see right through his soul, and then he shook his head .
"I would never have thought that an Azure Dragon would appear in our Demon Phoenix Continent," he lamented, and Xue Wei smiled wryly .
He had known for sure that this Emperor had noticed that he was a Sovereign Beast, but that he had even been able to sense that he was an Azure Dragon, Xue Wei was astonished .
Even so, he kept his calm and composed expression and smiled slightly at the Emperor .
"I had to leave my continent, and a Prophet from our continent known as Lan asked me to come here . "
"Lan?!" The Emperor's face showed shock and fear when he exclaimed the name .
"You know him?" Xue Wei was shocked . Why was it that everyone he encountered knew Lan?
"Everyone with a bit of status knows of Lan," the Emperor said as he observed Xue Wei a bit more in detail .
To think that this Azure Dragon not only knew Lan, he had also come from Lan's continent .
No one knew where Lan resided, but he sometimes appeared out of nowhere and made some outrageous requests, or helped someone through a calamity .
No one understood Lan, but everyone revered him . Now it seemed as if this kid knew more about Lan than most did .
"What continent are you from?" The Emperor asked hesitatingly, and Xue Wei looked at him for a moment before deciding to answer, "I am from Chang'an . "
"Chang'an . . . " the Emperor paused . "Never heard of it," he said regrettably while shaking his head .
"How long have you been on the way to reach the Demon Phoenix Continent?"
"Well, I arrived at Yan Dalu after entering a Space tunnel created by Lan, so right now, I actually have no idea where in the world I am," Xue Wi said somewhat embarrassedly and scratched his head .
"You are the Sovereign Beast that should have arrived with the Yan Dalu delegation?" The Emperor had heard that there was a sovereign beast in the delegation, but he had died on the way . Now it seemed that he had not died on the road but been deserted by his men .