Return of the Immortal Emperor Daddy

Chapter 663: Chapter 666 Mountain and Sea Sect [First update, please subscribe]

Qin Yuhan stood frozen, facing a veritable tigress.

「And what was Wu Tian doing at this time?」

"Court is adjourned." Seeing the ministers standing silently like wooden statues, Si’er was visibly irritated. She waved her hand, signaling for them to leave.

The ministers exchanged glances and departed. Their exit was brisk, showing no sign of regret. Xiao Shimin was dead, and his backer was due to arrive any day. None of these ministers wanted to die alongside Si’er, so they could only maintain this stone-faced demeanor. When Xiao Shimin’s backer arrived, they could then righteously claim, "Our bodies may have been in Cao’s camp, but our hearts were with Han." Having been officials for many years, they had cultivated incredibly thick skins. They could speak such words with utter composure, feeling no discomfort whatsoever.

These people... Although Si’er was only eight, she was no fool. She understood the ministers’ intentions, and her anger was so great that her pearly white teeth gnashed together audibly.

"Well now, who has made you so angry?" a teasing voice chuckled from behind her.

Startled, Si’er spun around. Wu Tian, holding the little one, had somehow appeared behind her without a sound.

"You’ll scare someone to death, you know?" Si’er instinctively took several deep breaths to calm herself.

"So easily scared?" Wu Tian raised an eyebrow, amused. "You should remember, you are not a little girl anymore. You are a Queen."

"But it’s so hard. It would be easier if I were just a Princess," Si’er pouted with a sigh. The burden felt so heavy she thought it might be too much to bear.

"Then I have something to tell you," Wu Tian said suddenly.

"What is it?" Si’er frowned and said earnestly, "Sect Leader, please don’t give me a long lecture. You should know that girls hate listening to lengthy sermons."

Wu Tian was speechless.

The little one also chimed in, "Dad, your emotional intelligence isn’t the best. Let your daughter teach you something. Girls don’t like it when guys are long-winded. You have to learn to keep it short and sweet."

Feeling helpless, Wu Tian enunciated each word clearly, speaking a simple phrase, "To wear the crown, one must bear its weight."

Si’er froze.

The little one did as well. Her first thought was that those words sounded incredibly profound and that she absolutely had to remember them.

Si’er, however, did not share her peculiar thought. She nodded vigorously. "I understand."

Just then, a commotion erupted outside.

"What’s going on?" Si’er frowned.

A moment later, a group of guards was forced back into the great hall by a single person. A tall man, his entire body encased in stone, strode in and growled, "A bunch of weaklings. I can enter this Royal Palace as if it were unguarded, yet you dare block my path? Are you seeking death?"

It turned out this man had forced his way into the Royal Palace. The guards had tried to stop him but failed, and were instead driven back into the hall.

"Why haven’t you lowered your weapons? Are you planning to kill me?" the man laughed arrogantly, looking at the soldiers who gripped their greatswords while trembling. "It’s useless. I possess the Great Spirit Protective Stone Body. How could fools like you ever hope to break a Physique like this?"

The stones covering his body were not from a Cultivation Technique but were part of his unique Physique.

"Queen, what should we do?" one of the guards immediately asked, looking toward Si’er on the throne.

Si’er clenched her fists. This man had barged into the Royal Palace without any announcement, treating her as if she were nothing. She was furious.

"Brother Lan Zhan, I didn’t expect you to beat me to it," another voice sounded. A man in dark blue robes with a fair complexion walked in, holding a wine bottle from which no scent of alcohol escaped.

Upon his arrival, Lan Zhan, the man covered in rock, looked visibly displeased.

"Qing Taishen, a person with the Great Spirit Porpoise Physique should stay in the ocean where they belong. What are you doing here?" Lan Zhan barked.

Great Spirit Porpoise Physique? This was another type of Great Spirit Stage Physique. An individual with this Physique could live underwater indefinitely. On land, however, they would dehydrate and die without a constant supply of seawater. Thus, the large black wine bottle in Qing Taishen’s hand was merely a facade; it was actually filled with seawater.

"Those two are from Qian Zhong Country, a Four-star power, though some say its true strength has already reached Five-star. They belong to its Four-star sect, the Mountain Sea Sect," Si’er whispered to Wu Tian. "Xiao Shimin’s backer was Qian Zhong Country. He paid tribute to them every year and made an annual pilgrimage!"

"What’s the relationship between the Mountain Sea Sect and Qian Zhong Country?" Wu Tian asked with a casual smile, though he knew the answer was critical. It reminded him of the former Xiuyuan Country, where the Heavenly Sword Sect and the royal family had appeared to be partners, while in reality, the Heavenly Sword Sect was always plotting a rebellion.

Si’er thought for a moment before answering, "In the Qian Zhong Country royal family, every lineage except the one that takes the throne joins the Mountain Sea Sect. This means the Sect Master and Elders of the Mountain Sea Sect are all either Princes or other high-ranking nobles."

Wu Tian nodded. On the surface, the Mountain Sea Sect and the Qian Zhong Country royal family were one big, harmonious family.

"Qing Taishen," Lan Zhan repeated irritably, "what are you doing here?"

Qing Taishen had been staring at Wu Tian. He spent his years underwater, giving him pale skin and delicate features. Yet upon seeing Wu Tian, he felt a sense of inferiority. Snapping back to his senses, he replied, "My Sea Sect’s business is naturally the same as the Mountain Sect’s."

"You bastard!" Lan Zhan roared.

From their exchange, it was clear that the Mountain Sea Sect was not at peace internally. It had already split into two factions: the Sea Sect and the Mountain Sect.

Si’er frowned, about to let her anger show, but she suddenly recalled Wu Tian’s words: To wear the crown, one must bear its weight. She knew she had to learn to be patient. Forcing a smile, she said, "I wonder what business brings you two to my Xiuyuan Realm?"

Qian Zhong Country was located in the Artifact Domain, the same region the Fan Sect had once been in. However, the Fan Sect was merely an average sect in the Artifact Domain, nothing compared to the Mountain Sea Sect.

Lan Zhan and Qing Taishen were surprised. They had not expected this young Queen to remain so calm after they had trespassed. It made them see her in a new light.

Lan Zhan spoke in a deep voice, "I am here representing the Mountain Sect, the strongest lineage of the Mountain Sea Sect."

"And I represent the Sea Sect," Qing Taishen added immediately. "We have come here looking for someone."

So they didn’t come to avenge Xiao Shimin?

Si’er mulled this over, then asked, "Who are you looking for? And what about Xiao Shimin? He paid you tribute every year. Are you not going to avenge his death?"

"A useless man is dead, and that’s that," Lan Zhan said with disdain. "It doesn’t matter whether the Heavenly King Country or your Xiuyuan Country controls this region, as long as you continue to pay tribute and make the pilgrimage every year."

Si’er gritted her teeth in silence.

Qing Taishen added, "The Sea Sect is of the same opinion. We have two conditions, however. First, we wish to find a certain person who promised us something. Second, you must continue paying tribute and making the annual pilgrimage, just like Xiao Shimin. Fulfill both of these, and we will let bygones be bygones."