Condemning the Heavens

"That would be me," Xue Wei answered with a nod of his head. He had no idea that the delegation had told the Emperor that he had died on the trip, and thus he held nothing back.

"Tell me about your trip towards the Demon Phoenix Continent." The Emperor asked this question, not for the sake of knowing what treasures he had obtained, but because he wanted to know what else the delegation had lied about.

"You want to know about our trip?" Xue Wei was puzzled. What purpose could he possibly have?

Thinking that Xue Wei might have been alert, the Emperor quickly decided to diffuse the situation. "I heard from the delegation that a Sovereign Beast joined their group in Yan Dalu, however, he died underway."

"Died underway?" Xue Wei's face turned slightly ugly. Although he had not expected anything from the delegation, he had not expected them to curse him tofor being dead. He had, after all, saved them before.

Xue Wei understood what worries the Emperor had then, and he quickly explained their trip. He skipped the valuables he had gained on the way, but he did remember to announce that he was a two-colored rainbow alchemist.

Even in a continent like The Demon Phoenix Continent, two-colored rainbow alchemists were immensely rare, and a lot of attention was placed upon them.

The more the Emperor heard, the darker his face became. Xue Wei had done so much for this delegation, but when he encountered problems, they did nothing to assist him, instead they ran away and claimed he had died.

That they ran away could somewhat be explained. Everyone would be fearful in such a situation, but when they arrived at the Demon Phoenix Continent, they should have announced that a Sovereign Beast was in trouble and required assistance. They had not done so; they had said he was dead.

Xue Wei was not too upset about it, he just felt that they were ungrateful, but the Emperor was angry.

He was unhappy with his men's lack of loyalty, and that they lied to him was a thing that could never be excused.

Sovereign Beasts were the royals amongst all beasts, but he had been betrayed by the men he had saved. Was that really the kind of people he wanted in his court?

He had already decided that it was time to do some cleansing amongst his ambassadors when he returned to the palace.

Xue Wei was unaware that the Emperor was this angry over the information, and the Emperor said nothing about it, as he changed the subject.

The two conversed about various details of their travel towards the Phoenix Demon Continent.

They did not start discussing the state of the Phoenix Demon Continent; neither did they discuss why Xue Wei had arrived at the continent. All in all, they kept the subject tame and ensured that they would not face a disagreement.

As they arrived at the palace, the Emperor personally led Xue Wei into a study room while the soldiers returned to their places, and eunuchs led Xue Wei's friends to some rooms that had been prepared for them.

When they were seated in the study room, the expression of the Emperor finally turned a bit more serious.

"What brings you to the Demon Phoenix Continent?" he asked, and Xue Wei pondered on how to answer. He could not very well say that he wanted their Thunder Flame Crown right away, as this crown was the mark of the Emperor.

"Lan asked me to retrieve something for him," Xue Wei said with a sigh after deciding that it would be best to forge a good relationship first.

"I cannot go into details about what it is he wants, as I don't know much about it either, but I have been tasked with getting something back to him. At the same time, I am also hunting for fortunate encounters so that I can increase my strength."

Xue Wei began explaining the situation back at Chang'an. "I am not a peace-loving creature, nor do I wish to lead a country, but I want the millennia-long war to end. Mainly for my own personal reasons as my sweetheart is a human."

The Emperor was surprised when he heard that Xue Wei had found a human sweetheart. It was evident that they would never be able to give birth to children, as different races could no longer could breed with one anothers, but even so, he wished to be with this human. Such pure feelings made the Emperor astounded.

"Will the Azure Dragons allow you to be with a human?" He could not help but ask worriedly. In the Vermilion Bird Clan that he was part of, you could only marry with others of the same race. This was because they were already few in numbers, if they let their youngsters fall in love with other races, then they would turn extinct.

"I think that the Azure Dragon Clan has collapsed," Xue Wei said seriously. "I have only met one other Azure Dragon, and that is my uncle. It is now many years since I last saw him, and I don't know anything about others of my kind."

"How can this be?" The Emperor was shocked, but Xue Wei quickly explained that he had grown up amongst humans.

"I see." The Emperor was in deep thought. If he was a beast that thought he was a human for many years, then it made sense that he wished for the war to end.

"I have eleven sons," the Emperor suddenly changed the subject. "Amongst these eleven sons, I will need to find one heir. Right now the spot as Crown Prince is unoccupied.

"Soon, I will open up the sacred realm of our ancestor, the Ascended's Realm," the Emperor began explaining. "This Ascended's Realm is not only connected to our continent but also a few other continents, so when I open it, many experts will join, humans, spirits, beasts, chimeras. Every race you can imagine will appear within the Ascended’s Realm.

"There is much fortune to be found within this realm — not only resources but also the inheritance of our ancestors and other Sovereign Beasts.

"I am letting you and your companions join the group entering the Ascended's Realm. This can become a large fortune for you, but at the same time, I hope, if you encounter my sons, you can lend them a helping hand.

"Unlike you, who has been chased for a long time, experienced the hardships of life, they have all been raised with a silver spoon in their mouths. They have no experience whatsoeverwhat so ever with challenging situations."

The Emperor sighed as he shook his head. He wished that his sons could be tempered somehow, but it was impossible in the environment they lived in.

Xue Wei did not answer right away. He was quite eager to join this Ascended's Realm, but he was also a little confused as to why this Emperor trusted him so much.

Since he was unsure, he did not keep quiet and simply asked, "I can join, but why are you so trustingsure of me?" he asked, and the Emperor gave him a long glance before he answered.

"Long ago, I had a friend of the Azure Dragon Clan," he said. "His name was Xiao Lei, and he was my best brother. From you, I can feel a bit of his grandness, and I trust you because of him.

"Another reason is Lan. Lan is a trickster, but he is also the strongest being in the entire world. For him to have given you a task, it is obvious that he has big expectations from you, and thus I will expect no less from the being having been chosen by Lan."

Xue Wei could not help but wonder if this Emperor would be as supportive of Lan and Lan's mission if he knew, that the one thing he had been tasked with retrieving was the Thunder Flame Crown.

"When will this Ascended’s RealmRealm of the Ascended open?" Xue Wei asked, and the Emperor answered quite fast, "We can open it when we want to. The original plan was to open it in a month, but perhaps that's too soon for you and your friends?"

Xue Wei, who was stunned about how fast things were happening, shook his head. "One month is enough time to prepare," he said decisively.

Secret realms were excellent for finding fortune and riches. It was the place to find treasures and resources, and if he could get his hands on some inheritance from an Azure Dragon, then he would be very pleased.

"How long is this realm open?" This was the only thing that Xue Wei was worried about. If they entered the realm, how long would they have to stay in there?

"It will be open for half a year," the Emperor answered. "from the first person enters, until they get kicked out of the realm will be half a year exactly."

Xue Wei nodded his head while deep in contemplation. Half a year was not too bad. He could spend half a year in there, hopefully, make the princes owe him some favors and help him get his hands on the Thunder Fire Crown.

Thinking that this was his best chance, Xue Wei released a breath of bad air.

He was suddenly excited.

An unknown world was waiting for him, a challenge and a treasure hunt, half a year in another world. This was exciting for him.

"Go back to your friends, relax a little for today. Tomorrow I will hold a banquet to introduce you to my sons alongside the other geniuses of the Vermilion Bird Clan that are going to the Ascended's Realm."

"After the banquet, you can begin preparing for the adventure. I will delegate a servant to show you around."

Xue Wei nodded his head, cupped his hands and bowed to the Emperor in gratitude. The Emperor then waved his hand and gestured for him to retreat.

As Xue Wei left the study room, the Emperor sat still on his seat for some time. He then took out a small painting from his cabinet and looked at it with longing.

"Xiao Wu, he looks so much like you," he muttered with a soft voice.

On the painting was a female. She was around twenty years of age and seemed very refined and elegant. Her beauty was on the celestial maiden level.

Although she was immensely beautiful, her features were very similar to Xue Wei.

"He must have been your son," the Emperor muttered, a bit of pain was in his eyes when he thought about some painful memory.

Xue Wei was unaware of what had happened in the room after he left. A eunuch had come to find him and lead him to the rooms where his friends were waiting for him.

As he arrived, he saw that his friends had gathered in one room, all of them looked slightly uncomfortable, and hesitant as they waited for Xue Wei to return.

As Xue Wei returned, they all felt a lot more relieved, and after Xue Wei sat down, he instantly began explaining what he had heard.

"An Ascended's Realm?" Xue Fu was stunned when she heard this; her eyes were shining with excitement. She came from the Thunder Twilight Zone, but she knew a bit about ascended's realms.

"The Ascended’s Realms are a dimension which contains resources that no other place have. Their resources are much better than any other. Tthere areis also weapons, spirits, and inheritances."

The more she spoke, the more excited the others became. Soon they had all discussed it, and Xue Wei informed them about the date they had to leave.

All of his friends suddenly felt their blood boil, and they were excited and amazed. They were going to enter a strange new world and experience a new adventure.