Imperial God Emperor

The Green Cloud Restaurant was a rather popular restaurant within the Central City of the Royal City.

This restaurant was backed by the military and had a history that spanned several thousand years. Most of the restaurant's customers were from the military and because there wasn't much military action to be seen at Royal City, most of these military men were relatively idle. When they weren't on duty, they would often visit the restaurant.

As dusk fell.

Several military officers came to the restaurant only to hear that someone had reserved the entire restaurant that night, so they would not serve any customers.

This was a regular occurrence as well.

Whenever the upper echelons of the military had a gathering, they would usually book out the entire restaurant.

Obviously, many military officers who had come looking forward to having a good meal would still grumble when they heard the news.

"Damn it, who is the arrogant prick this time who booked out the entire restaurant?"

"It can't be some minor nobleman from the countryside, right?"

"The Green Cloud Restaurant has been fully booked almost every day. Is this still a place catering to the military? I want to see who has booked the entire place today..."

Several military officers who seemed to be more than ordinary officers stood drunkenly at the doorway and refused to leave, creating quite a commotion. There was still some time before curfew, so many onlookers had gathered along the streets to watch the scene.

Then, the waiter of the restaurant stepped out.

This waiter was a familiar face around the restaurant, so most military officers would recognize him. After he whispered something in their ears, even the most drunken military officer immediately sobered up and the group stopped kicking up a fuss. They thanked the waiter profusely and disappeared as fast as they could.

"What's going on?" someone exclaimed in surprise.

Another onlooker scratched his head in confusion and said, "Those military officers earlier were of pretty high ranking, especially the leader of that group. He is well known for being tough and reckless. I wonder what the waiter said, for all of them to have run off so quickly."

"Haha, I bet you didn't know this," someone else said with a mysterious smile. "The reason is simple. They can't afford to offend the person who booked the restaurant today."

"Who could it be?"

"I heard that the center of attraction tonight is the newly minted [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] who has just been appointed this afternoon, and the person who is throwing a banquet on his behalf is also a high-ranking military official..."

"What? Such an important figure is present tonight? No wonder they ran away!"

"Are you sure? This position is known to be the killing god of the military and has remained vacant for decades since the last Military Judge perished in battle. Has somebody finally been appointed to fill this position?"

Exclamations of surprise rippled through the crowd.

At the same time.

The sounds of merry chatter and laughter filled the restaurant.

A Demon Race military officer who was as burly as a huge bear rose to his feet, already feeling a little tipsy. He carried his wine bowl and approached Ye Qingyu. Then he said, "Military Judge Zhang Longcheng, I, Wu Pi, am not that good with words, so let's drink to celebrate your new appointment. Hehe, if I end up doing something wrong in the future, I hope you'll be able to show me mercy."

The entire restaurant roared with laughter at his words.

Although there were clearly divided camps within the Dark Realm, such as the Guardians, Dark Ones and Sinners, there was something special about this place that was a very rare sight in the Vast Thousand Domains: it was the fact that the Demon Race, the Human Race, the Ghost Race, and the Human-Beasts all co-existed harmoniously. This was especially so in the Guardians camp, as many races worked together collaboratively, as though they had forgotten that they all belonged to different factions. The Dark Realm did not focus on race but on talent for all official appointments.

For example, the King of Zhenyuan was actually a Quasi-emperor of the Heavenly Spider Race and his daughter, Princess Poison Flower, was a young Heavenly Spider, but the triangular-faced Wei Heng who Ye Qingyu had killed was a Saint expert of the Native Dog Race, while Offering Gu was an assassin that belonged to the Demon Mantis Race. There were tens of thousands of creatures living in the King of Zhenyuan's residence, and there were people of the Human Race, the Demon Race and a myriad of other races.

The situation was the same within the military camp.

There were people from the Demon Race, Human Race, Human-Beast Race, and many other primitive races, who were employed in a diverse range, from positions ranging from the lowliest of soldiers to the highest-ranked commanders and generals.

The burly military officer named Wu Pi who made the toast was an expert of the Black Wind Bear Race.

"Haha, thanks," Ye Qingyu said as he rose to his feet as well and they clinked their wine bowls together. "I'm only holding a nominal position, so I'll still be counting on all of you to carry out my duties smoothly."

Everyone laughed heartily.

Wu Pi was considered to be one of the lower-ranked military officials amongst those who were present tonight, but Ye Qinyu had treated him very respectfully and finished his entire wine bowl, so Wu Pi was very pleased. "My Lord, please don't stand on ceremony. If you ever need my help in the future, do let me know and I'll definitely extend a helping hand," he said.

Two hours had passed since the banquet started.

Thanks to Linghu Buxiu's introduction, Ye Qingyu had already hit it off with the hundreds of military officials gathered today. He had a photographic memory, so after the initial introduction, he could remember every single person's name and title. Then, he went around toasting with each and every one.

These military officials had wanted to get to know the newly appointed Military Judge, but after hearing about how this Military Judge had almost killed Princess Poison Flower, they assumed that he was a ruthless and aloof man. However, after getting to know him, they found him to be extremely likable and friendly, so the atmosphere in the restaurant became very relaxed and casual.

Everyone was getting along well with each other after several drinks.

"Marquis Lin Xuan, why do you look so glum?" Ye Qingyu asked as he approached a burly but white-haired middle-aged man with his wine bowl.

The middle-aged man had a pug nose and a broad mouth, cutting a commanding figure clad in his lightweight armor, but his long hair made him look like he had been through a snowstorm and was grey and grizzled. This wasn't normal because with this middle-aged man's cultivation and strength, he should be at his peak and his blood qi should have been as abundant as the ocean; his hair shouldn't have turned white prematurely. A smile had been pasted on his face the entire time, but he would often stare blankly into space as though he was very troubled.

He was the only person seated at this table.

He was Marquis Tingtao, Lin Xuan.

In terms of official rank and title, Marquis Tingtao, Lin Xuan definitely ranked among the top ten of the hundreds of officials present tonight. However, although the other military officials still toasted to his health, it was clear that he was being ostracized; many people avoided speaking to him.

Many people at the Royal City knew that Lin Xuan had offended somebody and had committed a serious crime, so he would soon fall from grace. He would potentially lose not just his official title but his life and the lives of his family were also at stake. Thus, everyone treated him like some kind of plague.

"My Lord..." Lin Xuan froze for a moment, then he quickly smiled and lifted his wine glass.

"Marquis Lin Xuan, may I join you?" Ye Qingyu asked politely but he had already sat down at this empty table. "Why do you look so glum? Is something troubling you?" he asked with a smile.

"It is nothing," Lin Xuan replied awkwardly, "I was only thinking about some other matters, so I might have seemed a little distracted. I hope you don't mind."

He was an inarticulate person.

This was Ye Qingyu's first impression of him.

"I met your daughter once at the Wanyi Bazaar," Ye Qingyu said with a smile. He already knew that the young woman in red who stepped forth to help the struggling young man at the Wanyi Bazaar was Marquis Tingtao's daughter.

"Ah? I wasn't aware of that. My little girl is rather spoiled and she's also young and ignorant. Has she offended you in any way?" Lin Xuan was not aware of what had happened at the bazaar and after the crimson-garbed young woman returned home, she didn't mention this incident to him, either.

"Your daughter is bold and generous, and I see some heroic spirit in her, so I greatly admire her," Ye Qingyu replied sincerely.

An idea flashed past Lin Xuan's mind at the moment. If this newly appointed Military Judge could help him... but he dismissed this idea almost immediately. After all, he was in such dire straits at the moment and had offended such an influential figure that even the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] might not be able to resist that particular person. Moreover, even if this Military Judge could resist that person, Lin Xuan barely knew him, so why would the Military Judge agree to help him?

"You flatter her," Lin Xuan barely managed a smile.

Ye Qingyu nodded, then he changed the topic and asked, "I heard that you led troops to the Fire Province not too long ago, is that true?"

"Hmm?" Lin Xuan's face immediately tuned guarded as he asked, "May I know why you're asking..." He was in such a miserable state because of what had happened at the Fire Province. He had been swept into a huge maelstrom but had to suffer in silence. Most of the major powers at the military had already forsaken him and now that Ye Qingyu brought this topic up, his first thought was that the newly appointed [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] wanted to punish him as a show of his power.

"Marquis Lin Xuan, please don't be mistaken. I'm only interested in knowing of events happening in the Fire Province," he said with a smile.

Lin Xuan shook his head decisively and said, "If you want to know more about the Fire Province, you may want to have a look at the records I've submitted in my post-expedition report. I don't know anything else other than what I've already recorded, so I'm afraid that you're going to be disappointed."

Ye Qingyu was slightly taken aback.

He was surprised at how guarded Lin Xuan had become at the mention of the Fire Province.

"My Lord, if there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave since I'm feeling a little under the weather," Lin Xuan said, then rose to his feet and left the restaurant without bidding anyone goodbye.

Ye Qingyu looked at this burly man's departing figure and shook his head slightly.

Everyone else was also secretly paying attention to their interactions, so when they saw what had happened; they had an even worse opinion of him since it looked as though he had departed on bad terms with the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords]. When they thought back to his recent fall from grace, they felt certain that he had just sealed his death sentence with his actions.

Linghu Buxiu walked over and said with a strange look on his face, "Please don't take this to heart. Old Lin Xuan has always been like this and his stubbornness has gotten him into trouble... Oh yes, what were you talking about earlier? Why did Marquis Lin Xuan seem so displeased..."

Ye Qingyu said speechless, "I was merely asking him about the situation at the Fire Province."

"Oh, no wonder," Linghu Buxiu said as understanding dawned. "The Marquis has gotten himself in trouble because of the situation at the Fire Province. He feels quite vexed but everyone refuses to believe his tale, so now his situation is dire... sigh, what a pity."

"What exactly happened?" Ye Qingyu asked.

Linghu Buxiu sat down and whispered conspiratorially, "You might already know this but a rebel group has taken control of the Fire Province and the leader of the rebels is someone named Xiaofei. He is rumored to have come from the Vast Thousand Domains and he is definitely a ruthless fellow, having killed many experts from the Guardians' camp. It is also rumored that there are several highly-skilled tyrants under him, and a giant white dog that can swallow anything..."