Chapter 493 - 491:'Friend.'

Chapter 493: Chapter 491:“Friend.”

The place remained silent after my declaration as everyone waited for the emperor’s reaction.

The man had just had his authority challenged by some new intake into the Spirit Ascension Sect.

His presence challenged so plainly that the remnants of our clash could still be felt in the heavy atmosphere.

Everyone, myself included, was waiting for the man to fly into a—well, imperial rage.

Calling for our heads and whatnot.

Naturally, that would mean another wipeout, but it would be fun nonetheless.

"Staying true to your Dao..." The emperor’s quiet mutterings caught my attention as I focused on the man that had suddenly closed his eyes, a serene aura surrounding him as he continued muttering to himself,

"Staying true to your path..." The aura around him deepened as I couldn’t help raising a curious brow at the situation.

"Staying true to yourself..." A solemn weight fell upon the world as the man’s words finally culminated,

"That’s the essence of being a cultivator, huh?"

Hummmmm

A resonant hum rang through the whole place as the man’s aura got refined, sharpened, and steadier as,

"Marvelous... heh! Hahahahahahahahaha..." He burst into jovial laughter.

"TRULY, what a wonderful thing to say, AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Damn! Did I just witness enlightenment in real time?" I was stunned. The nonsense I’d come up with on the fly had actually led to some weird enlightenment for this emperor?

Was I actually some hidden immortal cultivator without realizing it?

"But... this throws a wrench in my plans. Haa.."

"What plans?" Shaia.

"My plans of stealing the man’s wife."

"You were planning on stealing his wife!?" The ladies exclaimed in shock as if they couldn’t believe the words I was saying, but—

"Of course. I need to complete the experience, and that involves stealing the tyrannical emperor’s wife while handing him a proper green hat. But.." I turned to the laughing and joyous emperor that had forgone all forms of etiquette as he laughed in pure joy, "I can’t do such a thing to a good man."

Yes. A good man. I didn’t need to spend an entire lifetime around the man to know that his was a genuine soul.

This single interaction was enough.

For the mere fact that the man himself hadn’t already flown into a "You dare disrespect this emperor!" rage after we hadn’t bowed already showed signs of a proper human.

Sure, his earlier declaration of calling himself "my emperor" had signed a death contract for himself, but this reaction just now has successfully annulled that contract.

It was clear: the man hadn’t made that statement from a place of arrogance or pride, but from a place of authority, since he really didn’t know what he was looking at or who he was talking to.

After all, a prideful man wouldn’t have been laughing it up like a crazy person the way the man currently was.

I couldn’t say for the rest the of this Lin Imperial Family that had acted like their first emperor wasn’t betrayed. Maybe they didn’t know. Maybe they did and didn’t care. I didn’t know, but what I did know was that Lin Xuan was a good person, and that... was enough.

"Don’t make any moves," I ordered, and then—

"As you wish, Master." Shulvan finally stood down, no longer about to erase the man at my behest.

"Young hero, what is your name?" The man finally managed to pull himself together as he turned toward me, a smile on his face.

His mode of address had changed to ’young hero’.

"Looks like whatever he got from my words must have been massive."

I smiled thinly, "You can call Su Tian—"

"It’s Long Chen. His name is Long Chen." Nyssara cut in before I could continue, as realization dawned on me.

"Ahh.. yes.. Long Chen. That’s my name. Long Chen. Hahaha.."

"He totally forgot again, didn’t he?" Sana.

"""Yes."""

"Haa... Husband is helpless." Terra.

I could only scratch the back of my head in secondhand embarrassment, as no matter how thick a skin I had, this situation was definitely one to be embarrassed about.

And it didn’t help that these bastards, Malachi and the others, were snickering behind my back.

Did they think I couldn’t hear them?

"Fucking pricks. Watch how I get back at you bastards for this." I could only grit my teeth as I tried to shrug off the situation.

"Long Chen! A truly magnificent name for a young hero such as yourself." Luckily, the emperor hadn’t bothered to take the situation to heart as the man abandoned all decorum, approaching me and placing his arm around my shoulder.

"Say, Young Hero Long Chen, how about taking some time out to discuss the Dao with this emperor? I assure you, I’ll make your stay worth it if you do. Your words earlier were truly enlightening," the man asked, none of the haughtiness expected from an emperor being present in his voice.

"Ahhh... of course,.. You don’t mind if I call and addressed you by your first name, do you?"

"Of course not! What’s a title and status supposed to mean among friends!"

"Oh, we’re friends now? Why didn’t anyone tell me?"

"Ahahahahahahahahaha!!! Of course we’re friends! Anyone with such a deep insight into the Dao can only ever be my friend!"

"That’s such a convoluted outlook on things. What if one of your enemies has such insights too? Huh? What then? You’ll befriend the fucker trying to kill you?" I asked as the man’s head suddenly short-circuited.

"Ehh? Surely... not, right?" The man looked confused as he turned to the woman that had been silent by his side. "Su Yin, surely such a thing can’t happen, right?"

"Haaa... Big Brother Xuan, I already told you before, your upbeat personality will be your own undoing. What happened to the look we practiced earlier? You were supposed to be the dignified emperor." The woman sighed, a tired expression appearing on her beautiful face.

"Bahhh!!! What’s putting up an act in front of a friend like Young Hero Long Chen here?" The man dismissed her legitimate concerns completely.

"No. Man, for real, you should listen to her. You’ll get yourself killed if you keep being this careless with your life."

""""Like you have the nerve to even talk!!""""

"What did I do this time?"

Silence was all I received as I remained genuinely baffled at what got the ladies so upset.

I was just trying to advise this guy, but they got mad.

"Women and their worries—don’t bother about it, my friend. They’re confusing creatures."

"Yeah... you’re right about that one." I just had to agree with that one since I’d just experienced that level of confusion myself.

"Alright! Enough talk, let’s get going! We have a lot to talk about!" The man dragged me away without asking for my consent as we left the others behind, heading straight for the imperial castle.

And just like that, I’d become friends with the emperor of the land himself whilst leaving the other ’respectful’ candidates staring speechless at my back.

Now, as for what it was we were going to be discussing, fuck if I knew.

The man wanted to talk about the Dao, and that to me meant bullshit—and everyone knows that when it came to bullshitting, well, no one does that better than me as well.

...

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A/N: why does it feel like Dante is a fraudulent goods merchant about to scam an innocent bystander? Lol... anyways, as always,

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Thanks for reading...