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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
The Southern Light Imperial Capital was also an ancient city with a long-standing history in Southbarren State. It was said that it was immortalised after a horrifying event that happened in ancient times. Because of the invasion of the Otherworldly Sky Demons, Southern Light Imperial Capital was in a state of extreme nervousness, where soldiers could be seen patrolling everywhere, and experts wielding long swords were carefully looking around above the sky in case they needed to alert the people of any emergencies.
After returning to the Imperial Capital, Princess Xuan Dea and everyone else turned into divine rainbows before the princess led them straight to the palace. The current Southern Light Emperor was waiting for Gu Changge in the palace. Before the group had gotten here, Guardian Chen and the others had already informed the Emperor of what happened.
The Southern Light Emperor, in turn, grew extremely cautious as he put on his best behaviour. Gu Changge was no ordinary person. From the message sent by Princess Xuan Dea, the Emperor could tell that Gu Changge was a highly respected and noble person in the world where the Otherworldly Sky Demons were from.
“I wonder if he is friend or foe. I heard that he saved Chen Ah Qing’s life…” muttered the Southern Light Emperor under his breath as he paced around in his palace. He looked heroic and strong in his golden dragon robe and purple-gold crown.
Other than him, there were several Elders from Sword Cliff in the hall today, all of whom were in the Eighth Realm.
An expert well-known in the whole Southbarren State was also present. He was so powerful he could change the colours of the mountains and rivers with just a stomp of his feet.
They, too, came rushing over to Sword Cliff after they heard the news from Princess Xuan Dea so that they could meet the visitor from the Outer Territory. Sword Cliff attached great importance to this matter. Even the Snow Sword Immortal, who hurried back from the ancient altar, had a sudden change in her expression. She would have come here if it wasn’t because she had something else to attend to.
“If he shows any hint of hostility, I will immediately take him down,” an Elder from Sword Cliff hissed with a ruthless expression on his face.
The Southern Light Emperor also looked worried as he shrugged, “I hope he is not an enemy, or there will be unimaginable consequences. Guardian Chen said that the young man’s subordinate is at least in the Ninth Realm. Unless the Earth Sword Immortals make a move, no one will be able to stop him.” He couldn’t help but sigh again after he said that. There was no other way.
Even in the enormous Southern Light Empire, there were only a handful of people who had achieved the Ninth Realm. These were existences that even the Emperor himself had to treat with respect. However, he could only imagine how much stronger Gu Changge was if even his subordinate was in the Ninth Realm. It was unknown whether or not Southern Light Empire would be able to defend itself if such a character turned hostile to them.
“A Ninth Realm subordinate?” The faces of the Sword Cliff Elders abruptly fell as they sucked in a breath and peered at each other. They could feel a chill creep up their scalps. The Elder whose eyes were cold just now also turned pale. His lips quivered, and he didn’t dare to speak anymore.
There were nine realms, and each realm had the difference of heaven and earth. To put it bluntly, a being of the Ninth Realm, except for the Earth Sword Immortals, were practically invincible. If they wanted to kill an Eighth Realm expert, they only had to blow one breath to spook the cultivator out of their mind.
“He did save Chen Ah Qing after all. He’s probably not someone bad… We can only hope he doesn’t have other intentions,” the Elders sighed.
As soon as Ah Qing was mentioned, a Sword Cliff Elder couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh regretfully. “Chen Ah Qing’s father stepped into the Space Rift in the Outer Territory, but we haven’t heard from him since then. We don’t even know if he is dead or alive. Now that we have lost four Earth Sword Immortals, we have even slimmer hope to win this battle.”
After all, each Earth Sword Immortal was as strong as their Cliff Master. There were only a handful of Earth Sword Immortals even among superpowers like Sword Cliff. Losing just one of them was considered a huge loss.
Right then, the Southern Light Emperor’s expression suddenly became solemn. “By the way, what did the Cliff Master say about the ancient altar?” He knew a lot of secrets about the ancient altar. Supposedly, the future could be predicted through divination there. Not only could the changes of the Profound Sword World be predicted, but there were also even records of their ancient ancestors fighting against the Otherworldly Sky Demons during ancient times. However, the ancient altar was located at a mysterious location, and the joint efforts of several Earth Sword Immortals were needed to open it.
Many considered the ancient altar to be their last hope.
“Cliff Master only nodded and shook her head. She didn’t answer our question.” The Elders looked extremely regretful. They, too, didn’t know what the result would be.
At this exact moment, a commotion could be heard from outside the palace. Princess Xuan Dea was leading Gu Changge, Ah Qing and everyone else into the hall.
“Father!” Princess Xuan Dea bowed to the Southern Light Emperor. She was just about to introduce Gu Changge to them when the Southern Light Emperor waved and looked at Gu Changge. He then cupped his hands and respectfully greeted, “I, the Emperor of Southbarren Empire, greet you.”
His humility wasn’t at all like the Emperor of an empire. The rest of the Sword Cliff Elders were also sizing up Gu Changge with cautious eyes. No one dared to do anything that might overstep the line for fear of incurring Gu Changge’s displeasure.
In terms of appearance, he indeed didn’t look like a villain. On the contrary, he had an otherworldly aura to him. He was like a banished fairy who accidentally fell into the human world. Seeing him put them at ease. That was just how first impressions were.
“Please, there is no need to be over-courteous, Your Majesty. I don’t have any malicious intentions. You don’t have to be so cautious,” Gu Changge replied with a faint smile, his expression easy-going and gentle.
“I apologise for the embarrassing display. It is because of your overwhelming aura, Young Master Gu.” The Southern Light Emperor let out a long sigh of relief and forced a smile upon seeing Gu Changge’s attitude. He actually felt like he had the air sucked out of him when he stood in front of Gu Changge just now. He didn’t even realise that his back was already drenched in a cold sweat.
This had nothing to do with their cultivation. Instead, it was a gap that had naturally arisen due to the difference in their levels of existence. Just like an ant standing in front of a dragon, the Emperor couldn’t help but tremble at the sheer pressure.
Although Gu Changge looked mellow now, the Southern Light Emperor was still someone who had been overwatching the empire for thousands of years. He was good at judging people’s character. From what he observed of Gu Changge, he could tell that Gu Changge was merely being indifferent as he overlooked them like they were stones on the side of the road. He didn’t feel anything for them. That was why he knew very well that it was impossible for Gu Changge to put them on equal footing. With that said, the only thing they could do was control their temper and be as humble as possible.
Ignoring the change in the Emperor’s expression, Gu Changge turned to look at the Sword Cliff Elders standing beside them.
“And these are?” he asked. He was well aware that Southern Light Empire was not the true Master of Southbarren State. What he was looking for was the real Master of the Southbarren State, not the Emperor.
“We are the Elders of Sword Cliff. Greetings, Young Master Gu.” The Elders didn’t dare to become lax in the slightest, and they hurriedly cupped their hands.
“The Elders of Sword Cliff?” Gu Changge nodded as if he had been hit by realisation before he smiled. “I heard that the Cliff Master of Sword Cliff is the Most Graceful Damsel of Southbarren State, and she is also an Earth Sword Immortal. Will I be seeing her today? “
The Elders felt their hearts skip a beat when they heard Gu Changge specifically wanting to meet their Cliff Master. They could only bite the bullet and answered, “We’re afraid our Cliff Master is preoccupied with some other matters. She won’t be able to make it to Southern Light Empire today.”
“Oh, forget it then. I’m sure there is always a chance in the future.” Gu Changge let out a small, nonchalant smile.
However, the Southern Light Emperor didn’t completely trust Gu Changge. [What is his intention in meeting the Snow Sword Immortal? Even though he looks different from the rest of the Otherworldly Sky Demons, why would he come here from his own world for no reason?]
However, he didn’t dare to ask Gu Changge the reason for his visit for fear of upsetting him.
The Southern Light Emperor then glanced at Princess Xuan Dea, who was quietly standing aside before he cupped his hands together and sincerely thanked, “Thank you for saving Xuan Dea. You can tell me if you have any requests. We will do everything you want that is within our capability.”
In any case, it was an unchangeable fact that Gu Changge had saved Princess Xuan Dea’s life.
Princess Xuan Dea was an unbelievably beautiful woman with bright cherry lips, a straight nose, a slender figure, clear eyes, and long flowy hair. With her appearance that was second only to her Master, the Snow Sword Immortal, Princess Xuan Dea lived up to her reputation as the Second-Most Gracious Damsel in Southbarren State.
Hearing that, Gu Changge smiled and told them, “I didn’t do much. There is no need for any of this. In fact, you don’t have to treat me so carefully. All you have to know is that not every Force in the Upper Realm is interested in conquering others. There are a lot of Forces who value longevity and peace. You call us Otherworldly Sky Demons and we might seem horrifying to you, but in my world, they are but ordinary cultivators. You are complicating things and thinking the absolute worst.”
Everyone in the hall was stunned upon hearing what Gu Changge said. There was even a gleam in the Emperor’s eyes. Gu Changge seemed to be saying words of hope..
