Chapter 210 - 152: Reaching the Summit
Chapter 210: Chapter 152: Reaching the Summit
"Like we needed you to point that out. Everyone can see it. That Prince Qin of the Northern Barbarians may have some talent and strength, but he’s clearly a long way from being able to reach the summit."
...
For a moment, another wave of discussion erupted.
Even Lu Yuan hadn’t expected that he and Xiao Hua descending the mountain together would spark so much discussion.
The Dayong Crown Prince’s lips curled into a smirk, and he stopped paying attention to Lu Yuan.
Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on the mountain.
Xiao Gu sighed. He hadn’t dared to harbor any extravagant hopes that the Northern Barbarians could produce such a person, but seeing Lu Yuan and Xiao Hua—their best hope—come down from the mountain, he lost all hope.
After all, not only did they come down together, but they did so far too quickly.
Couldn’t they see the golden light at the summit was still shining?
In truth, what he didn’t know was that this golden light could help someone with a Perfection physique reach the Divine Containment realm. However, Lu Yuan had already reached that stage and was only a hair’s breadth away from Divinity Fusion.
Bathed in the Divine Light, he had quickly broken through his limits.
That was why he had come down so early.
As a result, no one even considered the possibility that he had reached the summit.
As soon as they landed, Xiao Gu hurried forward. "How did it go? How many steps did you reach?"
Before Lu Yuan could speak, Xiao Hua quickly interjected, "Eight thousand steps. That was my limit."
She wasn’t exactly lying, either. Her true limit really was eight thousand steps.
Without Lu Yuan leading the way, she never would have made it to the nine-thousandth step.
She would have fallen long ago.
"Phew!" Xiao Gu breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he said with a smile, "Eight thousand is excellent. To reach that stage means you have a chance at becoming an Earth Immortal in the future. As long as you two are here, you can ensure the Northern Barbarians will endure for several more millennia."
He didn’t press Lu Yuan for details. Since they had descended together, he assumed they both stopped at eight thousand steps. Asking again would just be redundant.
"It seems the Northern Barbarians have no shortage of outstanding young people. So many still haven’t come down," Lu Yuan remarked, glancing around.
Currently, only a few dozen young disciples stood upon the Golden Wheel. Their faces were etched with dejection, clearly having been forced off the mountain earlier.
Now, hearing that Lu Yuan and his companion had reached over eight thousand steps, their faces filled with envy.
"Mm, not bad. Even the lowest of them reached the five-thousandth step. We should be able to cultivate a new batch of experts from this group, who will be perfectly suited to assist you two in the future," Xiao Gu said cheerfully.
Lu Yuan nodded and glanced in the direction of the Cyan Emperor. "Should we go and see this Cyan Emperor now?"
After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Gu said, "That’s a good idea. It’s an opportunity, and it’ll save us the trouble of a trip to the Eastern Barbarians later."
Thus, after giving instructions to the others on the Golden Wheel, he accompanied Lu Yuan toward the Eastern Barbarians’ delegation.
They flew through the air at a considerable speed, but as they approached the giant cyan bird, they were stopped.
Xiao Gu looked at the Guard protecting the Cyan Emperor and said, "I am Xiao Gu, Grand Minister of Rites of the Northern Barbarians. This is our Prince Qin. We wish to have an audience with the Cyan Emperor."
"Wait a moment."
The Guard replied and entered the palace on the cyan bird’s back.
He came out a moment later. "His Majesty will see you now."
Lu Yuan and Xiao Gu nodded, stepped onto the bird’s back, and entered the palace.
The furnishings inside were quite luxurious.
The Cyan Emperor sat on the main seat at the head of the room. Below him, a single chair had been placed.
"Greetings, Cyan Emperor," Lu Yuan and Xiao Gu said politely.
The Cyan Emperor waved his hand dismissively, giving them a sideways glance. "Grand Minister of Rites, please be seated."
He hadn’t left a seat for Lu Yuan at all.
Xiao Gu remained standing and said in a firm voice, "Cyan Emperor, what is the meaning of this?"
"You are the Grand Minister of Rites of the Northern Barbarians. In Our presence, you naturally deserve a seat. But this junior... his cultivation is merely at the Gathering Pill realm. In Dayong, he was nothing more than a common Border Army General who rose through his relationship with your Crown Princess. To expect a seat in Our presence... that is asking a bit much," the Cyan Emperor stated bluntly, making no effort to conceal his disdain.
Among the various emperors, the Cyan Emperor was said to be the most arrogant.
Moreover, it is a timeless truth that weak nations have no say in diplomacy. While the Eastern Barbarians weren’t developing as rapidly as Dayong, they were still significantly more powerful than the Northern Barbarians.
He naturally understood the reason for Lu Yuan and Xiao Gu’s visit.
But the Cyan Emperor had no intention of allying with the Northern Barbarians, because in his eyes, there was nothing to be gained from it.
Dayong was powerful while the Northern Barbarians were chronically weak. This was obvious.
Offending Dayong for the sake of the Northern Barbarians seemed unwise to him.
The Eastern Barbarians just needed to protect their own little patch of land.
Besides, this region of the Eastern Wilderness was more than enough to be self-sufficient.
He had no desire to get involved in other matters.
His only real concern at the moment was finding out who had reached the summit and whether that person truly had the power to conquer the world.
The Cyan Emperor was currently torn. On one hand, if someone could reunite the world, he might have a chance to ascend to a higher realm.
On the other hand, he worried that as the Emperor of the Eastern Barbarians, he would be killed long before he had the chance to ascend.
After all, no new dynasty would allow the royal family of the dynasty it overthrew to continue existing.
Therefore, for any Imperial Dynasty, recruiting the one who reached the summit was the best, and indeed the only, logical choice.
In fact, this was precisely why Lu Yuan wanted to keep his achievement a secret. Everyone had their own agenda.
This was especially true for these emperors, who, caught in a state of paranoia about personal gains and losses, would very likely move against him.
"You...!" Xiao Gu’s face flushed with anger upon hearing the Cyan Emperor’s reply.
Lu Yuan, however, remained calm. "Cyan Emperor, between nations, there are no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, and certainly no Imperial Dynasty that can remain strong forever. We will meet again some other day.
At that time, I hope I will have earned the opportunity to take a seat in Your Majesty’s presence."
"Heh, one can hope," the Cyan Emperor said, waving a dismissive hand.
Lu Yuan turned to the Grand Minister of Rites. "Let’s go."
As they stepped out of the palace, Xiao Gu began to speak.
"We..."
Lu Yuan turned and said reassuringly, "Weak nations have no say in diplomacy. The Northern Barbarians are weak right now, so naturally, no one will take us seriously. The Cyan Emperor likely knew our purpose, which is why he deliberately made things difficult for us.
Don’t worry about it. In two years, the outcome will be clear."
Xiao Gu nodded and accompanied Lu Yuan back to their own contingent.
However, just as the two of them came to a stop, a system notification sounded in Lu Yuan’s mind.
A Cultivation Technique was about to break through.