After that, Ye Futian returned to the cottage in the Heavenly Mandate Academy. He went to a place for cultivation first. Xia Qingyuan was cultivating there.

Seeing Ye Futian come over, the pretty Xia Qingyuan Light of Life dispersed and vanished. The holy lotus shut, and her beautiful eyes shifted to look at Ye Futian.

“It has been a while since I spoke to you, Princess,” Ye Futian smiled and said to Xia Qingyuan.

Xia Qingyuan felt odd. She looked at Ye Futian and said, “The Divine Prefecture has only one princess.”

Ye Futian understood what she meant. He smiled and said, “In the past, I often bickered with you, Princess. Nowadays, I address you by your name more often, which is actually harder to get used to. Perhaps in my subconscious, I still regarded you as a princess.”

Xia Qingyuan’s brows raised slightly. She seemed displeased. She said coldly, “If you don’t have any business here, please stop interfering with my cultivation.”

“Yes, that’s the feeling I’m talking about,” said Ye Futian as he chuckled. Xia Qingyuan often spoke to him like this in the past. Cold and arrogant. He seemed to have got used to the dynamic between the two of them. Later, as things changed, he always felt that there was something wrong.

Of course, he knew what the reason was.

Xia Qingyuan glared at him. This guy did not just come to find her just so he could quarrel with her, right?

“Who would have thought that, even after so many years, having experienced with the vicissitudes of life and so many major changes, and with the princess having already proven her path and has become a Queen, I can still feel that you are that cold and beautiful princess,” said Ye Futian with a laugh. When she was in God’s Relic, Xia Qingyuan’s spiritual soul assimilated into the lotus that had the karma of the great path and was where the Great Lotus Emperor sat on when he reached enlightenment. As a result, Xia Qingyuan transformed thoroughly, and her cultivation speed also increased later.

Now, she may even be stronger than Emperor Xia.

“Are you complimenting me?” asked Xia Qingyuan.

Ye Futian walked beside her and said, “I guess so. Now that the Princess has proven her path, may I ask if you have already decided on a date to return to Emperor Xia’s Realm?”

Xia Qingyuan was stunned. Her body trembled gently for a bit, and the light in her eyes seemed to have dimmed. She appeared to be intentionally avoiding Ye Futian’s gaze as she looked at a loss.

When would she return to Emperor Xia’s Realm?

That’s right. Why was she still here?

Did she not already decide that she would leave once she reached the Renhuang stage? At the moment, she had already proven herself and reached this stage at the Heavenly Mandate Academy. She was already a queen. Why did she not return to Emperor Xia’s Realm to help her father? If she were to return, her strength would be enough to terrorize the surrounding realms.

So then, why had she not yet left?

“Emperor Xia’s loves and dotes on you. Many years have passed by since he last saw you. I am certain he misses Your Royal Highness very much. The Heavenly Mandate Academy has a teleportation matrix that connects to the Crimson Dragon Realm. You can return to Emperor Xia’s Realm after getting to the Crimson Dragon Realm. That would quicken your journey a lot. If your royal princess wants to return one day, do remember to give me a holler. I will personally send you off,” said Ye Futian with a gentle smile.

Xia Qingyuan looked at him, immobile as if wanting to see through him.

This time, Ye Futian was the one who intentionally avoided her gaze. It was as if he could not endure looking at that pair of sad-looking yet immensely beautiful eyes.

At the moment, Xia Qingyuan’s eyes were without light. It looked as if she had lost all the brilliance of becoming a Queen. It even seemed a little bit empty.

Yes. She should have left a long time ago. Why did she have to wait until he came to hurry her?

However, did he want to send her away at that time?

He would definitely not let Hua Jieyu go.

“I will leave in a few days,” said Xia Qingyuan. “I will cultivate in Emperor Xia’s Realm in the future.”

As a Queen in Emperor Xia’s Realm, her father would be able to rest. She could go sightseeing outside too. It seemed kind of nice.

“That sounds good too. Princess, you choose the time. Remember to let me know,” said Ye Futian. He then continued, “If there’s an opportunity in the future, I will go and visit yous in Emperor Xia’s Realm.”

“That is unnecessary. After I return to Emperor Xia’s Realm, I don’t ever want to see you again,” said Xia Qingyuan coldly. It was unclear if she meant it or not.

“Now, now, Princess, you should not be so narrow-minded,” Ye Futian said, laughing. Then, he said, “Alright then, I will not disturb your cultivation anymore.”

As he finished speaking, he got up and turned around to leave. The moment he turned around, the smile on his face vanished. After that, he sighed in his mind.

Some things were naturally known without it being said. However, he could not tell what was going to happen in the future. Sending Xia Qingyuan back to cultivate in Emperor Xia’s Realm was already considered a relatively perfect ending. He hoped that she would return as soon as possible.

He knew that his words today were hurtful. They were intentional. He hoped that Xia Qingyuan wouldn’t take it too personally.

Ye Futian left the place and headed to another. In this cottage, several disciples were present, including Older Brother Sword Saint, Second Sister Zhuge Mingyue, Third Brother Gu Dongliu. There were also Yu Sheng, Ye Wuchen, and a few others. They were gathered together, seemingly in the midst of discussing something.

Upon seeing Ye Futian arrive, Zhuge Mingyue glanced at him with a smile before asking, “Made a round?”

“Yeah.” Ye Futian nodded. “I just came back from Qingyuan’s place.”

“What did you say?” Zhuge Mingyue stared curiously at Ye Futian.

Ye Futian looked at his Second Sister’s faint smile and forced a smile before replying, “I asked her when she will return to Emperor Xia’s Realm to cultivate.”

“Why?” Zhuge Mingyue understood his intentions after hearing his reply. She knew that Ye Futian always wanted to plan and do things properly; however, everyone would choose, and it was not something that was up to him to plan.

“Yu Sheng!” Ye Futian suddenly shouted. Yu Sheng raised his head to look at him.

“If Mei Ting wants to bring you to cultivate, you should just go with him,” said Ye Futian, addressing Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng did not immediately answer after hearing his words. Instead, he looked thoughtful, as if he had not yet decided on it.

What would happen if he were to leave with Mei Ting?

He did not know.

At that moment, he did not have an answer. Even though he had a habit of listening to Ye Futian, he did not immediately agree to it this time.

At that time, Gu Dongliu, who was on the side, suddenly shouted, “Little brother!” Ye Futian looked at him. Then, Gu Dongliu continued, “Are you really able to ensure that there will be no loss?”

“It is probably not going to be a problem,” Ye Futian answered.

“What do you mean probably?” Gu Doingliu was clearly dissatisfied with Ye Futian’s answer. His brows furrowed together tightly. Ye Futian’s answer seemed to imply that he himself was not absolutely confident. This was not an answer that Gu Dongliu wanted. Otherwise, he did not want Ye Futian to risk himself; moreover, for a major event like this.

“There is no problem,” Ye Futian replied after noticing his Third Brother’s gaze. He thought in his mind, ‘It does not really matter when it is. Third Brother is still so ever-imposing. It is just like back then when we cultivated at the cottage. One glare from Third Brother and no one else would even dare to move.’

It looked like, even now, Third Brother still had a rather high status.

However, everything or everyone has its vanquisher, and Second Sister was the vanquisher of Third Brother.

“Right.” Finally, Gu Dongliu nodded satisfactorily. Since Ye Futian was so sure, he would also believe it.

Next, all that was left was to watch.

…

Days went by, and apart from setting aside time to settle some issues, Ye Futian had been cultivating.

The Heavenly Mandate Academy was extremely calm and quiet. However, something big was happening in the Outer Realms.

Multiple cultivators had gathered in the Heavenly Mandate City. No one knew just how many famous and great characters were present.

News of the battle between the three hyper strong factions had already been spread all across the Nine Realms. Ye Futian’s name was common knowledge. No soul under the heavens did not recognize his name.

However, an unbelievable genius, an unparalleled character of an era, who turned the tide of the Battle of the Original Realm all by himself, did not receive the treatment he deserved. On the contrary, he was faced with a major crisis. Half the top factions of the Original Realm sought trouble with him all at the same time.

It was condemned by countless people. The top factions of the Original Realm were most definitely doing this because they were afraid of Ye Futian’s talent after his earlier overwhelming display of strength.

All of them wished for the death of Ye Futian.

Now, inside this Heavenly Mandate City, the cultivators of each faction had arrived. They stared and glared at every move the Heavenly Mandate Academy made every day.

Ye Futian had no chance of escaping. The moment he showed any signs of intending to escape, those people would no longer maintain in hiding.

The entire Heavenly Mandate City was surrounded by an invisible storm. The storm and the rain was coming.

Once it was time, the top factions would suddenly appear, surrounding the Heavenly Mandate Academy before killing Ye Futian.

However, even as they were shrouded in a storm like this, the holy land of their ideals remained firmly standing as if it would never fall.

In addition to that, the holy land of their ideals remained peaceful and quiet within. There were no signs of anxiety or restlessness. No one attempted to leave or escape. Of course, there was no need to do so as well. The rules set by the princess demanded that the innocent would be protected.

Many people of the Heavenly Mandate Academy were still discussing the battle targeting the Divine Palace, about how many cultivators were involved and how Ye Futian survived by killing the high order Renhuang after releasing the will of the emperor. Moreover, it was with the help of Mei Ting.

However, what about this time?

The enemy’s camp was a lot scarier. Moreover, they were determined to kill Ye Futian so that they could prevent any future problems.

The other factions involved in this were also forced to join hands.

Could Ye Futian survive this time?

The day had finally come.

The Heavenly Mandate Academy was as quiet as ever. Outside the Heavenly Mandate Academy, a huge number of cultivators stood high in the air while many others were stationed on the ground. They all looked toward the Heavenly Mandate Academy. The holy land of the ideals for the Heavenly Mandate Realm was as quiet as ever. It was as if it was just another day.

However, today was the day the two sides would meet and fight.

With the Heavenly Mandate Academy at the center, rays of might were released before they were pushed inside the academy. These arrays of might came from all sides and permeated every location.

They kept staring at the academy. The moment Ye Futian stepped out of the Heavenly Mandate Academy, the cultivators of every faction would know immediately.

That was why, this time, Ye Futian had no escape!