Chapter 835: Exemption From Formalities

Xue Cheng also hurriedly knelt down upon seeing this, but much to Shi Chuankong's shock and horror, Han Li only extended a slight bow toward the Devilish Monarch instead.

The Devilish Monarch was extremely strict when it came to rules, and not kneeling in his presence was a severe offense.

In this moment, Shi Chuankong sorely regretted not further emphasizing the importance of this notion to Han Li.

Before he had a chance to do anything, an accusatory voice suddenly rang out from the side.

"Insolent scoundrel! How dare you not kneel in the presence of the Holy Emperor!"

As it turned out, there was a row of seats arranged on the left side of the palace, and two of them were already occupied.

Han Li was rather surprised to see this. Upon entering the palace, his attention had been entirely drawn to the Devilish Monarch, so he hadn't noticed the two seated figures at all.

There were a total of thirteen seats, all of which were golden in color, presenting a stark contrast with the red seats behind them.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

At this moment, the fifth and sixth seats were occupied. The figure on the fifth seat was an incredibly beautiful young woman wearing a purple palatial dress, while the one next to her was a short and rotund purple-robed young man. He was also the one who had called out in accusation to Han Li just now.

Seated behind each of them was a devilish being in a suit of blue armor, and they appeared to be personal guards, just like Xue Cheng.

Han Li paid no heed to the rotund young man, but a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes at the sight of the woman.

She was the same woman who had intervened during his conversation with Shi Zhanfeng ten years ago.

Unlike the indignant young man, she didn't look bothered in the slightest, and as their eyes met, she gave Han Li a faint smile.

Her smile only further elevated her already stunning beauty, and even Han Li was dazed for an instant as he gazed upon her, but he immediately snapped back to his senses before looking away.

"I am not from the Holy Realm, and I only came to Night Sun City as a personal guard of His Highness, the thirteenth prince. While it's true that I greatly admire Your Majesty, you are still only a senior in my eyes, so there's no need for me to kneel," Han Li said.

He didn't want to kneel, but he didn't want to offend the Devilish Monarch, either, as he had to count on the Devilish Monarch to save Weeping Soul.

The rotund young man was just about to flare up with rage again when the Devilish Monarch interjected, "Forget it, Mingzhen. There's no need to bicker over such an insignificant matter."

The rotund young man was very surprised to hear this, but he immediately replied, "Yes, Father."

He then gave Han Li a cold glare before sitting back down.

Shi Chuankong was also very surprised that the crisis had been averted so easily, while Shi Pokong's expression remained unchanged with the exception of a minute raising of his eyebrows.

"So you're Li Feiyu, is that right? Seeing as you're from our Holy Realm, I'll spare you from the formalities. Pokong, Chuankong, you two can get up as well," the Devilish Monarch said.

Shi Pokong, Shi Chuankong, and Xue Cheng rose to their feet upon hearing this, while Han LI extended another slight bow as a gesture of gratitude.

"Chuankong, you were away for quite some time. How did your trip to the True Immortal Realm go?" the Devilish Monarch asked as a faint smile appeared on his face.

"I witnessed many incredible things in the True Immortal Realm, and I've reaped many rewards too," Shi Chuankong hurriedly replied.

"I can see that your cultivation base has advanced quite a bit, so it does indeed appear that you've made a fruitful trip. Young cultivators like yourselves should all go out and experience some hardships. Only then will you be able to grow," the Devilish Monarch said.

Shi Chuankong was very much in agreement with this statement, and he gave an affirmative response.

"Father, while it's important to advance in one's cultivation base, our imperial clan is responsible for the lives of all of the people of our Holy Realm, so we can't just focus solely on our own cultivation. Recently, the Heavenly Court has been mobilizing more and more troops to areas near our Holy Realm, and it seems like they're about to make a big move.

“I implore you to look into this matter so that we can be prepared if the Heavenly Court decides to attack again," Shi Pokong said as he cupped his fist in a salute.

"Alright, I'll look into it," the Devilish Monarch replied in an indifferent manner.

Right at this moment, a servant rushed into the palace, then fell to his knees as he reported, "Your Majesty, the eldest prince, the eighth prince, and the tenth prince are waiting outside."

"Tell them to come in," the Devilish Monarch, then waved a hand toward Shi Pokong and the others.

Shi Pokong sat down onto the third of the thirteen seats, and Xue Cheng sat down behind him, while Shi Chuankong sat down on the final seat, with Han Li also sitting down behind him.

"Fellow Daoist Li, Father has a very strict and unyielding personality. I don't know why he decided to spare you from the formalities just now, but I can tell you that you're extremely fortunate. Make sure you do not do anything else that could be considered to be offensive from here onward. Otherwise, if Father decides to administer a punishment, no one will be able to save you," Shi Chuankong warned through voice transmission.

Han Li nodded silently in response.

He was aware that his refusal to kneel could've been construed as offensive, but he simply couldn't bring himself to kneel to someone else for no just reason.

Shi Chuankong's expression eased slightly upon seeing this, while Han Li took a glance at the woman and the rotund young man before asking through voice transmission, "Who're those two, Fellow Daoist Shi?"

"They are my fifth sister, Shi Jingyan, and my sixth brother, Shi Mingzhen," Shi Chuankong replied.

"Are they tied to the eldest prince?" Han Li asked.

"Jingyan has extremely lofty ambitions that's matched by her cultivation base, so she can stand toe to toe against Zhanfeng and Pokong. On top of that, she's amassed a great deal of power, and Mingzhen is a supporter of hers," Shi Chuankong informed.

Han Li was quite stunned to hear this, and he couldn't help but wonder what motive Shi Jingyan had for interfering with his conversation with Shi Zhanfeng ten years ago.

Right at this moment, Shi Zhanfeng's group entered the palace, then collectively knelt down and extended a respectful greeting.

"Go and take a seat," the Devilish Monarch said, and a faint smile had appeared on his face, indicating that he was quite pleased to see Shi Zhanfeng.

Shi Zhanfeng and the eighth and tenth princes duly obliged, taking their seats as well.

After they had sat down, Shi Zhanfeng took a glance at his surroundings, then gave nods of acknowledgement to Shi Pokong and Shi Jingyan before his gaze settled on Han Li.

Han Li paid no heed to him, and he merely looked away, completely unbothered.

More and more people continued to arrive, and all of them held lofty noble titles, overseeing certain matters in Night Sun City and in the rest of the Devil Realm.

Shi Chuankong introduced all of the new arrivals to Han Li as they arrived, giving Han Li a rough idea of all of the Devil Realm's important figures.

It didn't take long before almost all of the seats in the palace had been occupied.

However, only seven of the first row of thirteen seats had been occupied, with no more princes or princesses making an appearance.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, isn't this supposed to be an extremely important occasion? Where are the other princes and princesses?" Han Li asked through voice transmission.

"My seventh brother is currently stationed at Black Duck City to keep an eye on the Heavenly Court's movements, so he couldn't come. My twelfth brother is always out traveling, and even Father can't do anything about him. As for my second sister, fourth sister, ninth sister, and eleventh sister, they're cultivating under a Dao Ancestor of our Holy Realm, and I haven't seen them in many years, so they most likely won't be coming, either," Shi Chuankong explained.

"I see," Han Li replied.

A short while later, the Devilish Monarch tapped on the table in front of him as he said, "Seeing as everyone's here, let's begin. What important events have taken place in our Holy Realm during my seclusion?"

Shi Zhanfeng rose to his feet as he reported, "Father, during your seclusion, I visited the Ink River, Cold Trite, Frost Cloud, and Lone Star Regions, and here are my findings."

Shi Zhanfeng pulled out a jade book as he spoke, and a gray shadow flew out from behind the Devilish Monarch, appearing in front of Shi Zhanfeng in a flash to take the jade book before returning to the Devilish Monarch.

Only now did Han Li notice that an indistinct gray figure had been standing behind the Devilish Monarch this entire time.

His facial features were concealed behind a layer of black qi, and he had an insubstantial body that appeared more like that of a soul than a body of flesh and blood.

"That man's name is Shadow. He is Father's personal guard, and no one knows who he is or what he looks like, but he's extremely powerful," Shi Chuankong explained through voice transmission.

The Devilish Monarch quickly read through the jade book, then nodded as he praised, "Well done. You've done very well in eradicating the bandits in those four regions."

"It was the least that I could do to share some of your burden, Father. Now that you've come out of seclusion, I'd like to offer up a Spatial Origin Herb that I obtained by chance some years ago. I hope it'll be of help to you, Father."

Shi Zhanfeng flipped a hand over as he spoke to summon a white wooden box, then removed the lid to reveal a small plan that was only several inches tall.

The plant was silver in color, and it had nine leaves, all of which were different in color and riddled with silver patterns that were giving off formidable spatial power fluctuations.

Shadow accepted the wooden box in the Devilish Monarch's stead before setting it down in front of him.

The Devilish Monarch's eyes lit up slightly at the Spatial Origin Herb in the box, and he gave a pleased nod before stowing it away.

"A fine offering you've made, Zhanfeng. In return, I'll reward you with three Exquisite Azure Sky Pills, ten suits of Primordial Holy Armor, and ten Dragon Elephant Infernal Swords," the Devilish Monarch declared.

Shadow vanished from the spot in a flash, only to return just a moment later with a white jade platter, which carried three palm-sized crystalline boxes, each of which contained an azure pill, ten suits of white armor, and ten golden longswords.

A faint medicinal fragrance was emanating from the three pills, and the thirty-six profound acupoints that Han Li had opened up thus far all began to stir as he caught a whiff of this aroma.