Chapter 1358: Picking Bamboo Sticks

It wasn’t only the Second Empress who was paying attention to their exchange. Yun Jianyue also spoke up. “Damn kid, didn’t you say that you and that Elf Princess were both innocent and pure?”

Yan Xuehen and Yu Yanluo both looked at Zu An when they heard that.

“We are innocent!” Zu An exclaimed somewhat guiltily. He added inwardly, Snow and I are each other’s sunshine. No matter what we do, of course we’re innocent.

“Like hell I’ll believe that.” Yun Jianyue sneered. Yan Xuehen was emotionless, while Yu Yanluo seemed to be pondering something.

When he saw the bursts of Rage points he received, Zu An felt as if he would get a headache. It really is easy for things to screw up when you have too many women…

Just then, the Peacock Wise King seemed to want to talk to Qiao Xueying. She thus looked away, worried that she could expose Zu An’s identity.

Zu An took the chance to change the topic, asking, “Is that middle-aged man in front of Shi Min and the others the Lion King?”

Shi Min and the other princes were standing respectfully behind a middle-aged man. THe had golden hair, with a thick mane-like beard around his face. He was even tougher-looking than Shi Min and the others. Zu An’s group could feel the mysterious pressure coming from his body even from far away.

Yu Yanluo replied, “That’s right. He’s the Lion Race’s leader, Shi Zhentian. His cultivation is deep and profound.”

“Shi Zhentian?” Zu An had a strange expression as he thought, Why didn’t you name yourself Optimus Prime?[1]

Yun Jianyue instead said with a sneer, “He can only be a grandmaster at most. What do you mean, deep and profound?”

Yu Yanluo was speechless. Yun Jianyue was a grandmaster herself, so she really didn’t know how to retort when faced with that remark.

Zu An noticed another large, tall man not too far away in the horizon. His back was extremely wide and his muscles were well-developed. He wore a short-sleeved shirt that fully exposed his shredded biceps. There were all sorts of fierce tattoos covering his body, making him look just like the boss of a criminal organization.

When he saw the usually wild and unruly Hu Yong and others standing properly behind the man like little kittens, Zu An mused thoughtfully, “That’s probably Hu Qianxiao, right?”

He remembered the rumors that had surrounded Tushan Yu. Zu An thought to himself, If this guy learned that I took Tushan Yu before him, would he become so angry he’d join hands with the Lion race?

Now that they were on the topic, for some reason, Tushan Yu still hadn’t arrived in the Fiend King Court. He wondered if something had happened to her, or if she had been held up by something.

While he was feeling worried, he noticed that Princess Suolun was also behind a middle-aged individual, looking cute and helpless. That was probably her senior in the Devil race.

She and Shang Liuyu both had higher positions than both Hu Zhentian and Hu Qianxiao. It was easy to see that among the fiend races, the Ocean races and Demon race were extremely powerful. Only if Shi Zhentian and Hu Qianxiao finally decided who was the king of beasts would they have a chance of being at the same level as those two.

Just then, Heichi Fei began the official ceremony. Zu An was completely surprised by all of the novel and different things that followed. There are quite a few differences between the fiend races and the humans after all.

Then, the Fiend Emperor spoke. He thanked all of the different races for making such a difficult trip from far away. Zu An sneered, thinking, Didn’t you summon everyone from the various races to test their loyalty? Who would even dare to not come?

However, he was indeed a bit surprised. For one thing, the Ocean races’ Dragon King and Demon race’s Demon King hadn’t come, and had only sent their representatives. It was easy to see that their clans were powerful enough to not fear the Fiend Emperor.

Apart from that, even though groups like the Lion race and Tiger race’s clan leaders had come, the leaders of their younger generation, like the Western Lion and Northern Tiger, hadn’t. It was clear that they were worried that something bad could happen in the Fiend King Court, so they had kept the most capable successors in their clan to avoid being completely wiped out.

Then, the Fiend Emperor talked about the selection of the Golden Crow Crown Prince as the successor. Once the clans’ delegates were set, they would then hold a huge celebration. He thus hoped that everyone present could continue supporting the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

The Golden Crow Crown Prince looked around the area complacently, receiving the congratulations and worship of the various clans.

Meanwhile, under the elevated platform, the Second Imperial Prince was furious. He looked down at the ground; his true thoughts were impossible to identify behind his darkened expression.

The Third, Fourth and Little Imperial Princes had normal expressions, however. Perhaps because of their age or ability, they didn’t have the qualifications to fight over the imperial throne.

“They make it sound all nice, but isn’t it just to force the clans to express their loyalty to the new emperor?” Yun Jianyue snorted disdainfully. “The reputation of that birdman, the Golden Crow Crown Prince, has been covered in grime as of late, and yet it actually didn’t affect his decision in the slightest?”

Yu Yanluo said, “Judging from the conversations I’ve had with the other races recently, the Fiend Emperor must have really cherished the deceased First Empress. He naturally loves the Golden Crow Crown Prince she gave birth to as a result.”

Yun Jianyue was a bit surprised as she replied, “I didn’t expect this Fiend Emperor to actually be the sentimental sort. Compared to a certain someone, he’s already much more refined than a certain someone we know.” She gave Zu An a sidelong glance as she spoke.

Zu An broke out into a cold sweat and replied, “That affectionate side of him is just a rumor! The First Empress already died, but didn’t he still take in all those concubines? There was even someone outstanding like theSecond Empress.”

Yun Jianyue harrumphed. “Hmph, men are all garbage, as expected.”

Zu An was speechless. He thought, This woman has never even experienced love before. Which man in this world would dare to turn her down? And yet, she’s saying something so cynical.

Yan Xuehen said “Actually, the Golden Crow Crown Prince is already a giant among men. To have his level of cultivation and fighting prowess at his age is quite extraordinary. It is just that he was unlucky, losing to Ah Zu twice.”

Zu An remarked in embarrassment, “Ah… I wasn’t expecting big sis Yan to actually praise me.”

“Who is praising you? The only reason why you were able to win against him was just because you just happened to have methods that countered his. Against other experts, your strength might not be greater than the Golden Crow Crown Prince’s.” Yan Xuehen harrumphed. Her face reddened and she turned around, no longer paying him any more attention.

Off to the side, Yun Jianyue had a strange expression. She just felt that the stone cold woman had become a bit different recently, and yet she didn’t know exactly how.

Sensing that the mood was becoming filled with suspicion, Zu An was alarmed. He was worried that if things were exposed, Yan Xuehen would take it out on him, so he quickly changed the topic and said, “The Fiend Emperor is passing on the imperial throne to the crown prince so quickly. Could it be that he’s already on the verge of death?”

Even though the Fiend Emperor looked as if he were going senile, it didn’t seem likely that he would die in the next few days, right?

Sure enough, that drew Yun Jianyue’s attention. She explained, “I don’t think so. Once he abdicates, he should be able to focus on resting. He might even be able to extend his life.”

Zu An was a bit puzzled. He asked, “But didn’t they say that once the succession ceremony concluded, all of his cultivation would be passed onto the new Fiend Emperor? Would he still be able to live then? Even if he kept his life, whether or not the new Fiend Emperor would allow him to live would be a different story.”

The fiend races cared about strength the most; they didn't care too much about things such as loyalty or filial piety. Killing their fathers to gain the throne was a common occurrence among the various races. There were many who even took their fathers’ wives into their own chambers. That was something the fiend races were long already accustomed to.

“That I don’t know,” Yun Jianyue said, frowning slightly. “The Fiend Emperor’s succession is just a rumor. No one has ever witnessed it themselves. I don’t know what really happens during that process.”

Just then, the Fiend Emperor began to make offerings to his ancestors and the heavens. After completing all the required rituals, he left with the Second Empress. Then, the rest of the ceremony was carried out by the crown prince and Heichi Fei.

Soon afterward, the battle over delegate seats that those present cared about the most would start. All those who were interested in seizing a spot prayed that they would get a good bracket. After all, all kinds of things that had happened over the years. There had been some powerful races’ candidates, who, because they encountered someone even stronger, were eliminated early. In contrast, some weaker races’ candidates had only gotten weak opponents, so they had gotten the chance to successfully claim a spot.

Zu An walked up with Yu Yanluo to draw the lots. When they arrived on the stage, Heichi Fei looked as if he were welcoming them, but in fact, he asked them softly, “Has the Medusa Queen seen my humble clan’s Heichi Gu?”

Yu Yanluo nodded. She replied in a normal tone, “I’ve had the chance to meet him. We shared a rock betting experience a few days ago in the Jade Garden.”

“I see. Then after you left the Jade Garden, did you meet again?” Heichi Fei asked, looking at her calmly.

Just who was Yu Yanluo? She naturally didn’t reveal any openings. She replied, “I didn’t. What’s wrong? Why is the Grand Secretary suddenly asking something like this?”

“It’s nothing. You can draw the ballots now,” Heichi Fei said indifferently.

Yu Yanluo gestured for Zu An to walk forward. Zu An said with a chuckle, “My luck has always been pretty good. I’m sure I’ll be able to pull good ones.”

Then, he randomly pulled out three bamboo sticks. However, when those nearby saw the sticks, they gave him sympathetic looks as they began commenting.

“They ran into the Lion race’s people so early. Looks like the Snake race is doomed to only have a single delegate again.”

“That guy still says he has good luck. His luck is clearly horrible.”

…

Heichi Fei had an ambiguous smile when he heard the others’ discussions.

Only Zu An sneered. These idiots. They have no idea that the Lion race’s princes are the absolute best sticks to grab for me.

1. ’Shi Zhentian’ is very similar to the Chinese name for Megatron. ☜