Chapter 462: The Tournament of Talents [2]
*Clank!*
The throne room's doors opened, disturbing the once silent room.
A man dressed in official clothing walked inside with hurried steps. His steps came to a halt as he knelt on the floor before someone.
"Your Majesty, you called?" Unlike his urgent movements, the voice of the man hinted at an unusual calmness.
"Is everything progressing perfectly?" Sitting on top of his majestic throne, Wuhan slowly opened his eyes and looked down on the prime minister with his blue eyes.
"Everything is progressing perfectly. We have arranged pallets, herbs, and even some of the alchemy recipes for the winners. But…" Shi Tzu's elation came to a pause as he appeared a bit hesitant.
"Hmm?" Wuhan narrowed his eyes seeing his hesitation and told him to reveal everything.
"Your Majesty, it appears that the people from the major sects don't plan to let our plans proceed smoothly." There was a hint of disgust in Shi Tzu's voice as he said, "Our spies and hidden guards informed me that they plan to intervene in today's event."
"Is that so?" Much to Shi Tzu's surprise, Wuhan appeared nonchalant about the news.
As if seeing the confusion in Shi Tzu's eyes, Wuhan said, "There is no need to be surprised. We are targeting their future which is similar to an attack on the sects. Even though they fear me, there are some foolish people in those sects who still believe that they can challenge my authority."
"As expected of Your Majesty, you have even deduced this." The prime minister started praising the emperor as if he were worshipping a god.
He only stopped after Wuhan waved his hand, "Go and keep an eye on those people. Even though they want to make a problem, make sure they follow the rules of the event. If anyone dares to make a scene, tell the referee to deal with them."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Even though he was a bit confused, Shi Tzu bowed respectfully and rushed out of the room to follow his orders.
Seeing the man leave, Wuhan slumped in his chair and placed his hands over his eyes to cover them. 'It looks like what Noah said was true; they have been accustomed to my peaceful methods that they don't fear me anymore.'
"Guess I will have to become a proper emperor for the sake of the people I care about and this empire!" Soon Wuhan removed his hands and his eyes shone with a profound resolve as he stood up from his seat.
*Boom!*
"Gather everyone! For the first time in hundreds of years, the royal area is open for the people of the Feng Empire!" As the sun started to lower, the time for sunset arrived.
With a huge explosive cracker in the sky, the event started at full throttle. Everyone rushed to the royal arena!
The Royal Area was one of the top three attractions of the Royal City. It had been there since the dawn of the Feng Empire.
It was a lavish arena located on the periphery of the Royal Estate. It was a grand area that was usually used by the soldiers and nobles of the Empire for different reasons.
People rushed through the gates of the Royal Estate under the guidance of the royal guards.
Under the heavy presence of the powerful guards, no one dared to make a fuss. They did not even rush to reach the arena.
Among these people was a group of three. Their appearance, unlike that of others, stood out in the middle of the crowd.
Yet no one, including the guards, looked in their direction as if they were not even aware of their presence.
"This place is really lively," Elysia commented with a small smile on her face as she looked around while holding onto Noah's arm.
Xin Yan was much more conservative and was only holding Noah's hand, but there was also a small smile on her face.
Even before entering the area, they could see the colossal walls of the arena with six pillars standing on the wall at equal distances.
The arena was just as grand on the inside as it was on the outside. Rows and rows of seats for the spectators could be seen one behind the other.
In the middle of the area was a wide stone platform. The size of the square platform itself would have been around a mile.
The people walked in the direction of their stairs to take their position on those seats around the arena, but Noah's group did not follow behind them.
They changed their direction and walked around the arena where they found very few people along the path.
The path they were walking led to private rooms that only the valued people from the empire could get access to.
"Have you all registered for the alchemy tournament?" As Noah and the girls were walking along the path chatting with each other, a sharp commanding voice caught their attention.
At first, they ignored the group, but soon something they said made it impossible for them to ignore.
"No master, the emperor is quite a schemer. He set a limit on the age and cultivation of the participants in the tournament. People with specific talents and ages can only participate in a particular grade of the tournament!" The woman sounded pretty annoyed and started cursing Wuhan on the spot.
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"Shh! Where do you think you are?" The woman she addressed as her master hurriedly placed a qi barrier around them while hurriedly looking around, hoping no one heard them.
But fortunately, they were too late. Even though she could not see them, a group of three just a couple of feet away from them was looking at them sharply.
Noah frowned and used his power to spy on their conversation, as did the other two.
Even though he did not have the habit of snooping around in people's conversations, when it was about the honor of his friends, he did not take any chances.
And he could tell that this group of five women did not come here with any good intentions.