There was a hint of cheekiness to Ye Rou’s smile that made Ye Chen smiled rather uneasily. The girl must have thought that he was a fool. Ye Chen was sitting up there all by himself and seemed a little out of place compared to all the commotion that was going on down there.
Ye Chen suddenly felt a noticeable presence as he tensed up. It was a Psyche! Someone from somewhere was keeping an eye on him. Ye Chen immediately sent out his Astral Body. A knight clad in gold armor appeared in the air and flew ahead to scan the area. Very quickly, it locked on to a middle-aged man dressed in gray rag-like clothing who stood at the square. He was at least thirty-seven or eight years old with a full-grown beard and a rather tall, bulky build.
The man gave off a unique vibe. He had a Psyche much stronger than the sanguine wolf that Ye Chen had encountered previously but certainly much weaker than Ye Chen’s Astral Body.
“Maybe he’s not human?” Ye Chen was frustrated. He had heard of Beasts who could shapeshift. With that in mind, he sent his Astral Body to corner the man.
The man’s Psyche felt a powerful presence coming at him. He looked up ahead and caught a knight in golden armor staring at him. Immediately, the man’s face turned pale. He got on one knee and kneeled in Ye Chen’s direction.
“Forgive me, Daemon King. I mean no harm,” the man stammered. He could barely even finish his sentence.
“Who are you? Where do you come from?” Ye Chen responded via his Astral Body. The man was extremely fearful toward the Astral Body, another being who thought Ye Chen was the Daemon King. Maybe he was working with the sanguine wolf.
“I’m a pangolin, recently arrived at the Earth-rank Adept Stage, an emissary from Leo King’s Palace,” the man replied, clearly intimidated.
“The Earth-rank Adept Stage? An emissary officer from Leo King’s Palace?” Ye Chen raised his brows. These beasts thought that he was a Daemon King. After a little thought, he realized there were advantages of being a “Daemon King” and decided to assume the guise. Now that he was playing the role, there were certain questions he could not ask like what an Earth-rank Adept Stage was or who Leo King was.
“We were curious why you would integrate yourself into the human society and so, Leo King was hoping to invite you to our palace to present his offerings. We were wondering if you’d like to take up the offer?”
“What’s Leo King’s rank?”
“Leo King is a Daemon King.”
So, it was a Daemon King. Then perhaps there was nothing to be afraid of. Ye Chen doubted Leo King’s Palace would take offense so easily. “Send my message to the king that while I appreciate his kind gestures, I’m unable to come to your palace as I have some matters to attend to.”
“Understood, Your Majesty. Leo King has tasked me with sending some gifts over as a symbol of respect. Anytime you wish to visit Leo King’s Palace, the king is always ready to welcome you.” The man wiped the sweat on his forehead. He found this Daemon King rather pleasant to speak to. In the world of Celestial Beast, Daemon Kings were often unreasonable and short-tempered individuals who could order his death at any given time. Leo King would not turn his back against a Daemon King in the event of his death.
Hmm, what was the gift that man spoke of? Ye Chen was curious. Leo King must probably be thinking of forming an alliance with him. Since the emissary had already brought the gift to him, Ye Chen had to accept it. Rejecting the gift at this point would only upset them.
“You stay there. I’ll have my men to show you to the grand hall.” Ye Chen was composed. If he was going to play the part, he had to demonstrate a little power.
The emissary was delighted to hear Ye Chen’s words. The fact that Ye Chen was willing to accept gifts from Leo King’s Palace meant that he was receptive to them. With the gift well-received, the emissary would have an easier time reporting to his king too. After all, even if Leo King were to personally show up to invite Ye Chen to the palace, he doubted Ye Chen would agree to it!
The crowd from the Donglin County looked at the man suspiciously. They were wondering if he was a lunatic. Why was the man kneeling out of the blues in a sea of people and why was his face pale white? The man spoke in tongues that were difficult to comprehend as he sweated profusely. There was nothing before him. Maybe he was a random person who was possessed?
The man finally stood up, not paying attention to the people who were looking at him. He remained at where he was and soon, a group of Ye Clan members walked over and to inspect him.
“You, you’re the guy. Come with me,” Ye Ping waved his hand and spoke in a certain manner. This must be the bearded man as described by Ye Chen. The man did not say much and walked toward the grand hall.
“I am. Thank you for coming.” The man bowed. He dared not cause a scene in the Daemon King’s place and quietly followed the men.
Why was the lunatic being escorted by a bunch of Ye Clan members? What was going on? The crowd looked on. They were fascinated by what had happened.
Ye Chen recalled his Astral Body and thought about things. Where did the Leo King’s Palace come from? He turned to look at Little Tanuki who was on his shoulder. The fact that the pangolin could easily shapeshift implied that his powers were on par with Little Tanuki. He wondered when Little Tanuki would learn to shapeshift or speak. Ye Chen could not help but imagine if Little Tanuki would turn into a hot chick if it could ever shapeshift. Of course, that was just his imagination.
Ye Chen thought about the powers one needed to have to be considered a Daemon King. Maybe they needed to Astral Externalize to be considered one. His personal knight that was born from Astral Externalization was nothing more but a mere specter who lacked any combat abilities. Ye Chen thought it was best for him to minimize his use of his Astral Body. It would be a huge problem if his secrets were discovered. Would he able to materialize his knight into a physical being if he kept at his training with Nine Astra Skies?
Ye Chen did not have the faintest idea of Little Tanuki’s enemies but as long as he continued to assume the guise of a Daemon King, he doubted anyone would dare lay hands on it!
Ye Chen had not the slightest clue about the gift that the pangolin had brought from the Leo King’s Palace.
The crowd in the hall continued to exchange greetings, all unaware of the psychic link that Ye Chen and the pangolin shared.
Just then, a group of Ye Clan members came bursting into the hall.
“Elder Chief, a group of ten men had just barged in. Neither of us could stop them!” The men hastily reported, “Some of them were rank nine combatants.”
The elder chiefs and lords looked were shocked. Who would dare cause a ruckus on the Ye Clan’s big day? The Ye Clan was a stronghold that should not be meddled with. Did they have a death wish or something? The hall was filled with elder chiefs and lords. One word from Ye Zhantian and they would strike together. Even if it were a group of ten rank nine combatants, they could think twice about escaping alive.
Ye Zhantian’s expression changed. He looked up ahead, a group of ten strangers was dashing for the grand hall. “Who dares storm my castle ground!?” Ye Zhantian thundered.
“The Donglin County belongs to me. I come and go as I please. You’ve got nerves, Ye Zhantian, you and your clan. Do you mean to defy the king?”
The king? Could the Second-Rank Prince have arrived?