Volume Three: Rising Fame Chapter Thirty-Three: First Discussion of Demons and Monsters

The imperial capital was divided into an inner city and an outer city. The inner city was the ancestral land of the royal house of Great Bright, and at its very center lay a palace complex stretching for several miles.

This palace district could be called a city within a city, the true heart of the Great Bright Dynasty’s power.

“How is it?” In the great hall, a middle-aged man sat upright upon a lofty throne. Only after he had finished reviewing the memorials in his hands did he raise his head to look at the man prostrate on the floor.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble servant has examined Li Yu. His spiritual power surges like a tide, and he appears to be at the peak of the sixth rank. Moreover, he is indeed of lightning affinity.” Eunuch Zheng kept his eyes fixed on the floor, not daring to lift them even slightly.

Of all known affinities in the world, only the thunderblood line was capable of wielding lightning.

“Now that is interesting.” Ying Tianhe set down the memorial in his hand. After a rare long silence, he finally spoke slowly. “The Clear clan, the Bear clan, the Sun clan of the Long Reach, the Strange Moor clan...”

The clans he named were all established within the inner city of the imperial capital.

After pondering for a long while, Ying Tianhe let out an almost soundless sigh. “Foreign troubles and domestic strife...”

The lightning bloodline was posted in announcements throughout every city and town under Great Bright, and the imperial house was behind all of it. Yet after the Clear clan truly found a lightning-blooded person, they not only refused to turn him over to the royal house, but even publicized Li Yu’s existence in Green Mountain Prefecture, using it to strengthen the hearts of the people there... or rather, to consolidate the Clear clan’s own rule.

Even the people the Great Bright royal house sent over never so much as saw the lightning-blooded youth’s face, and instead met with nothing but soft refusals and veiled obstruction within the Clear clan.

Ying Tianhe no longer wished to dwell on it. “You may withdraw.”

“Your Majesty, Li Yu has suffered severe injuries. This old servant had said I would send him a precious medicine!” said Eunuch Zheng.

How could Ying Tianhe not understand the meaning beneath those words? He waved a hand. “No need for that. One must still possess a measure of generosity. Otherwise, how could one rule the realm?”

After Eunuch Zheng withdrew from the great hall, Ying Tianhe’s soft voice, as faint as a mosquito’s hum, rose in the empty chamber as though in conversation with someone. Not long after, the surging spiritual power from a side door gradually receded.

Then footsteps faded away.

Only then did Ying Tianhe stretch his somewhat numb body and resume processing the memorials.

...

...

On the other side, Li Yu was gathered together with Qing Yangde, Xiong Feng, and Xiong Xiuer.

Li Yu asked curiously, “There are changes to the Hundred Clans Assembly this time too?”

Qing Yangde nodded.

Just a moment ago, an eunuch had come and handed him the detailed activity text for this Hundred Clans Assembly. Unlike previous years, this one had quite a few additions.

Or rather, some things had been simplified.

What was the Hundred Clans Assembly about? Was it not simply a contest of strength? Personal capability combined with the power of one’s group, measuring the size of one’s mouth by the size of one’s fist.

As large a mouth as one has, one eats as large a cake.

“In the past, the military contest even required testing military strategy and such; it emphasized coordinated combat ability,” Qing Yangde said, batting away with his chopsticks the chopsticks Xiong Feng had secretly poked toward him. “This time, the military contest’s opponents are... demons. The score is based on how many targets you eliminate.”

“It still counts as evaluating coordination, I suppose, but I didn’t expect them not to consider response to group combat this time,” Xiong Feng said, shaking his head while his hand quietly reached for the last pork knuckle.

But Xiong Xiuer intercepted it halfway. With reluctance in his eyes, he watched as she placed it into her bowl.

“What exactly are demons?” Li Yu asked curiously. “I keep hearing the term, but I’ve never actually seen one.”

“That’s normal if you haven’t,” Qing Yangde said. “Demons can only be seen at the front lines, and books are not allowed to record detailed information about them.”

So that was it.

He had long wondered why he had never seen a detailed description of demons—only shallow, fragmentary accounts, and more often than not, they were mentioned merely as demons and nothing more.

“How terrifying must they be to require such strict precautions?” Li Yu said, quick as lightning, as he夹ed the last rib into his bowl.

Xiong Feng, who had failed to抢 it, immediately beat his chest in lament.

“Could they have three heads and six arms, with blue faces and fangs?” Li Yu asked.

Qing Yangde and Xiong Feng had both been to the front lines, so they must have seen demons in person.

Hearing Li Yu’s words, the two exchanged a glance. After a moment, Qing Yangde said with a strange expression, “Quite the opposite! If you only look at their bodies, demons are no different from us!”

“In fact, the only way we can distinguish demons from ourselves is by their aura. Every demon, before our eyes, can be smelled from over a hundred meters away as a vile stench. Even covering your nose and mouth is useless!”

Xiong Feng added, “That stench is more like a deep, instinctive perception. All demons are like this, without exception!”

“...”

Li Yu nodded. That was indeed easy enough to tell apart.

Still, that only made him more curious about demons.

He rather wanted to see what these human-shaped filth fountains looked like.

“Enough about that, I still have to eat!” Xiong Feng protested.

“...”

Li Yu nodded and asked no further.

This round of the Hundred Clans Assembly he was taking part in had been changed to a secret realm, which was why this was the part he needed to pay close attention to.

However, unlike previous years, this time it used a points system. Each clan would select three people, and before entering, each person would receive a token worth one point. There would also be additional tokens placed within the secret realm, each likewise worth one point.

“But with an arrangement like this, do they really not need to worry about the clans banding together for warmth?” Li Yu thought to himself.

With such rules, many clans would likely ally with each other and eliminate the others from the arena.

“No, with so many changes this year, could the Great Bright royal house be preparing to make a move?” Li Yu suddenly thought of a possibility that sent a chill through him. “In a competition like this, the outcome can affect a clan’s fortunes for years, even decades. Every clan will give it everything they have. I’m afraid those clans secretly aligned with one another will be brought to the surface!”

Could the Great Bright royal house be aiming for exactly that?

If so, peaceful days might not last much longer.

He buried this terrifying thought deep within him and did not intend to voice a suspicion based purely on instinct.

At that moment, a soldier from the Azure Sun Army walked in.

“General, Eunuch Zheng requests an audience!”

“Shouldn’t there be nothing urgent right now? What is he coming to see us for?” The four exchanged glances.

After thinking it over, Qing Yangde said, “Bring him in. It should be about the precious medicine for Li Yu that was mentioned during the day.”

“Mm...”

Li Yu curled his lip. “He really does know how to climb on the bandwagon.”

If it were him, knowing the other side was not on good terms with his own family, at most he would exchange polite words; and even then, he would probably not bother with that much courtesy, let alone bring out anything truly valuable.

“Are you all eating?” Eunuch Zheng had barely entered when he saw the table swept clean by the storm of appetites. He immediately sighed. “I came too late. Otherwise I could have managed a bite.”

“If the chief eunuch wishes to eat, I can have the cooks downstairs prepare another table for you,” Qing Yangde said, casually sweeping his gaze over the young man following behind Eunuch Zheng.

He did not think this was merely an ordinary attendant.

Who is this person?

Li Yu also noticed the man. Though he trailed Eunuch Zheng by half a step, he carried himself with extraordinary bearing, and his status seemed even higher than Eunuch Zheng’s.