Chapter 36

"Light Festival begins"

As the Empress spoke, a melodious tune sounded, and a huge lantern appeared on the stage.

The lantern had eight petals, each held by a young girl. When the eight petals came together, they formed a giant lotus flower.

Suddenly, the lotus bloomed, and the stamens moved slightly. At this moment, people were surprised to find that the stamen was actually a woman in a colorful dress.

As soon as the woman appeared, the entire audience erupted in cheers. She was the First Princess of the Fengming Empire. Longchen glanced at her and thought she looked good, worthy of a thumbs up.

After the First Princess appeared, she extended her jade-like hand, and two couplets appeared. The upper couplet read: "Heaven blesses Fengming," and the lower couplet read: "The country is peaceful and the people are safe," which caused the audience to burst into cheers.

Longchen smiled slightly. As an imperial princess, it was quite tragic, like a group of crickets living in a small jar.

They fought all day, but thinking about himself, he was no different. If you don't fight with others, you will be trampled by them.

If being trampled was all, the key was that they would trample you to death. This had nothing to do with grudges or good and bad; perhaps it was the most primitive evil in human nature.

While Longchen was musing, the Second Princess appeared. Longchen was so distracted that he didn't even see how the Second Princess made her entrance, which made him regret it deeply.

However, next was Chu Yao's lantern. Longchen widened his eyes, afraid of missing anything.

"Boom"

First, there was a loud explosion, and a firework shot into the sky, illuminating the heavens, causing all the women to cheer.

But just as the cheers began, a huge shadow suddenly appeared in the sky, a giant dragon kite whistling towards them.

At the same time, on the opposite side of the dragon, a colorful phoenix with magnificent wings flew in, sprinkling golden powder all over, as if a real phoenix had descended.

"Wow, so beautiful"

With the colorful powder, the dragon and phoenix complemented each other, like a myth, transporting everyone into a wondrous world.

"Boom"

After the dragon and phoenix circled and danced, they slowly landed, and a huge white light spewed from their mouths. The white light exploded, and ribbons flew.

When the ribbons dissipated, an ancient beauty slowly appeared before everyone, with willowy eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and a thousand-year-old autumn water, a truly stunning beauty.

"Whoosh"

As the Third Princess appeared, the entire scene boiled over. Many young lords had long heard of the Third Princess's unparalleled beauty, and today they finally saw her true appearance, causing them to cheer wildly.

Longchen, looking at the Third Princess, was also momentarily stunned. It was the first time he had seen Chu Yao dressed up.

Chu Yao's beautiful eyes scanned the crowd, and suddenly her eyes lit up. Her jade-like hand trembled, and a small round ball slowly flew out, heading straight for Longchen.

"Snap!"

Longchen reached out and caught the ball, seeing that it had a small tail.

The entire audience fell silent, all eyes fixed on Longchen. The Empress's expression changed slightly, but she said nothing.

However, the person with the most difficult expression was the Crown Prince of Xia, Xia Changfeng. Despite his attempt to appear calm, he couldn't, and his face turned green with anger.

The Empress had already decided to marry Chu Yao to Xia Changfeng, but Chu Yao's performance today clearly indicated a dragon and phoenix auspiciousness, and the ball she threw went directly to Longchen.

A ball itself had no special meaning, but with the preceding lantern, it was different, just like the ancient custom of throwing a silk ball to choose a husband.

Xia Changfeng, despite his efforts to control himself, couldn't stop his body from trembling, and the veins on his hand stood out.

"Changfeng, be patient," Wei Cang said, looking at Xia Changfeng.

"Master, I can bear it," Xia Changfeng nodded, but his voice still trembled.

At this moment, Xia Changfeng wished he could bite Longchen to death, and Longchen also noticed the strange looks from everyone.

Among those present, only Master Yun Qi had a smile on his face, while the others either had complex or jealous expressions.

Longchen looked at Chu Yao in the center, seeing her smiling eyes and her hand gently pointing to the ball in his hand.

At this moment, Longchen understood. It was actually a firework. He pulled the small tail on the ball and threw it into the sky.

"Bang"

A brilliant light spread, illuminating the entire square. After the light dissipated, two shining lines of text appeared in the sky.

"Dragon roams the four seas, traveling ten thousand miles; Phoenix leaves the phoenix tree, accompanying the nine provinces"

Seeing the two lines of text that lingered in the sky, Xia Changfeng finally lost control and crushed the teacup in his hand.

"Longchen, if I don't tear you to pieces, I won't be Xia Changfeng. And Chu Yao, you bitch, I will make you wish you were dead."

Xia Changfeng's veins stood out, and Chu Yao's actions were more embarrassing than a slap in the face.

The Empress's expression was also very unpleasant. She didn't expect Chu Yao to be so bold, openly showing affection to a man in such a public setting.

Longchen was also stunned, seeing Chu Yao standing on the stage, her face flushed with red, but her expression was resolute.

Looking at Longchen, tears slowly streamed down her beautiful eyes, causing Longchen's heart to ache: Was she in despair? Did she have a death wish, wanting to express her wishes before dying?

Seeing Chu Yao's tear-streaked face, Longchen's mind went blank. Suddenly, he stood up and shouted loudly, "I will not abandon you in life or death, and we will be together until our hair turns white."

Longchen's roar, like a great bell, shook everyone's heart. His roar conveyed unwavering determination and a resolve to never give in.

Chu Yao's body trembled, and she covered her lips with her hand, tears streaming down her face. Originally, she only hoped to express her wishes in her final days, without expecting anything more, just hoping that Longchen would understand her heart.

But Longchen's response put him in a difficult situation. Chu Yao was both moved and regretful, feeling that she had harmed Longchen.

"Princess is tired. Someone, please help her down," the Empress said coldly, trying to suppress her anger.

Five guards came over to take Chu Yao away, but Master Yun Qi said calmly, "Empress, that's not right.

Young people being brave in love is a good thing. Chu Yao, come, if you don't mind, sit next to this old man."

The Empress's expression changed. She didn't expect Master Yun Qi, who usually didn't involve himself in worldly affairs, to intervene in the empire's matters.

Chu Yao was delighted when Master Yun Qi spoke. She didn't ask for his protection, but she hoped he could protect Longchen.

Thinking of this, Chu Yao slowly knelt down, but before she could touch the ground, Master Yun Qi extended his hand, and a gentle force lifted her up.

"Child, we are all family, no need for these formalities," Master Yun Qi said, pulling Chu Yao to sit next to him.

However, what was strange was that Wei Cang, who usually didn't get along with Master Yun Qi, just looked coldly and said nothing.

The Empress, though angry, didn't want to offend Master Yun Qi over this small matter. Without the support of the Alchemists' Guild, even the most powerful country would quickly fall apart, so she had to endure it.

But as the Empress, she was extremely cunning. She maintained a calm expression and said with a smile, "Since that's the case, let's continue the show."

The Empress's words made Shi Feng, who was next to Longchen, stand up and stretch, "Hehe, finally my turn."

In previous years, after the princesses presented their lanterns, the young lords would compete to win the title of the First Hero of Fengming.

"Empress, please wait. I came from far away in Xia, coincidentally during the Lantern Festival, and I have brought a special performance for you," Wei Cang said suddenly.

"Oh? The performance brought by Master must be extraordinary," the Empress said, slightly surprised, then smiled.

"This is my unworthy disciple, who is seventeen years old and is already a genuine Alchemy Apprentice," Wei Cang said, his eyes fixed on Gu Cang, especially emphasizing the words "genuine Alchemy Apprentice."

Everyone looked at Longchen. As long as they weren't fools, they knew that Gu Cang was indirectly insulting Longchen, suggesting that he was a fake.

Longchen was given the title of Alchemy Apprentice, and many people doubted his true strength. After all, his alchemy session was held internally in the guild, and the outside world didn't know, so most people thought Longchen was just lucky and didn't have real talent.

After being called a waste for so long, and with Longchen's recent rapid rise, many people suspected that he had a powerful backer, possibly Master Yun Qi.

But even if Master Yun Qi was incredibly powerful, it was impossible for him to turn a waste into an Alchemy Apprentice in just over two months.

Longchen, hearing Wei Cang's words, showed a mocking smile: The show is about to begin.

Master Yun Qi didn't speak, and Wei Cang continued, "Today, let my disciple show his skills and refine a pill for everyone."

Hearing Wei Cang's words, the entire audience erupted in cheers. Alchemists were highly respected, and everyone present had only heard about alchemy but never seen it.

They were filled with reverence and curiosity for this profession. If they could witness the formation of a pill, it would be a great opportunity for them.

"However, good things come in pairs. Bai Chi represents the Alchemists' Guild of Xia, and I wonder if the Fengming Guild has anyone to show their skills," Wei Cang said, looking at Master Yun Qi.

"She is your disciple, but Longchen is not mine, so your intentions will likely be in vain," Master Yun Qi said calmly.

Longchen's heart stirred. Could it be that Master Yun Qi's reluctance to take him as a disciple was because of this?

"Just for fun, and it's not for free."

As Wei Cang spoke, he suddenly held a jade bottle in his hand, which contained a thumb-sized flame, constantly twisting.

"This is the beast fire of a second-stage magic beast, the Flame Leopard. Whoever wins will get it as a reward."

Xia Bai Chi looked at the beast fire, her eyes filled with excitement. She had been eyeing the beast fire for a long time, and she didn't expect Wei Cang to finally be willing to part with it.

Wei Cang waved the beast fire in his hand and said enticingly to Longchen, "Kid, how about it, want to play?"

For such an obvious temptation, everyone shook their heads. This behavior of Wei Cang seemed to be beneath a master, too low-level.

Indeed, Longchen looked at Wei Cang with a mocking and disdainful expression, and simply said one word.

"Sure"

"Spit"

Yu Pangu and others couldn't help but spit. Brother Long, where is your integrity?

In the strange looks of everyone, Longchen swaggered onto the stage and said to Xia Bai Chi,

"Your master said to play with you. How do you want to play?"