Chapter 997: Crown Prince Yang An
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
Everyone was momentarily startled by Little Rascal's words. Yang An wouldn't even rank within this era's top ten in the City of Ancient Emperors?
Qin Wentian defeated the son of the Violet Emperor, Zi Daoyang?
Not everyone here was that familiar with Zi Daoyang. After all, the immortal realms were too vast, and the immortal kings and emperors simply had too many descendants. But even so, they were still familiar with the name of the Violet Emperor. Throughout the vast realms, the Violet Emperor was a peak-tier immortal emperor character. He was well-versed in many secret arts and also tyrannically powerful. It was considered normal that his son could become the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings.
Yet, Qin Wentian's pet said that Qin Wentian had defeated Zi Daoyang? Wasn't this too much of a boast?
"The little fellow is getting more and more adorable. It's so good at boasting." A young lady giggled.
"Brother Qin, your pet is truly interesting."
"Brother Qin." At this moment, Yang An glanced at Qin Wentian and smiled. "Brother Qin is the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings with an extraordinary disposition, so naturally I believe in your outstanding talent. However, I'm unclear about Zi Daoyang. Previously during my time he was able to rank #1 based on his supreme combat prowess and two overwhelming secret arts. If he didn't leave the City of Ancient Emperors, I'm afraid even with Brother Qin's talent, you might still not be able to match up to him."
A faint smile flickered in Qin Wentian's eyes as he glanced at Yang An. It looked like Yang An had personally witnessed Zi Daoyang's strength and knew how powerful he was.
"Little Rascal loves to brag when he's drunk. Crown Prince, please take no offense." Qin Wentian patted Little Rascal on his head, only to see Little Rascal grabbing more wine cups with his paws and then drinking them all up. Its intoxicated appearance made it look even more adorable.
Upon hearing Qin Wentian's words, Little Rascal stared at him with disdain, before sweeping his eyes over to the others.
"Back then, this baobao back was only ranked at #7. Hmph." Little Rascal inclined his head and snorted, causing everyone around him to burst into laughter.
"Brother Qin, your pet's mouth is even more awesome than yours," Someone declared, causing the people around them to laugh even louder.
"Little fellow, do you want my roc to accompany you to play?" The beautiful young lady's Crimsonblood Roc stood beside her as she smiled, letting out shrill screeches as it stared at Little Rascal.
"Yes, yes. That little fellow is just too cute. How about letting our demonic beasts accompany it to play?" Everyone wore wide smiles on their faces.
Little Rascal's eyes glimmered with light, glancing disdainfully at the demonic beasts before he turned to Qin Wentian. This caused Qin Wentian's eyes to flicker—he naturally understood that these people all had malicious intentions. But this Little Rascal truly had a head filled with evil tricks. He really wanted to eat these demonic beasts to boost its own strength.
"Ai, this pet of mine has too many problems. It loves to brag and even loves to bite other demonic beasts, so it's better not to play around with him. It would be really bad if he bit some of your esteemed demonic beasts," Qin Wentian rejected politely with a wave of his hand
"No problem. If this little fellow truly has the capability, it's fine if he wishes to take a few bites out of my mount."
"That's right, if it has the capability, I don't mind even if my mount is eaten." That young lady from before continued to smile. The Crimsonblood Roc beside her stared imperiously at Little Rascal, with eyes filled with provocation. Little Rascal had returned to his ordinary tiny size after arriving here, and seemed just like a cute and harmless puppy. No one here knew of his extraordinary strength, and they treated him just like a pet.
"Let's speak of this again later." Qin Wentian continued shaking his head.
"Haha, let's drink up as we chat." Yang An raised his wine cup and spoke. "This time, I would like to thank the Brothers and sisters who have given me face by showing up at my banquet. I, Yang, shall drink up as a sign of respect first."
"Crown Prince is too polite. This time, your success in breaking through to the immortal foundation realm is really an event worthy of celebration. We shall toast Your Highness in congratulations."
"That's right, how many geniuses are there in the immortal realms? However, the immortal foundation realm is like a watershed. Even those with high talent would find it hard to break through the threshold. Crown Prince managed to step into the immortal foundation realm after a few short years. You must be a chosen of the heavens, exuding boundless glory and isn't a character who could be compared to those who stand at the peak of Celestial Phenomenon. After ascending to immortality, a fascinating life awaits you after," Somebody spoke, his words were clearly filled with thorns, causing many to glance at Qin Wentian.
"Everyone, drink up." Yang An openly smiled, draining the contents of his wine cup in a single gulp.
Everyone sat down. The geniuses gathered together and chatted leisurely, praising the each other's strengths. Frequently, their gazes would shift to Qin Wentian. These gazes were sharp, filled with jealousy and envy. With so many talented descendants of nobility, Princess Qing`er had ended up choosing an outsider. How could they not be jealous?
"Brother Qin." At this moment, the crown prince of the Qi King Manor turned his gaze to Qin Wentian. He lifted his wine cup in a toast. Qin Wentian smiled and nodded, mirroring his actions, when Yang An slowly said, "Yesterday I came out of my seclusion and not only did I hear the news about Brother Qin being the #1 ranker of this era on the Immortal Ascension Rankings, effortlessly defeating plenty of elite talents in our royal palace, you also obtained the favor of Princess Qing`er. Truly, everyone is envious of you."
"Crown Prince is too polite." Qin Wentian smiled.
"However, I also heard that Brother Qin came from a particle world and climbed up based on your own efforts until this point today. This is truly an extremely difficult task," Yang An continued, apparently giving praise to Qin Wentian. However, after a moment, Yang An then spoke again, "However, Brother Qin, do you have Princess Qing`er's best interests in your heart? Brother Qin's talent is outstanding, but talent isn't the only thing of importance on the path of cultivation. It will only get more and more difficult as you proceed onwards. The immortal foundation realm is like a huge barrier, and there will only be more dangers after passing it. I'm sure Brother Qin understands this point clearly."
Qin Wentian smiled and didn't deny anything. Although Yang An's words made sense, his tone resembled that of a senior reprimanding a junior. It felt like because he succeeded in breaking through to the immortal foundation realm, it made him more superior than all the ascendants here.
"Princess Qing`er safety is invaluable. I'm afraid that with Brother Qin's strength, you are still unable to protect her from danger. What's even more important is that your clan and status can't even match up to hers. Princess Qing`er has feelings for you, to the point where she's willing to give up everything, even her reputation. Luckily, His Majesty dotes on the Princess too much, so he hasn't administered any punishments. Hence, I truly feel that if Brother Qin sincerely cares and is in love with the princess, you shouldn't be so selfish."
Yang An continued to speak with a straight face as though he was really concerned for Qing`er. There were no flaws in his words, and it wasn't easy for Qin Wentian to refute them.
"Hmm… What does the Crown Prince think I should do?" Qin Wentian smiled.
"If Brother Qin truly loves the princess, you would leave her of your own volition. In the future, when Brother Qin has truly achieved overwhelming strength, then it wouldn't be too late for you to return," Yang An said slowly, his wine cup still raised in his hand. The entire banquet turned silent, but smiles could be seen in everyone's eyes. It had finally been revealed… Yang An's true purpose in throwing this banquet.
In the royal palace, it was no secret that Yang An admired Princess Qing`er. Everyone knew about it.
Qin Wentian put his winecup down. A cold smile curled his lips as he spoke, "Crown Prince, what identity are you using to 'persuade' me?"
After he spoke, he turned his gaze back to Yang An. "The matters between me and Qing`er, I'm afraid it is still not the Crown Prince's role to interfere in them."
Yang An's words were extremely vicious, like a needle hidden in cotton. If he truly loved Qing`er, he should leave her of his own volition?
In that case, if he refused to leave Qing`er, it not only meant that he didn't love her, he was also so greedy for power and authority, wanting to ascend to the heavens with a single step.
"Hehe." Yang An laughed, as though he didn't mind Qin Wentian's words. "I'm merely considering what's best for Princess. If my words are too blunt, I hope Brother Qin won't fault me. I will punish myself with a toast."
After speaking, Yang An drained the contents of his wine cup in a single gulp, his behavior indicating his extraordinary state of heart.
"Brother Qin, the Crown Prince's words aren't without logic." Someone smiled.
"Who doesn't know that Princess Qing`er is doted on by his Majesty? What good fortune one must have to be able to marry her? Clearly one would instantly ascend to the heavens after this single step. By that time, regardless of talent, identity or status, Brother Qin will possess it all. This is why everyone here wanted to urge Brother Qin to reconsider. We are absolutely not trying to make things difficult for you." Someone laughed. Since the crown prince Yang An had already led the spear charge, they naturally wouldn't fail to gang up on Qin Wentian.
"The thoughts of everyone present has truly broadened I, Qin's, horizons." Qin Wentian said. "Sons of nobility, so it turns out that you're all pursuing Princess Qing`er to increase your authority and status. No wonder Qing`er is so filled with contempt towards all of you."
"What do you mean by that?" someone asked icily.
"What do you think I meant?" Qin Wentian stared at the person who spoke.
"Truly, your mouth is as sharp as that vile creature you call a pet," another person commented.
"You're the vile creature. The people in your clan are nothing but a bunch of bastards!" Little Rascal inclined its head and spoke in a drunken manner.
The young man's eyes narrowed. He stared at Little Rascal, "Oh, this vile creature is not only stupid, its mouth is filthy too. It simply doesn't know the meaning of death."
"I want to challenge you." Little Rascal stretched its paw and pointed at the person who'd spoken.
"You must be courting death." With a wave of his hand, an incomparably baleful-looking white tiger walked towards him. "I can allow my demonic beast to play with you a little."
"Little Rascal, what are you butting in for?" Qin Wentian's tone sounded panicked as he held Little Rascal protectively.
"I want to challenge him," Little Rascal murmured as he shrugged.
"Haha, Brother Qin, don't worry. I will allow my white tiger to play a little with your pet." The young man started laughing when he saw how worried Qin Wentian was.
"Brother Qin, this pet of yours is too adorable. Just let our demonic beasts play around with it for some fun and laughs. In any case, my demonic beast would like to join in too."
"Yeah, it's so boring now. Why don't we let our demonic beasts spar a little, and we can play with Brother Qin's pet at the same time?"
However, nobody knew that Qin Wentian was laughing coldly in his heart. These people were truly quick to change their faces. Since that was the case, then he would let their demonic beasts 'play' with Little Rascal.
"Okay then… Little Rascal. In that case, just accompany these friendly demonic beasts and play around a little. Don't bite them, alright?" Qin Wentian acted as though he was very troubled. Little Rascal's chubby body lazily walked out to the public square ahead as he said, "This baobao will show you guys how awesome I am."
"What a truly interesting little fellow that puppy is." Everyone waved their hands as their demonic beasts flew over and completely encircled Little Rascal, as if preparing to 'play'. The aura of that white tiger surged up into the sky as killing intent flashed in its eyes. Qin Wentian turned his gaze onto the young man who'd spoken earlier. He could see a cold light gleaming within, and it was apparent that the young man had just sent a command to the white tiger to kill Little Rascal. How could things possibly be so simple as they said? Getting their demonic beasts to 'play' with Little Rascal?