Chapter 350: Need To Make Some Preparations!
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
All of the people there were surprised!
Even the Empress Dowager is here?
Indeed, this year's Imperial Tombs Contest is not that simple!
The Empress Dowager had lived in the Palace for a long time. Generally, besides major ceremonies such as the ancestral rites, she almost never left the Palace.
That was precisely her appearance indicated the the grand importance of the Imperial Tombs Contest.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Everyone greeted her loudly and bowed in unison to show their respect!
However, when the Empress Dowager's divine chariot arrived at the foot of the mountain, she did not come out of her divine chariot.
Everyone was stiff and dared not move or talk.
After a couple of breaths, a clear, mature and majestic female voice was heard. "You may rise!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Once again, everyone replied loudly in unison and at the same time. They also arrived at the conclusion that someone as noble as the Empress Dowager would not show her face easily in public!
But Xu Que was not happy about it. Originally when he had heard that the Empress Dowager of the Metal Nation had arrived, he had been instantly curious about her.
This was because that eunuch had revealed that the Empress Dowager was as beautiful as a fairy, and lovely enough to cause the fall of a city or a state. Xu Que had wanted to find out if this was really true. Otherwise, why would the Second Prince be so… perverted as to secretly collect that old woman's bellyband!
But now, the Empress Dowager was sitting inside a completely enclosed divine chariot, and not coming out.
Darn, you're flaunting your seniority too much, deplored Xu Que in his head. You must be so ugly that you're simply unpresentable!
His eyes were fixed on the divine chariot, as if he was trying to see through the walls to what was inside!
Nevertheless it was a pity as the Empress Dowager's divine chariot was completely protected from peeps. Even when Xu Que tried to use his Soul Strength to try look inside the divine chariot, he was blocked by a special kind of power that was surrounding the chariot.
...
Over inside the divine chariot of the Empress Dowager, a graceful and sexy woman, also wearing a veil like the Seventh Princess, was watching what was going on outside.
From the exterior of the divine chariot, everything seemed to be completely enclosed; nobody could see what was inside.
Yet from the inside of the chariot, everything outside could clearly be seen.
Apparently, this woman was the Empress Dowager of the Metal Nation!
Although she was wearing a veil and one could not distinguish her facial features, the disposition in her eyes revealed a mature, charming and gorgeous woman!
Beneath her veil, her lips were moving softly, seemingly communicating with someone in her mind via Soul Strength!
Outside the divine chariot, there were a couple of eunuchs that followed the whole Imperial procession. There was one eunuch who stood in one corner stiffly and reservedly. His mouth was moving lightly as well, as he was communicating in his mind. "Your Majesty, this humble servant has arrived!"
"Keep your eyes wide open and find that man! I want to see who is so bold that he dared to barge into the Palace alone, tried to find out the location of my chamber and asked about my appearance!"
The eunuch shivered as he heard the chilly tone of the voice sounding in his head. He quickly replied "yes" and started to search for man among the huge crowd, one by one.
A lot of cultivators had come to watch the event. There were many participants in the Imperial Tombs Contest who had formed their own teams. This eunuch had a low stage of cultivation, so he could only slowly observe the cultivators one by one, and started to get a little dazzled and confused. Therefore, he was unable to find Xu Que in a short period of time.
...
At the same time, the Metal Nation's Emperor had moved to a designated area at the foot of the mountain. He sat down upright where his royal chair had been placed.
He inspected the area, then looked at the old eunuch beside him and nodded slightly. This meant that the contest could start now.
The old eunuch took a step forward and in his high-pitched voice, he shouted, "the Emperor has ordered that the Imperial Tombs Contest has officially started! All contestants please assemble quickly at the foot of the mountain and make necessary preparations!"
"The first round is the Divine Chariot Contest. Every team can only send three members to participate!"
"The first fifty people to complete the race will advance to the next round!"
"Anyone who exceeds the time limit of a burning stick of incense, or is not amongst the top fifty, will be eliminated!"
...
Shoosh! Shoosh! Shoosh!
The moment the old eunuch finished his sentence, around ten flashes of lights dashed down from the top to the foot of the mountain.
No doubt, these flashes of light were the contestants for the first round.
The strength and cultivation level of these contestants were not weak. The one with the lowest cultivation was a Level Five Original Infant Stage cultivator. Many of these contestants had strong Soul Strength as well, which meant that they were good at controlling divine chariots via spiritual enchantments.
These people moved quickly and were very smart. They wanted to seize a favorable starting position so that they would have an advantage in the race. Every second counted!
However, there were quite a number of people who were calm and collected. They had their own plans and such an advantage was too meager and rushing for it was beneath their dignity!
One such example was Chariot King Zhang from the Second Prince's team. He executed a movement skill leisurely, and with his hands behind his back, he drifted slowly to the foot of the hill.
He had an aura of vigor and great confidence. Clearly, he thought that he would achieve victory for sure. He took a fleeting glimpse at the surrounding competitors. There was no one whom he needed to pay attention to.
Over at the Eighth Prince's team, Ghost of the Divine Chariot, Qi Yun Fei, was still leisurely chatting with the Eighth Prince!
He looked comfortable, relaxed and natural. He looked at the competitors who had rushed to the foot of the mountain with contempt and disregard.
As for the Number One Genius from Spirit Treasures Pavilion, Gao Qiao Jie, who was in the Eldest Prince's team, he was slowly flying towards the foot of the mountain. He took out some paper and a pen and started drawing something thoughtfully.
Those with sharp eyes could see what was on the paper with one glance. "Heavens, Gao Qiao Jie is still so calm at this time! He is actually thinking of new designs for a divine chariot!"
"Wow!" many spectators exclaimed in surprise.
"That's childish, so childish!" sneered Xu Que. "They are Act Tough Criminals! These are all childish act tough methods that I stopped using when I was three years old."
Xu Que stood on top of the hill, shaking his head and full of disdain.
"Why do you say that, Young Master Xu?"
The Seventh Princess turned to face Xu Que. Her beautiful eyes looked at him inquiringly.
"You see, these people are too pretentious. Every one of them is trying to appear super cool-headed. Obviously, they want everybody to look at them, and are therefore trying to be in the spotlight! This type of attention-seeking behavior is absolutely despicable. Let us mock them together!"
Xu Que looked totally serious and was condemning the 'attention seekers' using a stern and just tone!
The Seventh Princess paused for a moment, then chuckled. "Young Master Xu has a unique insight!"
But the princes were trying to suppress an uncontrollable twitch in the corner of their mouths. Some of them couldn't bear to watch or listen to the conversation.
Wanted everybody to look at them?
Trying to be in the spotlight?
Attention-seeking behavior?
Brother, the one who loves the spotlight most seems to be you, right?
You made so much noise and impact about your arrival just now. Those who don't know about cultivators might have thought that a god had descended!
"Young Hero Xu, if you feel that they're not doing things right," a prince couldn't help asking, "then why didn't you hurry down the mountain yourself?"
Xu Que waved his hand lightly and replied, "I value this contest a great deal. I must make some preparations first!"
Then he called the System Store and bought something from the miscellaneous category.
The next moment, under the confused and stunned expressions of the crowd, Xu Que sat on the ground and started to remove his short boots. He was holding his newly-redeemed nail clippers and his feet were now exposed in front of everyone.
"Wait a while okay? I'll cut my toenails first. Otherwise they're going to affect my performance!"