Chapter 223: Chapter 167: Mom Only Wants Her Son, Not Your Dad

Fei Yuan led Sang Luo to the very front of the banquet, where they took their seats at an elegant table.

Sang Luo sat beside him, staring at the platter of Spirit Fruits on the low table before her and gulping. These were all rare and precious Spirit Fruits. ’What a find! It would be a waste not to eat them!’

The guests at the banquet all had their own agendas, but Sang Luo’s mind was focused solely on eating.

When Fei Yuan turned his attention back to her, he saw she had already finished a plate of fruit. Her fair, delicate fingers were covered in juice and quickly growing sticky. He chuckled. “I thought you only had a big appetite during your pregnancy. I didn’t expect you to be such a glutton normally.”

Fei Yuan took out a plain white silk handkerchief, wiped Sang Luo’s hands, and then moved the several platters of Spirit Fruits from his side of the table in front of her.

Sang Luo had just reached for a cluster of Purple Crystal Fruits when they slipped away, flew into the air, and obediently peeled themselves.

Fei Yuan’s phoenix eyes glinted with amusement. “Open your mouth.”

Sang Luo blinked in surprise. Just as she was about to speak, a fruit SWOOSHED into her mouth.

“COUGH, COUGH!” Sang Luo almost spat it all in his face. After swallowing it whole, she pouted. “Can you give me a heads-up next time? You nearly choked me to death.”

“I’ll be more careful this time.” Fei Yuan sent out a few more whirlwinds from his fingertips. In the blink of an eye, all the fruits were peeled, revealing their plump, juicy, pinkish-white flesh. They then arranged themselves neatly on the plate in perfect rows.

He even took out a pair of White Jade Chopsticks, but Sang Luo couldn’t be bothered with such formalities. She simply picked up a fruit with her hand and started chewing.

The fruit’s flesh contained wisps of Spiritual Energy, which flowed into her limbs and bones, greatly nourishing her body.

Fei Yuan and Sang Luo had arrived relatively early. The Beast Emperors meant to be seated nearby had not yet arrived. After a short wait, the rest of the guests began to trickle in.

THUD! THUD!

The ground rumbled like thunder under heavy footsteps.

A burly, towering middle-aged Beastman, who looked to be well over eight feet tall, strode into the hall. His hair was half gray and he showed faint signs of age, but his back was ramrod straight. He sat down opposite the two of them like a mountain, his presence overwhelmingly majestic and intimidating.

Servants respectfully poured wine.

Munching on a fruit, Sang Luo asked, “Which Beast Emperor is that? He has such a powerful presence.”

A little obsessively, Fei Yuan wiped her hands, cleaning even between her fingers until they were spotless. “The Western Beast Emperor, Bian Ke. He’s an Innate King Beast, a Xingxing, and he’s lived for nearly three thousand years. His talent is average, I’d say. He relied on his age to brute-force his Cultivation to the Initial Emperor Rank. He basically just outlived the previous Beast King to take the throne.”

He leaned close to her ear and whispered with a smile, “At most, he’ll live for another two or three hundred years. Before long, Little Ye and Little Zhen’er will replace him.”

Two or three hundred years sounded like the blink of an eye coming from him. Sang Luo was taken aback. “This Western Beast Emperor looks plenty healthy to me. I’m sure he could live another eight hundred or a thousand years.”

“You can’t judge things by appearances alone. If he can’t succeed in Breaking Realm again, his body will rapidly age and decay in another hundred years at most.”

A slender youth in red robes with cyan hair, possessing a very low-key and reserved aura, turned and sat at the elegant table to the left, opposite them. He was accompanied by a single Beast Servant and began drinking as soon as he sat down.

Sang Luo asked curiously, “Is he a Beast Emperor, too?”

“Yes. The Eastern Beast Emperor, Lou Tian. He’s a pure-blooded Bi Fang. His talent is actually quite good—he reached the True Emperor Rank at just over a thousand years old. I’ve had some dealings with him in the past, but he has a solitary personality. I’m surprised he came this time.”

The banquet was about to begin, but the seat to their right remained empty, its occupant long overdue.

“That seat must be for the Northern Beast Emperor, right?” Sang Luo did the math. The Central, Eastern, and Western Beast Emperors were all present, leaving only the Northern Beast Emperor.

“Yes. The Northern Beast Emperor is from the Qilin Clan. The distance between the North and the Southern Region spans tens of thousands of miles. He probably found it too troublesome and declined the invitation.”

Fei Yuan introduced all the Beastmen that Sang Luo found interesting.

Sang Luo’s interest gradually faded. None of them were particularly suitable targets. They were either not powerful enough, not her type aesthetically, or the few who were remotely impressive already had partners.

A short while later, the host finally made his grand, belated entrance.

“We humbly welcome the new Southern Beast Emperor on his ascension!”

Tens of thousands of congratulatory voices surged like a tidal wave.

Below the high platform, everyone rose to offer a toast.

Sang Luo also stood up with Fei Yuan and raised her cup in a toast toward the high seat at the very front.

Her head was lowered, but she still caught a glimpse in her peripheral vision. The man wore a magnificent, wide-sleeved robe of Qu Shui Purple Brocade. His Waterfall-like Ink Hair cascaded casually down his back, giving him an air of languid indifference. His face was incomparably handsome and cold, his purple eyes aloof, as if nothing in existence was worthy of entering his sight, making everything around him dim in comparison.

His gaze seemed to sweep faintly in their direction but didn’t linger on her for even a fraction of a second. She didn’t know if he hadn’t seen her or… if he didn’t recognize her.

Sang Luo quickly dismissed the first possibility. ’I’m at the front of the banquet, only a few dozen meters away from him. With his perception, how could he possibly not have seen me?’

’So that’s it. He doesn’t recognize me.’

’Or rather, he’s pretending not to.’

Sang Luo returned to her seat and began to sullenly down several cups of wine.

Cup after cup, the wine was mellow yet strong, and a faint blush soon crept onto Sang Luo’s face.

“Drink in moderation. Too much is bad for you.”

Fei Yuan frowned, snatched the wine cup from her hand, lowered his head, and pressing his lips to the mark hers had left, drank it all in one go.

On the high platform, the purple-robed man crushed the cup in his hand, and wine spilled to the floor.

The attendants serving nearby hurried forward to clean up, saying in a panic, “Your Majesty, is the wine not to your taste? Should we bring you another cup?”

“No need,” he said faintly, retracting his spiritual power. ’Out of sight, out of mind.’

A Servant replaced the cup with a new one.

Sang Luo didn’t notice the momentary commotion on the platform. After finishing the fruit, she had nothing better to do and began to use her spiritual power to search inside and outside the Imperial Palace for Little Snake.

’Now that Caesar is the Southern Beast Emperor, Little Snake must have been brought into the palace with him. I just used my spiritual power to search the area around Caesar but didn’t find Little Snake. He’s probably resting in another hall.’

’Found him!’

Changle Hall.

’Little Snake is still sleeping, just as I thought.’

“Fei Yuan, I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Shall I go with you?”

“I… ahem, need to use the restroom. No need.”

Seeing Sang Luo hurry from her seat, Caesar’s grip on his wine cup tightened. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he rose and raised his cup to the guests. “Please, enjoy yourselves. This Emperor must take his leave.”

Sang Luo followed the winding palace paths, searching as she went.

Suddenly, her spiritual power was gone, as if shrouded by a thick fog.

She quickly realized she was lost.

’The Imperial Palace is too big.’

She couldn’t find the path she was looking for, nor could she recognize the way back.

A servant walked over. “What are you looking for, noble female?”

Sang Luo’s eyes lit up. She asked for help, “Do you know where Changle Hall is?”

“Changle Hall? That’s where the Young Master lives.” The servant looked surprised. “May I ask your identity, noble female?”

“Er, I…” Sang Luo was trying to come up with an excuse that wouldn’t get her mistaken for an assassin, but unexpectedly, the servant didn’t press further. He gestured invitingly. “This way, noble female.”

Without giving it much thought, Sang Luo followed him.

But after walking for a long time, they still hadn’t arrived.

’Changle Palace isn’t this far, is it?’

She turned her head, about to ask the servant, only to find the space beside her empty. He was long gone.

Her spiritual power was working again.

Sang Luo didn’t pay much mind to the small incident. She quickly searched again with her spiritual power and discovered that the path the servant had led her down was not the way to Changle Palace at all. It was in the complete opposite direction, and she was about to exit the Imperial Palace through the West Gate.

She frowned, a little unsettled, but didn’t dwell on it. ’Perhaps that servant was new and remembered the way incorrectly.’

Sang Luo turned around and headed back.

Before she even reached the entrance to Changle Palace, Little Snake came to find her.

“Mama!”

Caesar appeared in the shadows of an alleyway, holding a bleeding head in his hand—the very head of the servant from before. It dissolved into a wisp of Black Qi and vanished…

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