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Chapter 683: The Shenfeng Empire

"You must be mistaken. I don\'t know what you\'re talking about," a shadow cursed effigy replied. Then, feeling as though it had said something amiss, it added, "We don\'t know where the Divine Emperor is."

"You really are on guard against me, aren\'t you? Haven\'t you had a look at the Spirit Emperor\'s hidden realm lately? Don\'t you know that it\'s mine, now? I defeated the Spirit Emperor alongside the Divine Emperor. Were you all really unaware?" Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

The shadows gaped. Clearly, they hadn\'t heard about the news at all.

"Can you contact the Divine Emperor? I\'ll allow you to ask her," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Would you spare us, sir?" one shadow asked, frowning.

"I am allied with the Divine Emperor. When I last saw her, she said she was in search of her subordinates—the likes of you, I imagine."

The shadow cursed effigies frowned, but they had had a taste of Xiao Nanfeng\'s candleflame powers themselves. Upon hearing his words, one of the shadows suddenly exclaimed, "You—You\'re Xiao Nanfeng?!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Weren\'t you already aware that his name is Xiao Nanfeng?" another shadow asked.

"No—don\'t you remember what the Divine Emperor said upon founding a kingdom?"

"What?" The other shadows all stiffened, then turned to Xiao Nanfeng in fear.

In the end, the leader of the shadows bowed deeply. "Sir, we offended you out of ignorance. Please forgive us."

"What\'s with the sudden formality?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

The shadow chuckled gingerly. "We are subordinates of the Divine Emperor. She rescued us from captivity recently, then founded a kingdom with our support just over a year ago. It\'s become an empire since, the Shenfeng Empire. One of Her Majesty\'s attendants once asked about the origin of the name, and Her Majesty replied that it was based on one character of her name and someone else\'s name. From the looks of it..." [1]

Xiao Nanfeng was nodding even before the shadow had finished. The combination of "Divine Emperor" and "Xiao Nanfeng" might well produce "Shenfeng"—it was clear that the Divine Emperor still had him in her thoughts.

"How did she end up founding an empire? I thought she wasn\'t a fan of hegemony," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Allegedly, it\'s intended as a gift for someone in the future..."

The shadows all looked toward Xiao Nanfeng together. Was he the person the Divine Emperor had been talking about? Was Xiao Nanfeng her lover? And they had foolishly tried to assassinate him!

Xiao Nanfeng smiled warmly. "Where is she? I\'d like to meet with her."

"The Divine Emperor is currently in secluded cultivation, sir, but we\'ll immediately send word to let her know once she shows up."

"I\'m counting on you, then," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Of course!" the shadows exclaimed eagerly.

"What were you doing here in the first place?"

"We were accompanying General Xia Hong to recruit disciples as soldiers from the Yuqing holy land."

"Xia Hong? Xia Lan\'s second brother?"

"Indeed. Xia Hong is a Yuqing disciple who joined the Shenfeng Empire not long after its founding and has been waging war to expand the empire ever since. He\'s a skilled strategist and strong fighter in his own right, so the Divine Emperor thinks highly of him. He boasts a good reputation in the Yuqing holy land, and once promised that he would lead a large group of Yuqing disciples with him to join the Shenfeng Empire as officials. A few days ago, however, he received news that someone was about to make off with all the disciples he was eyeing, so he rushed back in force."

"Oh?"

"As loyal subordinates of the Divine Emperor, we naturally couldn\'t allow anyone to ruin the development of the Shenfeng Empire. We were secretly planning to assassinate you without Xia Hong\'s knowledge, but it was a misunderstanding. Please forgive us," the shadow explained.

Calling what they had done a misunderstanding was frankly ridiculous. The Divine Emperor had founded the Shenfeng Empire for Xiao Nanfeng, and here they were trying to assassinate its future king! If the Divine Emperor were to learn of this, death wouldn\'t have been enough of a punishment for them.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded in understanding. Even if the cursed effigies hadn\'t attempted to assassinate him, he would surely have faced others in the future.

That said, these shadows were more vicious than he had expected. If they were enemies, he would have to get rid of them all; it was lucky that they were allies instead.

"I won\'t blame you. Relax," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.

"Thank you, sir!" The shadows were all greatly relieved.

Xiao Nanfeng chatted with the shadows a little about the Divine Emperor\'s current circumstances. Fortunately, nothing seemed to be wrong. He gave them a means of contacting him before having them return.

Then, he considered what he had learned. "The Shenfeng Empire neighbors the divine empire of Hongyue, and has had a few confrontations with it before. War even seems to be on the horizon... Divine Emperor, I intend to avenge the Taiqing Immortal Sect myself. There\'s no need for you to put in so much effort for me."

Xiao Nanfeng was deeply touched by the Divine Emperor\'s gestures, and he couldn\'t help but long for her.

The next morning, Han Bingdie had Xia Lan invite Xiao Nanfeng up Chiyang Peak. Along the way, Xia Lan hummed and smiled with satisfaction.

Xiao Nanfeng gave him an odd look. Was Xia Lan becoming a fool?

Before long, the two cultivators reached a hall atop Chiyang Peak.

Xia Xingchen\'s three wives were all present to greet Xiao Nanfeng.

"Nanfeng, come here," Han Bingdie said with a smile. "Let me introduce someone to you."

"Yes, Senior," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Another of the women turned back and called into the hall, "Hong\'er, come greet Nanfeng! Don\'t just sit there!"

"Yes, Mother!" Xia Hong emerged in a suit of armor.

"This is Senior Brother Xia Hong, Yu\'er\'s second brother, isn\'t he?" Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

Xia Hong was taken by surprise, but he nodded. "I am Xia Hong. Greetings, Junior Brother Xiao."

"Alright, let\'s talk inside," Han Bingdie said.

"Very well!"

The group of cultivators walked back into the hall.

"Hong\'er arrived yesterday. We were going to make introductions last night, but were worried that you would be tired after lecturing the entire day," one of the women said.

"Hardly, Madam. I\'m available at any moment," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"You really are obedient, Nanfeng! There\'s nothing urgent at hand to discuss during this meeting. We simply wanted Hong\'er and you to have a chance to get to know each other. There aren\'t any outsiders here, after all."

"Of course, Madam. I heard that Senior Brother Xia Hong is a peak True Immortal, and I\'d be honored to learn from him." Xiao Nanfneg smiled.

Last night, Xia Lan had gossiped boldly about Xiao Nanfeng the entire night, and the mental image he had built up as a result was wholly incomparable to the Xiao Nanfeng he now saw before him. He glanced askance at Xia Lan.

Xia Lan shook his head, as though warning Xia Hong not to be tricked by Xiao Nanfeng\'s appearance.

"Junior Brother Xiao, I\'ve heard about what you\'ve done as well. It really is impressive for you to have accomplished so much in so little time. I\'d do well to learn from you, too."

"Hardly, Senior Brother. I heard that the Shenfeng Empire that you serve has evolved from a kingdom to an empire in just over a year. I\'d love to get some pointers for Dazheng\'s development."

Xia Hong could hardly make life difficult for Xiao Nanfeng after receiving such effusive praise.

Xia Lan jumped in. "Of course! The Shenfeng Empire is developing even faster than your Dazheng Empire. It\'s filled with strong cultivators and generals!"

One of the women instantly grabbed Xia Lan\'s ear and twisted it. "Just because you have a seat at the table doesn\'t mean you should interrupt! Your second brother\'s just a general, whereas Nanfeng founded his own empire. Nanfeng\'s just being modest!"

"It hurts! Mother, stop! I won\'t speak anymore, alright?" Xia Lan clutched his ear in pain.

"No one would think you mute even if you didn\'t speak. Why are you always trying to put Nanfeng down?" The woman tsked.

Xia Lan grimaced. His own mother was exposing him!

Xia Hong had his own intentions in mind. He continued questioning Xiao Nanfeng, "Junior Brother Xiao, the Shenfeng Empire is in great need of talent, and I\'m intending to recruit a group of Yuqing disciples to conquer and expand its territory. What do you think?"

Xia Hong knew that Xiao Nanfeng was likely to become his sister-in-law; it was hardly reasonable to engage in infighting. He had returned not to fight over the Yuqing disciples with Xiao Nanfeng, but to lay out and discuss the situation alongside him as family. If the Yuqing disciples were intent on following Xiao Nanfeng, he would neither express his views and certainly not act on them, though he might be inwardly rather upset.

"That\'s only natural, Senior Brother. It makes perfect sense for you to recruit them. I\'ve developed some goodwill with many Yuqing disciples during my stay here, and would be happy to engage them to the best of my ability."

"What?" Xia Lan and Xia Hong were both taken aback.

Xiao Nanfeng wasn\'t sticking to the script!

The three women seemed rather perturbed themselves. They could tell that Xia Hong and Xiao Nanfeng might have ended up fighting over Yuqing disciples, so they had arranged this meeting beforehand before anything untoward could happen. Could they have been mistaken regarding Xiao Nanfeng\'s intentions?

Xia Hong glanced at Xiao Nanfeng in disbelief, then at Xia Lan in surprise. This was entirely different from what Xia Lan had intimated.

"Senior Brother, we should be united in our goal. Why don\'t you prepare a little speech and accompany me down the mountain? I\'ll help you invite the Yuqing disciples I\'m working with to head to the Shenfeng Empire with you. I\'ll support you to the best of my ability," Xiao Nanfeng emphasized.

Xia Hong\'s eyes widened at Xiao Nanfeng\'s sincerity. Xiao Nanfeng was hardly going to lie baldly to his three mothers; Xiao Nanfeng had to be telling the truth.

"Junior Brother Xiao, I\'m ashamed not to be doing anything for you in return. Why don\'t you recruit some of the Yuqing disciples yourself?" Xia Hong lowered his gaze in embarrassment.

"There\'s no need for such pleasantries, Senior Brother. I\'m not looking for any reinforcements at the moment. I\'m happy to help."

Xia Hong couldn\'t help but feel guilty and petty about his initial misgivings.

"Senior Brother, I\'ll be lecturing shortly enough. When we get partway in, I\'ll recommend you then. That will be the best time for it—please make sure to show up," Xiao Nanfeng said. He smiled as he got up.

The three women relaxed upon seeing the two cultivators interact politely. One was a son they were all proud of; the other was their future son-in-law. That they could and would work together was a source of palpable relief and joy.

"Right, Xia Hong, why don\'t you join Nanfeng? He\'s a frank and magnanimous man," Han Bingdie asserted.

Xia Hong took a deep breath. "I\'m deeply grateful for the offer, Junior Brother. If you need anything, please let me know at once."

"We\'ll be a family soon enough. I do intend to ask you for help as and when necessary," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Haha, indeed, indeed!" Xia Hong laughed gaily in return.

"I\'ll be heading down to make arrangements now. You\'ll show up later, won\'t you, Senior Brother?"

"Of course," Xia Hong replied.

As Xiao Nanfeng descended the mountain, Xia Hong turned to Xia Lan with a frown. "Third Brother, why were you lying to me?"

"Second Brother—I don\'t understand what\'s going on myself. Could it be that..." Xia Lan trailed off, not knowing how to explain himself.

Xiao Nanfeng had gone to great lengths to prepare his lectures. Wasn\'t it all because he wanted to recruit the Yuqing disciples to further his own ends? Why was he giving all of them up now? What had he been trying to do all along?

The three women, seemingly having sensed Xia Lan\'s intentions, all glared at him. Clearly, there would be a reckoning to come.

In the end, however, Xia Hong didn\'t criticize Xia Lan further. He patted him on the shoulder. "Men ought to be more magnanimous," he concluded. "You\'ll need to learn from Nanfeng."

Xia Lan stiffened. He had summoned his second brother back to be an ally—why was he betraying him and joining his mothers\' side now?!

1. Shen (神) means divine, hence Divine Emperor. ☜