The Sword Spirit has recognized an owner?

The smiles on all of the officials' faces disappeared when they saw the shaking General Jin. They all thought of the same thing.

However, no one dared to say it out.

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping's expression was contorted.

King Duan, Lin Tianrong, as well as all of the officials in the throne room had a similar expression. The worst of them all was General Jin.

General Jin's eyes were bloodshot and his lips turned purple from all the exertion.

Even so, the blade in his hand did not seem to move. No matter how hard he tried, the blade would not come out from the stone.

The worst feeling was that he could not stop until Emperor Lin Mubai gave him permission...

No one stood out.

If General Jin could not extract the sword, that could only mean that the sword was incredibly difficult to extract. None of the officials had the confidence to try.

Emperor Lin Mubai's expression changed as he looked at General Jin.

He could tell that there was a problem. However, as the greatest power in the entire country and the son of the dragon, how could he be stymied by a blade?

This situation had escalated far beyond that of a sword.

If he knew that the sword had already recognized an owner, then he would not have asked Fang Zhengzhi to present the sword. He would have simply given the sword to Fang Zhengzhi and made himself seem generous.

But now, if the sword could not be extracted, his authority would be impacted.

For thousands of years, the Emperor was without equal. How could he be insulted like that?

Emperor Lin Mubai knew that he had to make a decision.

But...

This blade belonged to Meng Tian. It represented Meng Tian's will and determination. If Fang Zhengzhi was really its owner, then it would be impossible to extract it from the ground.

Emperor Lin Mubai clasped his palms as his eyes glowed. He exuded a mountainous, domineering aura.

This aura quickly filled up the entire throne room.

All of the officials turned to look at Emperor Lin Mubai. They knew how powerful this man was. As the emperor, there was no one more commanding than him.

"Is the Emperor going to take matters into his own hands?" All of the officials looked on with complicated expressions.

Based on his abilities, there was a good chance that he could extract the sword himself.

However, that would completely change the situation. He would be taking the sword by force. Fang Zhengzhi had not offered the sword to him.

Furthermore, what if he failed to extract it from the ground?

The situation would really go out of control.

Take the sword by force? Kill Fang Zhengzhi?

Some people would want to see the issue resolved this way. However, most people did not want things to end that way. Even though they didn't think Fang Zhengzhi deserved the sword, they thought that he was a talent who can be used in the future.

"Hum!"

The Traceless Sword began to hum at a high pitch. The entire blade began to shake as a strange purple light glowed from the bottom, almost as if it was fighting against some force.

Fang Zhengzhi felt his heart in his throat. He could feel that the blade was in a bad mood, almost as if it was being trapped by something.

Just as he prepared to speak, the high pitched hum disappeared.

Emperor Lin Mubai's aura also disappeared with it. The throne room returned to calm as Lin Mubai loosened the grip on his hands.

He did not try to extract the sword, neither did he stop General Jin from trying. He sat on the throne quietly and calmly, almost as if he was waiting for something.

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping glanced at Emperor Lin Mubai's expression. His heart fluttered. He could guess what the Emperor was thinking.

As the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Emperor had to think of the big picture. The sword may be a treasure of the empire, but it already recognized an owner.

He could take the sword forcefully from its owner and be a thief. He may even have to kill off one of the brightest talents of the Great Xia Dynasty.

That was not a wise choice.

As such, he gave up any thought of taking the sword by force. As such, this matter had already been resolved. This was not a resolution that Yu Yiping had expected.

It was a resolution that none of the officials had expected.

And now...

Emperor Lin Mubai still needed some way to retain his standing and reputation, a way that would satisfy all of the officials.

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping could have provided that way. However, that would utterly humiliate him in front of Fang Zhengzhi...

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping knew what the Emperor wanted, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. After considering his options, he chose to remain silent.

There were countless other intelligent officials present who could guess the Emperor's intentions. However, they all chose the same path as Yu Yiping.

None of them were willing to admit that they were worse than an immature 15 year old commoner.

The throne room became incredibly silent. The silence was rather unsettling.

The only sound that could be heard was General Jin's heavy panting and occasional exclamations.

"Rise!"

"Oh gos.h.!.+"

"Rise!"

"Come on up!"

　　"..."

This looked like a stalemate. However, amidst the stalemate, there was still one person standing in front of the throne. This person was Ping Yang, and she was extremely excited.

"Come on, General Jin!"

A crisp voice rang out throughout the throne room. Her naivety eventually resulted in General Jin shuddering and falling to the ground, thoroughly exhausted.

At this point, a faint cough could be heard from outside the throne room.

Then, a figure appeared at the entrance to the throne room. This man was in his eighties, and his hair was completely silver. His face was thin and wrinkled and his eyes were drowsy. However, his silver dragon robe made sure that he was still respected.

"King Liqin?!"

All of the officials were stunned when they saw him.

King Liqin was the uncle of the Emperor.

He was an incredibly elderly man, but no one could ignore his presence.

He did not meddle with the courts, but he was an influential man in the armies. He had stood next to the previous emperor and played an invaluable role in his conquest of the south.

Back then, he was touted as having immense wit and foresight.

However, no one could understand why he had pulled out of the courts and given up command of the armies after the previous emperor had taken the throne.

He had just been leading a simple, leisurely life in the palace.

If Meng Tian was a legendary figure, then King Liqin was a living fossil of the Great Xia Empire army.

"King Liqin is here?!"

All of the officials looked at each other, unsure of what was going on. That was until they saw a lady behind King Liqin.

This was a lady dressed in a pink dress. She had a purple belt with gold embroidery tied around her waist which accentuated her great figure. There was also a Roc Bird with its outspread wings embroidered in silver. The Roc Bird's eyes were golden pearls.

The eyes glimmered like stars in the sky.

The lady also had a gold jade hairpin. It was also a Roc Bird with its wings extended. It was extremely magnificent.

The girl was quite calm, but her eyes glimmered like the stars.

The girl followed closely beside King Liqin. She did not speak, but all the officials looked at her closely.

Because...

She was the Heaven's Pride Talent of the Great Xia Dynasty. She was the top of the two Dragon Rolls, Chi Guyan.

"Greetings, your highness!" King Liqin stepped into the throne room but did not advance any further. He bowed deeply upon entering.

"Uncle, please rise!" Emperor Lin Mubai stood up from his throne and made a motion with his hands upon seeing the elderly man fall to his knees.

King Liqin paused for a moment before standing up. However, he did not enter the throne room, choosing to stand at the entrance like a statue.

"Thank you, your highness!"

"What brings you and Chi Guyan here?" Emperor Lin Mubai's eyes glowed when he saw Chi Guyan.

"The weather has been bad and I've been bored. Chi Guyan happened to come visit me, so we decided to take a walk. We never expected to stumble across the throne room and interrupt a court session." King Liqin looked quite frail, almost as if he could be knocked over by a gust of wind.

"Uncle, what are you saying? I can always postpone my court session. Now that you are here, how about we go sit in the gardens?"

"I am deeply appreciative of your highness' goodwill. However, please do not let us interrupt the important court session. I have nothing better to do, a little wait wouldn't hurt." King Liqin looked at the Traceless Sword being held by General Jin as he spoke.