Chapter 974: Alone in a Foreign Land
The young man in the bamboo hat gazed quietly at Xuanyuan Po, gradually calming down.
That trace of killing intent had vanished to who knows where, leaving only absolute calm, which was to say, cold indifference.
His voice and expression were both cold to the extreme.
In his eyes, Xuanyuan Po was like a dead thing, or rather, an inevitable sacrifice.
"Even if I use nothing at all, you are no match for me. Chen Changsheng is like a dog before me, so what are you? After I finish my business, I will kill you. Of course, I won't do it with my own hands. I'll make you die painfully and despairingly at the hands of your own people."
Xuanyuan Po remained silent, covered in blood, offering no reply.
At this point, the outcome was decided.
It seemed that no one could stop this young man in the bamboo hat from achieving final victory in the Heaven Selection Ceremony.
The area around the imperial city grew exceptionally quiet, without a single sound.
The fact that the young man in the bamboo hat could defeat Xuanyuan Po so easily shocked everyone.
But even more shocking were the bits of information vaguely revealed in the few words he had spoken.
Who exactly was he? He dared to call the Heavenly Mechanism Elder an old man, and claimed that His Holiness the Pope was like a dog before him?
Countless gazes fell upon him and his bamboo hat.
The gaze of the Western Wasteland Temple Archbishop, however, fell upon his left hand.
In the moment when the young man in the bamboo hat had clenched his hand into a fist, he had vaguely glimpsed a seal.
As a senior archbishop of the state religion with a very long tenure, he knew many ancient secrets. Combined with the urgent message sent from the palace last night, he had already confirmed the identity of the young man in the bamboo hat—yet it was the answer he least wanted to see.
The archbishop's face was somewhat pale, and his body trembled slightly.
The Great Zhou envoy and the Tang Clan steward exchanged glances, also seeing the shock and fear in each other's eyes.
Suddenly, the archbishop's body stopped trembling, and a fierce, murderous aura emanated from his red priestly robe.
The shock in the eyes of the Great Zhou envoy and the Tang Clan steward also turned into resolve.
They had already confirmed the identity of the young man in the bamboo hat, so the demon tribe should have known long ago. Yet in these past few days, there had been no movement in White Emperor City. Even now, the great figures of the demon tribe within the imperial city still showed no reaction. What did this mean?
They could hesitate no longer. Even if it meant sharply intensifying the conflict, they could not allow the demon tribe to continue their secret dealings with this person!
An extremely loud shout, filled with deep alarm and warning, rang out before the imperial city.
"This guy is a demon!"
Immediately after, another shout rose from the crowd opposite.
"He is a demon!"
The shouts rose one after another, ringing out continuously before the imperial city. No one could stop them, and they instantly fell into the ears of all the demon tribe citizens.
"You are a demon!"
...
...
The young man in the bamboo hat was actually a demon!
The area before the imperial city first fell into a sudden silence, then quickly erupted into chaos.
Countless gazes once again fell upon the young man in the bamboo hat.
The emotions in those gazes had mostly been awe and confusion before, but now they were filled with much more vigilance, disgust, and hatred.
The high official in charge of the Heaven Selection Ceremony frowned, looking at the young man in the bamboo hat.
The demon guards and soldiers before the imperial city changed expressions abruptly, raising their weapons and aiming them at the young man in the bamboo hat.
The young man in the bamboo hat stood quietly in place, showing no intention of fleeing or offering any defense.
He looked around at the surrounding crowd and easily found the source of those first few shouts.
A priest, a military officer from the Great Zhou embassy, and a steward from a trading company.
It was only then that he realized the humans had already prepared for today's events, which caught him somewhat off guard.
According to the strategist's plan, the capital wouldn't be able to react until tonight at the earliest.
Where had the problem arisen? Or were these human representatives in White Emperor City acting on their own?
But none of that mattered. The next moment, he stopped pondering these questions.
Today, he had intended to reveal his identity anyway. Being exposed might cause a bit of chaos, but it wouldn't affect the overall situation.
...
...
"This guy is actually a demon? Then how did he sneak into the city?"
"I thought it was strange—why was he always wearing that bamboo hat, acting all sneaky? So that was to hide it."
"The bamboo hat has two big holes torn in it, but I didn't see any demon horns."
"Could this guy be a member of the demon royal family?"
The area before the imperial city was in an uproar. The citizens stared at the surrounded young man, discussing among themselves, growing more and more shocked.
Since the alliance with the humans a thousand years ago, aside from a very few spies, White Emperor City had not seen a demon in many years.
And this young man in the bamboo hat was very likely a member of the demon royal family!
The high official in charge of the Heaven Selection Ceremony turned extremely cold-faced and barked, "Seize him!"
Several hundred of the most elite and powerful Red River demon guards and soldiers slowly advanced toward the center of the square.
The young man in the bamboo hat glanced at Xuanyuan Po.
Xuanyuan Po was covered in blood, with who knows how many bones broken, and could no longer move.
If he subdued Xuanyuan Po and used his life to threaten the demon tribe, it would indeed be a very good method.
Xuanyuan Po was the future that the Bear Clan was heavily cultivating, a student of Her Highness Luoluo, and more importantly, he was representing the Orthodox Academy in the battle.
The demon tribe would always have to consider the attitude of the Li Palace.
However, the young man in the bamboo hat did not do this.
He stood quietly in place, allowing several priests and two cultivators from the Southern Desolate to take great risks and rush into the arena to carry Xuanyuan Po away.
Seeing this scene, some citizens began to waver, thinking that if he were truly a demon who committed every evil, would he willingly submit to capture?
The young man in the bamboo hat asked, "Why are you arresting me?"
That demon court official said expressionlessly, "We need to confirm whether you are a demon spy."
The young man in the bamboo hat was silent for a moment, then said, "There's no need to confirm, because I have never denied it."
Not denying meant admitting.
The scene erupted in an uproar.
Several shrill cries rang out in the sky, followed by dark shadows streaking past at high speed.
Those were gray vultures leaving the city walls, entering a state of combat readiness.
On the stone steps leading to the heights of the imperial city, several demon eunuchs could be faintly seen running.
Behind the Heavenly Watch Pavilion, the gates of the cavalry camp were slowly opening, and the sound of hooves could already be faintly heard.
The entire White Emperor City was tense because of this young man in the bamboo hat's identity.
He remained very calm, feeling no tension at all.
Because although he was a demon, he was not a spy.
A calm and lofty voice drifted down from the highest point of the imperial city.
"A guest from afar, please."
Hearing these words, the area before the imperial city fell into dead silence.
The citizens were shocked and bewildered.
That high official was even more shocked, wondering if he had heard wrong.
The Red River demon guards and soldiers felt the same.
The faces of the Western Wasteland Temple Archbishop and the Great Zhou envoy turned extremely ugly.
It was as if they had heard news of a demon victory in a war.
The young man in the bamboo hat smiled faintly and walked toward the imperial city.
Yes, he was not a spy.
He was a guest.
A guest invited by White Emperor City.