Rise of the Demon God

Fu Min was the one leading the team from the Empire. He was also the one flying at the front with the girls Lim Yi and Du Lian following behind. The guys Gu Yan and Bu Xo were in the end.

"We would have been at home much faster if we weren't stopping at Kingdoms along the way," Gu Yan complained. 

He had been saying since the beginning that they should straight go to the Empire and let the Emperor decide how to search again instead of stopping in every Kingdom along the way to keep them updated. There wasn't even a good chance that Long Chen would be coming towards the Empire after all.

"Oh, stop complaining. We didn't even waste that much time in stopping and informing the Kings on the way. The Snowstorm was the thing that actually stopped us," he thought. 

"Can you guys stop arguing for one second? You've been doing this the entire way. We're almost in the Royal City. Can you at least put this argument behind us?" Bu Xo couldn't take it anymore and rebuked them.

"Yeah. You should worry more about the punishment that we might face," Du Lian said.

Fu Min didn't interfere in their conversation, but he did listen to them. His beast was the fastest, so he could easily create some distance with the other, but he had to be the leader and stay close to them. Their words were easily reaching his head.

"Punishment? Why punishment?" Lim Yi asked.

"Sigh, don't tell me you don't know. You think His Majesty won't punish us for our blunder? We had the Saint Killer Heir before us, and we failed to catch him. How do you think it will go when we tell the Emperor about it?" Du Lian retorted as she rolled her eyes.

"He wouldn't reward us, at least," Bu Xo answered jokingly.

"But it isn't our fault. So many strange things happened here. That young boy, who was probably from the higher world, started going crazy. We couldn't do anything. Then people kept disappearing and appearing somehow. Even the Saint Killer Heir disappeared in the end. He must be using some really incredible treasure. We couldn't have caught him even if we tried," Lim Yi answered.

"We didn't know about his abilities. Now that we know, we can catch him the next time we meet him. That's all," she continued.

"Do you think we should wait a day before getting to the Royal City?" Gu Yan asked softly.

"Why?" Bu Xo asked strangely. "Weren't you the one who was saying we don't need to waste time in stopping?"

"I did. I wouldn't have minded if we had reached the Palace sooner but reaching there today is a little..." Gu Yan said, but he stopped mid-way.

"What are you trying to say?" Du Lian inquired.

"None of you remember the date?" Gu Yah asked as if finding it strange. 

It was at that point Fu Min started frowning. He opened his thin lips and answered, "Today is the birthday of Second Prince Qian."

"Second Prince Qian's birthday? Right! I completely forgot. That makes it a lot worse. On an occasion like today, we would be informing the Emperor about our failure," Du Lian muttered with concern on her face.

"Exactly. We can't even delay informing him after reaching there, or he would be angry that we hid this information from him by not telling him instantly. It's so bad. Let's camp today and not go back. It would be better if we go tomorrow," she continued. 

"Yes! That is better. Let's stay in a hotel. We can spend the night there and leave tomorrow." Lim Yi also agreed. 

"I also think we should wait. Let's not make things worse for us," Bu Xo also said.

"What do you think, Fu Min? You should agree as well," Gu Yan said softly. 

"I can't agree to that. As the loyal members of the Royal Order, it's our duty to give our best to this Empire. We can't delay reporting in fear of scolding or punishment. That would be disingenuous. We must not stop unless we absolutely need to," Fu Min answered, shaking his head.

"Now, it would be a different matter if a snowstorm appeared. You can pray for one if you want to stop.  I won't say no. But stopping when the weather is nice is impossible for me," he continued.

"Sigh, I guess we must get there today then. Weather was so bad in the last few days, but when we need it to be bad, it's sunny. Such is our luck," Lim Yi cursed as she looked at the sky that was completely clear now. 

It didn't seem like a snowstorm or anything similar as possible, which disappointed them all.

Even Fu Min wished for a snowstorm since he himself didn't want to go back today, but his sense of duty prevailed over his fear.

****

Long Chen and Meng Huling entered the Royal Palace together.

"Since my father and brothers aren't there either, we don't have to go. How about I show you the Palace?"Meng Huling asked Long Chen.

"Alright," Long Chen nodded his head. It was a good thing to get close to a Prince. He couldn't let this opportunity go.

"Good."

Meng Huling led Long Chen through a hallway, but they had only walked for a short while when they saw a middle-aged man.

The man wore a robe that seemed kingly. It was smooth and thick. It was made from the skin of the most exotic and rare beast in the Entire Continent.

The man was also wearing a throne.

Long Chen didn't have a hard time guessing. He was sure that the man was the Emperor of this continent and the strongest being in this world. 

Long Chen couldn't even see the cultivation of the Emperor, no matter how hard he tried.

'He can't have that high Cultivation. When I was in Earth Realm, I was able to see Cultivation of Sky and Heaven Realm Cultivators. Now that I am at the peak of Sky Realm, I should even be able to see Saint Realm Cultivation. The Emperor can't be stronger than that, or he would have left for the Immortal Realm already,' Long Chen thought as he frowned.

'He must be using some treasure that keeps his true strength hidden. Interesting,' He concluded.

Behind the Emperor, a young man was standing who seemed to be in his late twenties. The young man had long green hair like his father. He was also wearing a crown, but his crown seemed thinner and lighter. 

'That must be the Crown Prince,' Long Chen thought.