In a blink of an eye, 3 days had passed. It was the day of the Demon Emperor’s tribute ceremony.
Liu Ming put on a brand new Qing Family Master costume. After warning Qing Yu and others not to cause trouble and wait at Genix Garden for him, he went alone to the Third City District of Central Imperial City, which was the Demon Emperor Palace.
Today was the tribute ceremony, so the gates of the Demon Emperor Palace were wide open, but those who entered would still be checked strictly.
…
The sky of the entire Central Imperial City was shrouded in brilliant rays of light. The buildings in the Demon Emperor Palace were illuminated with colorful lights. The flowers, plants, and trees in the palace were blooming in brilliant colors under the influence of spells.
The ceremony was held on a huge square in the Demon Emperor Palace. The square was dozens of miles in size. The ground was paved with a kind of black and shiny crystal stone, which was as smooth as a mirror and could clearly reflect people’s figures.
At this moment, the surroundings of the square had been arranged. At the front was a high platform more than 30 meters high. There was a long table that was filled with various offerings, but there was still no one on the high platform at this moment.
On the square, there were rows of spacious chairs, and there was a small table next to it. Various rare fruits and fragrant teas were placed on it. Many servant-like demons were walking back and forth to place items on the small table.
Liu Ming was following the bustling crowd to the square at this moment. He was looking around with interest.
In the entire square, many family masters or elders who came on behalf of family masters had already gathered there. At a glance, it looked like there were thousands of people.
The family masters and elders present were basically at the Celestial State, but the auras of the dozen or so people sitting at the front were profound, reaching the Mystic Comprehending State.
Liu Ming secretly smacked his lips. Perhaps the Middle Sky Continent had no less Celestial State and Mystic Comprehending State cultivators than the Thousands Demons Continent, but it was basically impossible to gather such a large number of people.
Even the alliance of the Middle Sky Continent to resist the Mother Hellish-Insect invasion couldn’t gather so many top rank cultivators.
The ceremony had not yet begun. The family masters and elders on the square were in groups of three or two or forming circles. They were either whispering or chatting and laughing loudly. The atmosphere was quite peaceful.
In front of the square closest to the high platform, three groups of people could be clearly seen. Among them were the family masters of the Gaohe Family, the Long Family, and the Kongxiang Family. Other family masters and elders of the aristocratic families were surrounding them like the stars around the moon.
There were more family masters trying to get over to have a word with the family masters of the 3 great families.
Liu Ming shook his head and smiled. Naturally, he had no interest in joining in the fun. He found an inconspicuous seat near the back and sat down, quietly waiting for the tribute ceremony to begin.
There were more and more people in the square, and it became more and more noisy.
About half an hour later, 3 melodious bells rang. The tribute ceremony of the Central Imperial had finally begun!
The sound in the square quickly subsided, and groups of tribute guards in long robes appeared near the high platform.
As the third bell ended, a burst of melodious music came from nowhere. A purple light came swiftly from the distance sky. The purple light converged, revealing a man in a purple robe and a golden cockscomb. He climbed up the stairs to the high platform in front of them.
Liu Ming’s eyes narrowed. Although he had never seen this person before, he could guess that he was the Demon Emperor of Thousands Demons Continent, which was Zhao Qianying’s father, Huangfu Yong.
Upon closer inspection, the face of this person was somewhat similar to that of Huangfu Liushui who died in the Great Chaos Mara Array. Huangfu Liushui gave him the Demon Abyss Key before his death that day, and he had the opportunity to enter the Demon Abyss, so he had a very deep impression.
Liu Ming felt a strange feeling in his heart. 3 other people followed Demon Emperor and landed in front of the high platform, attracting his attention.
One of them was an old man in a purple robe with an elegant face, the other was a middle-aged man with silver hair with a somewhat ferocious face, and the last one was a veiled woman with a slender figure. They exuded a terrifying aura. They were all Mystic Comprehending State demons.
Liu Ming glanced at the slender veiled woman, and he looked thoughtful.
Just after the 3 people went to the platform, another group of more than 20 people went up to the high platform.
The group of people were all quite young men and women dressed in elegant purple clothes.
Liu Ming’s eyes flashed. He learned from the comments of the people around him that these people were direct descendants of the Huangfu Family.
He subconsciously glanced at the group, and a beautiful purple figure caught his eyes. This woman was none other than Zhao Qianying.
Liu Ming’s heart skipped a beat. There was a complicated look on his expression.
At this moment, Zhao Qianying had a fair and flawless face, white teeth and red lips, and a cheerful posture. Her purple hair was casually scattered on his shoulders, but her expression was a little less leisurely and a little more solemn.
When Liu Ming looked at her, she seemed to sense something. She looked at Liu Ming through the layers of people in front.
Liu Ming’s face froze, but under the clear eyes of Zhao Qianying, he sighed secretly in his mind and nodded to her in the distance with a smile.
Zhao Qianying’s pretty face blushed slightly with a trace of panic in her eyes. She quickly looked away.
Liu Ming showed a hint of embarrassment and turned his gaze to the princes next to Zhao Qianying.
These royal nobles were different in cultivation levels. Most of them were at the Real Pellet State and Crystallization Period. For Celestial State, there were only 8 people standing in the front row.
Liu Ming turned his eyes and looked at a red-haired young man.
This person’s appearance looked somewhat similar to Huangfu Liushui’s, and his aura was also the highest among the princes. He had already reached the peak of the Celestial State, which was one foot into the Mystic Comprehending State.
Liu Ming’s eyes flashed slightly. When he was wandering around Imperial City in the past few days, he had long heard that among the descendants of the Demon Emperor, a prince named Huangfu Jiangu had the highest cultivation level.
After the fall of Huangfu Liushui, Huangfu Jiangu naturally became the most popular candidate for the next emperor.
Among the other Celestial State royal demons, there was a thin-faced young man whose cultivation level had reached the Celestial State later stage. Apart from these 2 people, Zhao Qianying’s cultivation level was considered to be the highest.
Liu Ming’s brows moved slightly, then he regained his calmness.
The melodious ritual music had stopped at this moment. Huangfu Yong stood at the front of the high platform, looking at the thousands of family masters below with a smile.
“Thank you all for coming from afar today. I’m very pleased.” Huangfu Yong said loudly. Although his voice was not loud, it spread far away and reached the ears of everyone present very clearly.
The family masters below all stood up and bowed after hearing this.
Huangfu Yong paused for a moment and continued,
“The situation in the mainland is slightly turbulent right now. The Liu Family has colluded with Dashuo and is now entrenched in 4 counties…”
After Huangfu Yong made some opening remarks that seemed to indicate something, the tribute ceremony officially began. Family masters from all over the place came to the high platform one by one and presented tribute items, then the demon specifically responsible for collecting the tributes would announce loudly.
This section was the time to demonstrate the strength of the major families. In fact, the Central Imperial did not have any specific requirements for tribute. It was just a ceremony. The purpose was to gather these families into the Imperial City as a means of testing loyalty and power control.
All major aristocratic families wanted to show their loyalty. At the same time, if they wanted to demonstrate their strength to the others, they would offer tributes as much as possible.
The first ones to present offerings were naturally the family masters of the 3 great families, Gaohe Family, Long Family, and Kongxiang Family. Naturally, they were also the 3 forces that paid the most tributes. The demonic crystals they presented alone were worth hundreds of millions, not to mention other materials and treasures. The number of treasures made everyone in the audience speechless.
But the most unexpected thing was that after the 3 family masters presented their offerings, they did not return to their original seats. Instead, he was invited by Huangfu Yong to the high platform and sat down in front of the Demon Emperor’s throne.
This move immediately caused a lot of discussion among the people below. In such a solemn ceremony, any move represented a certain meaning.
The 3 family masters and Huangfu Yong were sitting together. The closeness between them could be seen by anyone with a discerning eye.
“Brother Zhao, I didn’t expect that at this year’s tribute ceremony, not only would the family masters of the 3 great families present in person, but they would also have such a close relationship with the Demon Emperor. It seems that the Liu Family’s rebellion is going to end soon!” Not far from Liu Ming, 2 Celestial State family masters were communicating in inaudible voices.
However, Liu Ming’s consciousness was far beyond that of ordinary people, so he could hear their conversation clearly.
Liu Ming glanced sideways. It turned out that the person talking was more than 30 meters away to his right. He was a middle-aged man was wearing a gray robe and had an ordinary face. He probably had the strength of a Celestial State early stage.
The other man was a thin old man with gray hair.
Liu Ming didn’t know these 2 people, but judging from the family marks, they should be family masters from a relatively remote state county.
“Hmph! The Liu Family’s rebellion is purely an act of seeking death. The Huangfu Family has controlled the Thousands Demons Continent for hundreds of thousands of years. They are not only powerful, but also deeply rooted. Although the Liu Family had a slight upper hand for a while, they cannot be enemies of the Central Dynasty. Looking at the current situation, the Demon Emperor has gotten the 3 great families on his side. The Liu Family is not far from being defeated.” The thin old man sneered with a slightly hoarse.
Liu Ming showed a faint smile.
Although he didn’t know what method Demon Emperor used, at this moment, the 3 great families had clearly sided with the Central Imperial. If the Liu Family didn’t have any other means, their situation would indeed be in danger.
At the same time, most of the family masters and elders in the square were talking about it. Most of them had the same idea.
As a result, those families who originally had a wait-and-see attitude couldn’t help but start to make new plans after seeing this scene.
The tribute ceremony continued. Following the 3 great families, some family masters or elders of the major aristocratic families also stepped forward to hand over their tributes.
After more than an hour, the tribute ceremony finally ended.
During this period, Liu Ming naturally stepped forward and presented the tributes prepared by the Qing Family. These items were carefully prepared by Qing Gu and others, but they were nothing outstanding.
Liu Ming wanted exactly this effect.
TL: Will he somehow get involved in the war between the Huangfu Family and the Liu Family?
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