28: Chapter 28 The Empress

The eldest princess sat at the head, with the other princesses arranged in order beside her, leaving the last seat empty.

The Fish Fairy pulled Xiang Tian forward. After bowing to the princesses, she walked straight to the last seat and sat down.

"Seventh Sister, are you sure you want him to participate in the battle?" the second princess, sitting in the second position, asked.

"Second Sister, there is no need for you to worry. Why can he not participate?" The Fish Fairy replied, lifting her gaze.

"Do you know that this competition is dangerous? If he is not careful, he could be beaten to death on the spot!" The second princess frowned slightly.

"There is no need for Second Sister to concern yourself with this matter." The Fish Fairy spoke firmly, though in her heart, she did not expect Xiang Tian to win. It was merely a formality; at the very least, she had secured her eligibility to compete for the throne.

"Seventh Sister, I just don't want you to lose a Dao Companion in vain." The second princess tried to persuade her further.

The third princess interrupted, "Second Sister, there is no point in saying more. I think the seventh brother-in-law has an extraordinary air about him; perhaps he truly has some exceptional qualities. I believe in him."

The Fish Fairy felt a slight stirring in her heart. She followed the third princess's gaze toward the arena, only to suddenly realize that Xiang Tian had not yet taken the stage.

Just as she was wondering about this, the eldest princess's voice came, accompanied by a faint smile: "Seventh Sister, your seventh brother-in-law drew a bye. His luck is truly quite good."

The Fish Fairy raised an eyebrow, feeling secretly pleased.

One hour later, it was time for Xiang Tian's opponent to take the stage.

The Fish Fairy looked at the thin figure of Xiang Tian on the arena and still held little expectation.

Just as the audience was whispering, all assuming that Xiang Tian would be easily eliminated...

Xiang Tian flickered, and with a single kick, he sent the opposing consort flying off the arena. The opponent didn't even have a chance to react.

"Bang!" A muffled sound exploded.

"So fast?" "This... is this a fixed match?" "That's awesome, a one-hit kill!"

The audience was in an uproar. No one expected that this seemingly weak Human Race consort could win with a single move.

The expressions of the seven princesses were all different; the fourth princess's face was livid.

"Seventh Sister, you really hid this well. The seventh brother-in-law is actually this strong!" The fifth princess turned to look at The Fish Fairy.

"Fifth Sister, perhaps it was just luck." The Fish Fairy pretended to be indifferent, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upward.

"This is a member of the Human Race, right?" The eldest princess asked, appearing thoughtful.

"Yes, Eldest Sister, that is correct." The Fish Fairy nodded.

"Then that is not surprising," the eldest princess said slowly. "The Human Race is different from our Yao Race; they do not like to show off their appearance, and their power is often introverted. Their potential is often hidden."

"Is that so?" The Fish Fairy looked at Xiang Tian on the arena again, her gaze no longer the same as before.

The subsequent matches proceeded extremely quickly. In less than an hour, Xiang Tian had fought three opponents in succession.

Every match was devoid of any flair; there were no earth-shattering Spell collisions. He used only the simplest and most direct move to knock his opponents off the arena.

"Bang!" As the last challenger was kicked away.

Xiang Tian stood in the center of the arena, his expression calm.

"That's it?" The fourth princess stood up abruptly, her face looking extremely ugly.

She and The Fish Fairy were already at odds. She wouldn't have minded if anyone else had won, but it just had to be Xiang Tian, the Human Race member she looked down upon. This was undoubtedly a slap in her face.

The onlookers were also dumbfounded. Xiang Tian's matches were too straightforward, with no highlights to speak of.

"This seventh consort is awesome!" "Truly impressive, I want to follow the seventh consort!" "Me too! Great minds think alike!"

Regardless of age or gender, the way everyone looked at Xiang Tian had completely changed.

"Since the seventh consort has won, from this day forward, our Fish Kingdom shall be governed by the seventh princess, The Fish Fairy!" The eldest princess stood up, her voice resounding clearly. "Bring the jade seal!"

Prime Minister Turtle immediately walked over slowly with a team of attendants, carrying a large brocade box with intricate ocean wave patterns carved into it.

"We invite the new King to take hold of the jade seal!"

The Fish Fairy was completely stunned, sitting in her seat without moving. Everything was just too dreamlike.

"We invite the new King to take hold of the jade seal!" The attendants shouted again. The Fish Fairy finally came to her senses, walked forward tremblingly, and reached out to touch the jade seal in the brocade box.

As soon as her fingertips touched the cold jade seal, the seal suddenly shook, then rapidly shrank, becoming the size of a palm, and landed steadily in The Fish Fairy's hand.

"Greetings to our King!" Everyone in the arena knelt on both knees, the shouts of the fish-headed monsters deafening.

"Welcome to the new King!" The other six princesses also knelt on one knee. Although the fourth princess was full of reluctance, she was quietly held down by the third princess and had no choice but to lower her head.

Just at this moment, the jade seal in The Fish Fairy's hand suddenly erupted with dazzling light, and the entire arena was enveloped in golden radiance.

At the same time, the jade talisman on Xiang Tian's chest also began to shine. This was actually the force he was looking for, the mortal enemy of that woman!

"I didn't expect this underwater kingdom to be her hostile force," Xiang Tian thought to himself. "Since that's the case, I'll just finish them off!"

But the next second, a sudden change occurred. A faint light lit up on the seven princesses at the same time. Their figures slowly rose into the air, turning into seven streams of light that intertwined and underwent Fusion.

"This... the seven princesses have undergone Body Integration?" Xiang Tian's eyes widened, and he called it absurd.

"Welcome the return of the Empress!" Prime Minister Turtle was the first to kowtow, his head hitting the ground heavily.

Everyone else was confused: "What's going on?" "The seven princesses have undergone Body Integration?" "Does that mean the Empress can have seven consorts?" "Damn, you figured that out?" "Is that the point?" "..."

Xiang Tian had no time to pay attention to the crowd's discussion. He only felt the aura of the Empress, who had undergone Body Integration, surge violently. He was only at the fourth level of the Opening Aperture Realm; in the face of this pressure, he found it difficult to even move. This mission's difficulty was too high!

What shocked him even more was that the other six consorts turned into their original forms and were swallowed by the Empress in one gulp, her aura surging once again.

Xiang Tian was startled into a shiver. This was no Legacy of the throne; it was clearly a grand ceremony of devouring!

"Human, come here." The Empress locked her gaze on Xiang Tian and beckoned to him, her voice bewitching.

"Empress, what do you want with me?" Xiang Tian braced himself, secretly on guard and ready to run at any moment.

The Empress did not give him a chance to refuse. She raised her slender hand, and an invisible force sucked Xiang Tian to her side.

"Human, I smell a very repulsive aura on you."

Xiang Tian's heart skipped a beat. This was clearly the aura of that woman in his Sea of Consciousness!

"Senior, the target has appeared! Didn't you promise to help me conceal my aura?"

"Hmm? It was only half a breath late." Inside the Sea of Consciousness, that woman was lying on auspicious clouds, looking comfortable. Apparently, she didn't expect the target to appear so quickly.

"I was almost recognized by her!" Dark lines appeared on Xiang Tian's forehead. This woman was just too unreliable.

[Ding! New mission triggered: Help You Lingqing eliminate hostile forces. Reward: One lottery chance, one Martial King-level yue maiden sword.]

"System, what do you mean? Why is it a yue maiden sword?" Xiang Tian couldn't help but complain.

[The yue maiden sword is not limited to women; its sharpness is sufficient to pierce armor and cut metal.]

Xiang Tian was speechless. The reward was clearly not commensurate with the difficulty of the mission; it was simply perfunctory!

"Do you have any secrets you are hiding from me?" The Empress extended her pale, white fingers, lifted Xiang Tian's chin, and her eyes were as sharp as knives.

"Are you still The Fish Fairy? I am your Dao Companion! You cannot be so heartless!" Xiang Tian tried to awaken The Fish Fairy's consciousness.

"The Fish Fairy?" The Empress sneered. "She is merely a wisp of my soul. There has never been a Fish Fairy in this world, only this Empress."

Xiang Tian thought to himself: This Empress is so formidable; a head-on confrontation would definitely not work. Should he use the honey trap? He wouldn't do it even if it killed him!

"You still haven't told me what the repulsive aura on your body is." The Empress's fingertips brushed across Xiang Tian's cheek.

"Your Majesty Empress, we are of different species, and our auras are contradictory, so naturally, you would feel repulsed." Xiang Tian forced an explanation.

"Is that so?" The Empress suddenly leaned down and kissed Xiang Tian's lips.

Xiang Tian was stunned.

A moment later, he reacted. Since you've started it, I have no choice but to follow through! He reached out and wrapped his arms around the Empress's waist.

The Empress clearly did not expect Xiang Tian to be so bold. Her body stiffened, and then she shouted angrily: "How bold!"

A massive force erupted, and Xiang Tian was instantly sent flying, landing heavily on the ground and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Pfft!"

He struggled to climb up, complaining bitterly in his heart: This is too strong!

"The Fish Fairy, I know you are still there, come out and stop her!"

But there was no response from The Fish Fairy's consciousness in the Sea of Consciousness. The Empress's aura remained overbearing and unparalleled.

Xiang Tian sighed to himself. It seemed this mission could not be completed. The opponent could send him flying just by releasing her aura at will—what the hell was there to fight with!