“You dare bring this not Yu Lang thing inside the holy halls of the Yu Lang temple!?”

****

Ban Yan’s countenance fell in the face of this accusation and he looked to the King to see what her stance on the matter was.

When he saw that her eyes were closed as she sat on the throne, he knew that she was giving them the unspoken permission to discuss this among themselves.

“Second Minister, have you already forgotten the earlier humiliation!?” Ban Yan roared.

The one who spoke earlier was the Second Minister Yaomu Bei. The Three Excellencies such as the Grand Preceptor, the Grand Secretary and the Grand Commandant didn’t involve themselves easily with certain matters.

The only reason two of them spoke up earlier was because Ban Yan’s killing intent displayed his resolve to take physical action against the Second Minister. Imperial Protector Ban Yan may not have any misgivings against taking action against the Second Minister but they were not sure of escaping responsibility with the King if such a thing took place under their nose.

Now that it was not at an unreasonable level, they simply watched the proceedings and would know how to act from there.

“Imperial Protector Ban Yan, don't think that your shameless sneak attack will work again!” Second Minister Yaomu Bei sneered.

Yaomu Bei was still unresigned at his suppression at the hands of Imperial Protector Ban Yan earlier. He was unprepared back then and by the time Ban Yan’s tyrannical pressure crashed down on him, he had already lost the initiative and could only suffer in Ban Yan’s hands.

Ban Yan was aware that he wouldn’t be able to suppress Yaomu Bei as easily as he did before but it didn’t mean he was afraid.

“Second Minister, the proof is right in front of you!” Ban Yan said, pointing to the scene behind him. “The temple has allowed him entry into the Yu Lang temple. This means that he is deemed worthy by the ancestors of the Yu Lang Demons to try after even a piece of their inheritance.”

“Hmph!” A scowl came after this sentence. However, it was not the Second Minister that spoke, but the Third Minister, Yaomu San.

“Like I said before, just having a trace of the ancestor’s bloodline will allow even the unworthy to enter the Temples. You have not even tested the purity of this person’s bloodline before you pushed him into the Temple,” the Third Minister made his way over to the Grand Commandant’s side as he spoke.

He further continued, saying, “looking at how only one pathway among the countless halls has been opened, it seems his purity has placed him in the lower ranks even among the mongrels out there. You’ve shamed the ancestors by putting this trash in here!”

The Third Minister’s words were truly vicious and Ban Yan was truly enraged.

The Second Minister saw this and made his way over to Grand Secretary Mishu’s side. Much like in all political bodies, factions were created that embodied one’s ideological ideals better and it was the same here.

Hence, the Grand Secretary, the Grand Commandant and the Grand Preceptor all had differing factions with varying powers of influence.

Seeing how everyone was making their way to their own factions at this time, Yaomu Lie simply smiled and made his way over to his faction with Mina by his side.

Mina could see that he was heading to the crooked nosed, thin-lipped, Grand Secretary’s side and seeing that he furiously excelled at ugliness to the point of perfection, Mina deftly wriggled from Yaomu Lie’s hands the minute he arrived at his camp’s side and diverted her course towards the old man that accompanied King Yaomu Wei, the Grand Preceptor.

“Huh?”

Yaomu Lie showed a confused expression before it changed to slight panic. While the Grand Preceptor had his own camp, it was only for show and it was not appropriate to display this whilst he was standing beside the King.

“Hm?”

The Grand Preceptor could sense Mina arriving and turned to look at her, while the King couldn’t care less.

“Hello, great grandfather.” Mina greeted him with a smile.

“G-Great grandfather? Hahaha…” The Grand Preceptor was caught off guard for a moment before he erupted into a laugh.

Seeing how the Grand Preceptor didn’t take it to heart and that the King mysteriously didn’t care, Yaomu Lie put down the weight in his heart.

However, he began to grow curious about Mina’s goal. If she was to join the Preceptor’s side, he would treat her as an enemy.

‘She doesn’t seem to be joining the Grand Preceptor’s side based on her demeanour. What does she want?’

Being so close to Yaomu Wei, Mina curiously directed her gaze to the King and an expression of shock appeared on her face, “You’re-”

“Your eyes are voiceless, I wonder why…” Yaomu Wei didn’t even look at Mina as she uttered this line. Her cold features didn’t fluctuate but her words carried an alternate meaning that caused Mina to not finish her speech.

By saying that Mina’s eyes are voiceless, she was conveying the basic fact that eyes are unable to speak. However, by adding the rhetoric question at the end, it changes the previous factual statement to something more.

To rhetorically question why the eyes are voiceless means the reason they are mute goes beyond the fact that they are simply eyes. The eyes are mentioned because they allowed Mina to see what the King truly was, however, their voiceless feature was referenced as a point of import because the King saw the importance in this characteristic much more than even Mina’s incredible ability to see beyond what others couldn’t.

It is important because the King said it was important. So if being voiceless is more important than what was seen, then what was seen need not be said. It is better to be voiceless.

From this simple sentence of the King, Mina was able to extrapolate such a meaning.

Mina put this at the back of her mind and turned her attention to the boy who sat in the temple and felt a familiar fluctuation on his body.

She then turned her attention to the Imperial Protector who was now arguing with different people and asked, “where did you get this child?”

Imperial Protector Ban Yan was caught off guard by the question since everyone was either cursing him or his actions. A question without malice or hidden intent was especially conspicuous and he turned his attention to Mina.

Before he could answer, she further asked, “Was there a boy with him? A child with a dead face, devoid of emotion? Do you know where he is?”

Hearing this question Ban Yan immediately thought of Long Di.

There was very little to differentiate it. But it couldn’t be said any other way, the boy’s face was the embodiment of ‘monotony gives me life.’

Not only Ban Yan, but the whole crowd there turned their attention to her, but weirdly enough, no one said anything in protest. It was as if her presence there instantly became ingrained in their minds that she was to be accepted in their ranks.

Finding no problem with her lack of rank among them, Ban Yan honestly answered, “Yes, there is a child among them, just like you described uhm… I’m sorry, I…”

Ban Yan just realised that he didn’t know what Mina’s name was, which was an odd thing for him.

“My name is Mina, Mina Tempesta,” she replied.

“Well, Tempesta Mina, may I ask how you came to know of this child?” Ban Yan finally asked.

“He is one of my men,” Mina said, which caused Yaomu Lie’s eyes to narrow in interest.

“So he’s one of yours, I see,” Ban Yan nodded in understanding.

“I need to meet him ASAP. Can you take me to him?” she finally asked.

The figures here realised that the conversation moved from the most pressing of matters to the circumstances of an unknown child.

“What is this about?” the Second Minister couldn’t help but ask after a while. “We are talking about the future of the temple and here you are talking about some unimportant child! Do you take us for fools, imperial Protector!?” The term Imperial Protector was said with much disdain.

Though he didn’t refer to Mina in the least, she took the initiative to answer him in place of the Imperial Protector, “I don’t know what happened to Long Di, this entire time, but I can confirm that he is leagues ahead all of you in terms of potential in just about every area.”

Mina was easily annoyed by Long Di but she had to admit that the boy took full advantage of the blessings she gave him back in Anima Palace.

His rate of cultivation was unheard of and the only thing he was missing was a worthy enough element or energy to attribute his spiritual energy to.

When the Second Minister heard Mina’s comment on Long Di, his expression changed. “You dare to say that this child is stronger than the most gifted of us!?”

Based on the way that Mina described Long Di, she made him out to be something apart from the demons and it was this aspect that the Second Minister.

“I do dare,” Mina didn’t back down.

“What type of demon is he I wonder,” the Second Minister was now asking at the behest of the Grand Commandant.

“He’s a human,” Mina admitted.

Gong!

A furore erupted as not only the Second Minister but all of the officials within the vicinity reacted instantly.

“You dare to say that a human child is better than the most gifted of the demon race!?”

“Who do you think you are!?”

“This human must have three heads and six arms for you to say that!”

“Are you a demon!?”

“Wait a minute, what are you!?”

Mina was a goddess and as a result, she was beyond the realm of races. This meant that if she was to find herself in any race, they would embrace her as one of their own without them being aware.

This was why the demons here never said anything about her despite her not looking like any of the demons they have ever seen. However, when she incited their anger, this subconscious spell that was woven was in danger of unravelling and she was aware.

‘I never thought that their hatred for other races ran so deep! I need to think of something fast!’ she spotted the danger and had to act fast.

“This human is truly of a different breed than the rest!” she yelled.

“What can a human do that we demons cannot!?” Another demon asked, nearly consumed by his anger.

“He survived the sky rending tribulation that rocked the continent some time ago!” she stated without backing down!

“Excuse me!?”

No one else said anything save for King Yaomu Wei.

“What tribulation?” King Yaomu Wei stood up and walked toward Mina with a solemn gait.

Mina realised that she might have said something wrong when she saw how everyone stared at her with a touch of fear.

During her short stay in the Dragon Bastion, she rarely heard from them in a way that was flattering but she did catch wind of their thoughts on that phenomenon. They were full of worship for it and thought that everyone would attribute the same attitude towards it.

Unfortunately, her thoughts were wrong, but since she already started, she could only finish it.

By now, King Yaomu Wei was in front of Mina and the latter had to admit that the former exuded a regal majesty that couldn’t be faked. There were many kings, queens and princes in the lower realms however, very few manifested these titles so aptly.

Mina answered her question honestly, “the tribulation that veiled the continent in darkness and unleashed a pressure that bore down on all living beings. The one that was seen as near-apocalyptic.”

Upon hearing this revelation, King Yaomu Wei changed to one of shock, “Pass down my orders, upon sighting this Long Di, he must be immediately destroyed!”

Hong!

Mina Tempesta’s grace erupted in full to the amount she could release. She then turned to Imperial Protector Ban Yan.

“Take me to Long Di now!”