Martial Peak

Chapter 2169, Taking One First

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"This is…" Lan Xun cast her gaze onto the fourth treasure, which resembled a pill but was clearly not one, making for a strange scene.

Lan Xun frowned slightly, as if she was a little dazed, but soon her eyes widened as she shouted, "An Emperor Authority Bead!"

"What!?" Luo Yuan, who had yet to speak the whole time suddenly exclaimed, "An Emperor Authority Bead? Are you certain?"

As soon as this remark came out, Xiao Chen couldn't help coldly snorting, "Pay attention to your words, it is the Princess who is before you!"

Luo Yuan turned his head and glared at him, his two eyes smouldering with fighting intent.

Lan Xun just smiled though and said, "This should be an Emperor Authority Bead. If Brother Luo doesn't believe me, he can simply break the barrier protecting it later and see for himself.

"I believe you!" Luo Yuan declared, "It's just… I didn't expect such a treasure to appear here."

Lan Xun nodded. "I too did not expect an Emperor Authority Bead to appear… I also have not seen one before. I've only heard about them from my father in the past, so I did not recognize it at first, however… An Emperor Realm Master's full-powered strike is sealed inside an Emperor Authority Bead, so obtaining this thing is tantamount to having a certain kill life-saving card!"

Listening to what she said, Yang Kai immediately understood what this 'Emperor Authority Bead' and its function were.

This thing turned out to be a full-powered blow of an Emperor Realm Master! In other words, it was similar to the Star Emperor Tokens from his native Star Field.

The Starry Sky Great Emperor had also sealed her Divine Abilities into those ten tokens!

Everyone here was a Dao Source Realm cultivator, so if they could obtain this Emperor Authority Bead, they would never need to fear facing others in the same realm. Even if they were to encounter an Emperor, they would still be able to fight back!

As Lan Xun said, this thing could be regarded as a trump card, one that would deliver a certain kill blow!

Which cultivator had not experienced several life or death moments? At a critical moment, an Emperor Authority Bead would undoubtedly be a life-saving tool.

Everyone's breathing became rapid again as their eyes turned hot…

"As for the last item…" Lan Xun frowned again as she examined the longan sized, fiery red bead for some time before she slowly shook her head and said, "Forgive my ignorance, but I don't recognize it. Does anyone else have any idea what this is?"

Even a character like Lan Xun didn't recognize the fiery red bead, so the others present could only shake their heads, declaring they didn't know what it was.

Lan Xun smiled slightly and said, "No matter what it is, since it can be placed here with these other treasures, it is definitely extraordinary."

Her remarks were not without purpose.

Among the five items placed on the high platform, there was a defensive type Pseudo Emperor Artifact, a drop of Supreme Divine Water, an Emperor Aura, and an Emperor Authority Bead. Which one of these was not a rare and priceless treasure? In terms of value, it really just depended on whose hands these treasures were in, so it made no sense that the fifth item was useless. This fiery red bead was at least on the same level as the other treasures, it's just that its function was unknown.

"Actually…" Lan Xun's beautiful eyes narrowed as she fixed them on the centre position of the high platform where an empty barrier remained, "I care more about what… was originally here."

"What does Princess mean?" Kong Qi asked.

Lan Xun explained, "Within this barrier, there is a strong residual Emperor Pressure. If I'm not mistaken, there should have been an Emperor Artifact here…"

"An Emperor Artifact?"

"Really?"

"No way!"

Everyone present had seen great winds and waves, but they were still shocked that an Emperor Artifact had once been here as that was not a treasure one could obtain casually.

"I'm fairly certain that was the case…" Lan Xun said firmly, "And it was still here not long ago. As for why it suddenly disappeared, I cannot say; however, if it wasn't here just a short time ago, the remnant Emperor Pressure would not be so apparent."

"Did someone get here before us?" Gong Wen Shan's expression sank.

"Damn it, who managed to sneak in here first!" Kong Qi also cursed angrily.

Lan Xun, however, shook her head and said, "That shouldn't be the case. If someone really got here before us, why would they only take one treasure? The rest of the things here are also rare and precious, so it's unreasonable for them to simply leave them… not to mention, the barrier here is completely undamaged…"

"En, Your Highness is right, what's going on?" Kong Qi was confused.

"I don't know either," Lan Xun smiled helplessly.

While several others were talking, Yang Kai couldn't help thinking of the Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe suddenly…

Recalling the Emperor Pressure that Zhang Ruo Xi gave off when she was wearing that Pink Clouds Phoenix Robe before, and then feeling the residual aura on the high platform… Yang Kai immediately coughed and said, "Whether there was an Emperor Artifact here or now, now that it's missing, there's no point worrying about it. Why don't we discuss how to distribute these items instead?"

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere that was still a little harmonious suddenly became tense as everyone present secretly began condensing their Source Qi while vigilantly sweeping their eyes around.

There were five treasures, but eight people, so obviously they could not be evenly distributed and there were bound to be some people who gained nothing.

Everyone here was a favoured son or daughter of Heaven, a genius among their generation, so none of them wanted to come back empty-handed.

"Friends, this Xiao has a suggestion, I don't know whether you'd be willing to consider it!" Xiao Chen suddenly smiled and said.

Kong Qi had no idea what he was going to say, but since Xiao Chen had already spoken, it wouldn't be appropriate to refuse outright, so he simply spoke, "If Brother Xiao has any good ideas, please enlighten us!"

The others also turned to look at him.

Xiao Chen smiled heartily when he saw this and continued, "In this Southern Territory, my Star Soul Palace is heralded as a virtuous leader filled with righteous talents. Her Highness is the model example of this and did not hesitate to share her wisdom with all of you, yes? Do you not feel that she deserves some form of thanks in return?"

When he said this, everyone suddenly had an unpleasant premonition.

Sure enough, Xiao Chen proposed, "This Xiao feels that with Her Highness' status, she should be allowed to take one of these treasures first. What do all of you say?"

Everyone immediately cursed Xiao Chen in their hearts as they really couldn't curse him out loud; after all, doing so would be akin to slandering Lan Xun as well, an offence none of them wanted to commit. For a moment, everyone felt incredibly gloomy as they held their tongues.

From the start, there were not enough treasures here to divide among them, but now Xiao Chen even suggested that Lan Xun take one away first. This was nothing short of shameless robbery. If someone else had proposed such an outrageous notion, they would have been drowned in other's spit and curses by now, but with Xiao Chen putting forward Lan Xun's identity, none dared act presumptuously.

With Lan Xun's status, who would dare have any opinions about her actions? Did they not want to live in the Southern Territory in the future?

Even someone as strong and arrogant as Luo Yuan could only glare gloomily at that moment, unable to say a word.

Even though he didn't flinch when facing Wu Chang, he also knew that some people in this world could not be offended no matter what, and Lan Xun was one of them…

"What's wrong? Do you think this Xiao's proposal is unfair?" Xiao Chen continued pressing his advantage. Seeing that everyone did not say anything, he coldly snorted and said, "Or… are you looking down on my Star Soul Palace?"

When such an unfair charge was levelled, Kong Qi immediately glared at Xiao Chen as if he was his parent's murderer, cursing his eighteen generations of ancestors in his heart…

"Well…" Murong Xiao Xiao was too kind-hearted for her own good, and seeing the atmosphere becoming so charged she wanted to speak up, but not knowing how to calm things down, her face flushed with anxiety.

The others also remained silent, unable to say anything.

Yang Kai observed carefully and quickly saw that Lan Xun's brow was slightly furrowed, obviously displeased with the current mess. Clearly this was something Xiao Chen had decided to do on his own without consulting her, allowing Yang Kai to nod secretly to himself.

His impression of Lan Xun was still quite good. If Lan Xun really wanted to take advantage of her father, Bright Moon Great Emperor, and Star Soul Palace's prestige to snatch these treasures, likely no one would be able to object, only her public image and reputation would take a hit.

On the other hand, these items, while extremely precious, given Lan Xun's identity, might really not be of much interest to her.

The pitch-black shield was useless to her because there was no doubt she had a defensive Emperor Artifact bestowed to her by the Great Emperor.

The drop of Supreme Divine Water was also useless to her as there was no spirit grass or herb that Star Soul Palace didn't possess or could easily acquire.

As for the Emperor Aura, she was just a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator now, so it was completely useless to her.

As for the Emperor Authority Bead…

If she really wanted one, all she'd need to do is beg her father, Bright Moon Great Emperor, a little and the Great Emperor would definitely give her one. In any case, with the Great Emperor's strength and skill, consuming a few hundred years of strength was not even worth mentioning.

Just as the tension was becoming unbearable, Lan Xun suddenly smiled and said, "Since no one has any objections, then Xiao Chen and I will take one."

"Huh?" Gong Wen Shan heard this and couldn't help raising his brow and staring at Lan Xun in amazement, as if he couldn't believe what he just heard, but soon, a knowing grin formed on his face.

After frowning, Kong Qi also understood the meaning of Lan Xun's words and nodded happily, "If Her Highness wants to take one first, this Kong naturally has no objections."

"Neither do I!" Bian Yu Qing agreed immediately.

Everyone present was a sharp individual, and although Lan Xun's words sounded similar to Xiao Chen's, how could they not understand that their true meaning was completely different?

"What about you?" Lan Xun turned to look at Luo Yuan and the others.

"Your Highness should act freely. This Luo does not trust others here, but Your Highness is still trustworthy."

Lan Xun gently nodded, "Many thanks, Brother Luo, for your trust."

With Luo Yuan not expressing any disagreement, the remaining Yang Kai and Murong Xiao Xiao naturally had no objections.

When everyone nodded in agreement, Xiao Chen turned anxious as he whispered to Lan Xun, "Princess…"

The light smile on Lan Xun's face receded as she turned a cold stare to him and declared, "Brother Xiao Chen, since everyone has agreed, I will have to bother you to…"

At this point, her beautiful eyes swept over the high platform briefly before she pointed and said, "Retrieve that Pseudo Emperor Artifact!"

The value of these five treasures really couldn't be judged because everyone's needs were different and these five things had vastly different functions…

But for Lan Xun, among the five things here, the least valuable was definitely the shield Pseudo Emperor Artifact.

Because this thing was completely useless to her! Even the flaming red bead that she couldn't identify would have had slightly more value to her.

But she still chose the Pseudo Emperor Artifact!