After everyone left, Qin Wentian returned to his seat. The Scarlet Eye Marquis raised a toast to Qin Wentian, "That was incredible, little fellow. To be able to sweep over ten geniuses from your own generation is truly extraordinary. Come, let me drink a toast to you."
"Marquis is too polite." Qin Wentian raised his wine cup as well, draining the contents of the cup in a single gulp.
The Scarlet Eye Marquis smiled at Qin Wentian, "No, I am not. Those fellows aren't considered top-tier supreme geniuses among the younger generations, but their talents are still extraordinary. Yet, you easily swept over them unchallenged, with no effort at all. From this, one can see how tyrannical your strength is. Most likely among your generation, there are none at the same cultivation level who can stand against you."
The Scarlet Eye Marquis was an immortal king expert. During Qin Wentian's combat, the vastness of his aura and the power he released was akin to a desolate Greater Demon king. It was very rare for people below immortality to have such a terrifying aura. Not only that, Qin Wentian had an incomparably tough body, and he was able to effortlessly dominate those at the same cultivation realm as him.
The news of their combat soon circulated throughout the royal palace, bringing with it the sound of endless discussion.
"This young man is so arrogant he has nothing in his eyes. He humiliated the descendants of kings and marquises, and his behavior is incomparably tyrannical. He treats the people of the royal palace like air."
"Qin Wentian's strength is truly phenomenal. No wonder he was able to gain Princess Qing`er's love. Given his combat prowess, there's scarcely anyone in the royal palace of the same generation that would be able to defeat him."
"He actually said that our sons would go crying to us and their grandparents for help after they are defeated? What an uneducated boor! He's only good for speaking nonsense."
"Haha, this Qin Wentian is awesome, no wonder Princess Qing`er fell in love with him. I'm actually rooting for the guy. Did some people think their sons ever had a chance to get together with Princess Qing`er? Are those people even qualified?"
"Princess Qing`er's judgment is extraordinary."
In numerous estates, the name of Qin Wentian rang out unceasingly, and it seemed that everyone held a different attitude towards him.
However, at this moment, a fearsome voice rang out from the Cloud King Manor.
"Qin Wentian's arrogance knows no bounds. Despite the princess being in love with him, he still used words to outrage the modesty of Xia Lian, the daughter of the Everpeace Marquis. He is simply despicable. He's even caused havoc in the Everpeace Manor. Because the princess is still young and unfamiliar with the ways of the world, she actually killed the daughter of the Everpeace Manor for this man."
"Qin Wentian thinks he can disregard everyone because he ranked first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. He must have used his outstanding talent to mesmerize Princess Qing`er, and now he's come all this way to become a prince consort. He intends to depend on his talent to assume a position of power, so we must assume that this man is an extremely ambitious character. He even disregards kings and marquises."
"Qin Wentian even dared to outrage the modesty of Xia Lian with words when he was a guest at the Everpeace Marquis Manor. In the end, it resulted in her death. Did he really think that he could disregard everyone with just his talent alone? Princess Qing`er has already fallen into his trap. He believed that the fact he would become the prince consort is already set in stone and he'll surely be placed above the kings and marquises in the future."
"The Cloud King's anger is no joke, he's preparing to personally speak to his Majesty. He won't allow Princess Qing`er to continue staying mesmerized in Qin Wentian's thrall or the consequences will truly be unimaginable."
Countless voices of discussion rang out within the manors and estates of the nobility. Qin Wentian was naturally the focal point of all these discussions, and even the guards and servants had something to say about this matter as well.
"So it turns out that he is the top ranker in the City of Ancient Emperors. It's only expected for him to have nothing in his eyes, even daring to insult those descendants to the point of saying that he would be in for an unpleasant situation if they went crying for help to their parents and grandparents if he injured them. This is simply taunting them."
"Do you understand how heavy the 'weightage' of being the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings is? There are countless supreme geniuses gathered in the City of Ancient Emperors, and since he has managed to rank above all others, his arrogance is understandable. I guess this is also the reason why he has no regard for those descendants of nobility."
"What a 'good' first ranker. To have such outstanding talent, and with the backing of Princess Qing`er, how can he still have any respect for the kings and marquises? As long as the Emperor nods his head, the position of prince consort will belong to him."
The discussions in the palace were beginning to skew to one side. Of course, these voices didn't belong to the kings and marquises. With their current status, even if they did have such thoughts in their hearts, they weren't about to reveal what they were thinking of so easily. The vast majority of these voices were from people of all varieties within the royal palace. Many of them felt that Qin Wentian was dependent on his talent and Princess Qing`er's love for him, and this was the reason why he so arrogantly disregarded everyone.
In any case, this was the royal palace of the Evergreen Immortal Empire after all. To all the kings and marquises, the Qin Wentian now was still only an outsider. His outstanding talent was proven by the fact that he had been ranked first in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. If the Evergreen Immortal Emperor favored him, he would instantly become the prince consort, and his status would then be explosively elevated to aristocracy. It was a position of power that could suppress all the kings and marquises. They wouldn't be so foolish as to directly make an enemy out of him then. However, they wouldn't express their support either.
It was true that Xia Lian had died. The daughter of the Cloud King had brought Xia Lian's corpse all the way to the royal palace, so how could they not be enraged? After all, a daughter of nobility had been killed because of an outsider. What if something similar happened again in the future? Could it be that Qin Wentian was free to kill their sons and daughters without punishment? He was simply too lawless.
"The princess has been in the emperor palace for quite some time. It seems that she and His Majesty have many things to discuss. I wonder what His Majesty's attitude will be?" Countless gazes were fixed toward the central emperor palace. No matter how many people supported Qin Wentian or how many people were against him, everything would be useless once the Evergreen Immortal Emperor made a decision.
A single sentence from His Majesty would settle everything. If he supported Qing`er and Qin Wentian, then no matter how loud the opposing voices were, everyone would still accept his decision.
In Princess Changping's estate, Princess Changping and the Scarlet Eye Marquis didn't forget to use their immortal sense to scan the royal palace while they chatted with Qin Wentian. At this moment, Princess Changping smiled at Qin Wentian, "It seems like the vast majority in the palace are against you."
"Little friend Qin, such antagonism matters not when one is powerful. So it turns out that you are the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. The Evergreen Immortal Empire has yet to produce such an outstanding character. Come, I'm going to toast you once more." The Scarlet Eye Marquis had a frank and straightforward personality. Qin Wentian naturally complied, and he raised his wine cup and drained its contents in a single gulp.
"The Cloud King can be extremely conniving," Princess Changping warned. "Your position of #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings in the City of Ancient Emperors should only be known to you and Qing`er. The people in the royal palace couldn't possibly have discovered this so quickly. Did you divulge this information during your time at the Everpeace Marquis Manor?"
"Mhm." Qin Wentian nodded.
"The Cloud King hid this news before now, until you dominated all those juniors. Then he began to use it as an excuse to strengthen the case of your arrogance, and he's even saying that you don't place any kings or marquises in your eyes. Basically, they are putting you in a position without giving you the chance to explain. It's why the discussions within the royal palace are being tilted to one side," Princess Changping explained, her words causing Qin Wentian to furrow his brows.
"They are acting this way because of jealousy," the Scarlet Eye Marquis clarified.
"Jealousy is human nature. After all, he is the first person that lass Qing`er brought back to the palace. That's already enough to cause people to feel jealous about him. The fact that he's the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings, and the incident with Xia Lian's death, those people won't care about what really happened. They've already formed their own opinions of his character." Princess Changping had hit the nail on the head with a single sentence.
"If my talent is weak, I will be deemed useless and not qualified to enter the royal palace. If my talent is good, I will be deemed arrogant, not placing kings and marquises in my eyes." Qin Wentian shook his head with a bitter smile.
"That's right, since Qing`er brought you into the palace, that by itself is the original crime. It's only natural for there to be such pressure." Princess Changping smiled. Qin Wentian was also an intelligent man. He naturally knew how it looked for an outsider to be brought directly into the royal palace of the Evergreen Immortal Empire. And that same outsider was even together with Princess Qing`er, the same daughter the Evergreen Immortal Emperor doted on the most. How could people not be jealous?
"What are the exact circumstances regarding Xia Lian's death? I trust Qing`er, and she would definitely never kill a person on a whim, let alone in a place like the Everpeace Marquis Manor," Princess Changping asked.
Qin Wentian then explained everything, "… and that's why Qing`er became so angry and immediately killed Xia Lian."
"In that case, Xia Lian deserved her death. I'm afraid the Everpeace Marquis Madam hasn't told the whole truth to her father, the Cloud King. After all, it is true that her daughter has died, so everyone will sympathize with her." Princess Changping smiled. Nobody would expect that the daughter of the Cloud King would be so arrogant and unbridled; she had not placed Qing`er in her eyes and had even wanted to kill Qin Wentian right in front of her. This was simply too outrageous.
"In summary, she has offended her superior. But to think that the Cloud King is actually standing on her side. Did he really think His Majesty would believe in him and not Qing`er?" The Scarlet Eye Marquis coldly laughed.
"Hence, this is the reason why the Cloud King Manor has released the news to sway the public to their side. He naturally understands that he won't be able to do anything to Qing`er. And as for Qin Wentian, even if he is unable to punish him, he still wants to destroy any chances of them being together. After all, a grudge has already been formed from Xia Lian's death," Princess Changping said. Qin Wentian silently mused at Princess Changping's intelligence. She had easily seen through it all.
"Princess Qing`er has come out." At this moment a voice drifted over in the air. In the direction of the emperor palace, a flawlessly beautiful figure could be seen walking towards Princess Changping's estate. Princess Qing`er's expression was as cold as ever, and nobody could tell what she was thinking. And in an instant, the news that Qing`er had finished her conversation with the Evergreen Immortal Emperor soon circulated throughout the entire royal palace.
"Princess entered alone and conversed for so long with His Majesty, but then she also exited the palace alone, and his Majesty didn't summon Qin Wentian to meet him."
This caused many to speculate about the thoughts and intentions of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor. Not summoning Qin Wentian indicated that he didn't approve of this relationship, right? Could it be Princess Qing`er had failed to convince her father?
"I knew it. His Majesty is an enlightened sage. How can he allow such a conceited and contemptuous young man to become the prince consort? This young man doesn't even place kings and marquises in his eyes, so if he truly became the prince consort, how much more arrogant would he be then?"
Within the royal palace, many of the nobility finally heaved a sigh of relief. If His Majesty had summoned Qin Wentian, it meant that what they feared had come to pass. The moment His Majesty nodded his head in agreement, everything would become absolute. It was useless no matter how the Cloud King tried to protest.
However, there was a very high possibility that His Majesty was still observing the situation. After all, the Evergreen Immortal Emperor doted on Qing`er a lot and wouldn't really do anything to Qin Wentian. Even if he didn't agree, he wouldn't go all out to separate them.
And just as the people of the royal palace were mired in discussions, Qing`er arrived at Princess Changping's estate. Qin Wentian inclined his head and looked at Qing`er, only to see Qing`er's expression was the same as ever. She stood before him, appearing as though she wanted to say something but didn't know where to start.
"It's fine…" Qin Wentian smiled. He had already prepared his heart when he came here. Regardless of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor's attitude, he wouldn't be too bothered by it. He also didn't have any hope to plan to propose a marriage to the Evergreen Immortal Emperor. Although Qin Wentian was confident in himself, he wasn't arrogant to that extent. What qualifications did he have to propose a marriage? The reason why he'd accompanied Qing`er here to the royal palace was only because he wanted to express his intentions. He wanted to tell the world that he, Qin Wentian, existed!