The Emperor of the Three Realms

chapter 194

With the start of the Autumn Hunt, the atmosphere within the capital was once again heating up. The sons of the dukes who possessed various territories all arrived at the capital before heading to the outskirts of the Precious Tree Sect to enter the labyrinth realm.    

This time, nearly five thousand people signed up.    

Hence, there did not seem to be enough places to visit as some places even sold up to a million silver.    

“Precious Tree Sects know how to earn money well. All they did was open the labyrinth world but they took twenty thousand silver as registration fee for each entry.”    

Five thousand places with twenty thousand silver paid by each person, this income alone was already quite impressive.    

This did not include the fact that half of all profits earned from the Autumn Hunt had to be left to the Precious Tree Sect.    

“Sekte This Precious Tree makes money without making any effort.” Jiang Chen sighed.    

“Young Master Chen, this is your first time participating in the Autumn Hunt, so you have to be careful. In particular, you need to pay attention to time and remember it in pursuit of achievement. Otherwise, if you stay inside without getting out of that place, things will get very serious for you.” Tian Shao chuckled.    

Jiang Chen personally thought that even if he himself was not afraid of death, the highly motivated woman Dan Fei would definitely be afraid.    

“Tian Old, why didn't you join this time?”    

Tian Shao smiled, “We members of the military are unable to participate. Not only me, but people like Xin Wudao and Lu Wuji are also.”    

Ye Rong nodded, “Those who have military promises cannot attend. Otherwise, if all the military experts leave, wouldn't things get chaotic in case of a change in the country?”    

Jiang Chen pushed Xue Tong forward and smiled, “Fourth prince, Xue Tong is my precious assistant who has just ascended to eleven true meridian qi masters. I'm handing him over to your hand this time!”    

“Greetings for the fourth prince.” Xue Tong's tone of voice was quite mature as he bowed respectfully.    

“Heh heh, it is true that there are no weak forces under capable generals. Jiang Chen, your follower is probably a little younger than you? It is rare for someone to have this level of training at such a young age.”    

Jiang Chen smiled, “Whatever his training is, he still has to throw away worldly things and enter the spirit realm. Otherwise, everything is just nonsense. Another reason why I gave him the opportunity to undergo this trial is because it is an opportunity to practice.”    

A group of people chatted and laughed until another group suddenly approached them. The one who led was the first prince Ye Dai.    

Eyes blazing with hatred as the enemy faces off.    

The storm clouds immediately floated to the surface of Ye Dai's previously slightly smiling face.    

Instead, it was Ye Rong who chuckled and exclaimed, “Sister, you are also here.”    

“Are you the only one allowed to come?” Ye Dai asked expressionlessly.    

Ye Rong smiled, “I thought big brother would not participate because of how valuable your body is.”    

“Number four, you seem to be a bit proud lately. I hope you succeed in the Fall Hunt.” Ye Dai waved his hands with a conceited smile and passed them along with his group of followers.    

Jiang Chen seemed to be deep in thought as he looked at the backs of Ye Dai and his group. Then, he spoke to remind, “Fourth Prince, it seems like this Autumn Hunt will not be that peaceful.”    

Ye Rong's expression was very serious. “Autumn Hunt is never peaceful. No matter what, I have no way to retreat this time.”    

"What do you mean?"    

The muscles on Ye Rong's face twitched slightly as she spoke grimly, “There was news from the imperial harem that our royal father had decided to appoint a Crown Prince in the first month of next year.”    

“Now it's late autumn, meaning it's three to four months away.”    

"That's right. This intelligence came suddenly and now all the princes are looking for all the opportunities to show themselves in front of our royal father.” Ye Rong's tone was serious. “Ye Dai's mother's side has great power and influence. They had formed a force in the court, advocating and building momentum to advance Ye Dai's interests. If I don't show enough charisma during this Fall Hunt, it will be very difficult for me to take on the role of Crown Prince.”    

Tian Shao sighed. “It is unfortunate that the help of Jiang Chen's younger brother was taken over by Miss Dan Fei. If younger brother Jiang Chen helps the fourth prince, then this Autumn Hunt will definitely be a lot of fun.”    

Ye Rong chuckled. There was nothing that could be done with regards to Dan Fei's request of Jiang Chen. No matter what, there was no way Ye Rong would refuse Dan Fei.    

And thinking about it, considering that Dan Fei had reused Jiang Chen, she would definitely feel that she owed him a favor. If Dan Fei could speak a few words on her behalf in front of the esteemed teacher, it would cover up the possibility of loss here.    

Jiang Chen smiled but did not say anything.    

He was not so interested in the feud between the princes and who would eventually become the Crown Prince. However, after all, he was still Ye Rong's guest, and emotionally, he still hoped that Ye Rong could inherit the land and seize the position of Crown Prince.    

At the very least, with Ye Rong as the Crown Prince, his subjects would be easier to be in the Skylaurel Kingdom.    

If Ye Dai was the Crown Prince, then many bad and annoying things would definitely appear in the future.    

As everyone was chatting, a light and delicate voice sounded from the distance. Dan Fei has arrived.    

Dan Fei's clothes today are in stark contrast to her usual simple and elegant style. The practitioner's neatly-cut leather robes were accompanied by leather shorts covering half of her thighs.    

Two slender calves below her knees were wrapped in a custom-made tie and she wore a pair of leather boots on her feet. Carrying a bamboo basket on his back, his entire demeanor was very different from usual.    

When he saw a pair of eyes staring at him, Dan Fei smiled casually, “And what do you all see? Have you seen a beautiful woman before?”    

Ye Rong smiled wryly, “Sister Dan Fei, you really have a lot of style changes. You behaved in a graceful and refined style before, and now just by shaking your body, you have a heroic martial spirit.    

“Stop licking me. What are you guys doing here staring into the distance? It's almost time to leave.” One could see that Dan Fei was in a very good mood today.    

Everyone chatted and laughed as they gathered and set off together.    

They left the capital and walked roughly three, four hundred li before arriving at the mountains on the outskirts of the Precious Tree Sect.    

The Precious Tree Sect was one of the hidden sects because its territory was not as simple as the outside world felt. There was actually another crack within the mountains on the outskirts of their territory. No outsider could enter the real sect world without the sect's unique coordinates.    

An elder of the Precious Tree Sect was responsible for the Autumn Hunt. On the side of the Skylaurel Kingdom, they had actually asked Lordmaster Ye Chonglou to be his person in charge.    

Seeing how the elders of the Precious Tree Sect respected master Ye Chonglou so much, it could be seen subtly that the true master of the Autumn Hunt was still Ye Chonglou.    

Jiang Chen was somewhat surprised by this.    

Dan Fei, however, had a faint smile on her face. He had obviously known all of this before.    

“Lordmaster has always been very appreciative of the Autumn Hunt. In reality, the Precious Tree Sect only provided the background. The real power is still in lordmaster.” Since his mood was in good shape, Dan Fei explained a little to Jiang Chen when she saw the shock on his face.    

“Heh heh, since the lordmaster is in charge, can we cheat?” Jiang Chen smiled and asked.    

“With what do you fill your head?” When Dan Fei was displeased, her delicate brows fused slightly. “You are my teammate now, how can you have thoughts that do not lead to progress?”    

Jiang Chen shrugged his shoulders. He knew that verbal sparring with women was the most boring thing in the world. He'll never win.    

“When you enter the labyrinth world, you are completely cut off from the outside world. You won't be able to get out before the time is up. There is no way for you to cheat even if you want it.”    

Dan Fei could not help but say angrily as she looked at Jiang Chen's distracted demeanor, “Jiang Chen, I began to wonder if forming a team with you was the right decision. Can't you be more serious?”    

“Heh heh, does Miss Dan Fei want to fire me?”    

Dan Fei rolled her beautiful eyes and said, “You want me to fire you? I won't do it!”    

The two of them were constantly fighting until the Precious Tree Sect elder walked onto the stage and lightly pressed down with his hands several times.    

“Message, order. The labyrinth world will open soon. Each team will enter one by one in accordance with the order that has been given. There is a transport matrix in these entrance coordinates. No one knows where you will be moved once you set foot inside, so you have to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally.”    

“The rules are as usual. The Precious Tree Sect will take half of your profits and you can keep the other half. In addition, Autumn Hunt this time will also rank in the top three. When you exit the Transport Matrix, you can see how the Rankings are calculated and what the rules are. The more you hunt, the higher your rank. Those in the top three will receive additional rewards.”    

“Additional gift? Did the Precious Tree Sect take money from their own coffers?” Jiang Chen had no idea that those in the top three would get additional rewards.    

“You think too much. The Precious Tree Sect would just sit there and scoop up money without earning it. How can they get it out?” Dan Fei's tone of voice seemed to disapprove of the Precious Tree Sect's style.    

“Then where did this reward come from?” Jiang Chen was curious.    

“There will be no wool without sheep. The benefit comes from the price paid. All teams must hand over half their catch. Of the half, ten percent will be taken as a reward for the team that occupies the first position. Ten more will be issued to give the second and third place prizes. Second place will receive sixty percent of that ten, and third place forty percent of that ten.”    

Jiang Chen did not know whether to laugh or cry when he heard those words. “Secte This Precious Tree is certainly as cruel as a miser. They earned half of the entire profit without doing anything and took twenty percent of it as a reward. So they'll only pocket the remaining eighty percent?”    

“According to you why is the sect so powerful? Because they're drowning in money? They rely on a miserly method like this and just take resources without paying a dime.”    

Jiang Chen smiled and found this to be reasonable. A sect would have to concentrate its resource expenditures on the elites if it wanted to become strong.    

Most of them were commoners participating in the Autumn Hunt of the Natural Labyrinth. They were destined to not be able to become sect disciples. It was clearly impossible for the sect to take its own resources as a reward.    

Let this old man say a few words. The voice of esteemed teacher Ye Chonglou sounded at this moment. “The Autumn Hunt of the Maze Realm is an important event for the Skylaurel Kingdom, and a rare test for all of you. This old man doesn't ask you much, except these words of advice. The theme of the Autumn Hunt lies in the hunting of prey. You better not bring your personal grudges into. In principle, the Autumn Hunt forbids team-to-team bloodshed and the settlement of personal grudges. Of course, these taboos are not firmly entrenched and difficult to enforce. However, I'd like to stress that unless you hide it well or do it perfectly, once someone tells me about your actions and you've been investigated, you've been investigated, killing another person in the middle of a battle inside the labyrinth would be subject to the same crime and his punishment was like killing someone in the outside world.”    

It's hard to ban premeditated murder, but the risks are the same as they are in the outside world. Once someone is caught, they will bear the same punishment as in the outside world.