Everywhere were envious eyes and applause, countless praises and congratulations. After walking through this path crowded with tens of thousands, finally, the Immortal Palanquin arrived at the Imperial Palace gate.

The forbidden land of the Imperial Palace only allowed Wang Xiaoqiang's Immortal Palanquin to enter.

The army was stationed at Dragon City Plaza, awaiting orders. At this time, even Qingsi, Jiang Yingxue, and Sai Ya, the three women, could not enter the palace and had to wait outside.

According to the rules, Wang Xiaoqiang should disembark from the Immortal Palanquin within the palace gate, but the Emperor granted a special exemption, allowing him to enter on the palanquin.

This privilege was previously only enjoyed by Huang Ce, now, Wang Xiaoqiang received such a privilege once.

The Immortal Palanquin moved grandly along. After passing the Noon Gate, Wang Xiaoqiang peered through the palanquin, gazing longingly at the Yellow Dragon Palace, which he had not seen for a long time.

The Yellow Dragon Palace, facing the Noon Gate, was where the Emperor governed. It was solemn, majestic, and grand... The eaves of the palace were carved with a Yellow Dragon. Vivid and lifelike.

Especially the dragon head as large as a bucket, it was even more lifelike, with its eyes like bronze bells, clear black and white pupils, as if it were alive.

On the surface, it was a carving, a totem of the Empire; in reality, it was the palace's guardian, a living Divine Beast — the Yellow Dragon!

The Yellow Dragon Divine Beast's body was carved with numerous talismans.

As Wang Xiaoqiang rode the Immortal Palanquin alongside two government officers along the long corridor towards the Yellow Dragon Hall, the eyes of the carved Yellow Dragon on the beam moved twice, staring precisely at Wang Xiaoqiang in the palanquin.

Then the Yellow Dragon Divine Beast opened its wide mouth, letting out a roar towards Wang Xiaoqiang.

"Roar..." A long dragon roar broke the morning silence of the Imperial Palace.

This was the second time the Yellow Dragon roared at Wang Xiaoqiang.

Back in the Ghost Territory, Wang Xiaoqiang had witnessed the power of the Green Dragon Sacred Beast in the Immortal Realm, which still left him with lingering fear. Wang Xiaoqiang knew that the Yellow Dragon was also a Divine Beast, extremely powerful, beyond his capacity to resist, so he quickly lowered his head, pondering why it always roared at him when it saw him.

After much thought, he suddenly focused his gaze on the Sumeru Ring on his finger,

At this moment, he recalled that inside his Sumeru Ring, there was a Demon Cultivator woman, Zuo Qinglian of Demon King Level. This discovery shocked Wang Xiaoqiang greatly, and he blamed himself for being too negligent, actually bringing a Demon Cultivator woman into the Human Clan, and now even into the Imperial Palace. If discovered, it would truly be a beheading crime.

Wang Xiaoqiang felt extremely apprehensive and didn't dare to look up at the Yellow Dragon Divine Beast atop the hall. Luckily, as Wang Xiaoqiang lowered his head, the Yellow Dragon Divine Beast atop the hall closed its mouth, stopped moving its eyes, and returned to its stone carving state.

The two government officers were already drenched in cold sweat, their legs trembling as they walked.

Passing through a splendid corridor, they arrived at the entrance of the Yellow Dragon Hall.

At the entrance of the Yellow Dragon Hall, stood burly gatekeeping soldiers on either side.

These two gatekeepers had improved their Cultivation Base from before, but still hadn't advanced to Immortal Sage. The last time he came, Wang Xiaoqiang hadn't reached Immortal Venerable Level and had to look up to them. Now, with Wang Xiaoqiang's Cultivation Base, he could easily look down on them.

The key point was that Wang Xiaoqiang was now a meritorious figure of the Empire, a figure all looked up to.

The two gatekeeping soldiers respectfully saluted Wang Xiaoqiang, their attitudes very courteous.

Wang Xiaoqiang entered the Yellow Dragon Hall and saw two rows of officials standing inside.

The foremost official on the left was Prince Ann.

He now still held a position above all ministers.

"Haha, Little Qiang, you're back." Huang Ce saw Wang Xiaoqiang and directly stood up from the dragon throne, walking down with a laughter like meeting an old friend long unseen.

Then, they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

Although Wang Xiaoqiang defeated the Demon Army and achieved outstanding merits, yet as the Lord of One Nation, treating a subject this way seemed to humble himself, diminishing the dragon's might.

The Emperor had humbled himself in treating Wang Xiaoqiang this way, so naturally, the officials dared not slight, and all came to offer congratulations.

Only Prince Ann remained indifferent.

Originally, Wang Xiaoqiang's triumphant return had already made Ann Guochu very frustrated, his soldiers were instructed upon departure, yet they not only didn't rebel against Wang Xiaoqiang but even won a victory for him. What did this indicate?

It indicated that his group of personal guards had been subdued by Wang Xiaoqiang.

Seeing Huang Ce's attitude towards Wang Xiaoqiang, Ann Guochu's face turned ashen. He longed to strangle Wang Xiaoqiang to death.

After exchanging pleasantries with the officials for a while, Wang Xiaoqiang deliberately glanced at Ann Guochu and then directly asked Huang Ce for permission, "Your Majesty, Prince Ann's soldiers have gained significant combat power under my training and can be put to great use. Moreover, these soldiers are well-suited to my temper. Why not Your Majesty grant them to me? So in future wars, I'll lead them to the battlefield in service of the nation."

"Ah, I've heard that this expedition saw an extraordinarily low rate of casualties among the troops, truly rare indeed. Marshal Wang's capability in handling the troops is evident,"

"Marshal Wang may not be a professional military man, and this was his first time leading troops to war, yet he returned with great success, proving that Marshal Wang is born a military genius!!"

Upon Wang Xiaoqiang's words, officials chimed in with compliments. Naturally, some engaged in flattering.

Huang Ce stroked his beard and smiled, and after the officials' discussion subsided, he spoke, "Approved!!"

In fact, before Wang Xiaoqiang set out, this had already been discussed between the monarch and his minister, planning to use the pretense of a military expedition to dilute Prince Ann's military power.

Now even if Wang Xiaoqiang hadn't raised it, Huang Ce would have assigned these soldiers to Wang Xiaoqiang anyway, but since Wang Xiaoqiang initiated it, it appeared legitimate, free from suspicion.

Upon hearing this, Prince Ann gritted his teeth, but he understood that these soldiers were now loyal to Wang Xiaoqiang, even if they were to return, they'd be disloyal and untamed.

Moreover, reclaiming them wouldn't be easy.

He simply chose to remain silent.

Huang Ce paid no heed to Ann Guochu's demeanor, directly ordering a banquet to entertain Wang Xiaoqiang, to honor him upon his return.

After instructing the subordinates, seeing the ministers' intent to leave, Huang Ce waved and said, "My beloved ministers, if you wish to join, then come to the Jade Banquet Hall."

All officials were taken aback, then halted, and followed to the Jade Banquet Hall.

The Emperor had spoken, to refuse such an offer would be too disrespectful. Eventually, all officials were present, except for Ann Guochu.

Seeing Ann Guochu absent, Huang Ce was very angry and expressed it publicly. After drinking a few cups, he directly cursed, "Hmph, this Ann Guochu, keeps on giving face and refusing it, dares to put on airs in front of me, don't think just because you are a senior minister serving three dynasties, you can act high-handed, let me tell you, you are far from there…" (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) for recommendation votes, monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)

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