I just reached the maximum level, and you want me to be a puppet emperor?

Chapter 117 The Spring Collection Conference begins, and the undercurrent is surging! (Please subscribe and vote)
The first ray of sunlight in the early morning penetrated the mist and shone on the city wall of the north gate of the imperial capital. The golden light and the glazed tiles on the city wall complemented each other, making it sparkle brightly.

The soldiers on the city wall and the imperial guards near the gate all stood straight with sharp eyes!

As a clear horn sounded, a large group of people filed out of the north gate, starting the spring collection journey of that year.

Li Chen was wearing a golden dragon light armor and riding on a majestic black horse. The horse was named Longxiang Heiyao, and it had dragon bloodline. Its body was as black as black jade. It was tall and agile, with bulging muscles, smooth lines, and was full of explosive power.

His limbs are strong and powerful, and every step he takes seems to shake the mountains and rivers, demonstrating his extraordinary power.

The stronger the bloodline of a horse, the harder it is to tame it, and sometimes it even disturbs the emperor, so generally there will be powerful royal figures nearby to act as a deterrent.

But it was Li Chen who was sitting on Longxiong Heiyao. Longxiong Heiyao could also feel the mighty divine power, so its steps were so steady for fear of making Li Chen feel shaken.

The royal family nearby who are professional horse trainers all believe that animals are animals and will submit when they meet a powerful master.

Li Chen naturally appeared at the front of the team. The generals and military commanders in the court, as well as the royal disciples, descendants of great nobles, and royal relatives, all followed behind on their own mounts.

The team was huge, with thousands of people.

They were dressed in a variety of extraordinary light armor, and each piece of armor was so shiny that it could reflect a person's shadow.

There are no unqualified people among those who can come to participate; they are all the elites among the elites.

These people have tall statures, carrying exquisite bows and arrows on their backs, and their eyes are full of confidence and determination.

Although the national defender general Guo Poyun was old, he was still strong. He rode a tall warhorse, following closely behind Li Chen, and was telling Li Chen about some of his past battle achievements.

While letting Li Chen have some understanding of himself, telling stories was also a way to entertain Li Chen.

Those who can get close to Li Chen all have a certain status in the Tiance Dynasty.

The one who was at the front of the group at the back was Li Ling, the princess of Prince Jing'an. She was dressed in tight clothes and looked heroic, as brave as any man.

Her eyes revealed her desire for power and freedom, and she was eager to show her skills in this spring collection.

Next to Li Ling is her husband Chen Xuannan. If Li Ling hadn't introduced him, everyone would have thought he was just a follower.

Chen Xuannan has always been a very low-key person, and coupled with his plain appearance, few people really care about him.

But he is very well hidden and has great strength. He came here this time to help Li Ling achieve better results.

A little further back in the team was Liu Hao, a descendant of the great and noble Liu family. This guy had been preparing for this spring hunt for a long time, and all of his men were experts in hunting, and they even often worked together.

Liu Hao has always longed to be like his father and march north to expand the territory of the Tiance Dynasty.

There is also a more casual person in this team, that is Xu Zifeng, the prince of Zhennan. Xu Zifeng has no interest in the Northern Expedition and this time he is purely here to cause trouble.

He looked around absentmindedly, curious about where the Second Prince Li Xian was hiding.

Next to Xu Zifeng is his helper, Ma Hei from the Holy Land of Witchcraft.

Ma Hei was looking forward to this spring hunt. He wanted to see how other powerful saints performed.

As the team went deeper, they finally arrived at Little Rock.

The wild mountains outside Xiaoshi City are rolling and undulating, like a giant python winding and circling.

At the foot of the mountain, the place for spring hunting had already been prepared. Various prey were carefully placed in cages, waiting for the arrival of hunters.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites are reading out the rules of the Spring Festival.

There are two ways to earn Spring Sousou points.

The first is to hunt prey in cages.

Soon, those extremely fast prey in the cages will be released back into the Wild Mountains, and after a period of time, the hunters can go and hunt them.

This will test the hunters' tracking ability and reaction speed.

These prey included rabbit monsters, birds, tiger monsters, wolf monsters, etc., numbering in the hundreds. Each one had a mark and was registered by the Ministry of Rites.

Only when the designated prey is hunted back can points be obtained, which also prevents people from cheating by preparing prey in advance to make up the numbers.

The difficulty of the prey is different, and the points obtained are also different.

At this stage, hunters can observe these prey and track them when the time comes.

The second way to gain points is to follow Li Chen. When Li Chen passes by the Manghuang Mountains, he can designate whatever he sees, and the surrounding ministers will rush up to hunt it. Whoever catches it will get points.

This type is more random and tests the ministers' ability to perform in front of Li Chen.

After the official from the Ministry of Rites finished reading out the rules, everyone's eyes turned to Li Chen.

He is the absolute core of this spring search. Whether it is the ministers nearby or the traitors hiding in other places, they are all waiting for his instructions.

With Li Chen's permission, the officials from the Ministry of Rites immediately released hundreds of monsters in the cages.

Hundreds of monsters were running in a mighty force. The deafening power swept across the land, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

The monsters on the ground were roaring, and the birds and beasts in the sky were flapping their wings and flying.

As the monsters rushed forward, the surrounding horses began to get frightened. They neighed anxiously and kicked their hooves wildly, trying to break free from the reins.

The ministers tried hard to control their mounts. Their faces were solemn and their hands were tightly gripping the reins, fearing that the horses would disobey and collide with people nearby.

However, Li Chen's mount, Longxiong Obsidian, did not show any unstable emotions. It looked at the monsters in front of it as if it was looking at a group of lambs to be slaughtered.

Finally, as the monsters gradually entered the depths of the Manghuang Mountains, the shocking noise gradually subsided.

However, in the depths of the forest, countless birds and beasts were awakened by this sudden frenzy. They fled in panic, and the entire forest fell into chaos.

Some experienced hunters have been observing and locking onto the direction of the monsters' escape routes, waiting for Li Chen to give orders.

Li Chen had also been to the Spring Sweep several times and was very familiar with the process.

He rode his Longxiong Heiyao to the front of the crowd, then turned his horse's head, looked at the thousands of people in front of him, and said loudly: "All of you are the pillars of the Tiance Dynasty. Today's spring hunt is not only for the fun of hunting, but also a good opportunity for you to show your talents and temper your will. I hope that you can take this spring hunt as an opportunity to perform well and exert all your abilities!"

As soon as he finished speaking, cheers rang out all around.

"Long live His Majesty, and may His Majesty's policies last forever!"

"Long live His Majesty, and may His Majesty's policies last forever!"

"Long live His Majesty, and may His Majesty's policies last forever!"

The sound echoed throughout the entire area, shocking even the scoundrels hiding nearby.

Although there were a few who were perfunctory like Xu Zifeng, the vast majority of ministers were very excited and shouted from the bottom of their hearts.

It can indeed make others feel that the core of this dynasty is cohesion.

The spies from other countries, in particular, all had solemn expressions.

Looking at the expressions of these ministers, Li Chen was very satisfied. The king's happiness was so simple and unpretentious.

As Li Chen waved his hand, those ministers who were preparing to gain points by hunting designated monsters rushed forward on their war horses, vying to rush towards the vast mountains.

Not only do they have to face the dangerous environment in the vast mountains, but they also have to compete with the people around them in a battle of wits and courage. It can be said to be an invisible contest.

Whoever can achieve good results will be able to gain a certain status in the Northern Expedition, and military merit will be easily obtained.

Liu Hao led the team and rushed in very quickly. He was the first to rush in. His cultivation in the late stage of the Void Breaking Realm was top-notch among the children of the powerful and wealthy, and he was also a man of great skill and courage.

Following closely behind was Princess Li Ling. Li Ling's strength was much weaker. Like Chu Ruoyan, she was still in the Dongxu Realm. However, Chen Xuannan beside her had cultivation in the middle stage of the Liuhe Realm and was able to protect Li Ling's safety.

The helpers around these people are all servants of the family.

The family has supported them for so long, they also want to perform well and show their own value.

Almost half of the people went after the designated prey.

The remaining half are mostly people like the national defender General Guo Poyun, who are powerful themselves and want to show off in front of Li Chen.

If they could please Li Chen and make Li Chen think they were capable, he might reward them on the spot.

Liu Hao, Li Ling and others naturally felt that they could not compete with old ministers like Guo Poyun, so they chose to hunt down designated prey.

As for the others who stayed with Li Chen, some were like Xu Zifeng who were there purely to cause trouble, or some were royal relatives who had no interest in the Northern Expedition and were there purely to show off.

It is worth mentioning that Chu Ruoyan’s father, Chu Jingsong, also came to the scene of the spring search. He is a legitimate royal relative, and Zhao Wenyuan had to give him face.

Because Chu Ruoyan is the only one in Li Chen's harem now, no one dares to offend Chu Jingsong.

Chu Jingsong doesn't have much status, but his identity is there.

He was also very excited this time. He really didn't consider the Northern Expedition. He just tried hard to record the details of this trip so that he could go back and drink and brag with his old brothers, making his old brothers envious.

Moreover, during this spring search, they could get to know some high-ranking dignitaries in the imperial capital, which would be of great help to the subsequent development of the Chu family.

Chu Ruoyan actually wanted to come this time. She was a martial artist and had often fought against monsters before entering the palace.

But I didn’t get enough rest last night, so I stayed in bed this morning and didn’t want to get up. I couldn’t get out of bed, so I didn’t come.

Li Si Ning didn't like riding horses, and felt uncomfortable with the bumps, so she continued to practice. However, many people followed him secretly, except for the spies from various major forces, because they were just gathering information and had no intention of attacking Li Chen.

There are roughly three forces that are hostile to Li Chen.

The first group was naturally the team of the second prince Li Xian. They were waiting for Li Chen to fall into their trap so that they could take action. Dingtian Shangren was among them, but he was not with Li Xian.

The second group is the remnants of the previous dynasty. According to the fifth prince Li Ran, this group of people have already lurked in the palace. Their cause of restoring the country does not allow a monarch like Li Chen to exist.

The third force is more deeply hidden and is a foreign force from the West. Their cultivation methods are somewhat different from those of the cultivators of the Tiance Dynasty, but they are very ambitious and are eager for the Tiance Dynasty to fall into chaos so that they can expand their territory.

These guys had already set up the trap in advance, waiting for Li Chen to take the bait.

After the ministers who were chasing the designated prey left, the Minister of Rites Yan Hai handed the route map to Li Chen. There were three easier routes to choose from.

In fact, here, the second prince asked Yan Hai to hint Li Chen to take the road on the far left, but Yan Hai was a little worried that Li Chen would find out, so he didn't dare to say anything and let Li Chen choose for himself.

When Yan Hai heard Li Chen choose the road on the far left, he felt complicated.

This indeed met the Second Prince's request, but if something happened to His Majesty, the imperial capital would be in chaos again.

He neither wanted the Second Prince to fail nor did he want anything to happen to His Majesty, but he was just a pawn and had no right to make the decision, nor did he have any way to do it.

On one side is the cultivation of the Second Prince, and on the other side is the trust of His Majesty.

In just these few days, Yan Hai's hair has turned a lot whiter.

"Minister Yan, you have been busy these past few days. Thank you for your hard work." Li Chen felt that Yan Hai's work efficiency was OK, especially since he looked like he had not had enough rest. As his superior, he naturally had to comfort him.

Yan Hai was flattered by this sentence, and he immediately said, "It is not hard for me. It is my duty to share your worries."

He spoke with a lack of confidence, but now that things had come to this, he could only wait here for news.

Whether His Majesty wins or the Second Prince wins, he has his own preparations.

Yan Hai didn't want to be a fence-sitter, but as a member of the imperial court, how many people could decide his fate?

Prime Minister Zhao Wenyuan did not come today. He is just a scholar and his old bones really cannot withstand the bumps in such occasions.

But just because he wasn't there, doesn't mean he didn't have any arrangements.

He was the organizer of Chunsou, so he could not escape blame if anything happened to Li Chen.

The mysterious man who had been protecting him had also hidden in Chunsou's team and was ready to take countermeasures.

Zhao Wenyuan knew that Li Chen was very strong, but that didn't mean he didn't need to complete his job.

In the Prime Minister's Mansion, Zhao Wenyuan was sipping the coarse tea in the living room, while his men kept coming to report on the progress.

"I already have a plan for dealing with troubles below the Saint level, but for troubles above the Saint level, I can only rely on Your Majesty."

Zhao Wenyuan also reported this yesterday, and Li Chen said there was no problem. He must have been prepared, so he stopped worrying about it.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to help with troubles above the Saint level, but he doesn’t have the ability to do so.

Zhao Wenyuan went to see Master Yu these days, but Master Yu did not agree to his request.

This was also within his expectations. After all, Li Chen did not give face to Master Yu last time.

Although Master Yu was a scholar, he was not that open-minded.

What Zhao Wenyuan didn't expect was that Master Yu really went this time, but he was not going to help, just for the time being.

Outside Xiaoshi City, Li Chen hunted along the original route.

In the vast and desolate mountains, Li Chen was galloping on his Longxiong Obsidian.

Every time Longxiong Heiyao's hooves fell, it seemed to be able to break through the void, bringing up gusts of strong wind, blowing the surrounding grass and trees to bend down.

Li Chen used to be a prince, and he came here just for show. This time he wants to experience what it feels like to be an emperor, just to have fun.

Anyway, they were still far away from the dangerous area, so he felt like hunting.

While traveling through the wild mountains, Li Chen was also scanning the surrounding prey.

At this moment, he seemed to have come to the territory of some monsters.

Suddenly, a ferocious wolf demon jumped out from the grass, as fast as a gray lightning, and ran straight into the distance.

The wolf demon had blood at the corners of its mouth. It must have been hunting other monsters just now. When it sensed a large group of people coming, it felt the danger and ran away.

But while running, he was discovered by Li Chen.

Li Chen took a deep breath, adjusted his posture, and leaned forward slightly, as if he had merged into one with Longxiong Heiyao.

There was a flash of calmness in his eyes, and the bow and arrow in his hand was quietly aimed at the wolf demon.

"Whoosh!"

A crisp bowstring sound was heard, and the arrow shot out like an arrow, instantly cutting through the sky, and heading straight for the wolf demon with a whistling sound of the wind.

The arrow was so fast and powerful that it seemed to tear the air apart, and it passed through the gaps in the jungle with great accuracy.

The wolf demon seemed to have sensed the danger as well. It turned its head in fear, trying to avoid the fatal blow.

However, it was too late.

The arrow pierced its body accurately and nailed it to the ground.

"it is good!"

Seeing this, the ministers around cheered.

Their eyes were filled with awe.

"Your Majesty is truly an expert archer. You pierced the wolf demon with one arrow. How heroic!"

"Your Majesty is so majestic and powerful. It is a blessing to our dynasty!"

The ministers' compliments came in like a tide, and every word was full of sincerity.

Upon seeing this, the imperial guards immediately stepped forward and captured the wolf demon that had been shot through.

They moved quickly and completed their work skillfully.

I thought I would encounter fierce resistance from the wolf demon, but it turned out that the wolf demon had been seriously injured by the arrow and had no strength to fight back.

Only the imperial guards who checked the wolf demon's wound knew how powerful Li Chen's arrow was.

The most terrifying thing is that Li Chen has not yet used the arterial stimulation technique and is relying entirely on his own physical strength.

However, this is just the beginning of Li Chen's hunting journey.

He saw shadows on the ground, then closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him.

The courtiers could see a fully-fledged falcon soaring in the sky, its silhouette elongated in the sunlight, as if it had merged with the sky.

This is too difficult, especially since the falcon's height is beyond the range of a bow and arrow.

Li Chen smiled slightly, without even looking at the target, and shot the arrow in his hand casually into the sky. This time he slightly stimulated the artery.

"Whoosh!"

Another crisp bowstring sound was heard, and the arrow once again cut through the sky and headed straight for the falcon.

This time, with the help of pulse diagnosis, the arrow seemed to have eyes and directly penetrated the chest of the bird and beast.

The birds and beasts let out a shrill wail and instantly fell from the sky.

Its figure drew a graceful arc in the air, and before it fell to the ground, a brave captain of the imperial guards predicted the landing point and caught the falcon directly.

This prevented the falcon from smashing to the ground, and it also shows his ability.

Showing off a little bit of her skills can indeed give Li Chen a sense of pure presence.

The other captains of the imperial guards nearby cursed at this guy for being so quick that they couldn't get him any faster.

"Your Majesty never misses an arrow. He can hit the target without even looking at it. You are simply a god!"

The ministers praised him again, and if Li Chen's shooting was not accurate, they would prepare words of comfort.

This was how it was when I accompanied the late emperor hunting in the past, and even when I accompanied other dignitaries hunting, these words would be used.

But Li Chen was so accurate, their compliments were all from the heart, without any hypocrisy in their tone.

Only Xu Zifeng who was standing behind him murmured in his heart: This guy only knows how to show off, and he succeeded in showing off!

He even began to doubt whether the falcon was hired by Li Chen. How could it be so accurate?

Xu Zifeng glanced at Ma Hei next to him and found that Ma Hei's face was also shocked.

(End of this chapter)