"His Majesty, Emperor Dominic!"
Lance Xu and the others were stunned.
What was going on today?
Even the Emperor was here?
Emperor Dominic stepped out of the Dragon Chariot, followed by Julian.
Seeing so many people gathered here, Dominic was also a bit confused.
"Sect Leader Xu?"
Dominic looked at Lance first. As the leader of one of the Three Great Sects, Lance was naturally acquainted with the Emperor.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Lance bowed respectfully.
Dominic then looked at Princess Tiffany.
"You... aren't you the daughter of the Prince of the West?"
Tiffany immediately bowed.
"Tiffany greets His Majesty, the Martial Emperor."
Dominic smiled. "The last time I saw you, you were only five or six. In the blink of an eye, you've grown up."
Dominic then glanced at Bella Bai standing aside.
"And this is?"
"She is my friend, Bella Bai, a disciple of the Nine Soul Sect."
Bella bowed respectfully to Dominic.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Dominic nodded. Just a Nine Soul Sect disciple; he didn't pay much attention.
He turned back to Lance with a puzzled look.
"Sect Leader Xu, what brings you here?"
Lance didn't hide anything.
"I am here to pay my respects to a Hidden Expert living on this mountain."
Dominic paused.
"You are also here to see the Expert?"
Lance nodded, then looked at Dominic with surprise.
"Your Majesty is also...?"
Dominic hummed in agreement.
Tiffany was also confused.
"So, the Expert we are all visiting... is likely the same person?"
Lance and Dominic exchanged weird looks.
Unless there was a second Hidden Master on this mountain, they were all here for the same guy.
What a coincidence.
Everyone crashing the party on the same day.
"Let's go. Since we met, let's visit the Expert together," Dominic said with a smile.
"Sounds good."
"It is Tiffany's honor to accompany Your Majesty."
Naturally, Lance and Tiffany had no objections.
The three groups merged and headed up the mountain.
Before they even reached the summit, everyone smelled a strong fragrance wafting through the air.
"Smells so good!"
Serena Xu sniffed the air, looking surprised.
"Achoo!"
Bella Bai, however, sneezed.
Tiffany frowned slightly.
"This fragrance... it has a spicy kick hidden in it. Strange."
"We'll know once we see it," Dominic said, quickening his pace.
Soon, the group arrived outside Quinn Ye's courtyard.
At this moment, Quinn was sitting next to a huge wok.
A fire was crackling underneath, and the pot was bubbling loudly. Gurgle, gurgle.
The spicy fragrance was coming from this very pot.
Quinn stared at the pot with excitement and anticipation written all over his face.
A Bald Rabbit and a lazy Golden Retriever were lying by his feet, seemingly waiting for the food too.
Woof!
Seeing the crowd, Big Fuzz gave a perfunctory bark to remind his slow-witted master.
Quinn finally looked up and saw the large group outside the courtyard.
"Holy cow! Why are there so many people?"
Quinn jumped, nearly dropping his bowl and chopsticks.
Fortunately, he saw some familiar faces, so he calmed down quickly.
But Dominic, Lance, and Bella were not calm at all.
They stared at Quinn, looking left and right.
He didn't look like a Hidden Expert at all.
No cultivation fluctuations.
Purely a mortal.
And looking at the surroundings, he looked exactly like a mountain farmer.
How could this be the unfathomable "Supreme Being" everyone was talking about?
"Young Master Quinn, this is my friend Bella Bai. She is a disciple of the Nine Soul Sect," Tiffany quickly introduced.
Bella bowed slightly to Quinn.
"Greetings, Young Master."
Quinn checked Bella out.
Not bad. Another pretty girl.
"Brother Quinn, this is our Master, the Mystic Sword Sect Leader, Lance Xu!"
Dustin Lee introduced proudly.
Quinn's eyes lit up.
Sect Leader?
A Big Shot!
I need to curry favor with him. If I run into trouble in the future, dropping his name might be useful.
"So it is Sect Leader Xu! Disrespect, disrespect!"
Quinn cupped his fists.
Lance returned the bow. "You are too polite, sir."
Julian couldn't hold back anymore.
"Brother Quinn, this is His Majesty, the Martial Emperor!"
Dominic Su straightened his posture slightly.
As the Emperor, he couldn't lose face in front of a Sect Leader.
Martial Emperor Dominic?
Quinn looked even more surprised.
Even the Emperor is here?
What is going on?
But since the Emperor is here, I must treat him well. If I hug the Emperor's thigh (brown-nose him), won't I reach the peak of life instantly?
"So it is His Majesty! I was truly rude!"
Quinn bowed deeply.
"No matter. We came here specifically to visit you, sir," Dominic said with a smile.
Quinn scratched his head, embarrassed.
Am I that famous now?
A Sect Leader and an Emperor coming personally to visit me.
Heh heh!
Thinking about it makes me a little proud.
"Dad, the Rabbit Demon is right there!"
Serena whispered to Lance, pointing at the Bald Rabbit in the yard.
Lance looked closely, his face darkening.
"It really is that vile beast!"
A trace of killing intent flashed in Lance's eyes.
The Rabbit Demon had killed disciples of the Mystic Sword Sect, which was why Dustin and the others chased it here in the first place.
But Lance didn't act.
He decided to observe the situation first.
"You are all guests. I happen to be making Hot Pot, and it's lunch time. Let's eat together!"
Quinn invited them warmly.
Tiffany got excited immediately.
Last time she ate grapes here, her cultivation skyrocketed. She had been dreaming about the food here ever since.
But what was Hot Pot?
"Uh, what is Hot Pot?" Dominic asked curiously.
Quinn paused.
"Your Majesty has never eaten Hot Pot?"
Dominic shook his head.
Forget eating it; he had never even heard the word.
Quinn looked at Dominic with pity.
"Turns out the Emperor of this world is doing pretty poorly. Hasn't even eaten Hot Pot. How tragic."
Dominic felt a bit awkward under Quinn's gaze.
He's making me feel like a country bumpkin who hasn't seen the world.
"Everyone, come over. Hot Pot is best eaten with a crowd."
Quinn ushered everyone into the yard.
They gathered around the big wok, looking at the boiling red soup with confusion.
"This looks... strange."
"What is boiling in there? It looks like a mess."
"But it smells really good."
Everyone was whispering.
Suddenly, Bella Bai's expression changed to shock.
She inhaled the aroma and felt a warmth spreading through her body.
A stream of heat surged within her.
Specifically, the hidden injuries she suffered in childhood showed signs of healing just from the smell!
"This... this so-called Hot Pot... could it completely cure my old injuries?"
Bella was terrified.