Chapter 115

In the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty.

After much hesitation, the Second Prince finally arrived at the residence of Prince Wu’an the day before the grand competition.

In the main hall, Prince Wu’an was busy handling miscellaneous affairs.

The steward approached and bowed, saying, “Your Highness, the Second Prince has arrived and wishes to see you.”

Hearing this, Prince Wu’an grinned. “This kid sure has patience, waiting until the grand competition is about to begin before coming to pay his respects to me.”

“But no matter which day he comes, it’s already too late!”

Ever since he sent his only granddaughter, Xu Xiu’er, to Princess Ziwei’s residence, it meant he had completely sided with the Princess and publicly severed ties with the Second Prince.

The Second Prince clearly understood this as well.

But nearly a week had passed since that day.

The fact that the Second Prince was only now seeking an audience made his intentions rather difficult to guess.

“Surely, he’s not here to persuade me to support him again, is he?”

Prince Wu’an initially intended to refuse the meeting, but after some thought, he slowly said, “Go and invite him in. Keep a close eye on him along the way; don’t let him pull any tricks.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Upon hearing this, the steward respectfully withdrew.

Soon after, the steward led the Second Prince into the hall.

The Second Prince was still dressed in his luxurious golden robe, looking elegant and composed. However, his face now bore a trace of weariness, clearly indicating that he had not been having an easy time these past few days.

Seeing the Second Prince enter, Prince Wu’an remained seated behind his desk, not even sparing him a glance.

Noticing this, the Second Prince clenched his fists within his sleeves, his heart filled with resentment.

He, the dignified Second Prince, had fallen to such a state today. How could he swallow this anger!

And all of this was caused by Princess Ziwei!

Hmph!

Prince Wu’an, since you no longer care for familial ties, don’t blame me for being ruthless!

With this thought, the Second Prince took a deep breath, suppressing the hatred in his heart, and forced a smile as he respectfully said, “Your grandson pays his respects to Uncle Grandfather! It has been many days since we last met. Your grandson greets you!”

Hearing this, Prince Wu’an finally raised his eyes, glancing at the respectful Second Prince. He sneered inwardly and said indifferently, “Stop pretending. Do you think I don’t know what’s on your mind?”

“All you want is for me to help you win the grand competition.”

“But let me tell you, Princess Ziwei’s talent is unparalleled. It’s not something your mediocre aptitude and abilities can compare to. Out of consideration for our familial bond, I advise you to surrender and submit to the Princess as soon as possible, lest you meet an untimely end in the future!”

The Second Prince’s expression changed slightly. He knew that this visit would likely yield no results, but he hadn’t expected Prince Wu’an to be so direct in stating his stance.

This left him with almost no room to maneuver.

Seeing the Second Prince’s expression shift, Prince Wu’an continued, “If you are willing to surrender, I can advise the Princess to spare your life and allow you to leave the Great Xia Dynasty.”

After saying this, the Second Prince’s expression remained unchanged.

Prince Wu’an frowned slightly.

“What? This is the best outcome you can hope for. If you refuse to leave Great Xia, your presence will be like a thorn in the flesh, forever unsettling the Princess.”

“Consider my words carefully. Give me your answer before sunset today.”

With that, the Second Prince remained utterly unresponsive.

Prince Wu’an had expected that, given the Second Prince’s temperament, he would either swallow his pride and accept the terms or storm off in a fit of anger.

But to his surprise, the Second Prince’s expression was eerily calm, even carrying a faint, unsettling smile that sent chills down one’s spine.

Seeing this, Prince Wu’an suddenly felt a foreboding sense of unease.

He remained composed, circulating his spiritual energy, ready to respond to any unexpected turn of events.

At that moment, the Second Prince suddenly laughed, a sound both mournful and sinister.

This laughter made Prince Wu’an’s heart skip a beat.

“Ha ha ha ha…”

“What are you laughing at?”

Prince Wu’an’s expression changed abruptly. He wasn’t foolish enough to think that the Second Prince had gone mad from despair.

The Second Prince’s sudden shift in demeanor could only mean something terrifying was about to happen.

And just then, dark veins began to bulge on the Second Prince’s handsome face, like venomous snakes slithering beneath his skin, a sight so horrifying it was almost unbearable.

Seeing this, Prince Wu’an felt a cold sweat break out on his back, his hair standing on end. His spiritual energy momentarily faltered, and he instinctively thrust out his palm. A powerful force surged from his hand, instantly coalescing into a massive cyan palm that slammed down toward the Second Prince with overwhelming force.

The cyan palm radiated immense power, a clear display of Prince Wu’an’s cultivation at the peak of the Divine Sea Realm. He had unleashed his full strength, aiming to obliterate the sinister force within the Second Prince in a single strike.

Seeing this, a ferocious glint flashed in the Second Prince’s eyes, now blood-red. A cruel smile spread across his lips as he glared at Prince Wu’an with a savage, bloodthirsty gaze. He snarled:

“Prince Wu’an, do you still think I’m that child you could summon and dismiss at will?!”

“All these years, I’ve endured enough of you. Today, I will use your blood to pave my path to the throne!”

With that, the Second Prince suddenly spread his arms, his flesh tearing apart as his arms exploded into a shower of blood and bone, transforming into a pair of blood-soaked wings attached to his shoulders.

With a single flap of his bloodied wings, a bloody wind blade materialized out of thin air, slashing fiercely toward the cyan palm.

With a loud “bang,” the cyan palm shattered into countless fragments, scattering across the ground.

Meanwhile, the Second Prince’s blood wings continued to hover in mid-air, dripping with blood, a horrifying and grotesque sight.

Witnessing this, Prince Wu’an’s pupils contracted, his eyes filled with shock and dread.

“You… you’re a demonic cultivator!”

At this moment, the Second Prince’s entire body seemed to be rotting, oozing with terrifying pus and blood that dripped incessantly onto the ground.

Each drop of the foul blood left a small crater in the stone floor.

“My cultivation may be lacking, but it serves well as a remote vessel for me.”

The Second Prince spoke again, but the voice that emerged was not his own.

It was a shrill, raspy voice, as if it had crawled out from the depths of hell, utterly terrifying.

Upon hearing these words, Prince Wu’an’s pupils constricted sharply, his face filled with disbelief.

“This is…”

Before he could react.

The Second Prince suddenly opened his mouth wide, the upper half of his head splitting open like a lid, and a mass of dark mist shot out like lightning, instantly entering Prince Wu’an’s body.

As the dark mist entered Prince Wu’an’s body, his face twisted in agony, and he let out a scream. His body instantly withered, becoming skin and bones, his muscles rapidly atrophying, and fine lines appeared on the surface of his skin, making him look like a pile of decaying flesh.

The commotion in the room caught the attention of the steward, who walked to the door and asked in a low voice:

“Your Highness, is there anything you need?”

A calm yet authoritative voice came from inside the room.

“Nothing, do not disturb me.”

Hearing the familiar voice, the steward looked puzzled. He had clearly sensed a sudden surge of powerful spiritual energy emanating from the prince’s study.

Remembering that the Second Prince was inside, the steward couldn’t help but remind him:

“Your Highness, the Second Prince is, after all, the Emperor’s own son, of noble status. You must be cautious!”

Inside the room, Prince Wu’an did not respond.

Instead, the Second Prince’s voice came out, calm and indifferent.

“My uncle and I are discussing important matters. Steward, if you have something to attend to, you may go about your business.”

Hearing this, the steward was slightly taken aback, then respectfully retreated to the courtyard, not daring to say more.

As he walked out of the courtyard gate, his eyes filled with confusion.

“Didn’t His Highness already send the young lady to Princess Ziwei’s residence? Why is he now having a long discussion with the Second Prince? Could it be that he’s trying to hedge his bets?”

The steward pondered for a moment but couldn’t make sense of it, so he went about his own business.

…

Inside the study.

The Second Prince sat behind the desk, a look of triumph on his face.

On the guest seat beside him, Prince Wu’an sat with his eyes tightly shut, the veins on his skin bulging as if countless small snakes were writhing beneath, making him look terrifying and grotesque.

Yet, the Second Prince showed no fear at this sight. He didn’t even blink, his eyes instead gleaming with excitement.

“Hahahaha!”

“Prince Wu’an, when you abandoned me, did you ever imagine you would come to this end?”

Prince oWu’an sat motionless in his chair, not a trace of spiritual energy emanating from him, completely ignoring the Second Prince’s words.

After a while.

Prince Wu’an suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils glowing with a bloody, eerie light, as if reflecting a sea of blood and mountains of bones.

In an instant, a terrifying aura burst forth from his body, surpassing even the limits of the Divine Sea Realm and rapidly advancing into the Spirit Seed Realm.

The Second Prince could even see a seed, no larger than a mung bean, glowing with a sinister red light in the Prince Wu’an’s abdomen, exuding an overwhelming, horrifying pressure.

The Spirit Seed Realm!

The Second Prince’s eyes filled with fervor and envy. The reason he had betrayed the Great Xia and allied with the evil cultivators, aside from wanting to defeat Princess Ziwei, was that they had promised to help him quickly advance into the Spirit Seed Realm.

Such a temptation was impossible to resist.

A moment later.

Prince Wu’an—or rather, the evil cultivator who had taken over his body—spoke in a voice indistinguishable from the original. Only someone extremely familiar with him would notice any difference.

“You have done well in helping me seize this body. You shall be rewarded!”

With these words, the scene concluded.

The evil cultivator flicked his sleeve, and a bloody chunk of flesh fell from his arm, flying straight to the Second Prince.

“Eat it, and you will receive one of my cultivation techniques, along with some insights that will help you secure first place in tomorrow’s grand competition.”

Hearing this, the Second Prince looked at the festering chunk of flesh before him and, without hesitation, stuffed it into his mouth, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.

“Ah! Truly delicious!”

During the time he had been parasitized by the evil cultivator, he had been constantly influenced by the cultivator’s power, causing subtle changes in his body that he himself could hardly perceive.

After swallowing the flesh, a flood of memories and insights suddenly surged into his mind.

Without delay, the Second Prince immediately sat down cross-legged and began to absorb the insights from the cultivation technique.

As the Second Prince began his cultivation, a strange smile appeared on the face of Prince Wu’an.

The room gradually fell silent.

…

In the capital, at the Princess’s residence.

After returning, Xiao Minghuang wasted no time and immediately handed over the cultivation technique to Lin Wanqiu. As she had anticipated, it triggered a tenfold critical strike compensation.

She obtained a low-grade Heaven-tier technique, 《Stellar Transformation Scripture》.

“Just as I thought,” Xiao Minghuang murmured to herself as she placed the golden scroll into her storage pouch.

“For the system, the cultivation technique possesses uniqueness. It doesn’t generate a technique based on the critical strike multiplier for compensation. Instead, it selects a technique with similar potential value based on the critical strike multiplier.”

In other words, when the system mentions tenfold or hundredfold, it doesn’t literally mean that exact multiple.

The actual value varies slightly depending on the cultivator.

However, the 《Stellar Transformation Scripture》 she had just obtained was a relatively versatile technique that didn’t impose any special requirements on the cultivator’s aptitude.

“I can give this technique to Wanqiu. She happens to be in need of a decent cultivation method.”

Ever since she left Beiyang City, Xiao Minghuang had given Lin Wanqiu a top-grade Yellow-tier technique but hadn’t provided her with a new one since then.

Thus, Lin Wanqiu had been cultivating with that top-grade Yellow-tier technique all this time.

This was somewhat mismatched with her innate Yin Spirit Body.

Without hesitation, Xiao Minghuang returned to Lin Wanqiu’s courtyard and directly handed over the technique.

Lin Wanqiu was already accustomed to Xiao Minghuang’s generosity. After expressing her gratitude and accepting the gift, she glanced at the contents of the storage pouch. Upon seeing it was a cultivation technique, she seemed to recall something and, after a moment of thought, asked:

“Your Highness, may I divide this technique into sections and teach the foundational parts to the children?”

Hearing this, Xiao Minghuang pondered briefly before replying:

“You may, but be cautious and ensure it doesn’t get leaked.”

Lin Wanqiu nodded solemnly and said:

“Your Highness, rest assured, there will be no mishaps.”

At this point, she glanced at the training ground not far away, where the steward was leading a group of guards in their practice.

“The grand competition is approaching. Shouldn’t we deal with the spy the Second Prince planted in our residence?”

Xiao Minghuang had long known the identity of the spy but hadn’t paid him any mind.

What harm could it do if the Second Prince learned some information?

However, with the grand competition about to begin, there was no longer any use in keeping the spy around.

“Yes, it’s time to clean up the residence,” Lin Wanqiu nodded.

“The grand competition begins tomorrow. I need to use the remaining time to attempt a breakthrough to the fourth level of the Spring Realm. Make sure no one disturbs me.”

“Your Highness, rest assured. After dealing with the spy, I will personally guard your cultivation.”

After their conversation, Xiao Minghuang turned and headed towards the cultivation chamber.

Watching Xiao Minghuang’s figure disappear into the corridor, the gentle expression on Lin Wanqiu’s face gradually faded, replaced by a cold glint in her eyes.

She returned to the courtyard and spoke softly into the void:

“You must have heard what was said earlier. It’s time to clean up the spy in our residence!”

“Yes, Miss!”

Several cold voices responded simultaneously.

After the voices fell, Lin Wanqiu spoke again, her tone still calm.

“Not: Yes, Miss.”

“But: Yes, Princess!”

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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