Feiyun had his reasons for refusing to work with the princess. After all, he was the successor of the demonic sword right now. Being too close with Princess Luofu would bring up suspicion, resulting in ruining his plans completely. The cons far outweighed the pros.

It was night time when he returned to the spirit stone hall of the Divine River Guard. He successfully evaded all of the people who tried to follow him.

The main entrance of this place was still open. The powerful cultivators there had their worker uniform, looking quite ordinary.

“Congratulation, Your Excellency, for passing the first round.” Their commander, Qu Changyin, said with a smile.

Feiyun took off his black hat to reveal his handsome appearance: “It’s only the beginning. The second round will be much fiercer.”

He felt that his cultivation wasn’t enough; there was still a way to go before contending with the real geniuses.

He must refine two more core pills. As long as he could reach the fourth-level, he could take any youth on.

Changyin condensed a sphere in his palms before releasing them to seal the entire area, preventing anyone from listening in. He then spoke: “Your Excellency, I have passed your orders to the three Heavenly Marquises. The army is camping at three key towns and can break into the capital within an hour after getting the signal.

Feiyun raised his brows and nodded: “Then the key right now is to control the nine gates. As long as we open them, we can control all the main routes of the capital. The Divine Devil Guard, how confident are they?”

Divine Devil was one of the seven secret forces of this faction, created by the second Divine King. It had several thousand years of history and have infiltrated the main armies of the dynasty. All enjoyed prestigious status and influence.

Nevertheless, they were few in number. These positions were passed down from father to son or master to disciple so there was no numerical increase.

“One hundred percent!” Changyin answered.

“Good. Then what about Divine Realm, Divine Army, and Divine Servant?” He asked again.

“Everything is going according to your plans. They are paying attention to the Beiming Clan and do have spies in the upper echelon. The moment this clan does something, we’ll be the first to know.”

Feiyun nodded again. Once this groom competition ended and the emperor announced his abdication, chaos would ensue. Their biggest enemy would be the Beiming Clan.

“The other two guards have also returned to the capital?”

“After receiving your order, they have started mobilizing and will be back within three days, I’m sure.”

Feiyun continued: “The Beiming isn’t the only threat at the capital. The three sects from Earthchild, corpse masters from the north, Xiyue from the west, and perhaps even the Nalan who has been staying away from the capital will join too.”

“The situation is this bad?” Changyin’s expression soured.

“Worse than your imagination. One wrong move and it can be the end of the dynasty. We need to prepare for the worst.”

Changyin became furious and shouted: “I will use my life to protect the dynasty!”

These secret guards were absolutely loyal to the dynasty. They would protect the lifeline of Jin even if it meant death.

Of course, Feiyun didn’t say that his own clan, the Feng from the south, might join in as well in this struggle.

“The marquises asked me to inquire about who you have chosen to support as the next imperial candidate.”

Feiyun spoke with a contemplative stare: “Tell them that I’ll definitely pick someone who is capable and virtuous, an emperor that can prosper the kingdom. Right now, Princess Luofu is the most suitable among all the candidates.”

Changyin expected this answer: “Then should we communicate with her faction?”

“Not right now, we are hiding in the shadows so doing so might expose us.” Feiyun said seriously.

Changyin agreed and felt that this young king had taken everything into account, leaving zero openings. He didn’t seem like an eighteen-year-old at all.

Today was only the second day of the first round. Feiyun had eight more days to cultivate in order to reach the fourth level.

He entered seclusive cultivation inside the spirit stone hall.

***

At a certain estate in the capital were seven separate palaces with numerous other architectures.

In one of the palaces, a pillar loudly collapsed after a bang.

“Damn it, where did this Feng Ergou guy come from? Thinking he’s all that just because he's the demonic successor? Two thousand years of hard work wasted with the end of our gambling hall, he deserves death.” A supreme elder, Xiyue Anluan loudly screamed.

Despite being strong enough to have a firm grasp on his emotions, he still became furious after hearing this news.

Another old man said: “The demonic man is his backer, even the clan master is wary of this person.”

Anluan replied: “The resources there were almost 500,000 stones, all taken by him. I must take it back even if it means my death, and I told you all to invite prodigies to kill him. Why were they so useless, unable to kill a single youth?”

The old men in the palace had no answer.

A sweet fragrance suddenly permeated the air. An enchanting figure appeared; perfect features, long hair, curvy brows, immaculate curves - of course, with the exception of a flat chest.

It was Long Qingyang. The old men couldn’t help but stare at this “beauty”.

His legs were bare, as beautiful as a jade carving; her voice as crisp as an oriole: “Elder Xiyue, are you saying that I’m useless too?”

His eyes rolled once, cute beyond belief.

Anluan knew who he was and the backers behind him: “Miss Long, you misunderstood. Your cultivation is peerless among the young generation. Feng Ergou would be dead if he didn’t cheat.”

Anluan was told by the clan master to be very respectful to this “beauty” who didn’t want anyone to refer to him as a man. That’s why Anluan addressed him as “Miss Long”.

In fact, Qingyang was more influential in the Long Dynasty than the Xiyue in Jin. This was a cooperative relationship, not a master-underling.

“Of course, I will defeat him eventually.” Qingyang’s skin was softer than any woman. His pure face had a hint of flirtatiousness as he placed his hand on Anluan’s shoulder.

Each of his actions was elegant and graceful. He was certainly more seductive than the opposite sex.

Anluan looked at this perfect face ahead and thought that he was seeing a fairy from above. The flame in his groin almost became uncontrollable: “All of you, take your leave, I have private matters to discuss with Miss Long.”

The other old men clearly understood what was going on and left in succession.

They have heard about Long Qingyang’s reputation for liking men. He had relationships with many big shots in Long Dynasty. Clearly, Anluan was chosen just now too.

***

Meanwhile, everyone was searching for the demonic successor but he seemed to have evaporated completely.

“Feng Ergou had taken everything from the gambling hall. He’s a mobile ore mine right now, killing him and taking his treasures will make one the richest man in the dynasty.”

“Where the hell is he hiding? Even top wisdom masters can’t find him.”

“Maybe the masters of the gambling hall have killed him already?”

“How can that be? You probably didn’t see what happened that night. He had more than ten masters protecting him, certainly loyal guards trained by the demonic man to protect his successor. Who could actually kill him?”

“It doesn’t matter, he’ll appear again for the second round.”

“I heard someone attacked the fairest in the world last night, Nangong Hongyan, in order to take her Firebird Garment and Invisible Cloak.”

“Well, obtaining these two divine garments would be a huge power boost for this competition. People will risk everything for them.”

“Nangong Hongyan is cruel and had offended many sects. A while ago, the Divine King helped her in the shadow so no one dared to do anything. Now that he’s dead, they are ready to kill her, whether it be for revenge or benefits.”

“Yes, I still remember how the Divine King trampled on Beauty’s Smile.”

“Unfortunately, he is no longer around.”

“Nangong Hongyan is simply too pretty. Degenerates and scum have been coveting her. They won’t miss this chance.”

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