The meaning behind Tang Xun’er’s words were clear. She wanted Xia Yan to be her husband. It was an outcome no one had expected, even after they had witnessed the First Prince destroy a green ice leopard. Truth be told, they were finding it hard to believe Xia Yan was still anything more than a waste; it was an idea that refused to be rooted out in a single day.
Fortunately, Tang Xun’er did not suffer from this problem. As the onlooker with a clear mind, she saw Xia Yan as he was, the only one of the thirteen imperial princes that closely matched her own personality. Not to mention, she felt grateful that he hadn’t taken advantage of her gratitude despite having saved her. She was impressed by his calmness, his confidence, and the fact that he had already achieved the Core Realm.
He was a peer that had surpassed her.
Considering these factors, she was sure that Xia Yan was the perfect candidate.
. . .
“Eh…”
Like the others, Xia Yan was a little surprised himself. He had only wanted to save Tang Xun’er. Becoming her chosen husband was an unintended consequence. However, he understood the reasoning behind her decision. He had proven, at least to her, that he was the strongest of the thirteen imperial princes when he killed that green ice leopard. She had found this display of power more valuable and persuasive than any honeyed word or gift his younger brothers could provide in this strength-above-all world.
“Hahahaha…that is wonderful! My Xia is greatly honored, Second Princess, that you have taken a liking to my oldest good-for-nothing son.”
Although the Xia Emperor wondered why Xia Yan’s strength had suddenly skyrocketed, the matter of the Tang princess and the arranging of the royal wedding was of the utmost importance.
“Xia Yan, Second Princess, as the self-proclaimed officiant of this marriage, I declare that the entire nation of Xia shall celebrate your wedding in three months’ time!” the Xia Emperor finished, without once asking whether his son agreed.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty!”
“Congratulations, Second Princess!” the entire body of ministers and officers shouted in one voice, kissing the ground as they knelt.
“Then, this marriage… is officially tied!”
A deadpan Xia Yan watched the spectacle in silence.
A royal wedding was a popular method countries used to form diplomatic alliances between one another. He was certainly aware of this as the Emperor’s oldest son. And he didn’t mind marrying this gorgeous beauty. She had a powerful background and was a woman ordinary men could only ever dream of having but never truly possess. To him, this was far from a bad arrangement.
“D*mn, how could this have happened?!”
“We worked long and hard to prepare for this day yet he is the one to steal her away!”
“The person, who shouldn’t have been a threat, became the winner in the end!”
“With the support of the Tang princess, isn’t the throne already his?”
“He hid too deeply!”
“…”
The Xia Emperor’s remarks had sent the other twelve imperial princes spiraling.
It was not one or two days that they had despised Xia Yan. In their eyes, he was a step below them, a waste who would be of no challenge as they competed for the throne. But now this waste had somehow stolen this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity from them, trampling their pride into the dirt.
How could they accept?
“Imperial Father!”
At this moment, a figure in a magnificent brocade gown to the right of Xia Yan, stood up and began to speak. His tone was low and submissive.
Xia Yan shot the youth a look. It was his Second Brother Xia Fanghan.
“Imperial Father…I find the matter of the green ice leopard and Big Brother very strange.”
The solemnness of his words immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
‘He must be planning something,’ they all thought.
“According to my knowledge, Thirteenth Brother raised that green ice leopard for several years. Its wild nature had long been smoothed and ground by time and proper training. It wouldn’t have attacked the Second Princess unless someone had used some kind of special method to make it do so! This leads me to wonder. Big Brother, you yourself have been feeble and infirm ever since you were little. I saw you a few days ago and your condition was no different. Yet a couple days have passed and you are suddenly able to use a fist to kill a Core Realm spirit beast without a lick of spiritual Qi. Would any of you believe me if I said there wasn’t anything suspicious about this?”
“So tell me, no, tell us. Big Brother, do you have an explanation for Imperial Father and the Second Princess? I don’t want the Second Princess to think the people of Xia are just a bunch of swindlers!”
Xia Fanghan’s questions shook the hearts of those around him awake. His vision, cold and sharp as steel, confronted Xia Yan.
The entire body of ministers broke off into whispers. There was a grave nod every now and again as some claimed to see some truth in Xia Fanghan’s words.
Unguarded questions and doubts regarding the source of Xia Yan’s newfound strength soon followed.
‘I knew it would be this fellow.’
Xia Yan’s eyes narrowed.
His Second Brother Xia Fanghan had always seen him as a rival for the throne. Whenever his brother could, he would seize the opportunity to undermine or make him lose face. He was not afraid of using any means to achieve those two goals even though he’d told him many times over the years that he didn’t intend on competing for the throne.
In fact, this was the reason Xia Fanghan was the first person on his list of people he wanted to deal with now that he had obtained three high-level abilities from the system. His old self would’ve had to endure his brother’s scheme in silence, not anymore. Today, he was going to teach him the meaning of the words, ‘quit while you’re ahead.’
“I practice a special cultivation method that doesn’t require me to use spiritual Qi to display great power.”
“But since I know this reason won’t be enough to convince you, Little Brother, why don’t we spar and let the result of the match speak for itself?”
Xia Yan called out his challenge, then strolled to the center of the main hall.
His words caused an immediate stir among those present. Xia Fanghan, at the Yuan Realm 7th stage, was recognized as the strongest of the thirteen imperial princes. He specialized in swallowing the cultivation base of others, and had been given a Heavenspan spirit armament by the Emperor even though there were only ten in all of Xia.
One could safely say that he had no rivals in the Yuan Realm.
Xia Yan, on the other hand, was without a single drop of spiritual Qi. Thus, it made it hard for them to believe or even accept he truly had the strength of a Core Realm expert.
“Fine, Big Brother, I accept your challenge. We will decide by combat!”
‘The fish has swallowed the bait.’
The corners of Xia Fanghan’s mouth rose in self-satisfaction.
‘Big Brother, you are delusional if you think I will allow you to marry the Tang princess!’
‘The only person who can marry her is me.’
“Wait. Before we start, I must explain two things,” Xia Yan began, “First, because this is a martial competition, there will be real stakes involved. If I lose, you can do whatever you want with me. But if you lose, you must hand over your entire fortune. That means your Heavenspan spirit armament, your spirit stones, and all of your heavenly materials and earthly treasures!”
“As for the second thing…”
Xia Yan paused for a second. But Xia Fanghan mistook this momentary silence for fear.
“What’s wrong, Big Brother? Are you afraid I might let slip and kill you? Relax, I will show you mercy seeing as you are my brother,” Xia Fanghan sneered.
“No, that’s not it, Little Brother,” Xia Yan said, grinning up wolfishly, “I’m just afraid I might accidentally kill you!”
