Chapter 831 : Apologies, It's My Turn (6)
It was still morning and the main thoroughfare in the Yan Country's Imperial Capital were filled with pedestrians coming and going. From within the bustling and squeezy crowd of people, a ear piercing scream suddenly tore through the crisp morning air as people from all directions looked towards the source of the sound.
They saw a wretched looking pale faced youth, howling as he scrambled and clawed his way through the crowd.
Out from the youth's mouth, came sounds of incessant pleas, shocking the people on the street to freeze in shock and surprise.
Judging from the looks and dress of the youth, he looked to be a participants of the Spirit Battle Tournament. Everyone was wondering why the youth had suddenly appeared here, screaming such shocking words into the ears of so many people in the main street.
The grandiose Spirit Battle Tournament had always attracted the attention of everyone in the Imperial Capital every year, and regarding the incident at the Spirit Battle Tournament this year, the people had more or less heard a little about it.
His Highness the Crown Prince had in order to protect a disciple from the Zephyr Academy, secretly forced several disciples of other academies to pull out from the tournament and much of those rumours had already spread to every corner of the Imperial Capital.
But the words of this youth here..... suddenly drove suspicions into the hearts of the people here on the main street.
When the man who had been chasing after Zhao Xun saw him running into the crowd and screaming and shooting his mouth off heedlessly, his face immediately darkened and the dark robed man who had been just steps behind almost fainted from rage on the spot when he heard what Zhao Xun was saying through those screams!
[What was that foolish scoundrel saying out there!]
"Make him shut up this instant! He must not speak another word!" The black robed man's face was livid! He had never dreamed that things would get so out of hand with so many consecutive unexpected accidents happening. The crowd was tightly packed on the main street and Zhao Xun's voice was loud and piercing. Now that those words were heard by such a big number of people, what would the repercussions be! ?
Several men immediately pounced on Zhao Xun in the middle of the street, pointed daggers held in their hands as they needed to shut Zhao Xun up in the shortest time possible.
But somehow, without knowing why, the seemingly flustered and panicked youth was as slippery as an eel. He zipped through the crowd on the street, his darting figure slipping nimbly among the squeeze of people, giving his pursuers absolutely no chance of even coming near him, and his mouth had in all that time, continued to spout those hopelessly damning words against them!
In a matter of a mere ten over minutes, Zhao Xun's figure had completely disappeared within the sea of people while his exasperated pursuers had no other choice but to leave in discomfited rage.
But their merciless pursuit earlier had not been missed by the countless pairs of eyes of people on the main street then. And with those very words that Zhao Xun was screaming out as he made his escape, a strange conjecture formed and very quickly spread throughout the crowd then.
And that conjecture, was immediately heard and the crowd at the first battle district exploded into a bubbling pot of conspiracy theories just as the matches for that day ended!
The youth who had seen his opponents repeatedly forfeit their matches had finally battled today. And with that one battle, he had exhibited astounding and unbelievable power, a green spirit!
With Jun Xie's overwhelming power, it had made the nosy parkers start to think that the situation had been rather strange. With power such as this, there was absolutely no need for the kid to have to conduct such underhanded manipulations at all! !
Just as everyone was getting puzzled by the newfound circumstances, another piece of news had spread like wildfire once more.
It was in the morning on that same day, that people had seen a youth dressed in the uniform of the Hua Wan Academy, pursued by killers right on the main street of the Imperial Capital! And the youth being pursued had been screaming in plea all that time! And with the words heard from his pleas, it told the people of another important piece of news!
The forfeitures of Jun Xie's previous opponents had not been the work of the Crown Prince, but it had been someone else who had intentionally gone to threaten those opponents of Jun Xie and forced them to forfeit, while pinning the blame onto His Highness, the Crown Prince.
The two pieces of astounding news, when linked up and heard together, a whole new picture was revealed and spread once again like wildfire with a strong gale to carry the news to every single nook and cranny in the Yan Country's Imperial Capital!
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Chapter 832 : Apologies, It's My Turn (7)
Within the Yan Country's Imperial Capital, behind the high table in the Imperial Study was the current sitting Emperor. His face was ashen as he stared at the dark robed man kneeling before his table, his darkened face livid with rage. Gripped in his hand, was news just brought in and on that piece of parchment, was recorded that day's events, rumours and the winds that had changed in the Imperial Capital.
"That matter has really been well handled hasn't it? Hmm?" The Emperor's eyes were narrowed and he suddenly flung the pieces of parchment onto the face of the black robed man!
The black robed man remained unmoving as he knelt on the ground, not daring to say a single word against it.
"I ordered you to carry it out and you what have you done? What is the meaning of this? What is this? Why did the disciple of the Hua Wan Academy show up at the Spirit Battle Tournament? That kid called Jun Xie had exhibited unbelievable green spirit powers with his first move, isn't that telling everyone that all the lies from before are just a joke? After letting that fact be revealed was not enough and what did you bunch of imbeciles do after that? The entire bunch of you had even let the disciple from the Hua Wan Academy run amok in the main street spouting all kinds of nonsense! Are all of you thinking I do not have enough on my mind? That you bunch had to cause such an uproar making it a big scandal! ?" The Emperor sat upon his chair, his chest heaving with the immense rage boiling within, his eyes red and bloodshot, staring straight at the black robed man kneeling on the ground before him.
The black robed man's body stiffened and he hung his head even lower.
"This matter is caused by your humble servant's mistake. Your humble servant did not expect the disciple from the Hua Wan Academy would suddenly go back on his word. Your humble servant has already sent men out to investigate into the whereabouts of Zhao Xun. Once we find him, he will be sure to regret it."
After Zhao Xun kicked up such a fracus within the Imperial Capital that day, he had suddenly disappeared. In order to capture Zhao Xun, they had staked out the Hua Wan Academy's allocated inn. But even after waiting till late night, they had not seen a single sign of Zhao Xun. To prevent the matter from getting any bigger, they could only send their men to search throughout the Imperial Capital in secret for Zhao Xun, but the guy seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth and they had not even spotted a shadow of him after searching through the entire Imperial Capital.
"Zhao Xun must be located at all costs!" The Emperor narrowed his eyes and he forced down the rage in his heart. "Additionally, we cannot carry on with this matter. Jun Xie's powers has been revealed and if we continue to persist, we will only be inviting ridicule. No one will believe that a green spirit will need such help from Lei Chen."
The Emperor's mind was finally clearing up enough for him to think it through. The Zephyr Academy was recently stealing the limelight in many of the battle districts and he had heard some things about it, but he had not expected that the youngest participant of the Zephyr Academy would possess such terrifying powers as well.
"Yes, Your Majesty." The black robed man answered.
The Emperor drew in a deep breath. "The situation at the Zephyr Academy had been a little beyond my expectations when they got close to the Crown Prince. Since there is no way we can make further use of the people in the Zephyr Academy to achieve anything else, we can do something to try to win over these rare youths who are so highly gifted." The Emperor said and paused, the anger on his face fading away as his lips turned up into what could be thought of as a benevolent smile.
"Little Fan had been cooped up in the palace recently and he should go out and loosen up a little. He should take advantage of the Spirit Battle Tournament that is still going on and mingle a little with the elites from the various academies, so that he might be able to choose a few of the more outstanding ones who can stay by his side to guard him in future."
When the Fourth Prince was mentioned, the Emperor's eyes softened and became a lot more gentle.
"And the matter with His Highness the Crown Prince....." The black robed man asked carefully.
The Emperor's face immediately creased up in a frown. "Temporarily temper it down a little. Wait till the final ten in the Spirit Battle Tournament has been decided before you continue with it. With the farce that you and your men had just stirred up, unwanted suspicions will be raised if you continue to act against him."
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Chapter 833 : Apologies, It's My Turn (8)
Zhao Xun has disappeared. Ever since he was last seen to be pursued by assassins, Zhao Xun had disappeared from sight altogether. And his last words that were heard on the main street by many people, became evidence that the people pondered heavily upon.
The winds had changed in the Yan Country's Imperial Capital and the incident soon absolved the Crown Prince of the crime pinned on his head gradually dissipating into nothing.
At the first instance that Lei Chen had received the news, he had not been able to sit still but he knew he must not make any rash moves at that moment and it was not until it was deep into the night that he quietly and silently made his way to the Immortals' Loft to seek out Jun Xie.
"Little brother Jun! How did you manage to achieve that? That Zhao Xun, how did you make him show up at the Spirit Battle Tournament to fight you! ?" Lei Chen was fighting to suppress his excitement as after that morning, the rumours that had plagued him had completely turned around. The Crown Prince had sent people out to listen to the words and discussions of the people in the Imperial Capital and had discovered that they no longer linked all those incidents to him and that had made him heaved a big sigh of relief.
Jun Wu Xie was carrying the little black cat in her arms and was seated calmly on a chair as she looked at the highly excited and delighted Lei Chen, while her face was still a sea of calm just like always.
"He was supposed to show up anyway." Jun Wu Xie replied calmly.
Lei Chen then asked: "Where is Zhao Xun now? I am afraid he is in very deep trouble now. Since he had chosen to work with you, shouldn't I dispatch some guards to protect him now?"
Jun Wu Xie shook her head and replied: "His continued disappearance will be the best situation for you."
Only when Zhao Xun remained unfound, would it make the debate surrounding the matter more heated. With every single day that Zhao Xun remained missing, the last words heard from him would remain fodder for the people to dig up and search.
"Really..... But..... As long as Zhao Xun remains in the Imperial Capital, he will be discovered sooner or later. If my Father finds him first and forces him to change his statement, wouldn't that....." Lei Chen could not help but continue to feel worried. The changes that happened today had been firstly due to Jun Xie's overwhelming powers and secondly because of Zhao Xun's final words before he disappeared. If Zhao Xun's words were to change, the end result would be rather disastrous for him.
Jun Wu Xie was nonchalantly stroking the little black cat in her arms, looking unconcerned. "No one would ever find him. He will not appear ever again."
For someone who had been turned into a bloody puddle and to seep into the ground thereafter, who would be able to find him?
Lei Chen looked at Jun Wu Xie in puzzlement. From the dire straits that he had been till now, with just barely a day that passed, Jun Xie had completely turned the entire situation around and with such amazing finesse that no one had been able to find any cracks in the ploy. Lei Chen could not comprehend just how such a young youth had been able to devise such a flawless and impenetrable plan.
After this incident, Lei Chen no longer dared to see Jun Xie as an ordinary youth who was able to upend the consensus and belief of the people in the entire Imperial Capital within one short day. Abilities such as this, was revered and respected even by him.
"Since little brother Jun is so confident, I have nothing to worry about then. After this round of incidents, I strongly believe my Father would have to put a lot more thought into it before he embarks on any other schemes against me. I expect myself to be able to relax a little in the immediate days ahead." Lei Chen said with a laugh. Right from the day the Spirit Battle Tournament had begun till now, this day was the happiest one he had.
He could almost imagine, when the one sitting high up upon the throne discovered all that had happened today, just how marvelous his reaction was going to be.
"You can't relax." Jun Wu Xie suddenly said.
Lei Chen was surprised.
"Although he won't be able to carry on with the same ploy, but the Yan Country's Emperor will not give up on the opportunity so easily. You will have to prepare yourself well for it." Jun Wu Xie's fingers swept over the little black cat's smooth fur. She was looking forward to see just what kind of other tricks the mighty Emperor of the strongest Yan Country would be able to conjure up.
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Chapter 834 : The Fourth Prince (1)
In the next few rounds of the tournament, Jun Wu Xie dominated over her opponents with her overwhelming powers. Not a single one among all the youths who battled her were able to last past her first attack and basically everyone who stepped up were thrown off the battle stage within a single breath's time.
In the face of Jun Xie's incessantly maniacal one shot one kill tournament battles, everyone began to feel that the several matches which had resulted in forfeiture in the earlier rounds would not have made any difference anyway, as they would all be over in a blink.
At that point in time, nobody dared to harbour mockery or ridicule in their gazes when they looked at Jun Xie. All those youths who had said quite a bit of nasty things about Jun Xie previously would now immediately lower their heads guiltily in shame when they saw Jun Xie and not dare raise their heads to meet his eyes, deeply terrified that Jun Xie might just decide to kill them on the spot.
There were three more rounds left in the tournament before the winner for each battle district would be born. Round after round of battles have wiped out greatly numbers of contestants from the tournament and there were only a greatly diminished number of participants left. Although there were a lot less contestants still in the tournament, every district battle arena was still filled with countless people. The youths who had been eliminated from the competition had not left and remained behind. Although they had lost, that did not stop them from continuing to stay on to observe others slug it out in battle, to acquire more experience in various battles techniques, in preparation for next year's tournament!
The competition continued on as normal on that day and it was only in the first battle district that a special guest appeared.
The youths were preparing for their upcoming battle when they suddenly saw a troop of guards dressed in the livery of the Imperial Family marching into the battle arena in uniform precision.
At that moment, all the youths in the battle arena turned their eyes to look nervously at the Imperial Guards who had suddenly run in. Judging from the light armour on the guards, they were able to ascertain that the troop of soldiers were from the contingent that guarded the Yan Country's Imperial Palace.
[But what was a troop of Imperial Guards doing here? Why have they appeared so suddenly?]
Just as everyone was still puzzled and confused, a joyful and clear voice suddenly sounded.
"This is the first battle district? I had thought that with the tournament nearing its end, there would have been a lot less people." A voice still slightly tinged with that of a boy's rang out from outside the arena's entrance. Accompanying that voice that reached the ears of everyone inside, a handsome young youth dressed in creamy yellow brocade suit slowly walked into the arena.
The youth's face was like white jade, his eyes filled with endless smiles, his exquisite tiny face graced with outstanding features. From his hip dangled a piece of white jade, and the jade pendant swung lightly with every step he took.
Upon seeing the young youth walk in, everyone in the crowd froze.
Standing in a corner, Jun Wu Xie's gaze discreetly observed the young youth, her mind registering every single piece of information she noticed about the youth in that instant.
Lei Fan, the Fourth Prince of the Yan Country. On the surface, he was known as the child borne by the Emperor and his most beloved concubine and was raised by the Empress, but in actual fact, was a illegitimate child borne by the Empress and her lover. Lei Fan's age was slightly younger than all the other three princes and he possessed exquisite looks, born with a face filled with smiles looking highly adorable. On top of that, he was still very young and he had won the favour of the Emperor.
Among the four princes of the Yan Country, only this prince was still living within the Imperial Palace. Compared to the other three princes, Lei Fan had enjoyed much better treatment since his birth. The Emperor had not only personally carefully selected a teacher to meticulously tutor him, but the Emperor would even involve himself in many other everyday aspects like Lei Fan's food, clothes, residence and the places he went.
Compared to Lei Fan, the Yan Country's Third Prince was almost seen to be treated as a child the Emperor had picked up from the streets.
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Chapter 835 : The Fourth Prince (2)
Lei Fan had always stayed within the Imperial Palace and seldom stepped out. And when he did go out, he would always be accompanied by a contingent just like today's.
Jun Wu Xie's arms were crossed before her chest and was calm and unruffled in the sudden clamour around her as she scrutinised Lei Fan who had suddenly appeared in the battle arena. From the day the Battle Spirit Tournament had begun till now, this Fourth Prince of the Yan Country had not made an appearance once, not even on the day that Lei Chen had hosted the banquet and had invited all the contestants. Lei Fan had not even shown up then and his sudden appearance here today was a surprise to many people.
The man in charge of the first battle district hurried forward to welcome the important guest. Everyone knew that the Emperor heavily favoured and doted on the Fourth Prince and the special attention showered upon him even overshadowed that shown to the Crown Prince!
"I did not know that Your Highness, our Fourth Prince has arrived and I have been tardy with my welcome. I beg for Your Highness' forgiveness!" The man said in trepidation.
Lei Fan's inborn smiley eyes narrowed slightly, seemingly not offended in the slightest, but instead looked to be filled with the innocence if a bumbling child. "Your Honour has been too polite. I am here merely to come look around and I will ask that Your Honour let everyone continue and not bother about me."
The man nodded hurriedly.
The feeling that Lei Fan gave to people was completely different from Lei Chen.
The image that Lei Chen intentionally tries to create was one of a modest and affable leader that made him highly approachable but people tend to remember his high position and status. Lei Fan was instead no different from any other child, looking completely guileless and innocent. That smiley little face would make people subconsciously tend to easily forget his identity as a noble prince.
It seemed after Lei Fan spoke, the highly tense atmosphere in the arena quickly relaxed and many of the people in the crowd had suddenly developed a liking for Lei Fan with his guileless and innocent demeanor.
Lei Fan found himself a spot within the arena to sit down and very coincidentally, he plopped down right beside Qu Ling Yue.
Qu Ling Yue was familiar with Lei Chen and with her identity as the Young Miss of the Thousand Beast City, she was frequently allowed entry into the Imperial Palace itself and she somewhat knew the princes on a personal level. When Lei Fan came to sit down right beside her, Qu Ling Yue wasn't really too surprised.
"Will Big Sister Ling Yue be taking part in today's competition?" Lei Fan asked, looking smilingly at Qu Ling Yue, asking his question very naturally without reservation.
Qu Ling Yue nodded her head. She wasn't on very familiar terms with Lei Fan, but Lei Fan's demeanor somehow made people unable to be displeased with him.
"I am the last one, it's still early."
Lei Fan rested his chin in both his palms, blinking his eyes as he watched the youths battling on the battle stage. His gaze although seemingly indifferent as he watched, was actually secretly observing every single person within the battle arena. His gaze went one full round but his eyes still did not manage to locate his target and he could not help it but start to feel a sliver of doubt in his heart and he turned his head to Qu Ling Yue and asked: "Father told me that the Spirit Battle Tournament this year has quite a few incredible contestants in the competition and specifically asked me to come take a look and learn a few things. Father told me I am growing up and I must not continue to drift aimlessly forever. Hence, I have come out to see for myself. Big Sister Ling Yue, I had heard that a unparalleled genius had appeared in the first battle district and his name seemed to be called..... Jun Xie? Is that really true?"
Qu Ling Yue looked at Lei Fan. Lei Fan was quite a bit younger than she was and coupled with that completely innocent tone of voice, she did not think too much about it and just assumed that he had just been too bored in the Imperial Palace.
"That's right. That one over there is Jun Xie." Qu Ling Yue raised her hand and pointed at the figure that was standing behind a whole crowd of people, a tiny figure that was almost invisible.
At the moment that Lei Fan's gaze had fallen upon the figure of Jun Xie, a strange look flashed briefly across his eyes and his the corners of his mouth had very naturally turned up to flash out a smile.
"Jun Xie looks to be quite close to my age. I should go try to learn a few things from him." As Lei Fan spoke, he stood up from his seat and went towards the direction that Jun Xie was in as he walked.