Ye Chui and his group appeared at the Second Prince’s naming day banquet, caused a great disturbance, and surrendered on the spot to be taken away by Prince Geller. This matter spread throughout the entire imperial capital almost instantly. Everyone understood that Prince Geller was capturing Ye Chui on the surface, but in reality, it was to protect Ye Chui. Now, Ye Chui and the others were being protected in Prince Geller’s princely mansion!
At this moment, a woman’s wailing cry was coming from in front of Prince Geller’s mansion, and there was a circle of onlookers around. They were discussing animatedly.
“What is going on? That woman… seems to be the First Prince’s wife, the First Princess Consort? How could someone as noble as her cry in front of Prince Geller’s mansion?”
“You still do not know? The Ninth Prince was killed by the Name’s Whatever Magic Guild. Just today at noon, that illegitimate son appeared at the Second Prince’s naming day banquet. Heh, this person truly has enough guts. Who knows how many people want to kill him, yet he still dared to appear! And Prince Geller protected him and brought him back to the princely mansion, so the First Princess Consort came here to wail.”
“There is actually such a thing!? No wonder the usually dignified First Princess Consort would show such a heartbroken and dishevelled appearance. That illegitimate son is truly detestable! I think Prince Geller must have colluded with him!”
“Hush… It is best if you do not discuss such matters recklessly. Did you not see those few in black clothes over there? They are Prince Geller’s personal soldiers. Be careful or your head might not be safe.”
“If you ask me, even with Prince Geller’s protection, the illegitimate son will not live long. We have more than a dozen princes vying for the throne now. Are we short of one illegitimate son?”
“No matter what, there will be a good show in the imperial capital next. I heard this illegitimate son is extraordinarily capable. I wonder how he will resolve the current troubles!”
…
Amid such conversations, a carriage drove back from outside. That carriage belonged to Prince Geller. When the door opened, Prince Geller’s aged but still steady figure descended from the carriage. The wailing First Princess Consort immediately pounced to the old man’s front.
The First Princess Consort appeared to be in her thirties or forties, wearing a plain white long skirt with few ornaments, yet she had a noble and luxurious temperament of another kind. But now that temperament seemed to have been completely lost. She knelt before Prince Geller, tears and snot flowing all over her face, begging Prince Geller to give her son justice and hand over the illegitimate son.
Prince Geller was momentarily somewhat awkward and at a loss, hurriedly calling over a maid to help the First Princess Consort up.
“I will definitely give the Ninth Prince an explanation. I just returned from the Red Fort. The Imperial Council has already decided to conduct an imperial martial trial for Ye Chui. I believe heaven is fair.” Prince Geller said this.
Upon hearing Prince Geller’s words, the First Princess Consort’s heartbroken face clearly eased a bit. And the surrounding onlookers who heard this also let out exclamations of surprise one after another.
“It is actually a martial trial!”
“The empire has not used the imperial martial trial for a long time. The last time was five years ago, right…”
“Entrusting life and death to heaven, conducting a duel under the witness of the gods. The victor lives, the defeated dies!”
“This will be quite a spectacle. If it were a normal imperial trial, this illegitimate son might still have a way to live, but with the imperial martial trial, he is doomed.”
“I heard that illegitimate son has considerable ability?”
“Ability? So what! In the imperial martial trial, the opponent duelling him will certainly not be ordinary. Unless Ye Chui is invincible, he is bound to die!”
…
Prince Geller saw the First Princess Consort’s heartbroken appearance calm somewhat, and he himself breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes looked towards the commoners discussing nearby. He had deliberately leaked the matter of the imperial martial trial, only hoping it could spread throughout the entire imperial capital as quickly as possible. In his heart, he actually did not want to do this, but it was Ye Chui’s request. And thinking of the imperial martial trial, a trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes.
In the over a thousand years since the empire’s founding, nearly a hundred martial trials had been held in total, but most ended with the trial subject dying miserably. Because although the martial trial seemed fair, it was utterly devoid of fairness in reality.
Even four hundred years ago, when the then-rebellious Prince Fengsi held a martial trial, the empire’s Minister of Internal Affairs actually invited Kaslon, the descendant of the Sword Saint Solon, who was one of the top great swordsmen on the Castro Continent at the time. Prince Fengsi himself was also a powerful expert at the swordsman level, yet under Kaslon’s hand, he only lasted two rounds before being beheaded publicly.
The current Ye Chui was indeed very powerful, but after all, he was only an intermediate magic tutor. And the opponent conducting the martial trial with him was no ordinary person…
After the First Princess Consort learned of the imperial martial trial information, she seemed to recover her former nobility and composure. She bowed to Prince Geller in salute, then left, heading towards her own carriage parked by the roadside.
Prince Geller also sighed and returned to his mansion.
And when the First Princess Consort entered her own carriage, the crying expression on her face instantly vanished without a trace, turning into a look of disgust and coldness. She took out a silk handkerchief to wipe the corner of her eye and said to a figure sitting in the carriage compartment: “Is that Ye Chui really as formidable as you say?”
“The Clown Woman died at his hands, and the snake-haired Yuren also fell to him. Regarding Ye Chui, I can only feel that he is unfathomably deep… The imperial martial trial seems very unfair to him, but I think that might be exactly what he desires. Holding the imperial martial trial might itself be Ye Chui’s idea.” The person in the carriage compartment said. It was the figure of a young man. He moved closer to the First Princess Consort’s side, took the silk handkerchief from her hand, and personally wiped the tears from her face. “Mother, do you know who will duel Ye Chui?”
This young man was precisely the Ninth Prince who had faked his death in Clown Town!
“Prince Geller did not say, but I can guess roughly.” The First Princess Consort said coldly. “It should be the snake-haired Yuren! The one arranging the imperial martial trial is the Minister of Internal Affairs, and the current Minister of Internal Affairs is from the Magical Beast Jores family. They should arrange for Yuren to fight as Ye Chui’s opponent. I heard Yuren was injured two days ago. The Jores family sacrificed a fifth-tier magical beast to help Yuren recover from his injuries. Every day in the Jores family mansion, one can hear Yuren’s roars. His hatred for Ye Chui has reached the bone.”
The First Princess Consort patted the compartment wall on one side of the carriage, signalling that the carriage could proceed.
“The snake-haired Yuren? Ye Chui’s defeated subordinate. He will not do! Mother, you do not know how many tricks Ye Chui has!” The carriage had already begun moving. The Ninth Prince frowned and said. Anyone who had contact with Ye Chui would not underestimate Ye Chui’s strength, nor his endlessly varied and diverse magics!
“I certainly will not make such a mistake. Rest assured.” A somewhat ferocious smile appeared on the First Princess Consort’s plain face. “A great figure from the Magic Union has already arrived in the imperial capital. She also seems quite willing to see Ye Chui die. Under the church’s arrangement, that great figure will help enhance Yuren’s power… Ye Chui is dead for sure!”
The First Princess Consort seemed to have some channels of her own, knowing some secret matters.
“The Magic Union?” The Ninth Prince’s expression seemed to relax slightly.
The Magic Union was not a magic guild. It was the organisation responsible for all magic affairs, the representative of magical power. The magic book towers spread across the world were managed by the Magic Union. And Ye Chui’s magic guide book had clearly attracted the Magic Union’s attention. A white-covered magic guide book suspected to be inherited that could use various magic systems, how could such a magic guide book never have been recorded by the Magic Union before?
And it was well known that the Magic Union also possessed the pinnacle power on this continent: the Twelve Phase King Magic Tutors!
Those were twelve powerful magic tutors who used god-level magic guide books inherited for who knows how many generations. Each of their magic guide books was as big as a person!
Who knew what kind of great figure had now come to the Star Empire’s imperial capital?
Could it be one of the Twelve Phases?
…
After Prince Geller returned to the mansion, he called the captain of the black armour guards and instructed him to strengthen the mansion’s defences, not allowing anyone to enter casually. Ye Chui’s identity was special. Before the imperial martial trial was held, there might still be people coming to tamper with things. After arranging everything properly, Prince Geller then returned to the inner courtyard of the mansion. Black armour guards were stationed on all sides here; it was the safest place.
Prince Geller walked through the small courtyard with a heavy heart, arriving at the inner hall’s large room. In his mind, he was still imagining the quarrels at the imperial council just now.
Some people proposed directly executing Ye Chui, while others suggested conducting a formal imperial trial. But neither of these held much advantage for Ye Chui. Prince Geller’s proposed imperial martial trial received no response. In the end, it was the old emperor who decided with one word, settling on the imperial martial trial verdict, leaving it to heaven to judge whether Ye Chui was guilty.
But Prince Geller felt no joy at all for this verdict he had争取. Because he did not believe Ye Chui had the ability to gain the advantage in the martial trial, especially knowing that the one about to duel Ye Chui in the martial trial was that snake-haired Yuren. Ye Chui had defeated Yuren before, but he had already understood the specifics clearly. Ye Chui’s victory at that time had some elements of luck. The same luck would not come twice. And now, Yuren’s strength had greatly increased…
Prince Geller’s worries were interrupted by a burst of laughter and chatter. Then he saw somewhat speechlessly that beside the dining table in the main hall, the five members of the Name’s Whatever Magic Guild were chatting and laughing while enjoying a sumptuous lunch. Several attendants served at the side. Those attendants’ faces all bore stiff smiles, probably because they had never seen people facing imminent disaster who could still care so much about whether there was too much onion in a roast foie gras or too little salt in the roast chicken…
It was said to be imprisoning Ye Chui and his group, but in the princely mansion, they were treated as honoured guests. And it was obvious that Ye Chui and his group showed no courtesy at all regarding their honoured guest status.
“Prince Geller, you are back?” Ye Chui saw Prince Geller and waved with a smile. “Your mansion’s chefs have truly good skills, but there are still some areas that need improvement…” He said this at length, then as if suddenly remembering something, asked, “How did the imperial council turn out?”
Listen to this tone, as if he did not care about the result at all…
Prince Geller waved his hand, letting the attendants serving nearby leave. He himself pulled out a chair and sat down, saying through his mouth: “As you wished, the imperial martial trial will soon be held. Your opponent is the snake-haired Yuren.”
“Oh oh.” Ye Chui nodded. “What about the time?”
“The day after tomorrow.” Prince Geller answered. “I proposed this time as per your request.”
Hearing Prince Geller say this, Ye Chui seemed to relax quite a bit, beginning to continue enjoying the fine meal on his plate. He asked through his mouth at the same time: “By the way, there is one more thing I need you to help investigate for me.”
“What is it?” Prince Geller asked.
“We have a friend named Xi Lesi. She should now be locked up in the Skeleton Walker Magic Guild. Can you help confirm how she is now?” Ye Chui said. He was also very concerned about Xi Lesi.
“The Skeleton Walker Magic Guild?” Prince Geller was stunned. “That is a five-star magic guild with great power in the imperial capital. Today at the banquet, one of the magic tutors who participated in attacking that assassin was from the Skeleton Walker Magic Guild!”
“Is that so? Did not notice at the time. Help us confirm Xi Lesi’s life and death.” Debbie interjected from the side. The little girl was enjoying delicious pastries. “If possible, it would be even better if you could help us rescue Xi Lesi.”
“I can try, but the Skeleton Walkers have always been extremely insidious and overbearing. They might not give me much face.” Prince Geller summoned a black armour guard and arranged for him to investigate. He frowned and said, “How did your friend offend the Skeleton Walkers?”
“She burned off the life root of the Skeleton Walker Magic Guild’s leader.” Guni answered happily. Ye Chui guessed she probably did not even know what a life root was.
Prince Geller: “… Then I estimate that even if your friend is alive, they absolutely will not return her easily.”
“Then when the time comes, our guild will directly go demand her back. If something happens to Xi Lesi, their guild can forget about mixing well.” Ye Chui immediately said. “By the way, this time we disguised ourselves as the illegitimate son to come to the imperial capital. Have we completed the task you assigned? We should already qualify for a five-star magic guild, right?”
“After the martial trial ends, I will declare that your identity is not that of an illegitimate son. At that time, you will naturally complete the task. Qualifying for a five-star magic guild should be sufficient…” Prince Geller could no longer remain calm. “Are you really not worried at all about the imperial martial trial? You have also seen the snake-haired Yuren. The last time he was badly injured by you was largely due to underestimating the enemy. This time it will not be. And why did you arrange the imperial martial trial for the day after tomorrow? One extra day only gives your opponent more time to prepare!”
“Hmm, let them toss about however they like!” Ye Chui forked a piece of roast potato and stuffed it into his mouth, saying somewhat indistinctly: “Anyway, the day after tomorrow I will be invincible…”
