Chapter 53 - Unable to endure
At the beginning of the moon, the scenery was very beautiful. Wine and meat wafted in the air in the apricot garden of Silver City"s Royal Mansion, and the lights were bright!
At this moment, on the stage on the second floor of the Spring Pavilion, which was originally performing as a song and dance, the music suddenly stopped midway. The dancers also left the stage one after another.The originally interested audience did not reveal the slightest hint of dissatisfaction. Instead, they stared unblinkingly at the stage with expressions of antic.i.p.ation and excitement!
This was because they already knew that this stage would become the arena in a moment"s time. Rumor had it that it would be a contest between the royal prince, princess, crown prince, and princess!
People with such statuses, even if they were distinguished officials or n.o.bles, they would usually not interact much with them. Moreover, they were able to display their skills, so naturally, everyone was looking forward to it from the bottom of their hearts!The audience watched on anxiously as the person that had already ascended to the skies was temporarily used as the stage. They didn"t know which son, princess, or even prince would be the first to challenge the other party.
Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of people, the arena was devoid of people. A moment later!
A graceful and unrestrained figure leaped out like a swallow flying out of spring. It leaped several meters forward and lightly landed on the arena. The latter stood with his hands behind his back. Under the illumination of the bright moon, he appeared extremely elegant and refined!
The moment the people in the apricot tree garden saw someone come out, they immediately let out a cheer. They began to carefully look at who it was. Although it was a bit far away, there was still a sharp-eyed official who could clearly see that person"s appearance.
"Aiya! This is the eldest son of the Lingnan King, Xiang Xinglan! "
Although the Ling Nan King"s power could not compare to that of w.a.n.g Xiang Ling, he could still be considered a prince with power. He stood guard over Ling Nan and his own martial strength was also very strong!
The Ling Nan King only had one son, which was this Xing Lan. It was said that the Ling Nan King had spent all these years nurturing his son. Therefore, the latter"s cultivation in the Martial Dao was also extraordinary.
"I heard that this prince is only nineteen years old and has twenty-one spiritual roots. He is already at the peak of the Seven Cloud Martial Cultivator and is about to break through to the Yellow Cloud Realm. I wonder how strong he is today?" Someone exclaimed."Hmph, of course it isn"t something an ordinary seven cloud realm cultivator can compare to. The royal bloodline is not something we can even imagine." An official on the side spoke up.
In the past few hundred years, the Xiang Family had produced many geniuses with superhuman spiritual roots. Their battle prowess was extraordinary, and amongst them, w.a.n.g Xiang Tian had forty-eight spiritual roots, so his strength was unfathomable. He could be called the number one person in the Xiang Family.
Of course, not all of the Xiang clansmen had such great talent for martial arts. Among them, the third son, Xiang Yun, represented it, holding a good-for-nothing banner that said they had been born with no spiritual roots. To call the Xiang clan a genius, they had truly become the laughingstock of the world"s kings, n.o.bles, and commoners.
At this moment, as everyone looked up at Xiang Xinglan on the stage, they felt as if they were looking at a rising star of Storm Nation!
These people were mostly young men and women, and each one of them was well-dressed, had high spirits, and had an extraordinary bearing. Although there were no attendants to accompany them, these young men and women were not ordinary people, and were all close relatives of the royal family.
Amongst them were many disciples of the Xiang Royal Family. Other than this Xinglan, there were also a few other heirs and princes. Their fathers were also royalty of the Empire of Feng Yun.
However, compared to the prince on the birthday today, the difference in strength and status was like thousands of miles! Of course, even so, their ident.i.ties were still considered precious!Since they were able to appear here, it was naturally because Xiang Tian had sent someone to bring them here. When the princes and princesses told them that a battle between the royal family"s younger generation was about to begin, the victor was going to bestow them a cloud weapon.
These young geniuses from the Wind Cloud Country"s royal family were all rubbing their hands together, their faces filled with excitement!
Not to mention whether he would be able to obtain this cloud weapon from the King of Shoulder, just being able to stand out and display his prowess in this gathering of powerful and influential people on the stage was something that people yearned for!
Moreover, Xiang Xinglan had been the first to rush up the arena, intent on making a name for himself overnight. He had been the first to step up to the arena stage, wanting to be the first to stand out and make everyone remember him!
"Fellow brothers and sisters, Xiang Xinglan is an untalented fellow. She will first take the initiative to enter the arena. If any of you wish to challenge someone, I will definitely accompany you!"
Dressed in a purplish-gold embroidered dragon robe and wearing a jade crown, Xiang Xinglan wore a jeweled jade belt around her waist. She stood tall and straight with a handsome face, her voice sonorous as she fought her way out of the arena.
The latter"s elegant demeanor even caused many young ladies in the apricot-colored garden to let out a series of screams and exclamations!
"Heavens! Crown Prince Xiang Xinglan is so handsome!"
"If only I could be his wife!""Stop dreaming, Crown Prince Xinglan is mine!"
Listening to the screams and cheers from within the Apricot Altar Garden, Xiang Xinglan"s expression was indifferent, but her heart was filled with a trace of complacency!
This was exactly the effect he wanted. As the only son of Ling Nan King, Xiang Xinglan had been doted upon by tens of thousands ever since she was born. She possessed a n.o.ble status and cultivation base that was not low either.
And now, he had personally come to this northwest Silver City to congratulate his Imperial Uncle Xiang Lingling, yet he was only able to sit at the bottom level of the Spring Pavilion. This caused the Crown Prince to feel extremely unhappy in his heart, and he wanted to tell everyone that he, Xiang Xinglan, was the leader of the younger generation.Hearing Xiang Xinglan"s battle cry, all the royal family disciples within the pavilion reacted differently.
Atop the seats, Xiang Jinglei"s lips curled up into a mocking smile, while Xiang Jinghong remained expressionless. The crown prince, Xiang Qian, and the princess, Xiang Fei, glanced at each other and smiled faintly.
At the same table was Xiang Yun, the younger generation member who had been stealthily stroking the ring on his finger. From time to time, he would lower his head to look at the chest of gold beneath his seat, as though he was a miser on guard.
Suddenly, Xiang Yun heard the shrieks of a young lady. Only then did the latter raise his head and see the young man standing in the arena, his clothes fluttering in the wind, looking just like the young man from a television show in his previous life."Humph, the higher you jump, the faster you die!" Xiang Yun pursed his lips, feeling rather displeased.
Xiang Yun had always looked down on those fresh meat that only had looks and no acting skills. Now that he saw Xiang Xinglan pretending, he did not have any good impressions of her the first time he laid eyes on her.
"Crown Prince, since you look down on him so much, why don"t you go up and fight him?" At this moment, the princess, Xiang"er, who had not spoken a single word to Xiang Yun since he had entered the Spring Pavilion, actually spoke up for the first time since.Xiang Yun was first stunned before he turned to look at his cousin who was like a frozen beauty. The latter looked at him as if he were a butcher who was about to slaughter a pig, cold and indifferent.
Xiang Yun tightened his somewhat cold body, forcefully calming himself down. He thought to himself, "No matter how arrogant this princess is, she definitely wouldn"t dare to do anything to me here, right?"Thus, Xiang Yun no longer had any qualms as he replied with a disdainful expression, "Tsk, this brat looks like a five man six. However, with a single glance, you can tell that he"s just a flirt. This prince is afraid that the moment I walk up, I"ll scare him to the point of peeing his pants!"
"Ke ke …" Xiang Fei could not help but laugh coldly when she heard this. She immediately threw a sidelong glance at Xiang Yun as she mocked in a low voice, "He is indeed an arrogant fellow. However, you don"t even have many who can kill ten people?""Humph!" Hearing this, Xiang Yun felt a little unhappy, but thinking that the woman"s words were spiteful in the sense that she was still scheming about the matter in the bed this morning, Xiang Yun decided not to bother with her anymore, and said with a coy smile.
"A gentleman doesn"t say anything!"The ridicule in Xiang Fei"s eyes grew even more intense. "Is this the reason why ants find their own weaknesses?"
"Is that enough?" Xiang Yun was a little angry, why was this woman so unrelenting?"What can you do to me?" Xiang Fei looked at Xiang Yun with a provocative expression, as if she was looking at an ant beneath her feet.
"Whew!" Looking at Xiang Fei"s mocking and contemptuous gaze, Xiang Yun inhaled deeply, gritted his teeth and endured the anger in his heart. In the end, he said to himself, "A good man doesn"t fight against a woman. I"ll endure you!"
"Hehe, if you can beat me, do you still need to endure? "Truly a piece of trash." Xiang Fei looked at Xiang Yun as if she was looking at a clown, ridiculing him.
"Phew." Xiang Yun sucked in another deep breath. This time, he wasn"t trying to suppress his temper. Instead, he directly sucked in a deep breath and began cursing!
Xiang Yun immediately turned to face Xiang Fei, a cold smile on his face as he said, "Woman, do you really think that just because you have some ability you can act arrogantly and provoke others? You"re overestimating yourself. Why don"t you go up to the heavens?" Why don"t you challenge such a powerful character here? "Why are you still showing off in front of me?"
Don"t you think I care about your flat body that doesn"t even shake when you pa.s.s by? Remember, that"s my bed, you got on mine and let me touch it, don"t look like I owe you a million and eight hundred thousand silver taels. It"s because you"re a woman.Xiang Yun intentionally lowered his voice at this moment, every word only Xiang Fei could hear.
Xiang Fei, who had originally been sneering with a playful look on her face as she stared at Xiang Yun, was completely stunned, as if something unbelievable had happened!
Ever since she was young, Xiang Fei had grown up amidst the praises, dotes, flattery and adoration of countless people. Even the current Emperor doted heavily on her, unwilling to even say a single important word.
Yet today, at this moment, at this moment, for the first time in her life, Xiang Fei had been scolded in front of everyone. Moreover, this was not an ordinary scolding.
This curse caused her to be stunned into a daze for a long time. Xiang Fei"s dull gaze finally began to change!The latter"s eyes gradually turned red and her pupils contracted. A wave of killing intent spread out along with it as the delicate, boneless hand slowly reached for the hilt of the sword wrapped around her waist.
"b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I"ll kill you!" The words came out of Xiang Fei"s mouth as if she was gritting her teeth. Her pair of baleful eyes stared fixedly at Xiang Yun. Her resentful expression was as though she was looking at the person who had killed her father.