Chapter 2286 (Raw 2393): Age of Great Contention

The atmosphere turned somewhat depressing. The Ninth Prince had not expected Xiao Chen’s eruption at all.

The Heavenly Book Scholar also remained stunned at the side for a long time before he reacted.

Xiao Chen’s words were very overboard. However, upon further thought, they made some sense.

The Ninth Prince could be a good person and not aim for the crown prince position. There was a blood connection, so Wang Fei would not dare to kill him.

However, Xiao Chen was different. He did not have such an identity that he could use to protect himself and his friends.

Once the First Prince succeeded to the throne, the situation would be extremely unfavorable to Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen might even have to pay a miserable price.

If this was considered a transaction, then the Ninth Prince only thought about himself in this deal.

The Ninth Prince only thought of using Xiao Chen’s key to prevent the Demonic Dao cultivators from obtaining the Wings of Time if the Ethereal Immortal Palace appeared.

The Ninth Prince never considered what Xiao Chen would do if the First Prince ascended to the throne.

To Xiao Chen, this was not fair. Why should he help such a selfish person?

What is your value to me?

These words sounded harsh, but they were not overboard at all. The facts were as such.

After speaking, Xiao Chen appeared somewhat at a loss. Earlier, he actually felt murderous towards the Ninth Prince and even cast some of his resentment on the Ninth Prince.

If Su Ye had not held on to him, who knew what would have happened?

After calming down, Xiao Chen remained in a daze for a while. He showed a sorrowful expression, feeling a deep sense of helplessness. He had never felt himself so cowardly and weak before.

To think that I pushed the responsibility to someone else. To think that I could say such shameless words. This was simply so juvenile that it was comical.

“Sorry for the offense earlier; I have offended Your Highness. No matter what, my martial nephew’s death has nothing to do with the Ninth Prince. I will come back another day to offer my apologies. Su Ye, let’s go.”

“Wait a moment.”

The Ninth Prince quickly called Xiao Chen. He stood up and said, “Lord Xiao, there is no need to reproach yourself. You were right. If I had the same status as Eighth Elder Brother or Little Thirteenth, First Brother definitely would not have dared to touch Lord Xiao’s martial nephew. I was thinking about how to contribute to the dynasty, how to stop the Demonic Dao cultivators. I was too shortsighted and did not consider the problem from Lord Xiao’s angle.”

“So?” Xiao Chen prompted softly without turning his head back.

“If Lord Xiao is willing to be my guest, I am willing to do my best to fight to be crown prince,” the Ninth Prince Wang Yan said with a serious gaze, heavily emphasizing every word.

The Heavenly Book Scholar felt slightly stunned upon hearing that. He knew that the Ninth Prince was a person who honored his word. Once the Ninth Prince decided on something, the Ninth Prince would not hesitate, working with full strength.

However, this went completely against the Ninth Prince’s initial intent.

Hey…

The Heavenly Book Scholar suddenly showed doubt in his eyes. A pair of profound talisman scripts appeared in his eyes, showing the general star above the Ninth Prince’s head falling quickly.

In the general star’s place, a dim emperor star slowly grew brighter and rose.

Previously, when the Heavenly Book Scholar did a reading for the Ninth Prince, he read that the Ninth Prince had the talent to be a general, to lead troops into battle to fight and oversee a place. However, the Ninth Prince lacked the talent to be emperor. His emperor star remained dim. Not to mention the top three favorite princes, he could not even compare to most of the other princes.

However, the Ninth Prince’s general star suddenly fell, and his emperor star rose.

This was a sudden change in fate. The Heavenly Book Scholar had never seen such a strange scene before. However, it happened right before his eyes today.

This…how can this be?

Is it because of him? The Heavenly Book Scholar shifted his gaze, fixing it on Xiao Chen.

However, the Heavenly Book Scholar did not dare to read Xiao Chen’s fate; he had already suffered once before. Even if he were ten times bolder, he would not dare read Xiao Chen’s fate again.

“Ninth Prince, are you sure?” Xiao Chen asked softly after he turned around to look at Wang Yan.

“I’m sure.”

Wang Yan added softly, “As the saying goes, I have awakened from my dreams. I often do not like taking the initiative to solve problems. I would wait for the problem to appear before thinking of a way to deal with it. I never thought of taking the initiative to control everything. Even if I manage to stop First Brother this time, what about the next time? There would eventually be a time when I fail. You are right. I was just deceiving myself.”

Su Ye exchanged glances with Xiao Chen. After seeing Xiao Chen nodded slightly, she said, “With just a word from the Ninth Prince, the Misty Rain Pavilion will use its full power to help the Ninth Prince take the throne, no matter the cost.”

“Many thanks. However, even though I have decided to become the crown prince and have the Misty Rain Pavilion’s help, I still do not stand a high chance. I also would like to ask, Lord Xiao, have you thought it through?” Wang Yan countered with a question. His handsome face slowly regained its calm.

Xiao Chen replied softly, “I always feel that no matter what it is, as long as you fight for it, you stand an even chance. If you do not fight for it, you won’t even have a ten percent chance. That is how you were previously, not even letting me have a ten percent chance. Even if I did my best, there would be no way to succeed. Do you understand what I mean?”

“I do.”

“Good. I will enter closed-door cultivation during this period. As for recruiting guests, you can communicate directly with Pavilion Master Su. There is no need to worry about resources. One can achieve anything with effort. As long as you do your best, I will have nothing to say, even if you fail.”

The Ninth Prince said after some thought, “If you are entering closed-door cultivation, then do it at my residence. Closed-door cultivation in the royal residences is the best. The Spiritual Energy here far surpasses that in other places. We are next to the imperial palace. You can sense the various benefits for yourself.”

“Alright, I will stay, then.” Xiao Chen agreed at once, not standing on ceremony.

Xiao Chen entered the residence’s secret realm and began closed-door cultivation.

Compared to the other princes’ guests, Xiao Chen’s cultivation was still too low. The guests that would enter the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb were mostly a few centuries old. Among them, there were many older-generation demonic geniuses like Dao Yan.

When these people were young, they possessed excellent talent and sufficient resources. Furthermore, they had time to build accumulations. There would not be any weaklings.

Some experts might be skilled with a Great Dao. With their accumulations over centuries, they might be able to form small worlds.

A Great Perfection Sovereign Emperor who could materialize a small world would be absolutely exceptional. Such people could fight against Peak Sovereign Emperors.

There would not be many of such people, at most four or five. However, such a person would practically be unrivaled in the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb.

Xiao Chen had to think carefully about the resources he could use to face such an expert.

“My cultivation has already increased significantly. It is practically impossible for me to break through to 3-Vein Sovereign Emperor quickly. If my cultivation cannot increase, then I have to think of another way to increase my strength…”

Xiao Chen thought about it and came up with three solutions after a while.

First was his Thunder Dao. Since he had refined a one-hundred-thousand-year-old Thunder Cliff Tree, his Thunder Great Dao was already at the fifth layer. It was the most advanced of all his Dao Domains. When supported by his Alloy Dragon Armor, his fifth-layer Dao Domain could already rival a sixth-layer Dao Domain in might.

If he added in his Saber Dao Domain and Ice Dao Domain, he could bring out the might of a ninth-layer Dao Domain.

Xiao Chen had merged three Dao Domains when he formed his Divine Seal. This was extremely rare among Sovereign Emperors. The might of a tri-layered Dao Domain was horrifying, far surpassing that of a Dao Domain with just one layer.

However, it was still not enough.

“I still have to add this in.”

Xiao Chen opened his palm, and the golden Divine Lightning Talisman slowly came out of his hand.

His palm became like a boundless ocean. The golden talisman gave off a bright electric light. However, it all remained contained in his palm, nothing leaking out.

The Immortal Epoch’s Thunder Immortal Ancestor materialized this talisman using the Ten Thousand Tribulation Divine Lightning.

The talisman in Xiao Chen’s hand drove less than a tenth of its source. Even so, it already possessed terrifying might.

This talisman in his hand already firmly imprinted in his Azure Dragon Divine Seal, perfectly merging with his Soul Energy.

With just a thought, Xiao Chen’s Soul Energy could erupt and unleash the power of tribulation lightning in the Divine Lightning Talisman.

This was far superior to the old Divine Lightning Eye.

However, Xiao Chen’s thoughts went even further. He wanted to use this talisman to support his Thunder Great Dao.

Then, after he layered his three Dao Domains and supported them with his Alloy Dragon Armor, it might be able to form a Dao Domain that could clash with a small world.

“Whoosh!”

After thinking of this solution, Xiao Chen put away the Divine Lightning Talisman. Next, a painting appeared in his palm.

This painting was the Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram. Ever since the Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram materialized as a painting, he rarely used it. However, he now needed to unfurl it.

This was his strongest defensive means. He wanted to raise his Heavenly Snow Divine Flame and Universe Origin True Flame to Rank 7.

It would be his second trump card.

The third trump card would be the Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique’s Merciless Killing. If heaven wanted to kill, who dared to resist?

As for the final resort, the Nine Heavens God Demon Body Unsealing Technique, a Dragon’s Gate’s Forbidden Art, he intended to avoid using it if possible. Once he used it, he might not be able to handle the consequences.

Aside from this, he needed to cultivate his Ten Thousand Dragons Art.

The Ninth Prince was right. The secret realm of the prince’s residence was very good. The spiritual energy here was far denser than outside. There seemed to be a Dragon Vein buried in the imperial palace and connected to this place. This made things easier when cultivating, feeling extremely mysterious.

After determining what to work on, Xiao Chen muttered, “These are the trump cards that can allow my combat prowess to increase rapidly within a short period. However, I also have to consolidate my Supreme Dragon Fist, Firmament’s Rage, and other Martial Techniques.”

While Xiao Chen was in closed-door cultivation, none of the princes’ residences outside the imperial palace remained peaceful.

A great age of contention in the Yanwu Dynasty arrived silently, creeping up unnoticed.