Duel

"Greetings, His Majesty."

The two of them bowed, then sat down under the eunuch's guidance.

"Your Majesty, I have a matter I wish to report."

"What is it?"

The Fifth Elder had never involved himself in imperial affairs, so his visit to White Tiger Hall today piqued the Star Luo Emperor's interest.

The Fifth Elder bowed and said, "The empire's fourth prince has now appeared. According to clan rules, a suitable match must also be found for him among the Zhu Family. However, among the Zhu Family's unmarried children, only one girl has awakened the Netherworld Cat Spirit."

"So I dare ask Your Majesty to grant this woman to the Fourth Prince."

The Emperor was somewhat surprised. Why was the Fifth Elder taking such care of Dai Yao? He had no connection to Dai Yao. There had to be some hidden reason behind this.

"Absolutely not. The Third Prince has not even been betrothed yet, so how can the Fourth Prince be engaged first?" The Empress's voice was as pleasant as an oriole's, and she smiled gently.

She had come tonight precisely because of Dai Yao. The harem had always been under her control, and she knew Dai Yao's situation perfectly. Yet she had never expected that wretched boy's talent to be so high that even the Council of Elders, which normally never concerned itself with imperial affairs, had stepped forward.

Every time she thought of that woman, she hated her so much she gnashed her teeth. She did not want to let that person's bastard child go.

So how could she possibly allow Zhu Zhuqing to be betrothed to that bastard?

"Empress, those words are mistaken. In our Dai Family, we have never followed the order of age and seniority. It is so in the succession to the throne, and it is so in this matter as well." Though the Fifth Elder had misgivings about the Empress, for the continuation of Dai Yao's spirit and for the prosperity of the White Tiger Family, he had no choice but to stand opposed to her.

Besides, whenever he believed something was right, he had never feared anyone.

"Your Majesty, Mubai is your child. For the sake of a suitable marriage partner, he has already waited three years. If the Zhu Family's girl is betrothed to Dai Yao, wouldn't that mean Mubai wasted three years for nothing?" the Empress said softly and weakly, weeping her grievance to the Star Luo Emperor.

"Empress..." The Fifth Elder was just about to refute her when the Star Luo Emperor raised a hand and cut him off.

"There is no need for the two of you to argue any further. Both of you have your reasons, but no matter whom that girl is betrothed to, someone will be dissatisfied."

"My Dai Family cares nothing for order by age. Since ancient times, the victor has taken everything. It is so in the succession to the throne, and it is so in this matter as well." The Emperor's words were as cold and ruthless as the rules of the Dai Family.

"Let the two of them duel. The victor will gain the right to the marriage arrangement."

Hearing the Star Luo Emperor's words, both of them felt a measure of joy.

In the Empress's view, the Star Luo Emperor was still leaning toward her. Although it was called a duel, the age gap between Dai Yao and Dai Mubai was too great. In terms of strength, Dai Mubai held an absolute advantage. Dai Mubai had already reached rank seventeen Soul Power, so the result of their clash could only be Dai Mubai's victory.

And this result was exactly the Fifth Elder's goal.

Betrothing Zhu Zhuqing to Dai Yao was undoubtedly a wild fantasy. It was like haggling in ordinary times: first naming a price the other party could not accept, then presenting the price one actually had in mind, making it easier for the other party to accept. The Fifth Elder had raised this proposal to lay the groundwork for his true final objective.

"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince has not yet obtained a spirit ring. May we wait until he becomes a Soul Scholar before holding the duel?" the Fifth Elder asked.

"That is permitted," the Emperor replied.

Seeing that the Empress was about to object, the Emperor stopped her and said, "Our White Tiger Family has never feared challenges. If Dai Mubai cannot even defeat someone who has just obtained his First Spirit Ring, what right does he have to be called a prince of Star Luo?"

"Child, I have fought for this chance for you. Whether you can seize it will depend on you." The Fifth Elder sighed inwardly. Clearly, he did not think well of Dai Yao either. After all, the gap in Soul Power between the two of them was simply too large.

...The news that Dai Yao had awakened the Sacred White Tiger Spirit and been enfeoffed as the Fourth Prince began spreading across the continent like lightning.

Within the Imperial Palace, the few eunuchs who had once bullied Dai Yao immediately turned pale when they heard the news.

They had once been certain that Dai Yao would only awaken some useless spirit and would have no chance to turn his life around in the Imperial Palace. That was why, under the Empress's indication, they had dared to bully Dai Yao without restraint.

But now, Dai Yao, who possessed a powerful spirit, would definitely become a powerful soul master in the future.

Although he would surely fail in the competition for the throne, he was still a prince. Dealing with the few of them would be no problem at all.

"At present, the only plan is to wipe away the old hatred while the Fourth Prince has yet to grow strong. If we cannot, then..." Eunuch Li made a chopping motion with his hand.

The eunuchs looked at the ruthless expression on Eunuch Li's face and were all startled, but thinking of their current situation, they had no better solution.

He returned to the Cold Palace.

Dai Yao went home weighed down with worries. When he looked up, he saw several eunuchs waiting anxiously in front of the door.

When they saw Dai Yao, the eunuchs hurriedly dropped to their knees. Eunuch Li hugged Dai Yao's leg and said fawningly, "Congratulations, Fourth Prince, on awakening the White Tiger Spirit. In the past, we were blind fools who failed to recognize greatness and offended Your Highness. We know our crime deserves ten thousand deaths."

"We all hope to do something for Your Highness. Although no matter what we do, it cannot make up for the harm we caused Your Highness, if we can lessen Your Highness's hatred by even the slightest bit, we will be completely satisfied!"

Dai Yao sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he remained calm and replied, "I have known you eunuchs since I was young. I know you all had your difficulties. But the things I suffered in the past make it very hard for me not to hate you. So if you want me to spare you, it will depend on your performance."

That was what he said aloud, but in his heart, he did not think so at all.

Hunger, pain, cold... Those agonizing feelings had tormented him for six years. The pain was carved into his bones, and he would never forget it in this lifetime. He wished he could skin them and tear out their bones, so how could he possibly let them off?

Though he was now a prince, he had not established any power of his own. If he, a prince, personally took action against a few eunuchs, it would undoubtedly lower the imperial family's and clan's evaluation of him. If he wanted to deal with the Empress, he had to show that he had potential. Such a foolish move would inevitably drive away potential backers.

More importantly, however, he wanted to play it safe.

He lived in the Cold Palace, where eunuchs attended to matters inside and out. If they formed wicked intentions, then even though he had awakened his spirit, he was still only six years old and had long been malnourished. Outnumbered, he might not be able to escape death.

So to prevent them from being driven into a desperate corner, now that they were begging for mercy, he had to give them a chance and make them feel there was still a possibility of making amends.

After driving the eunuchs away, Dai Yao returned to his room.

The house had been completely transformed. The room had been swept spotless, many decorations had been added, the broken windows had been repaired, and even the collapsed wall had been rebuilt.

A sumptuous meal had also been placed on the table.

Dai Yao sneered and said, "No matter how much you do, it's useless. Tomorrow, you can wait for my revenge."

As the saying went, repay kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance.

He had never been someone who repaid evil with virtue. If others bullied him, then once he had the ability, he would pay them back double. Tonight was only to prevent them from being driven into a desperate corner, so he would first play it safe.

Once he officially took his place as a prince tomorrow, they could just wait and see.

Right now, he had something even more important to do.