Marriage Urging

It was unlikely that the Heaven Dou Empire would take the initiative to start a war, because they knew they could not win. Although they retaliated against the Star Luo Empire's provocations, their response was not particularly strong. After driving the Star Luo troops that had crossed the border back out, they withdrew as well.

The carriage continued along normally when a boy suddenly rushed out in front of it. He collapsed before the carriage, his body curled up.

Just as Di Hong thought the boy was trying to scam them, several more raggedly dressed boys ran out and began beating him.

"Hand over the meat pie, now!"

The boy turned a deaf ear, fiercely protecting the pie in his arms.

Seeing this, the guard driving the carriage hurriedly got down to chase them away.

"What are you doing? Get lost!"

When they saw someone approaching, the boys beating him scattered and fled.

Seeing that the boy was still lying on the ground, the guard stepped forward and lightly nudged him with his foot.

"Hey, don't lie here and block the road. Move aside."

However, the boy still did not move, as though he had not heard him.

"Hey, are you deaf?"

The guard was about to drag him aside when Di Hong stopped him.

"Wait."

Di Hong stepped out of the carriage. Seeing his luxurious clothing, the people around him hurried away. They could not afford to offend nobles like him, and his distinctive red hair made it clear that he was a member of the royal family.

The guard hurriedly bowed.

Di Hong walked up to the boy, crouched down, and began examining him.

After checking him over, he discovered that the boy was covered in injuries. He had clearly suffered no shortage of beatings.

The reason he had not fought back just now was entirely because he had been protecting the meat pie in his arms. By now, he had already fainted.

Di Hong rose and turned toward the carriage. As he passed the guard, he said indifferently, "Bring him into the carriage."

"Fourth Prince, he is only a commoner. What right does he have to ride in the same carriage as you? Besides, the Great King is in the carriage as well," the guard said cautiously.

Di Hong merely gave him a cold glance before stepping into the carriage.

Not long afterward, the guard carried the boy onto the carriage. However, he did not dare place him inside the cabin, only setting him down beside it. Di Hong did not say anything further. He simply covered the boy with a cloak.

"My son has quite a kind heart," Di Yuan said with a smile. He did not care much about it.

The people nearby were quite envious when they saw the boy being taken away. He had been noticed and taken away after getting beaten up. They had heard the guard's form of address for the youth perfectly clearly.

A prince of the kingdom.

After returning to the Royal Palace, Di Yang reported what had happened to Di Yuan.

Although Di Hong had not been gone long to obtain his Spirit Ring and had returned after only a single day, many things had happened at the border during that day.

"Father King, the Star Luo Empire has stationed four hundred thousand troops at the border. They seem intent on invading."

"Four hundred thousand? Quite the display."

Di Yuan was startled, but quickly returned to normal. Four hundred thousand troops were no small number. The entire Silves Kingdom had only around two hundred thousand soldiers in total. With one move, the Star Luo Empire had deployed the equivalent of two Silves Kingdoms.

Fortunately, the Silves Kingdom was not located along the border. To reach him, they would first have to destroy the Balak Kingdom.

The Balak Kingdom was the first line of defense against the Star Luo Empire and the gateway to the Heaven Dou Empire.

Otherwise, his status within the empire would not have been the highest among the kingdoms. Although these kingdoms were practically states within a state, the empire still retained control over them, though that control had gradually weakened. The Balak Kingdom, however, was different.

Other than paying tribute, everything else was autonomous, and its military strength was the greatest among the four major kingdoms.

The Silves Kingdom could not afford to provoke them. They could not match them militarily, nor could they compare in Soul Masters.

That was why, when Xue Ye tried to win him over, he chose to stand on his side. The offer had been generous enough.

Did they think giving his son some lousy title would be enough to make him choose a side? Were they dreaming? That sort of thing might fool commoners, but it was useless on him.

Xue Ye had promised that the Silves Kingdom would have the same status as the Balak Kingdom. That meant they would also become a fully independent kingdom, which was exactly what he wanted.

But all of that depended on Xue Ye becoming emperor.

If he lost the competition, then all his promises would vanish into thin air.

After the boy was brought back, Di Hong arranged for a Support System Soul Master to treat him and also sent people to investigate whether he had any family left.

The boy was clearly not from the Silves Kingdom. He had likely fled here from the border.

Judging from his clothes, his background should have been rather good. The material of his clothing alone was worth a Gold Soul Coin.

After bringing the boy back, Di Hong did not concern himself with him any further. Returning to his bedroom, he prepared to cultivate.

However, just as he sat down, Shen Ning arrived.

Although she was no longer young, time had not left too many traces on her. Still, faint wrinkles could be seen. Without Becoming a God, one's lifespan was ultimately limited.

This was especially true for a Soul Saint like Shen Ning. Living to a hundred was easy enough, but living several more decades beyond that would not be so simple.

Di Yuan and Shen Ning were both over seventy, nearly eighty years old.

After entering, Shen Ning sat there and looked at Di Hong.

"Mother, what is it?"

"Of course there's something. Besides, I'm your mother—can't I come see you if there's nothing?"

"No, no." Di Hong shook his head repeatedly.

Shen Ning got straight to the point and had the maid bring over several portraits.

She opened one of them. It depicted a beautiful young girl who looked about the same age as Di Hong.

"This is...?" Di Hong had roughly guessed why his mother had come.

Shen Ning said, "Look, her name is Sun Xin. She's the granddaughter of the Sun Family in the city, and she's the same age as you. Her talent is a bit lacking, though—her Innate Soul Power is only rank four."

"But she's pretty."

"You're not that young anymore, so I was thinking of settling this for you soon."

"Mother, I'm not considering this sort of thing. Besides, I'm only twelve." Di Hong was utterly speechless. It wasn't that he was against it, but he truly had no intention of thinking about such matters—at least not right now.

Shen Ning didn't mind. "Oh, age doesn't matter. When your Father King and I got engaged, I was only eight."

"Your eldest uncle got married at sixteen."

"Besides, your mother only has a few decades left to live. I want to hold a grandson sooner—and a great-grandson, too."

Although Spirit Masters generally married and had children rather late, there were always those who married early.

"You don't like this one, do you?" Shen Ning saw through him. Her son had rather high standards. Though Sun Xin was beautiful, she wasn't among the most beautiful. That was why Shen Ning had brought her out first. She had prepared several portraits; the later ones featured girls with greater talent and even prettier faces.

Then, she took out another portrait and unfurled it.

"This one is from the Wang Family. Her name is Wang Yan. She has good talent. If she cultivates well, she might become a Soul Saint-level Spirit Master in the future."

"Mother, you should arrange something for Eldest Brother first. He isn't married yet, and neither is Second Brother."

"Consider them first. There's no need to consider me for now."

With that, Di Hong fled from his bedroom as fast as he could fly.

He was only twelve. Why was he already being pressured to marry? It made no sense.

"Hey, this child." Shen Ning sighed helplessly, but she wasn't discouraged. Though she had failed with her youngest son, she still had two other sons.

She would go find them.