Royal Strife, the Beginning of Turmoil!

The sky gradually brightened, with only a few fading stars still glimmering in the pale blue expanse. The earth brightened as well, and warm sunlight fell across Bai Sheng's face. Pandora stood quietly to one side, and a bird's call woke the exhausted Bai Sheng.

The moment he opened his eyes, Bai Sheng brushed the dust off the gravestone and poured the rest of the unfinished bottle of liquor before it.

"All right, I should be going. That damned Father King of mine is looking for me in the palace. I'll come see you again next time."

With that, he picked up Pandora, stored it away in his spatial storage, and left the cemetery.

He glanced at his phone. Most of the messages on it were from the guy with the white cat avatar:

April 26, 10:16

Real Name Online: Is the little guy still there?

April 26, 12:45

Real Name Online: Finished subjugating the bugs? How did it go? Were you hurt?

May 7, 18:30

Real Name Online: Bai Sheng, be extremely careful. Stingworms aren't easy to deal with!

There were hundreds of messages in total. Most were checking on him, while others mentioned Stingworm weaknesses and the like.

Bai Sheng looked at his phone and sighed. He really had been busy lately. The battlefield at Scorched Earth changed by the moment, and his phone had been left with Miles, which meant he had not replied to this friend of his—who was practically an overbearing mother—for a long time.

Po: I'm back. I'm fine. It was just a bug, look how worried you got.

Real Name Online: It's good that you're fine. Do you still have living expenses? (cat peeking.jpg)

Po: I do. Don't worry, my dear General. (helpless.jpg)

Real Name Online: I told you long ago, I really am a Xianzhou Luofu general. (little cat scowling.jpg)

Po: All right, all right, I believe you. Then can our dear Luofu general grant this humble one a favor?

Real Name Online: Easy. It's only one thing. Even ten things would be no problem.

Po: If I can't make it in Kasantiya someday, could you find me a job on the Luofu?

Real Name Online: No problem. But aren't you a prince? How could you possibly fail to make it?

Po: You know I'm not favored. Who knows, maybe one day they'll find an excuse to strip me of everything. I need to leave myself a way out, don't I?

Real Name Online: How dare he? How could an old man dare?

Po: Easy for you to say. Remember those human traffickers I told you about ten years ago?

Real Name Online: The incident where you saved a Little Fox Person?

Po: Right. I personally handed all three of them over to the inspectors. But less than three days later, they were out of prison, completely untouched. All because they had the royal family and a corporation backing them!

Real Name Online: So after all these years, you still can't let it go? Even after you pretended to be a Stellaron Hunter and saved so many slaves?

Po: How could I possibly let it go?! That old bastard said it didn't matter, that they were only slaves! There were eight hundred and seven people in my unit, every one of them volunteered to follow me, but that old bastard was afraid of offending the corporation and sent them all to Scorched Earth! That was Scorched Earth! The Grammar Empire was destroyed because of those bugs on Scorched Earth! And in the end, I still accomplished nothing!

Real Name Online: All right, all right. It's not your fault. How about I think of a way to get you to the Xianzhou? With your strength, getting an official post here wouldn't be a problem.

Po: Forget it. I still have to kill that old bastard. The hatred of my mother's murder is irreconcilable. Once I've taken him out, I'll come find you.

Real Name Online: You're still too weak. Kasantiyans are Eternals. You can take your time building up your strength. There's an old saying on the Xianzhou: "A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years."

Po: I know. But you—don't die before I do.

Real Name Online: You brat, cursing me now? Be careful, or when you come to the Xianzhou, I'll make things difficult for you!

Po: Tch, I'm done talking to you. Time to head to the palace. Bye.

Real Name Online: Goodbye.

After putting away his phone, Bai Sheng thought about how "Real Name Online" was a friend he had added thirteen years ago. The two had quickly hit it off, but that guy was always bragging about being a Luofu general. Seriously, would a real general have half a day to spare playing chess with him?

Bai Sheng figured he was most likely just a low-ranking Luofu employee whose workplace happened to be the Divine General's Mansion.

Before long, Bai Sheng arrived at his destination. He let out a long breath and stepped toward the resplendent imperial palace.

"Stop. Please present proof of entry."

Two guards stood at the gate, blocking the entrance with their spears as they looked at Bai Sheng.

"Seriously? Is this your first day seeing me?"

Bai Sheng sighed helplessly. These two gate guards were certainly diligent, just far too rigid. He took out Pandora, and a powerful surge of Path power spread outward, crushing the two guards until they could barely breathe.

"O-Okay... Your Highness, p-please... go in..."

Seeing the state of the two guards, Bai Sheng shook his head and walked inside.

"Tch, just a fallen prince. What's he putting on airs for? If he couldn't control the Demonic Scythe, His Majesty would've long since—"

Once Bai Sheng had walked far enough away, one of the guards muttered under his breath.

The other guard punched his helmet with a loud clang and cursed:

"Shut up! Are you trying to die, you idiot? No matter how far he's fallen, he's still a Prince. Who are we to judge him?!"

At that, the two guards fell silent and returned to their posts.

Meanwhile, Bai Sheng passed through the winding palace corridors and arrived at the main hall.

"Greetings, Father King."

Bai Sheng gave a slight bow. After reporting the battle situation, he stepped aside.

"Mm. But Bai Sheng, lording it over two guards—do you have any of a Prince's bearing at all?!"

The Emperor seated high above wore a faintly angry expression as he spoke coldly.

"My mistake. Please punish me as you see fit, Father King."

Bai Sheng replied casually. This old bastard wasn't picking on him for the first time, so dealing with it was easy enough by now.

"Let there not be a next time. Also, how is the Divine Artifact?"

"Everything is normal. In accordance with Father Emperor's orders, no souls have been bound within it."

Pandora was a very unusual scythe. Seven gemstones of different colors were embedded in its blade, each capable of storing a soul, for a total of seven. These souls could act just like real people and could obtain the power of their Paths.

The First Emperor had conquered all of Kasantiya with it. It could be said that Pandora was a perfect, sentient weapon capable of destroying stars. However, the Emperor of Kasantiya did not know that it possessed consciousness.

"Mm. When your coming-of-age ceremony arrives, I will personally inject souls into it for you."

The Emperor spoke grandly from his high platform.

But Bai Sheng knew that once the coming-of-age ceremony came, Pandora would likely be taken back. As for himself... heh, it would be a blessing if he survived.

So before the coming-of-age ceremony, he either had to flee or kill him!

That was what Bai Sheng thought...