On the Sky Screen, the scene of Dai Mubai lowering his head and pleading in a café was laid bare before the eyes of everyone across the continent.
Star Luo Empire, imperial palace hall.
The atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme, and the court was silent.
Because of the Sky Screen, the Star Luo Empire had dispatched Soul Masters to investigate that village girl and compile intelligence on her.
This intelligence report had been placed on the desks of nearly everyone present, one copy per person.
The contents were simple, consisting of only a thin sheet of paper detailing everything about the village girl named Cuihua from the Sky Screen.
No innate Soul Power.
Born to a farming household near Suotuo City.
To make a living, she had even engaged in shameful flesh trade in dark alleys.
And this was the person their Star Luo Empire's dignified Third Prince, bearer of the Evil-Eyed White Tiger Bloodline and one of the strongest contenders for the future throne, was humbly asking to form an alliance with.
Dai Tianfeng sat upon the White Tiger Throne, his gaze icy as he watched the glowing screen in midair.
The White Tiger Martial Soul represented endless slaughter and the majesty of an emperor. Which prince of Star Luo throughout the generations had not become a powerhouse by stepping over the bones and blood of his brothers through mountains of corpses and seas of blood?
Yet now, his own son, Dai Tianfeng's flesh and blood, had actually bowed his head and yielded!
An alliance?
An alliance with a lowly village girl who had sold her body?
Utter humiliation!
This was not merely Dai Mubai's personal disgrace. It was the disgrace of the Star Luo Imperial Family, the disgrace of every subject in the entire Star Luo Empire!
The glory passed down for a thousand years had vanished completely at this moment.
"Did my White Tiger Bloodline truly raise such a spineless piece of trash? Where was a prince's pride? Where was the imperial family's dignity?"
Dai Tianfeng questioned himself, his breathing growing heavy.
But he was, after all, the monarch who ruled an empire. After only a brief moment, he forcibly suppressed his rage and began analyzing the situation before him with an emperor's ruthless mindset.
That village girl named Cuihua truly held a higher status than Mubai in that higher-dimensional world.
If Mubai could swallow his pride and obtain Gene Serum from that connection, gaining cultivation resources from the martial arts school, then on the level of pure profit, this was an extremely worthwhile deal.
The succession rules of the Star Luo Imperial Family were, in essence, the most brutal survival of the fittest.
Only those who survived were qualified to speak of dignity upon the throne.
Back then, Dai Mubai had fled without fighting, running to Shrek Academy in the Heaven Dou Empire to avoid his deathmatch with Dai Weisi. In Dai Tianfeng's eyes, that had been an utterly cowardly act, one that disappointed him beyond measure.
But today, seeing Dai Mubai discard even the imperial family's glory so casually in order to survive, this willingness to use any means for a grand purpose faintly stirred Dai Tianfeng instead.
At least he understood how to endure and lie low while at an absolute disadvantage.
In that regard, he was far better than those fools who stubbornly clung to their pride and ultimately lost their lives.
Dai Tianfeng found himself a reason he could accept.
At that moment, Crown Prince Dai Weisi, standing at Dai Tianfeng's side, nearly burst out laughing in court as he watched the scene on the glowing screen.
The Star Luo Imperial Family had lost all face because of Dai Mubai, but from this day onward, the position of Star Luo's heir would absolutely have nothing to do with Dai Mubai!
Father would never permit such a disgraceful prince to inherit the throne!
Dai Weisi's heart was filled with the thrill of vengeance, but it did not last long before a sense of crisis rose within him.
If Dai Mubai truly obtained cultivation resources through that village girl, successfully endured this year, and returned alive to the Douluo Continent, it would be an enormous problem for him.
"Father, Third Brother's actions have truly disgraced the imperial family's—"
Before he could finish, Dai Tianfeng's cold gaze swept over him, cutting him off directly. "No one is permitted to spread word of what happened today."
"No one in this court may discuss it again."
"What was lost today was not merely the face of the Star Luo Imperial Family, but the face of the entire Star Luo Empire and all its subjects!"
"You should all understand!"
As the view shifted, Star Luo Empire's oppression had no effect on the Heaven Dou Empire thousands of miles away.
On Shrek Academy's dirt training ground.
Ma Hongjun stood frozen as if struck by lightning, his small eyes wide and round.
What status did Dai Laoda have?
He was a prince of the Star Luo Empire. Even if he had run away from home, he was still unquestionably part of the nobility. At the academy, he spent money like water and always looked down on others.
Yet now, Dai Laoda had actually taken the initiative to ask Cuihua to form an alliance?
For a moment, Ma Hongjun felt as though his entire worldview was about to shatter.
"This can't be real..."
Ma Hongjun muttered softly, fiercely scratching his head as though his brain was no longer enough to process it.
Tang San glanced sideways at Ma Hongjun, watching the scene on the Sky Screen with a cold expression.
Although Dai Mubai's willingness to humble himself surprised him somewhat, his attention was not entirely focused on the gap in their statuses.
"Dai Laoda made the right choice."
"When one is at an absolute disadvantage, using the fact that they are from the same hometown to form an alliance is the optimal solution available right now."
"As for status and such..."
Tang San sneered inwardly.
He himself had originally been an outer disciple of the Bashu Tang Sect. He had stolen the inner sect's secret arts and leapt from a cliff to prove his resolve.
But after coming to the Douluo Continent for more than ten years, had he ever once mentioned his identity from his previous life to anyone?
When entering a completely new and unknown world, one had to be prepared to abandon every identity and burden from the old world at any time. If one still clung to their former airs, that was the way to court death.
"How could a village girl who once did such lowly business receive such a fortuitous encounter!"
Ning Rongrong felt as though jealousy was burning her alive.
Why?
A mere village girl who barely recognized any words had risen straight to the heavens just because she was lucky enough to be chosen by the Sky Screen, becoming one of the favored children of that higher-dimensional world.
Meanwhile, she, Ning Rongrong, was the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. She had grown up immersed in precious heavenly treasures, with status beyond compare.
If she had been the one chosen by the Sky Screen, then with the intelligence, knowledge, and experience she had cultivated since childhood, she would certainly have fared a hundred times better than that village girl.
No!
That wasn't right!
I am already noble. There is no need for me to compare myself with a lowly village girl!
Ning Rongrong's expression grew increasingly twisted, and Zhu Zhuqing, standing in the corner, took in every bit of it.
Zhu Zhuqing gave a faint laugh.
As for Dai Mubai's choice today, she had already foreseen the outcome the instant she saw the two sections of the Sky Screen intersect.
Dai Mubai could even flee from an arranged engagement. What did becoming a village girl's guard amount to?
This so-called Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire was, at his core, simply a coward.
At the academy, he usually spoke with lofty righteousness, claiming that he did not wish to turn against his own kin or see brothers of the same clan slaughter one another, which was why he had voluntarily withdrawn from the competition.
In reality, that was merely an excuse born of his fear of death, a way to avoid dueling Dai Weisi.
A man who lacked even the courage to face a powerful enemy would naturally have no bottom line when it came to currying favor with anyone in another world just to survive.
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