Real and Fake Princes

A bonfire burned in a clearing in the mountains, fine sparks occasionally bursting from the crackling firewood.

The night wind swept past, and the dancing flames swayed gracefully, like a cluster of crimson sprites.

Not far away, Liu Qingni sat on the ground, her slender hand supporting her cheek, her phoenix eyes fixed unblinkingly on Su Qingyang.

Silently watching him flip through the notebook Lin Muqian had left behind.

Su Qingyang casually poked at the firewood, making the bonfire burn a little brighter. Then he closed the notebook and looked at her with some helplessness.

"Miss Liu, you have been staring at me. Is there something you need?"

"Your Highness," Liu Qingni blurted out.

Su Qingyang waved a hand lightly. "Ah... don't call me that!"

Liu Qingni fell silent for a moment and did not press the matter. Instead, she said, "At the age of twenty, you have already become a Blood Refining Grandmaster. Your physical body and qi-blood are flawless and complete; having progressed from the outer to the inner, you can fully switch to the great path of True Qi cultivation."

"Though qi-blood cultivation techniques that temper the body are indeed fierce and invincible, every qi-blood breakthrough comes at the cost of wearing down the body. If practiced for years on end, they will inevitably damage one's foundation and shorten one's lifespan."

"Why does Young Master not switch to orthodox, superior internal cultivation?"

Liu Qingni asked softly.

"Once one steps into the Grandmaster realm, physical qi-blood and dantian True Qi can coexist and advance together. If Young Master lacks a top-tier internal cultivation manual, the Imperial Capital has everything one could wish for.

"As long as Young Master is willing to return to the Imperial Capital with me, whether lost martial arts manuals or rare heavenly treasures that nourish the body, all can be offered to you."

Su Qingyang looked at Liu Qingni with a smile in his eyes.

He could tell that the woman's words came from a place of utter sincerity.

Seeing his reaction, Liu Qingni assumed that Su Qingyang held the identity of a prince in disdain. She immediately added earnestly,

"If Young Master does not wish to return to the capital as a prince, even going there solely as a Blood Refining Grandmaster would be worth the journey."

"Simply because..."

"It is universally acknowledged that the path of Blood Refining and body tempering can go no further than the Grandmaster realm, with no room for further advancement.

"Yet among the many True Qi Grandmasters within the Imperial Capital lies the secret to breaking the shackles of the Grandmaster realm and ascending to Martial Grandmaster."

"That is also why I urge Young Master to switch to the great path of internal True Qi cultivation."

Liu Qingni stared steadily at Su Qingyang, a hint of anticipation hidden in her eyes.

She had deliberated over these words in her heart for a long time before daring to speak them.

She believed that even if Su Qingyang had no interest in courtly power and was merely a martial arts fanatic, there was no way he would remain unmoved upon hearing the words "break through the Grandmaster realm."

Su Qingyang smiled faintly and did not take it to heart.

Stopped at the Blood Refining Grandmaster realm?

No. What was an insurmountable chasm in the eyes of ordinary people was not worth mentioning to him.

Besides...

As long as he had enough resources, he could make all thirteen qi-blood breakthroughs without obstruction!

But a Great Grandmaster!

A glint flashed through Su Qingyang's eyes. That did pique his interest somewhat.

Su Qingyang leaned forward slightly and asked with curiosity, "Miss Liu, you seem to really want me to return to the Imperial Capital."

"Are you so certain that I am this so-called Sixth Prince?

"If I eagerly ran all the way to the Imperial Capital only to find that my identity did not match up in the end, wouldn't that be rather awkward?"

The air fell silent for a moment. At last, Liu Qingni let out a faint sigh.

"I am ninety percent certain that Young Master is the Sixth Prince who was cast among the common folk all those years ago. As for the details, allow me to explain them one by one."

Very soon, Liu Qingni gave him a general account of everything related to his origins.

Su Qingyang listened quietly, somewhat surprised to discover that the whole affair was rather absurd and convoluted.

It rivaled the legendary tales told among commoners.

A civet cat exchanged for a crown prince, real and fake princes, power struggles in the depths of the palace, hidden games among every faction—each and every thread concealed flashes of blades and shadows of blood.

"They say the Imperial Capital is filled with experts and the court has countless high ministers. How could such a heaven-shaking conspiracy to replace a prince remain hidden for twenty years?"

Liu Qingni said nothing, merely clenching her fist slightly.

Su Qingyang did not force her. He calmed himself and sorted through the chain of events.

Three months ago, the Secret Bureau of the Imperial Capital received a top-secret letter addressed directly to its highest Commanding Envoy.

The letter exposed that the man currently residing in a side hall of the Eastern Palace and invested as the Sixth Prince was not of the present Emperor's bloodline at all, but had been substituted in an intricately planned conspiracy twenty years ago.

The real Sixth Prince had been abandoned in the canal outside the Imperial Capital twenty years ago. His whereabouts had remained unknown ever since, and whether he lived or died was uncertain.

The confidential letter was passed upward through layer after layer until it reached the Emperor himself, and the matter immediately shook the entire Imperial Capital.

That very night, the Emperor urgently summoned the Sixth Prince of the current dynasty, Su Chang'an, into the inner palace. The deep palace gates remained shut that night, and no one knew what had happened within the hall.

Before dawn broke, secret edicts were dispatched one after another from the Imperial Palace, spreading through every major bureau.

The fake prince, Su Chang'an, was immediately thrown into the Heavenly Prison under strict guard. Six Doors, the Secret Bureau, and the Heavenly Mandate Guard simultaneously received top-secret orders to investigate the prince substitution of twenty years ago with all their strength.

Within a single day, the secret of the real and fake princes had spread throughout the Imperial Capital, and even ordinary townsfolk discussed it without end.

Even Liu Qingni did not know how many people had been involved.

She only knew that during that period, blood and carnage swept through the Imperial Capital. Blood ran through the city's streets and alleys, corpses floated upon the Grand Canal outside the city, and the waterway had once been blocked by them.

From then on, every faction in court and beyond was stirred into action. Not only were they convinced that the prince had been replaced twenty years ago, they each began using their own methods to search everywhere for the true Sixth Prince who had been lost among the common folk.

After Liu Qingni received her orders to investigate, she mobilized the Secret Bureau's overt and covert agents spread across the land and repeatedly traced every clue left behind twenty years ago.

After countless secret inquiries and verifications, circling around again and again, she finally identified Su Qingyang in Spirit Peak County.

Of course, Six Doors and the Heavenly Mandate Guard, who had also received secret orders, were likewise searching for the Sixth Prince's whereabouts. Yet the three forces each possessed their own intelligence channels and held different clues.

Presumably, quite a few stand-ins recognized as the true prince by various factions had already emerged throughout the provinces, prefectures, and counties.

Leaning against an old tree, Su Qingyang suddenly asked, "What kind of person was that previous Sixth Prince, Su Chang'an?"

At the mention of that name, Liu Qingni's face immediately tightened. After a moment, she said somewhat unwillingly, "He truly could be called a peerless genius."

"Su Chang'an not only possessed the talent to govern the world, but his martial arts aptitude also left countless people far behind. Before this incident happened, he had even been one of the princes most likely to take the position of heir apparent."

Su Qingyang paused slightly, then shook his head with a smile. "That really is a pity."

Liu Qingni abruptly looked up at Su Qingyang. An inexplicable flash of heartache and anger passed through her eyes as she suddenly said stiffly,

"Your Highness, everything he enjoyed should have been yours!

"He stole it all for twenty years—twenty whole years. How many twenty-year spans does a person have in a lifetime to squander?"

"In my eyes, you are the true Sixth Prince. And in terms of talent and martial cultivation, you surpass Su Chang'an by ten million times.

"Besides, if Su Chang'an is ever lightly acquitted and walks out of the Heavenly Prison, where will that leave you, the true prince?"

Su Qingyang could not help laughing as he looked at Liu Qingni, who had suddenly become angry for some reason.

It had merely been an offhand remark, yet this girl was getting more and more worked up!

He had never intended to let others manipulate him. His earlier remark had merely been an objective assessment.

Because he did not care.

Only martial arts was his sole path.

A path of unbridled freedom, one that would let him stand alone against the entire world!