The princes arrive-this man actually rode a dragon!

Three days later, at the headquarters of the Ten Thousand Fragrances Pavilion, the streets of the imperial capital were already a sea of people.

The Ten Thousand Fragrances Pavilion could be called the place most frequented by the powerful and privileged of the Heavenly Star Imperial Dynasty.

As the most luxurious restaurant in the Heavenly Star Imperial Dynasty's capital, the headquarters of the Ten Thousand Fragrances Pavilion had also become the venue for this banquet.

The princes also wanted to show Pavilion Master Wanwan some respect, so they had specifically chosen this location.

The streets were already bustling. Disciples of the Heavenly Star Imperial Dynasty's local lineages, relatives of court officials, and heavenly geniuses from outside factions had all appeared here.

These people also knew that this banquet had likely been arranged for the princes to display the heavenly geniuses and factions backing them, drawing others to their sides.

They pondered deeply over which prince to bet on. After all, this concerned the struggle for succession.

The outside factions were well enough off, but if the Heavenly Star Imperial Dynasty's lineages chose the wrong side, one careless mistake could leave them at risk of being purged by the new sovereign in the future.

In the distance, an imposing procession arrived.

The first thing they saw was eight One-Horned Heavenly Horses treading through the void, pulling a royal carriage.

Behind the royal carriage were sedan chairs drawn by spirit beasts.

Generally, one could roughly judge someone's status from the number of exotic beasts pulling their conveyance.

Nine was the ultimate number. Within the Heavenly Star Imperial Dynasty, such an arrangement was generally reserved for the Heavenly Star Sovereign alone.

Even an arrangement of eight was something only certain royal princes, marquises of other surnames, or imperial sons could possess.

Today's banquet was for young heavenly geniuses. Those powerful figures of the older generation certainly would not appear.

From the looks of it, this was most likely an imperial prince traveling.

Eight steeds cleared the way-what an imposing sight.

As the royal carriage arrived, everyone made room.

Seeing this display, the people nearby began guessing its occupant's identity.

"Such a grand procession-which prince has arrived?"

"With so many people arriving together, I think it can only be one of the princes hosting this banquet," everyone speculated.

After all, they were competing. The princes hosting the banquet would bring their entire roster of heavenly geniuses to make a show of strength before the other princes.

As for the remaining princes, they would either send no one at all or merely send one or two people to go through the motions and scout out the situation.

The sixth prince was the first to step out of the royal carriage at the head of the procession.

"So the first to arrive today is the sixth prince."

Everyone cupped their hands, offering the sixth prince a simple greeting.

After all, they were on his territory, and he had invited them. They had to show him some respect.

Behind the sixth prince, the curtain of one carriage lifted. Wisps of nether Qi drifted out, and a man with a dark presence appeared before everyone.

"With that cold, sinister presence, I don't even need to identify him. He's definitely from the Nine Nether Imperial Dynasty."

"To receive such grand treatment from a prince and ride directly behind the royal carriage, his standing in the Nine Nether Imperial Dynasty must be quite high too."

Several disciples from great clans discussed him.

"He's one of the Nine Nether Imperial Dynasty's very finest heavenly geniuses, the heir to a royal prince."

"To think the sixth prince, who initially had no faction supporting him and never showed his hand, now has an emperor-level faction behind him too."

Several heavenly geniuses who recognized Ming Ji revealed his identity.

The covering of another carriage lifted, and a tall man leaped straight down. It was none other than Xie Qianli, who laughed heartily.

"The Ten Thousand Fragrances Pavilion's headquarters! Hehehe, my little delicacies, you must be beside yourselves waiting for me."

Such unrestrained, rough words left the surrounding heavenly geniuses somewhat puzzled.

Did this fellow wander onto the wrong set?

Seeing Xie Qianli perform as consistently as ever, the sixth prince had already gone numb.

He's a heavenly genius from an Emperor Clan. I'll endure it. I'll endure it, the sixth prince told himself.

Then, a series of tiger roars rang out from the distance.

Eight Golden-Armored War Tigers also approached, pulling a war chariot.

The scales covering the eight war tigers were indestructible, as though they wore suits of golden armor. With every roar, the earth rumbled; with every step, the mountains and rivers seemed to tremble.

The fifth prince sat upright on that war chariot as he, too, arrived at the Ten Thousand Fragrances Pavilion.

Watching the fifth prince make such a conspicuous entrance, the sixth prince frowned slightly.

Although the exotic beasts pulling their conveyances were of similar grades, these war tigers looked far more imposing than the One-Horned Heavenly Horses.

Behind the fifth prince, a purple-haired man with a qilin horn on his head also stepped out. Threads of lightning coiled around his entire body. It was none other than Lin Chen.

Seeing that conspicuous, distinctive qilin horn, everyone also guessed Lin Chen's identity, knowing he must be from the Ancient Qilin Cave.

"To think this fifth prince has also gained the support of an emperor-level faction."

"Is this struggle for the crown prince's seat really so fierce?" everyone exclaimed.

In past struggles for the crown prince's seat, as long as one prince secured the aid of an emperor-level faction, he could essentially overpower all his rivals and claim the position.

This struggle for the crown prince's seat could truly be called a gathering of contending heroes!

The mere two princes who had just appeared both had emperor-level factions standing behind them.

One could say this was the most prestigious contest for the crown prince's seat in the Heavenly Star Imperial Dynasty.

Another unusual sound rang out, yet the crowd saw no rare or exotic beasts.

Xie Qianli casually glanced over. At the distant sight, even his hand trembled, and his food nearly fell from his grasp.

"Fuck, I give up. There's actually an entrance this outrageously flashy."

Up ahead, eight maidservants dressed in plain white immortal gowns held silk ribbons, arranged in two rows as they led the way.

Beneath the eight fairies' feet, flowers bloomed with every step. Each time a foot fell, a multicolored lotus appeared.

Behind them, the second prince stood shoulder to shoulder with a man whose bearing was thoroughly scholarly, approaching through the void.

Such an entrance left everyone staring in a daze.

"This second prince certainly has... certainly has refined tastes, hahaha."

"All I know is that the weather is splendid today. If I didn't look at these fairies, wouldn't that make me blind to romance?" Every male cultivator present had his eyes fixed on those eight fairy maidservants.

Even the fifth and sixth princes were stunned. Their second brother's conduct and style truly were somewhat unfathomable.

The second prince stepped down, appearing before the Ten Thousand Fragrances Pavilion, and everyone got a clear look at the scholarly man's face.

"Isn't that the disciple of the Immortal Feather Mountain Master, the Peerless Scholar, Li Shubai?"

"The rumors really were true. This second prince had Immortal Feather Mountain's support from the very beginning."

"With Li Shubai at his side assisting him, no wonder everyone says the second prince has a very good chance of claiming the crown prince's seat."

Behind them, a prince actually arrived alone. He merely smiled, appearing calmly before everyone.

"Why has this fourth prince come alone? If he still hasn't secured an Emperor Clan's help, he'll probably be kicked out of the succession contest."

The fourth prince seemed not to have heard. He quietly came to the entrance and stood shoulder to shoulder with the other princes.

At this point, all the princes hosting the banquet had arrived.

Just as the fifth prince gazed into the distance in thought, waiting for something to arrive.

A dragon's cry resounded through heaven and earth!

An enormous white dragon tore open the void!

Everyone looked over.

This man had actually arrived riding a dragon!