"Little prince, His Majesty must have realized long ago that this old servant had recovered his Quasi-God cultivation."
Hong San spoke up from the side to remind him.
"So that's how it is!"
Lin Heng pursed his lips and nodded. "Lure the snake out of its hole and kill with a borrowed knife. Your Majesty, what a fine scheme! But scheming against your own son when he's still a young child-isn't that going too far?"
Lin Heng truly didn't want to call such a man father, so he called him Your Majesty.
"With Hong San there, you'll be fine! You're the Invincible Goddess's son. You should go through more!"
Lin Changqing glanced at Lin Heng, then gave a bitter smile. "Unfortunately, for all my calculations, I never expected you to insist on putting the principal consort to death, much less that you'd be able to make me bow my head!"
"Didn't the principal consort deserve to die?"
Lin Heng snorted.
"Whether she deserved to die or not, she's dead now. There's no point talking about it."
Lin Changqing didn't have particularly deep feelings for Shi Feifei, so he wouldn't grieve over her death.
In fact, he hadn't invested much feeling in any of his consorts.
After a brief pause, Lin Changqing changed the subject. "The Great Xia Emperor sent word, inviting you to enroll at the Great Xia Divine Martial Institute for further study. Get your things ready and find a time to leave!"
"What if I don't want to go?"
Lin Heng asked.
"Even a God Realm expert would have to think carefully before defying an edict from the Great Xia Emperor!"
Lin Changqing said with a serious expression, "Though you're my son and I have the right to keep you by my side-you're only three, after all-to offend the Great Xia Imperial Clan over this... To be honest, I don't have the nerve!"
"Since you've put it that way, I can only go!"
Lin Heng wasn't being forced to accept. He couldn't stay in the Chishui Royal Palace forever anyway; he needed to check in at more places.
The Great Xia Divine Martial Institute, the Great Xia Imperial City, the Great Xia Imperial Palace... Checking in at those places was bound to bring extremely generous rewards!
As for the Great Xia Imperial Clan's sudden invitation to Lin Heng, Lin Changqing understood the deeper meaning behind it.
Lin Changqing added, "It's good for you to go to the Great Xia Divine Martial Institute. That way, the Lingxi Royal Clan won't keep their sights on you, and they won't come seeking revenge and cause relations between the two kingdoms to deteriorate!"
News of Shi Feifei's death soon reached the Lingxi Kingdom.
Since he hadn't managed to save Shi Feifei, Lin Changqing had no need to make excuses for her anymore. He told the Lingxi Royal Clan openly and frankly that she had tried to assassinate Lin Heng first, and that the evidence of her crime was conclusive!
Shi Feifei had brought her death entirely upon herself when her intended victim killed her instead!
The Lingxi Royal Clan had once sent a Martial Thearch expert to assassinate Liu Ling'er, and recently sent another Martial Thearch expert to assassinate Lin Heng!
Both actions had violated a grave taboo in relations between the two kingdoms!
Lin Changqing said the evidence was as solid as a mountain. The Lingxi Royal Clan felt somewhat guilty and knew they were in the wrong, so they couldn't make trouble for the Chishui Royal Clan over Shi Feifei's death!
The Lingxi Royal Palace, Mighty Virtue Hall!
A group of important members of the Lingxi Royal Clan had gathered there!
Shi Bingtai, ruler of Lingxi, wore a grave expression, his brows knitted with worry!
The atmosphere throughout the hall was solemn and oppressive!
"Father!"
The first prince, Shi Chengxiong, said indignantly, "We absolutely can't let that little bastard make it to the Great Xia Divine Martial Institute! Otherwise, we'll have fewer chances to avenge my royal sister in the future, and the risks of doing so will increase!"
"Your Majesty, the first prince is right!"
A Quasi-God of the royal clan stroked his beard and said, "That little bastard's talent is astonishing. If the Great Xia Divine Martial Institute also cultivates him with all its might, he's very likely to enter the God Realm like his mother one day. Then the entire Lingxi Royal Clan will suffer!"
"That's right! We have to get rid of him as soon as possible!"
"I agree!"
Everyone spoke up in agreement.
"A Quasi-God is certain to accompany and escort that little bastard on his way to the Great Xia Empire. Intercepting and killing him along the way will be very difficult, unless someone in the God Realm makes a move!"
The aged Shi Bingtai narrowed his slightly clouded eyes. "God Realm experts have no connection to him, much less any grudge against him. There's no chance they'll make a move against him. His mother has done a great service to the entire Human Race, after all!"
"If the Quasi-Gods of our Lingxi Kingdom all go together, we can still kill him easily!"
Shi Chengxiong interjected.
"Not necessarily!"
Shi Bingtai shook his head.
Before the Devil Race's large-scale invasion, the Lingxi Kingdom had four Quasi-Gods, one of whom had died in the battle to defend the Lingxi Royal City.
Two of the remaining three Quasi-Gods had suffered severe injuries in the great battle when the Demon Race invaded the Nanhua Kingdom, and were still recovering.
It could be said that the entire Lingxi Kingdom was in a very weakened state!
"No matter what, we should at least try!"
Shi Chengxiong stood his ground.
His beloved nephew had been crippled by a kick, and his younger sister had been killed. No matter what, Shi Chengxiong couldn't swallow that bitter resentment!
"First Prince, what His Majesty is actually worried about is that if the operation fails, the Great Xia Imperial Clan might hold us accountable for it!"
The royal clan's Quasi-God said, "The Great Xia Imperial Clan invited that little bastard over, clearly intending to win him over early. Sending people to intercept and kill him would be no different from challenging the Great Xia Imperial Clan's authority!"
"Then we just won't fail!"
Shi Chengxiong said, "We'll send two Quasi-Gods: one to hold the Chishui Kingdom's Quasi-God in check, and the other to kill that little bastard!"
"The Chishui Kingdom only has three Quasi-Gods. They were also injured in the great battle to defend the Chishui Royal City, and aren't in good condition!"
"Besides, at least one of the three Quasi-Gods has to stay behind to guard the Devil-Sealing Well. They can send out at most two!"
"That way, if we send two Quasi-Gods, even if we can't kill that little bastard as we wish, we can still retreat unscathed!"
Shi Chengxiong's analysis sounded very reasonable.
"Fine. We'll do as the first prince says!"
Shi Bingtai hesitated no longer.
He too knew full well that if they didn't act now, they might never find another chance to do so.
They absolutely couldn't let Lin Heng grow up unchecked, or destruction would be all that awaited the Lingxi Royal Clan!
For the Lingxi Royal Clan's future, taking a little risk was worthwhile!
After the meeting ended, Shi Chengxiong left the Lingxi Royal City and traveled alone to the kingdom's western border.
Deep in the Weeping Blood Mountain Range.
In the Devil God Palace of Heavenly Devil City, the current Devil Master, Tuoba Kui, received a Devil Race expert.
This Devil Race expert was only at the Martial Ancestor Realm and had been stationed in the area where Devil Race territory bordered the Lingxi Kingdom.
"The Invincible Goddess's son is about to leave the Chishui Royal City for the Great Xia Divine Martial Institute?"
Tuoba Kui asked, "Tulu, is this news reliable?"
"In reply to the Devil Master, I heard it from Shi Chengxiong, the first prince of the Lingxi Kingdom, himself. It should be reliable!"
The Devil Race Martial Ancestor named Tulu knelt prostrate on the ground and answered respectfully.
"Why would Shi Chengxiong reveal this news to our Devil Race?"
Tuoba Kui was somewhat puzzled.
He knew that Tulu was not only stationed at the Devil Race's border, but also responsible for gathering intelligence on the Human Race.
"In reply to the Devil Master, Shi Chengxiong's younger sister, Shi Feifei, was the Chishui ruler's principal consort, but she was just killed. They say it had something to do with the Invincible Goddess's son, Lin Heng!"
Tulu replied, "I reckon Shi Chengxiong wants to use the hands of our Devil Race experts to avenge his sister Shi Feifei! Lin Heng's mother, Liu Ling'er, once inflicted heavy losses on our Devil Race and badly damaged our vitality. Our Devil Race has a motive to make a move against Lin Heng!"
"Mm, I understand. You may leave for now!"
Tuoba Kui waved his hand.
Tulu promptly left the hall.
Tuoba Kui then summoned several Devil Race experts to discuss the matter together.
"Devil Master, this could be a plot by the Human Race!"