by Tinalynge
As they reached the entrance, the two Sky Warrior guards looked at them, but they did not stop them. Instead, they just observed them as the three of them entered the palace itself.
The moment they entered, a herald was waiting, and he looked at them with a dismayed expression on his face. "Follow me," he said grumpily, "you are late," he continued to complain. However, since he was showing no respect to Xue Wei, Xue Wei on the other hand did not display any respect to him either.
As they walked up a set of stairs, they finally reached a large hall that was filled with young men and women that were mingling with one another. A few were of the ninth layer Ordinary Warrior rank, but the majority were first layer Earth Warriors.
Some beautiful women looked like otherworldly fairies; there were young men who looked as if they cared as much about their appearance as these women, and there were men as burly as a bear.
Everyone was wearing their most outstanding outfits, and the majority wore outfits made from Fierce Beast materials. Some of the outfits were made with leather, others had fabric made from silk, and a third group was wearing fur.
The experts were mingling together in groups. Some of them were standing at a table with drinks, sipping some wine, and others were at a table with food while nibbling on some snacks.
There were also groups all over the floor chatting merrily with one another, a cup of traditional wine in one hand.
Almost everyone present had weapons draped around their bodies, either swords hanging from their waists or on their backs, spears on their backs, whips hanging around their waist, and so on.
It was clear that all of them were cultivators, their senses were heightened, and their eyes gleamed with competitive spirit. Xue Wei looked out over the entire hall with his eyes, and they narrowed as they landed on someone who stood at a podium while talking with a small group of experts where there were even some second layer and third layer Earth Warriors amongst them.
This young man seemed to be between twenty and thirty years old. He was wearing the most exquisite clothes made from silk that was harvested from a Primordial Beast, and with a fur lining of Primordial Beast fur.
This young man was not very old, yet when Xue Wei looked at him, he felt an acute sense of crisis that he had only met when encountering Shen Bingwen, Li Fang, Manager Su, and the mysterious female Primordial Beast.
It was clear that if he was not already a Heavenly Warrior at such a young age, then he was not far from becoming one.
It was clear that he was the Crown Prince. He was an incredibly attractive young man. His skin was white as porcelain, his eyes dark and deep like a fathomless deep. His eyebrows were slanted upwards like a sharp sword and his features were like the finest carving of a heavenly ruler.
The moment Xue Wei's eyes landed on him, the man stopped talking and lifted his head, looking straight at Xue Wei. A smile then blossomed on his handsome face, and he said a few words to the ones surrounding him before he made his way towards Xue Wei and his friends.
Everyone had noticed what was going on. The moment Xue Wei entered the hall, they noticed him, yet many of the ones present deigned him unworthy of paying their attention to and thus they continued their conversations.
It was not before the Crown Prince himself began moving towards Xue Wei that people started wondering who exactly this unknown figure was.
The ones who were smarter amongst the group of nobles instantly guessed his identity and smiled as they too tried to get a good first-hand impression from this young man.
There were also those who disliked Xue Wei from the rumors, but although they disliked him, they would not mention it when seeing the smile that had blossomed on the Crown Prince's face.
"You must be Xue Wei!" The Crown Prince said as he lifted his hand and gestured for Xue Wei and his friends to follow.
"I was starting to get worried that you would not join us." He laughed, and Xue Wei politely smiled.
"It is my honor to be invited to such an event, so of course we will show up," Xue Wei said as he cupped his hands to the Crown Prince, showing proper etiquette.
Everyone held their breath as they observed how the interaction between Xue Wei and the Crown Prince transpired.
Many were secretly wishing for Xue Wei to insult the prince somehow, but so far that was not happening. On the other hand, others had a favorable impression of him and were almost nervous about their interaction, hoping that he would behave correctly so that he could become another pillar of support for the Crown Prince's side in the fight for the throne.
"Come with me," The Crown Prince said, and from his tone, Xue Wei could instantly tell that he was used to issuing orders and that he was used to them being obliged.
Although there was a slight hint of an order behind this sentence too, Xue Wei did not mind and followed behind the Crown Prince through the entire hall. He ensured to look around at the same time and saw that there was a massive platform just next to the podium he had been standing on before, and he instantly knew what this was for.
Xue Wei had read many books about the Kingdom of Heping. In the Kingdom of Heping's capital, it was usual to hold banquets amongst the younger generation. Furthermore, when they held these banquets, they also reserved time to exchange pointers.
Thinking of this, Xue Wei's face sank a little. He had faith in towering over any other ninth layer Ordinary Warrior with no issue. He was even confident in his chances against an average one layer Earth Warrior, but when it came to the two and three layer Earth Warriors, his biggest chance was to escape.
It would have been possible for him to kill them using Sacrificial Stab and also taking advantage should they underestimate their opponent, but in the long run he could only run away. A sparring match where one party constantly ran away was not worth watching.
"Oh well, maybe no one will challenge me," he muttered to himself with a self-mocking smile. As always, he understood that personal strength was all that mattered and if he wanted to do good in this life, then he needed to stand above all others.
Chapter 11 - Challenging Xue Wei
"Your Highness, please introduce us," a seductive woman said as she looked at the trio with curiosity.
She was clearly aware of who they were, but she also understood that it would be considered rude if she just went towards him and began talking with this young man without addressing the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince smiled amiably and could not help but laugh slightly. "I do not believe that you have not heard of him before," he said with laughter in his voice. "It is Xue Wei, the previously useless nephew of our Primordial Beast Hunter Xiao Lei. He has shocked the entire capital by displaying an outstanding talent for cultivation and for having a special physique that gives him certain benefits compared to other cultivators."
"The other two are his friends, Miss Luo Zhirou of the Luo family in Tiankong City and Mister Shen Mu, son and heir of the City Lord of Tiankong City."
As the Crown Prince introduced Luo Zhirou and Shen Mu, they were both greatly shocked by the fact that he knew about them. They were of the impression that they were just unimportant followers, but the Crown Prince had gone out of his way to investigate them. As such, they were not completely invisible.
"Mister Xue Wei! What a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" the seductive woman raised her hand and hid her mouth behind it as she laughed slightly.
"I have heard about your illustrious figure these last few days. To think that such a genius is amongst us." She continued to laugh as if she had experienced the funniest thing possible, and while Xue Wei frowned a little due to her laughter, the Crown Prince and the other experts surrounding him were all smiling as if it was natural for this particular woman to behave like this.
But it did not seem as if the woman had finished yet; she also seemed to completely ignore the frown on Xue Wei's face as she grabbed his hands and looked deep into his eyes.
"Tell me, is it true that you killed a whole beast horde on your
own? Is it true that you have gone from being a mortal to becoming a ninth layer Ordinary Warrior in half a year?"
"I also heard that your strength is many times stronger than any average Ordinary Warrior. How are you able to tell? Have you measured your strength? How did you do so?"
Questions rained down on Xue Wei, and he was unsure of which question to answer if any of them at all.
Others were observing him curiously, waiting to see what he would answer. His words would determine how he would be viewed by many of these experts.
"Our group was indeed unfortunate and encountered a beast horde on the way here," Xue Wei acknowledged. "The beast horde was not as terrifying as the ones we have heard of; it mainly consisted of beasts as strong as Ordinary Warriors and a few equivalent to Earth Warriors. They were being led by one beast of the Sky Warrior stage, and there were only a few thousand."
The Crown Prince nodded his head with a smile as he praised Xue Wei in his heart. To downplay the fact that they had met a beast horde would make others underestimate the young man. It was clear that Xue Wei would rather be underestimated than be respected by these capital noble-born youngsters.
The woman pouted when she heard his story. "That's it?" she asked in a disappointed way, but a few of the other boys were hesitating slightly.
A few understood that he was underplaying the fact. A beast horde was never simple, and they were always controlled by a Primordial Beast. Even the simplest horde was controlled by one, and thus they were truly dangerous.
Others did not understand this point at all. They thought that the rumors had been blown out of proportions and that Xue Wei had benefited from this.
Many looked down on him. If this rumor was exaggerated, then for sure the others were too. Even if he had managed to go from being a mortal to becoming a ninth layer Ordinary Warrior in half a year, did that not just mean that his foundations were terrible?
Everyone had their own thoughts about the young man in front of them, but while a few had understood that he was not as simple as he seemed, the majority of them looked down on him already.
Some even snorted when he finished speaking. The Crown Prince was one of the few that understood what it truly implied to meet a beast horde; he also understood what it meant to cultivate through nine layers in six months. Even if it was an unstable foundation, it was not something that just anyone could do.
Not to mention, anyone knew what an unstable foundation meant. A few people from the capital had unstable foundations because they had been incapable of giving up on the sudden boost in strength, but the majority had their families knocking on their heads telling them what a proper cultivation base should be like, and thus they cultivated steadily instead.
Those with a cultivation base that was unstable were often looked down upon, and Xue Wei had now been regarded as one of them.
Sensing how the eyes that looked at him contained scorn and schadenfreude, Xue Wei smiled slightly. This way, he had a chance on the dueling platform later if they were to challenge him, but he also understood that it was unlikely that he would be able to do anything other than draw a tie with anyone of the second layer Earth Warrior and above.
"Now that all my guests have arrived, please feel free to share your pointers on the podium. Be mindful of not wounding one another; this is an exchange of pointers, not a life and death battle."
At the same time as that was announced, Xue Wei, Luo Zhirou, and Shen Mu were led by the Crown Prince towards the group of experts he had been standing with previously.
Here, a few greeted Xue Wei after having greeted the Crown Prince, but the majority deemed him unfit for their attention. Seeing this kind of reaction, Xue Wei felt relieved.
Some youngsters jumped to the podium right away, and the sparring started. It was two Ninth layer Ordinary Warriors, and their strength was equal in every aspect.
They exchanged pointers in an orderly manner, taking turns to display their might, but in the end, they had to acknowledge that it was a tie and they left the stage.
Others jumped on stage and displayed their martial arts; all of them were doing their best to show off in front of the Crown Prince. They wanted to be handpicked by him to be groomed into becoming a new Primordial Beast Hunter or a pillar of strength for the royal family.
Unfortunately for them, the Crown Prince was not observing the sparring on the podium. Instead, he was deeply focused on a conversation with Xue Wei.
"Your uncle has been out hunting for a long time this time," he commented, and Xue Wei nodded his head. "Your Highness, Uncle informed me that he would be busy for some years, might even be a full decade before he returned. He has gone hunting Primordial Beasts after all."
"I understand that it is impossible to know where to find these Primordial Beasts and that one can at most hope to encounter them. I expect that he is killing a whole lot of Fierce Beasts too. If he can diminish the numbers of Fierce Beasts with strength equivalent to Heavenly Warriors, then that, too, will be a great accomplishment."
Xue Wei nodded his head, "Your Highness is too kind. I am sure that Uncle would be honored to know that even Your Royal Highness is worried about his well-being."
"Still, I know the strength of Uncle, and he is not one to be easily done in. As long as he hunts in the Kingdom of Heping, he will be absolutely safe."
Xue Wei was completely certain when he spoke. To him, Xiao Lei was the mountain that held up the sky and ensured that no matter what the world would not collapse over him.
Since this was the case, then it was clear that he would be able to survive anything that the Kingdom of Heping had to offer. He had hunted Primordial Beasts many times before, and he had always been successful.
Xue Wei's certainty affected the Crown Prince. "He has nothing to fear in the Kingdom of Heping?" He muttered to himself before his eyes turned bright.
"There is a rumor that Xiao Lei has long since transcended the Heavenly Warrior stage, perhaps this is so?" he muttered to himself so low that no one heard him, but his lips rose into a great smile. Getting a good relationship with Xue Wei was paramount now.
Many of the youngsters in the group were unhappy. They wished to strike up a relationship with the Crown Prince, but he was busy chatting with someone who they did not deem special in their eyes, and thus anger roared in the minds of many.
"I would like to challenge Xue Wei!" someone suddenly called out. The entire place went silent, and the Crown Prince frowned. On one side, he was pleased with the fact that Xue Wei would be trialed on the podium. He too wanted to see if he had any special abilities.
On the other hand, he was very displeased with the fact that he was being interrupted in the middle of a conversation with someone. It was a lack of respect towards him as the Crown Prince, but his curiosity won over. He smiled at Xue Wei.
"Someone has challenged you. The expert is a ninth layer Ordinary Warrior, and you are the same age. You have no reason to decline the challenge."
Xue Wei laughed too. He did not fear anyone of the Ordinary Warrior rank, and thus he just shook his head and moved to the stage.
He could have activated the Forbidden Rush movement technique and arrived on the stage with flair, but he was not willing to display his Forbidden Rush technique anytime soon.
If he wished to have a chance against a second layer Earth Warrior, then he needed to depend on Forbidden Rush, which was his trump card.
Walking steadily up to the stage, Xue Wei looked at his opponent. It was a young man; his hair was tidy and neatly tied up on top of his head with a small hairpin made from gold that kept it in place.
He wore a set of clothes made from Fierce Beast hide, and his body was burly and filled with strength. It was clear that he had trained his body alongside his Qi.
It was quite rare for someone to train their bodies alongside their Qi, as it was something that took time, and in the end, it was a pointless activity as one's body would be enhanced the more Qi one absorbed. Eventually, even thoug
h someone had cultivated their bodies, they would be overtaken by others in the form of physical strength too.
This young man held absolute confidence in himself. He was currently the expert in the capital with the most physical strength beneath the Earth Warrior rank. His muscles bulged under the Fierce Beast Hide.
"You can always give up before we begin." He grinned at Xue Wei, who just shook his head. Comparing physical strength? This was something that he was actually quite interested in.
"I heard that you have a strength to match thousand Ordinary Warriors," the man continued as he looked at Xue Wei, "but looking at your frail figure, you cannot have trained your body. Compared to me, you are just a weakling who has only cultivated Qi!"
Chapter 12 - Communication Orb
Xue Wei looked at the buff man in front of him and shook his head. "I want to defeat this guy, but I can't do it too cleanly," he thought as he wondered about what to do.