by William Bill
"Hmph, you are lucky those princes and the prodigies from other empires fancy you. Even without your constitution, some are even ready to make you their only wife because of your so-called celestial beauty. You have no idea how lucky you are to obtain their favors."
When Olivia Rong mentioned Lily's beauty and thinking how she could even easily seduce the most powerful man in the continent if she wants, jealousy seethed inside her, thinking why the heavens would bestow her with such qualities.
But then she thought it was for good...otherwise, she wouldn't even have the power she holds now.
Using Lily's marriage as a political tool, Olivia Rong wanted to make connections with other empires to consolidate her and her son's power.
The Rong Empire was truly weak compared to the other three empires, so Olivia Rong thought of using Lily to secure her and her son's future.
Lily's Tri-Elemental Mystic Constitution caused an uproar in the whole continent. It was found that she possessed a high affinity towards three elements!
One is even considered a genius when they have a high affinity towards any one element.
And in the history of the continent, no one ever possessed affinity towards more than one element!
Being born with an affinity towards more than one element is considered impossible since a small child won't be able to stabilize their ethereal core on their own without developing control over their core.
If there are more than one elemental seeds, the harder it is to maintain an equilibrium between the elemental seeds. Suppose there is no right equilibrium or balance between the elemental seeds. In that case, it could even cause the ethereal core to collapse.
Such extraordinary talent and her beauty, which only became more prominent as she became older, were the factors that made people title her as the 'Celestial Princess'.
Even though they knew she was way out of their league, she was the dream girl of almost every man on the continent. If one were able to marry her, not only would they have the most beautiful wife in the continent but also increase their own power.
Where else can they find such a phenomenal girl?
This is exactly why when the news spread that Lily did not possess not one or two but three elemental seeds, there was a major upheaval in the continent. The previously weak and pathetic Rong Empire suddenly caught the eyes of all the other three empires.
If a boy was born with such a constitution, then the Rong Empire may have been finished and annexed before the boy could grow up to be a powerhouse.
It was obvious that someone born with such a constitution wouldn't be a simple person in the future. Once they fully mature, they might even be able to shake the whole continent by themselves.
So, they would try their best to quell the threat before it can even sprout.
But before that, they might think of bringing that person into their own ranks by either marrying off their daughters or bribing them to switch their allegiance. At least they could hope for a talented descendant to be born amongst them.
But since Lily was a girl, it was way better for the other empires than if she was born as a boy.
Since males ruled all three empires, they would do anything to increase their own power.
As she was a virgin, her vital ethereal essence could make one's elemental seeds mature and thus increase their affinity towards the elements considering they are able to take her virginity.
If someone with no affinity or elemental seeds took her virginity, even they would develop an elemental seed in their ethereal core!
It would be a significant boost to their comprehension of elemental laws, and their cultivation might even not have bottlenecks for a while!
After all, the three elements Lily had an affinity to were Fire, Wind, and Metal!
Her comprehension talents were superb, and even her ethereal talent was incomparable within the Rong Empire.
This was why she was able to attain her current cultivation despite the comparatively poor resources available in the Rong Empire.
The Gale Empire specialized in Wind Laws, Lancaster Empire specialized in Fire Laws, and the Xeton Empire specialized in Water Laws.
Despite Xeton Empire not being specialized in Metal Laws, for some reason, they wanted to participate in the tournament as well. People thought that they were probably interested in having the most beautiful woman join their family.
After all, it was common knowledge that the strongest empire in the Rising Sun Continent was the Xeton Empire! They obviously might not want to lose out on anything good to other empires.
That doesn't mean the Lancaster Empire and the Gale Empire were weak, but even if they two gangs up on Xeton Empire, they can't say with confidence that they would be able to defeat the Xeton Empire.
Unfortunately, Lily didn't seem to fancy any one of their empires or had any interest in marrying into their family. So, they thought of pressuring the Rong Empire to have Lily marry one of their imperial family members.
One reason the Rong Empire was still standing was because of the Ancestor of the Rong Empire. But the other main reason was the deadlock between the three empires to see which empire can marry Lily into their family.
All three empires wanted Lily to marry into their own families. But since fighting it out against each other would only be foolish and destroying themselves, they came to an agreement with the Rong Empire to hold a tournament when Lily turns 18 years old so that only the best suitor would be able to marry Lily.
Actually, they wanted to hold the tournament as early as possible. Still, because of the Ancestor of the Rong Empire, they decided to play it safe.
The Rong Empire's Ancestor was rumored to be dying, and it would be even considered lucky if he could hold on for more than two years.
The last thing Lily wanted was to be married off like a tool to a stranger.
But she couldn't even run away as she was the imperial princess of the Rong Empire. If she runs away, then doom would befall upon the whole Rong Empire.
She felt that as the imperial princess, it was her responsibility to make sure no disaster befalls the empire.
And if she stays, then the Rong Empire would be safe since she would be joined by marriage with any one of the other three empires. So, there wouldn't be any reason to annex the Rong Empire, nor will the other two empires exhaust their resources to annex a good for nothing empire.
Lily squinted her eyes and said, "Lucky? If I was someone like you, I might have thought that way. So, don't think that I am anything like you. Someone who would even betray and throw away the people who loved them just to obtain some power."
Olivia Rong gave a mocking smile as she said, "Don't act pretentious as if you are all above me. Without me, this empire would have long fallen in the hands of other empires, and you would be lucky if you didn't end up in the hands of some evil families to be used as a human cauldron."
"I am done talking with you. My decision is still the same." Lily ignored her taunts and walked past her before leaving the study room.
As soon as Lily left, Olivia Rong curled her upper lips as she mumbled, "We will see whether I can make you change your decision or not. "
Chapter 40: Vanishing Sword Prince
In Damien's room,
What Luna said about Damien's Anti-God Arts being way stronger than Pseudo-Origin Arts was true. Even with her towering ego, she had to admit inwardly that Damien's Anti-God Arts prowess was at least on the same level as hers.
She couldn't even believe the shock and thoughts that went through her mind when she inspected Damien's memory imprint.
At that time, even though she put up a straight face before Damien, inwardly, there were tumultuous waves in her heart.
What Damien didn't know was that Luna was able to read through the sealed memory imprints, which was exactly why her eyes almost popped out inwardly seeing such outrageous arts.
For the first time in her life, she felt an unprecedented emotion...a hint of fear!
Fear in the sense that she would rather not fight with an existence who comprehended these arts to the full extent. It would be better if she could avoid a fight head-on.
She couldn't even say with confidence that she could beat Anti-God in a frontal confrontation had he been alive. Instead, she felt that she might even be on the losing end by a small margin!
Luna's Origin Arts did not specialize in pure combat prowess.
She had always thought of herself as the strongest and supreme goddess in the whole universe, which was why she had never known fear and never had to meet or fight anyone that could be considered as her equal.
That's what she remembers anyway with her fragmented memories.
She also wondered if the god who manipulated Damien and the one who probably tricked her into splitting her soul came from the so-called Nether Dimension since she never knew any god who could manipulate Destiny Laws other than her.
So, the only guess she could make was that the culprit must have come from the Nether Dimension.
It seemed like she didn't want to believe that her missing memories would have anything about a god who can manipulate destiny laws, existed in the Aether Dimension.
She already had difficulty acknowledging Anti-God's existence, which was a severe blow to her pride.
Damien squinted his eyes as he thought that Luna was trying to be evasive in answering his question about his Origin Arts or Luna's Origin Arts was more superior.
But he felt it good to know from Luna herself that not even Pseudo-Origin Arts could compare with his Anti-God Arts.
Damien's eyes flashed as he asked, "Alright. Then tell me how exactly I should use my Anti-God Arts."
Luna said in an instructive tone, "When you activate 'Undying Wrath' using your Anti-God Arts, your Origin Seed will alter the ethereal energy in your ethereal core by converting it to Anti-Energy, which is born when ethereal energy and nethereal energy are fused. But the amount of ethereal energy this skill drains is too much that you should not trigger this skill unless and until it's absolutely needed.
"And don't even bother activating any other phase other than the first phase. Your body now could barely handle the first phase, which alters your ethereal energy into Anti-Energy by 20%. If you try activating the second phase now, you would be lucky if your body would be still in one piece. Of course, don't even dream about triggering the subsequent phases. You can think about activating the second phase once your cultivation is high enough that you can maintain the first phase without much exhaustion."
Damien had an expression of deep contemplation as he thought if 20% would be effective enough. He didn't expect that activating even the second phase now could end up killing him.
Luna saw Damien's pondering face and said, "You really have no idea how powerful even the first phase would be, do you? Even I have yet to see how effective this Anti-Energy could be. But let me tell you that no one would even think of fusing ethereal energy with nethereal energy. Not only is it impossible logically, but even if it was fused somehow, it would break down everything, including one's own ethereal core, since they are completely opposite in nature. I think this skill was tailor-made for you since the voice knew that you were a kind of anomaly that had an ethereal core with a nethereal Origin Seed. And for some reason, it knew that your body could handle this skill without breaking down."
Damien looked at Luna and sighed, "Right now, my hands are itching for a fight. I am feeling it more than ever now...maybe it's because I inherited his legacy completely. I feel kind of restless, but it's not like I can go bash up anyone I want in this place. I first need to get out of this palace and then improve myself."
Luna faintly stated, "Once you comprehend at least the second stage, you can learn to sneak around as much as you want. And masking your identity wouldn't be much of a problem."
Damien's eyes sparkled as he knew that the second stage was a movement skill that also conceals one's aura at the same time. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to comprehend the second stage within a day as he felt like he would need at least a few days to comprehend a part of it.
Comprehending partially the first stage of Elysian Lightning Of Retribution within a few hours was an unimaginable feat. Even a genius with high comprehensive talent would take at least a few months if they are lucky, or they won't be able to comprehend at all in their whole life.
But Damien wasn't basking himself on that achievement as he knew that he had no time to celebrate considering his situation.
'I guess for the next few days, no more alchemy experiments. I should focus on comprehending my ethereal arts.'
Damien still wanted to concoct a few more pills to sell, but even if he wanted to, he couldn't since the Common Grade cauldron had been spoiled beyond repair.
Also, he had to at least comprehend the second stage of Elysian Lightning Of Retribution if he wanted to sneak outside.
"Don't disturb me till evening. Within a few minutes, it would be time to go play with your princess." Luna gibed before going back into her Shard Of Essence.
"Ah, time does fly so fast," Damien muttered to himself.
——
A week had passed, and Damien had been diligently training Lily without fail all these days.
"Master, is my fighting stance right?"
"No, you should straighten out your arms a bit more, and your hips should properly balance your upper body."
"Ah, Master your hands...."
"Ahem, Lily, I have to make sure your stomach and back are aligned perfectly. This is purely instructional; you must understand."
"Oh, I-I understand, Master."
Lily had gotten used to Damien's slight teases and his touches in the name of 'physical guidance' during the past few days. But he never went overboard, so she didn't mind it and instead thought it was necessary for her training.
But her heart rate would still jump a little whenever Damien slightly touched her, no matter how much she tried to stay composed.
News had already traveled around the palace that the imperial princess had hired a handsome gardener from outside for her inner courtyard.
All or at least most of them got surprised that the imperial princess chose an outsider to look after her precious inner courtyard. They knew that the princess never allowed anyone even a mile near her inner courtyard except for an old maid who usually took care of her inner courtyard.
They wondered why the imperial princess hired a crippled boy as her gardener and thought whether it was because of his handsomeness.
Some even had outrageous imaginations about the princess having an affair with her gardener considering her age. But they didn't dare blurt out their thoughts as they preferred not to let their heads roll.
When they saw Damien for the first time, many young maids crushed on him with a love-struck expression to which Damien could only shake his head wryly.
Even a few older maids had some wild fantasies with Damien in their minds. They had never seen such a handsome young boy with a mature charm in their life before.
Since Damien had started cultivating, his body also underwent slight changes as his muscles became more toned, and his face exuded a devilish charm.
Cultivating the ethereal way would improve not only one's ethereal strength but also one's body.
But when they learned that he was crippled, most of them got dejected that their crush turned out to be trash, while a very few felt pity and sympathy that fate had been cruel to their prince charming.
Whenever they saw Damien, if they didn't know he was a servant, they wouldn't believe that he was just a gardener due to his confident and cool demeanor.
Lily was very happy with her training sessions with Damien as she noticed a significant improvement in her swordsmanship within just days!
Even when she was trained for years under senior swordmasters, she never experienced such tremendous improvement in a short frame of time.
She also learned that the fundamentals of swordsmanship we
re more deep and profound than she had imagined.
"Do you know that you would even put to shame the 'Vanishing Sword Prince' with your gifted and astonishing sword skills," Lily said with an entrancing smile as her eyes glittered with admiration.
The training session had ended when Lily couldn't stop herself from complimenting Damien.
For the past week, the more training sessions she had with Damien, the more she was shocked and amazed.
His expertise in swordsmanship, his way of teaching, and pointing out her mistakes, everything all together extremely impressed her.
Her fascination for swordsmanship and her zest for practicing her sword-play surged like a wildfire within the past few days.
She was not only learning but also enjoying and having fun during these training sessions. For the past few days, she realized that, as the days passed, the more she couldn't wait for the next training session to start.
Damien also found the training sessions with Lily enjoyable as sometimes he would subtly tease Lily some times while at other times they would talk about things related to the Imperial City.
Damien, for some reason, felt the title a bit funny as he chuckled, "Vanishing Sword Prince? Which glorious prince would have such a dazzling title?"
Chapter 41: The Weakest Empire
Lily giggled, hearing Damien's sarcasm, "Well, he is the famed crown prince of the Lancaster Empire, Maxim Lancaster. I am not surprised you don't know him. You must have been too engrossed in alchemy that you didn't care about these things, hehe. Even though he is from another empire, his achievements, feats, and prowess have even reached the ears of our empire. It is said that whoever fought against him couldn't even see him let alone his sword. He's so strikingly fast that one wouldn't even know that they lost. His attainments in ethereal cultivation especially labeled him as a one in a thousand years genius."
Damien was inwardly slack-jawed hearing Lily's words. The way she said it sounded as if the Vanishing Sword Prince had a cultivation way higher than Lily or at least stronger than her.