Chapter 22 - The Vindications of a Thief
The Great Zhou Institute class ranking exam was over. This year's class ranking exam however had caused some pretty big ripples in Great Zhou City. The most enthusiastically discussed amongst them was the extraordinary performance of their prince. The prince rumored to be incapable of beginning channel opening cultivation had used his six-channel strength to obtain an overwhelming victory over Qi Yue, who had relied on the Channel Breaker Art to reach eight channels…
The spread of this news caused numerous gasps of surprise. For the very first time, Zhou Yuan had begun to gain some reputation for himself in the Great Zhou Empire without relying on his status as prince.
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A long break followed the class ranking exam. For Zhou Yuan, however, there was no relaxation after victory and his daily training routine continued.
However the day after the Exam he did take Yao Yao, Tuntun, and Su Youwei with him to eat delicious meals and relax for the whole day.
But after that, he strictly implemented and followed his training, he increased his Body weight Rune to 4 times his body weight.
It was just as he had said to Qi Yue. In Zhou Yuan's eyes, the latter was not much of a threat at all. Qi Yue had merely been a small pebble on Zhou Yuan's path to growing stronger.
After kicking this pebble aside, Zhou Yuan's gaze turned back once again to a more distant goal.
A month later.
The inner chambers of the royal palace.
Zhou Yuan walked into the chambers and looked behind the desk at Zhou Qing, "Father, you were looking for me?"
Zhou Qing lifted his head with a smile and replied, "How has your training been recently?"
Zhou Yuan responded, "Pretty good, I have unlocked my Seventh Meridian"
Zhou Qing nodded in gratification. Looks like the class ranking exam victory did not make Zhou Yuan lose himself to joy and slack off on his training.
Zhou Qing could not help but sigh and say, "It was really all thanks to you. If not for you, the Great Zhou Institute would not have escaped Qi Manor's claws." Recalling the class ranking exam still caused him to be a little on edge.
"As a subject of Great Zhou, it is only natural for me to do what I can." Zhou Yuan smiled.
The smile on Zhou Qing's face grew even wider. Soon after, he slowly said, "We may have been able to stop Qi Manor this time, but they will not give up."
Cold light was revealed in Zhou Yuan's eyes as he said, "Father, Qi Manor is a tumor to Great Zhou. To strengthen Great Zhou, this tumor must be destroyed."
Zhou Qing nodded. "I naturally desire to eliminate Qi Manor at all times, but they are currently no weaker than the royal clan. If we were to go to war with them, both of us would surely suffer huge losses. Unless…"
"Unless what?" Zhou Yuan asked lazily.
Zhou Qing continued in a soft voice, "Unless the great general will firmly stand on our side and help us deal with Qi Manor."
"Wei Canglang?", Zhou Yuan had no good impression of this idiot, especially his daughter who thought of herself as the center of the world.
Zhou Qing lightly nodded. "The three strongest factions in the current Great Zhou are us, the royal clan, Qi Manor, and the great general's faction."
"Great general Wei is also an Alpha-Origin expert and the Canglan army under him is one of the three strongest armies of Great Zhou."
As for the other two armies, one was the royal clan's imperial guards and the other was Qi Manor's King Qi Guards.
"Father, could great general Wei have thoughts of rebelling?" Zhou Yuan frowned.
Zhou Qing shook his head. "Back then, Great General Wei stood at my side even against Great Wu. He is not the kind of person who would entertain thoughts of rebellion. Truthfully speaking, it is I who let him down."
"Father you are an Emperor it is unworthy for people of your stature to have such thoughts, It is all General Canglan's fault, do not let feelings of sympathy affect your judgment, lest you forget that he is a general and he has to follow your Orders", Zhou Yuan said coldly and sternly.
Zhou Qing was startled before he took a look at his son's eyes which now had Dragon pupils in them, and sighed, he had become so decadent that he was letting himself be affected by sympathy and feel repentant for what was not even his fault.
Zhou Qing stood up and pointed at a map of Great Zhou hanging on the wall behind him. On the northwest part of the map was an area called Canglan County. Next to the county was a sprawling large black mass akin to an abyss.
Zhou Qing pointed at the black area on the map and asked with a serious expression, "Do you know of this land?"
"This is Blackwater", Blackwater was well known in Great Zhou as a vile land populated by countless savage Genesis Beasts. No empire was able to occupy this region, allowing many independent practitioners to gather there, forming numerous factions of varying sizes.
These factions would poke at Great Zhou's borders from time to time, plundering and slaughtering. No crime was beyond them.
Zhou Qing elaborated in a heavy voice, "Blackwater's most powerful faction is known as Black Venom City and its lord goes by the title Black Venom King. He is a very infamous Alpha-Origin expert."
"Back then, the Black Venom King invaded Great Zhou but was stopped by Great General Wei. In retaliation, the Black Venom King besieged Canglan County and although he was pushed back in the end, great general Wei was struck by the Black Venom King's secret technique, Devil Miasma Poison."
"Although great general Wei was tortured by the poison, he was after all an Alpha-Origin expert and was ultimately able to suppress it. But no one could have expected what happened next. Great General Wei's only son, Wei Bin, was afflicted by the poison at birth. He has been paralyzed and bedridden till this day and is constantly tormented by the poison."
"With his only son poisoned, great general Wei was overwhelmed by rage and his hatred for Black Venom King reached to the heavens. From then on, Great General Wei has never taken even half a step from Canglan County. He views the Black Venom King as a thorn and is constantly plagued by thoughts of vengeance."
"This is why Great General Wei has shut himself in Canglan County for the past few years and pays no attention to the affairs of the Great Zhou Empire."
At this point, Zhou Qing's voice lowered, "I know that great General Wei still blames me. It was I who asked him to delay the Black Venom King back then while I led troops to encircle the latter. Who could have imagined that King Qi would choose such a time to intervene and impede us? By the time I arrived with the troops, Great General Wei had already been struck by the Devil Miasma Poison."
"Is that not his fault then Father as he was poisoned due to his low strength, and now he dares to betray and not listen to your calls, It is clear that he is a turncoat, he is just waiting for the moment Zhou Empire weakens and he joins forces with Qi Manor to solve this little Grudge of his."
It was likely that Great General Wei held a little grudge against Zhou Qing. In addition to the waning power of the royal clan, there was now enough reason for Great General Wei to shut himself away in Canglan County.
After all, Wei Canglan would not dare to do such a thing if the royal clan was as powerful as it had been back in the day.
Zhou Qing slowly said, "It is very likely, but according to my sources, Qi Yuan's eldest son, Qi Hao, headed to Canglan County after graduating from the Great Zhou Institute and enlisted himself under great general Wei. It is said that he now has somewhat of a reputation in Canglan County. Qi Yuan plans on getting closer to the great general through his son, making it easier for him to tilt great general Wei to their side."
Zhou Yuan let out a soft sigh. Great Zhou was in a really unstable position, with crisis looming at every corner. His victory in the Great Zhou Institute had merely been akin to pouring a little water onto the blazing fire that was Qi Manor. If this tumor is not removed, there will be no peace for Great Zhou.
"I called you over because I have something to tell you." Zhou Qing's expression turned rather serious.
"What is it?"
Zhou Qing's gaze turned to the Blackwater region on the map as he slowly said, "I received information some time ago of some ruins that had been discovered in Blackwater."
It was as if a fire had been lit in Zhou Qing's eyes at this moment as he elaborated in a soft voice, "Someone found an unusual plant in the ruins. Red like fire, it absorbs sunlight to grow and its seeds look like fire crystals."
"What is it?" Zhou Yuan asked.
"If I am not wrong, it is likely the Fire Spirit Grain, a grade 4 Genesis Food!"
One must know that even the Mysterious Crystal Rice owned exclusively by their royal clan was only a grade 2 Genesis Food. Even so, it had been extremely beneficial to his channel opening and had even won over many talents to their side.
It was really difficult to imagine just how much more amazing a grade 4 Genesis Food would be. Only when Great Zhou was at her peak did they possess a similar grade 4 Genesis Food, the Blood Rain-Dragon Barley.
If the royal clan could gain possession of the Fire Spirit Grain, Great Zhou's strength might even rise to the point where she could once again threaten Great Wu.
A Genesis Food like this was a true strategic resource of utmost importance to any empire.
Thus, Zhou Yuan finally understood why Zhou Qing had become so emotional earlier.
Zhou Yuan declared, "This Fire Spirit Grain must land in the hands of the royal clan."
It was easy to picture how this item would enable Qi Manor's power to swiftly grow in a few years, surpassing the royal clan.
Zhou Qing nodded and shot a glance at Zhou Yuan as he continued, "Besides the Fire Spirit Grain, it seems that there is also a gem-like tree that bears jade fruits akin to a newborn child."
Zhou Qing stared at Zhou Yuan as he slowly said, "This fruit is called the Jade-Infant Fruit and can be used to supplement one's lifespan."
Zhou Yuan nodded rapidly even though he knew of this, he was still very excited.
His mother had lost a substantial amount of her lifespan to save him and now had less than ten years to live. This had always been a thorn in his heart, but now the opportunity had emerged
But mystical items that could prolong one's life span were just too rare, and even using all of the royal clan's resources had not born any fruit.
"Father I will get this fruit at any cost "
"Of course."
Zhou Qing nodded strongly. If he had not been such a useless father and husband back then, Zhou Yuan would not have been tortured by the Dragon's Resentment Poison for so many years and Qin Yu would not used so much essence blood to save Zhou Yuan and end up having her lifespan cut.
These were things he had blamed himself for for many years.
Therefore, now that such hard-to-come-by information about a lifespan-supplementing treasure had arrived in his hands, he naturally did not plan on giving up so easily.
"Qi Manor will know of it too right Father", Zhou Yuan said in a casual Tone.
"Yes." Zhou Qing nodded. His expression grew somewhat solemn as he said, "That is why I plan to send Lu Tieshan."
Zhou Yuan said, "Father, let me go too."
Upon seeing Zhou Yuan volunteer himself, Zhou Qing smiled and said, "That is why I called you here. Besides aiding Lu Tieshan, there is another important task that I have for you."
"What is it?"
Zhou Qing let out a sigh before he said, "On this mission, you will have to first head for Canglan County. If possible, I hope that you will be able to think of a way to draw the great general to our side and help us deal with Qi Manor."
"At the very least, you must ensure that Qi Hao does not pull the general to Qi Manor's side."
Zhou Yuan nodded. As the prince, going to Canglan County would show the sincerity of the royal clan.
Zhou Yuan replied, "Don't worry father, I will do my best."
While Zhou Yuan was going he was going to prepare many Genesis runes too.
He was also going to remind Yao Yao to make some grade 4 Genesis Runes.
That pair of brainless Father and Daughter were brainless, he did not want to risk his life in their hands.
These idiots had allowed King Qi's son to join their army and yet did not show any suspicion towards him.
He was going to let this General know his place soon.
Anyway, he had Tuntun who was now a Grade 4 Genesis Beast with him.
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Great Wu Empire.
Royal City (Subdued Zhou City)
Years ago, the Wu clan had rebelled against Great Zhou and seized her lands. From the name of Great Wu's capital, it was obvious that Great Wu intended to completely subdue Great Zhou, ensuring that she would never rise again.
Majestic structures rose one after another in the Great Wu royal palace, extending till the end one one's sight. Powerful Genesis Qi rippled from the many pagodas, enveloping every corner of the royal palace.
Compared to Great Zhou, Great Wu's royal palace was undoubtedly much grander, and the latter's security was likewise far superior. This showed just how powerful Great Wu was.
In a certain inner palace within the royal palace, a youth in yellow robes sat behind a desk. His skin was as fair as jade, while a pair of eyebrows akin to a sword's edge decorated his extremely handsome face. (JADE CHAN BOYS and GIRLS)
The simple act of sitting there made him exude an aura of nobility, standing high above everyone else like the pride of the heavens.
A faint aura seemed to rise behind him like the roar of a coiling dragon. (only for now)
A faintly glowing blood-red dot seemed to have been embedded between his brows. A sight that was both mysterious and strange.
This youngster was the crown prince of the Great Wu Empire, Wu Huang.
His face was indifferent as he flipped through the scrolls before him. Although he was only a youth, due to his special status in Great Wu, King Wu allowed him to take part in the national affairs of Great Wu from a young age.
At this moment, someone respectfully walked in, kneeled before the table, and respectfully said, "Crown prince, the secretary supervisor has sent some news."
Wu Huang lifted his eyelids and reached out a hand to receive the bamboo tube. He removed the paper roll inside and slowly opened it as his eyes swept across it.
"Oh?" Wu Huang's expression suddenly changed. A strange look surfaced on his handsome face as he said in an emotionless voice, "How interesting, it's about the Zhou clan's sacred dragon."
"What a tenacious person. So he managed to survive even after having the Dragon's Resentment Poison sealed in his body by my father?"
The kneeled figure asked in a cold voice, "Your Highness, shall we eliminate him?"
Wu Huang let out a soft chuckle. "Our Great Wu Empire is currently busy with the Thousand Beast Empire and the Sword Empire. How can we possibly spare any attention to a practically dead Great Zhou."
The figure replied in a low voice, "But Zhou Yuan once possessed the sacred dragon blessing and was claimed to be the sacred dragon of the Zhou clan."
The moment these words left his mouth, he saw Wu Huang's cold eyes sweep over and immediately swallowed the rest of his words.
Wu Huang wore an apathetic look as dragon Qi rose behind him, making him appear incomparably noble. His voice was calm as he said, "You are wrong. Zhou Yuan is not a true sacred dragon. If he was, how would our Wu clan have succeeded?"
"The sacred dragon blessing originally belonged to me and he was merely a tiny mistake. This error has already been corrected and brought back to the proper path. Hence…"
"Zhou Yuan is nothing but a fake dragon who once bore a destiny that did not belong to him, resulting in both he and Great Zhou paying a steep price."
"On the other hand, I am the true dragon. Therefore, the sacred dragon blessing ultimately returned to me."
He stared at the figure before him as he slowly continued, "So please do not make this blunder again. It was not I who stole his sacred dragon blessing but he who took what was mine. All I did was take it back."
"This is called returning to its rightful owner."
"Understand?"
The figure shivered as he gazed at the slightly smiling Wu Huang and hastily acknowledged him respectfully.
Wu Huang threw away the bamboo tube and said in an indifferent voice, "Go check on what this fake dragon is doing. Six channels… Do you know? With such pathetic strength, he does not even have the qualifications to stand before me."
The figure respectfully responded, "Your Highness is the true dragon and Zhou Yuan is only an ant in comparison that is not even worth mentioning."
Wu Huang picked up the rest of the scrolls and said, "During the subsequent period, I have to focus on training to prepare for Cangmang Continent's approaching battle of the saints. It is this battle that is truly important. Do not bother me with matters regarding the crippled dragon in the future."
"Understood!" The figure responded.
Wu Huang stared at the scrolls for a while, before he said, "But since this matter has already come to my attention, I cannot take it as if nothing has happened. Tell them to give the Qi clan more support. If they can overthrow the Zhou clan, our Great Wu will have saved some effort. Else it will be somewhat troublesome due to the vow Father made back then."
He smiled at his point. "Let this be a lesson for that crippled dragon. Let him know that he should properly behave himself as a cripple in the future."
His words were simple, but they seemed to have decided the fate of Great Zhou.
He then smiled at the figure and said, "Have a good look. What you see is a true dragon"
A single sentence to determine life or death. A single sentence to decide the destruction of a nation.
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END
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