From his mouth, Ling Han was made aware of the att.i.tude of the Imperial Family—no matter how much of a fuss he and Feng Yan created with their personal enmity, the Imperial Family would not interfere. Just like how when he was attacked by Feng Yan in the middle of the street at midnight, when not a single Imperial Guard had appeared, and when he had crippled Feng Luo’s arms, the Imperial Family too did not take any action; even when Feng Luo died by his hand, when he returned, he did not see the Imperial Family pursue the matter either.
Needless to say, as Feng Yan had entered the Winter Moon Sect, the Imperial Family would naturally not dare to take action against him. As for Ling Han, he had the two Big Bosses of alchemy to back him up now at first, and now he himself had become a Big Boss like them, so the Imperial Family similarly dared not make a move against him.
…Unless Ling Han did something that would weaken the authority of the Imperial Family.
Thus, just battle it out as much as the two of you liked, as it was a personal enmity anyways.
However, the backers on both sides could not act. Whether it was Fu Yuan Sheng killing off Feng Yan, or some elite of the Winter Moon Sect killing Ling Han, the Imperial Family would be unable to give a good explanation to the other side. If the backers on either side made a move, then the Imperial Family would be forced to interfere.
Ling Han smiled. Since he was now aware of the Imperial Family’s bottom line, he could take advantage to turn the battle in his favor.
“I am going to attend tomorrow’s wedding!” he said.
“You!” the Third Imperial Prince could not help but become furious.
The Third Imperial Prince had thought at first that his earnest and well-meaning advice would have successfully persuaded Ling Han, but never thought that the latter would completely disregard his words. Thus, he could not help but be angry.
If it had been anyone else, he would have definitely rebuked him harshly, or even possibly thrown a harsh slap at him. But when he recalled that there were the two Big Bosses of alchemy standing behind Ling Han, he could only suppress the flames of rage burning in his heart and say, “Ling Han, what capability do you have to oppose Feng Yan? Putting aside the fact that you are not strong enough to oppose him, the Liu Clan would only have to send out a Spiritual Ocean clansman, and that would be enough to prevent you from even stepping in through their doors!”
Ling Han smiled and said, “I never thought that Your Imperial Highness would be so worried about me!”
The Third Imperial Prince of course knew that this was sarcasm, and instantly, his face darkened as he said, “Ling Han, don’t lose your senses because of women. Don’t forget, we are men who have great goals to aspire to!”
Ling Han shook his head internally. He realized that the Third Imperial Prince must have had no idea that he was already a Black Grade high level alchemist himself. Otherwise, the former would naturally have much more confidence in him, and would definitely not dare to speak to him in such a way.
In truth, he did not have any intention to deliberately conceal this matter. Thus, it was actually very easy to find out that that he had already gained the status of a Black Grade high level alchemist—at least, the Spirit Treasures Pavilion found out very early on, but for the one and only Third Imperial Prince, how could his information be so outdated?
Then, it must have been someone who had done something, which led to the Third Imperial Prince being still ignorant of this matter.
In the Imperial City, the only one who had the power to achieve this was… the Rain Emperor!
Everyone said that the current Rain Emperor was greatly skilled and a master of strategy, and was possibly the ruler who had the broadest vision since the establishment of Rain Country. Then, how could the Rain Emperor be completely unaware when his sons were all moving in secret and forming their own alliances?
Even if he was aware, he did not interfere or make any move to stop them. Obviously, the Rain Emperor wanted to see which of his sons was the most brilliant before he would pa.s.s on the throne. This could also be considered as a test of skill for the Imperial Princes.
Unfortunately, the Eldest Imperial Prince and Third Imperial Prince were completely unaware of this and thought that their actions were extremely secret, having no idea that the Rain Emperor was aware of everything they did.
Ling Han sighed. Most likely, the Third Imperial Prince had not pa.s.sed the test.
If he was determined to put all his effort into supporting the Third Imperial Prince, then with the power in his hands, no matter how weak the Third Imperial Prince was, he could still somehow push him up to the throne, but who asked the Third Imperial Prince to cut off this path himself?
“Your Imperial Highness, Yu Tong is my friend, and I am definitely not one to give up on my friends!” Ling Han declared.
The Third Imperial Prince was practically about to explode in fury. He had advised him so patiently and earnestly, but why did Ling Han take no heed of his words? He said angrily, “Don’t pretend to be so n.o.ble and virtuous. If you want beautiful women, I can give you a thousand, or ten thousand! I can even give Zi Yan to you!”
In his heart, even Zi Yan was merely a tool he could manipulate. As long as she could help him ascend to the throne, he could discard her at any time.
Ling Han shook his head, and said, “People who walk different paths cannot make plans together. Please leave, Your Imperial Highness!”
The Third Imperial Prince’s face darkened, and he said, “Ling Han, have you forgotten about the Eye of Truth? Anyone who covets the secret treasure of the country would not be given a light punishment!”
“Is Your Imperial Highness threatening me?” Ling Han asked with a smile.
“Then you’re on your own!” the Third Imperial Prince humphed and left with a flourish of his robes.
What a hot temper!
Ling Han could not help but smile. If this guy knew that he was now already a Black Grade high level alchemist, what kind of expression would he have on his face? Would he be so overwhelmed with regret that he wanted to smash his head into a wall?
Not too long after, another person arrived.
The Eldest Imperial Prince.
Similar to the Third Imperial Prince, he was also trying to persuade Ling Han not to attend the wedding tomorrow. His att.i.tude was much more forceful than the Third Imperial Prince, but the final result was the same. His efforts were all in vain, and he even slammed his hand onto the table in fury before leaving in a rage.
Ling Han sighed. This was obviously his personal business, but why were they all trying to bend him to their will, and upon his refusal, looked like they were the ones wronged? What kind of logic was that?
“Is Young Master Ling here?” At this moment, a knock once again was heard from the front doors.
He really had a lot of visitors today. If it was not for the fact that he had sent Hu Niu to rest in the Black Tower early on, most likely the little girl would have been awakened by the commotion quite a few times by now, and most probably would have jumped out in fury to bite the people who had disturbed her slumber.
Ling Han went over to open the door and saw there was a tall, slender young man standing at the doorway. He was quite handsome, and though his attire was quite casual, he carried on him a certain innate aura making him seem powerful even though he was completely calm.
“I am Qi Chang Yue. Please do not be angered by my disturbing you at such a late time tonight!” This young man looked to be about twenty years old and was at the ninth layer of the Element Gathering Tier. Among the younger generation of the Imperial City, he was not the least bit outstanding.
Another with the surname Qi.
Ling Han smiled faintly and said, “So it was you, Your Imperial Highness, the Seventh Imperial Highness.”
Right, he was really quite popular, wasn’t he? Now, all the three Imperial Princes who had the right to actually compete for the throne had all paid him a visit. However, he did not know if the Seventh Imperial Prince was also here to persuade him to not attend the wedding tomorrow.
The Seventh Imperial Prince also smiled, and said, “Young Master Ling must definitely be going to attend the wedding tomorrow, right?”
“So what Your Imperial Highness means to say is that it is best that I don’t go?”
“No!” The Seventh Imperial Prince shook his head, a sliver of anger appearing on his face. He said, “This is the land of the Rain Country, yet Feng Yan used the Winter Moon Sect as a threat in order to forcibly marry one of our women! If I was the Emperor, I would definitely have punched him so hard he would fly out of the country. I do not think that the Winter Moon Sect would dare to oppose the Rain Country just because of one little disciple. If they really did, then they would really become a joke to the whole Northern region.”
As someone who had lived two lives, Ling Han naturally had sharp eyes. He could tell that although there was a bit of pretense in the Seventh Imperial Prince’s words, that was really how he felt. However, as an Imperial Prince, his actions and words would always be a bit exaggerated.
“And so Your Imperial Highness is here to support me, then?”
The Seventh Imperial Prince nodded and said, “Just do as you wish tomorrow, Young Master Ling. I am willing to become your st.u.r.dy backer!”
Ling Han could not help but smile. “Why does Your Imperial Highness have such confidence in me? The Liu Clan has a powerful member of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier on standby, and with my limited ability… most likely, I wouldn’t even be able to step in through the doors, right?”