Apotheosis

Putting the crown prince and the Sky Princess under house arrest was not the sole decision of the third prince. In truth, the seventh prince had been in on the plot, too.

The crown prince was more like a pawn, but he could not be discarded at random though he was quite useless. After all, with the outcome of the throne battle still in suspense, neither the third prince, Ray, nor the seventh prince, Conn, was willing to tackle the crown prince.

If either of them made a move against the crown prince now, the other would accuse him of usurping the throne. Both of them knew they could not carry such blame on their backs.

But if one of them deposed the crown prince after he gained an absolute advantage, nobody would dare step forward to speak for the crown prince.

The young man with the purple hat swept his fingers along the zither calmly. The music was at times loud and sonorous, at other moments more sorrowful and euphemistic. It was quite an exquisite play.

"Who is he?" asked Zen.

"He's Conn, the seventh prince," Aura answered him.

Hearing Aura's voice, Conn stopped playing at once. He smiled, calling out in a bright and clear voice, "Sister Aura, good evening to you!"

Aura bit her lips, saying, "Well, good to see you too, brother!"

"Tonight, the Burning Sky Palace was so clamorous that I couldn't fall asleep. So, I came out to play a piece. I wonder if Sister Aura and the friend beside you are interested in hearing my piece?" inquired Conn with a smile.

"No, not at all!" Zen replied flatly. He had no patience in dawdling over social etiquette with this young man. At first glance itself, Conn's uncanny appearance revealed him not to be a too decent guy. Zen just tugged Aura forward, attempting to walk through the hole in the wall and find a way outside.

However, the moment he moved, a waft of wind whirled in. Two men stood at the hole that Zen had created in the clash!

The two of them moved in such an eerie fashion that Zen failed to see how they came to be there. It looked like they had been stationed in that hole all along, when just a second ago, they had been beside Conn!

"Our seventh prince is seldom in such a good mood to play. Please hang around and listen, won't you?" one of the two said, his words more of a demand than a request. To Zen's surprise, his voice sounded as high-pitched as a woman's.

With the two men in the way, Zen tilted his head dangerously, snarling, "You two darn eunuchs!"

Calling someone a eunuch at the Burning Sky Palace was not an act of insult. In fact, a eunuch occupied an official position in the palace, and not everyone was qualified for it. Almost anyone who could be classified as a eunuch was powerful.

If Zen had simply called them 'two eunuchs', the two would have probably not minded it.

However, Zen referred to them with an insult. The expression on their faces turned unpleasant. After all, their martial art skills were quite extraordinary. They might not be a match to Elder Xu, but they could surely take out other elders of Cloud Sect.

The two of them were certainly top-of-the-range practitioners in the Eastern Region.

"You rat, you're lucky our seventh prince is in a good

med to twitch. The royal palace was not short on impressive talent. The plump guy was certainly not inferior in strength to the eunuch standing behind Conn!

Ray shot Conn a shrewd glance before speaking to him with a smile. "My favorite brother of all! How carefree you are. Playing the zither on such a dark and windy night. I heard you say you'll hunt Zen down. Well, it's not what an honest man would do!"

These days, the two princes hardly got along. They were as incompatible as fire with water. Some said they would soon battle it out in a war of life and death.

The expression on Conn's face turned ice cold when he caught sight of his brother. "What does that have to do with you?" he demanded viciously.

"It sure does. Today, Zen finally consented to honor me with his company at my Feathery Star Hall..."

"..."

As the two princes stared daggers at each other, the followers behind them stood still.

This kind of confrontations had occurred numerous times already. But so far, the two had restrained the conflicts to verbal spats alone. If they got violent, the entirety of the Burning Sky Palace would soon be drenched in blood.

As the two princes argued, Zen suddenly bellowed, "Enough!"

Hearing Zen's shout, the two princes stood dazed. Soon, faint smiles curled their lips. They might fear each other but neither of them took Zen very seriously, given that the latter was hardly at top levels of the nature-level. His strength was praiseworthy, but not so impressive to them. If he joined any of their leagues, it would be great for them. But even he didn't, it was no big deal.

Zen threw them a sullen look. "Your highnesses, today I might lack sufficient strength to get Aura out of here. But could I point out a problem?"

"What?" asked Ray.

Conn rested his fingers on the strings of his instrument, his hard eyes fixed on Zen.

"Right now you might overpower me with help from those willing to back you. But one day, when I return with my accomplishments at cultivation, would you wish to watch your empire get run down to the ground?" Zen asked them in a quiet but awe-inspiring voice.