On the outskirts of the Great Xuan Dynasty, in a small village in a remote area.
A woman in a dark-colored long dress held a pitch-black three-foot long sword and skillfully plunged it into the body of a man on the ground.
Subsequently, bursts of bloody Qi surged from the man's body, spread along the sword, and were finally absorbed into it.
In less than a moment, the man's corpse became a pile of white bones.
However, the aura emanating from that sword intensified a few points.
Not far away, the ordinary villagers who witnessed this scene were scared out of their wits, their faces filled with terror.
Their hands, holding various tools, trembled violently.
"Devil Head..."
"Monster..."
They had never seen such a scene before, and for a time, they were so frightened that they became incoherent.
"Daddy, that elder sister isn't a Devil Head at all! She saved us!"
A childish voice suddenly rang out.
It was a child looking at everyone with a face full of confusion.
"My child, don't talk nonsense!"
A woman quickly covered the child's mouth, fearing he would cause trouble.
How could they not know that the woman before them had saved them?
Those who died by the woman's hand were a group of bandits from the vicinity, who had for years plundered, burned, and killed in various surrounding villages. Countless innocent villagers and weak Cultivators passing by had died at their hands.
But the woman's methods would scare anyone who witnessed them.
Just as they were extremely nervous, the woman merely glanced at them, then left with her sword, and quickly disappeared.
It was then that they realized the woman would indeed not harm them.
Although her methods were cruel, she killed those who were utterly evil.
Despite their fear, they all knelt down together and bowed in the direction the woman had left.
At the same time, Shangguan Chen, far away in the Great Xuan Imperial Capital, frowned.
The Evil Qi that had just dissipated somewhat in his body increased a little, and his cultivation also advanced by a point.
"If this continues, how many books will I have to read..."
What he worried about was, what if he ran out of books to read in the end??
"I never thought that I, a poor student, would worry about having no books to read..."
Shangguan Chen even laughed at himself.
After shaking his head, he took out paper and pen and began to write calligraphy... On the other side, in a large hall of the Great Xuan Imperial Palace, a middle-aged man in a yellow Dragon robe, sitting on a Dragon throne, looked at a young girl below him and asked with a frown:
"Xue'er, is this Third Prince of Da Yan really, as you said, more talented than their Second Prince?"
The young girl had a fair complexion, an innate nobility in her brows, and eyes like the stars of a dark night, dark and deep.
When she slightly lifted her eyelids, there was a lively beauty that seemed to flutter with every glance.
Her skin was as delicate as congealed fat, revealing a faint peach blush, like a budding peony, and her exquisite lips carried a faint cherry-red hue.
She was truly a peerless beauty.
Xuan Yingxue bowed slightly, her red lips parting gently, her voice carrying the faint, unique magnetism of a young girl, incredibly pleasant to the ear.
"Reporting to Father Emperor, although I cannot be completely certain, Xue'er's intuition is usually not wrong."
"Oh? So there's more to it than meets the eye?" The man was puzzled, as if talking to himself:
"Two years ago, you disregarded the danger and insisted on concealing your identity to travel to several countries, and you also told me that the Second Prince of the Great Yan Dynasty had extremely high talent."
"But half a year ago, you suddenly changed your tune, saying that the Third Prince possessed astonishing talent, and that he was at odds with the Emperor of Da Yan, having no sense of belonging to Great Yan. However, you never told me the reasons behind this."
The Emperor of Da Yan always thought his methods were undetected, and Great Xuan always believed that the useless Third Prince was the Genius, thus retaining the Genius and sending out a useless one, feeling immensely pleased.
Little did he know, the Great Xuan Emperor had already known about the Great Yan Second Prince's extremely high talent two years ago.
Later, however, due to Xuan Yingxue's words, he changed his mind. Even though he knew there must be something fishy about the other party proactively offering to send the Third Prince, he did not object.
Xuan Qianming's favorite was this Eldest Princess of his; not only was she exceptionally talented, but she was also extraordinarily intelligent.
It was precisely because of this that he indulged her so much.
However, there was one thing about Xuan Yingxue that was extremely troublesome: she always liked to do challenging things.
In her words, she was tired of staying in the Great Xuan Imperial Palace and found no enjoyment, so she wanted to see other countries. At first, he disagreed, but he couldn't stand her daily persuasion. After sending people to secretly follow and protect her, he let her go.
But then, half a year ago, the people he sent out returned, saying they had lost her... He still couldn't figure out how they could have lost her.
Fortunately, Xuan Yingxue later sent back some news, which finally eased some of his worries.
"According to Xue'er, the Third Prince of Da Yan, Su Chen, was born to the Emperor of Da Yan and a palace maid during a drunken indiscretion. Later, that palace maid was killed by him. Due to various reasons, the Emperor of Da Yan never cared about Su Chen, almost leaving him to fend for himself. Under the accumulation of various factors, Su Chen not only has no familial affection for the Emperor of Da Yan but also hates him to the core."
"Because that fellow Su Wu killed his mother?" Xuan Qianming mused.
"That's just one reason," Xuan Yingxue said. "And he's not as simple as he appears on the surface. In short, if there's an opportunity to recruit him, and if it succeeds, it will only benefit our Great Xuan."
"Since that's the case, I'll trust you. As for how to make him loyal to my Great Xuan, I'll have to trouble you more." Xuan Qianming did not delve deeper.
Since his intelligent daughter thought it was useful, then it was useful.
"Xue'er will not fail Father Emperor's trust."
Xuan Yingxue bowed again and then withdrew from the main hall.
Leaving Xuan Qianming alone, looking at the Jade Slip in his hand with a strange expression: "Su Chen, Third Prince of Da Yan, a common talent since childhood. Half a year ago, he became obsessed with reading. In the past half-year, the number of bandits within Great Yan's borders has decreased by thirty percent... Interesting..."
"If it's truly as Xue'er says, and he's a Genius who can be used by my Great Xuan, that's best. If not... then there's no need to keep him..."
...Outside the Great Xuan Imperial Palace, a hint of a smile suddenly appeared on Xuan Yingxue's cold face. If anyone were to see her expression at that moment, they would surely be astonished, unable to close their mouths.
The Eldest Princess, who was always as cold as frost, actually showed a brilliant smile.
"Su Chen... A month has passed... You've finally arrived at the Great Xuan Imperial Capital. I wonder if you still remember me, your... maid?"
Xuan Yingxue's expression was relaxed, and the corners of her mouth curved into a wide arc.
Just thinking of that figure filled her with uncontrollable joy.
Even now, the scene of their first meeting was still vivid in her mind.
Two years ago, she disregarded the danger, concealed her identity, and traveled to the imperial capitals of several countries. A year ago, she went to the Great Yan Imperial City as a merchant, and in her leisure time, she began to inquire about some news.
After all, Great Yan and Great Xuan were sworn enemies, so being in an enemy country, she naturally had to do something.
Everything had been going smoothly, but unexpectedly, half a year ago, when she was invited to a banquet held by a Young Miss from an aristocratic family, she encountered the Second Prince, who was also attending the banquet.
She thought that her disguised appearance was not outstanding and should not attract the other party's covetousness.
However, the Second Prince, seeing her good figure, actually overlooked her appearance and uttered the words: "One eats too many delicacies; occasionally trying wild vegetables from the mountains is also good."
At that time, Xuan Yingxue's expression changed. It wasn't that she hadn't thought of resisting, but being in an enemy country, once her identity was exposed, what awaited her would surely be a fate worse than death!
Just as she was at a loss, about to be forcibly taken away by the other party,
A figure she had not expected stepped forward.
That person was the Third Prince.
In the eyes of others, he was the Genius Third Prince, but she knew that the true Genius was the Second Prince.
Yet, he was willing to stand up for her, directly confronting the extremely powerful Second Prince, without the slightest hesitation.
The other party, with his slender body, stood in front of her and calmly uttered those words: "Second Brother, this person is my maid. No matter how thirsty you are, you shouldn't set your sights on my people."
The two confronted each other for a long time, and finally, the Second Prince left without a word.
This incident made her slightly change her view of the Third Prince.
She was originally someone who enjoyed excitement, so she simply went with the flow and directly proposed to become Su Chen's maid.
Su Chen merely pondered for a while, thinking that if the other party was alone and without his protection, she might be targeted again, so he agreed.
For nearly half a year afterward, she stayed by Su Chen's side. Although she was a Princess acting as a maid, to avoid revealing any flaws, she worked diligently and conscientiously, without complaint.
Over the past half-year, she also gradually discovered some special qualities about Su Chen... It was these qualities that made her believe that the Third Prince was indeed a Genius, and even more so than the Second Prince!