HSSB50: The Eastern Tang’s Sixteenth Prince
Yan Zhaoge could tell that that youth was probably another of Zhao Yuan’s brothers and also a prince, just one that he had not previously seen before.
Yan Zhaoge watched the ongoing scene somewhat interestedly.
The First Prince, like his father, leaned towards Broad Creed Mountain’s Yan Di’s faction.
Zhao Yuan himself also had some ties with the original owner of Yan Zhaoge’s current body.
And not being able to compete with Zhao Yuan in this area, the Third Prince Zhao Sheng had naturally chosen to walk closer to Yan Zhaoge’s second apprentice-uncle’s faction instead.
While the King of the Eastern Tang Kingdom himself leaned towards Yan Di, as Broad Creed Mountain’s Principal Elder in the Eastern Tang, Yan Xu, was still from the opposing faction, Yan Sheng’s days were still passed smoothly.’
If the competition for the position of Broad Creed Mountain’s next Clan Chief ended up with Yan Zhaoge’s second apprentice-uncle’s eventual victory, there might then be more to the story of who would be the future King of the Eastern Tang Kingdom.
Still, on the whole, the fight for the Eastern Tang’s yet undecided Crown Prince position basically just comprised of the battle for supremacy between Zhao Yuan and Zhao Sheng.
Not having liked the sight of the other for a long time, the two had all along been clashing head-to-head.
Both standing together in targeting another prince like this; such a thing had not happened in a long time.
“By Royal Father’s decree, I and my men were to accompany Royal Uncle Jin in entering the mountain to capture the wanted outlaws.”
Now Zhao Sheng’s voice sounded from afar, “The people in question were surrounded by my and Eldest Brother’s guards within this very mountain, and also beaten to the point of suffering serious injuries by the two of us. If not for that, do you think you could have dealt with them that easily?”
“Now, having easily picked off their remnants, you are even intending to withhold all the information and keep it to yourself. Sixteenth Brother, don’t you think that you’re just being too much?”
Zhao Yuan also said in a low voice, “Sixteenth Brother, it’s fine if you take some of that credit. Still, you shouldn’t keep that person’s testimony to yourself. If there any leads, we should make good use of this time to continue the investigation further.”
“The other party and Ghost Hatchet Elder having had something to do with the abnormalities in the Sealing Dragon Abyss is not something that can be taken lightly. If this is delayed, we will not be able to properly answer to Royal Father and our merit will also become a demerit.”
Hearing the names Ghost Hatchet Elder and Sealing Dragon Abyss being mentioned, Yan Zhaoge got even more interested, “Oh, looks interesting. Let’s go over.”
Walking to the front, Yan Zhaoge saw the youth who was currently being surrounded laugh unconcernedly, “What I should do, I know well within my heart. I do not require the guidance of my two Royal Brothers; once we’ve returned to the capital and reported this matter to Royal Father, all will naturally be known.”
At his tone which was really quite uncourteous, Zhao Yuan and Zhao Sheng were both slightly incensed.
Still, as Yan Zhaoge made his appearance, the two hurriedly suppressed their fury, ignoring that youth to first pay their greetings to him.
“Zhaoge, what a coincidence; you’re also in this region?”
“Young Master Yan.”
Of the martial practitioners of the Eastern Tang Kingdom accompanying the two Princes, the Martial Scholars cupped their fists while the Martial Artists bowed as they all exclaimed in unison, “Greetings to the Broad Creed Young Master!”
In recent days, Yan Zhaoge’s name had resounded more splendidly and shone ever brighter within the lands of the Eastern Tang.
While news of his battle with Xiao Shen and Chao Yuanlong not long ago within the Luliao Mountains had still not gotten out yet, merely his previous overwhelming victory over the Sacred Sun Clan’s Chao Yuanlong in the Sealing Dragon Abyss and his competition with Xiao Shen in Overlooking Abyss City which had ended with him repelling the latter had already caused his fame to rise up to a whole new level.
It didn’t even have to be mentioned that Broad Creed Mountain was a huge organisation that the Eastern Tang Kingdom was completely unable to compare with.
As princes, Zhao Yuan and Zhao Sheng had been painstakingly groomed by the royal family, a huge amount of resources having been invested in them. With that, they were already two of the most prominent figures amongst the Eastern Tang Kingdom’s younger generation.
Both of them had already reached the Martial Scholar level. Still, when stepping into the Martial Scholar realm, they had both already been past the age of twenty-five.
Meanwhile, when the Yan Zhaoge before them had stepped into the Martial Scholar realm, he had been younger than even the Zhao Hao of now……
Yan Zhaoge smiled slightly, “The two of you, long time no see.”
“Earlier, when I passed the Eastern Tang capital, I only stopped momentarily to meet Uncle, and did not meet up with the two of you to talk about old times.”
“I never thought that I’d meet up with you in these Luliao Mountains instead.”
Zhao Yuan said, “The abnormalities in the Sealing Dragon Abyss are no trivial matter. Thus, Royal Father sent me over to personally take charge.”
“I still have to thank you, Zhaoge, for having discovered that the Ghost Hatchet Elder had had something to do with this matter. Having further investigated into the matter, I discovered that he had not actually been acting alone.”
“Behind the Ghost Hatchet Elder very possibly exists some hidden organisation. He should be one of the top experts of that organisation, which should also have some mid and low-tier members as well as outer ring underlings.”
“Entering the Luliao Mountains this time was to chase down and arrest a few members of this organisation. To us, whilst being a mission, it is also a form of tempering.”
Yan Zhaoge nodded his head. To Zhao Yuan and Zhao Sheng, this was also a chance for them to render some merits and thus gain some face in front of the ministers of the Eastern Tang.
In the end, however, it was like someone had plucked the peach before them, picking up some easy credit. No wonder the two Zhao brothers were both so unhappy with him.
Zhao Sheng looked back, his gaze sweeping over that youth as he asked dissatisfiedly, “Sixteenth Brother, are you not going to say your greetings?”
That youth looked at Yan Zhaoge calmly, before saying mildly, “Greetings.”
Looking at him, the corners of Yan Zhaoge’s mouth twitched slightly.
“If I didn’t see wrongly, I actually saw some arrogance and disdain within his gaze?” Yan Zhaoge was rendered a bit speechless as he appraised the youth before him all over.
At around seventeen years of age, he had a cultivation of the mid qi-directing Body Refinement realm, where the qi ocean within the dantian was opened up.
As someone who did not hail from a Sacred Ground, having such a cultivation base at this age was rarely seen, and could already be considered extremely outstanding.
This was even more so considering the garb of this youth. Although he was a prince, he obviously didn’t look like he was valued much; the amount of resources being allocated to him should most likely be somewhat limited.
Still, however one looked at it, whether it was in the area of personal ability or personal background, he completely couldn’t compare with Yan Zhaoge.
Still, within his eyes, Yan Zhaoge had truly glimpsed a passing flash of disdain.
And his attitude towards Yan Zhaoge had already passed the point of being not humble while also not being haughty, having clearly reached the point of being arrogant and rude.
Still, Yan Zhaoge could clearly feel that the other party really didn’t put him in his eyes at all. It was not a lack of fear brought about by ignorance, but rather a heartfelt disdain stemming from his own arrogance as well as self-confidence.
As this youth himself saw it, this was a totally natural thing.
…Just like how a Martial Saint, or a Martial Grandmaster would look at Martial Scholars and Martial Artists.
A weird feeling rose up within Yan Zhaoge’s heart.
From a corner, Zhao Yuan’s face darkened as he suppressed his voice with his aura-qi and sent Yan Zhaoge a sound transmission, “Zhaoge, don’t lower yourself to the same level as him.”
“This is my Sixteenth Brother, Zhao Hao.”
“In the past, he wasn’t like this, rather being a submissive yes-man and an otherwise completely unordinary character. However, half a year ago, he seemed to have suddenly seen the light, his cultivation beginning to improve by leaps and bounds, one day a thousand li.”
“Still, his personality also became rather arrogant and rude as a result.” Zhao Yuan said half bemusedly, half angrily, “The outlaws that we captured this time were surrounded within the mountain and also heavily injured by us, but it ended with him claiming all the easy pickings for himself.”
“Even having done so, having interrogated and obtained the useful testimonies, he just directly killed the captives off. When asked what he knew, he just refused to tell.”
Yan Zhaoge also couldn’t really get his head around it as he commented, “…weird.”
Still, Yan Zhaoge had no intention of interfering in this matter. While he was familiar with Zhao Yuan, no matter what one said, Zhao Hao was also similarly a son of the Eastern Tang monarch.
As for the news which Zhao Hao had concealed, he would naturally not be able to hide it any longer when face-to-face with his own father. Through the King of the Eastern Tang Kingdom, Yan Zhaoge would also be informed.
It was Zhao Hao’s rudeness and arrogance, on the contrary, that gave Yan Zhaoge a weird feeling inside.
Unless the other party was a madman.
If he wasn’t, where did that boldness of his stem from?
Boasting a non-existent power and really having something to back him up-those were two very different things indeed.
Yan Zhaoge pondered within his heart, his expression indifferent as it expressed that he wouldn’t lower himself down to Zhao Hao’s level and bicker with him.
Zhao Hao raised his brows. At Yan Zhaoge’s total disregard of him, other than disdain, some ridicule could now also be seen within his gaze.
Zhao Sheng, however, was slightly disappointed at Yan Zhaoge’s lack of reaction.
However, his attention very quickly fell on Zhao Hao again, as he laughed coldly, “Sixteenth Brother, don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit.”