Qin Wentian took a deep breath and said, "Master, I have found traces of Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun!"
The hall suddenly turned silent as even the breathing of the other three in the room came to a halt.
The old man in the projection had his eyes wide open in shock as he shouted, "Impossible!"
"Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun can't be there. Maybe this was just a coincidence, nothing else," The old man continued to deny the possibility.
Qin Wentian shook his head, "No master, I confirmed it," He then raised the piece of paper from the table and showed him to the old man, while saying, "Master, see these, the traces and signs match exactly to that of Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun, there's no way his aura can be hidden from the Heaven's Will."
The old man pursed his lips as he heard Qin Wentian's response, "This is just too absurd. Everyone knows that Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun is under an important seclusion. His butler confirmed this himself. How is it possible that the Prince suddenly appeared in the Lower Heavens?"
Qin Wentian nodded his head, "Yes master, and the weirdest part is the place where I found Crown Prince's aura. It was not a public place after all. So, I can't think of any reason why the Crown Prince would come here."
The old man narrowed his eyes and said, "Did you only find the aura in just one place?"
Qin Wentian replied, "Yes master, this is also one of the things that puzzled me. How is it possible that Crown Prince's aura was only present at the specific site but not anywhere else? Can this be even possible? Did he somehow manage to teleport himself to that place? But why would he do that? Just to kill a high-tier spirit beast and a disciple? There are too many unanswered questions here."
The old man scratched his long beard as he fell in contemplation. Qin Wentian didn't speak anything, lest he disturbed his master's thoughts.
The situation was indeed quite puzzling.
First of all, it was the presence of the person with the highest talent and the most powerful background, Crown Prince of the Great Ye Empire, Ye Tian Yun, to be in this backwater sect's dungeon.
And then, the mystery behind this presence being at only one place in the whole sect.
Last of all, was the unknown reasons for which the Crown Prince had come here.
After a few minutes of silence, the old man said, "I can't think of any more profound reasons, but I highly suspect that this whole situation has a bigger motive. We need to clear this mystery as soon as possible. I will visit the Imperial City right now to confirm Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun's presence.
If Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun is in the Imperial City, then it means all this was just a coincidence, but if he's not, then you must stay in the Lower Heavens for some more time and get to the bottom of this situation."
Qin Wentian cupped his fists and said, "As you wish, Master."
The old man nodded his head in approval and continued, "Try not to be too open about this situation. Keep a low profile. We can't let anyone else know of this matter. It will only bring us more disadvantages."
Qin Wentian frowned slightly and asked, "Master, I don't have any issue with staying here for longer and investigating the current situation but, I want to ask, is it imperative for us to keep track of Crown Prince's doings?"
The old man nodded with a serious expression on his face, "Yes, it is important. Crown Prince Ye Tian Yun will most likely be the one to summon the Throne and crown himself as the Heavenly Emperor."
Qin Wentian frowned as he heard those words, "But Master, Crown Prince is only 'most likely', his succeeding the Throne is not confirmed yet, why do we need to put him at such a high pedestal?"
The old man smiled and replied, "I like it that you aren't jealous of the Crown Prince, but instead, it's your curiosity that's making you ask so many questions. Let me tell you one thing; it is confirmed that Heavenly Emperor will appear in this generation, be it Crown Prince Ye or anyone else."
"However, the reason why we are paying so much attention to Crown Prince Ye is that all the signs are pointing at him to be the one who will rule the heavens. There's not even a single blemish in his path, and it's crystal clear. This is what makes us old fogies believe in the Crown Prince."
"And don't forget that whatever we do, we're doing this for the sect's future. If by any chance, we're able to help the one who will one day become the Heavenly Emperor, I see it as a great investment."
Qin Wentian asked one more question, "Master, what if, by any chance, Crown Prince Ye fails to become the Heavenly Emperor? What if someone else summons the Throne? Won't that make all our hard work go to waste? In my opinion, we should stay neutral in this conquest."
The old man in the projection had an even bigger smile this time as he said, "Tian'er, don't worry about anyone else becoming the Heavenly Emperor. The Sect is paying special attention to the Crown Prince, but it doesn't mean that it's ignoring other prodigies in the Middle Heavens."
"We're keeping track of any youngster in the Middle Heavens who shows talent and skills which can give the slightest sign that they might one day get into the race for the Throne."
Qin Wentian asked, "Then Master, what about the Lower Heavens? Are we not going to focus here?"
The old man suddenly laughed out loud, "Ha-ha-ha, Tian'er are you trying to make a joke? Youngsters of the Lower Heavens will have to first get to the Middle Heavens before even thinking about vying for the Throne. And I don't think there exists anyone in this place who has the slightest chance of becoming the Heavenly Emperor."
…
Hundreds of miles away, in Crimson City.
In a huge mansion with a huge word 'Wang' written in exquisite design, a youngster suddenly sneezed while drinking wine.
"Who the fuck is talking bad about this young master!"