"I do not agree with that as well. I would rather be a Buddhist monk than marry her!" Rocky didn't want
to get married with Shirley at all. But if he was asked to marry Lena, he would be happy to say yes.
"The matter has already been settled. About the details of this marriage, I will discuss further with
General Bryant at a later time. If the Ximen Clan showed their disagreement with the marriage, Basil
would not get the land as well. That's the deal. Well, that should be all for today. You are all allowed to
leave now. Send Prince Basil back to his place and take the gifts back with him." The emperor ignored
Rocky's disagreement completely. He just glanced at Rocky and then waved at his servants gesturing
for them to take Rocky back to his place.
Soon, the servants who took the gifts for Rocky walked towards him and got ready to lead him out of
there.
"You head back first. I will come and see you later," Lena whispered as she walked past Rocky. She
then nodded at the emperor and headed for the side door to walk out of the Grand Holy Hall.
The emperor got her intention. He cast a glance at Rocky and then walked to the side door as well.
When Rocky saw that, he had no other choice but to leave the Grand Holy Hall with the maids.
Lena and the emperor walked into a long corridor behind the side door where they soon reached a
palace close to the Grand Holy Hall. They then went to a secret chamber inside that palace.
A dome formed by the Dragon Master Clan's spiritual method had covered the secret chamber so that
nobody could hear whatever was being discussed inside the chamber. This chamber was usually used
for discussing the Holy Dragon Empire's top confidential issues.
After taking a seat, Lena frowned and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I don't understand! Why did
you sacrifice Basil to repel the Ximen Clan? Don't we have any other options?" She knew well that the
arrangement was not for Rocky's sake at all. What the emperor's actual intention was to utilize the
marriage to avoid the latent conflict with the Ximen Clan. That was not the first time that the royal family
used such methods to contain other powerful and influential clans.
Almost every head of the Ximen Clan was married with a princess. And the history had proven that it
was an effective way for the royal family to stray away from the Ximen Clan's power. Half of the blood
running inside the Ximen Clan's members belonged to the royal family.
The current emperor, however, didn't have any daughter. And because of an accident, Bryant's only
son and daughter-in-law had died at a very young age. Their only daughter that remained in this world
was Shirley Ximen. So Bryant gave his granddaughter everything she wanted since she was born.
What's more, Shirley was a talented spirit manipulator. The Ximen Clan had put all their resources to
boost Shirley's cultivation. Certainly, Shirley would be the next head of the Ximen Clan.
That was why the royal family needed a prince to marry Shirley. Only by this way could the royal family
restrain the Ximen Clan's power once Shirley became its leader.
Obviously, the emperor had made Basil as his choice.
"I don't want that to happen, of course. But except for Basil, I couldn't find any other option. Alston is
the future emperor while the other princes are not qualified to take such a huge responsibility. If I had
found another perfect option, I wouldn't have chosen Basil as well. Basil is a good boy. I have never
expected that after he fused with the Holy Dragon Bead, he would reach the Earthly Stage in a span of
two mouths! One could easily call that a miracle," the emperor marveled.
"But Your Majesty, your attempt to protect Basil was to dethrone him before. Then why do you have to
sacrifice him now? If he married Shirley, he would be put in a dilemma between the royal family and the
Ximen Clan. What's more, he doesn't like Shirley at all. And I'm pretty sure Shirley despises him as
well. Their marriage would only be a disaster for both of them," Lena stressed.
"As a prince of the Holy Dragon Empire, it is Basil's responsibility to sacrifice his marriage and himself.
He has no other choice. And that is not going to be harmful to him in any way. If he married the future
head of the Ximen Clan, he would acquire more good resources for his cultivation," the emperor said.
"But... But Basil has clearly shown his disagreement," Lena argued as her brows kitted together. She
didn't know why her heart was aching with the news.
"No matter what he thinks, his opinion can no longer change the decision. As my son, he has to
sacrifice himself for the royal family and for the whole Holy Dragon Empire," the emperor said in a
serious tone. Any member of the royal family had to shoulder their responsibility and sacrifice
themselves whenever necessary. The reason why he chose Basil was because Basil's ability and talent
were superior to his other sons. So the emperor considered Basil as his best choice.
Lena couldn't find other points to argue with the emperor anymore. Every prince and princess of the
Holy Dragon Empire had accepted their sacrifice. There was no reason to make Basil an exception.
"Lena, you grew up with Basil. Of course I know how close you have become. Your relationship is like
brother and sister. But you should not forget that you are the Witch of the Holy Dragon Empire. You are
the oracle, the connection between the Holy Dragon Empire and the Dragon Master Clan. I hope you
can keep that in mind. Don't cross the line! Understand?" Of course, the emperor could tell what Lena
really felt for Basil. When he saw Lena show her objection to Basil's marriage in public, he was afraid
that the others who heard that would gossip about Lena and Basil. So he felt it was necessary to
remind Lena of her position.
"Yes, Your Majesty! I understand." Lena nodded and clenched her lips.
"I hope you can have a talk with Basil. I believe that you can convince him and guide him to take the
right path," the emperor added.
"But what if the Ximen Clan refuses? Shirley hates Basil so much after all. I am quite certain of that,"
Lena said with hesitation.
"That is quite impossible. They have always accepted such arrangement since we began our relations
with them. General Bryant knows well about that as well and he will convince Shirley as much as he
can. As the future head of the Ximen Clan, Shirley has to marry Basil no matter how much she hates
him. Otherwise, it would be hard for her to earn that position. And since Basil doesn't like Shirley, it will
be a lot better for the royal family. It means he would always choose the royal family instead of the
Ximen Clan when he was caught in a dilemma," the emperor said. He had taken that into his
consideration as well, which was one more reason why Basil was clearly the perfect choice.
Lena didn't expect that coming. She had to admit that the emperor was a rigorous man, no wonder he
could rule the Holy Dragon Empire with such ease.
"Basil's dragon spiritual power seems so special. I can't even tell its nature. And I heard from Master
Mia that nobody noticed that he had reached the seventh grade of the Mortal Stage before the Dragon
Birth Festival. Is it because of the special power he acquired from the Holy Dragon Bead? And that
attack from Basil even defeated the talent from the Magic Phoenix Empire! I can feel that the attack's
power has surpassed the ninth grade of the Heavenly Stage. But I still can't figure out how Basil did it
no matter how hard I tried! And where did Basil get the yellow spiritual crystal? Who gave it to him?"
the emperor questioned.
"Your Majesty, why didn't you personally ask Basil then?" Lena was curious about the answers as well.
"Forget about it! Those questions shouldn't really matter anymore. Basil really made great progress in
the past two months. And now that the power of the Holy Dragon Bead is starting to show itself. I can
tell Basil will be a legend sooner or later. If only Karen were here to see it," the emperor sighed. Karen
was Basil's mother, the one he fell deep in love with.
"Yes," Lena sighed as well. She missed Basil's mother as well. She then bid farewell to the emperor
and left the secret chamber.
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