For a long time, Lin Tianrong had always thought that Fang Zhengzhi's letters to Lin Mubai were regarding the secret chamber he built underneath his study room.
However, it was not until now…
That he truly understood.
Compared to the secret chamber, the true content hidden within these letters were simply inconceivable.
The first letter was one between him and the Southern Region Noblelite. This letter should not have appeared in his study room, and neither should it appear in Flame Capital City. This should have been in the Southern Region, in the hands of the deceased Southern Region Noblelite.
This was because it was a conversation that was carried out in secret between the two of them while the Crown Prince himself was in the Southern Region.
Why would it appear here?
There was only one possibility. It was that when the King of the Southern Region Shan Yu arrived at Flame Capital City, she brought this letter with her and it somehow landed in Fang Zhengzhi's hand.
The second letter was a conversation between the eagle-eyed man and himself. This letter similarly, should not have been discovered. It should be lying safely within the secret chamber in the Crown Prince Residence.
How could Fang Zhengzhi had gotten a letter that was in the secret chamber?
Lin Tianrong still could not fathom how he did it.
As for the third and fourth letter…
All of which had some sort of connection with the secret chamber in the Crown Prince Residence. However, each of them was extremely important letters that clearly state his heinous crimes. Anyone of them would be enough reason for Lin Mubai to strip him of his title.
And these letters fell right into Lin Mubai's hands.
St that moment, Lin Tianrong finally understood what exactly did Fang Zhengzhi give his father. He also understood why his father would reveal the secret chamber right in front of all the courtiers and ridicule him on the spot.
It was a warning!
However, what he did not understand was that, why would Lin Mubai still allow him to enjoy the Crown Prince title even after reading the letters, and merely let him off with a stern warning and house arrest?
After all, these crimes…
Were too serious!
It was impossible that Lin Mubai would forgive him!
"Do you know why your mother died?" Lin Mubai ignored Lin Tianrong's gasps of shock and horror. He merely stared into the chilling brilliance that flashed across the night sky outside of the throne room.
"Why?" Lin Tianrong asked subconsciously.
This was a question he always had. However, he knew that this was a question he could never ask. This was because his mother had committed suicide. She had killed herself not long after that other woman left.
However, that did not mean…
He didn't want to know.
"Your mother gave up everything and relinquished everything. She wants me to compensate her for all that she had lost! Therefore, she wants me to feel guilty. She wants to use her death to lay the path for you to be the Crown Prince. She gave you a Crown Prince title that no one can ever take away from you with her death!"
Lin Mubai cast his glance back on Lin Tianrong as a rare sentimental expression appeared on his face.
The Royal Palace was filled with endless power struggles and underhanded tactics. In order to survive, one had to learn to protect oneself and also ignore the unscrupulous things they saw. However, certain things were impossible to ignore even if one wanted to.
For example, what Lin Tianrong's mother did.
She died.
At a time when Lin Mubai owed her countless emotional debts, she died without as much of a ruckus. How then, could Lin Mubai not give the Crown prince seat to Lin Tianrong?
"Mother died… for my Crown prince title?" Lin Tianrong was dumbfounded and involuntarily trembled at that thought.
He was born in the royal family.
He had seen way too much power struggle for a person his age.
Therefore, he understood what Lin Mubai meant perfectly well.
His mother, after well knowing that she would not gain the Emperor's love, resolutely chose to end her life. In return, she would earn the Lin Mubai's grieve and guilt, paving the way for her son to be the Crown Prince.
All these years, he had been…
He had been fighting to keep his Crown Prince position, using unscrupulous tactics and sometimes outright aggression.
How ridiculous!
At that moment, he realized how sturdy his position as the Crown prince was. He also understood why Lin Mubai only gave him the punishment of house arrest even after reading these letters.
Even when he had already stepped brazenly into the throne room, Lin Mubai merely told him to get the hell out.
This was because behind this Crown Prince title was a deceased mother.
It was a title the queen paid for using her life. He did not have to earn it himself. He merely had to sit comfortably in that position until it was time for him to be the Emperor.
However…
It was too late. The moment he rushed into the palace with the eagle-eyed black figure and brandished his sword in front of his father, there was no turning back.
"If you turn back now, I can spare your life!" Lin Mubai walked forward one more step. The dragon above him followed.
An immense pressure could be felt from Lin Mubai's body.
"Spare my life? Spare my life…" Lin Tianrong's eyes widened as he stared at the dragon above Lin Mubai's head. His body leaned back subconsciously the more he did so.
He hesitated…
After understanding everything, he hesitated for the first time.
He did not have any memories of his mother. By the time he started remembering things, his mother had already passed away. He was soon named the Crown Prince and the being that all the courtiers looked up to.
However, he had always felt something was lacking.
Family!
He received neither love from his mother or father.
This was because his father had only doted on one person for as long as he could remember. That person was Ping Yang, the daughter that Lin Mubai and that other woman had together.
This was what he had always thought.
However, at this moment, this thought had changed.
His father loved him all the same, even though this care and concern came at the expense of his mother's life. This still showed that his father treated him differently.
"Green Dragon Eye you say, I want to give it a try!"
Just as Lin Tianrong was hesitating, another voice rang across the throne room. Following which, a figure appeared beside Lin Tianrong.
A fist then appeared out of nowhere.
It seemed like an ordinary fist and there was nothing exceptional about it.
This fist went straight towards Lin Mubai without the slightest hesitation. It was as fast as lightning.
"Hm?" Lin Mubai simply focused his attention on the fist and the dragon above him immediately reacted.
A dragon claw emerged and positioned itself right in front of the fist. A golden hue enveloped the claw as it shone with a metallic brilliance. The majestic golden scales could also be clearly seen.
The fist then collided with the dragon claw as it should have.
However, the moment the fist made contact with the dragon claw, the fist changed form as well. It changed into a claw as six sets of extremely complicated runes circled in the air. They were golden, red, blue, green, purple and silver respectively, glowing brilliantly in the air.
A ray of light as thin as a silk thread then connected the six set of runes together.
It seemed just like…
A giant picture.
A giant picture formed up of countless threads and runes.
If Fang Zhengzhi had seen this scene, he would definitely have recognized it. The picture this scene formed was exceptionally similar to the Illustration of All Creation he saw when he was younger.
Boom!
The entire throne room shook at the collision.
Rubble flew across the room as cracks appeared on the ground. Following which, a great explosion occurred, threatening to blow up everything in its way.
The sky above the throne room was rumbling and churning with thunder and lightning.
With the collision point of the claw and the fist as its center, the terrifying shockwaves rapidly spread across the area. The force was so huge that even the door of the throne room was forcefully ripped from its hinges.
Within the throne room, the twenty black figures immediately climbed up from the ground, the shimmering brilliance covering their bodies protecting them from the shockwaves. All of their faces seemed extremely serious and sunken.
On the other hand, Lin Tianrong was thrown off the ground by this impact. From the expression on his face, one could tell that he was extremely frightened.
However, he was not completely flung from his original position.
That was because…
The moment his body left the ground, he could feel a hand pressing down on his shoulders, forcefully keeping him onto the ground.
At the same time, a figure shielded him from the shockwaves, the black suit worn by this figure danced around amongst the strong gale of wind. However, the figure did not seem to care.
"As I have expected, it's not a real dragon. Oh, that's right, Crown Prince, I did not mean to hurt you!" The figure stood where he was and did not bother to look at Lin Tianrong at all., though his tone seemed to be apologetic.
However, Lin Tianrong knew very well that…
Such words were meant to ridicule and put him down!
The golden brilliance took a step back as the dragon claw retreated into the clouds. However, the sinister blood-red eyes glowed even brighter.
"Descend!" A voice rang from the golden brilliance.
The clouds above the throne room descended immediately upon hearing this command. In an instant, it suppressed all the gravels and residual shockwaves in the area.
Lin Mubai's figure once again appeared.
He then stared at the figure beside Lin Tianrong. This time, he did not ignore him. Instead, he stared right into his eyes.
The eyes as sharp as an eagle.
"Pang Shengdao? you are a royal of the Northern Barbarians?" Lin Mubai squinted as he said.
"Northern Barbarians? Ha… that is what the Great Xia calls us. We prefer to call ourselves the Holy Barbarian Empire. Furthermore, I do not like to call myself a royal or a noble. I prefer people to call me young master!" The eagle-eyed man smiled lightly as he said.
"Hm, you are pretty strong!" Lin Mubai nodded as he commended him on his strength.
"I merely got some advantages here and there. I thank the Emperor for his praises. It is such an honor!" The eagle-eyed figure laughed and at the same time.
"The third son of the Northern Barbarian Emperor, Qian Yu. You disappeared during the riots of the Northern Barbarian Palace and returned to the palace alone when you were ten. You represented the Emperor in visits to other countries at age 11 and became a general at the age of 12. Although you did not grow up together with the Emperor, you managed to impress him so much that he tried to pass his throne to you three times despite violent objections from the ground, only for them to be rejected by yourself. Am I right?" Lin Mubai seemed to know exactly who he was.
"The Emperor seems to know me well. That's right, I am Qian Wu!" The eagle-eyed figure, Qian Wu nodded his head.
"Why did you people choose Tianrong?" Lin Mubai then turned serious as he asked, staring at the Crown Prince behind Qian Wu.
Lin Tianrong merely gritted his teeth and fell silent.
"I will be happy to answer you, however, we seem to be running out of time," Qian Wu smiled as he pointed in the direction of the entrance to the palace.
Just as Qian Wu lifted his hands…
A ruckus could be heard coming from that exact direction.
"If that is the case, let's do it!" Lin Mubai nodded upon hearing Qian Wu's words. He immediately dismissed his intentions of probing further.
"Alright!" Qian Wu answered as he lightly stepped forward.
The moment his feet landed on the ground, the six sets of runes lit up once again and the threads moved on their own as though they were alive, connecting them into a huge picturesque scene.
Boom!
The throne room trembled once again.
However, the trembling was of a different level than the one made previously. This was a lot more intense, as though the ground was about to split open, or if something terrifying was going to break through the ground.
"Open!" Qian Wu's voice rang once again. At the same time, he also made his move. He punched his fist on the ground as a brilliance immediately enveloped him.
At the same time…
A huge crater appeared on the ground.
A metallic shine could be detected from the crater. Moments later, a green color substance could be seen. It was a color completely different from the light emanating from it.
The green substance became thicker and bigger as time passed.
Eventually, the substance overflowed from the crater.
Boom!
The ground split open once again.
Above the crater, a door could be seen. It was a door at least 15 feet tall. More accurately, it was a 15 feet tall bronze door.
Countless carvings could be seen on the door as a desolate presence could be detected. The green that they saw just now was the color of rusted copper, the greenish-bronze color of rust.
Clang!
The bronze door slowly opened, making a few creaking sounds along the way. It seemed extremely heavy and possibly connected to another independent and special dimension.
As the huge bronze door slowly opened, a few rays of brilliance shot through the cracks.
Red, Blue, Green, Purple, Gold, Silver…
These lights glowed within the door, emitting a faint chill as the sparkled. They seemed just like the stars in the sky, though they assumed a much colder and sinister presence.
"Near-Life gate, for the Emperor of the Northern Barbarians to give this thing to you, he truly recognizes you as the next Emperor!" Lin Mubai stared as the bronze door slowly opened. He could not help but squint his eyes in its glory. He seemed undisturbed by it, though the sinister light seemed to irritate him.
When the dragon above his head saw the light emitted from the bronze door, it also thrashed about wildly. It coiled closer towards the clouds as it began emitting a desolate presence.
It seemed to be highly against the presence within the bronze door.
"The Great Xia Emperor truly has an eye for good things. I will cut the nonsense then. Let us now see which is stronger. The greatest treasure of the Great Xia Dynasty, or the greatest treasure of our Holy Barbarian Empire!" Qian Wu was not surprised that Lin Mubai knew about the history of this bronze door. In fact, he was pretty thrilled by it.