Chapter 325: Feathery Star Hall
The sound of the bell ringing resonated through the beautiful dusk skies. However, the gates of the Burning Sky Palace remained open.
As a royal palace, its gates were normally closed at dusk. Anyone would be denied access to and from the palace until the next sunrise.
But in the past few days, the closing time of the palace gates was postponed to 9 o'clock in the evening.
It was said that the crowned prince was quite exasperated about it and even released an imperial order requiring the gates of the royal palace to be closed before dusk.
However, this crowned prince had apparently lost his power and could not make his people fulfill even his simple requests. He was like a tiger without its fangs. The gates of the palace would remain open until late hours. The members of the high society such as the heads of the noble clans and the military generals would access the palace gates freely as if they were in their own home.
A lot of people already learned that the crowned prince was on hot waters by observing the closing time of the palace gates. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before the crowned prince would be deposed.
Now, the third prince and the seventh prince were eager to act. But since each was conscious about the other's strength, they had to be discreet which allowed the current crowned prince to keep his title for now. However, once a winner between the third prince and the seventh prince was determined, the ending of the crowned prince was inevitable.
Recently, the third prince frequently held feasts in his Feathery Star Hall, while the seventh prince hosted his in the Fiery Moon Mansion. They invited a wide range of guests to their places, trying to draw more people over to their side. And that was the reason why the gates of the Burning Sky Palace started to close at very late hours.
Zen did a rough investigation about the current situation of the Burning Sky Palace. Although there were a lot of issues remained unraveled, all Zen wanted at this critical moment was to see Aura. And as to who would be the emperor of the Burning Sky Empire, Zen could not care less.
He finally arrived at the palace gate. But before he could step on the other side, several imperial guards blocked his way.
“Stop right there! This is the imperial palace. We need to report your arrival before you can step in. Please state your name and the person you want to visit. Hand me your visiting card as well.” An imperial guard asked Zen dryly.
Normally, no one would have the guts to go through the palace gates unless he was a representative of certain influential association. Therefore, that imperial guard was already being polite to Zen given that he had noticed that the latter was merely at the third grade of the nature level.
Zen greeted him with cupped fists and said, “I'm here to visit the Sky Princess! I don't have a visiting card, but here is my disciple card of Cloud Sect!”
“Zen Luo?” The imperial guard glanced at Zen's disciple card. Even though Cloud Sect was an A-list sect for learning the martial arts, its outer disciples as well as some inner disciples were not allowed to access the Burning Sky Palace. However, Zen was an exception to the rule.
After being the first place at the All Peaks Competition held by Cloud Sect, Zen became famous not only within Cloud Sect but also amongst the assorted noble clans. Now, even the common people knew his name.
That imperial guard was a man of the third prince, and he was aware that the third prince was in badly need of real talents.
Cloud Sect was the largest and the most influential organization in the Burning Sky Empire. It was said that once Cloud Sect meddled in, it would be up to Kenneth who would be the next emperor of the Burning Sky Empire.
However, this time, Cloud Sect did not pick a side in this political struggle. The head, elders, and saints of Cloud Sect all kept their lips tight on the matter of the throne competition and avoided any involvement in it.
Thus, neither the third nor the seventh prince obtained the support of Cloud Sect despite their efforts. Though the third prince was disappointed at this fact, he was still comforted that neither of them had the upper hand.
Now that there was no way to cozy up to the core members of Cloud Sect, the third prince began to target its disciples. When the All Peaks Competition was over, he delivered invitation cards to the top 100 disciples on the Cloud Sect Ranking list.
Zen, the number one on the Cloud Sect Ranking, was certainly invited. Actually, the third prince regarded him as the most important talent he must win over. After all, many of the top 100 who came from noble clans had already taken a side, such as Patrick from the Pei Clan. Given that the Pei Clan already sided with the seventh prince, there was no hope for the third prince to befriend Patrick.
By contrast, Zen was one of the grassroots having no noble clan to back him up. But despite that, he had taken first place at the All Peaks Competition. With such strength and talent, he must have a promising future. Naturally, he became a major target of the third prince.
But to the third prince's disappointment, it appeared that Zen immediately left Cloud Sect after the All Peaks Competition. He had sent his men to Zen's place hoping to invite him over, but they failed to see the disciple there.
And right now, upon hearing Zen's name, the heart of that imperial guard thumped aggressively. 'If I bring Zen to the third prince, I might receive a huge credit!' Therefore, the imperial guard put on a more cordial and courteous face. In his eyes, Zen had become a huge 'prize'.
“I can't believe it! You're Mr. Luo! This way, please!” The imperial guard welcomed Zen with a smile.
Zen looked quite baffled at the sudden change of attitude of the imperial guard.
The third prince wasn't the only one who placed his men among the imperial guards—the seventh prince made the same move. If Zen was discovered by a man of the seventh prince as well, he would probably be dragged into the fight of the two princes. After all, as they were competing to grow their influence, similar incidents had occurred more than once or twice.
Although Zen did not know what the imperial guard was getting into, it was convenient to have somebody usher him through the Burning Sky Palace that he had never visited before. Thus, he followed the imperial guard and stepped onto a winding passage inside the royal palace.
After a while, Zen saw a brilliantly illuminated hall ahead of him. Voices fluttered into his ears, as well as the gongs and drums blending with the opera singing.
As he was walking along the hall, he saw a plaque saying 'Feathery Star Hall' hanging on the eave.
“This is where the Sky Princess is?” Zen asked the imperial guard, his brow furrowed.
The imperial guard smiled and answered, “Mr. Luo, you'll know once you go in. If you want to see Her Highness, you will need the permission of the man inside this hall.”
'The permission of the man in this hall? Who is the man?'
But before Zen could ask, that imperial guard yelled at a servant of the Feathery Star Hall, “Quick, report the arrival of Zen Luo from Cloud Sect!”
Soon, a throng of people marched out of the Feathery Star Hall. The man taking the lead was wearing a golden jade crown and a yellow robe decorated with gold-thread boa designs. As he rushed up to Zen, his every move vibrated an air of superiority, as though he was born to be a ruler. Even though he deliberately tried to stay humble, others felt like he was gazing down upon them.
“What an amazing surprise! Zen is here! Please forgive me for not welcoming you myself. It's a great pleasure to finally meet you in person!” the man greeted Zen beamingly.
“And you are?” Zen scowled, his face sort of sullen. He was here for Aura but instead met with this stranger.
“I am Ray, the third prince! Today I happened to have set up a feast inside. Zen, please come in!” At this moment, Ray was overjoyed. He had sent out invitations multiple times to Zen but failed to have his presence. So, he was surprised to see Zen visit him on the latter's own accord.
'The third prince...'
Whenever the ordinary people encountered some royal member, they would instantly be on their hands and knees to pay their respect.
But practitioners of the martial arts did not have to stick to that rigid norms. It was noted that in the world of martial arts, only the strong were respected. So even though the emperor owned thousands of troops, he would not be given any different treatment. He could easily be beheaded by any strong warrior if his strength was weak.
Take Nile, the sixth prince, as an example. He also participated in the All Peaks Competition but was soon eliminated halfway through the contest. He did not get any preferential treatment because of his royal identity.
Sensing the over welcoming spirit Ray gave him, Zen knew that the third prince was dragging him into his league. But Zen had no intention to meddle with the political tussle in the Burning Sky Palace. He immediately clarified, “Your Highness, I did not come to the Burning Sky Palace for you. I'm here for the Sky Princess.”
Hearing Zen's words, Ray's face slightly hardened.
Meanwhile, the crowd surrounding Ray began to shout, “It's such a great honor for you that our third prince invited you in! No one cares who you're here for!”
“I have never met such an arrogant brat before. His Highness already debased himself to greet you out here, but you refused to go in. Who do you think you are?”
Ray motioned those men to quiet down, and they instantly fell silent. Surprisingly, the smile on his face was broader. “Her Highness is resting in her Shine Hall. If you want to see her, I can bring her here to you.”
Zen shot a few cold looks at the men behind Ray. Most of them were at the nature level, while three of them had just entered the Illuminating Soul Realm. Then, he replied to Ray straight-faced, “That'll be great. I'll wait here for Her Highness!”
After that, Zen followed the third prince into the Feathery Star Hall.