In the following two days, Thirteenth Master and Fourteenth Master somehow latched onto Tiger, insisting on "sparring" with him. Tiger’s own comprehensive strength was only around that of a Tier One Sword Emperor. The two cunning old men were utterly shameless, claiming that as twin brothers, they were a single, indivisible entity.

And so, it was two against one.

Every day on the deck of the large ship, one could witness a fierce battle between masters of the Sword Emperor Realm. And every day, Tiger would be beaten to a pulp.

It was as if those two old men had found a wonderful new toy, and they were hooked!

Tiger’s constitution was unique, with incredible regenerative abilities. Thirteenth Master and Fourteenth Master also never dealt any truly heavy blows. So, the three of them actually became addicted to it, battling for several hours each day!

On the first day, Tiger was completely helpless. Within ten moves, the brothers’ joint attack had beaten him to a pulp.

On the second day, Tiger was still beaten to a pulp, but he managed to land a surprise blow, causing Thirteenth Master a minor setback. Moreover, he lasted for thirty moves!

On the third day, Tiger was once again a swollen mess and failed to land a single decent hit on the brothers. But this time, Thirteenth Master and Fourteenth Master were furious. That brat Tiger had actually endured for over forty moves against their combined assault!

This was an utter disgrace! So the brothers resolved to teach Tiger a proper lesson on the fourth day.

On the fourth day, the large ship docked.

They were finally back in Penzes City. In reality, Ling Xiao hadn’t been away for very long. Besides, clown had been monitoring everything from the sky, flying back and forth between the Sea Domain Song Family and the Marquis’s Mansion in Penzes City. Nothing unexpected had occurred; otherwise, clown would have sought out Ling Xiao long ago.

Since entering adulthood, clown had become increasingly independent. Now, it paid no mind to anyone except for Ling Xiao and the few others it had known from the beginning.

Its disposition grew more and more aloof and proud. Yisha, who was very knowledgeable about Magical Beasts, had said this was normal for a Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon. Their nature was inherently arrogant because, to a large extent, Flying Magical Beasts were the sovereigns of the sky!

And the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon was the sovereign among sovereigns!

As for clown, Ling Xiao could sense that it now possessed the strength of a Tier Five Magical Beast!

He believed that with the passage of time, clown would one day become an immensely powerful Magical Beast.

In this world, there was never a shortage of people in the know.

A few days prior, a Sword Emperor and two experts at the Sword Sect level had been cut down at Ling Xiao’s residence. This news had then been deliberately leaked by the people of his mansion.

Instantly, all the major powers that had been watching Ling Xiao fell silent.

This was especially true for His Majesty the King, far away in the Imperial Capital, who was so shocked he fell right off his Lion King’s Chair!

This wasn’t an act; he had truly fallen!

After receiving the secret report, the King did not hold court for three straight days. He locked himself in his bedchambers, refusing to see anyone.

He was afraid!

Ling Tianxiao was in charge of defending the Western Border of the Empire. He held significant military power, making him a major regional authority. Moreover, over the years, he had cultivated an excellent relationship with the common people in the west, and his reputation among them was immense!

The Ling Family’s fiefdom in the Northwest was also flourishing. Ling Tianxiao’s eldest son, Lingzhi, was a man of great talent, both as a general and an administrator. With the family’s lands under his management, in just a few short years, they had grown strong enough to rival the great Bauhinia Clan of the north!

This was exactly what His Majesty the King had once hoped to see. But now, he no longer wished for it. Instead, he felt a sliver of terror!

It was true he had just promoted the Ling Family and lavished them with unparalleled favor. But by the same token, he believed that as long as the Ling Family had their wits about them, they must have also sensed his underlying threat.

His Majesty the Old King wished he had never uttered such threats. But alas, there was no medicine for regret in this world.

Finally, Wulan Xiong, a minister the King had always favored, came to see him in secret with a plan. He mentioned that the Ling Family’s third young master, Ling Xiao, was known to be on bad terms with the Second Prince. Moreover, the High-tier Martial Artists who had recently died at the Viscount’s Mansion were apparently connected to the Second Prince. Therefore, why not seize the opportunity to revoke the Second Prince’s military authority and, in doing so, make a gesture of goodwill toward Ling Xiao?

"The Southern King is now a tiger without teeth, while Your Majesty..." Wulan Xiong chuckled knowingly. Both he and the King understood the implication: as long as the Old King lived, he would never truly relinquish the throne. And now, the Empress, like an old tree bearing new fruit, had unexpectedly given birth to a third son!

Inevitably, this third son would be used as a political tool. By the time the Third Prince reached adulthood, at least twenty years would have passed!

’His Majesty the King knew perfectly well that Wulan Xiong was close to the Crown Prince; he would never pass up an opportunity to suppress the Second Prince. He also knew that the Wulan Clan and the Ling Family were at odds—in fact, their enmity ran deep. Even Wulan Xiong’s own daughter-in-law was now spending all her time in Penzes City, refusing to come back.’

’The affair had already become a joke within the aristocratic circles. The Old King would never believe that Wulan Xiong didn’t harbor some scheme to frame the Ling Family. That said, for the moment, it seemed he and Wulan Xiong were on the same side.’

Seeing the Old King was tempted, Wulan Xiong pressed on, "Furthermore, your subject has observed that Princess Tianqi seems to feel quite specially about that Ling Xiao. Why not..."

Before Wulan Xiong could finish, the Old King’s face darkened. "Wulan Xiong!" he roared. "You are too impudent! Is a royal marriage something you can meddle in? Get out!"

Wulan Xiong lowered his head and backed out of the room, a sly smirk on his face. He had already received highly accurate intelligence from a source close to the Southern King, Li Wutong. For years, it hadn’t been unusual for the Crown Prince and the Second Prince to plant spies in each other’s camps.

But the news the mole brought back this time had put the Crown Prince in a fantastic mood: the Sword Sect expert his second brother had kept hidden for so many years had failed to return from Ling Xiao’s mansion!

’This is wonderful news! Absolutely fantastic! It couldn’t possibly be better!’

’Ever since the Commander of the Knight Order relayed Ling Xiao’s words to him, the Crown Prince had been losing sleep. His own second brother had a Sword Sect expert at his beck and call? He hadn’t believed it at first. But then he recalled that incident on the street, when that expert had accurately identified him, and connected it to Ling Xiao’s warning.’

’Although the Crown Prince had no idea how Ling Xiao knew, one thing was undeniable: the Southern King did indeed have a High-level Martial Artist in his service!’

’The Crown Prince had long known that, but he never knew that Martial Artist was actually of the Sword Sect realm!’

’In the entire Lanyue Empire, only the King himself had two such experts. What right did the Southern King have to possess one? What if he sent that Sword Sect master to assassinate me?’

The mere thought sent a chill down the Crown Prince’s spine, making his skin crawl.

’And now, that Sword Sect master was dead!’

It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from the Crown Prince’s chest.

After Wulan Xiong had left, the King slammed his palm down, shattering a table. He roared in fury, "A bunch of bastards! Daring to so brazenly covet this position! Hmph! Unless I’m dead! Otherwise... none of you will get it!"

’Wulan Xiong’s malicious intentions were as clear as day. First, he wanted to suppress the Southern King. If the King revoked the Southern King’s military authority, it would lead to one of two outcomes: either Li Wutong would fall into obscurity, becoming nothing more than an idle Prince; or, Li Wutong would outright rebel, carving out his own territory and declaring himself king! Neither outcome was something the Old King wished to see. While it might offer a short-term gesture of goodwill to Ling Xiao, the price... was simply too steep!’

’Then he had the audacity to suggest marrying Li Tianqi to Ling Xiao! That was what the Old King truly could not tolerate. In and of itself, could Li Tianqi marry Ling Xiao? Of course, she could!’

’If she weren’t the Crown Prince’s daughter, the King would have approved the match long ago. She was just a princess, and princesses have to marry eventually, don’t they? If he could use a princess to win over Ling Xiao’s heart, the Old King wouldn’t have cared if it took one or even ten of them.’

’The crucial problem was that if Li Tianqi really married Ling Xiao, the Crown Prince would become Ling Xiao’s father-in-law! No matter how much friction there had been between the Ling Family and the Crown Prince before, it was unheard of for a son-in-law to move against his wife’s father!’

The King gritted his teeth in fury. Outside, the palace maids and royal guards trembled in fear, not daring to even breathe, terrified that His Majesty would vent his anger on them.

Just then, Nangong Elder suddenly appeared before His Majesty the King. In the entire Imperial Palace, only he and Elder Rong could enter and leave the King’s chambers so freely.

"Your Majesty, why fly into such a rage over this matter? The Ling Family has received your favor. Are they not going to be grateful for your immense imperial grace? Could they possibly rebel?"

’Isn’t that exactly what I’m afraid of?’ the Old King thought.

Nangong Elder continued, "We were indeed shortsighted in this matter. We never expected Ling Xiao to have such powerful forces at his side. Your Majesty, why not seek help from your own clan? I heard that not long ago, members of Your Majesty’s clan met with Ling Xiao and that the talks went very well. I believe if your own clan were to step in, Ling Xiao would have to show them some respect. As for the matter of the Ancient Elixir Secret Recipe... it would be best never to mention it again."

The Old King slumped back into his chair, looking as if he had aged decades in an instant. He shook his head and gave a bitter smile. "To think that I, the Lord of the Lanyue, would be reduced to hesitating and looking over my shoulder because of a single person. Nangong Elder, tell me, is Ling Xiao’s power truly that formidable?"

Nangong Elder, who knew the Old King’s temperament well, advised, "Your Majesty, I hope that from this day forward, you will abandon any ideas you have about him. If Your Majesty insists on acting willfully, then Elder Rong and I... will have no choice but to leave this Imperial Palace. Because the consequence of your obstinance will be... the loss of this very empire!"

The Old King’s eyes seemed to shoot fire. He stared coldly at Nangong Elder and said grimly, "Nangong Elder, do you believe that We have no power at Our back?"

Nangong Elder looked at the King with a hint of disappointment and gave a slight bow. "I thank Your Majesty for your many years of courtesy. Starting today, I will be returning to my sect to focus on my cultivation. My connection with Your Majesty... ends here. I wish you well, Your Majesty."

With that, he drifted away.