Chapter Ninety-Five: Crown Prince Jiang Rulong

“The good news, then!” Jun Wushuang said.

“Jiang Taixu has been gravely wounded and fallen unconscious. He has little time left!”

Although Mo Xingyun had failed to kill Jiang Taixu, those eight slashes of the sun-and-moon cycle had still left him critically injured. And because his wounds had never fully healed to begin with, this blow had driven him into a complete coma. His injuries were severe indeed, and he would likely not last much longer.

Jiang Taixu was the dean of the Royal Martial Academy.

The hidden corruption behind this life-and-death duel had also been controlled by him from the shadows.

Now that he was nearing death, it was indeed good news for Jun Wushuang and Mo Xingyun.

“And the bad news?” Jun Wushuang nodded and pressed on.

“The bad news concerns Ji Qingchen!”

Ji Qingchen?

Jun Wushuang’s gaze sharpened.

His killing intent toward Ji Qingchen had never diminished. He had merely never found the right opportunity.

During the enrollment examination, Ji Qingchen had slipped away in advance.

At the black-and-white millstone, although he had destroyed her spiritual power, her body had been protected by Dongfang Ming.

This time, at the life-and-death duel, Jun Wushuang had not seen Ji Qingchen at all.

He had even assumed that she had already been reduced to a fool.

“Ji Qingchen is no longer in the Royal Martial Academy. She is in the Crown Prince’s Palace!”

Mo Xingyun spoke again, and Jun Wushuang’s pupils contracted at once.

The Crown Prince’s Palace?

That was the crown prince’s sleeping quarters.

Ji Qingchen had already latched herself onto Nangong Tianxuan and Dongfang Li, so when had she managed to hook the crown prince as well?

“As far as I know, Ji Qingchen has not only awakened, but with the crown prince’s help, her cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds. She is already close to breaking through into the Heavenly Human Realm!”

The Heavenly Human Realm?

At the black-and-white millstone, she had only just broken through the Divine Sea Realm. By rights, it should have been around the same time as him.

Yet he was only at the seventh level of the Divine Sea Realm, while she had already reached the ninth.

What kind of fortune had she encountered?

“And there is an even more important piece of news.”

“The crown prince intends to make her his crown princess!”

Mo Xingyun dropped another thunderbolt.

The crown princess!

That was not a title just anyone could bear.

The crown prince would one day inherit the throne, and the crown princess would become the future empress.

Ji Qingchen came from humble origins, and her talent was not so monstrously exceptional. To win the crown prince’s favor was already astonishing enough. How could she possibly become crown princess as well?

How had she done it?

Jun Wushuang realized that he had never truly seen through Ji Qingchen.

Though born lowly, this woman possessed a mind deep as the sea and endless means. Since arriving in the imperial capital, she had advanced step by step, climbing bit by bit to a lofty position.

First Nangong Lei.

Then Nangong Tianxuan.

Then Dongfang Li.

And now even the crown prince had been hooked by her.

Such methods were impossible to ignore.

“What sort of man is the crown prince?” Jun Wushuang had a feeling.

After Nangong Tianxuan and Dongfang Li, the crown prince would become his next enemy.

Not for any other reason, but because of Ji Qingchen.

That venomous woman with a heart like a serpent would never let such an opportunity slip by.

“The crown prince, Jiang Rulong, is a true dragon among men!” Mo Xingyun’s expression turned somewhat grave.

“I was once hailed as the greatest prodigy of Great Qian, and I even once made the Prodigy List, but only for a brief moment of fame.”

“Jiang Rulong, however, is said to be the strongest prodigy ever born since the founding of Great Qian.”

“To be honest, compared with him, I fall far short.”

Mo Xingyun had once been so proud that his arrogance had made him famous.

Even he admitted defeat.

That showed just how terrifying Crown Prince Jiang Rulong was.

“Jiang Rulong possesses the Dragon-Blood Sacred Body. The day he was born, a phantom dragon descended from the heavens, shaking the world.”

“At the age of three, he entered the Myriad Phenomena Realm. At six, the Divine Sea Realm. At ten, the Heavenly Human Realm. And now, though he is only twenty, he is already a ninth-level Marquis Realm expert, and may break through to the Heavenly King Realm at any time!”

The Royal Martial Academy held many geniuses.

Among them were the Four Great Prodigies.

But even they were only at the Heavenly Human Realm, and had not yet even reached the Marquis Realm.

Yet Jiang Rulong, at the age of twenty, was already charging toward the Heavenly King Realm.

If he succeeded, he would become the youngest Heavenly King Realm expert in the history of the Great Qian Dynasty.

That would be more than a record. It would be a legend.

Compared with Jiang Rulong, whether Dongfang Li or Nangong Tianxuan, they were as insignificant as ants beneath an elephant’s foot.

“The Prodigy List is issued by the Heavenly Secret Holy Land. Its accuracy is astonishing, and its value is immeasurably high.”

“The list records the top prodigies under thirty from across the entire Eastern Domain. There are a thousand spots in all, and anyone who makes the list is enough to become renowned throughout the world.”

“At my best, I was ranked six hundred and sixty-sixth.”

“And Crown Prince Jiang Rulong is currently ranked one hundred and first.”

“You must understand that the Eastern Domain contains five hundred states, dozens of holy lands, as well as immortal powers, ancient desolate clans, and more.”

“Though Great Qian is strong, in the context of the entire Eastern Domain, it is nothing remarkable.”

“Jiang Rulong being ranked one hundred and first means he has already surpassed the vast majority of prodigies. Even some holy land holy sons and holy maidens fall slightly short of him.”

Mo Xingyun spoke in a low voice, laying bare Jiang Rulong’s terrifying strength.

Ranked one hundred and first.

That meant that across the entire Eastern Domain, among those under thirty, there were only one hundred stronger than Jiang Rulong.

And more importantly, throughout all of Great Qian, only Jiang Rulong had made it onto the Prodigy List.

As for people like Dongfang Li and Nangong Tianxuan, though they were known as one of the Four Great Prodigies, that reputation existed only within Great Qian.

They could not even grasp the edge of the Prodigy List.

Deep backing.

Heaven-defying talent.

Overwhelming strength.

Jiang Rulong was the kind of man upon whom countless people pinned their hopes, expecting him to inherit the throne and lead Great Qian to greater heights.

To make such a person your enemy was by no means wise.

But Jun Wushuang knew that, because of Ji Qingchen, he and Jiang Rulong were fated to cross paths.

Still.

So what?

“To be my enemy is to court death.”

A cold glint rose in Jun Wushuang’s heart.

In the eyes of others, he was an unparalleled prodigy, invincible and untouchable.

But in Jun Wushuang’s eyes, he was nothing more than the crown prince of a small nation.

Never mind a crown prince. Even if it were a holy son or a divine son, if they dared to provoke him, he would kill them without mercy.

“Ji Qingchen must die. Whoever dares stand in my way, I will kill as well!”

Jun Wushuang had no grievance with Jiang Rulong, but Ji Qingchen was someone he had to kill.

Even Jiang Rulong could not protect her!

“Sir Jun, Sir Jun, are you there?”

Just then, a familiar voice rang out.

Jun Wushuang set aside his thoughts and looked up. He saw a familiar, graceful figure hurrying in from outside, her face full of anxiety.

It was Jiang Rulan.

Jiang Rulan was Jiang Hongru’s granddaughter. Jun Wushuang had met her back in Jiangning City.

However, Jiang Rulan seldom appeared. In the several months since Jun Wushuang had arrived in the imperial capital, he had not once seen her.

Now she came rushing over in a state of panic, as if some urgent matter had arisen.

Had something happened to the Duke of the South?

Jun Wushuang instantly formed a guess.

At that moment, when Jiang Rulan saw Jun Wushuang, her eyes lit up at once. As though she had grasped a lifeline, she hurried toward him.

“Please, Sir Jun, save us!”