King Qi’s heir opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to hug his dad and cry to him to take revenge, but he suddenly remembered the vow he’d made with Zu An. He couldn’t ask his father to help. As such, he resisted this urge.

Besides, given his father’s nature, tearfully complaining to him might just achieve the opposite effect.

When Han Fengqiu saw him holding back his words, he spoke up, out of consideration for him. “It was that Zu An brat.”

“Zu An?” King Qi frowned. “Are you kidding me? He only has six to seven ranks of cultivation. How was he able to hurt you this badly?”

The young heir’s face went entirely red. He was also incredibly baffled by this. He wanted to understand how he had managed to lose so horribly to that brat, despite his own eight ranks of cultivation.

Han Fengqiu offered an explanation. “That fellow’s movement technique is rather bizarre, and not even I could catch him. The young master was surely at a disadvantage.”

“Not even you could catch him?” King Qi was surprised to hear this. Even if he discounted his own son’s strength, he was very familiar with how strong Han Fengqiu was. He was well-stocked in both cultivation and combat experience. If even he couldn’t catch Zu An, then what sort of demon did that make him?

Han Fengqiu felt his cheeks grow warm. He quickly added, “It’s all because of the restrictions regarding flight around the capital. Without them, I would have caught him no matter how fast he is. Even so, I almost took him down, but Madam Yu’s subordinate, Uncle Fu, interfered. I wasn’t able to do any more than bring the young heir back here.”

“Madam Yu?” King Qi’s breathing became hurried. “Are you talking about Yu Yanluo?”

“Yes, it was none other than her,” replied Han Fengqiu.

King Qi’s heir saw his father’s composure slip momentarily, and knew that he should have been outraged for his mother’s sake. However, he knew that Yu Yanluo had thrown the entire capital into disarray before. As a man, he actually sympathized with his father.

“She’s actually returned to the capital?” King Qi felt a twinge of excitement. He began to pace around the room, finally stopping at a window and looking out into the distance. The fire in his eyes gradually simmered down. “It’s a pity, unfortunately. Ten years ago, I would have disregarded everything else and rushed over to meet with her, but I am no longer in the mood.”

“It is a blessing for us subjects if the ruler cares more about the greater situation,” said Han Fengqiu obsequiously. 

King Qi turned around. “Why would Yu Yanluo save Zu An?”

Han Fengqiu shook his head. He didn’t know why either.

The young heir spoke up, his voice quivering. “Perhaps it was because Zu An saved their lives…”

He told his father about the startled horse.

King Qi nodded. “This plan of yours was rather good, and you used the law to your advantage in every move. You didn’t let my teachings go to waste.”

Zhao Zhi was overjoyed. “Thank you, father!”

He wasn’t King Qi’s only son, so he was also under immense pressure. He obviously wanted to increase the gulf between himself and the other potential heirs, to prevent them from having any thoughts they shouldn’t have.

Where did his advantage come from? Obviously, it was from his father doting on him.

Unexpectedly, King Qi gave a cold snort. “Unfortunately, this plan wasn’t perfect. Since it was supposed to be a trap, why didn’t you arrange your own carriage?”

“I was afraid it would be too obvious,” explained Zhao Zhi, “The Liu, Meng, and Bi clans within the imperial court would surely make a fuss over it, so I decided to target a passing carriage instead. We carefully observed it beforehand. That carriage was completely ordinary. How could we have known that it would be Yu Yanluo's carriage?”

“Hmph, a slight bit of negligence can ruin everything,” King Qi said, reprimanding him. “So what if anyone in the imperial court suspects you? Once irrefutable evidence is brought forward, they will do no more than bark a couple of times. Because of your uncertainty, though, the entire situation was left in ruins. You saved a little, only to lose a lot. Remember, you have to be clear on what kind of risks you can shoulder, and which risks you cannot afford to take.”

“Thank you for your advice, Father!” Zhao Zhi rose to offer a respectful bow. Unfortunately, the pain in his knees immediately made sweat trickle down his face.

“Your knees are crushed?” Only now did King Qi begin to examine his injuries. As he did so, his expression darkened.

“I am an incompetent child. I’ve let you down, Father.” Zhao Zhi knew that his father hated excuses the most. It was better to just humble himself and admit his inadequacy.

Sure enough, some tension drained out of King Qi’s expression when he heard this. He reached out his hand and gently caressed his kneecaps. Two white lights appeared in his palms.

Zhao Zhi’s brows knitted together in pain, but in moments, his expression gradually eased. “Thank you, Father!”

Han Fengqiu sighed in admiration. As expected, his master’s cultivation was deep and profound, and he was able to heal such serious injuries so easily. I took a look at it myself earlier on, yet I couldn’t do anything about it.

“I’ve only prevented any permanent damage. You still require the physicians to treat you. It will take a few months for you to make a full recovery.” King Qi’s voice was cold. “No further harm will come from this. Think on your mistakes, and do not disgrace yourself further.”

Zhao Zhi seemed slightly dissatisfied by this, but he did not dare to retort. “Understood!”

His hatred of Zu An was already at its absolute limit. Once he recovered, he was going to chop that fellow’s corpse into ten thousand pieces!

You have successfully trolled Zhao Zhi for 999… 999… 999…

“Now that that’s taken care of, tell me the details of your battle against Zu An.” King Qi smoothed his clothing out and sat down, his posture perfectly upright.

He was perplexed by Zu An’s apparent combat strength. Was it because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? If it really was so incredible, didn’t that mean that, if His Majesty cultivated it…?

Zhao Zhi endured the pain and did his best to sit up. Then, he told his father about the battle.

King Qi listened, analyzing what happened. “Zu An’s strange movement technique should be Eunuch Mi’s Sunflower Phantasm. Zu An was probably designated as his inheritor, and he most likely passed it onto him while in Brightmoon City. However, even though the Sunflower Phantasm has its strong points, it shouldn’t be performing at this level.”

Han Fengqiu spoke. “My King, now that you mention it, I too sense that the youngster’s movement skill is similar to the rumored Sunflower Phantasm. However, something was different about it, although even I cannot put my finger on what it is.”

King Qi nodded. He looked back at his son, his tone growing slightly displeased. “Even with a strange movement technique to aid him, you still have eight ranks of cultivation. How did you get beaten so miserably?”

Zhao Zhi’s face warmed. He quickly said, “I held the advantage throughout the entire fight. However, because of his strange movement technique, I was sick of playing hide-and-seek, so I used Holy Lightning of the Hegemon. I wanted to trap him within a sea of lightning.”

Han Fengqiu nodded. He had chosen to fill the sky with swords because he had similar thoughts. An area-of-effect skill was needed to deal with such a strange movement technique.

“And then?” King Qi was unmoved. His son’s wretched state told him that it had been the wrong choice.

Zhao Zhi’s voice was full of grief and indignation. “A giant ball of water suddenly appeared and soaked me through, so all of the thunder clouds attacked me instead! Once I was completely paralyzed, that bastard Zu An… he…”

His mood fell even further when he thought about how he’d been stepped on, and then had his knees crushed. His eyes couldn’t help but begin to water.

King Qi stared at him. When he saw that his son didn’t cry, he nodded in satisfaction. “You’ve had too easy of a life so far. This is a good lesson for you.”

Zhao Zhi didn’t dare retort. He only replied, “Yes!”

Han Fengqiu quickly spoke up for the young heir. “This means that there should’ve been a water element expert hiding nearby, stepping in and acting against the young master at the crucial moment. If not for this, the young heir would have defeated Zu An.”

“A water element expert?” After turning it over in his mind, King Qi accepted this conclusion. Zu An had apparently awakened the ice element, so he shouldn’t have been able to use the water element as well. There had to be a water element cultivator around. However, who could it be?

He began to run through all of the water element experts in the capital. Those who would dare raise a hand against Zhao Zhi had to be above Han Fengqiu’s level. Several candidates appeared, but none of them seemed too likely. However, after further consideration, it seemed to him that every single one of them might have had a motive. His brow furrowed deeply.

“Once I recover, I will definitely skin Zu An alive!” spat Zhao Zhi hatefully. “Only then can I satisfy this hatred.”

After listening to their analysis, he too realized that, no matter how formidable Zu An was, only a water element user could have saved him in that situation. Zu An himself only relied on his strange movement technique. In a fair fight, the brat was no match for him.

King Qi gave a fierce snort. “Have you not brought enough shame to yourself? You should focus on your recovery. Once you recover, you’re not allowed to go anywhere. Do not forget that it was your idiotic self that took that absurd oath!”

Zhao Zhi began to panic. “Won’t it be fine as long as I do not rely on the backing of our clan? I’ll be more prepared next time! I can easily take Zu An down by myself.”

King Qi gave him a disappointed look. “Do you think that your actions only reflect on yourself? Your father is facing a crucial moment, and the entire court’s eyes are on me. I’ve always maintained a clean reputation, so that there is nothing for them to use against me. If you cause a ruckus, won’t we be handing them a weapon to aim at us?”

Zhao Zhi now understood his father’s misgivings, but even so, he still felt dissatisfied. “How can we leave the matter like this? He broke both of my legs! If he doesn’t pay the price, no one will take our clan seriously. Won’t that bring us more trouble? Shaming me isn’t a big deal, but this humiliates you as well!”

King Qi sneered. “Don’t try to use your petty tricks on me. Did I say I was going to let him go?”