Chapter 0687: Hacked At

On the white jade square, everyone was still deeply focused upon the burning stick of purple incense in the First Princess' hand. As time passed, the stick of incense gradually began to burn out.

The people on the First Princess' side had expressions that began to shift.

She herself was tightly clutching it with all her fingers, and a look of anxiety began to surface in her calm, phoenix eyes.

Principal Pang had not appeared.

In the square, a few whispers began to arise as people began to look at the First Princess questioningly. They had begun to doubt the truth of the words which she had declared earlier.

had Principal Pang really given the previous Emperor his word?

The promise of a King was as heavy as a mountain. If he truly had done so, how could he not appear at this time of crisis?

Vice Principal Su Xin was similarly observing the situation. She knitted her eyebrows and said in a low voice, "That stick of purple incense was definitely given by the Principal himself. I can feel his resonant power signature upon it. What Luanyu said was not a lie, but the Principal is unable to appear... It looks like the situation in the Umbra Cave is worse than we had imagined. We will have to initiate another purging mission after the coronation ceremony."

Mentor Cao Sheng, who looked boorish and stank of alcohol, then asked, "If it was a promise made by the Principal, then where should we stand? Do we need to help out?"

Vice Principal Su Xin pondered over the question momentarily before shaking her head. "Principal Pang made this promise as an individual, not necessarily from his identity as the Astral Sage College's Principal. Otherwise, if the Academic Federation were to ask questions and investigate the situation thoroughly, this would undoubtedly create trouble. Since that is the case, the college will remain firmly neutral."

Although she was biased towards the First Princess, this battle would embroil the entire Xia Kingdom. If the Astral Sage College were to stand on the side of the First Princess, they would have abandoned their stance of neutrality and the numerous powers of the Xia Kingdom would be on guard towards them. Most importantly, the Academic Federation did not permit such actions.

Principal Pang was a King and could therefore act more willfully. Similarly, the Academic Federation would also give him a berth of leniency. Even then, allowing him to meddle in certain affairs in his private capacity was the absolute limit, and he would never be allowed to influence the political affairs of a kingdom, especially in the name of the college.

When the other mentors heard her explanation, they nodded and continued to watch the situation quietly.

The purple smoke continued to ascend until the very last shred of the stick burned into ashes, which everyone watched fall to the ground.

A few burning embers landed on the First Princess' dainty palm, but she remained unmoving, her disheartened eyes observing the handful of hot ash.

Had her last hope burned up with the incense?

A sense of sadness arose in her heart. All the years of hard work had been in vain after all.

"Luanyu, give up. Principal Pang has not appeared, and this demonstrates that he understands that I'm the best choice. With the Xia Kingdom in my hands, I will bring about a new era of glory and prosperity," the Regent slowly enunciated with sincerity.

At the same time, a hint of coldness flashed past his eyes. It looked like the youth's words were right. Pang Qianyuan simply could not leave the Umbra Cave, and it seemed almost ridiculous that this was the First Princess' last straw.

In any case, this was great. Without Pang Qianyuan around, everything could be controlled by him.

"Luanyu, if you wish to continue struggling, there will only be one result. The Xia Kingdom will be thrown into internal conflict and the peace and stability we once had will be lost. At that point in time, there will be countless wasted sacrifices and you will be the biggest criminal to the kingdom. I feel that this is a result your father never wanted to see. Thus, Luanyu, take a step back. Without the Kingdom Protecting Formation, the Xia Kingdom cannot be complete," the Regent continued sanctimoniously.

The surroundings were silent as everyone glanced towards the First Princess, awaiting her final decision.

The First Princess seemed to be in a trance as her eyes showed that she was struggling within. The Regent was blackmailing her morally, but his words were not false. If she refused to acquiesce, both parties would immediately engage in bloody slaughter, and the end result would lead to a civil war. At the same time, countless individuals would died pointlessly.

The Xia Kingdom would suffer from a severe blow as a result.

With that in mind, the First Princess' lips trembled with sadness. She knew that her uncle had found her weakness.

More importantly, Pang Qianyuan's absence had caused her to lose the opportunity for an effortless victory.

She sighed gloomily and was about to speak.

"Hold on, hold on! I don't agree!" Suddenly, a voice piped out of nowhere, interrupting the vacuous silence. Everyone turned towards the source of this noise.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it came from House Luolan's seats.

They saw a certain Li Luo solemnly stand up with an ancient blade in hand.

Everyone had a strange expression on their faces, with some almost uncontrollably bursting into laughter.

You don't agree? Just who did you think you are? House Luolan's situation might have changed, but Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan had yet to return!

This snotty brat who had yet to grow up clearly couldn't read the situation! How could a Fiend Palace Tier youngling speak out here?

"Li Luo..." Lu Qing'er worriedly looked at Li Luo with her crystal eyes.

"Keke. The newly ascended House Lord of House Luolan is like a calf who doesn't fear the tiger." Vice President Ning Que of the Golden Dragon Bank laughed. His words seemed to imply bravery, but they were really suggesting that Li Luo was reckless.

On the other hand, Yu Hongxi stared at Li Luo with a strange look in her eyes, and her shapely eyebrows wrinkled slightly. She couldn't say why, but when she glanced at Li Luo, she could feel a strange aura emanating from him that even led her to feel a sense of suppression.

"Where did that brat Li Luo get his courage from? He might be at odds with Gong Yuan, but even the First Princess was about to compromise. Now that he's stood up like this, won't the First Princess be dragged down with him?" one of the mentors from Astral Sage College pointed out with a tone of surprise.

Mentor Cao Sheng stroked his chin as he asked, "Li Luo is normally very astute, so why is he suddenly acting so befuddled?"

Vice Principal Su Xin sized up Li Luo with a bewildering look as well.

The rest of the faction leaders continued to coldly watch from the sides, but they held hopes for a heated show. Everyone could see that the First Princess was about to give in, but Li Luo had inadvertently rushed in headfirst. Was he planning to incite conflict between the two?

"It looks like House Lord Li Luo does not want the Xia Kingdom to remain peaceful. Still, that makes sense. The rift between House Luolan and the Regent is deep, and if the First Princess and the Regent struggle to the death, it will only benefit House Luolan. It would deplete the Regent's strength, but it would similarly squander the support the First Princess has provided to them," Zhu Qinghuo said with a wry smile.

His words were insidious, and his intention was to widen the gulf in the relationship between them and the First Princess, seeding doubts.

The Regent continued to float in the air with an unchanging expression as he indifferently looked at Li Luo. "Oh? What does House Lord Li Luo want to say?"

"Nothing much. I just feel that you're bullying someone and I had to speak out. You want the throne, yet you don't want others to resist. Do you really think that honest people are so easy to bully?" Li Luo chortled.

The Regent shot a glance at him as he placed a hand behind his back.

"So, what do you want?"

Li Luo gave a knowing smirk as he answered, "I just want to hack at you once."

As soon as he said that, he lifted up the Golden-Jade Onyx-Elephant Blade and struck out towards the Regent with a simple motion.

Seeing Li Luo's offensive action, the Regent couldn't help but shake his head. A puny Fiend Palace Tier kid wanted to wave his weapon before a fifth-grade Duke? When had he become so delirious?

Yet at the moment he had these misgivings in his heart, alarm bells suddenly went off in his head.

At that very moment, Vice Principal Su Xin, Yu Hongxi, Qin Zhenjiang, Zhu Qinghuo, and the rest of the stronger Dukes turned their attention towards Li Luo with shocked expressions.

They could all feel that Li Luo's seemingly simple chop had cleaved apart the skies above the royal palace.