“I am Ling Han,” Ling Han stood up, offered a faint smile, and then sat back down.
Was that all?
Ling Clan, which Great Clan was that?
Everyone was very curious. There was no Ling Clan in the Eight Great Clans of the imperial city–could it be that the Ling Clan was a Great Clan from some other city? That was possible, because there were thirty-six great cities in Rain Country, and there was a number of Great Clans in each city. That brought the total of Great Clans in the whole country to over a hundred–who could say with certainty that they knew all of them?
However, the most surprised was definitely Qi Yong Ye. He was the only one who knew Liu Yu Tong’s real identity. To be able to have a princess of the Liu Clan wait upon him, what kind of colossal existence could this Ling Clan be?
Whatever it was, he still had to maintain a good relationship with Ling Han.
Qi Yong Ye was an expert at manipulating the mood, and very quickly, everyone’s attention was again focused on him. There was a round of laughter in the Main Hall, as everyone felt that this prince really had a unique charm, causing many of them to be of a mind to swear loyalty under his banner.
“Announcing the arrival of the First Prince!” It was at this very moment that a loud shout was heard from outside.
The First Prince has arrived?
Everyone was extremely shocked. Who didn’t know that the First Prince and the Fourth Prince were currently embroiled in a fierce competition for the King’s position? Why had he suddenly come here?
“Fourth Brother!” Very soon, the First Prince appeared at the doorway of the Main Hall. He was a very handsome man in his thirties. He had a tall and sturdy figure with an exceptional bearing. He was all smiles as he took great strides towards Qi Yong Ye, looking nothing like a rival or enemy of the latter.
Qi Yong Ye stood and walked forwards to greet the First Prince. He was also all smiles as he said, “Eldest Brother, what are you doing here?”
When the two of them neared each other, they both tacitly stopped their advance. They both watched each other with smiles, yet neither had any intention of extending their arms to embrace the other in greeting.
“My Fourth Brother is hosting a banquet. I, as the Eldest Brother, must of course come to show my support,” the First Prince said, smiling.
Qi Yong Ye could not help but frown slightly at this. The reason he was hosting this banquet was to gain the will of the people to gather support for when he ascends to the position of the king in the future. There was no way that the First Prince did not know this. Then the reason he was here was obvious–he was here to ruin things for him.
“Hehe, then I’ll thank you, Eldest Brother!” He said in a very false manner, though his face still wore a dazzling smile.
The First Prince paused, and said, “I’ve also brought a noble guest with me!”
“Oh, and who might that be?” Qi Yong Ye asked. He knew that the First Prince would not have come just to show his face. The latter would definitely have a more substantial move planned.
“Brother Guo, please!” the First Prince called in the direction of the doorway.
Everyone turned to take a look at the First Prince’s ‘noble guest’ and saw a young man in gray walk in. He was of medium height and his features were very ordinary, but when they saw the badge that hung on his chest, there was a slight change in all of their expressions.
Yellow Grade medium level alchemist!
Alchemists were an existence that would be welcomed anywhere, as well as an existence that no self-respecting party could lack. If a party possessed the aid and support of an alchemist, then to individual cultivators, or even smaller powers, this party would be very attractive as an ally.
Martial artists were too dependent on alchemical medicines.
“Fourth Brother, let me introduce to you. This here is Guo Ding Quan, Brother Guo, and he’s a Yellow Grade medium level alchemist. And Brother Guo’s Master is even more impressive. He is the one and only Grandmaster Duanmu, who has been acclaimed as one who excels in both sword skill and alchemy!” The First Prince wore a dazzling smile, and was feeling very cheerful.
On the other hand, Qi Yong Ye felt a bitter taste on his tongue. He knew that the First Prince was here to ruin things, and unfortunately, it seemed like he was going to succeed!
The fact that Guo Ding Quan was a Yellow Grade medium level alchemist was not the main point. The crux of the matter was that his Master, Duanmu Chang Feng, was an actual Black Grade low level alchemist! Although currently, the First Prince was only close with Guo Ding Quan, but a disciple could also in a sense represent the master’s partiality.
The First Prince was issuing a signal to everyone: he had a very good relationship with Duanmu Chang Feng and has obtained the latter’s support.
This definitely added a very heavy bargaining chip to his pile, while also being a very heavy blow to Qi Yong Ye.
The weight of an alchemist was too much!
“Brother Guo!” Qi Yong Ye said in greeting, still maintaining a wide smile. He could not chase the First Prince and Guo Ding Quan away, or rumors would definitely spread, saying that he was a petty character–as a person who was seated in the upper echelons of society, he definitely had to present himself as a generous man. If he couldn’t do even this small thing, then what right did he have to inherit the position of the king?
Guo Ding Quan was very arrogant. Even towards the Fourth Prince’s greeting, he only replied with a ‘hn’. He was really displaying an all-out arrogance and pride of an alchemist.
This profession was really too scarce, so all alchemists were treated with utmost respect and as a result, completely spoilt.
“Brother Guo, please sit!” Qi Yong Ye was secretly angered, but still displayed a very polite demeanor.
Guo Ding Quan’s eyes swept over the scene, before walking forwards in a straight line.
If he was sitting, then he was naturally going to sit in the first row. Otherwise, how could he preserve his pride? Because all the tables here were arranged five in one row, and there was not much of a gap in between tables, so on both sides, there was a very wide aisle; so, Guo Ding Quan could only choose to walk up the left aisle or the right aisle.
The unfortunate thing was that he chose to walk straight up the left aisle, and arrived at Ling Han’s table–but whether or not it was because he had spotted Liu Yu Tong, that was something that only he himself knew.
“You can get lost now!” He said coldly.
How overbearing. The first thing he said upon opening his mouth was to tell someone else to get lost. Did he really think he was the emperor?
However, he himself was a Yellow Grade medium level alchemist, while his Master was a Black Grade alchemist, so he really did have the confidence to be so overbearing.
Ling Han smiled. In the eyes of others, this meant that he was apparently going to give in to Guo Ding Quan’s overbearing demand, but Liu Yu Tong knew that it was the exact opposite. Ling Han was angry. Not only that, he was very angry. He said, “Why don’t you try saying that again?”
“Get lost! Get lost! Get lost!” Guo Ding Quan naturally did not feel scared of this subtle threat. He not only said it again, he even emphasized his demand three times.
A coldness flashed through Ling Han’s eyes. In an instant, his hand flashed out, taking hold of Guo Ding Quan’s neck. With a harsh tug and a ‘peng’, Guo Ding Quan’s face was instantly pressed firmly onto the table. The shock wave of his face meeting the table caused the wine jar to topple over, and immediately, wine splashed all over his face.
“Wu-” Guo Ding Quan was firmly pressed down onto the table, and he started struggling vigorously, intending to get out of Ling Han’s hold. Yet it was all pointless effort.
The Main Hall was dead silent.
This guy was really too great, he even dared to hit an alchemist!
Everyone sucked their breath in shock. He had balls, he was a real man!
The First Prince was initially startled, before suddenly erupting in fury. He never imagined that someone would actually dare to beat up Guo Ding Quan. Initially, his aura had completely overwhelmed Qi Yong Ye, but with this show of force, Guo Ding Quan was not the only one who had lost his face. He was also embarrassed.
He strode quickly towards Ling Han and his right hand flashed out, intending to grab onto Ling Han’s neck, shouting, “I command you to release him!”
“Shua,” a strong wind blew past, and Liu Yu Tong had already acted, blocking the First Prince’s action.
The First Prince was stunned by her beauty at first, but immediately his gaze regained focus. Everything could be sacrificed for the king’s position, and Guo Ding Quan was a trump card that decided whether or not he could defeat the Fourth Prince, thus he could not allow any problems to emerge.
“Step down!” He shouted. He did not counterattack immediately because he did not want to harm such a beautiful maiden if he could avoid it.
Liu Yu Tong only gave a wave of her hand, and said, “Get lost!”
Get lost…! She actually told the First Prince to get lost… she was indeed extremely daring.
When Qi Yong Ye saw this, he could not help smiling. He was the only one who knew that Liu Yu Tong was a noble daughter of the Liu Clan. If the First Prince offended her, that was definitely not anything good for him. But while this would be a bad thing for the First Prince, for himself, this would be a good thing indeed.