Like this, another four years came and went in the blink of an eye. The three eldest Princes of the Tor Royal Family began to grow into their own, claiming milestones the likes of which few had ever seen.
The First Prince, although a far inferior martial talent in comparison to his full-blood younger brother, became a scholar of worthy note. At just fifteen years old, he graduated from the Four Kingdoms' Institute with top honors and had already begun to take on large responsibilities in the Tor Royal Court. Many claimed that even if he didn't gain great combat prowess, his charisma and steadily growing faction would be enough to make a mark during the Coronation Games.
Still, this was just a matter of perspective. Even though the First Prince was inferior to his third brother, in comparison to the other young talents, even among all four Kingdoms, he wouldn't fall out of the top twenty.
The Second Prince was far more lowkey than his elder brother. He seemed to have an inherent laziness to him that drove his mother, Second Concubine Catalina, crazy. That said, his love of money shone through with a fierceness. He seemed to believe that only when one was rich would they be able to recline as they pleased. Who cared about power? Power led to responsibility which only led to more work. This philosophy ironically resulted in him working himself to the bone, but now he had the financial matters of Tor Kingdom in his grasp. In fact, there were rumors that he had already infiltrated the economies of Opes, Lantes and Viri Kingdom as well.
Then there was the Third Prince. Truth be told, of the three, the general population knew the least about him. This could only be expected considering sects were barred from taking part in worldly affairs for the most part. However, there were still some cases where the curiosity of the public could be satisfied.
Just three years ago, a beast hoard ravaged the outer fringes of Tor Kingdom. It became clear very soon that the secular army didn't have a chance against them. As such, the Heavenly Body Sect had no choice but to dispatch a group of disciples in order to fulfill their responsibilities.
After years of being hidden from the world, Third Prince Cayden finally reappeared. He swept through the battlefield valiantly, bearing the crest of Inner Disciple with pride. At just ten years old, the Third Prince had not only already become an eighth stage Awakening realm expert, but he was actually capable of fighting second order beasts already!
One had to understand that beasts were more powerful than humans. A first order beast was too much for a normal Awakening realm expert to handle, while the second order was far out of reach. Yet, the Third Prince shattered this notion completely!
If this was all there was, it would be shocking enough, yet the Third Prince made a second appearance just one year ago during the Sect Gathering Tournament. At just twelve years old, he placed top twenty against competitors double and sometimes triple his age!
A twelve-year-old Pulse Opening realm expert had actually been birthed to the Tor Royal Clan!
As for the Fourth Prince, he had faded into the background. It was to the point where no one wasted their sneers or holier-than-thou words on him. He was simply a forgotten entity, one that maybe only a few individuals remembered the existence of.
At this moment, this forgotten Prince sat clad in black robes, his face expressionless and his eyes closed.
There was an atmosphere of calm relaxation around him. A small girl who was at most five years old splashed her feet near a stream while a breath-taking woman who seemed like an older version of her danced freely as her cascading dark hair flowed in the wind.
"Fourth Brother, tell me, is your big sister beautiful?" Second Princess Isla spun in a mesmerizing yellow dress. Despite her childish demeanor, she was already a woman who had a child half as old as Ryu. That said, one would never assume so by her high-pitched whining.
"Second sister, how could I possibly answer that question?" Ryu's lips slanted into a bitter smile.
"Your second sister believes you have the best eyes on this entire Plane, is that not enough?" Isla took a seat beside her little brother, ruffling his black-dyed hair. "Look at you, you're so handsome. Don't you want big sister to find you a little wife?"
In the corner of the courtyard, kneading away as god knows what, was Imperial Doula Miriam. She smiled at the Second Princess' adorable nature. It was rare that the two Princesses came down from the Heavenly Body Sect, but when they did, the aging Doula felt gratified. Among those of Tor Palace, they were the only ones who actually acknowledged Little Ryu's existence.
One might wonder which of the two requirements the Princesses of the Tor Kingdom met to be allowed to enter the sect. Well, the truth was neither. Instead, they actually both married experts of the Sect, thus fulfilling the requirements for an unspoken third rule for allowed entry. Their husbands were quite powerful also, having both become Outer Elders of the Sect at relatively young ages.
Ryu smiled lightly. "And which little girl would you sentence to become a widow?"
The Second Princess pouted, knocking Ryu on the head. "Don't say such depressing things. Does this big sister of yours look like the type to allow you to die? Now be serious.
"The little girl of second brother's Garis Clan is quite cute. She's only a year older than you and this big sister's intuition tells her that she's taken a liking to you. There's also the Kunal Clan's young miss. She's already five years older than you, but that's okay. When you two get older and she gets droopy, big sister gives you permission to take a young and ripe concubine."
Ryu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Were these really the kind of words a mother should say when her five-year-old daughter was just a few meters away? The value system of this Kingdom really was too backwards.
Before Ryu could answer, the gate of his courtyard banged open, revealing the disheveled appearance of a beauty that lost out to the Second Princess in no way. In her arms, a small boy clung to her neck, clearly perturbed by his mother's erratic behavior.
"First Sister?" Ryu and Isla spoke simultaneously.
First Princess Dahlia did her best to catch her breath, taking in a deep gulp of air before speaking. "The Natural Order Sect has been destroyed!"