"I knew this day would come soon... I'll pray for your success. You must take care of yourself and fei'er in this long journey" The woman said as she gazed at the boy and the girl with a loving gaze.
" I will mother... I promise you that both of us will get selected and work really hard to become the strongest cultivators in the whole land. We will make you proud." Second Prince Yue Luan replied to his mother with full confidence.
"I have full confidence in the both of you. Also, there's never a day when I'm not proud of you both," The Woman said with a gentle smile. She was the first concubine of the King and the mother of the Second Prince, Yue Luan, and the Third Princess, Yue Fei.
She was known as Ming Lan. Once considered as one of the most beautiful women in the kingdom,she was considered the woman that the king favored the most. That was, until the day her health started deteriorating.
No one knew what caused it and even the greatest of Physicians couldn't find the cause or treat her. She slowly began losing her place in the palace as she spent most of her day in her room.
"We will come back soon with the good news, mother" Third Princess, Yue Fei said in her usual melodious voice.
__________________________________
In another room, a similar conversation was taking place as the First Princess, Yue Miao discussing their travel preparations with her brother, Third Prince, Yue Ding.
"I've finally achieved a breakthrough. Now I'm at the same level as Yue Luan, the 9th stage of the Spirit Establishment Realm. I'll definitely get selected by the sects along with you. " Third Prince Yue Ding said as he looked at his sister with a proud smile. He had flaming red hair and looked to be the same age as the Second Prince, Yue Luan.
"You should never be overconfident, little brother. Although Yue Luan is considered strong and a genius in this kingdom, he is nothing on the grand scale of things. There are many Second Rank kingdoms in this world, some of which are even stronger than ours. Just imagine how many geniuses like Yue Luan would those kingdoms have. They would even have some truly extraordinary Cultivators, that we can't even hope to be compared with. " First Princess Yue Miao said in a serious tone. Her black eyes matched her black hair as she sat comfortably in a chair. She looked to be around 19-20 years old.
"Then there are even the cultivators of the First Rank Kingdom. They have many more resources and have access to much more powerful skills than us. Although people like us are considered geniuses... I can confidently say that we are nothing in front of the real geniuses of the first rank kingdoms... They are the ones considered real monsters. " She continued with a serious look on her face.
" Are you trying to demotivate me?"Prince Yue Ding asked as he looked down.
" I'm not. I'm just trying to make you aware of the reality so that you don't offend someone like them. We have a good chance to be selected but we should keep in mind that there are mountains that we shouldn't cross." Yue Miao said in a serious tone as she gazed at Yue Ding.
_____________________________________
" Brother? Are you sure that you want to leave right now? Why don't you come with everyone else tomorrow? " A girl asked the boy standing in front of him. The boy had a small bag in front of him as he looked ready to leave. The girl wore a spotless white skirt that came down to her knees along with a blue robe around her shoulders.
"It's fine... I feel like travelling alone. You should come with our brothers and sisters" The boy said as a gentle smile appeared on his face. He looked to be around 20-21 years old.
"Do you really not want to see them? You have even left the crown because you didn't want a conflict with the second brother and third brother... " The girl said with a sad smile on her face.
"I never said I did it for them. It was just that I really didn't want the crown.I want to be free of the politics of the royal family. " The boy said as he forced a smile.
"You know, you are really bad at lying. Others might misunderstand you, but I know the reality. I'm really amazed at how no one actually seems to be able to understand you. Half the people actually believe that you were afraid of taking responsibility while the other half thinks that you don't care about the Royal Family. None of them knows that no one loves the Yue Clan more than big brother" The girl said as she carefully gazed at the boy's face.
"Who will I care for, if not for my family? We lost our mother at such a young age, It made me understand the importance of family. Even if they have a different mother, they are still my brothers and sisters. I can't get into conflict with them for the crown as the crown really does possess no attraction for me. I'd be much happier if one of them can become the Crown Prince, while I pursue cultivation with a free mind." He said with a shaky smile on his face.
" Sigh... I wish you could be more honest with yourself and express your real emotions in front of others...I still hope that you could travel with us though. It could be such a good opportunity." She said with a smile as she held the sleeve of the boy's shirt and tugged at it.
"It's fine. We will meet each other soon in the Sect Entrance Exam" The boy said with a wry smile on his face as he freed his arm.
" Bye my dear sister" He said with a gentle smile as he picked up his bag and turned back. He walked towards the exit.
"Bye... brother..." She muttered as he gazed at the boy's back.
__________________________________
Back inside Long clan mansion, the mood was similar as people prepared to leave for Xuan Kingdom.
The mood was completely different than it was a few weeks ago, when the whole clan was in chaos when they found out that Long Chen went missing once again.
They tried to find his whereabouts when Xue and Mei came out with a letter that, they said, was found inside his bedroom when cleaning
Long Chen's grandfather, Long Ren read the letter as he fumed in anger.
"That troublesome grandson of mine!!! Can't he stay at home for a few days like a good kid, without making us worried??? 'Going out to train' ? My a*s !!! If he wanted to train, he should've just told me! I would teach him what true training is!!! " Long Ren muttered with an annoyed look on his face.
Sima Ziyi couldn't help but be worried as she heard this news. Even though she was somewhat relieved that Long Chen wasn't kidnapped and went out of his own will, she still couldn't help but be concerned about his safety.
The Long Clan tried finding his whereabouts as they sent their people everywhere. Even the northern black forest was combed through by the Long clan as they doubted that Long Chen again went there to train.
Days passed, but the search never came to fruition. The Long Clan had no choice but to wait for Long Chen's willing return. Thankfully, Long Ren had an special artifact that he had linked to Long Chen. Although it couldn't find his location, it could tell if he was alive or not.
Today was a day filled with excitement amongst the youths of the clan as the daughter of Long Clan's Grand Elder Long Mu, Long Xue Ying had finally came out of her secluded cultivation and she had achieved a breakthrough. She was now a 9th stage Spirit Establishment Realm Cultivator.
It was decided that she will take part in the Sect Entrance Exam. Although previously the Long clan had placed all their hopes for the exams on Long Su who was the strongest amongst the youngsters of the clan but,since his disappearance, the hope was given up on him as other youngsters were trained for this opportunity
Long Chen's Cousin , Long An was now 16 years old as well and he was a 5th stage Spirit Establishment Realm Cultivator, thus he qualified to participate in the Sect Entrance exam. The son of Long Ren's eldest son, Long Xuan also had a son who qualified to participate in the exams. He was Long Wei, who was considered the most talented genius of the youngest generation after Long Chen suffered the assassination attempt and lost his intelligence.
He was now a peak 6th stage Spirit Establishment Realm Cultivator. There were many more youngsters whom Long clan placed their hopes on but Long Xue Ying had the highest chance in the eyes of the elders.
Long Xue Ying came out as the new hope. Although she was not as strong as Long Su, when she was his age, she still managed to break through to the 9th stage of the Spirit Establishment Realm a day before she turned 20. The Long clan hoped that she would be amongst the cultivators that are selected by the Sects.
"Long Mu... Your daughter is going to attend the sect entrance examination along with other kids. You should escort them all with safety. We have some good candidates that have a chance to get selected." Long Ren said lightly as he looked at Long Mu.
" Well... We have another candidate and he is probably even more likely to get selected,unfortunately he went out to train" Grand Elder Long Mu said to Long Ren.