Chapter 73 Prince
The head formed by the flames was that of a man’s, who, seeing the shocked look on Fang Xingjian’s face, revealed a satisfied smile.
“There’s no need to be shocked, this is my fire clone. My actual body is in the Imperial Capital thousands of miles away, talking to you through secret arts.”
“So, you are Fang Xingjian? The genius who took only slightly more than three months to transition into a Windstorm Sword Hero?”
His eyes were extremely sharp, his rectangular face seemingly stern, rigid and full of prestige. He was around forty years of age, his manner of talking instinctively embodying a sense of overbearing superiority. He was clearly a person of high status.
Not waiting for Fang Xingjian to reply, he continued. “I am the grandson of Godias, the son of Alexander, the future King of Sinkoda. My name George Krieg. Are you willing to pledge your loyalty to me?”
George Krieg, the First Prince of Sinkoda, was the first in line to the throne.
Fang Xingjian’s brows twitched, instinctively annoyed by his tone, and replied, “I would have to see what price the First Prince is willing to offer.”
The other party’s air of superiority, as if everything was within his control, as if he was the center of the universe, and that tone which seemed to belong to that of the King of all gods made him very dissatisfied.
Hearing Fang Xingjian’s reply, the silhouette in the flames frowned. “What impudence! In this great world, it is the Empire and the royal family’s rule who helped everyone learn, train, and transition. You all should be willing to serve the Empire and be ready to give your lives for the cause. As the Empire’s direct heir, I have inherited the previous generations’ hard work and the will to unify the world.
“Pledging your loyalty to me is unquestionable, why would you hesitate?”
With that, he changed his tone and said, “You are extremely talented, with extraordinary gifts that I very much appreciate. Hence, I’ve ordered to Master Griffin to come here, and have also bestowed the remains of a Conferred Knight, for him to forge a Superior Remains Divine Weapon especially for you.
“As long as you are under me, countless secret manuals to divine techniques, countless secret arts as well as treasures of the heaven and earth will be yours. Even if it’s the remains of Aurora Sword Spirit McDowell’s remains (the last Divine Warrior to attain Windstorm Sword Hero for his first job transition), it’s not impossible for me to retrieve these from the Royal Treasury and bestow them upon you.”
Griffin, who was beside him, said, “Fang Xingjian, why are you not thanking the First Prince for his grace? The First Prince has the destiny to rule, he is the successor to the Empire. Among the five princes, only the First Prince has been conquering lands for the Empire, establishing brilliant war achievements. In the future, the throne of the Empire will definitely belong to the First Prince.
“Being highly regarded by the First Prince and being able to display your talents are the luckiest things to happen to you in your whole life. What are still you hesitating for?”
Fang Xingjian had heard long heard from Huang Lin about certain powers in the Empire. The Empire’s King, Alexander Krieg, had been obsessed with martial arts when he was young, and had only married and began a family at the age of thirty. Now, at the age of eighty, he had five princes to his name.
Among the five princes, the First Prince was the strongest, having gone through the second job transition and at level 29, only a step away from breaking through to the Divine level.
Particularly, his mother’s clan had powerful wide influence, extending to the government and the commoners.
The First Prince himself was also the follower of the biggest faction in the Empire, the ‘Ancient Path of Hell’. Over the years, through the conquering of lands for the Empire, his prestige in the military had risen extremely high. He had gathered countless valiant warriors and an endless number of advisors under him. He had even gathered a bunch of elites from the Ancient Path of Hell. Be it abilities or reputation, he was above all.
Fang Xingjian frowned. Though he was not pleased with the other party’s tone, he knew that such mannerism in such a feudal country was already considered to be polite towards those which the First Prince considered to be men of talent.
For the sake of the Remains Divine Weapon, he nodded and said, “Your Highness, I’m grateful for your appreciation.”
“Mm,” the First Prince nodded slightly. “Use your fingers to sign your name here. From now on, you will be my trusted subordinate, and an important member of the Empire in the future. You’ll enjoy a life of unlimited riches and fame.”
The flames reverted, pushing a white piece paper which had been floating in mid-air all this while towards Fang Xingjian, evidently wanting him to sign it.
Fang Xingjian’s brows knitted, and he felt a surge of extreme evil in his heart. He asked, “Once I sign this, will there be any aftereffects?”
“Of course,” First Prince George replied. “This is my job’s speciality ‘Devil’s Note’.
“Its first requirement is that before you sign, I’ll need to let you know of the consequences. Only then would would the signature take effect.
“The Devil's Note has a total of thirty-two pages. Each page can only have one signature.
“As long as you sign it, you must definitely be loyal to me from now on. Should you defy my orders, you will suffer a punishment of having all of your attributes reduced by half.
“Similarly, if I were to die of unnatural causes, your attributes will also be halved.”
He stared at Fang Xingjian like the King of all gods, his eyes full of threat and temptation, saying, “As long as you sign on the Devil's Note, the Remains Divine Weapon will be just the beginning. I will get someone from the Imperial Capital to send you the royal family’s secret concoction, the Dragon Blood Medicine. It would be enough to bring all your attributes to above 100 points before the Regional Selections, and also award you with the the ultimate specialty ‘Dragon’s Tenacity’.
“Although you are extremely gifted, your powers are still lacking. I will assign you twelve of my ‘Hell Demon King’ who have already gone through their second job transition.
“Haha, as long as you can make it through next year’s Regional Selection, I can even gift you a portion of McDowell’s remains, allowing you to become the strongest Conferred Knight.
“Of course, you may also reject my offer.” Saying that, dense murderous intent oozed from the First Prince, and, without holding back his thoughts he continued saying, “But if you were to reject it, I can promise you that even though the Empire is enormous, there will be no place for you here.”
Each time Griffin heard the First Prince’s offer he would shudder, his eyes staring daggers at Fang Xingjian, so full of jealousy and envy that it seemed as though they would burst into flames at any moment.
When the First Prince promised to take out McDowell’s remain in particular, Griffin’s pupils had dilated and his breathing had turned urgent. In the whole Empire, how many Remains Divine Weapon which had been forged with a Divine Warrior’s remains were there? Such Divine Weapons were rare indeed.
However, Fang Xingjian’s brows had started to furrow when the First Prince mentioned the Devil's Note. When the First Prince finished his words, Fang Xingjian had already decided.
Looking at Griffin gradually stepping behind him, and feeling the increasing temperature of the First Prince’s flaming head, the Ice Age Meditation Art circulated unceasingly in Fang Xingjian’s consciousness, his thoughts becoming clearer and clearer.
‘He comes with ill intentions.’
He watched as the First Prince and Griffin slowly cornered him from his front and back, feeling murderous intent recklessly hurled out from the two of them, and his brows furrowed deeper.
Fang Xingjian calmly said, “With such good conditions, of course I’ll agree.” With that, he slowly extended his finger and reached out towards the paper from the Devil's Note.
The First Prince nodded, letting out a satisfied grin. Griffin exhaled a sigh of relief. At least this Fang Xingjian was unlike other rigid minded ones. Being relieved, the muscles in his four limbs relaxed.
But in the next instant, Fang Xingjian’s sent a tremendous amount of strength into his fingers, forming a sword with them as he jabbed the paper. With a light bang, the paper from the Devil's Note retreated. Fang Xingjian felt as if he had jabbed into granite. He had intended to just tear this page of the Devil's Note, but it seemed impossible for him to do so.
However, although the Devil's Note did not explode, the First Prince let out a loud cry of pain.
“You’re courting death!” Flames erupted in the air, as if a bomb had exploded. The flames previously part of the First Prince’s silhouette had turned into multifarious flaming streams, pouncing towards Fang Xingjian in waves smelling of sulfur.
Fang Xingjian had already fired up his physical strength right after his previous attack. He retreated at full speed, simultaneously slashing through the air with a chop. Suddenly, tens of Sword Qis appeared, tearing the atmosphere apart. Under Fang Xingjian’s nimble control, they were like nimble serpents leaping into the air, slashing down on the First Prince’s fire clone and on Griffin.
With a bang, the sword Qis that landed on the First Prince’s fire clone were instantly shattered, after which the clone started relentlessly dashing after Fang Xingjian.
Sword Qis revolved around Fang Xingjian, his entire body charging towards the door as if it were a tornado. Griffin, who had secretly been guarding the door, threw a punch, releasing a violent force and giving rise to strong gales. It made a mess out of the flower vases and books in the room, blowing them all around. They had also cleanly broken through all the sword Qis that Fang Xingjian had sent towards him.
“Stop right there!” His five fingers stretched, Reduced Force Field fully activated, about to seal the door shut.
But how horrifying was Fang Xingjian’s speed? Despite Griffin being a Master level character in the Royal Treasury, in terms of individual capabilities he was only in the mid-range amongst those who had gone through their first job transition.
Fang Xingjian pulled his sword from his sheath and slashed continuously, hundreds of Sword Qi surrounding his body like countless white dragons and rushing him out in sounds of thunder claps and the air blasts.
With a bang, just before Griffin’s Reduced Force Field had fully sealed the door, Fang Xingjian broke through it, dashing out like a tornado.
At the same time, the flames chased after him out the door, while the page from the Devil's Note scuttled into the flames, causing a violent eruption. The flames expanded continuously at great speed, shaping the First Prince’s whole body.
The human-like flame figure stood at four to five meters above the ground, looking towards Fang Xingjian hundreds of meters away, who, encompassed by sword Qis, was creating atmospheric dragons,.
Fang Xingjian stood still, staring into the eyes of the First Prince, his gaze cold, and without any fear or anxiety.
The First Prince’s body of flames caused the air to tremble as he coldly stated, “Hmph, very well, I now value you even more.
“But I should warn you beforehand. Amongst those whom I have set my eyes on, there has been none who have been able to escape.”
As he spoke, the flames from the fire clone once again surged seven to eight metres tall, as if the fire deity had descended onto the world. Even the surrounding plants and buildings were all emitting a faint green smoke.
“A genius like you must be under my control, or you will be a great threat to the Empire’s rule.
“Today, I will let you have a look at my abilities, so that you’ll give up and fully devote yourself to me.”
However, right at this moment, two shadows - one in front and one behind - had surrounded the First Prince.
“George Krieg,” Huang Lin gritted his teeth, “This place is not for you to act presumptuously. To recklessly attack a Knight of the Empire… Even if you are a prince, you’ll have to be questioned by the Royal Knight Association.”
The First Prince replied with disdain, “Every mountain and river in this world, every single living being is in my control! So what of a mere Knight? Let alone Fang Xingjian! Even if it’s the Royal Knight Association, it’ll eventually be within my grasp!
“But you, Huang Lin… We haven’t met in many years. Let me assess whether your swordsman skills have improved...”