Chapter 1179: Nothing But Royal Skin!

"Bang!"

Fist met claw, unleashing a deafening explosion.

To Koen's stunned gaze, his lightning claws shattered as easily as paper.

A violent shockwave cleared a circle of lightning for kilometers around, then the fist slammed into Koen's chest!

Pshhh—!!

He spat a gout of blood and flew backward like a severed kite.

"Your Highness, beware!"

The two girls rushed to aid him.

One slashed with a green wind blade, the other summoned a whip of flame, trying to block Xu Jingming.

"Get lost!"

Xu Jingming coldly barked, his lightning surging wildly—the eleventh layer of his Lightning Domain erupted fully!

"Boom!!"

The green wind blade and flame whip shattered the instant they touched the lightning.

The two Starlight Fifth-Stage girls were struck like lightning, spitting blood as they flew backward and crashed heavily into the distant Lei Hai.

One Starlight Sixth-Stage, two Starlight Fifth-Stage—all crushed and grievously wounded in a single exchange.

"With this level of strength, you think you can recruit me into your service?"

Xu Jingming looked down at Koen, his gaze icy:

"You're nothing but a piece of royal skin—everything else, utterly worthless."

Sssshhh—

Black-purple Lei Guang flashed; Xu Jingming vanished from his spot.

He was still royal, and a member of the Sacred Ground—killing him outright would cause immense trouble.

"Your... Your Highness, are you alright?"

After Xu Jingming left, one girl struggled to rise, trembling as she asked.

Koen said nothing; his face was terrifyingly dark, eyes burning with fury.

Since childhood, he had never suffered such humiliation!

Even the pain on his body was drowned out by rage.

"Xu Jingming... this isn't over!"

Koen muttered the name through gritted teeth, his face twisted with malice.

His own strength might not match Xu Jingming's.

But within the Sacred Ground, finding a royal who could deal with Xu Jingming was far too easy.

"S-Class, you've got big trouble now."

Provoking the royal family will bring endless headaches."

On the way back to the dormitory after leaving the Ten Thousand Thunder Pool.

Eva, the green-haired twin-tailed little girl, appeared as a hologram on his shoulder, her expression faintly worried.

"Trouble? Haven't I faced plenty back on Blue Star?"

Xu Jingming didn't care.

As a disciple of the Eternal Divine Spirit, the royal family would never dare kill him.

What cannot kill him will only make him stronger.

With the Deep Blue System, he was confident his strength would rise rapidly.

When that time came, if they pushed him too far, he'd wipe out the entire Noah royal family!

Many royals trained within the Noah Sacred Ground.

Most were crown princes, but a few were actual princes.

Though all were descendants of the Noah Empire's sovereign, as princes,

whether through their maternal clans or their own innate talent, they were vastly stronger than ordinary crown princes.

Koen knew several princes, and the one closest to him was the Thirteenth Prince, Buren Dan.

So, after leaving the Ten Thousand Thunder Pool,

he merely swallowed a healing pill, skipped recovery entirely, and went straight to his door.

"Xu Jingming injured you? You want revenge?"

After hearing the full story, Thirteenth Prince Buren Dan frowned slightly.

He stood tall, over four meters high, his skin scaled as if he bore alien blood.

"Yes! He insulted our royal lineage! Brother, you must punish him severely!"

Koen snarled.

"If it were anyone else, I might help you—but Xu Jingming, I cannot touch."

After a moment's thought, Thirteenth Prince Buren Dan murmured.

Among the princes, his influence was not great.

Xu Jingming was one of his targets for recruitment.

Koen, the so-called Level Two genius, was full of hollow potential—he had no reason to offend Xu Jingming for Koen's sake.

"Why?!" Koen couldn't understand.

"What? Do you question what I do?"

Thirteenth Prince Buren Dan frowned, a faint aura of Starlight Realm strength flickering forth.

Koen instantly shrank his head: "Understood, I'm leaving right away."

Saying this, he hurried off without looking back.

"Previously, we couldn't reach Xu Jingming at all; Koen stirred up trouble—this is actually an opportunity for me."

Thirteenth Prince Brendan's gaze flickered slightly.

"This guy! He won't even lift a finger for me! I treated him as my elder brother!"

Fine, if he won't help—then I'll go to Ninth Prince Di'er; he'll definitely stand up for me!"

Koen, having left Thirteenth Prince's villa, flew off in another direction without looking back.

Among the princes training at the Noah Sanctuary, there are three: Sixteenth Prince Nien, Thirteenth Prince Brendan, and Ninth Prince Di'er.

Ninth Prince Di'er is renowned throughout the imperial family for his loyalty, though he rarely interacts with others.

Now that Thirteenth Prince refuses to stand up for him, he can only turn to Ninth Prince.

He hadn't expected much, but after finding Ninth Prince Di'er and explaining the full story.

He saw Ninth Prince Di'er smile: "This is simple—Brother will stand up for you!"

"Thank you, Elder Brother! Just send someone to secretly teach Xu Jingming a lesson!"

Koen's eyes lit up and he hurriedly said.

"To insult our imperial family, a secret beating isn't enough—it must be done openly!"

Ninth Prince Di'er sneered.

Unlike Thirteenth Prince, who has alien blood, he stands about one meter eighty tall.

His skin is Bai Xi, his features handsome, even bordering on uncannily alluring.

"But Xu Jingming is Lord Luwen's disciple—is it really appropriate to act openly?"

Koen hesitated.

Though arrogant, he knew well which actions were acceptable and which were not.

"What does it matter if he's an Immortal God? Our status is our greatest strength!"

Ninth Prince Di'er scoffed, "To challenge the dignity of our imperial family, not even calling the Imperial Guard is too lenient!

I won't bully him—he's good at fighting, isn't he?

I'll set up an arena in the Virtual Universe, and find a Starlight Stage Four, Level One genius to face him fairly!

If he wins, this matter is dropped, and I'll give him two hundred million credit points.

If he loses, he must personally apologize to you and voluntarily serve a hundred-year confinement in the Sanctuary!"

"An arena? What if he refuses to fight?"

Koen still looked doubtful, but Ninth Prince Di'er was confident:

"If he refuses to fight, we charge him with insulting the imperial family!"

"You can do that?!" Koen's eyes widened.

Insulting the imperial family could be trivial or grave.

It depends on who speaks up.

If only a mere crown prince raised this issue, it would carry no weight.

But if Ninth Prince speaks up, it's entirely different.

Even if Xu Jingming is an Immortal God's disciple, to preserve the imperial family's honor, this matter must be settled.

"Though Xu Jingming is arrogant, he did say one thing truly right.

Aside from wearing the skin of the imperial family, you're worthless.

But within the empire, that skin is your greatest strength!"

Ninth Prince Di'er said coolly.

"I see! Thank you, Elder Brother, for your teaching!

Compared to Thirteenth Prince, you're vastly superior!"

Koen's gaze toward Di'er was now filled with boundless fervor.

"Old Thirteenth probably covets Xu Jingming's talent and wants to befriend him.

But what good is talent? In tens of thousands of years, he'll still be merely a Cosmic-level.

If I want a Cosmic-level warrior to serve me, I need only wave my hand—there are dozens!

Even if Xu Jingming somehow breaks through to Immortal-level, what does it matter?

Father is preparing to break through to Dominator-level; once he becomes a Dominator, Immortal-level is but ants."

Ninth Prince Di'er sneered.

In his eyes, no damn prodigy mattered more than their imperial lineage!

In this empire, a prince is a prince! These native prodigies are nothing but beggars from outside.

Koen froze upon hearing this.

He suddenly remembered that Di'er's maternal grandfather was an Immortal God from another cosmic nation, with a vast clan.

Naturally, he looked down on Cosmic-level power.

Meanwhile, Thirteenth Prince's maternal clan was mediocre, with peak power only at Cosmic-level; unless under special circumstances, they never passed up a chance to court a prodigy.

'I should stick with someone like Ninth Prince from now on—following Thirteenth Prince leads nowhere.'

Koen thought silently.

In talent and strength, Thirteenth Prince is stronger than Ninth Prince.

But so what? Clan background determines everything.

Had it not been for this insult, he wouldn't have noticed this at all.

Just looking at it from this one angle, he actually should be grateful to Xu Jingming instead......