[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens":3,"chapter-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-165":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 Billion Citizens",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2271040,4434,"Chapter 165: The Arrival of the Faceless, the Magician","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-165",165,"\u003Cp>At dusk, the deep night fell like velvet, studded with stars like tiny diamonds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The full moon hung high in the sky, casting soft radiance upon the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red Fox Castle, rear courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rustle rustle rustle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vast fields of wheat seedlings lay bathed in silver moonlight, swaying gently in the night breeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to the distance from Wheatfield Village, at Xia Mingyu’s request, this area had been specially cleared and planted with extensive wheat seedlings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bountiful Harvest.” He placed his hand on the damp soil, and in the next instant, countless jets of black flame erupted from the young man’s body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air trembled, waves of force surged outward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if an invisible force had swept across the field, the wheat stalks jerked violently, their joints elongating like stretched shadows as they shot upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Green ears burst from their sheaths, swelling rapidly, turning from pale green to golden yellow, the awns glinting with a metallic sheen under the moonlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within mere seconds, the vast field transformed from youthful green shoots into a golden ocean; the scent of wheat surged, mingling with the dampness of night dew and spreading through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoosh!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exhausted of magic and nearly fainting, Xia Mingyu quickly grabbed two opened vials of magic potion offered by the golden-haired girl beside him, gulped them down simultaneously, and finally felt somewhat better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, he still felt dizzy and lightheaded, leaning against Anliya as she carefully supported him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, magic represented life force; a mage who depleted their magic often needed days of rest to fully recover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could he possibly keep this up—draining magic daily and restoring it daily with potions? Only his exceptional physique had kept him going this long; any ordinary mage would already be bedridden and immobile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is truly incredible!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elderly woman standing beside them with a lantern now wore an expression utterly overwhelmed by shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Rosa had heard the Prince describe his abilities after ascending to the Sage of Harvest, this ability called “Bountiful Harvest” was absurdly excessive!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the subsequent Starlight class of the Harvest Path, the Earwhisperer, could never achieve such an effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, the Earwhisperer could only “communicate” with crops, sensing disease or enhancing soil fertility—how could the Prince directly and decisively accelerate the maturation of entire fields?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Achieving this across classes was nothing short of a miracle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the Prince is only at Starlight now—if he ascends to Radiant Moon or Solar Wheel, wouldn’t he alone be able to ripen every crop across an entire region?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amidst her astonishment, Rosa felt a faint unease rising within her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew that if the Gluttonous King learned of this, he would tear apart the entire Southern Region to find and kill the Prince, no matter the cost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coupled with the earlier incidents of the Dusk Tea and the rampaging sponsored monsters in William’s territory, she had a premonition of storm clouds gathering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps a new enemy had already arrived in the Southern Region, lurking in the shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, do you have the Eye of Vigilance you gave me?” Rosa asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Xia Mingyu silently pulled a small, pale blue crystal ball, the size of a marble, from his coat pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the crystal floated a living amber-colored beast eye, its pupil contracting or expanding with changes in ambient light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a magical artifact: once magic was infused into it or it was squeezed tightly, the Eye of Vigilance instantly turned deep red; if strong murderous intent appeared nearby, it also turned deep red, growing darker the stronger the intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Eye of Vigilance was crafted from the eyes of a four-eyed beast, typically used in sets of four.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one Eye of Vigilance turned deep red, the other three would also turn deep red and violently tremble toward the first one that had changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, please carry it with you always. If you sense any danger approaching, do not hesitate—activate it immediately,” Rosa said solemnly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other three Eyes of Vigilance were held by the three new moon-ranked knights: Kallen, Luo Yi, and Luo Lan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu nodded firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew Rosa would never say this without reason—this elder had sensed some hidden danger drawing near.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He must grow stronger quickly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu clenched his fist, but remembering the impossibly complex magical diagrams in the spellbook, he slowly unclenched his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it, why can’t my path to strength be like the protagonist in novels—swinging swords and punching? Why must it be like solving advanced math problems?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, exhausted and drained of magic after a full day, Xia Mingyu refused to move another inch; eventually, Anliya picked him up in both arms, carried him to his bedroom, laid him on the bed, and tucked him in with a goodnight kiss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since ascending to the Supreme Class of the King’s Cook, though not a combat role, Anliya had gained enough strength to lift an adult man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wildflowers of the field, please tell me—why do people fight each other?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl sat by the bed, softly humming the song the Prince had taught her, until she saw the black-haired youth fall into deep sleep; only then did she smile contentedly, open the door, and slip away quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To see the sleeping face of her beloved, tonight, she would surely dream sweetly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dusk City, city gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the silver full moon, the night watchmen yawned wearily; even the blazing firepits beside them could not dispel their drowsiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rustle rustle rustle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A night breeze carried a strange fragrance toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon smelling this odd scent, the guards’ eyes grew vacant and dazed, their grip on their spears weakening, the weapons trembling precariously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish swish swish!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several shadowy figures moved with terrifying speed beyond human reaction, slipping soundlessly past the dazed guards and entering Dusk City before vanishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the strange fragrance faded, the guards with vacant eyes slowly regained awareness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They exchanged glances for a moment, then straightened their backs and resumed guarding the gate, completely unaware that intruders had already slipped into the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shadowy figures moved like ghosts across the rooftops of buildings, their steps light and agile as felines, stepping on tiles without making a single sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, they halted atop a towering building, gazing across at the recently completed giant Sage statue standing in the city square, towering beside the Crimson Flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All these figures wore black robes, cloaks, and masks obscuring their faces, revealing only eyes as sharp as beasts’ under the moonlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather—those were the unmistakable eyes of beasts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leader’s gaze locked onto the face of the Sage statue, as if etching every detail into his soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, he carefully withdrew from his satchel a silver compass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hummm hummm hummm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The compass needle spun wildly, then pointed steadily toward one direction—Red Fox Castle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the midnight city square, the Magician strolled into the open area, humming a tune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced around, confirmed no one was within hundreds of meters and no eyes watched him, then tapped the ground with his magic wand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next instant, as if by magic, a red-and-white striped circus tent sprang up from the earth, growing larger and larger until it occupied a tenth of the entire square.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Atop the tent, in blood-red thread, were stitched the words: “Monster Circus.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Magician gave it a satisfied glance, then slowly pulled back the curtain and stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come out, my circus performers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spread his arms wide, exclaiming with excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next instant, “monsters” suddenly appeared in the empty tent: a woman with six arms, a two-headed giant, a three-eyed man, a girl with rat features.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1281,"2026-06-19T22:18:43.340Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","68173f6ff14979c8de5fbaf32a9c0bbf2eeb13cd857736c248169b0fce75bbd9","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-166","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-164",186,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-cover.jpg"]