Chapter 662: Crown Prince (Bonus Chapter, Requesting Subscription)

Every secret realm may contain guardians and realm spirits...

This transcendent secret realm is so extraordinary—it can shift its entrance to evade pursuit by Dao Jun and Dao Zun, clearly making it even more unusual...

Fang Xing remained utterly calm, for he was merely a cultivation avatar.

Moreover, through the Gates of All Realms, he could now sever all ties to his original body; the worst outcome would merely be death.

Wrong time, wrong place, wrong person!

A grand, boundless voice echoed.

Clouds gathered into a distinctive face: “Yet... you still entered. This is the power of a Transcendent!”

The face clearly showed fear.

To forcibly insert a person into a transcendent secret realm—it could not fathom how powerful the entity behind Fang Xing must be.

Perhaps, it had surpassed even the original Transcendent who established this legacy!

“Apologies for the intrusion... I merely wish to obtain one primordial spiritual treasure.”

Fang Xing spoke politely.

“Just one primordial spiritual treasure? You’re being remarkably modest... Since that cultivator took the Taiji Diagram, no one has ever taken a primordial spiritual treasure from this realm...”

The cloud-face seemed to smile: “Still, I’ll grant you this chance... Like all legacy seekers, to receive a gift, you must first endure a trial.”

“Agreed.”

Fang Xing nodded. His current avatar was a True Immortal Overlord, possessing the combat power of a One-Step Dao Jun.

It was like Yi Ling Sanren attempting to climb his Heavenly Staircase—any trial designed for the Soul Awakening Realm had a chance of being passed, and any Soul Awakening Overlord could certainly pass it.

And any trial meant for a True Immortal? He would surely pass it!

At least, his chances were very high!

“Heh...”

The secret realm’s spirit suddenly laughed: “Whether mortal, cultivator, True Immortal, Dao Jun, or Dao Zun—all who enter this transcendent secret realm face the same trial... My master cares nothing for talent, comprehension, luck, or destiny... He designed this realm solely to test ‘character’!”

“Character?”

Fang Xing was surprised: “How is that tested?”

“Simple. Once you choose to enter the trial, I will seal your memories and cultivation, turning you into a mortal, then placing you in a world... After that, everything depends on your own initiative.”

The secret realm’s spirit smiled: “Though your memories are sealed, your instincts and character remain—that is the trial.”

Since all entrants had their memories sealed, it had no qualms about “spoiling” the test.

“Indeed, an interesting trial.”

Fang Xing nodded.

He was no stranger to secret realms—he had seen them all.

Trials of combat power, foundation, comprehension... countless variations.

He hadn’t expected this legacy trial to be so intriguing—it tested ‘character,’ and deliberately erased memory to do so.

“Go ahead.”

He nodded.

“Are you ready? Hmm... failing the trial won’t kill you, but given your formidable backers who sent you in, they clearly have high hopes.”

The secret realm’s spirit nodded.

In an instant, Fang Xing vanished.

Within the secret realm, not even a True Immortal Overlord, let alone a Four-Step Dao Jun of the highest Dao, or even an Eternal Being, held any weight.

Controlling a mere True Immortal was child’s play.

“Still... will this one be the person my master has waited for?”

A flicker of anticipation glimmered in the secret realm’s spirit’s eyes...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The nine-tiered palace gates opened one after another.

The sound of the night watchman’s wooden clappers drifted faintly.

Great Gan, Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace.

“What time is it now?”

Crown Prince Li Rubi asked.

“Your Highness, it is the third watch...”

An elderly eunuch in purple robes spoke in a hushed tone, as if afraid to disturb the night’s stillness.

The palace maids and young eunuchs around him kept their eyes down, their minds focused, not even breathing audibly—as if they had merged into the walls and corners of the study.

They would only appear when summoned by the Crown Prince.

“The third watch already?”

Li Rubi, hands behind his back, stepped out of the study into the open.

His forehead was full and noble, his face like polished jade, his gait as commanding as a dragon’s stride and a tiger’s pace; his aura resembled a latent dragon resting in deep waters, radiating an indescribable majesty.

This was the future ruler of the Two Capitals and Sixteen Provinces—the Crown Prince of Great Gan.

The Crown Prince arrived at a high terrace and said: “I wish to be alone. Do not follow me...”

“Yes, Your Highness!” The maids holding lanterns and the soldiers with swords bowed. Only the purple-robed eunuch, who had somehow produced a pure white fox-fur coat, said: “Your Highness, the night is deep and dew is heavy—please guard your health...”

Li Rubi waved him off, as if unconcerned.

“Sigh... Is the Crown Prince troubled by today’s censor’s criticism?”

The old eunuch watched the Crown Prince’s retreating back, silently cursing: “When the Crown Prince was at his peak, how would a mere censor dare? It’s all the Ta Wang’s fault...”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A gentle breeze stirred; the ancient sky, untouched by pollution, glittered brilliantly.

Li Rubi—or rather, Fang Xing—exhaled a long breath: “Where the hell did they send me?”

Clearly, his memories had not been sealed.

Perhaps this was because he was merely an avatar, still connected to his original consciousness.

And his original body, protected by his attribute panel, was immune to the realm’s sealing laws, and linked by the Gates of All Realms—he had essentially cheated.

!

“Cheating is great. Cheating in games? My favorite.”

Fang Xing nodded inwardly, sorting through Li Rubi’s memories.

“The Great Gan Dynasty has been established for less than thirty years. Its founding emperor was Li Rubi’s father—Li Bianlong—a peerless genius who fought countless battles, once leading four thousand iron cavalry to crush sixty thousand troops of the Xia King, ending the chaos and securing the realm... His civil and military achievements were supreme; after founding the dynasty, he lightened taxes and conscription, registered households... At the dynasty’s founding, there were only two million households; now, after population growth, there are three million two hundred seventy thousand. Since the reign title is ‘Jingde,’ perhaps history will record this as the ‘Jingde Governance’?”

“Crown Prince Li Rubi is Li Bianlong’s legitimate son. Li Bianlong had a harmonious marriage with his empress; his rise owed much to his wife’s clan. They had three sons and four daughters, but many died young—only the youngest son, Li Rubi, survived. He was enfeoffed as Prince of Wei in childhood, and became Crown Prince upon adulthood...”

Li Rubi’s childhood was excellent: his parents loved each other, his brothers got along, he was the Crown Prince, his maternal relatives were powerful, and soothsayers declared his face bore the utmost nobility—dragon and tiger bearing, celestial radiance.

But in Jingde Year 20, the Empress died; in Year 23, Li Rubi’s uncle, the foremost military noble, Duke Zhang Yang of Ying, succumbed to a relapse of his old illness—Li Rubi lost his wings, and thereafter fell into gloom...

As the Emperor’s other sons, Prince Tai and Prince Kang, matured, rumors spread that the Emperor intended to replace the Crown Prince. The Eastern Palace trembled with fear. Li Rubi once tried to prove himself, but every effort backfired—he was repeatedly impeached by censors for “improper conduct,” “frivolous behavior,” “misspelling characters in memorials, showing disrespect to his sovereign father,” and more...

Now, though the Eastern Palace appeared resplendent, it was secretly trapped in a death sentence.

“Heh...”

After absorbing the memories, Fang Xing glanced toward the Imperial Palace’s “Qinzheng Hall” and sneered—he saw the root clearly.

Everything stemmed from Emperor Li Bianlong himself. Without the Emperor’s tacit approval, how would his brothers dare challenge the Crown Prince? How would mere censors dare trouble him?

“Li Bianlong was extraordinarily martial—he rose at fifteen, conquered the realm by twenty, a paragon of brilliance... Now forty-six, he still works daily, reviewing memorials until the third watch, yet still visits his concubines; this year alone, he gave Li Rubi another younger brother and three younger sisters...”

“The Crown Prince naturally shares the sovereign’s authority. Such a vigorous, enlightened monarch still has grand ambitions—how could he tolerate power slipping away?”

“Not even his own son could be tolerated!”

“Moreover, the Crown Prince’s maternal clan was once too powerful, secretly propping him up to challenge the Emperor...”

“The harder the monarch, the harder the Crown Prince’s life—and the more he must die!”

“Has there ever been a Crown Prince for forty years?”

“Well... there have been, but those were constitutional monarchies with minimal imperial power—nothing like today’s feudal autocracy.”

“Li Rubi has merely been reprimanded so far—that’s already lucky. What follows will only grow worse, perhaps even ending like Kangxi’s Crown Prince, deposed and reinstated twice...”

“And such an enlightened monarch grows more tyrannical with age, harder to please... A single misstep could bring ruin!”

Cultivators nearing death can become “Longevity Demons!”

An ancient emperor wielding near-infinite power—what would he become before death? Harder still to imagine.

“So... this is my character trial? This?”

“What should I do next?”

“If I sink into debauchery, I’ll be doomed—obviously no good evaluation.”

“This realm seals memories to force the trialist to act on instinct—then tests character.”

“How do I break this deadlock?”

Fang Xing fell into thought: “To act, I must first understand what power I possess.”

“This world... hmm? This world has no law fluctuations—it even repels the power of Dao itself. Is it purely ‘non-magical’?”

“Though there are Daoists and monks, none possess supernatural abilities—even the fiercest soldiers, if unarmed and surrounded by a few strong men with weapons, would be instantly overpowered...”

“Dao power can shift with the world—yet this Transcendent’s ability is extraordinary: he can suppress even Dao Lords and Eternal Beings?”

Fang Xing’s heart sank halfway.

Without transcendent power, the emperor could easily crush him no matter his righteousness, legitimacy, or strength!

His strongest military authority amounted to only five squads of the Eastern Palace Guard—barely two hundred and fifty men—and who knew how many were mere sand? They would faithfully protect the Crown Prince in daily life, but if asked to rebel, they’d likely arrest him first!

‘Then… I should first appear humble and obedient. Li Rubi still has some father-son sentiment with the emperor. If I can open my heart, reveal my true intentions, willingly cut off my own wings, and strike at the noble interests, showing the bearing of a wise ruler, and endure for ten or even decades, perhaps I can succeed in ascending the throne?’

After all, he had recovered his memories—that was the ultimate cheat.

Whether it was steelmaking or composting, anything that boosted productivity could generate benefits to win over a group of people and make him a ‘virtuous Crown Prince.’

Li Bianlong was the founding emperor, endowed with heroic spirit; among his sons, the Crown Prince was the strongest, his claim legitimate and rightful—why could he not pass the throne?

‘But over ten or decades, the variables are too many. A single shift could kill me!’

‘And I must remain diligent, respectful, and obedient day after day for ten years—how tedious is that?’

‘When the emperor grows old and falls gravely ill, if someone in the palace frames me or forges an imperial edict… they could easily kill me. History is full of such deaths…’

‘Why should my life and death rest in someone else’s whim?’

‘No matter who you are—a sage emperor of all ages—if you threaten my safety, you must die!’

(End of Chapter)