Chapter 75: Storms Are Coming

How to blow up a princess with three sentences.

"You, a princess of a nation, the honorable Her Highness Dai Niya, have so little confidence that you cannot compete with an ordinary person who has no resources and no backing?"

First, question her ability.

"Are you insulting the Heroic Soul? Do you think the Heroic Soul can be deceived so easily? As a member of the Wang Zu, do you have the right to look down on the Heroic Soul? Heh, how arrogant."

Second, question her character.

"Do you also look down on Su Er? If he knew, how would he view you?"

Finally, involve the people she cares about and start dragging in emotions.

"Boom!"

The girl's pupils suddenly widened, with Lei Ting flashing within them.

She was so angry her silver teeth ground together; not throwing lightning and fireballs directly was a sign she could still hold back her rage.

Very naturally, accompanied by Li En's "insolent words," this private meeting ended on a sour note.

Obviously, this new knight, Li En, was far too disrespectful; he completely disregarded the royal family and feudal hierarchy.

In fact, if revoking Li En's knighthood right now wouldn't make the newly invested Dai Niya lose face, the princess would have done it without hesitation!

Her face flushed crimson, her pupils flashing with Lei Ting, Dai Niya didn't even know how she managed to force a stiff face to finish the social pleasantries and declare the end of this private meeting.

"Bastard!"

Rushing angrily back to her room, she suddenly hammered her pillow hard, shouting as she did so.

"Bastard knight! Stinky can! I was so good to you!! Ungrateful stinky bastard."

As she hit and hit without venting her anger, she even started writing in her notebook.

"I won't give Shaliman to you! Stinky lizard!"

So angry she couldn't take it, she directly scribbled out a secret letter.

Then, she simply drew a big face on her own pillow; her excellent painting skills (a spellcaster who also paints) made it look lifelike.

"Crash!" Dragon power slammed down hard.

"Bastards. All bastards. My dad has never scolded me like this!" The girl hugged the pillow and shook it violently, muttering under her breath.

Perhaps she looked very mature, perhaps her mental development was quite excellent, but as Lord Lord Lord Kuku said, Dragonborn develop very slowly.

Sixteen-year-old Dai Niya was actually a young girl pretending to be mature.

She was thoroughly angered by someone she cared about.

Always targeting Li En was actually because she truly cared; theoretically, the Heroic Soul heir would be the object of the Heroic Soul's deepest soul resonance.

She felt nothing for the temporary substitute, Di Meng, but was very displeased that Li En was qualified to inherit Su Er.

Now, she was even more displeased.

Even if only Heroic Soul candidates were in that small hall, no one else would spread the news that "she was blown up by a knight she herself invested," letting it become the number one joke in the noble circle.

In her entire life, she had never suffered such humiliation.

Who bullies people like this?

Uh, someone does, that stinky uncle who chased me to kill me.

Tired from hitting, Dai Niya lay sprawled on the bed, looking at the ceiling, yet couldn't help but recall the man's words.

"If Su Er knew, how would he view you?"

"He..." Dai Niya couldn't answer, but perhaps she already knew the answer.

Su Er probably wouldn't get angry and accuse her, but he would probably be disappointed, just looking at her, shaking his head and sighing, like looking at a hopeless fool.

"No. No!" She got even angrier.

But unconsciously, the figures of the two knights vaguely merged; she, who had never admitted Li En was Su Er's successor, at this moment confirmed that this stinky and stubborn knight personality was truly the same kind of person.

"... Stinky can!" Finally, she could only hug that pillow, beaten beyond recognition, and brush off the feathers and dust on it.

"Stinky can." Finally, the trash can held more torn secret letters; in the end, she did not stop the planned "little gift for the knight's investiture."

Time rewinds slightly; while the princess was furious and onlookers were dumbfounded, the rebellious knight wore a calm expression.

I accepted your investiture; nominally I am your person, but don't expect me to really be your dog.

"A lickspittle deserves a bad death; politicians using pawns never care about the pawns' deaths."

A strange buff made Li En's mind clearer; from every angle, he could not let Her Highness the princess run wild.

If he bowed his head this time, then these knight candidates would all become the princess's servants, becoming the old guard clique of the Heroic Soul Hall later on, truly able to play the game of bullying with power and acting superior due to seniority.

Then, using her advantage as a princess, she could truly force down one by one the later Heroic Soul candidates, turning the young talents of the Heroic Soul Hall into her private forces; this, Li En could not accept.

"The initiative must be mine."

Since this primary goal was confirmed, Li En naturally tore up his face with her.

From Li En's standpoint, if he was to keep the Heroic Soul Hall in his grasp, he not only could not let Dai Niya take the lead, but even needed to suppress her to a certain extent.

If it were before, he would have hesitated, wondering if he would offend the princess because of this.

"She seems a bit lacking in discipline; if she really is that kind of cold-blooded politician, I must consider whether to continue operating under her name, otherwise I won't know when I'll die... Let's test her a little; if it doesn't work, I'll have to consider defecting."

Li En would never overestimate a politician's integrity and moral bottom line; how could he overestimate something that doesn't exist at all.

The daughter of the previous life is still from the previous life; she might not hesitate to kill me.

What if she finds out? Uh, she might strike even harder!

Perhaps staying a bit further away would be safer for himself and the people around him.

"It's Shaliman."

The only thing a bit regrettable was Shaliman, stuck in the middle, who would probably get scolded from both sides.

Li En could even imagine Dai Niya, blown up with anger, grabbing Shaliman and breaking down in a posture of five outbursts per second.

When confirming the princess was a Dragon Hunter, Li En also understood Shaliman's previous situation and some of her confusing moves.

Perhaps even that trip specifically to announce the engagement for self-protection was forced upon her by the Princess.

"Considering this, distancing ourselves might actually be for the best."

If it had been earlier, Li En might have hesitated, but now he'd just learned he was apparently a "Snake Mint." To trick such a good girl as Shaliman into this mess so carelessly was too much.

A little distance might be better for both of us.

The "rational" Li En made the most "rational" choice.

In a sense, this was also a test of Dai Niya's tolerance. If she truly wasn't suitable, Li En would flee without hesitation—he didn't want to die莫名其妙 from some higher-up's political exchange.

Of course, if the Heroic Soul's legacy suited Dai Niya perfectly, Li En had no reason to interfere.

"Unsuitable! Terrible compatibility!" Lord Lord Kuku gave the answer outright.

But this time, Dai Niya will probably get slapped down again.

"Mine. Normal people can't use it. Not a smartness issue. It's personality!" Uh, that might be a problem—this candidate pool might end up being a bunch of lunatics.

But considering Lord Lord Kuku's obvious "multiple personality" ability trait, the one who could inherit this power probably wasn't normal to begin with.

Li En himself had tried using this soul ability—it was barely usable, but he couldn't feel its advantages or weaknesses; instead, the more he used it, the duller his thinking became, as if under a mental curse.

Judging by his current ability composition, using this soul ability was a net negative.

It seems that even if he wanted to acquire this power, he'd need time.

"Finally… back." When Li En returned to his residence in the South Gate District, he sighed in relief.

After this nonstop grind, he'd finally rest properly.

"Welcome! Friend!"

Seeing little Lana running over in her maid outfit, Li En smiled contentedly.

"Miss Lana was very diligent today—she ate and dressed properly, and even helped us with chores," added the other maid.

Hearing herself praised, Lana beamed happily.

She stood on tiptoe and offered up her "cat ears," asking Li En to stroke and praise them.

"Really? So good, so good…" How could Li En refuse?

Li En silently vowed: if he ever had a daughter, she must be just like this!

With a touch of guilt, Li En simply played with the little girl until nightfall. He was surprised to find Lana had clearly "grown up"—her development seemed to be accelerating.

Previously, she'd delighted in building blocks and childish games; now she preferred card games, listening to stories, and things meant for older children—her mind was developing again.

This filled the "old father" with joy, yet also a quiet unease.

But fortunately, her affection was still genuine.

At midnight, alone in his room and lowering his guard, Li En felt deep, genuine exhaustion.

He planned to read a book, then rest.

"Crack!" Something suddenly kicked him from below—Kusu launched a surprise iron-leg attack!

"Stop sleeping! Get up and party! Get up and catch up on lessons!" The hoarse synthesized voice remained energetic even in the night.

"What are you doing?! I'm exhausted!" Li En clutched his left foot, hopping on one leg in pain—this little brat hit hard!

He'd just recovered from serious injury, and now he'd been pushed nonstop—he needed rest.

"Your surroundings! Your current strength! Can you even sleep?" Lord Lord Kuku sneered—do you really not want to live?

"What can I do? My surroundings are safe now—I can improve slowly," Li En wasn't making excuses; he was truly drained.

"Slowly? You'll be dead. Very soon."

Lord Lord Kuku pondered—he needed a less shocking reason.

"Don't you remember? What the girl said today."

Li En recalled—it was nothing much; the Princess had just used the chance to announce her entry onto the political stage.

"Underground! War! Idiot."

Clearly, Li En had underestimated the gravity of this—he'd mistaken an impending full-scale war for political theater.

Under Lord Lord Kuku's explanation, Li En learned what the underground ruins truly meant.

"The Beast's power! Cut it out. Digest it early. Prevent accumulation and explosion!"

Beasts are hard to eradicate completely; in a sense, they are embodiments of nature—sealing is the best option.

Normal life, sealed for long enough, might die—but the "endlessly living" Beast only accumulates more power, eventually shattering the seal.

So a wise one modified the seal: it now continuously drains the sealed entity's power. The source of the resources harvested by the Kingdom and the city from the underground ruins—the "Deer" beneath—is that very seal.

It's like constantly cutting and bleeding the Beast—can't kill it, but it's damn annoying.

The Beastfolk's realm also constantly eliminates newly born monsters, preventing dangerous accumulation.

Some regions even treat them as regular harvestable resources—this has become a mature system, a nutrient pipeline for the birth of transcendent beings.

Today, many underground labyrinths, ruins, and monster forests across the continent aren't just guarded by specialists—they often conceal massive entities beneath. And these aren't even the world's greatest threat.

With the return of the Magic Tide, everything rises: the Beast's ability to interfere grows stronger, and seals already at their limit will eventually fail.

To truly solve this problem now—whether by confronting the Beast directly or reinforcing the seal—you must fight your way through the entire underground ruin.

But currently, the Kingdom's explorers only hunt on the ruins' surface.

The Kingdom alone can't handle it—Dai Niya has raised the banner to form a coalition for extermination.

"You. Think you can avoid it? War—within three months!"

(End of Chapter)