The golden-red sun slowly rose from the east, its light shimmering across the ocean’s surface.
The sea breeze, carrying a faint salty tang, blew directly toward the shore, feeling damp and chilling in the late autumn season.
Wave after wave washed against the rocky cliffs.
As the sea mist dissipated, an island abruptly revealed itself.
This island was located in the western sea of the Sun Moon Empire.
It was far from the empire’s mainland, yet not too deep into the ocean.
Because of this, the island was safe from the powerful sea soul beasts lurking in the deep, allowing it to be incorporated into the Sun Moon Empire’s vast territory and placed under its direct jurisdiction.
The island wasn’t particularly large.
Unlike typical islands, it was surrounded by a sturdy fortress wall built from blue-grey marble, reaching a towering height of nearly fifty meters.
The relentless crashing of the waves had left marks of time upon the wall, but this massive structure remained utterly immovable, standing firm.
Huge cannon barrels gleaming with a dark metallic luster were positioned at the gaps along the top of the wall.
Rows of disciplined, elite soldiers patrolled in alternating shifts.
Their standard dark blue armor scattered strange halos of light under the sun.
This island was a maritime military base built by the Sun Moon Empire to defend against the chaotic sea soul beasts of the western waters.
Bases like this were not uncommon in the empire’s western and southern seas.
After all, even with the advancement of soul tool technology, humanity was still far from conquering the vast, unknown ocean.
It was well known that the powerful soul beasts in the deep sea far exceeded those on land, both in quantity and quality.
Inside the walls, there were no bustling streets or noisy towns as one might expect.
There were only rows of low stone houses.
Small groups of resting soldiers walked along the paths, collecting various supplies at simple distribution points.
The only thing that barely resembled a town or street was the towering castle situated in the center of the island.
The castle was entirely blue-grey, giving off an oppressive feeling even under the bright sunlight.
Compared to the common one- or two-story stone houses, this five-story castle completely stood out like a crane among a flock of chickens.
The flowerbed in front of the castle provided the only touch of color on the island.
Rare flowers of various shades emitted a pleasant fragrance, diluting the salty smell of the sea breeze.
By the flowerbed, a young boy dressed in a luxurious purple-gold robe closed his eyes.
He leaned close to a strange, deep purple ink orchid, lightly sniffing it with his tall, straight nose.
The boy looked quite young, his features clearly showing hints of immaturity.
His mid-length black hair just touched his shoulders, but at his forehead and temples, a few strands of purple hair mingled with the black, inexplicably adding a sense of demonic charm to his appearance.
With exquisite facial features and skin as white as jade, he didn’t look like someone who had lived by the sea for a long time.
Instead, he resembled a pampered young noble.
In fact, that was exactly the case.
The boy’s name was Xu Zihuang.
His background was far more prominent than those noble heirs—he was the son of a Prince of the Sun Moon Empire.
However, due to the palace coup in the empire three years ago, his once powerful and highly-regarded father died desperately trying to rescue the previous Emperor, resulting in the ruin of their family.
Perhaps to avoid making other powerful royals feel threatened, or perhaps because the newly crowned Emperor did not want to cause more bloodshed so soon after taking the throne, the five-year-old Xu Zihuang was luckily spared from the new Emperor’s purge.
Instead, he was exiled to this isolated island.
“Your Highness, the wind is strong outside.
Please take care of your health,” a steady voice called out from behind.
Xu Zihuang slowly opened his eyes and looked sideways, his clear, deep purple eyes completely indifferent.
Looking at the middle-aged man before him—clad in dark blue armor and exuding an imposing aura—a self-deprecating smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Your Highness?
An exiled prince?
The middle-aged man had dark skin and stood nearly two meters tall, looking exactly like a tough military veteran.
Yet, when facing Xu Zihuang, he respectfully lowered his head, not daring to overstep and meet the boy’s gaze.
The typical tropes of a fallen heir being humiliated by subordinates did not happen here.
The dignity of the royal family was inviolable.
Even though Xu Zihuang was merely the exiled son of a prince, he still represented the Sun Moon Empire’s royal bloodline.
If he could be casually insulted, the royal family’s face would be worth nothing.
Adjusting the hair on his forehead messed up by the sea breeze with his left hand, Xu Zihuang slowly walked up to the middle-aged man, narrowing his eyes to examine the expression on his face.
“Commander Hai Xiao, for you to come to see me at this time, there must be something the matter, right?”
Hai Xiao nodded, his stiff face twitching slightly.
“This afternoon, a ship from the empire’s mainland will arrive here.
Aboard are one hundred noble ladies selected from all over the empire, all possessing exceptional looks and talent.
His Highness the First Prince hopes that Your Highness can select ten among them to pass on the royal family’s purest Purple Brilliance Heaven-Destroying Dragon bloodline.”
Speaking up to here, Hai Xiao paused for a moment, then added, “Of course, if Your Highness wishes to keep all one hundred noble ladies, His Highness the First Prince has also tacitly approved.”
“Hmph.” Xu Zihuang sneered in his heart, but the depths of his eyes grew exceptionally cold.
“Xu Tianran, you’ve really thought of everything for me.”
He finally understood why Xu Tianran had kept him alive back then.
Although the Sun Moon Empire’s royal family was thriving with many members, very few managed to inherit the top-tier martial souls passed down through the bloodline.
Xu Zihuang was one of the lucky ones.
When his martial soul awakened, not only did he possess innate full soul power—an extreme rarity in the Sun Moon Empire—but he also inherited the top-tier beast martial soul, the Purple Brilliance Heaven-Destroying Dragon.
Furthermore, the purity of his bloodline was unprecedented in the royal family’s near-millennium history.
The emotions deep in his eyes quickly returned to calm.
Immediately after, Xu Zihuang turned around and walked straight into the castle.
“When they arrive, Commander Hai Xiao, please notify me again.
After all, I don’t have the right to refuse, do I?”
Having understood Xu Tianran’s goal, his constantly tense nerves relaxed significantly.
At the very least, he was safe for now.
If he was lucky enough to survive the future, he would probably never be able to take a single step off this island for the rest of his life.
Indulging himself a little might be the only thing he could actually do.
Fortunately, the Sun Moon Empire’s current soul tool technology was not yet capable of extracting his seed and keeping it viable for a long time.
This was the only reason he seemingly had a choice.
Most importantly, he could drag out his existence for a few more years.
It would take at least three or four years before he reached the age where he could actually leave behind an heir.
Those three or four years were probably his final deadline.
He understood his cousin’s ruthless character perfectly well.
Once he actually left an heir and lost his value, his death would likely not be far away.
Walking through the castle’s wide and luxurious corridors, Xu Zihuang sighed inwardly.
“Starting off on Hell difficulty, huh.”
(END CHAPTER)