At the crystal dining table closest to Xu Zihuang in the hall, a blonde girl looking sixteen or seventeen gracefully held her glazed cup.
The girl’s face was extremely beautiful.
Her flowing blonde hair shimmered with dark gold colors under the slightly dim soul tool light, like draped tassels, adding a touch of psychedelic charm.
She wore a pure white pleated dress that revealed her fair shoulders and collarbones.
Precious ice-silkworm silk gloves wrapped her slender fingers.
A pigeon-egg-sized sapphire necklace adorned her chest, complementing her snow-white skin perfectly.
Her azure eyes sparkled with wisdom.
Beside her, a crowd of other noble ladies vied to cluster around her.
When his gaze shifted to the girl, Xu Zihuang narrowed his eyes.
His memory had always been excellent, almost to the point of photographic recall.
Perhaps this was a precursor to awakening his mental attribute body martial soul, the Golden Eyes.
From his memory, he recalled that this girl seemed to be the daughter of a powerful Marquis in the Sun Moon Empire.
When he was young, they had some contact.
As for her name, the young Xu Zihuang hadn’t cared back then, so there was naturally no impression of it in his mind.
The girl, seemingly engaged in conversation but actually focusing all her attention on Xu Zihuang, deliberately put on a look of surprise.
With her red lips slightly parted, she raised her glazed cup and offered an elegant aristocratic salute typical of the Sun Moon Empire towards Xu Zihuang.
Xu Zihuang nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then withdrew his gaze.
A very calculating woman.
This was Xu Zihuang’s assessment of the girl.
No matter how natural she acted, and despite having no flaws in her facial expression, the emotions deep in her eyes were hard to conceal.
The eyes are the windows to the soul and the area most prone to revealing true human emotions.
Only extremely powerful soul masters could hide it perfectly.
As the son of a highly influential prince, Xu Zihuang had received the royal education of a superior since childhood.
Fathoming the human heart was one of the most crucial subjects.
Coupled with his mental attribute body martial soul, the Golden Eyes, he could observe the changes deep within someone’s eyes in even greater detail.
“Your Highness, that is the second daughter of Marquis Yin Cheng of Mingdu, Yin Ziyue,” Commander Yu Yun of the Vast Sea Legion, catching the hint, respectfully reminded him from the side.
Yu Yun was an old man who looked less than 1.65 meters tall, with a thin frame and dark skin—typical of someone from the coastal regions of the Sun Moon Empire.
He originally didn’t have much respect for this exiled prince.
After all, given the current situation, no one dared to involve themselves with Xu Zihuang, who was almost guaranteed never to turn his fortunes around.
But seeing Hai Xiao—a confidant of the First Prince Xu Tianran—acting so respectfully towards Xu Zihuang, his active mind naturally made him dare not act out of turn.
Xu Zihuang indifferently set down the gold utensil carved with magnificent patterns and looked up again toward Yin Ziyue.
“Just those ten.
Commander Yu Yun, please thank my Imperial Brother for his kindness when you return.”
The Imperial Brother he referred to was, of course, His Highness the First Prince, Xu Tianran, who currently had the greatest hope of inheriting the empire’s throne.
“Your Highness, your subordinate will certainly pass the message to His Highness the First Prince,” Yu Yun quickly stood up and bowed.
Xu Zihuang didn’t say anything more.
He stood up and directly left the hall under the escort of a few soldiers.
The moment Xu Zihuang stood up to leave, the atmosphere in the hall instantly changed.
Because those noble ladies understood that Xu Zihuang had made his choice.
Many hopeful gazes shifted to Xu Zihuang, but no one made a sound.
Only after Xu Zihuang had left did low chatter break out in the hall.
“Ziyue, I noticed the Prince kept looking our way just now.
Do you think we are very likely to be chosen?!” A blue-haired girl with a very proud figure beside Yin Ziyue clenched her fists joyfully, her chest heaving.
“If we are truly chosen and manage to conceive an heir with the royal family’s Purple Brilliance Heaven-Destroying Dragon martial soul, our families could reverse their decline.”
Among the hundred noble ladies who came here, the majority were in similar situations.
They came because of various difficulties.
Otherwise, if they came from top-tier noble families with prominent power, their families would absolutely not let their legitimate daughters do this sort of thing.
Aside from the gossip it would invite from other nobles, the main reason was that issues involving the royal inheritance of the Sun Moon Empire were far too sensitive.
It could very well bring disaster upon their families.
However, Yin Ziyue was an exception.
She had volunteered to come, even at the cost of souring her relationship with her family.
She was only the second daughter.
Although females could also inherit family titles in the Sun Moon Empire and the three native Douluo empires, she was not born of the primary wife.
She would be denied the family title her entire life and might even be used as a marriage tool to consolidate the family’s power.
She was unwilling to accept this.
Rather than being casually manipulated by her family and living her life like a puppet, she would prefer to fight for a sliver of opportunity herself.
Relying on her family’s influence, she had obtained some insider information about Xu Zihuang.
Innate full soul power, and a bloodline purity rarely seen in the Sun Moon Empire’s royal family over the past thousand years.
If things were maneuvered properly, there would be infinite possibilities.
Due to the surging emotions in her heart, the hand holding the glazed cup trembled slightly, and the corners of her mouth curled into a charming and confident arc.
The group of noble ladies crowding around Yin Ziyue all looked elated, while Yu Yun, sitting in the head seat of the hall, breathed a slight sigh of relief.
“Commander Hai Xiao, since His Highness has made his choice, I will go prepare for our departure early tomorrow morning.
Sorry for the disturbance tonight.”
The ten ladies led by Yin Ziyue that Xu Zihuang selected were almost all backed by the most powerful nobles.
Since they were staying on the island, the return trip wouldn’t carry nearly as much pressure for him as the journey here.
“Please suit yourself, Commander Yu Yun.” Hai Xiao didn’t stand up, merely watching Yu Yun leave the castle.
He then ordered his subordinates to take the ten selected noble ladies to stay in the castle.
As for those not chosen, they were sent back to the giant ship.
The castle couldn’t accommodate that many people anyway, and more people meant more eyes, making problems more likely to arise.
Hai Xiao moved his burly body to the flowerbed in front of the castle.
Looking at the silver crescent moon hanging high in the night sky, he gave a deep command.
“Someone come.”
A soldier fully clad in blue armor dropped to one knee behind Hai Xiao.
This blue armor was standard issue for the Western Sea Legion.
From this alone, one could see the difference from Yu Yun’s ragtag legion.
“Pass down the order: tell everyone not to rest tonight.
Strengthen the guard on the walls.
Especially near the port in the east.”
“Yes!
Commander!”
(END CHAPTER)