“Young Master, that Xiao Chen just won using underhanded means. Should we expose him so he doesn’t get the crown prince title?”
She had been watching Xiao Chen closely these past few days, thinking Lin Xingyun held a grudge against him because he kept setting traps for him.
“Hmm? How was it underhanded?”
“Just now, I sensed a surge of soul power from his Heaven‑Earth Ring, which strengthened him. It appeared to be a remnant soul, and its cultivation before death was so high I couldn’t even see through it.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is,” Lin Xingyun suddenly understood. But he wasn’t surprised. A Child of Destiny with an old man hiding in his ring—how could he not use it?
Besides, the strongest person present was only Ying Qing, at the King Realm. If one wasn’t intentionally watching for abnormalities, it would’ve been nearly impossible to notice.
With a wicked smile, Lin Xingyun immediately stood up and shouted, “Wait!”
He said loudly, “The Ninth Prince must not be made Crown Prince!”
The entire hall fell silent in an instant, and everyone looked toward Lin Xingyun.
Xiao Chen was just about to accept the imperial decree from his father when that familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.
Cold sweat broke out on his back as a deep sense of dread surged within him again.
“Hmm? My good son-in-law, what do you mean by that?” Emperor Xiao Yang frowned as he asked.
He had invited Lin Xingyun to drink many times recently, and they’d become familiar, so he shamelessly called him “son-in-law.”
“Your Majesty may not know, but just now, my personal guard discovered that during the match, the Ninth Prince used external power. Inside his Heaven‑Earth Ring is a remnant soul of an evil cultivator who used his soul power to help him win. Based on his current aura, it’s highly likely that the Ninth Prince is already under that evil cultivator’s control. If we crown him as the next emperor, the entire Heavenly Enlightenment Empire may fall into the hands of outsiders!”
Lin Xingyun exaggerated and twisted the truth in front of everyone.
Xiao Chen was already drenched in sweat. His biggest secret had been exposed!
But damn that Lin Xingyun!
How dare he call his master an evil cultivator? And claim that he was being controlled?
Such slander… this was simply shameless!
“What?!”
“How could this happen?!”
“No wonder the Ninth Prince suddenly turned the tide in the fight. So it was due to help from an evil cultivator’s remnant soul!”
“I’ve always said there was something strange about him. A cripple suddenly recovering like that—how could it be normal?”
“I heard that only those evil cultivators who defy the heavens can cause someone’s cultivation to surge like that in such a short time!”
“Young Master Lin is truly sharp-eyed!”
“A family like the Longevity Lin Clan is indeed extraordinary!”
No one questioned Lin Xingyun’s words. After all, his identity was enough to make everyone take his words seriously.
Hearing all the discussion, Xiao Chen was consumed with rage.
He stared at Lin Xingyun with venomous hatred. At this moment, he finally understood—Lin Xingyun was truly out to ruin him!
Everything he had suffered recently wasn’t coincidence; it had all been Lin Xingyun’s doing.
Every step he had taken lately had been tightly controlled by Lin Xingyun.
“Lin Xingyun—!” Xiao Chen gritted his teeth, “What grudge do we even have? Why are you always ruining everything I do? Must it really be a life-or-death struggle between us?!”
Lin Xingyun said righteously, “Brother Xiao Chen, turn back while you still can. The power of that evil cultivator runs too deep for you to control. Don’t worry, if you cooperate, your brother-in-law will help you rid yourself of him.”
“That’s right, Ninth Brother. Xingyun would never hurt you,” Xiao Qianluo quickly chimed in.
She trusted Lin Xingyun completely, so naturally, she tried to persuade her imperial brother.
“He wouldn’t hurt me? Hasn’t he already caused me enough misery? You stupid woman, he’ll get you killed sooner or later too!”
Xiao Chen was so angry at his sister that he nearly coughed up blood.
“Chen’er, just open your Heaven‑Earth Ring so we can investigate. If you’re innocent, your father won’t wrong you,” Emperor Xiao Yang said with a serious expression.
If a remnant soul of an evil cultivator had really taken control of Xiao Chen and intended to seize the empire, then he couldn’t afford to ignore it.
“Heh… heh…”
“Fine… fine… fine!”
Xiao Chen sneered, his face twisting with madness and hatred.
He glanced at Lin Xingyun again, now filled with pure vengeance.
He knew there was no turning this around. Even if he opened the Heaven‑Earth Ring and revealed Han Feng’s identity, proving Han Feng wasn’t an evil cultivator, it still wouldn’t prove he hadn’t cheated during the match.
His father would never pass the throne to him now.
Staying in the empire would be pointless.
“Lin Xingyun, you’ve won. You’re ruthless!” Xiao Chen said through gritted teeth. “Your Lin Clan is powerful, and I can’t fight you now. But I still have the future!”
“Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! One day, I’ll come knocking on the Lin Clan’s door to collect this debt!”
With a firm and bitter declaration, Xiao Chen’s favorability toward Lin Xingyun dropped to 0 [Sworn Enemies!].
Inside the Heaven‑Earth Ring, Han Feng was already prepared. His entire soul force burst forth and enveloped Xiao Chen, transforming into a divine beam of light that shot into the sky.
The royal enforcers and guards followed, but their cultivation was far behind. They were soon left behind by Ying Qing and Han Feng.
“The Ninth Prince has fled in fear of punishment!”
“He really was possessed by an evil cultivator’s remnant soul!”
“Thankfully, Young Master Lin exposed it in time, or we’d be in serious trouble!”
“With someone like Young Master Lin watching over our empire, we’re sure to prosper!”
The crowd burst into excited flattery and praise for Lin Xingyun.
Before long, Ying Qing returned with a face full of guilt and reported that the remnant soul had used a mysterious soul technique to conceal its presence and had escaped without a trace.
The crowd could only sigh in disappointment.
Lin Xingyun simply nodded. A Child of Destiny wouldn’t be so easy to kill.
He was still only at the Vital Energy Realm. He had no way to kill or track Xiao Chen yet.
By his estimation, he would need enough strength to rival a Child of Destiny before he could personally finish the job.
But he wasn’t in a hurry.
Someone like Xiao Chen was bound to rise again and seek revenge.
Perhaps next time, he would bring an even greater surprise.
Emperor Xiao Yang, heartbroken, finally declared that the Ninth Prince Xiao Chen was to be removed from the royal family and issued a bounty, ordering a full pursuit of his whereabouts.
[Ding! Host has successfully plundered the Child of Destiny’s fortune!]
[Reward: 4,344 Villain Points! Xiao Chen’s fate points decreased by 4,344. Remaining fate points: 100!]
[Host has earned the Child of Destiny’s intense hatred. Extra Villain Points awarded!]
[Host has plundered the Child of Destiny’s fortune ten times consecutively. Reward: 1 Intermediate Draw opportunity!]
At that moment, the system prompt echoed in Lin Xingyun’s mind.
“Tsk tsk, only 100 fate points left?” Lin Xingyun smiled and nodded. “No matter. Like weeds, he’ll grow back.”
“I didn’t expect plundering ten times would earn me an Intermediate Draw. Seems my system still has some conscience after all, unlike those greedy rip-off ones!”
With over 190,000 Villain Points in hand and the system’s bonus, he now had enough to perform two Intermediate Draws.
But now wasn’t the time.
With a calm expression, Lin Xingyun continued his performance…