After the banquet ended, Long Chen said goodbye to Yu Qingxuan and returned to her princess's residence with Yu Qianxue. Along the way, Yu Qianxue suddenly became silent and withdrawn.
"Why aren't you talking? This doesn't look like you." Long Chen said with a smile.
"Why doesn't it look like me?" Yu Qianxue asked.
"Just a little setback, and your will is already down?" Long Chen said.
"Speaking of despair, it's not exactly despair, but there are definitely setbacks. Even if you weren't peerless masters before, among peers, it was hard to find a worthy opponent.
And now? I feel like a frog at the bottom of a well; I'm still too childish. Yu Qianxue said with a bitter smile.
This battle dealt her a heavy blow; almost all the royal experts were wiped out.
Previously, Yu Qianxue was full of confidence and had even made a bet with Long Chen. Looking back now, that bet was incredibly naive.
She not only wanted to get Long Chen's people, but also wanted to have the entire Dragon Blood Legion. Looking back now, she was so confident back then that she was so ashamed she could barely hide herself.
"Long Chen, aren't we childish? Ridiculous? Yu Qianxue asked.
"It really is childish." Long Chen nodded and said.
"You... Even if you are, you don't have to answer so directly, right? Yu Qianxue said somewhat angrily.
"What's wrong?" You still want me to comfort you kindly? Actually, with your personality, this kind of blow isn't a big deal. Long Chen said with a smile.
"How do you know it's nothing? We have disgraced the royal family, disgraced our father.
Father was a proud man; the less he punished us, the more painful we felt. Yu Qianxue sighed, looking wistful.
"I call you childish, and you still refuse to accept it? Your defeat was all expected, and part of the royal family's plan.
So, you don't need to blame yourselves at all, and your performance is indeed quite good. None of the royal disciples are cowards, which is commendable.
His Majesty's praise of you is not sarcasm, but truly satisfied with your performance. Long Chen said.
"Really?" Yu Qianxue said with a face full of surprise.
"Of course it's true. If I'm not mistaken, you might soon have to undergo hell-level training.
If I'm not mistaken, the Vermilion Bird royal family deliberately let you lose; it's all just for the sake of the other side. "Long Chen recalled the various signs at the banquet and felt this was very likely.
"Deliberately losing to them?" Why is that? Why are you looking at me like that? Yu Qianxue asked in confusion.
Long Chen said irritably, "If you can't even figure this out, then you might as well forget about being an empress anymore."
It was clear that the Vermilion Bird royal family was deliberately feigning weakness to oppose the enemy—either to lure them into confusion or to lure them in.
If it was to feign weakness to gain more breathing room, it was to lure the enemy out, to bring all enemies to the surface and wipe them out in one fell swoop.
In my opinion, the latter is more likely. When the eight great empires take the initiative to attack Vermilion Bird, it will have a legitimate reason to launch its campaign, and with a passive counterattack, even with fierce tactics, it will all be justified.
In the history of the Vermilion Bird Empire, there have been several humiliations, all related to the Seven Great Empires. Now, the Imperial Seal Empire, an untrained dog, has turned its back on Vermilion Bird, and the Eight Great Empires have once again threatened the Vermilion Bird. While the Vermilion Bird Empire is fraught with danger, it also hides tremendous opportunities.
As for whether it's a crisis or an opportunity, it mainly depends on strength. If you have strength, you'll eat a huge meat bun; if not, you'll be crushed to death by it. "
You mean all of this was arranged?" Wait, our strength can't be faked at all, is it? "
So stupid. You lost to the opponent mainly because you lacked combat experience, and at the same time, you both had seals inside you." Long Chen said.
"Impossible. If there were a seal, how could we not know about it?" Yu Qianxue widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Believe it or not." Long Chen shrugged, too lazy to explain.
How rich is Long Chen's combat experience? Having fought his way from the mortal realm all the way to the Immortal Realm, Long Chen had developed a pair of fiery eyes. At first, he didn't realize it, but when he saw the seventh prince fighting, he finally sensed something was wrong.
No matter how desperately these princes and princesses tried, they could never unleash the power deep within their bodies. This was unreasonable. When facing death, people instinctively unleashed their potential, and once that potential was awakened, they entered an extremely weak state—a state known as overdrawing.
But on the surface, they appeared powerless to fight back and had no chance to unleash their potential. This facade could fool others, but it couldn't fool Long Chen, so Long Chen felt something was wrong.
"If what you say is true, then that's great. Let those eight nations' powerhouses know that the emperor of our Vermilion Bird Empire is not foolish!" Yu Qianxue said excitedly.
Because Yu Xiaoyun has a bad temper, is unapproachable, and has poor problem-solving skills, the Eight Great Empires show little respect to him and secretly call him the Fool. The Eight Great Empires deliberately belittle Yu Xiaoyun, inciting the public to resent the Vermilion Bird Empire.
"No, no, no, you're wrong. His Majesty is truly foolish; the two empresses are not."
Long Chen waved his hand and said, but he didn't believe it. This strategy was related to Yu Xiaoyun, who was a typical brainless person who liked to be straightforward. Such a strategy simply didn't fit his style.
Yu Qianxue was speechless. The only person in the Vermilion Bird Empire daring to speak so about the emperor was probably this guy.
However, Long Chen had smashed a powerful figure from the Tianxi Empire with a single punch in the grand hall, and in front of a triple-flower-level Earth Venerable, he captured the peerless expert Weng Tianyao with ease, as if reaching into a bag. Yu Qianxue's admiration for Long Chen reached to the extreme, even to the point of admiration.
The two returned to the princess's residence. Early the next morning, someone came and gave Long Chen an identity badge. Long Chen knew this was to send him to the Scholar's Residence to report.
"Tch, am I supposed to be the one who does all the bad guys? Forget it, for the sake of my wife, I can only hold on. Long Chen was helpless, took the nameplate, and went alone to the Scholar's Courtyard.
The Confucius Academy is the highest academy in the Vermilion Bird Empire, with three Fuzi (Masters) inside—the three most learned in the empire. Sun Fuzi and Sun Gongzhi are among them.
Long Chen arrived at the massive gatehouse, looked at the gilded characters on the plaque, and couldn't help but show a trace of emotion on his face.
The three large characters "Master's Courtyard" were written squarely and uprightly, full of righteousness and strength. Although Long Chen did not understand magic, from these three characters he could feel the noble righteousness within the writer's heart.
"The highest academy built with the strength of an entire nation is actually a place full of filth and filth. It's truly sad. I just wonder if you will still be able to stand here tomorrow."
"Whether the Master's Court can stand still depends entirely on the word of the master!" At that moment, an aged voice came from inside the gate.