298: The battle begins

"Senior Brother Saint, I feel that the Second Prince is scheming against you. After all, the relationship between you and Lin, Lin Ye, is currently spreading like wildfire throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. How could he possibly not know?"

Ling Ruoqing furrowed her delicate brows.

She deeply loathed the way the Second Prince gazed at her; had she not been invited, she would have wanted to gouge his eyeballs out.

Ever since hearing about Lin Ye's childhood experiences, Ling Ruoqing had felt not only heartache but also a desire for revenge.

Whenever she saw an enemy, she wanted to gouge out their eyes so they too could taste the agony of having their eyes gouged out.

She had absolutely no goodwill toward the Lin family.

Hearing Ling Ruoqing's words, Lin Yu nodded. "I naturally know that he wants to use us, but Junior Sister Ling, let me tell you one thing: we did not come to this Wu Dynasty to help him seize the throne."

"Hmm?"

Ling Ruoqing's beautiful eyes held a trace of doubt. If they hadn't come to help the Second Prince seize the throne, then what were they here for?

Lin Yu smiled without speaking, clearly having no intention of revealing the truth.

The intelligent Ling Ruoqing naturally did not ask again. After exchanging a few words, she bid him farewell and left.

After Ling Ruoqing left, Lin Yu's expression gradually turned indifferent.

"Elder Ming, is that item truly within the Wu Dynasty?"

"Naturally, it is!"

An aged voice sounded in Lin Yu's mind. "What do you think Wu Zhen is relying on to want to live another life? As long as we obtain that item, not only will your cultivation ascend to a higher level, but I will also be able to possess a physical form!"

"As long as I recover my former cultivation, I guarantee I will help you destroy the Lin family."

Hearing this, the corners of Lin Yu's mouth curled up slightly, his words carrying a profound meaning. "Then I will leave it to you, Elder Ming."

"Hahahaha, you are my disciple. There is no need for such formalities between us; rest assured."

The room fell silent once more.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, the entire Martial Dao City was locked down. Powerful soldiers could be seen patrolling everywhere, and the city gates were tightly shut, allowing no entry or exit.

The city itself was placed under martial law.

Even transactions between Cultivators were strictly prohibited. The reason was that today, the struggle for the throne was to be held within Martial Dao City.

At such an important moment, they naturally would not allow anyone to interfere.

Within the Imperial Palace, civil and military officials, palace concubines, and even guards and palace maids were all busy, with heavy expressions on their faces.

After today, the future Saint Emperor of the entire Imperial Dynasty would be decided.

There was no room for even the slightest carelessness.

Any mistake would be a grave disaster for the Imperial Dynasty; skinning and Soul Refining would not be enough to compensate for it.

Behind the Weiwu Hall of the Imperial Palace, there was a vast open space.

In the very center of this open space was a newly constructed arena. The Materials used for the arena were all of the highest quality, intended to ensure the arena would not be easily destroyed.

Various treasures surrounded the arena, forming a grand formation.

As long as spiritual power was input into it, the formation could be activated, and high viewing stands had been erected around the four sides of the arena.

In the struggle for the throne, besides Bloodline and ability, martial strength was naturally extremely important.

After all, the Wu Dynasty had always been famous for having the biggest fists.

When the Martial Saint Emperor was young, he had suppressed all directions with a pair of iron fists.

Boom!!!

At this moment, the Dragon carriage that Lin Ye had previously ridden in slowly drove over. The Martial Saint Emperor stepped down from it and came to sit on the dragon throne on the foremost viewing stand.

Empress Wu had already been waiting there.

Even though the Martial Saint Emperor came to her side, she had no intention of looking at him at all. Instead, she turned her gaze toward the arena, seemingly lost in thought.

Before long, the civil and military officials, as well as the princes and princesses, arrived one after another.

After bowing and paying their respects to the Martial Saint Emperor, they each took their seats on the viewing stands.

Empress Wu's beautiful eyes swept across the crowd, and finally, her gaze fixed on a man.

Dressed in red, with a handsome face, slightly upturned lips, and an aura that made him seem like a sharp sword unsheathed as he stood there.

Who else could it be but Lin Ye?

At this moment, Lin Ye was standing beside Wu Mingyue. He then slowly sat down, and as he sat, he seemed to sense something and turned his head to look.

Empress Wu and Lin Ye's gazes met at that moment.

The moment their eyes met, Empress Wu seemed to have a guilty conscience and quickly dodged away. Her crystal-clear earlobes turned bright red, looking exceptionally cute.

For these past few days, Lin Ye had remained in Wu Mingyue's residence and had not come out.

Empress Wu had not visited the Princess's residence, which made Wu Mingyue very strange, as the struggle for the throne was about to begin.

She had invited her mother several times, but without success.

Each time, she claimed that her Phoenix body was unwell.

But since the general plan had already been set, Wu Mingyue did not pay much attention to her mother's little stubbornness.

After seeing Empress Wu dodge his gaze, a trace of awkwardness flashed in Lin Ye's eyes, but immediately after, he turned his gaze toward the Second Prince's side.

Two familiar figures came into view.

"Why did they come?"

Hearing Lin Ye's whisper, Wu Mingyue turned her head and asked in confusion, "What is it? Lin Ye?"

Hearing this, Lin Ye shook his head and did not say much.

Seeing Lin Ye's thoughtful expression, Wu Mingyue's beautiful eyes then looked in the direction Lin Ye had been looking.

Hmm?

At this look, Wu Mingyue was also stunned for a moment.

Lin Yu.

Isn't this Lin Ye's brother? How did he get invited by my younger brother?

Second brother, you really do want to exhaust all your efforts to fight for this position, don't you?

Just as everyone had their own thoughts, the Martial Saint Emperor stood up and said in a loud voice, "Everyone, I have asked you to come today to bear witness. My Wu Dynasty is about to select a Crown Prince to inherit the position of the next Saint Emperor."

"According to our ancestral teachings, the matter of seizing the throne in my Wu Dynasty does not distinguish between elder and younger; it depends on one's own ability. This includes all princes and princesses. As long as you have the ability, you may take this position of Saint Emperor."

"Talent, Bloodline, and ability—everyone has seen them."

"And the most important thing is strength! The arena today was built for this very reason!"

"Come and fight for it! This has always been the tradition of my Wu Dynasty. If you want the position of Crown Prince, use your cultivation to take it!"

Hearing the Martial Saint Emperor's words, all the princes and princesses who wanted to seize the throne had red eyes, as if the position of Crown Prince would be theirs the next moment.

However, they quickly calmed down.

Everyone was not a fool; they saw the two people in the arena who could become the biggest obstacles.

One was Lin Ye, and the other was Lin Yu.

Two outsiders had actually come for the position of Crown Prince of the Wu Dynasty, and they were the two most critical ones at that; it was simply a joke!