371: Pessimistic Prince Lu

"What?! How is this possible?!" Prince Lu was greatly shocked upon hearing this.

"This news is absolutely true! Now, almost all the hunting teams in Southern Yue City have gone to hunt beasts in the wilderness after hearing the news..."

"How can Southern Yue City have such combat power? Even if I went, I wouldn't be able to exterminate so many powerful beast races!" Prince Lu said in astonishment.

"Your Highness, it is said that the one who exterminated those powerful beast races was a single person. This person is the Ninth Young Master of the Prince Fus Mansion, and he is also referred to as 'Young Lord' by them!" Butler said.

"Is that so?! What is the Ninth Young Master's name?" Prince Lu asked urgently.

"Zhu Deyuan! I have already sent his information to Your Highness, please check it!"

"Good!"

Prince Lu immediately checked the information. This piece of information was not complete, only mentioning that Zhu Deyuan was expelled from the Prince Fus Mansion with his mother when he was six years old, and there was no follow-up. The latter part was a guess that this might be a smokescreen deliberately released by Prince Fu to protect his growth, and that Zhu Deyuan was only allowed to come out and serve as the Young Lord after he had achieved success in Cultivation. This information had not yet investigated that Zhu Deyuan was actually Long Yuan, no wonder Butler would make such a guess.

"I didn't expect the Ninth Young Master to have such a profound mind. I underestimated him before... But what's the use of Zhu Deyuan being strong? Without becoming a Cultivator, he will only be devoured by exotic beasts in the future. All his calculations will come to naught. Let him be smug for a while..." Prince Lu hummed to himself. He now understood the current situation of Blue Star, with the wisdom pearl in hand, and was about to enter a state of sagehood!

In his opinion, Blue Star being ruled by the beast races was almost a certainty. At present, nothing was more important than unearthing Cultivator seeds and how to get closer to Xuanji Tower. Only by quickly obtaining the protection of Xuanji Tower could Lu Wang Manor have a foothold on this terrifying Blue Star!

"Your Highness, there is one more thing I need to report to you!"

"Speak!!!"

"Yes! It's about Zhu Yong, who was sent to help Aoi Yoshiko earlier, who also cannot be contacted. Even Aoi Yoshiko herself has lost contact..." Butler said.

"What? You mean they're all missing?!" Prince Lu said angrily.

"This... you could say that! Earlier, this old servant also heard Aoi Yoshiko say that her Revered Master Yokota Ichiro would also come to Great Ming, but now he hasn't been seen, and no news about the treasure mine has been heard. This old servant suspects that they may have encountered trouble, and it might even be related to that Ninth Young Master Zhu Deyuan of Prince Fu's Residence..." Butler said with uncertainty.

Prince Lu's face turned ashen. He never expected his recent actions to be so unsuccessful. Not only were his men lost, but his relationship with Fusang and Blood Wolf Hall was also affected, which naturally would not benefit his succession efforts. Could all of this really be due to that Zhu Deyuan?!

"Zhu Deyuan... I will not let you off! Immediately investigate the ins and outs of this matter for me. I want to see them alive, or their bodies if they are dead. I must not tarnish the reputation of my manor!!!" Prince Lu said furiously.

"Yes! Your Highness! This old servant has already sent people to investigate Zhu Deyuan's experiences after leaving the Prince Fus Mansion. His actions this time can be described as miraculous. At just 17 years old, he was able to single-handedly exterminate dozens of beast race Martial Commanders. His strength is much greater than that of an ordinary Martial Commander. I'm afraid he will pose a considerable threat to our manor in the future!" Butler said cautiously.

"Hmph, what's there to be afraid of? Now, the Eighteenth Young Revered Master has already been tested to have Cultivation Aptitude, and he has Earth Grade Genius Aptitude, with a chance to be accepted into Xuanji Tower. His combat power will soon surpass that Zhu Deyuan. The Prince Fus Mansion and Zhu Deyuan will only be stepping stones for me and the Eighteenth Young Revered Master!" Prince Lu said boastfully.

Butler was stunned. Although he didn't quite understand, it was undoubtedly a good thing, so he quickly said respectfully, "Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Eighteenth Young Revered Master!!! Your Highness will surely ascend to the throne, spread your power across the seas, and all nations will come to pay homage!!!"

"Haha, hahahahaha..."

"Your Highness, the Northern Front Line is urging for reinforcements to go north again. How do you plan to proceed?" Butler asked cautiously.

"Gather the troops. I will arrive in two hours! Oh, and how is the Eighteenth Young Revered Master doing?"

"Prince Gong has already sent a contingent of five thousand manor soldiers to the north!" Butler replied.

"What about him?"

"He is staying here in Shuntian Prefecture and has not gone to the front lines..."

"Hmph, a cowardly fellow! This person is not worthy of discussion with me..." Prince Lu said disdainfully.

Butler quickly said, "That is of course! However, Your Highness, now is a time of trouble. Any oversight could bring unexpected changes to the succession struggle. It would be better for Your Highness to remain in Shuntian Prefecture to oversee things, lest you be secretly plotted against by villains..."

"Oh? You think gaining military merits is not as good as staying in Shuntian Prefecture?" Prince Lu was startled.

"Your Highness, this old servant thinks this way: at present, War Bear Country is aggressive, and I hear that many strange war weapons, which we have never seen before, have appeared on the front lines. They are incredibly powerful, causing countless casualties, and it's possible that their newly promoted Martial King is also among them. The danger on the front lines can be imagined. Currently, Great Ming's strategy is to pile up lives, and Xu Yanran doesn't have a much better solution. Furthermore, the two large armies in Dingyuan City in the northwest and Shanhaiguan in the northeast are also under pressure and cannot spare troops for support. At present, the reinforcements going to the rear are basically going to fill a pit... Under such circumstances, Your Highness staying in Shuntian Prefecture is actually preserving strength for Great Ming. When the critical moment comes, taking action will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort!!!" Butler spoke eloquently.

Prince Lu's expression changed several times as he listened, but finally, he was slightly startled and then laughed, "Well said! In that case, after you gather five thousand manor soldiers, let them go north. I will not go!"

"Yes!!!" Butler quickly responded.

Prince Lu put down the phone, his face not looking very good. Thinking of the strength of the beast races, the tragic situation on the Northern Front Line, the various setbacks of his own manor, the cracks in his cooperation with Fusang and Blood Wolf Hall, and that Zhu Deyuan whose strength was hard to estimate, his mood instantly became a mess, and he even began to feel a little pessimistic. Was Great Ming about to be finished? Why should he bother with the succession struggle? It would be more important to quickly find a way out to save his life, and the way out, of course, was Xuanji Tower and the Tianji Pavilion behind it... Inside Xuanji Tower, Sabado examined the supreme-grade mysterious stone he had received from Prince Lu, with a rather proud expression on his face. Looking at the hundred-billion xuan stone black card, his heart beat even faster, because today's income was more than half of his hard-earned income from the past!

Indeed, anything related to Cultivation could not be cheap. Even if he wanted to follow the rules of Xuanji Tower, he couldn't stop people from treating money like dirt and directly handing it to him...