405: Dingyuan City was attacked

The powerhouses in the vicinity were all stunned by the scene. No one expected the matter to end so anticlimactically, with Prince Ding slinking away in disgrace. This was monumental news. Perhaps after tonight, the strength of the Ninth Prince of the Imperial Family, who had always been called a waste, would need to be re-evaluated... However, many also knew that this matter must never be leaked. The corpses on the scene were a glaring warning; if they spread the word, they might mysteriously die in some corner before long. Thus, the surrounding crowd quickly dispersed, leaving behind only a scene of ruins. These traces were also rapidly cleared away that same night. By the next morning, the entire South Yue City had returned to its previous appearance... Inside a secret room, Liu Rushi and Ran Yiyi were gathered together. Ran Yiyi looked at the light screen projection displayed by Liu Rushi, her expression filled with shock!

"Sister Liu, is this what happened last night?!"

"Indeed, that black shadow in the sky is undoubtedly Prince Ding," Liu Rushi said calmly.

Ran Yiyi nodded and said, "Although his face can't be seen clearly, looking at that Aura and that sword, it is indeed the Battle Heaven Sword... But isn't Prince Ding supposed to be guarding Dingyuan City? Why would he suddenly appear here? And even attack the Prince Fus Mansion in the middle of the night? What exactly is he trying to do?!"

When the people from the Divine Machine Camp arrived at the scene last night, Prince Ding and Zhu Deqin had already departed. Ran Yiyi and the others only saw countless people lying dead on the spot, all of whom were commoners. This matter was not under their jurisdiction, so they returned on their own afterward. But the news Liu Rushi brought today gave Ran Yiyi a great shock, only then realizing that the Prince Fus Mansion had undergone a life-or-death ordeal last night!

Fortunately, the Prince Fus Mansion held out. Otherwise, she wouldn't have known how to explain it to Ran Min, because her mission was to protect Long Yuan. Long Yuan was actually the Ninth Young Master of the Prince Fus Mansion, Zhu Deyuan. If the Prince Fus Mansion were finished, then Long Yuan would likely have met with disaster as well, since she had originally guessed that Long Yuan would likely stay in the Prince Fus Mansion after leaving that villa in the suburbs.

"What does Prince Ding want to do? Isn't it quite clear?" Liu Rushi sneered. She was extremely disdainful of such imperial succession struggles. What era was this, yet they were still fighting incessantly over these mundane interests? Wouldn't it be better to spend that time Cultivating more Qi?

Ran Yiyi's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. She dared not delay and quickly contacted Ran Min to report the events of last night. On the other end, Ran Min was momentarily speechless after hearing the news, clearly equally shocked in his heart... However, he quickly reacted and asked, "Who else knows about this?"

"When we arrived, the surrounding commoners had already perished, and the buildings were completely destroyed. According to Sister Liu, only a few powerhouses escaped from there. It's estimated that apart from the people of the Prince Fus Mansion, very few others know the situation!" Ran Yiyi said hesitantly.

Ran Min took a deep breath and said slowly, "This matter must not be publicized. After all, Prince Ding is stationed at Dingyuan City. If someone learns he abandoned his post, the consequences would be unpredictable!"

"Yes!!!" Ran Yiyi quickly responded.

However, just as she was about to hang up the phone, Ran Min on the other side suddenly cried out, "Not good!"

"Third Uncle, what's not good?!" Ran Yiyi asked urgently.

Ran Min's pained voice came through, "News just arrived from the Northern Defense Line. Dingyuan City was suddenly attacked by unknown powerhouses. Military and civilian casualties exceed one hundred thousand, and several treasuries in the city have been looted clean!!!"

"What?!!!" Ran Yiyi screamed, her entire body trembling violently... Hearing this news from the side, Liu Rushi's beautiful face was also covered in frost. She never imagined that in just one night, Dingyuan City would suffer such heavy losses. Those were over a hundred thousand living lives... No matter how detached she usually was, at this moment she gritted her teeth and cursed, "Prince Ding deserves to die!!!"

Ran Yiyi's eyes turned red, and she slumped onto her seat, twitching uncontrollably... That day, the news of the attack on Dingyuan City quickly spread throughout the entire Great Ming. For a time, public indignation reached a boiling point, with countless people calling for the pursuit of the invaders to avenge the sacrificed soldiers and civilians!

Many people were actually unaware of the internal details and thought it was an invasion by foreign enemies. Coupled with the recent events in various countries, people naturally assumed it was experts from the War Bear Country or an invasion by the Sea Race into Great Ming. Consequently, voices of resistance against the War Bear Country and the Sea Race rose again, even temporarily suppressing the recently bustling Cultivation Trend... In the core area of the Sinkhole Base, Long Yuan stood atop the Spiritual Vein, looking down toward the City of the Future with a thoughtful expression... Beside him, Zhu Nan asked with an excited face, "Young Lord, should we release this video of Prince Ding attacking the Prince Fus Mansion? This would definitely be a fatal blow to Prince Ding! He certainly won't be able to participate in the succession struggle anymore!"

"Not for now!" Long Yuan shook his head.

"But why?" Zhu Nan asked, puzzled.

"Releasing it now would surely shake the morale of the people and the military of Great Ming, which is unfavorable for Prince An's preparations against the Sea Race. Moreover, directly falling out with Prince Ding is not a wise move!" Long Yuan said.

"But... with our current strength, we no longer need to fear him?" Zhu Nan said suspiciously.

"There's certainly no need to fear him, but Prince Ding is, after all, a powerhouse and a Commander guarding a border city. Rather than directly falling out with him, it's better to keep this evidence in our hands; it could play a vital role at some point in the future! Our Prince Fus Mansion doesn't need to wade into those muddy waters for now; we should just develop and grow stronger in secret! Besides, we aren't the only ones who know about this; there are people from many other major forces. Do you think those people will let Prince Ding off?"

"This old servant understands! The Young Lord is wise!" Zhu Nan said sincerely.

Long Yuan waved his hand and asked, "How are the immortal seedlings detected by the South Yue City officials being arranged?"

Zhu Nan thought for a moment and said, "This is being arranged by the Jianxuan Envoy Department. They should all be sent to the Cultivation Academy in Yingtian Prefecture. However, among the eight immortal seedlings detected in this prefecture, the people from Xuanji Tower have picked the Fifteenth Young Master. They say his Spiritual Root is a Water-Earth Dual Spiritual Root with great potential, and said that if Your Highness agrees, they will take the Fifteenth Young Master into Xuanji Tower and send him to the Sect behind them for focused cultivation!"

"Fifteenth Brother?" Long Yuan knew there was a Water-Earth Dual Spiritual Root among the eight immortal seedlings of the Prince Fus Mansion, but he hadn't noticed it was this Fifteenth Young Master. Thinking back now, he should be called Zhu Deping, five years younger than himself, so he should be twelve now. A twelve-year-old dual Spiritual Root—no wonder Xuanji Tower is willing to invest resources in his cultivation.

Of course, Zhu Deping's Aptitude did not fall within the selection range of the Heavenly Eye. Perhaps his Aptitude has cultivation value in the Star Domain's Cultivation World, but it doesn't have much potential in the more Advanced Immortal Realm. That's why Long Yuan hadn't asked Zhu Nan to bring him to the base before, but he hadn't expected Xuanji Tower to pick him...