410: An alliance?

Prince Gong could not help but show a look of admiration upon hearing this, nodding as he said, "Hall Master Fang, your insight is truly outstanding. The issue you mentioned is exactly where Sabado and his people draw their confidence. Indeed, without the backing of a major Sect, the sea race Cultivators are, at best, just Loose Cultivators. Trying to contend with Xuanji Tower will certainly leave them at a disadvantage, but..."

"But what?"

"The sea race possesses a natural advantage in the ocean, and once their Physique and Bloodline undergo Awakening, they can unleash their abilities naturally without the need for magical augmentation. This is something our Human Race Cultivators cannot compare to. Of course, it is not impossible for special Physiques to be born among our Human Race Cultivators, but at present, we have no information on that. Therefore, Sabado and the others have not underestimated the sea race; instead, they have already sent a request for reinforcements to the Sect behind them. I believe that before long, stronger individuals from Xuanji Tower will arrive..." Prince Gong said.

Everyone in the room listened with astonishment. When it came to such first-hand Cultivator secrets, perhaps only Prince Gong could obtain them from Sabado. They had also purchased Cultivation information from Xuanji Tower, but most of it was quite generic, much like an introductory course. How could it compare to the detailed and nuanced account Prince Gong was giving now?

Fang Qihe nodded repeatedly, pondering, "In that case, it is possible that the sea race was behind the incident in Dingyuan City. However, given the arrogant nature of the sea race, it is unlikely they would station secret agents in Southern Yue City, right?"

"That is indeed true. The arrogance and haughtiness of the sea race are well known, but after not seeing them for hundreds of years, no one knows what the sea race has become. This possibility still exists..." Prince Gong said.

As for who the real culprit was, everyone in the room had their own guesses, but they were basically discussing within the framework envisioned by Prince Gong and Fang Qihe. To truly identify the perpetrator, it would likely only be possible once more comprehensive information became available.

"Your Highness, this Old Minister has something to say!" Fang Qihe suddenly spoke.

"Oh? Please, speak!" Prince Gong said in a gentle tone.

Fang Qihe pondered, "This Old Minister noticed that Prince Ding's advisor, Sha Datong, mentioned earlier that Prince Ding had attacked the Prince Fus Mansion's Formation with all his might. Not only did he fail to break the Formation, but he also caused a huge commotion, attracting countless onlookers and ultimately leading to the exposure of his own whereabouts! While this is naturally related to Prince Ding's rash actions, it also indicates from another perspective that the strength of the Prince Fus Mansion may differ somewhat from what is rumored outside. Judging by this Formation alone, it already has the capability to withstand attacks at the level of a Martial Commander. Such a Formation can be considered a Heaven Rank mysterious Formation. The Prince Fus Mansion previously had no such talent, so this Formation must have been crafted by an outsider for them. This at least proves that the Prince Fus Mansion now possesses quite powerful outside support!"

Prince Gong's expression turned solemn. He nodded slightly, signaling for Fang Qihe to continue...

Fang Qihe continued, "Additionally, not long ago, word spread from Southern Yue City that the Ninth Young Master of the Prince Fus Mansion, Zhu Deyuan, single-handedly annihilated dozens of Beast General-level Beast Generals stationed by the Three Great Heretical Cults at Wind Wolf Mountain, crushing the intentions of these heretical cults to harvest the fruits of Southern Yue City! Regardless of whether this matter is true or false, the result was that the Blood Wolf Hall stronghold at Wind Wolf Mountain was destroyed, and Southern Yue City ended up with a great victory. Therefore, this Ninth Young Master Zhu Deyuan is very worthy of attention! This Old Minister proposes increasing our reconnaissance forces in Southern Yue City; we must uncover his background!"

At this moment, someone in the room stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, regarding Zhu Deyuan, this subject has something to say!"

Prince Gong saw that it was Chu Changfeng, who was in charge of the Salt Law Dao and was an Elder-level figure of the newly risen noble Chu family. The head of the Chu family, Chu Canghai, was the Hall Master of the Jianji Hall and one of the six Cabinet members!

"Please, speak!" Prince Gong said.

Chu Changfeng cleared his throat, a look of surprise appearing on his face, and slowly said, "According to investigations by my subordinates, the Ninth Young Master of the Prince Fus Mansion, Zhu Deyuan, is none other than the Music Dao Genius Long Yuan, who has recently risen to fame in our Great Ming!"

"What?!!!" Everyone was stunned, looks of astonishment appearing on all their faces.

Prince Gong was also a bit surprised, pondering, "Are you talking about the Long Yuan who recently performed on the same stage as Justin and became world-famous for the piece 'History of War' and that song 'lone brave'?"

"It is exactly him!" Chu Changfeng said decisively.

"This..." The expression on Prince Gong's face shifted, his mind racing. He knew Chu Changfeng's competence; since he said so, then Long Yuan must undoubtedly be Zhu Deyuan. Sigh, what a pity. Since Long Yuan's fleeting appearance at the Great Ming Cloud Challenge Competition, he had sent people to recruit him, but because the people sent never found him, he hadn't been able to recruit him. Unexpectedly, such information has now emerged. It seems recruitment is impossible; instead, he must think about how to deal with him...

Moreover, Prince Gong thought of another piece of evidence. He had already suspected that Long Yuan had a certain connection to the Emperor. Now, after this secret was revealed by Chu Changfeng, it was confirmed. From Long Yuan and Prince Fu to the Emperor, the facial features of these three were exactly the same. It was clear this news was absolutely true!

Fang Qihe, who was on the side, also exclaimed, "To think that this child is only just seventeen years old and possesses such outstanding abilities; it's too incredible!"

As one of the six Cabinet Elders, he was always extremely steady in his actions and would not easily pick a side. However, Prince Gong's Genius had made him determined to support him. But now, a small thought arose in Fang Qihe, though he hid this little thought very well. Whenever he thought of it, he would secretly ask himself if he had picked a side too early?

But he had had no choice before. Now, all six Cabinet Elders had chosen someone to support, and he seemed to be no exception. After all, the Cabinet was the primary target for all princes intending to vie for the throne. Only with support from the Cabinet did a prince have the qualifications to participate in the succession struggle; this was something almost all high-ranking officials were aware of. As a Cabinet Elder, situated in the vortex of court struggles, there were many things that were actually unavoidable. Unless he resigned early, he had to continue fighting in this dangerous vortex...

Prince Gong took a deep breath, calming the extremely complex emotions in his heart, and said, "It doesn't matter. No matter how outstanding Long Yuan is, Ninth Imperial Brother is too useless; he withdrew from the succession struggle long ago! However, since Ninth Imperial Brother has such an outstanding son as Long Yuan, it is worth our while to win him over. If we can pull Ninth Imperial Brother to my side, it will surely be a union of the strong, and no one else will be able to block my path to the throne!"

Chu Changfeng's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he said, "Your Highness's words are excellent! The wealth of the Prince Fus Mansion was originally one of the targets of contention for all parties, and our side had fallen behind. But with the factor of Long Yuan, our falling behind has actually turned into a good thing, because we have not formed any enmity with the Prince Fus Mansion, and an alliance between both sides is a win-win path! Moreover, if Your Highness continues to progress further and further on the path of Cultivation, why would we need to fear the Prince Fus Mansion jumping out of our control?"

...