Path of the Lilies: Early Beginnings

The man sitting in the middle of the entourage was a young man in his teens. He has long, dark brown hair, which was tied up in a bun. His red robe was fluttering along with the wind as he looked in their direction pensively.     

"Your Highness," Xiao Yan and Qin Zheng immediately greeted. Among the students there, they were the one who was most familiar with the faces of the Imperial Family.     

The man, Prince Gu Ning, waved his hand. "I need the Hundreds Petal Flower. Can you give it up?"     

The moment he said that, Xiao Yan's body tensed up slightly. He came here with the intention of taking that Hundreds Petal Flower, and they have been fighting against the snake for a long time just to take it. Now that Gu Ning came, he told them directly that he wanted the flower.     

Could he give it up easily?     

Qin Zheng cupped his hand. "If Your Highness wants it, Hua Shan Academy naturally won't fight with you."     

On the back, Lu Wan nearly toppled when he heard Qin Zheng's words. He would just give up like that? NOOOOOO! He wanted the flower! Hundreds Petal Flowers rarely appeared, and it could be made into both medicine and poison!     

"You better shut up." Qi Huan held Lu Wan back.     

Lu Wan wanted to struggle, but Qi Huan only needed to exert a bit more Eon Energy in order to restrain him. Their gap in rank and power made it extremely possible for Qi Huan to hold him back.     

Xiao Yan's eyes were cold, but he knew that it would do him no good to go against Gu Ning. There were several princes in this kingdom, and each of them has their own important roles. The competition for the throne is fierce, and it would be extremely hard if they got involved.     

Gu Ning might not be one of the most powerful princes, but he had some influence on his own.     

"Your Highness, if you can help us get rid of the snake, Wang Luo Academy will surely back away," Xiao Yan replied through gritted teeth. He was unwilling, but he couldn't offend the Imperial Family.     

Gu Ning nodded. "Leave it to me."     

As soon as he finished speaking, they could sense ripples of Eon Energy around the prince's body. Previously, not a single one of them managed to sense his power, but now they could see it clearly.     

It was rank 5.     

This prince has already reached rank 5 and has tremendous Eon Energy. By looking at the Eon Energy around the prince, they felt as if they had fallen into a trance as vivid images seemed to emerge.     

Bang     

Ye Jiao pulled Mu Xin and Lu Wan beside her. Her brows were furrowed. "Don't look at him. He's an Illusive type!"     

She was training with Elder Qian a few times, so she was faintly familiar with the illusive type. That elder somehow loved to use it when he was teasing her and helped her to pass the class because she didn't have any talent whatsoever in that field. Thanks to him, she managed to pass the illusive class just a week before the final test.     

Qin Zheng turned around and covered Lin Cai's eyes. His eyes were telling her that it would be dangerous to look directly into the mist.     

"Don't look at His Highness!" Xiao Yan yelled. Looking at his teammates from Wang Luo Academy, he felt frustrated. They were looking straight at Gu Ning without realizing that he was attacking using illusion.     

The snake roared angrily, but its eyes were locked straight to Gu Ning. Everything seemed calm and tranquil on the outside. No one can see what has happened.     

*cough*     

One of the disciples from Wang Luo Academy suddenly coughed blood and dropped on his knees. His eyes were full of terror as if he had just seen his worst nightmare. His body trembled uncontrollably.     

"Your Highness!" Xiao Yan called. He needed to stop this soon, or the disciples from Wang Luo Academy would die.     

Screeee!     

The sudden scream from the snake made them turn their head. Blood flowed out of its mouth as it wriggled around. Its large body hit the surrounding trees and disciples who were in deep illusion.     

Bang!     

Finally, it lost strength and fell to the ground.     

Gu Ning retracted back his Eon Energy. Sweat was apparent on his forehead, yet he still smiled lightly as if nothing had happened. His eyes were looking back to the two group's leaders in front of him.     

"It's finished."     

"Many thanks for Prince Gu's help." Qin Zheng cupped his fists, acting polite and submissive.     

The others were looking at Qin Zheng with a weird gaze, but they concealed it. No one among them would believe that Qin Zheng could suddenly turn into the kind young man that would give up so easily. He was too cunning and smart for that.     

Xiao Yan also cupped his hand. "Thank you for your help, Prince Gu."     

His heart was pained because he knew how much force needed for them to fight before. They were trying to exhaust the snake because neither one of them had reached rank 5. Now that Gu Ning appeared, the battle was settled just like that. It was a bit frustrating to see their gap in power.     

At the same time, he felt glad because he didn't make an enemy out of the prince. If Prince Gu Ning had a bad impression of him because of a flower, he might want to dig a grave for himself.     

"T-that's amazing," Lu Wan murmured to himself. He had tried to attack the snake using his chain and blade. Needless to say, it didn't even leave a scratch on that large snake's outer skin.     

"The royalties in the Xian Gu Kingdom mostly have the ability in illusives," Qi Huan said slowly through voice transmission. "Many of them manage to reach rank 5, and the most powerful ones are those at rank 6. They're the pillar of this kingdom."     

Ye Jiao was also looking at Gu Ning with more respect. She didn't expect to see him showcase his ability in illusives so openly. However, it was hard to see what kind of attack he had unless they have similar rank and specialization. Illusive was the type that could conceal their attack perfectly and very suitable to kill people without any trace.     

Because all the attack was directed to the mind directly.     

Gu Ning nodded. "You can divide the loot for the snake among the two academies. I'm just here to take the Hundred Petals Flower."     

"Yes, Your Highness."     

After they said that, Gu Ning walked to the rock wall. On the other hand, Qin Zheng and Xiao Yan looked at one another. Qin Zheng smiled. "How do you want to divide it, Xiao Yan?"     

"If the core can be divided into two, that's what I'm going to do," Xiao Yan said coldly, a murderous glint was apparent in his eyes. It was impossible to tear down the core into two, or they would be wasting precious resources.     

"There's no need to worry. We just want the body and not the core," Qin Zheng smiled. "What do you think of this arrangement?"