Chapter 21 – Special Treatment

The fourth prince looked at everyone and said, "I urge everyone to please be quiet as I'm not done yet. There's one more important change to the Golden Dragon Election that all of you must know. This one involves the three supreme geniuses of the Gold Capital."

A beam of light instantly landed onto Yun Ling, Yu Shan, and the Crown Prince's table, gathering everyone's attention towards them.

Yun Ling raised a brow in curiosity. He had already thought of this before, but it's really strange. The Golden Dragon Election this year sure has many changes. It wasn't like this in the past at all so why the sudden change now?

'Could this be related to what the crown prince said earlier?' Yun Ling thought to himself, frowning. 'If so, it seems the situation is direr than what the crown prince originally let on. I wonder if Father knows of this?'

After thinking for a moment, he let out a wry smile, 'He's the general of the empire so of course, he knows.'

"Brother Yu Shan, Brother Yun Ling, Brother, can I bother you three to come up here on stage with me?" the fourth prince asked with a smile.

The crown prince was the first to stand up. He didn't say anything and just walked right ahead towards the stage in a dignified way. Yu Shan followed right after him with Yun Ling being the last one to move from his seat.

"Wait here for a moment, Xiaxia. I'll be back soon." Yun Ling said to his daughter first before going up the stage with the other two.

Yun Xia merely nodded as she watched her father leave towards the stage.

As of now, everyone was wondering what these three had to do with the change of the Golden Dragon Election. What kind of role did they have in this? They were all making some speculations inside their mind as they inspected the trio.

Even Yun Ling and Yu Shan were wondering what they had to do with this. They took a furtive glance towards the crown prince, signaling him to explain it to them. The two were thinking that the crown prince surely knows something about this.

The crown prince acted as though he didn't notice and continued to look straight ahead.

"Brother Yu Shan, Brother Yun Ling, forgive me for suddenly calling you out. This is not my decision but His Majesty's," the fourth prince said apologetically to the two. He didn't include the crown prince in it since their father already told him all the details regarding the Golden Dragon Election.

"It's fine, Fourth Prince," Yu Shan responded.

Yun Ling remained silent. Inwardly, he was a bit amazed that the fourth prince was still able to maintain a friendly attitude towards him. Had it been any lesser person, they wouldn't be able to act this well towards him. Nevertheless, the fourth prince still had a long way to go. Although he may have made more effort hiding his bad intentions, Yun Ling was still able to see through his act. He could clearly see the hostility the fourth prince had towards him however faint it may be.

The fourth prince looked towards one of his men and ordered, "Bring it here."

The one that the fourth prince addressed nodded, and left right away. Not even a minute later, he came back bringing a small golden chest with him. He went towards the stage and gave the chest to the fourth prince. After that, he retreated.

Upon receiving the chest, the fourth prince gazed upon the crowd.

"I'm sure all of you are wondering what's inside this chest. Worry not, everything will be explained later on. For now, I ask everyone to remain patient."

With that said, the fourth prince turned towards the three supreme geniuses of the capital.

"Brother, Brother Yu Shan, Brother Yun Ling, inside this chest are five scrolls. There are tasks written in every scroll. Naturally, every scroll has different tasks. His Majesty said that each of you must pick one scroll inside this chest," the fourth prince explained as he opened the chest. Just like what he said, there were five scrolls inside the chest. "Brother, you pick one first."

The crown prince went forward and randomly grabbed a scroll. After that, he returned to where he was previously standing.

"Brother Yu Shan, you're next."

The fourth prince looked at him.

Yu Shan walked to the front. Unlike the crown prince, he didn't immediately pick one. He stood still for a few seconds, trying to study the scrolls. Sighing, he soon gave up on studying them and just picked one randomly.

"Brother Yun Ling, it's your turn," the fourth prince said.

Yun Ling moved forward and stood in front of the chest. He examined the scrolls and frowned, 'Every scroll looks exactly the same. I've tried prying inside with my divine sense but I can't see through it at all. It's because there are invisible formations at the scroll preventing anyone from doing so.'

Upon realizing this, Yun Ling also picked a scroll randomly just like the other two did before him.

After Yun Ling picked his scroll, the fourth prince closed the chest and had one of his men take it away. He then focused on the three supreme geniuses and started, "Now that everyone has picked their scrolls, it's time to get into further details. Like I've already said before, each scroll contains a different task. Brother, Brother Yu Shan, Brother Yun Ling, all of you must accomplish the tasks written in your scrolls. If you do so, you will directly move two stages ahead in the Golden Dragon Election."

The participants in the Golden Dragon Election were stunned.

"Wha?! Move two stages ahead? That means they are starting in the third stage instead of the first stage! This is a special treatment! It couldn't be any more blatant!"

"Idiot! Are you questioning His Majesty's impartiality? They can only move ahead if they managed to successfully do their tasks."

"It's still special treatment I'm telling you! Instead of just the three of them, why don't they give all of us a task just like them?"

"Calm down, I feel that there is something more to this. We should listen first instead of getting hasty."