28 - Fan Yuan

"Back off, unless you want to be executed for the destruction of the kingdom on two fronts."

Xu Xin's hellish voice rang out through the street, and it brought an unseen fear to anyone that heard it, and the old man was so utterly shocked by the killing intent contained in that voice that he didn't even register what he had said until a few moments later.

After understanding what he said, he was just about to get even more angry when Xia Yue suddenly stepped out of the carriage and shot an angry glance at Xu Xin.

It was clear that he was just too disrespectful when saying this, even though she didn't like the old man in front of them.

"What he means is that I have some extremely important information to report, and if it isn't reported, it could result in the destruction of not only this kingdom, but all the surrounding ones as well on several fronts."

Her tone was much calmer, but it still contained a hint of a threatening tone, showing that she wasn't afraid to call forth the punishment brought on by delaying this information, which could indeed result in execution depending on the gravity of the news.

After all, it didn't matter how strong one was under the threat of destruction, because even the strongest couldn't determine the fate of someone stronger than them, and the delay of important news in such a situation could result in more destruction than even the death of a top level strength such as this old man.

For example, the Blood Order was an immediate threat, and even though they had lost a high blood priest, they were a strength that several kingdoms needed to team up against to fight, and if they had taken down the Xiao kingdom like Xia Yue thought they had, then it wasn't long before they followed.

On the surface, the Xiao kingdom seemed to simply be going through the betrayal of a prince, but after the words of the high blood priest, Xia Yue knew that it wasn't so simple, and it was likely that they had been deeply infiltrated by the Blood Order, and that they would likely take over the kingdom soon.

Based on her suspicions, Xiao Wei had likely betrayed the kingdom, gotten his brother - the most talented youth in a hundred generations - killed or crippled, and was now the crown prince, meaning that all that was left was to kill the current king, and then he would be put in power, which gave the Blood Order power over the Xiao kingdom.

If she didn't report this, it would allow this kingdom, the Bright Moon kingdom, to think that Xiao Xin had betrayed the continent and everyone in it, and if this boy next to her was indeed Xiao Xin, he would be killed.

That would be extremely bad for not only this kingdom, but for every kingdom since he would likely grow up to be the only person on the continent capable of destroying the Blood Order, and if he was killed, then the Blood Order would only be harder to take down.

The reason he would be the only one able to take it down was because the Blood Order had one person at the peak of the spirit realm, the same as his master.

This meant that only with the addition of another peak spirit realm cultivator would they be taken down, of which the only one in the continent that had this level of talent was Xu Xin.

However, this destruction was only one side of the argument, and the other side was this: if they didn't deliver the news and Xu Xin was thought to be an enemy and he managed to get away, he would continue his revenge on the Xiao kingdom and every surrounding kingdom, and based on his potential, they would be no match for him.

Basically, if they didn't deliver the news and Xia Yue didn't tell the likely full situation, no matter what happened, it was extremely bad for the kingdom, and it could indeed result in the destruction of the kingdom and the continent.

As the old man saw the seriousness in Xia Yue's eyes, he realized that she was completely dead serious, and the matter of protecting the prince was only a minor matter here, of which he would not risk his own life just to get some money.

Seeing the change of expression on his face, Xia Yue was content that he understood the gravity of what was happening now, so he simply walked up to the carriage, waiting at the side. It was clear that he was going to go with them to hear this dangerous news.

A moment later, Yue Ning and Xiao Wei stepped out of the carriage, along with the one living and one injured royal guard.

Seeing the severe injury on the royal guard and combining it with his own knowledge, he knew that something bad must have happened, because he knew that there were supposed to always be four royal guards with the crown prince, and now only two were even alive, with one being badly injured.

Only now did the gravity of the situation begin to set in, because it wasn't easy for someone to face against five spirit realm cultivators that were experienced in combat and be able to kill two of them and severely injure a third.

The person who did this had to at least be at the fifth stage of the spirit realm, perhaps even higher.

As they silently got out of the carriage, they walked towards the castle in the middle of the core city, and on the way, not a single word was said.

As they entered into the castle, they went through several layers of inspection that only Xia Yue and the old man were exempt from. Even Xiao Wei, the crown prince of another kingdom, was not allowed through without inspection.

Then, entering the castle, they went through a labyrinth of corridors and hallways to reach a room near the middle, and they went in through the giant doors, seeing a grand hall inside.

Entering the room, a nearby servant girl spoke with utmost respect. "Please wait a moment while I go alert the king and queen. Feel free to take a seat." Then, after bowing to them, she left briskly and anxiously.

Seeing the servant girl, Xu Xin's eyes shone with curious light, but he didn't speak, because it was nothing more than a suspicion and didn't concern him at all.

He wasn't a person to act without certainty anyways.

A few minutes later, a man covered in elegant blue robes entered the room with a beautiful woman at his side. She seemed to be covered in peaceful moonlight as she entered the room with unparalleled elegance.

Their expressions were slightly arrogant, but nobody dared to question them because they were the king and queen of this kingdom.

They then sat at the head of the table with slightly bored expressions.

Seeing them, even Xiao Wei was extremely respectful, because even though he was now a crown prince, he was not the first-born prince, and he was considered to be less than Xiao Xin in every way, so even if he was the first-born, he wouldn't be nearly as respected as Xiao Xin.

In front of the king and queen of another kingdom, even a crown prince had to be extremely respectful.

A few moments later, the queen spoke with a bored tone, "What's so important that both of us had to come here? This better not be a waste of time."

Her tone was that of someone superior to everyone here, and it was clear that the king didn't even find it worth the effort to speak. They sat there lazily and arrogantly, but nobody dared to question them.

However, there is always an exception, and this time, it was Xu Xin, who spoke loudly but calmly.

"This is a serious matter that requires your full attention, as it could result in the destruction of the continent. If you cannot take it seriously, bring someone here who can." His deadly tone shocked everyone here, and they sensed not a single ounce of respect in his tone and words.

Hearing his words that were even more arrogant than her own, the queen stared at Xu Xin with daggers in her eyes, but what she saw shocked her.

Utter surprise registered on her face as she sensed the demeanor of an emperor on this child, something that she had only seen a single kid his age ever have, and that kid was Xiao Xin.

Even the king showed utter interest based on this demeanor coming from Xu Xin, and they had both sat up unknowingly while subconsciously getting much more serious about this matter.

Unexpected to the others, the king and queen hadn't responded angrily to his words, and they had even more unexpectedly seemingly begun to take this matter completely seriously.

"Please explain." The king's tone was completely serious now, and it was clear that he was giving his full attention now.

After shooting a questioning glance at Xia Yue and getting a simple nod, Xiao Wei spoke.

"Xiao Xin has betrayed the Xiao kingdom and joined the Blood Order. He managed to escape from us even after being captured, and the entire kingdom is currently hunting him down. We think that he might have fled here.

He was hit with the core crippling poison, but we aren't sure if it worked or not.

If he recovers, it could spell doom for the entire continent, as I am sure that you know how fragile the balance is right now between the kingdoms and the Blood Order, and if he recovers, he could shift the balance.

I have come here to humbly ask you to keep your eyes out for Xiao Xin, because the continent simply cannot allow his rise. If he recovers, I cannot begin to imagine the death and destruction that could follow."

He used his words to make it seem as if there was no chance that Xiao Xin was innocent, and he put extra emphasis on the point that his rise could spell destruction for the kingdom.

But, hearing this, the old man's eyes shifted with suspicion, because this was only one point, whereas Xu Xin and Xia Yue had both said that destruction could be caused on multiple fronts.

No matter what, he wasn't going to miss this point, and it made him curious that this prince didn't bring up the other point or even seem to be aware of it.

As he looked at Xia Yue and Xu Xin, he realized that they were both perfectly calm, however, meaning that things weren't as simple as they seemed to be.

He then shifted his eyes towards the king and queen, but he realized that they weren't even looking at Xiao Wei. Instead, they were looking towards Xu Xin with extreme wariness.

They weren't going to be fooled by a mere different face and element of cultivation, because the demeanor of an emperor wasn't something that just anybody could have, and they were almost certain that this boy was somehow Xiao Xin.

However, they both quickly recovered, and they looked back at Xiao Wei.

"This is indeed extremely important information, but it isn't worthy of a prince coming here personally. Why are you here?" The king's strong voice rang out with a questioning tone.

Hearing this, Xiao Wei's voice choked somewhat unnaturally. "I was sent here by my father to help find Xiao Xin… Also, I was sent here to take Fan Yuan to his master for her safety."

Saying Fan Yuan's name, his heart fluttered a little bit in fear and utter awe, because she was someone who's talent was absolutely terrifying, and she was perhaps only below Xiao Xin on this continent. However, she was older and stronger than him.

She was only seventeen and a half years old, but she was already at the third stage of the spirit realm, and she was the most talented person in this kingdom by far. She also had the ability to challenge someone of a higher stage than herself, just like Xiao Xin had.

At his peak, Xu Xin, at the pseudo-spirit realm could've only challenged someone at the fourth stage of the spirit realm, but she, at the third stage, could challenge someone at the fifth, meaning that she was stronger than he was even at his peak, and he couldn't beat her then, let alone now.

Now, she was requested to go to his master, which aggravated him. It was obvious that she was going to replace him.

However, he quickly calmed down, because he knew that his master wasn't stupid enough to believe that he had really betrayed the kingdom, so there was no way that she was going there to replace him.

But despite thinking all of this and hearing it, not a single expression could be seen on his face, which couldn't be said for any of the others, including the king and queen of the Bright Moon kingdom.