NOVEL WEB Chapter 202
Chapter 202: Ling Tianyi of the Ling Family
The Ninth Prince thought it was quite impressive that Qin Bei had taken down Mu Zhaoxue so effortlessly.
But Emperor Xia saw something different.
That was the fact that Qin Bei was getting emotional.
At a time like this, Qin Bei shouldn’t be letting his feelings run wild.
Because Emperor Xia wanted Qin Bei to compete for the position of Crown Prince.
Having emotions leads to vulnerabilities.
Now, Mu Zhaoxue is a bit more acceptable.
After all, she’s the Saintess of Wu Kingdom.
She’s talented and capable of taking care of herself.
But what about Ji Zhuyue?
Sure, she might seem fine now, but what will happen over time?
Can she truly keep up with Qin Bei’s pace?
If she can’t keep up, that’ll become Qin Bei’s weakness.
And especially because Qin Bei has developed genuine feelings.
That could turn into a fatal weakness.
At least, Emperor Xia felt that until Qin Bei had absolute strength, this weakness wouldn’t be easily resolved.
Ah~ still so young! How could such a weakness be exposed in front of so many people? Isn’t that just giving the opponent a target to exploit?
Emperor Xia shook his head in disappointment.
Fortunately, this Ji Zhuyue doesn’t seem completely dim-witted; I hope she has some brains.
Emperor Xia felt like he was going through great lengths to secure Qin Bei’s position as Crown Prince.
The main issue was that this rebellious son knew nothing and often went against his wishes.
He felt like a hapless victim in a bizarre play.
Honestly, for Emperor Xia, putting one of his sons on the throne was simple.
He could do it with just a single sentence.
But what good would a Crown Prince like that do?
At best, it would just be a title.
Even if someone really had skill, they wouldn’t be able to flex their muscles.
Because in this dynasty, if you want respect and power, you must fight for it yourself.
Even Emperor Xia could only act as a behind-the-scenes push.
Of course, the most pressing issue was that Emperor Xia believed if he crowned Qin Bei now, the first one to jump out opposing it would definitely be Qin Bei himself.
Just imagining that kind of scene made Emperor Xia think it was best to let Qin Bei form his own ideas.
Everything has to take its sweet time.
Since he could afford to wait another ten years in seclusion.
He just needed to complete everything within a decade.
…
Inside the imperial mausoleum.
Qin Bei felt a monumental surge of soul power rushing into his body.
He didn’t absorb all the soul power at once.
Instead, he took it gradually.
After all, this was his first time absorbing a significant amount of soul power to boost his strength.
He had to be extra cautious.
Gradually, Qin Bei noticed his soul power started to show marked enhancement.
Now, if he were to control 120,000 soul beads, he could do it with ease.
And he had only absorbed a fraction of the soul power to reach this level.
He was dying to know what kind of transformation would occur once he absorbed all the soul power completely.
Qin Bei wasn’t the only one curious; everyone around him, including Emperor Xia who had been keeping a watchful eye on things, was wondering what kind of fortune one could gain from investing 120,000 sixth-tier soul beads.
This was the first time someone had such an opportunity.
At the same time, Emperor Xia noticed something else was happening in another direction.
Peng Yuan was being ambushed.
…….
Within the imperial mausoleum.
In recent days, Peng Yuan had been running around tirelessly trying to help Qin Bei sell as many soul beads as possible.
Whenever he spotted a crowd, he would halt and start his pitch.
In just a few days, he had sold over a thousand soul beads.
That amounted to a whopping 100 million spirit stones.
While most of it was in the form of IOUs, Peng Yuan was extraordinarily pleased with himself.
For that, he continued selling until the last night before finally heading toward the center area.
At this time, he still carried over 9,000 soul beads on him.
If it weren’t for the fact that he was working for Qin Bei, he would be genuinely worried that someone might have designs on him with all these treasures.
Luckily, everyone recognized the scary reputation of Prince Bei, and nobody dared to mess with him.
But of course, there are always exceptions.
Like Qin Xiu.
After realizing that the so-called soul bead merchant was actually Qin Bei, Qin Xiu had some thoughts churning in his mind.
Especially after seeing that Qin Bei had the audacity to let someone like Peng Yuan go off alone with a huge stash of soul beads.
In Qin Xiu’s perspective, Qin Bei was overwrought with confidence.
Did he truly think that just by earning a little infamy, no one would dare to have any ill intentions?
Qin Xiu wasn’t buying it.
So on the day he crossed paths with Qin Bei, he quietly tipped off another team.
The team led by the Ling family!
The Ling family was royal kin, so naturally, they had a stake in the imperial mausoleum trial.
Moreover, the Ling family was already quite powerful, well-respected in the capital.
Thus, they had plenty of allied families and forces under their wing.
This time, the Ling family was led by Ling Tianyi.
A genius who had just risen through the ranks, he had already reached the Golden Core Realm at just 18 years old.
Qin Xiu didn’t make direct contact with Ling Tian, but he had his own special means of communication.
That day, Ling Tianyi learned the identity of the soul bead merchant: Qin Bei.
He also understood what Qin Xiu was hinting.
That was to take advantage of Peng Yuan’s solo venture to make their move.
This kind of thing was Ling Tianyi’s favorite pastime.
He was overjoyed about hijacking the opportunity of the weak.
If Qin Bei had been present, he might have hesitated a little.
But since Qin Bei wasn’t around Peng Yuan, he felt emboldened to proceed.
However, Ling Tian still kept a wary eye.
He didn’t spring into action as soon as they spotted Peng Yuan.
Instead, he trailed him directly.
It wasn’t until the last night that he prepared to strike.
Ling Tianyi knew quite a bit about Qin Bei’s reputation.
So he wasn’t keen on facing an unreasonable person like Qin Bei.
If it weren’t for the promise of opportunity, he wouldn’t even dream of interacting with Qin Bei.
He was worried that if he acted too early, Qin Bei would go looking for him to retrieve those soul beads.
At that point, knowing Qin Bei’s temperament, he might just wipe him off the map.
So it was best to wait until the very last moment.
Even if Qin Bei found out something was up with Peng Yuan, the inner circle would be opening soon, and the entrance would only be available for a limited time, so Qin Bei wouldn’t chase him down.
Once they exited the imperial mausoleum, Ling Tianyi wouldn’t have to fear Qin Bei anymore.
“Everyone, be alert! Only one hour left until the inner circle opens. Prepare to move!”
“He must have something that senses Qin Bei. Once we strike, we must control him immediately! We absolutely cannot let him contact Qin Bei.”
As he watched Peng Yuan bustling towards the center, Ling Tianyi instructed his subordinates.
These men were all in the Golden Core realm, talented individuals from various families and sects.
Now, they were all working for Ling Tianyi.
It wasn’t due to Ling Tianyi’s prowess, but because the Ling family was a powerhouse.
“Yes!”
…