Within three days, almost the entire capital had heard of Qin Luo, Ninth Prince of Great Qin.
Pressed by public opinion, the imperial court finally released an announcement: due to an accident years ago, the Ninth Prince had been stranded abroad, and from this day forward, all princely treatment would be restored to him.
Had Qin Luo not acted so arrogantly, he would probably have gained only a single visible benefit: the daughter of Gu Yanting, Vice Dean of the Great Qin Academy.
Even that engagement had never been publicly declared. The reason for keeping it low-key was obvious.
This Ninth Prince was not valued.
Three days was enough time for Qin Luo to refine the Nine Revolutions Profound Pill. Even as a low-grade Heaven-rank pill, it was precious to him now, pushing his cultivation a notch higher.
"I'm broke and pitiful. Truly pitiful. Wonder what kind of 'compensation' the Qin Emperor plans to give me," Qin Luo muttered.
There was no way the entire capital could be buzzing about the lost prince's return and the Emperor remain completely silent.
[Reminder: Your backer has arrived. Would you like to draw him in?]
"Just say it—how many Villain Points?" Qin Luo asked.
[Special offer: only 9,988.]
"Fine, fine, I'll pay."
…
In a corner of the capital, an old man in a bamboo hat was walking when his heart suddenly stirred.
"So… my bloodline still has descendants alive?" His eyes narrowed.
He had come to the capital for revenge, certain his clan had been wiped out. To learn he had heirs still breathing—
His gaze instantly locked on a distant point.
Whoosh.
His figure vanished like a ghost, unnoticed by anyone.
"Someone's coming," Xi Huang said quietly, her tone grave.
Qin Luo's lips lifted. "Those should be *my* people."
An overwhelming aura descended, focusing squarely on Qin Luo. An instant later, an old man appeared out of thin air before him.
It was almost like teleportation. Qin Luo felt a stab of envious awe.
Blood recognized blood. The old man raised his head. The instant his eyes met Qin Luo's, understanding dawned.
"You're Wan'er's child! Yes… you must be Wan'er's child!" His voice trembled. Tears welled in his eyes.
Qin Luo's own body shuddered, his eyes growing hot.
The saying "a son resembles his mother" fit Qin Luo perfectly.
"Child… I'm… I am your maternal grandfather," the old man said. "Su Qianchen."
"Grandfather…" The word emerged hoarsely, but there was no sense of awkwardness or resistance in it.
"Good child. Good child."
"Your mother, she…" Su Qianchen began, then fell silent when Qin Luo shook his head.
He only knew his mother's surname was Su. Nothing more.
Qin Luo briefly recounted his life: wandering outside for eighteen years since infancy, only recently returning to the capital, and only then learning his true identity. Without the System's help, he would already be a corpse.
"You said your master's name is Shen Su?" Su Qianchen asked.
"That's right. My master was Shen Su of Tai Xu Holy Land."
Su Qianchen nodded slowly. "I owed Shen Su a favor long ago. I didn't expect he'd pay it back through you."
Qin Luo understood at once.
So Shen Su had known his identity from the start. There was no hatred without cause, nor affection without reason.
Su Qianchen, who had originally come to stir a bloody storm in the capital, now found himself held back.
The current situation of his grandson enraged him.
"My grandson is Su Qianchen's flesh and blood, yet the Qin Emperor treats him like this?"
"I'll get justice for you today."
"Grandfather, don't be impulsive." Qin Luo wanted to judge his grandfather's exact level before fanning the flames.
"Grandfather, this *is* the capital of Great Qin."
"So what if it is?" Su Qianchen snorted. "Don't worry. Unless the Qin Emperor personally acts, no one else in this capital can easily take my life."
"Grandfather… are you at the Saint King Realm?" Qin Luo ventured.
"Thirty years ago, your maternal grandfather had already reached the peak of Saint King," Su Qianchen said, straightening proudly. "Now, I stand at the Great Sage Realm."
The Great Sage Realm represented the true peak of combat in this world.
Killing a Great Sage was extremely difficult unless many powerhouses joined forces. Even then, if he couldn't win, he could still escape.
Qin Luo grinned. "Good, very good. With a Great Sage for a grandfather, this grandchild finally has a proper backer."
Xi Huang's indignant voice sounded in his mind. "I was a Great Emperor."
"And now you're just the main soul of my Human Emperor Banner," Qin Luo replied blandly. "Heroes don't live off past glory."
"How about this—I, Qin Luo, will drag you back up to the Emperor Realm someday. From then on, you'll work wholeheartedly for me."
After Su Qianchen departed to "handle a few things," Qin Luo stepped out of his room.
"Open the gates. Welcome our guests," he ordered the servants.
"Today, this prince takes a concubine."
…
Gu Yanting had indeed listened to his daughter.
He had knelt outside the palace gates for three days. Many people had gone to plead for him.
Upon hearing of it, Lin Xuan clenched his fists, his conviction in Gu Qingxue's devotion only hardening.
"Qingxue, don't worry. No matter what, I won't let anyone take you away."
"Prince or not, it's impossible."
Not far away, Gu Qingxue watched her father's hunched back, tears streaming down her face yet again.
Three days had passed. Today was the day Qin Luo had publicly declared he would "take her as a concubine."
But Gu Qingxue hadn't taken his words seriously.
"My arrogant Ninth Brother said he's taking a concubine today and told me to send a congratulatory gift," Qin Feng said coldly.
He had sent Qin Luo a houseful of women, and Qin Luo had killed them all. His anger was still burning.
That wasn't just slapping his face—it was grinding it into the mud.
Qin Luo had made his grand claim, and Qin Feng wanted to see exactly how he would handle it today.
Thanks to some "kind-hearted" tongues, the whole capital was buzzing.
"That stray Ninth Prince actually had the nerve to demand Gu Qingxue be his concubine, haha…"
"Some people just don't know their own limits. Even in the imperial clan, where princes stand at the very top, power is everything."
"With no backing and no real power, just leaning on the title of prince—he's boasting way too early."
"I've heard the Ninth Prince's bloodline actually regressed. You know what that means. Odds are, he'll never reach Saint Realm."
"Letting him marry Gu Qingxue was His Majesty giving him face—hoping Dean Gu would support him in future. And he dares act so arrogantly?"
"Now Dean Gu is begging His Majesty to rescind the decree. Think His Majesty will agree?"
"No way. The Emperor's word is iron. If he says Gu Qingxue will marry the Ninth Prince, then she will. But with how things stand, the Gu family may not be helping him anymore."
"That overbearing Ninth Prince really thinks the capital is like Tai Xu Holy Land, where he can do whatever he wants? There are nine princes. Aside from the Eighth Prince, aren't the rest all peerless talents too?"
Just then, word finally came from the palace.
An old eunuch emerged, glanced at the kneeling Gu Yanting, and spoke loudly.
"His Majesty decrees: since Gu Yanting's daughter is unwilling to wed the Ninth Prince Qin Luo, she need not marry him."
Gu Yanting trembled.
He knew perfectly well that this would offend the Qin Emperor. Though His Majesty had agreed, his own path of advancement was likely finished.
Gu Qingxue burst into tears of joy and nearly ran off to find Lin Xuan and share the news.
But the eunuch continued.
"However—she shall enter the Ninth Prince's residence as a concubine."
"Men—escort the Gu family's young lady to the Ninth Prince's manor."