The Fourth Prince’s Ambition

It was a piece of animal hide paper, covered with countless symbols that looked neither like text nor runes; they were extremely strange.

"You can actually communicate with the Barbarians?" the man in white said, his face full of shock.

The Barbarians were called so because of their beast-like behavior, yet they possessed their own crude civilization.

These symbols before them, which looked like insects crawling across the page, were indeed Barbarian script. Many people had seen them, but no one knew how to decipher them; it was unexpected that the Fourth Prince could actually do so.

"Nothing in this world is difficult for one who sets their mind to it. To achieve a goal, one must put in every ounce of effort to reap the rewards.

When I was still young, I saw through my own destiny. At that time, I began gathering the chips to rewrite my fate.

I sent countless people to try and integrate with the Barbarians, but they were basically all eaten as food. However, there are always exceptions to everything; one of them was actually accepted by the Barbarians. From then on, I gradually gained the ability to communicate with them," the Fourth Prince said calmly.

"My mother and I have been fulfilling our duties as pawns while simultaneously cultivating our own forces. To be honest, three years ago, I already had the strength to help you take down the Phoenix Empire without shedding a drop of blood, but if I did that, I wouldn't have gained a single benefit."

The man in white nodded. "Continue."

"So, in order to deal with Long Tianxiao, I deliberately refrained from providing him with supplies and secretly led a large number of refugees from the surrounding areas toward the border under his jurisdiction.

I secretly built up Long Tianxiao's reputation, letting everyone believe that he was their guardian deity. I understand Long Tianxiao's character; he would absolutely never abandon those common people," the Fourth Prince said, sipping his tea calmly.

"Heroes can be deceived by their own integrity. Chu Xia, you are truly brilliant," the man in white praised the Fourth Prince for the first time.

It could be said that this move by the Fourth Prince was extremely brilliant; using those common people, he had locked Long Tianxiao down firmly without the slightest effort.

Most importantly, this was an unsolvable dilemma. Even if Long Tianxiao knew, he would be helpless; he could not ignore the lives of the millions of commoners at the border.

A simple scheme had locked Long Tianxiao tightly at the border. Even the man in white felt a hint of admiration.

"It's a pity that those Barbarians are just too disappointing. Over these years, I have secretly provided them with quite a lot of food and supplies.

They still can only manage a stalemate with Long Tianxiao, turning it into a prolonged war of attrition. They are truly worthy of being called an uncivilized rabble," the Fourth Prince shook his head and said.

The man in white pondered for a moment and said, "I want to know, how is Long Chen now?"

"He should already be dead. If my calculations are correct, his head is currently on its way back to the Imperial Capital.

This Long Chen really is a monster, but I am not a person who likes surprises, so I sent Ying Zhao over. I believe Your Excellency knows Marquis Ying, Ying Zhao, right?" the Fourth Prince said.

The man in white's expression shifted slightly, but he did not erupt. He said, "I know him. His cultivation is decent, but letting him deal with a kid only at the Qi Gathering realm is making a mountain out of a molehill."

The Fourth Prince's expression remained unchanged, but from the man in white's tone, it seemed that Marquis Ying, a powerhouse at the Tendon Transformation realm, was not held in high regard by him.

From this, it was evident that this young man, who was similar in age to himself, possessed terrifying strength, which made the Fourth Prince even more cautious.

"Heh, I said I am a cautious person. I will not do things I am not sure about, just like this time, using Long Chen's hand to kill that idiot Xia Changfeng," the Fourth Prince said.

The man in white nodded. "You are indeed much stronger than Xia Changfeng. Regarding Xia Changfeng's death, I can let bygones be bygones, and I can also fulfill your wish.

However, if you cannot take over Xia Changfeng's position well, I can tell you without reservation that death will be a very luxurious thing for you."

As he spoke, the man in white's gentle tone turned sinister, and an eerie aura permeated the air.

The Fourth Prince ignored the man in white's threat and smiled slightly. "Your Excellency, rest assured. For this opportunity, I have endured for so many years; I cherish it even more than Your Excellency does."

"That is good. Now that Long Chen is dead, I need to know your subsequent plans," the man in white said.

Although he would not underestimate Long Chen, under the pursuit of a Tendon Transformation realm powerhouse, Long Chen absolutely had no chance.

"After Long Chen dies, Ying Zhao will bring his head back to the Imperial Capital, and at the same time, he will bring the recording of Long Chen killing Xia Changfeng.

At that time, I need Your Excellency to communicate with the Great Xia Empire and have them send an elite army to surround the Imperial Capital.

At that time, I will recall Marquis Ying and Marquis Wu, and we will have a standoff in front of the city. Great Xia will demand that we hand over the culprit, and for the sake of the 'friendship' between the two countries, I will be able to hand over the entire Long family in a legitimate manner. At an appropriate time, I will have them executed," the Fourth Prince said.

"When is this appropriate time you speak of? Also, the 'them' you mentioned should not just refer to the members of the Long family, right?" the man in white said calmly.

The Fourth Prince smiled slightly. "Talking to a smart person is truly effortless. Correct. When I execute the Long family, I will choose a time when the Barbarians are attacking Long Tianxiao's garrison.

At that time, I will send him the news of his entire family's execution. Facing the Barbarian invasion and countless commoners facing death, he will absolutely not bring his army back to the Imperial Capital.

Based on my understanding of him, he will leave all his garrison troops behind to defend and return to the Imperial Capital alone to rescue his family. Hehe, at that time, with Marquis Ying and Marquis Wu joining forces, killing Long Tianxiao will not be a problem. Furthermore, we will have a legitimate reason; everything will be reasonable and justified, and it won't cause too much of a stir.

As for 'them', they are naturally a group of people who refuse to submit to me. Long Chen was 'instigated' by the First Prince to kill Xia Changfeng; the personal guards by his side can testify to that.

When the time comes, as long as we collect some 'evidence', for the sake of the great friendship between the two countries, even the First Prince will only be able to become a sacrificial lamb.

As for those cohorts, although they did not directly participate, they also have significant suspicion. To demonstrate the Phoenix Empire's regard for the friendship between the two countries, I will have no choice but to painfully sacrifice them."

The man in white looked at the Fourth Prince, and after a long while, he sighed. "Such deep scheming. If this continues, the entire Phoenix Empire will fall into your pocket so easily. Chu Xia, you are a talent."

"I appreciate the praise. However, Your Excellency can rest assured; my Spiritual Root is ordinary, and I cannot embark on the path of cultivation, so I pose no threat to you whatsoever," the Fourth Prince said.

The man in white smiled slightly. He had indeed secretly probed the Fourth Prince's body and discovered that he was indeed a person with very ordinary talent.

For a person with such high intellect, even he had to be careful. He did not want to fall into someone else's trap without knowing it.

If the Fourth Prince were a person with extremely high talent, then that would be a huge threat to him. Who knows if the Fourth Prince would use him to climb to higher places?

Now, he had dispelled many of his concerns. The Fourth Prince could not cultivate the Righteous Path and only cared about worldly power. Just as he said, the two of them were getting what they needed.

Gently picking up a cup of tea, the man in white smiled. "Very good. Xia Changfeng died well. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation."

The Fourth Prince also picked up his teacup, using tea as wine, clinked it against the man in white's cup, and drank it all in one gulp.

The man in white suddenly remembered something. "Doesn't Xia Changfeng have a younger sister? Is she still staying in the Imperial Palace?"

Hearing the man in white ask, a trace of disgust appeared on the Fourth Prince's face. "Yeah, that idiot woman was left behind by Xia Changfeng to supervise us."

"You didn't kill her, did you?"

"No. After all, she is an Alchemist Apprentice, and her status is special. I found her two handsome, sturdy men to serve her; she is currently lost in ecstasy, so she won't hinder our major plans," the Fourth Prince said.

The man in white nodded. That Xia Baichi was indeed a good-for-nothing, unable to accomplish anything but capable of spoiling things. Now that he heard the Fourth Prince had arranged it, he felt relieved.

As for her brother's death, she absolutely would not care; there was no family affection to speak of between them in the first place. As long as she didn't come out and ruin things, it would be fine.

Besides, Xia Changfeng was killed by Long Chen. Even if she had a shred of resentment, it would be directed at Long Chen.

"By the way, Brother Luo, there is something I would like to ask for your help with." After reaching a consensus with the man in white, the Fourth Prince addressed him as 'Brother' directly.

"Speak."

"You also know that I recruited Marquis Ying and Marquis Wu to my side, actually promising that in the future, if things succeeded, I would split half the Empire with them.

At that time, it was because I felt there was no hope of obtaining the Phoenix Empire; that was being generous with someone else's property, so I didn't feel any heartache.

But now that the entire Phoenix Empire is about to fall into my pocket, how can I allow others to sleep soundly beside my bed? So…"

The man in white's eyebrows twitched. "You want me to help you subdue them?"

"Something like that. I hope Brother Luo can teach me how to make them obey obediently without harboring any thoughts of rebellion," the Fourth Prince said cautiously.

The man in white smiled upon hearing this. "Chu Xia, oh Chu Xia, you truly are a generation of ambitious villains, using every means possible, stopping at nothing to achieve your goals. Fine, I promise you. After it is done, I will pass on a technique to you that will make them both your slaves."

Hearing the man in white agree, the Fourth Prince was overjoyed. Now that everything was proceeding according to his plan and he was nearing his goal, Marquis Ying and Marquis Wu had become his biggest problem.

Back then, he had made a promise to split half the Empire with them, which meant they would also be local emperors. Who wouldn't want to do as they pleased?

Therefore, Marquis Ying and Marquis Wu had both been recruited under his command by the Fourth Prince's methods of both soft and hard tactics, and a secret agreement had been reached, though only the three of them knew about it.

Now that the Fourth Prince had obtained the opportunity to turn things around, he naturally did not want to share his Empire with others. Today, with the man in white's promise, the stone in his heart had finally completely settled.

Although the Fourth Prince did not fully understand the man in white, he knew that the man in white's background was terrifyingly large, exceeding his imagination.

Therefore, he needed to rely on the man in white. As long as he had the man in white's support, whether it was the Great Xia Empire or the Phoenix Empire, he could have whatever he wanted.

Now everything was ready, only lacking the east wind. He just needed to wait for news from Marquis Ying. However, what they did not know was that in this world, there is a thing called—an accident.