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Chapter 643: Entering the Capital

Knowing that the ninth prince had gotten the wrong impression, Zhang Lie clarified, "I mean, what do you think of the crown prince\'s life?"

"Born to nobility, the crown prince is the eldest and most established among us. Father values his work, and he\'s aided by the most senior and superior officials. His life\'s about as perfect as it can get," the ninth prince explained.

Zhang Lie smiled. Hidden behind the ninth prince\'s words was a sense of jealousy.

"From my perspective, his life is pitiful."

The ninth prince\'s eyes widened. "What\'s there to pity? He won the genetic lottery from birth, and he\'s head and shoulders above us other princes. He\'s supported by most of the senior officials as well—Master, what am I missing? You were a king yourself, weren\'t you? Your opinion seems much like those of the commoners, the ones who claim that the life of royalty is bad because they weren\'t born into it!"

The ninth prince was born to royalty, but his life was almost like that of a commoner. The ideal life of royalty was something he could witness daily through his eldest brother, and it was something he had yearned for and coveted since he was little more than a child.

To the ninth prince, the crown prince\'s life was absolutely perfect.

Zhang Lie laughed. "It is a pleasant life, isn\'t it? The crown prince, favored of the king, aided by the best officials—but it\'s precisely this sort of life, this easy, obvious, natural life without any trials or tribulations whatsoever, that makes it dull, boring, and meaningless."

To be born to wealth, with parents that doted on you, intelligent and advantaged from a young age—well, that was the secret to an easy life. But wasn\'t it a rather pitiful one, too?

Zhang Lie explained, "Games are meant to be played on harder difficulties—only then do people gain enjoyment for their success. What fun is an easy game?"

The ninth prince processed Zhang Lie\'s words, then shook his head. "Perhaps only someone like you would be able to say that, Master."

Zhang Lie was very happy that he had encountered the ninth prince first.

Supporting the first prince was undoubtedly the simplest and most boring strategy, the second and third princes slightly less so, the fourth through eighth princes much more difficult, and the ninth prince hellish.

Not only did the ninth prince start out with no resources, manpower, or strength, he was even being chased after by the other princes. Who knew what would happen once he returned to the capital?

That said, this was the environment in which Zhang Lie could make the most of his strengths.

The ninth prince smiled. "If what lies ahead of me is a road to hell, Master, would you be willing to lead me through it?"

Zhang Lie rolled his eyes at him. "I wouldn\'t bring you to hell—I\'d take you to the peak of the tallest mountains, to show you sights you\'ve never seen before."

After this incident, the ninth prince and Zhang Lie\'s relationship had deepened considerably. The ninth prince had more faith and trust in Zhang Lie than before. Of course, it wasn\'t to the extent when they could confide in each other, but at least the ninth prince wouldn\'t doubt Zhang Lie any longer.

The two of them quickly arrived at the capital, which Zhang Lie noted to be far less impressive than that of Limit.

The kingdom of Limit was a multiracial one, with all sorts of clashing architectural styles and ideals. Meanwhile, the capital that stood before them seemed much more staid. It looked grand and imposing from the outside, but there was nothing particularly special about it—just its size.

As the two of them strode toward the gates leading within, they were halted by the city guards. The ninth prince took out his token of identification. "I\'m the ninth prince, and I seek entry to the capital."

The guards replied, "Owing to the number of people trying to pass themselves off as the princes, I have to report this matter immediately."

A group of guards suddenly enclosed them. The guard captain held out a bounty with Zhang Lie\'s figure depicted on it. "Identify yourself!"

The ninth prince asked, "Just what\'s going on?"

The guard captain replied coolly, "Your highness, please allow me to carry out my duties. The person beside you is a criminal, one who has committed a whole slew of crimes. He\'s destroyed quite a few cities in the past."

The ninth prince snorted. "This man is my guest and my aide. You claim that he\'s committed a series of crimes—do you mean to assert that I\'m his accomplice?!"

The ninth prince\'s tone and stance caused the guard captain to take a step back subconsciously, but he quickly came to his senses. With some embarrassment that he had lost out in a confrontation against the useless ninth prince, he stepped forward again. "Your highness, I have orders I must follow."

Zhang Lie had never committed any of these listed crimes, and it was evident that he was being targeted by the other princes in an attempt to target him and remove him from the ninth prince\'s presence.

Would these other princes strike them within the capital? Zhang Lie wasn\'t sure, but he certainly would take precautions against such an outcome. He didn\'t want to be detained; he could easily break free, but it would be a hassle.

His eyes gleamed. He was just about to use his disaster-grade mistmeld clam soulshard to resolve the problem when a shout came from afar.

"Hold it, hold it!"

When the guard captain saw Heijie Niu walking toward him with a few others from his clan, the guard captain frowned. "You\'re... the guests being hosted by the seventh prince?"

Heijie Niu smiled. "Captain, this man is a guest of the seventh prince. Please, allow him to depart."

The guard captain\'s brows furrowed. "That—well, I\'m simply not sure what to do. My superiors insisted that I arrest this man."

Heijie Niu\'s smile grew firmer. "I\'m afraid I can\'t allow that, Captain. The seventh prince himself requested his presence. If you refuse to let him go, you may have to bear the brunt of his anger..."

The guard captain hesitated. He didn\'t want to offend his superiors, but he certainly didn\'t want to offend the seventh prince.

It was obvious from this interaction what sort of position the ninth prince had. The guard captain was arresting the ninth prince\'s companion to his face, but he was willing to defer to the seventh prince just because one of his men had made his way over.

Heijie Niu slid a bag of coins into the guard captain\'s hands. "Let\'s make this interaction a pleasant one, Captain."

The captain smiled as he hefted the bag, then waved an arm. "There\'s no criminal here—we made an error in judgment. Retreat!"

The guards dispersed and Heijie Niu turned toward Zhang Lie with a smile. "Lord of Renhuang, these are fellow members of my clan. They\'ve agreed to your offer of cooperation."

The Heijie clan had clearly anticipated this problem, so they had rushed over in order to help Zhang Lie resolve it. That was more than sufficient courtesy to start off their collaboration. After all, the indigenous clans might not be aware of what sort of existence Zhang Lie was, but the races of the Milky Way certainly knew all about him.

As for Zhang Lie, he could have resolved this spot of trouble himself, but he would remember what the Heijie had done...