Divine War Pill Emperor

「The council hall.」

The Third Prince sat in the main seat, flanked by Huo Wu, Cao Yang, Da Pao, and the others.

”Why isn’t Jiang the Military Advisor here yet?”

”We’re almost out of time. If he doesn’t come soon, we won’t make it.”

Da Pao was anxious. This competition to seize the high ground was of the utmost importance; it would decide the Third Prince’s fate.

There was no room for error. Jiang Chen had already arranged everything, so proceeding without him was simply not an option.

Just thinking about the formidable experts on the Crown Prince’s and Second Prince’s teams made their skin crawl.

Only Jiang Chen could control the situation.

Huo Wu appeared calm, but she kept glancing toward the entrance of the council hall.

’He’ll come, right?’

’Without him, I have no confidence at all.’

Even if Jiang Chen didn’t show, the competition would proceed. At worst, the Third Prince could have Da Pao take Jiang Chen’s place.

But the outcome would be completely different.

The Third Prince hoped to at least secure second place in this event, if not first.

As long as he didn’t come in last, he would be satisfied.

He, too, was anxiously staring at the entrance.

They hadn’t gone looking for Jiang Chen, certain that he wouldn’t just fail to show up.

But his continued delay was becoming a real problem.

”Your Highness, the Third Prince, the Sovereign requests your presence at the training grounds immediately.”

”The Crown Prince and the Second Prince are already there.”

Just then, a guard from the Fire Sparrow Kingdom arrived with the message, urging them to hurry.

The Third Prince’s expression flickered.

He nodded. ”Understood.”

”We will be there shortly.”

Just as he finished speaking, he saw a figure walk into the hall.

A closer look revealed it was Jiang Chen.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

”Jiang the Military Advisor, you’re finally here!”

The Third Prince was ecstatic. Jiang Chen was his spiritual pillar; without him, he felt like he couldn’t go on.

Jiang Chen nodded. ”Your Highness, my apologies for keeping you waiting.”

Jiang Chen had also rushed over.

The Third Prince waved his hand. ”No matter. There’s still enough time.”

”There’s no time to talk. Let’s head out now. My father and the others are already waiting at the training grounds.”

”We’ll discuss everything on the way.”

The group set off at once, heading straight for the Fire Sparrow Kingdom’s training grounds.

On the way, the Third Prince went over a few more points of caution.

In this competition to seize the high ground, killing was permitted.

In other words, lives were not important. All that mattered was the final result.

As long as the three Princes themselves were unharmed, anything was fair game.

The three Princes were each protected by a Protective Golden Light bestowed by the National Preceptor, Master Yuan Hui. Unless a master with Martial Emperor Cultivation attacked, the Princes could not be killed.

The Sovereign was quite at ease with this.

「A short while later」

Jiang Chen and the others finally arrived at the training grounds.

At this moment, the Crown Prince, Wen Shixuan, and the Second Prince, Wen Shixi, were already there. Each was surrounded by a cloud of experts, their faces brimming with confidence.

As the Third Prince appeared, both Wen Shixuan and Wen Shixi turned to look.

Traces of ridicule colored their faces.

They had nothing but contempt for their third brother.

”Heh, Third Brother finally decided to show. I was starting to think he didn’t have the guts.”

Wen Shixuan sneered.

Wen Shixi also shot a contemptuous glance at the Third Prince, Wen Shiren.

He then turned his head away, the very picture of arrogance.

Meanwhile, in the center of the grounds, a stern-faced, square-jawed middle-aged man sat upon a golden chair.

He watched the proceedings with an indifferent expression.

Standing beside him was a monk with a fat head and large ears—Master Yuan Hui.

”Greetings, Father.”

As soon as the Third Prince arrived, he hurried over to the man in the golden chair and greeted him respectfully.

This was clearly Sovereign Wen, ruler of the Fire Sparrow Kingdom.

Sovereign Wen nodded. He paid little attention to his third son, merely giving a dismissive wave as if shooing away a fly. ”Alright, you’re late.”

”Go stand to the side.”

The Third Prince felt a surge of indignation. He had never been favored by the Sovereign. Even after he had successfully wiped out the bandits of Nanming Mountain, he had received little praise.

The Sovereign was cold toward him.

To put it bluntly, the Third Prince was merely the son of a concubine.

And a concubine the Sovereign was not particularly fond of, at that.

In contrast, the Crown Prince, Wen Shixuan, was the son of the current Queen, while the Second Prince, Wen Shixi, was the son of an extremely favored concubine. Their status and position were both far higher than the Third Prince’s.

The Third Prince had no competitive edge at all.

He could only endure the slight, retreating to stand with Jiang Chen and the others.

Just then, Wen Shixuan swaggered over with a smirk.

He chuckled. ”Third Brother, you look well-prepared this time. Are you planning to sweep the competition and take first place?”

Though his words sounded encouraging, they were laced with sarcasm. He knew it was impossible for the Third Prince to win.

He often bullied his younger brother. As the son of the current Queen, he was the true heir apparent.

He looked down on the Third Prince, the son of a mere concubine.

The Third Prince’s face was grim, but he suddenly nodded, his tone firm. ”That’s right. I am aiming for first place.”

”It’s still anyone’s game.”

As he spoke, he clenched his fists tightly. Though he was ostracized, he had never given up the struggle.

He wanted to fight for the throne as well.

The normally mild-mannered Third Prince was gradually becoming more decisive.

Now that he had resolved to compete for the throne, he would stop at nothing, fighting his two brothers to the bitter end.

This kind of struggle had always been cruel.

The loser would be eliminated, or even killed.

After all, one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, and the Fire Sparrow Kingdom had only one throne.

”HAHAHA...”

The Second Prince, Wen Shixi, immediately burst out laughing.

Then he said disdainfully, ”Third Brother, a wimp like you? Even if I handed first place to you on a silver platter, you wouldn’t be able to take it.”

”Stop daydreaming.”

Then, his gaze shifted to Jiang Chen, who stood beside the Third Prince with his arms crossed, an impassive look on his face.

Wen Shixi’s expression soured slightly.

The sight of Jiang Chen reminded him of his humiliation. Jiang Chen had bested him more than once, and had even wanted to kill him.

He could feel Jiang Chen’s killing intent.

After all, he had been the one to dig out Jiang Chen’s Martial Vein.

Everything he had now was thanks to Jiang Chen’s Martial Vein.

Without it, he would likely be even worse off than the Third Prince.

Even so, Wen Shixi sneered inwardly. ’I will kill you sooner or later.’

’Just you wait.’

Jiang Chen’s gaze swept over Wen Shixi. His eyes were perfectly calm, but a murderous intent simmered beneath the surface.

Jiang Chen had wanted to kill this man for a long time.

For now, however, he couldn’t actually kill Wen Shixi.

He had hoped Xiaotian could come out and help him kill Wen Shixi, but unexpectedly, Xiaotian had gone into seclusion to break through to the next level again.

Of course, in Jiang Chen’s eyes, Wen Shixi was just a grasshopper in late autumn. No matter how much he jumped around, he was already a dead man walking.

And seeing Jiang Chen, even the Crown Prince, Wen Shixuan, found his expression turning slightly grim.

’He’s just too damn unpredictable.’

Right now, Wen Shixuan’s biggest worry was Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen was the greatest variable.