Outside, the Scripture Pavilion, which opened once every ten years, was drawing extraordinary attention, especially since Meng Wushuang, one of the four supreme prodigies of the Immortal Qin Empire, had entered it.
"Meng Wushuang is the son of the great general Meng Tian. Truly, a tiger begets no dog! He defeated the stone statue guardian and triggered the arena battle in no time."
"Indeed! If Meng Wushuang obtains the Great Emperor's inheritance, our Immortal Qin will surely take first place at the Myriad Laws Convention, letting those sects and sacred lands know that even when our First Emperor is absent, Immortal Qin can still suppress the entire world!"
"That's right! Now that our Sixth Prince can also cultivate and has entered the Scripture Pavilion as well, if he manages to secure a good Cultivation Method, it will completely wash away the stain on our Immortal Qin!"
"The Sixth Prince? The Qi Condensation Realm? Come on, brother, what on earth do you expect from someone in the Qi Condensation Realm? It would already be a miracle if the Sixth Prince doesn't die in the Scripture Pavilion."
"Exactly. Meng Wushuang is at the Peak Purple Palace. This Sixth Prince is merely at the Qi Condensation Realm; I'm afraid he won't even clear the first tier of the stone statue guardian."
...
Outside the Scripture Pavilion, terrifying figures stood tall in the void, discussing the matter among themselves. Naturally, they held no expectations whatsoever for the Sixth Prince. They even felt that Qin Feng's inability to cultivate was a disgrace to Immortal Qin and a disgrace to Qin Shi Huang!
"Hehe, perhaps the only reason the Sixth Prince hasn't been teleported out of the secret realm yet is because Meng Wushuang and the others are going out of their way to protect him."
At that moment, a chilling laugh rang out. Among the crowd stood a middle-aged man dressed in eunuch attire, his face smooth and hairless. With his fingers curled in an orchid gesture, he sneered:
"Oh, Zhao Gao, speaking of the Sixth Prince like that, aren't you afraid the Crown Prince will be angry?"
An old man clad in official robes narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"Humph!" Zhao Gao let out a cold snort, lifting his chin high with an arrogant expression as he said, "I have followed His Majesty for three thousand years, and every major and minor affair by His Majesty's side is my responsibility. To prevent any accidents, His Majesty even appointed me as the liaison between the Dark Forbidden Zone and the Immortal Qin Empire."
"If anyone wishes to punish me, only His Majesty has the right. Even if His Majesty ordered me to die, I wouldn't hesitate for a fraction of a second!"
His meaning was abundantly clear: Qin Zhantian was not qualified, and only Qin Shi Huang could punish him.
On the other side, Qin Zhantian remained silent and expressionless, but his fists were clenched so tightly they cracked, the fury in his heart already surging to the heavens!
How dare a mere domestic servant put on airs and throw his weight around? He knew that Zhao Gao's influence was currently too vast, and moreover, he enjoyed the Emperor's favor—he could not afford to move against him. If he, the Crown Prince, were to personally take action against Zhao Gao, it would undoubtedly chill the hearts of the mighty warriors fighting on the front lines of the Dark Forbidden Zone.
Qin Zhantian was boiling with rage yet utterly helpless. This was a direct slap to his face in public!
"Zhao Gao! You eunuch, how dare you spout such wild nonsense!" Qin Aoshuang's pretty face turned livid as she gritted her teeth.
Zhao Gao merely cast a sneering glance at her: "Second Princess, what is this? Do you intend to make a move against this old slave?"
After a brief pause, Zhao Gao continued, "Even if the Second Princess strikes this old slave, I will not resist. But once His Majesty finds out, or once the soldiers on the front lines learn of it, what will they think?"
Hearing these words left both Qin Zhantian and Qin Aoshuang speechless. Zhao Gao held the momentum, leaving the two of them powerless. Though filled with burning rage, they had nowhere to vent it.
One had to remember that in Immortal Qin, Zhao Gao was the only person authorized to transmit the First Emperor's imperial edicts. This power was practically boundless! Over the years, Zhao Gao's arrogance had grown day by day, holding no one in his eyes, and he had even begun attempting to meddle in military affairs.
Not only that, but Zhao Gao had taken the lead with various officials, repeatedly advising Qin Zhantian to adopt a soft approach toward the sects and sacred lands. Those sects and sacred lands were nothing more than ungrateful wolves that could never be fed! To carve out benefits and cede them to the sects and sacred lands while still having to put on a smiling face—when had Immortal Qin ever suffered such humiliation?
"Scoundrel!" Qin Zhantian's eyes were bloodshot, and he wished he could tear Zhao Gao into a thousand pieces! Yet, for the peace of mind of the generals fighting on the front lines, he chose to endure. But this feeling was excruciatingly stifling—it was like having a clown jump up and down right in front of you while you could do absolutely nothing about it.
"Crown Prince, tomorrow is the auction organized by the Three Great Sacred Lands. I trust the Crown Prince will display the might of our Immortal Qin!" Seeing Qin Zhantian's gloomy expression, Zhao Gao smiled broadly with his fingers curled in an orchid gesture.
Two days later would be the Myriad Laws Convention. Tomorrow, however, was the joint auction hosted by the Three Great Sacred Lands. At that time, the Three Great Sacred Lands would bring out numerous heavenly treasures and rare ancient artifacts brought back from the secret realm. This was a demonstration of intimidation by the Three Great Sacred Lands toward the Immortal Qin Empire, displaying their heritage for all the cultivators of the world to see that the strength of the Three Great Sacred Lands was not inferior to the Immortal Qin Empire.
"Did I ask for your commentary? Eunuch Zhao, are you perhaps planning to hand over all your Spirit Stones to share the burden for Immortal Qin?" Qin Zhantian retorted bluntly.
"The Crown Prince jests. This old slave is as clean as a whistle, how could I possibly have any Spirit Stones? I hope the Crown Prince will not listen to idle gossip from others." Zhao Gao smiled hypocritically while secretly tucking the supreme-grade jade thumb ring on his hand deep inside his sleeve.
Narrowing his eyes, he cupped his fists and said, "Crown Prince, the Sixth Prince relied on your prestige to barge into the Scripture Pavilion on his own authority. If this causes any mishaps for the various prodigies, whose responsibility will it be?"
"The Scripture Pavilion only opens once every decade, and how many decades do these prodigies even have? What if they return empty-handed because of the Sixth Prince's reckless behavior? Where does that leave our Immortal Qin?"
His words effectively nailed down the charges against Qin Feng.
"Crown Prince, we second this!"
"The Sixth Prince is audacious, trespassing into the Scripture Pavilion—he is a sinner of the state! We beg the Crown Prince to severely punish the Sixth Prince!"
"What is a mere Qi Condensation ant trying to disrupt? In two days is the Myriad Laws Convention; if they gain nothing from this trip to the Scripture Pavilion, how shall we respond?"
"Does Qin Feng really think that just because he can cultivate now, he can compare to the supreme prodigies? What an absolute joke! Every true genius is endowed with the bearing of dragons and phoenixes!"
...
A full third of Immortal Qin's civil and military officials raised their hands and shouted in unison. In their eyes, Qin Feng was nothing more than a plague, a piece of trash! If he caused trouble in the Scripture Pavilion, it would breed resentment among the prodigies and leave a poor impression of the Immortal Qin Empire. Should any accidents happen at the Myriad Laws Convention, the blame would fall squarely on Qin Zhantian's shoulders.
"Enough! Shut your mouths! If anything happens... I will bear the responsibility alone!" Qin Zhantian roared, veins bulging on his forehead!
Then, his gaze returned to fixate upon the Scripture Pavilion secret realm.
"Sigh, Sixth Brother! You have no idea—this insistence of yours to enter the Scripture Pavilion... has already made you the target of public criticism."
"Older Brother will protect you properly. I will never let anyone bully you!"
For Qin Feng's sake, he shouldered it all.