The reason the second prince left the viewing box was naturally because of the tournament ceremony.
Since this was a succession ceremony, the people that couldn't be missing were naturally the princes.
So all of the princes had been called onto the stage in the center of the arena to give a few words to the people.
There were princes that gave long speeches, there were princes that gave arrogant talks, and there were princes that did all they could do to show off their power. But there was only a single prince who actually only gave a few words to the people.
It was the man of few words, the second prince.
"The ending has already been set."
Those were the only words that the second prince said.
Everyone couldn't help looking at the second prince with strange looks as they heard this. It was almost as if there was something that he knew that the others didn't know and they didn't like this feeling.
But they weren't able to find anything about this even after checking with their subordinates.
At the same time, in a special private box, the Mu Stellar King deeply knitted his brows when he heard this.
He had thought that the second prince would be acting tough since the odds were arranged against him, but he didn't feel any tension in the second prince's voice. It was as if he truly was confident about his chances…
Could it be that there was still something up his sleeve?
The Mu Stellar King couldn't help gritting his teeth when this thought had passed through his mind.
This second child of his had once been his pride and joy, but after what happened with Hua'er, he couldn't allow him to live. So he had done everything he could to indirectly kill this second child of his.
He had sent him on dangerous missions that had no chances of survival, he had given him gifts that had hidden dangers to them, and he had even secretly strengthened the forces of his other children so they would take care of him for him.
But no matter what he did, this second child of his had dealt with everything in that same calm manner and had survived.
Not to mention that he had even taken Hua'er away from him!
He didn't know where this second child of his was hiding his Hua'er, but he would do whatever he could to take her back!
As he thought of Hua'er, he couldn't help thinking of the child that she had. Now that she had grown up, she would certainly be a ripe flower for him to pick…
The fourth prince's strange tastes hadn't developed from nowhere, they had been passed down to him. It wasn't just the fourth prince that had strange tastes, but also the Mu Stellar King…
After the princes finished with what they had to say, they were led off the stage and the master of ceremonies took over once again.
But since this was a large event, naturally the main show wouldn't start right away.
There had been special demonstrations that had been prepared to hype up the event before it started.
As the princes left the stage, there were some that gathered in groups. It was clear that these princes had decided to work with each other to improve their chances in this succession race.
However, the princes that everyone paid attention to the most were the first prince, the second prince, and the fourth prince.
The three of them were actually standing by each other, as if they were about to confront each other.
For the other princes, this was valuable information, so many of them remained silent and waited to see what these three princes would do.
The first prince was the one that broke the silence first by saying, "Second brother, I took a look at your team earlier. It seems like you really had a hard time finding people since I didn't recognize a single person that you chose for your team. Are you sure that you'll be alright?"
The tone that he used made it seem like he was worried about the second prince as an older brother, but it was clear to everyone that heard it that he was just taunting the second prince with these words.
The fourth prince nodded and added fuel to the fire, "Second brother, if you really don't have any capable subordinates, you could have asked me and I would have found some for you."
The second prince ignored the taunting meaning behind these words and just calmly said, "Brothers, thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine."
Then without giving them a chance to say anything else, the second prince walked off.
He had only stayed because he had noticed that the first prince and the fourth prince had wanted to say to him. He hadn't expected much from them and he hadn't been disappointed by what they had said.
He had already expected them to be this close minded, so he didn't care what would happen next since he already had his own plans.
Seeing that the second prince completely ignored them, the first and fourth prince couldn't do anything.
Right now they were in public view as succession candidates, so they would never do anything that would harm their chances.
So since the second prince was gone, their targets turned to each other.
After all, after the second prince, their biggest competition was each other.
The second prince ignored all of this and headed back to his viewing box, but he was surprised to find that Lin Fan and Xin'er weren't there. There was a trace of panic that filled his heart as he immediately turned to the maid that was standing on the side.
But before he could say a thing, the door opened behind him and Lin Fan came in holding Xin'er's hand.
When he saw this, there was a tinge of a relieved feeling that filled his heart, but he had a calm look on his face as he turned to sit down.
Lin Fan and Xin'er were naturally surprised to see the second prince here as well.
Earlier Xin'er had felt a bit bored, so Lin Fan had taken her to walk around the arena since it was a very well built place. They never thought that the second prince would be back so soon.
As if she could sense something, Xin'er came forward and said with a smile, "Uncle, you're back?"
The second prince just gave a nod without saying anything.
After this, the maids came forward to bring Xin'er over to the toys and sweets set up for her while Lin Fan sat down.
When Lin Fan saw this, he couldn't help thinking of a father who didn't know how to interact with his daughter…But that wouldn't be right since the second prince would be Xin'er's brother if he had to classify their relationship.
In short, it felt strange, as if he was missing a piece of the puzzle.
…
In the center of the arena, on the stage, the last performance was finished and the performers were leaving.
The host came up again to finally announce that the first match between princes was about to begin.
This was a match between two princes that weren't favoured to win, so people weren't as excited, but this was still a match between princes and the real beginning of the tournament. So they couldn't help getting excited in the end and started cheering regardless.
Hearing this, the two princes who had their turn at the stage felt their egos swell even if they weren't the main characters here.
The group that the two princes chose were all filled with True Soul Realm Experts.
Lin Fan couldn't help giving a sigh when he saw this.
As expected of a Stellar Kingdom, just the subordinates of a prince were all True Soul Realm Experts. If either of these groups were placed on the Galactic Humanity Alliance, they would surely have the strongest organization with just the five of them.
This was the difference between a Stellar Kingdom and an upper realm.
The competition that these two groups were put to was a test of wisdom and cooperation.
They would be placed inside a labyrinth at different sides and they would have to solve puzzles to reach the center of the labyrinth. The first team that reached the middle would be declared the winner.
This was a contest that wasn't determined by cultivation, so it became very clear who the winner would be soon enough. After all, one prince had chosen a group filled with people that relied on brawns and the other prince had chosen a group filled with people that relied on brains.
Before the team that relied on brawns could even solve the first puzzle, the team that relied on brains had already reached the center of the labyrinth.
Just like this, one prince had been knocked out of the succession race.
That prince didn't immediately leave, but rather stayed to watch the rest of the tournament since the result would be something that decided his fate.
As for the prince that won, he didn't have a relaxed look on his face. He knew that this was just the beginning and the princes that he would have to face would only have much stronger teams.
He had only gotten lucky with the round selection and without knowing what kind of rounds would be coming up next, it was impossible to guarantee that he would be able to win against his opponents.
But with the first round done, many princes had a good idea of what would be coming and began discussing strategies with their teams.
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