Chapter 907: His Highness the Heir Prince

“Holy shit!”

Third Master’s entire body snapped rigid, his “third leg” dangling with the rope. Both hands reached downward toward the child as though cradling some priceless jewel, his eyes overflowing with tenderness.

“Baby, baby, baby—you’re fucking amazing!”

At a moment like this, only words that simple seemed capable of expressing the surging excitement in Third Master’s heart.

This was not merely a matter of being born at Ninth Grade.

It meant... this child of a Demon King... was not bound by their shackles!

Before, it had only been a guess.

Now it was no longer a guess.

It had become reality.

How terrifying could a bloodline become when it was allowed to grow without restraints?

Even with Master dragging down the average... even if the child had inherited only eighty percent of Siniang’s bloodline—no, seventy percent—no, even if he had inherited only half!

So long as that power was allowed to soak naturally into his body and develop... fuck!

What Fire Phoenix bloodline?

What Innate Sword Embryo?

What Pure Spirit Body?

All of them could get the hell out of the way!

No one understood better than the Demon Kings themselves just how powerful their bloodlines truly were.

This child... was their “paradise.”

Their “dream.”

He could carry their hopes while avoiding the fetters chained around their own bodies.

A’Ming was smiling brilliantly as well.

The vampire who normally loved putting on a cold, aloof face now wore a smile containing unmistakable savagery.

He’ll like drinking, won’t he?

He’ll like drinking... blood, won’t he?

The Blind Man was slightly more restrained.

But his face had gone rigid, clearly because he too was desperately suppressing the excitement surging inside him.

Just look.

Look at the way these Demon Kings were staring at the child.

It was different.

Completely different.

Truly, utterly different.

Even if this child someday wanted the moon from the sky... his Demon King uncles would find some way to pluck it down for him.

This child... was the true key to fulfilling that long-cherished wish of his!

At a moment like this, only Zheng Fan, the actual father, was still worried about something much more ordinary.

“He’s just entered Ninth Grade like this. Is that actually good for the child?”

Zheng Fan remembered how the Sword Maid had accidentally entered the grades while still very young because she had failed to suppress herself. In the end, the Sword Saint had forcibly stripped out that portion of her cultivation so she could continue laying her foundation.

A father certainly hoped his son would become a dragon.

But more than that... he cared about the child’s health.

The Blind Man answered immediately:

“It’s different, Master. This child’s bloodline is different. Truly different. This is not a spirit body. This is bloodline. It isn’t some added value from an imperial bloodline, nor is it even the remnant of a Fire Phoenix spirit body like Chu possesses. He directly inherited Siniang’s... and Master’s blood. A second-generation bloodline whose purity is beyond question.”

Xue San nodded eagerly.

“Exactly, Master. It’s like how even a newborn phoenix is stronger than a full-grown pig.”

A’Ming glared at Xue San.

Demon Child simply slammed into Xue San’s chest.

Bang!

“Oof!”

Third Master crashed to the floor and curled into a ball.

The Blind Man continued:

“Still, for safety’s sake, Ninth Grade is enough. At the very least, that should ensure he does not fall ill. Ordinary tumbles and bumps will not matter either. But we should place a seal on him first.”

“A seal?” Zheng Fan asked, puzzled.

“Yes, Master. We should temporarily seal the bloodline power inside him. As he gradually grows older, as his self-awareness and mind mature, the seal can be loosened little by little. Otherwise, if his strength becomes too great too early...”

The Blind Man frowned, searching for a comparison.

Then he found one.

“He would probably become Fan Li’s Fan Li.”

Here, “Fan Li” was being used as an adjective.

It meant the biggest brute among big brutes.

His strength would far surpass his mind’s ability to control it.

Put more simply... suppose you held out a piece of candy to tease an ordinary child.

The child would smile at you and reach for it.

If you refused to give it to him, he would cry.

This one... might simply punch you flat... then pick up the candy himself and put it in his mouth.

An ordinary child got angry and pouted.

He might get angry and stomp you into paste.

“If we seal him, there won’t be any problems?” Zheng Fan asked. “No aftereffects?”

“Master can rest assured. There won’t be,” the Blind Man explained. “This subordinate has studied some methods of Qi Refiners, and I have also studied certain Western magical techniques through books we purchased. They are only basic methods, but basic methods are enough. Demon Child’s soul power will serve as the anchor. This subordinate’s mental power will guide it. A’Ming’s blood will serve as the vessel. That will be enough to seal the child without any side effects. The seal will not even require someone else to remove it later. As he grows stronger, he will naturally be able to dissolve it himself. To be precise... this is not a shackle. It is a blessing. A genuine blessing.”

Third Master had finally recovered from the earlier sucker punch.

With his usual shameless grin, he explained:

“Master, think of it like building a house from the simplest blueprint, except instead of timber and stone, you use gold and silver. Demon Child will have to expend an enormous amount of soul power. A’Ming will have to spend his own blood essence. And even guiding the whole thing with the Blind Man’s mental power will cost him greatly. That kind of depletion means that even if they advance again afterward, without two or three years they still won’t fully replenish what they spend today. But a seal made this way will suppress the child’s bloodline in the early stages. And later... it becomes insurance for his growth.”

Clearly... whether Demon Child, the Blind Man, or A’Ming, every one of them would pay a heavy price for this.

Yet not one had bargained.

Not one had even hesitated.

This child meant too much to them.

They had said it long ago.

He was not merely Zheng Fan’s child.

He was also a continuation of themselves.

They were more than willing to place some of what belonged to them inside him right now.

A relationship between master and inheritor often ran deeper than a bloodline connection.

And for the Demon Kings... this was another step from comic panels into reality, and then from reality into leaving a genuine mark upon this world.

Its meaning was far beyond ordinary.

No matter how much they laughed and cursed in daily life, no matter how strange their tempers might be, nothing changed the fact that they were lonely.

Of course... something else was now painfully obvious.

The Demon Kings were shamelessly biased.

Back when Tian Tian was little, one could still argue the Demon Kings had not yet recovered as much strength as they possessed today.

But when Big Girl was born not long ago... why had no one suggested doing anything like this?

Now Siniang’s child came out... and everyone immediately crowded forward, volunteering to give him everything they could.

Still... at least this was not preference for sons over daughters.

It was purely because the child’s maternal line was different.

As the biological father, Zheng Fan stood to one side, looking at the fervent light burning in the Demon Kings’ eyes.

He suddenly remembered how the late Emperor of Yan, in order to eliminate the possibility of maternal relatives interfering in politics, had exterminated Ji Old Sixth’s maternal Min Clan in advance.

His own son’s maternal clan...

This was not even a question of whether Zheng Fan needed to worry about the problem.

Zheng Fan knew perfectly well that although his own contribution had certainly mattered in reaching his current position, the foundation beneath everything was the seven Demon Kings who had supported him all the way here.

So his son’s “maternal clan”... was quite literally his father’s founding team.

Once the boy grew up, unless he intended to become some carefree wastrel who wandered among mountains and rivers, then the moment he revealed even the slightest desire to inherit the family estate... how could any of the other children possibly compete with him?

Another ruler might already have sunk into deep anxiety.

In a struggle over power, even the bond between father and son could become worthless.

Sometimes... it only made things bloodier.

Fortunately, Zheng Fan did not care much about such things.

The Demon Kings did not care much either.

Their tastes had long since transcended the narrow perspective of pure power struggles.

Besides... who knew what the future would look like?

“So when do we start the seal?” Zheng Fan asked.

“Now,” the Blind Man said. “The earlier, the better. Uh... originally, we could have waited a little. But now we need to begin immediately because...”

“Because what?”

“Because...” The Blind Man hesitated. “Because this is the safest way.”

Demon Child, floating nearby, widened his empty eye sockets and deliberately turned his back toward Zheng Fan.

What else could it possibly be?

Because he had been feeding the kid!

Before the child had even been born, Demon Child had already fed him soul power, causing the child’s bloodline development to accelerate far beyond expectation.

But the Blind Man was clearly covering for Demon Child.

He did not expose him.

“Then the people outside... I’ll go calm them down,” Zheng Fan said.

“Thank you for the trouble, Master.”

“How long will you need?”

“Two hours. At most two hours.”

“All right.”

Zheng Fan looked once more at his son, surrounded by his Demon King uncles and elder brother, then at Siniang.

Siniang nodded toward him.

“Master can rest assured. This servant’s child—this servant will watch him closely.”

“Mm.”

A short while later... the Prince walked out of the delivery room.

Everyone outside had long since been craning their necks in anticipation.

But with Fan Li blocking the entrance, nobody had been able to enter.

“The child is doing very well. He’s being cleaned up. Everyone can wait a little longer. Xiao Yibo, go entertain the people in the front hall. And send messengers to inform Fengxin City. No... inform eastern Jin. Inform the entire world. My Prince Pingxi Residence... has an Heir Prince.”

Strictly speaking, the heir to a princely title should be formally invested by the imperial court.

Before that investiture, he could not officially be called Heir Prince.

“Heir Prince” was, in large part, an official position.

But after the precedent of the “little Princess”... everyone in Prince Pingxi Residence, and indeed all of eastern Jin, had naturally stopped bothering with the procedural step.

When Ji Chuanye had been born, the Emperor himself had personally gone to see him.

That had been a symbol.

A symbol that the third generation of the Ji imperial house had appeared.

Its political meaning had been immense.

The situation here at Prince Pingxi Residence was much the same.

Countless people outside were waiting for news.

The front hall itself held quite a few generals who had returned to Fengxin City to report on their duties.

They were waiting for word about their young master.

Zheng Fan then pointed toward the Gourd Temple master and disciple standing in one corner.

The two monks immediately approached and pressed their palms together respectfully.

“I’ll trouble both Masters to go inside and bestow your blessing as well.”

Old monk and young monk exchanged glances.

Clear delight appeared in both pairs of eyes.

His Highness the Heir Prince was blessed by us.

By us!

This karmic connection was practically overflowing!

The two monks, flattered beyond belief, bowed to Zheng Fan again and again.

When Fan Li finally stepped aside, they entered the delivery room.

The reason Zheng Fan had them go inside was to neutralize outside speculation about the delay.

Cleaning the child and bestowing blessings should naturally take some time.

That would conveniently cover the time needed for the “seal.”

There were too many eyes watching here.

Some secrets could be public.

Others absolutely had to remain hidden.

The relationship between Zheng Fan and the Demon Kings was one such secret.

The relationship between his son and the Demon Kings was another.

Afterward...

Zheng Fan sat back down.

He called toward the courtesan-artists:

“Keep playing. Keep dancing.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The pipa began sounding again.

Two courtesans resumed their dance.

“Hahahahaha!”

From time to time, the Prince’s laughter rang through the courtyard.

At first... it sounded somewhat forced.

But soon Xiong Liqing took Liu Ruqing by the hand, came over beside the Prince, and chatted and laughed with him.

Then...

Tian Tian began clapping along.

In truth, everyone desperately wanted to go inside and see the child immediately.

But Fan Li stood there like a mountain.

His meaning was perfectly clear.

No entry.

And after thinking about the gentlemen who had rushed into the delivery room ahead of everyone else, the members of the household could probably guess that something was being done inside.

But precisely because they were family... they naturally needed to cooperate with the Prince now.

So here... everyone did their best to put on a cheerful performance, gradually pulling the Residence servants into the atmosphere of celebration as well.

Outside... the moment word spread that an Heir Prince had been born to Prince Pingxi Residence, Fengxin City erupted into an ocean of celebration.

The question of their Prince’s descendants had always weighed heavily on the soldiers and civilians of the city.

Now... that stone could finally be put down.

The generals waiting in the front hall for news clenched their fists in excitement.

The Prince himself had not appeared yet.

They had not seen the little Heir Prince either.

So apart from repeatedly clenching their fists and shouting, there was little else they could do.

But the transmission of the news suffered no delay whatsoever.

Messenger after messenger rode directly through Fengxin City’s gates and scattered in every direction.

No matter how one looked at it...

Prince Pingxi Residence in Fengxin City had already become a universally recognized power capable of influencing the balance of all Xia.

Now... its successor had finally appeared.

That was unquestionably a major event.

...

The courtesan-artists continued singing and dancing.

Their steps were beginning to grow unsteady from exhaustion, but the Prince seemed to remain in excellent spirits.

Naturally... they did not dare stop.

Xiong Liqing gently took Zheng Fan’s hand.

Zheng Fan smiled at her, signaling that everything was fine.

Only then did Xiong Liqing let out a quiet breath of relief.

She glanced toward the delivery room.

“Your Highness, this concubine prepared rewards long ago. There are also celebrations throughout Fengxin City for the arrival of His Highness the Heir Prince. Elder Sister instructed me about them beforehand. I’ll go arrange everything now.”

“Good. Go.”

Xiong Liqing took Liu Ruqing’s hand and left, bringing quite a few servants with them.

Ji Chuanye tugged at Tian Tian’s sleeve.

“Big Brother, when can we see Little Brother? When Little Sister was born last time, didn’t we get to see her almost immediately?”

“We need to wait until the monk masters finish their blessing. No rush. Let’s go back and find the wooden saber we prepared for Little Brother first.”

Tian Tian took Ji Chuanye by the hand and left.

At that moment... one of the courtesans finally lost her footing and fell to the ground.

She immediately kowtowed and begged forgiveness.

By coincidence... the curtain of the delivery room was lifted at that exact moment.

Third Master walked out.

He smiled at Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan turned toward the courtesans.

“Go find Steward Xiao and collect your rewards.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

The Prince himself immediately stood.

The moment he entered the delivery room... he saw the Gourd Temple master and disciple curled together in one corner, trembling uncontrollably.

Then he looked toward the Blind Man and A’Ming.

Both were leaning against a table, nearly unconscious.

The red stone lay silently on the floor.

Siniang held the child in her arms.

Zheng Fan quickly walked over.

Siniang immediately said:

“Master, everything went very smoothly. It’s already done.”

Zheng Fan took the child.

He discovered a small red mole had appeared between his son’s brows.

It only made him look even cuter.

At the moment... the baby was smacking his little lips.

Tiny bubbles formed at the corner of his mouth.

“The people outside have waited long enough. I’ll carry him out first.”

“This servant won’t go out yet.”

No matter what, Siniang had only just given birth.

If she simply marched outside in full view of everyone... people would inevitably start spreading strange rumors.

“All right. Rest a little. And arrange things for them too.”

After giving those hurried instructions... the Prince carried his son out of the delivery room.

All along the way... every servant and Brocade-Clad Guard dropped to their knees.

“May the Prince endure ten thousand years! May His Highness the Heir Prince endure ten thousand years!”

“May the Prince endure ten thousand years! May His Highness the Heir Prince endure ten thousand years!”

When Zheng Fan entered the front hall carrying the child...

Jin Shuke and the others had already been waiting for a long time.

The moment they saw the Prince emerge with the baby in his arms, the generals—who had been holding themselves back until they were nearly going insane—dropped together in a perfectly orderly salute.

“Congratulations to Your Highness! Congratulations to His Highness the Heir Prince!”

Zheng Fan carried the child to the chief seat and sat down.

He smiled.

“Sorry to keep all of you waiting.”

At that moment... among the kneeling generals, Jin Shuke, positioned in the first row, raised his head.

Zheng Fan had only recently appointed him as teacher in military arts to both His Highness the Heir Prince Jingnan and His Highness the Crown Prince.

If things proceeded normally from now on, once the Crown Prince inherited the throne, Jin Shuke would inevitably receive the incomparable honor of having been the Emperor’s teacher.

In truth, Zheng Fan had made that arrangement simply because Jin Shuke had worked conscientiously for so many years, and because Zheng Fan had just stripped away his military command and wanted to compensate him somewhat.

He had not thought too deeply beyond that.

But Jin Shuke saw matters differently.

The Prince had granted him such extraordinary favor.

That meant he needed to be even more careful.

Especially where his political stance was concerned... he had to keep his head perfectly clear.

Teacher of the Emperor?

Teacher of the Emperor...

Did that mean he truly owed his loyalty to the orthodox throne of Great Yan?

And so...

Jin Shuke, normally the very model of caution, did something unusually bold today.

Of course... he had the qualifications.

“Your Highness... we... all of us finally have something to look forward to!”

As he spoke...

Jin Shuke clenched one fist and struck it against his own chest.

The generals behind him copied the gesture together and swore:

“We swear to follow Your Highness unto death! We swear to follow His Highness the Heir Prince unto death!”

They swore an oath.

But nobody shouted “Long live.”

On the surface... today’s scene had actually violated fewer taboos than the celebration after Big Girl’s birth.

But Zheng Fan, sitting in the chief seat, was not naive enough to believe his generals had suddenly become obedient.

Or docile.

Before... they shouted because they wanted to force the issue forward.

They wanted to fan the flames.

Now... they were not obedient.

They had not lowered their banners.

They had simply confirmed the birth of the Heir Prince... and naturally concluded there was no need to rush anymore.

Take it slowly.

Keep doing what needed to be done.

And one day... everything would simply become reality on its own.

...

In the small courtyard beside Prince Pingxi Residence, the Star Receivers remained imprisoned, though their shackles had already been removed.

They sat cross-legged in meditation.

Among them... one elderly man suddenly opened his eyes.

Bitterness and despair appeared on his face.

“The momentum... has taken form.”

At the same time... deep within the dungeon beneath Prince Pingxi Residence... the black-armored man, still bound beneath layer after layer of heavy chains, silently opened one eye.

Within his pupil... stars seemed to revolve.

He murmured:

“Has it... changed...?”

[End of Chapter 907]