Chapter Fifty-Five: Undercurrents VI

“I wish to take Princess Qinu as my wife!”

Chen Youyuan’s voice echoed through the small thatched cottage.

“Brother Chen, if you desire anything else, I could arrange it for you. But this—this alone is impossible.”

“I once promised Qinu that she could choose her own husband,” the Fourth Prince said gravely.

“She can choose her own husband?” Chen Youyuan laughed wildly. “Ha! Fourth Prince, in this world, do you truly believe that everyone can freely obtain what they want?”

“Today, whether your sister wishes it or not, she will marry me!” He stood up, clenching his fist tightly. “Because here and now, my fist is the strongest—you all must yield to me!”

“You are far too arrogant, Brother Chen!” The Fourth Prince also rose, slamming his palm on the table. At that moment, an old man entered, weapon in hand, his presence radiating a powerful aura.

This was truly a master at the peak of the External Power!

The master stepped behind the Fourth Prince, and at once the prince’s presence swelled. To have dared to come meet the people of the Crocodile Sect directly, the Fourth Prince had clearly made preparations.

This loyal master at the peak of the External Power was his greatest support! Even for the imperial family, such a master was a force to be reckoned with; aside from the few Internal Power masters the royals could muster, this was their mightiest strength.

It was this that gave the Fourth Prince confidence to contend for the throne!

“A mere peak External Power master? That is not enough.” Despite the man’s imposing arrival, Chen Youyuan remained unhurried. He clapped his hands lightly, and the black-clad men from the Crocodile Sect lifted their hoods, revealing their own formidable auras.

One, two, three... seven—in all, seven External Power masters!

And among them stood one whose presence crushed all others—a rare Internal Power master!

“An Internal Power master?!” The Fourth Prince, himself an External Power expert, cried out in alarm as he sensed the man’s strength.

Even the imperial family, among the ten strongest forces under heaven, had fewer than ten Internal Power masters. The Crocodile Sect, a notch below the royals, possessed just three Internal Power masters.

Never in his wildest dreams did the Fourth Prince imagine that one of the Crocodile Sect’s few Internal Power masters would appear here!

“Brother Chen, what is your sect’s intention?”

The Fourth Prince’s gaze locked onto Chen Youyuan.

That the Crocodile Sect would send an Internal Power master to meddle in such a ‘trivial’ affair could mean only one thing: their ambitions were vast.

“Haha, all of this is for the sake of marrying Princess Qinu. I am quite taken with her, after all,” Chen Youyuan replied, his eyes raking over Qinu with a greedy, burning intensity, as if his gaze alone could strip her bare.

Feeling the terrifying weight of his stare, Princess Qinu could no longer maintain her facade of calm. Trembling, she shrank behind the Fourth Prince, her whole body shaking with fear.

“Does your sect not fear the imperial family’s retribution?” The Fourth Prince’s expression was icy, his words bitten out through clenched teeth.

“Oh? Will your imperial family truly risk offending the Crocodile Sect—a top-twenty power in the realm—for the sake of a dispensable princess?” Chen Youyuan took another swig of wine, feigning drunkenness.

The Fourth Prince’s hands curled into fists, nails biting deep into his palms until blood dripped to the floor.

Indeed, as Chen Youyuan said, the imperial family would never provoke a great sect for the sake of a mere princess, no matter how beloved she might be. This was not a matter of sentiment, but of interests.

Chen Youyuan looked at the prince with a sly smile. For generations, the imperial family lacked the strength to truly dominate the world, yet held the title of overlord. The greatest powers—such as the Seven-Three Sect and the Devil Sect—disdained the royals, but among the major and mid-tier sects, many envied the imperial family’s status.

More than one powerful sect had longed to replace the imperial family and become the new ruling house.

Thus, the imperial family, aside from tolerating the greatest and smallest sects, always guarded strictly against the involvement of the major and mid-sized martial factions in state affairs.

Upon receiving the Fourth Prince’s invitation, the Crocodile Sect saw an opportunity. They secretly plotted to install Chen Youyuan, the sect leader’s son, as royal son-in-law by forcibly marrying Princess Qinu. In so doing, they would insert themselves into imperial business, and gradually cultivate influence at court—biding their time to one day supplant the ruling house.

Of course, the key to becoming the new royal house was the recognition of the greatest powers. But the Crocodile Sect had already secured a promise from one such force: if they could gain dominance at court and overthrow the reigning dynasty by coup, recognition would be theirs—they would become the new royal family!

To achieve this, the sect had even dispatched one of their three precious Internal Power masters.

“This is the first step for my Chen family and the Crocodile Sect to become the new imperial line.” At the thought that he might become the founding emperor of a new dynasty, Chen Youyuan squinted in satisfaction and drank again.

“As the old poem says, ‘A night in spring is worth a thousand in gold; flowers are fragrant, and the moon is dim.’ Men, escort Princess Qinu to our sect—I wish to marry her as soon as possible!”

With a wave of his hand, several External Power disciples of the Crocodile Sect struck down the ordinary guards with ease and strode toward the Fourth Prince and Princess Qinu.

The loyal master behind the Fourth Prince made to act, but the Internal Power master from the Crocodile Sect fixed him with a killing intent, pinning him in place.

“Do not worry, Fourth Prince—once I wed Princess Qinu, you too shall be my brother. I’ll help you seize the throne!” Chen Youyuan’s laughter mingled with the thunderous sounds roaring from the woods outside, making him seem all the more unrestrained.

“Hahahaha!”

Rumble! Rumble!

Chen Youyuan laughed heartily. “Princess Qinu…”

Rumble!

“Rest assured…”

Rumble!

“I will cherish you—”

Rumble!

“Is that thunder? Why is it so loud?” Chen Youyuan frowned, glancing out the window. Anyone would be annoyed to have their posturing interrupted by such strange noise.

“Really—” He tried to speak again, but his expression suddenly shifted to one of terror.

“What in the world—?”

A wild wind howled!

“What is that?!”

A towering, yellow-brown tornado, dozens of meters high, shot toward the thatched cottage, swirling with eerie red light and black shadows!