Dragon Prince Yuan

Many years ago, King Wu rebelled against the Great Zhou Empire and caused its downfall.

The king of Great Zhou, Zhou Qing, suffered defeat after defeat, and was ultimately forced into the desolate and remote northern region. As such, the Great Zhou Empire that had once awed the Cangmang Continent was shattered to pieces. In its place, King Wu established the Great Wu Empire that soon became a top-tier empire in the continent.

King Wu also schemed to seize the sacred dragon blessing from the crown prince of the Great Zhou Empire, and infused it into his twin son and daughter whose births had been delayed to the same day as the Great Zhou crown prince. As a result, the Great Wu Empire gained the protection and blessings of the phoenix and dragon.

The Great Wu Empire flourished over the years like a rising sun over the Cangmang Continent. Numerous empires came to give their blessings because the Great Wu Empire's position was already solidified.

……

The Great Wu Empire Palace, the rear park.

On an empty clearing, several strong looking guards had surrounded a little boy in bright yellow clothes. The young boy stood with his hands behind his back, the arrogance in his eyes seemingly originating from deep within his bones, as if he was a born king.

The surrounding guards carefully watched him. Moments later, they suddenly charged forward with a swish, leaving faint after-images behind as fists and feet viciously struck towards the young boy.

A smile rose from the corners of the young boy's mouth, a smile that contained a hint of ferocity.

Rumble!

Instead of taking evasive manoeuvres, the young boy dashed forward, charging straight into the attacks as faint Genesis Qi swirled around his tiny fists. Though small, they were packed full of power.

Thump! Thump!

The body of a guard would jerk back every time his fist landed, their chests seemingly caving inwards as a mouthful of bloody mist sprayed from their mouths.

The young boy was vicious and cruel. All of the guards were sent flying as his figure weaved through them, their bloodied bodies groaning in pain as they curled up on the ground.

Such an outcome was pretty surprising.

"Haha, great job. As expected of the dragon of my Wu clan!" When the fight was over, loud laughter boomed from the nearby stone steps as the other guards and palace servants hurriedly knelt.

A smiling, tall and well-built middle-aged man had appeared. He had a determined and unyielding look, while a stern and dignified aura overflowed from between his brows. A certain pressure spread from his body, making everyone tremble involuntarily.

It was obviously King Wu of the Great Wu Empire.

The young boy who had been called the dragon of the Wu clan was naturally the Great Wu Empire's crown prince--- Wu Huang.

By King Wu's side, an elder in black chuckled and said, "The crown prince is truly a genius. He only began cultivation two years ago but has already opened seven meridian channels. Such progress is truly astounding."

Wu Huang nodded with a wide smile on his face, his eyes filled with satisfaction when he looked towards Wu Huang. With a dragon like this, there was no worry of the Great Wu Empire declining.

While he smiled, his gaze shifted towards another direction as his brows involuntarily furrowed together.

A young girl wearing a pretty little dress was seated amidst the flowers as she carefully tended to an injured little bird on her lap.

Although the girl was very young, the outline of an extraordinary beauty was already beginning to emerge on her small face. Her fair skin was akin to white jade, faintly glowing under the sunlight.

The young girl was called Wu Yao and was the little princess of the Great Wu Empire.

King Wu frowned deeply as he gazed at Wu Yao. He originally had high hopes for her like Wu Huang. After all, the sacred dragon blessing from the crown prince of the Great Zhou Empire, Zhou Yuan, had been devoured by both Wu Huang and Wu Yao.

Wu Huang's portion of the sacred dragon blessing had fully awakened over the past few years and was subsequently made into his own. He had begun cultivating two years ago, and had been improving at a rapid pace, and was now at the seven channel stage.

In contrast, Wu Yao had achieved nothing. She showed no difference due to devouring the sacred dragon blessing. In fact, her cultivation progress was rather slow, making her no different than an ordinary person.

Evidently, she had not awakened the sacred dragon blessing in her body.

This made the originally hopeful King Wu feel extremely disappointed.

"Could Wu Yao's body be unsuited to the sacred dragon blessing?" King Wu's eyes flickered in thought.

He was silent for a moment before he slowly said, "Wu Huang and Wu Yao will be eight tomorrow…

"Go prepare a cultivation baptism tomorrow. I hope that Wu Huang will be able to awaken the sacred dragon blessing in her body this time and begin to cultivate. If not, the sacred dragon blessing will be far too wasted on her."

King Wu's face was expressionless, and even a little cold as he nonchalantly said, "If she truly is unsuitable, start thinking of a way to extract the sacred dragon blessing from her body and give it to Wu Huang.

"Only then will Wu Huang be able to fully bring out the power of the sacred dragon blessing and protect the Great Wu Empire, allowing us to flourish for a thousand generations."

The elder in black was alarmed by these words and said in a low voice, "Your majesty, if the sacred dragon blessing in the little princess' body is taken away, it will greatly damage her core, and even make it impossible for her to cultivate."

King Wu was silent for a few brief moments before he cast an indifferent glance at the former. "Even if she's unable to cultivate, she's still a princess of the Great Wu Empire and I will not mistreat her. As a daughter of the royal family, she has to be outstanding from a young age, and should naturally do her part for the Great Wu Empire.

The elder in black was silent. He sighed inside as he looked towards the young amidst the flowers. There was no one in the entire Great Wu Empire who did not know the kindness of their princess. Unfortunately, something like kindness was the least needed thing in the royal family.

I hope that the little princess will manage to awaken the sacred dragon blessing in her body tomorrow.

While they were conversing, Wu Yao's tiny hands carefully lifted the injured little bird as a pure smile was revealed on her tiny face.

"Hey, that bird is about to die anyways, what's the point of saving it? It's better to let me roast it to eat!" However, a voice suddenly sounded at this moment as a hand reached over and grabbed at the little bird in Wu Yao's hands.

Wu Yao panicked as she hurriedly hugged the bird in her arms to protect it.

Thud!

The hand struck Wu Yao's arm with substantial force, throwing her onto the ground. A look of pain emerged on her tiny face as a bruise appeared on her arm.

"Wu Huang, you!" She glared at the young boy in front of her. It was Wu Huang.

Wu Huang grinned as he reached out again in an attempt to snatch away the bird. "It's only a bird, quick, hand it over."

His tone suddenly turned somewhat angry. "How can such a thing deserve your concern and protection?"

He stared at the panicking little bird in Wu Yao's arms as he grew increasingly angry inside. In fact, killing intent at the innocent bird even began to appear in his eyes.

It was just an unimportant little beast; how could it possibly deserve her concern?

She had never shown such care even towards him, right?

An indescribable feeling of jealousy rose in his heart.

Wu Yao desperately guarded the bird from Wu Huang's violent grabbing. However, how could she possibly be as strong as him? She was so angry that tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes.

"Wu Huang!"

Fortunately, the stern shout of a woman rang out at this moment.

A woman in palace attire quickly walked over while surrounded by a group of lady servants. She body appeared frail, while her face was extremely pail and weak. A servant supported her as she glared at Wu Huang and said, "Do not bully Wu Yao!"

Wu Huang could only snort as he withdrew his hand and cupped them together. "Mother."

Wu Yao hurriedly climbed to her feet and hid behind the woman as she indignantly said, "Mother."

This woman was the queen of the Great Wu Empire, and also Wu Yao and Wu Huang's mother.

The queen tenderly rubbed Wu Yao's little head before looking towards Wu Huang as she said in a stormy voice, "Didn't I tell you not to bully Wu Yao? Quickly apologize to her."

Wu Huang immediately raised his head and said in an unconvinced voice, "She's the one whose too weak."

"You!" Anger flourished in the queen's eyes.

"Hehe, come on come on, the kids were just playing. You shouldn't take it so seriously." Laughter sounded from behind them. King Wu walked over and smiled at the queen.

"Instead, you should be paying more attention to yourself. We can't have you walking around too much when you're unwell. You should be resting."

The queen helplessly smiled upon seeing how overprotective King Wu was over Wu Huang. She violently coughed a few times as a feeling of weakness spread inside her body. This was the repercussion of forcibly delaying her pregnancy for three years.

King Wu patted Wu Huang's shoulders before turning towards Wu Yao, who was hiding behind the queen, as his smile suddenly receded. "Wu Yao, tomorrow will be your eighth cultivation baptism. You must awaken the sacred dragon blessing in your body this time, and absolutely cannot fail anymore. Do you understand?"

His voice was cold and stern, causing Wu Yao to briefly shiver for a moment.

After speaking, he did not linger any further as he pulled Wu Huang and walked away, not giving even a second glance to Wu Yao.

Cough!

The queen violently coughed again as she watched King Wu's leaving figure, causing the servants to hurriedly support her.

"Are you alright mother?" Wu Yao tugged at the queen's clothes, her tiny face filled with worry.

The queen displayed a loving smile as she squatted down and caressed her daughter's tiny face. With a small sigh, she said, "Yao'er, you must succeed in tomorrow's cultivation baptism, otherwise, what will we do in the future?"

As his wife, she understood King Wu far too well. He was someone who viewed utility above all else, and would do anything for the Great Wu Empire.

Years ago, he had racked his brains in order to seize the sacred dragon blessing that belonged to the crown prince of the Great Zhou Empire and infused a part of it into Wu Yao's and Wu Huang's bodies. However, Wu Yao currently showed zero signs of awakening the blessing, and King Wu would obviously not idly sit by and watch her waste it.

Wu Yao hugged the queen's arm as she said, "Don't worry mother, I'll hide from Wu Huang whenever I see him. Moreover, I still have mother."

The queen let out a bitter laugh. Her eyes turned a little red as she gazed at the pure and kind Wu Yao. Yao'er, I'm afraid mother does not have much time left to watch you grow up.

The queen looked at Wu Yao and said, "Yao'er, promise mother that you will awaken as soon as you can...in this world, only power that belongs to yourself will stop others from bullying you. Mother hopes that you will be able to properly protect yourself."

Wu Yao did not dare to act spoiled any longer under the queen's serious eyes. She nodded her tiny head as she said in half-understanding, "Mother, I understand!"

Only then did the queen smile a little as she happily stroked Wu Yao's head. She raised her head and looked in the direction King Wu had left as her brows tightly furrowed together.

King Wu's earlier words made her feel a little uneasy.

I hope...that I'm wrong.

The next day.

In a hall deep within the Great Wu royal palace.

There were two pools inside the hall. The liquid within was currently in a boiling state and gave off a dark red glow as a fragrance spread from it. It was a concoction of numerous precious Genesis resources.

King Wu stood with his hands behind his back by the side of the pools, while Wu Huang and Wu Yao stood in front him in a simple piece of garment. However, they looked towards the boiling pools with vastly different gazes.

Wu Huang's was filled with desire and impatience.

While Wu Yao's appeared somewhat afraid.

"Wu Huang, Wu Yao, prepare to get in." said King Wu in a low voice. "We've invested many precious Genesis resources into these two pools, making them the most appropriate medium for a cultivation baptism."

"Yes!"

Wu Huang excitedly responded before jumping into the pool without the slightest shred of hesitation. The boiling water made him grimace for a moment before he seated himself and began to absorb the pure Genesis Qi within.

On the other hand, Wu Yao seemed to hesitate somewhat as her large eyes pleadingly looked behind King Wu towards the queen.

The queen appeared rather distressed, but could only sigh inwardly in the face of the expressionless King Wu as she shook her head at Wu Yao.

Upon seeing this, Wu Yao had no choice but to bite her lip as water gathered in her large eyes. She tightly gritted her teeth and began walking into the boiling pool. Her tiny face immediately began to burn as her white-as-jade skin turned red.

However, she ultimately endured the pain and sat down in the pool.

The hall fell silent.

King Wu's somewhat anxious gaze continuously shifted between Wu Huang and Wu Yao.

Boom!

The silence lasted for about an incense stick of time before a muffled explosion suddenly sounded from Wu Huang's pool. The water churned violently as Genesis Qi undulations pulsed from his body.

He seemed to grow a little taller and bigger at this moment.

"Eight channels!" King Wu was overjoyed by this scene as he raised his head and laughed towards the sky. "Great, great. As expected of the dragon of my Wu clan. He has opened eight meridian channels in a short two years!"

This progress was rather outstanding.

King Wu's face was filled with happiness. However, his smile turned rigid when his gaze shifted towards Wu Yao's pool. She was still seated within it, but no gave off no Genesis Qi undulations.

It was as if Wu Yao was incapable of absorbing the abundant pure Genesis Qi in the pool.

As time passed, the boiling water in the pool gradually calmed down as the pure Genesis Qi within it dissipated. The ice-cold water made Wu Yao tremble uncontrollably.

Wu Yao's teeth chattered as she said in a trembling voice, "Fa...father, may, may I go out?"

The queen hurriedly looked towards King Wu.

King Wu's face was akin to ominous black clouds, his eyes growing increasingly disappointed as he gazed at Wu Yao. In the end, he did not say anything as he turned around and walked away with a swish of his sleeves.

Wu Yao had evidently failed again this time.

The shivering, drenched little girl watched King Wu's leaving figure from the pool. The disappointment and uncaringness in the latter's eyes caused her already ice-cold body to grow even colder.

"Yao'er, come out quickly!"

Only the queen was left behind as she tenderly called out with a thick towel in hand.

Wu Yao stood up from the water in low spirits, allowing the queen to dry her body as she said in a tiny voice, "Mother, father seems to be very disappointed in me…"

The queen's hand froze for a moment as she forced a smile and said, "Don't overthink it Yao'er, your father is merely anxious. He's not disappointed in you."

Wu Yao slowly nodded, but her expression remained rather downcast.

Outside the hall.

King Wu walked out with a stormy face as an elder in black quickly followed beside him.

King Wu was silent for a long time before he slowly said, "Begin the preparations. We will take away the sacred dragon blessing in Wu Yao's body tonight and give it to Wu Huang.

"Since she is incapable of awakening the sacred dragon blessing, there is no longer any need to continue wasting it."

The black robed elder's body shivered slightly. He did not speak in the end as he slowly nodded.

"Understood."

……