"Alright, I'll go inform them," General Yao said as he closed the doors of the carriage. He turned and walked back towards the young man blocking their path.
"I talked with Princess Zhiqing and we agree to travel together with you, but only if you and your team agree to be in the lead during the journey. " General Yao said as he directly gazed at the boy in the lead. He looked to be 21-22 years old and wore a blue shirt along with a shiny yellow robe on his back. He had sharp eyes and thin lips. His long black hair came down to his shoulders and rested above his yellow robe. He was Ling Lan, the Crown Prince of Dongxin Kingdom. At the young age of 22 years old, he had broken through to the 4th stage of gold Core Realm.
" Hah… You people don't trust us, do you?" Prince Ling Lan asked as he grinned.
"If that was really the case, Do you think that we would have agreed to travel with you people? It's not that we don't trust you people, but a small amount of wariness is necessary after all" General Yao said with a light smile.
" What do you say, Prince Lan? Do you agree to their terms? We would basically be acting as a shield for them and making their journey easier. I understand why you want to join them, but the terms are really bad." Royal Tutor Wang said to Ling Lan in a discontented tone.
"It's fine. We are the ones asking to travel with them and it's not like there are that many dangers in the journey. If we come across anything serious, we'll fight together with them. "Prince Ling Lan said as he looked towards the carriages of Huanji Kingdom.
"If it is what you desire," Royal Tutor said as he shook his head lightly.
"General Yao, You can go and tell your princess that the people of Dongxin are honest and brave. We aren't afraid of anything. We will lead the journey." Ling Lan said with a smirk.
"Very well. I will tell her. In the meanwhile, you can arrange your people so that we can depart right now. We don't have much time to waste" General Yao said as he walked back towards Zhiqing's carriage.
Zhiqing was looking outside the window when she noticed General Yao coming towards her carriage. She opened the door of the carriage as she saw General Yao stop in front of the door.
"It is done. The Crown Prince of Dongxin had agreed and they will lead the journey now. Our travel just became much more comfortable now" General Yao said with a bright smile on his face as Zhiqing opened the door.
She still couldn't hear a single word he said, but she could feel that General Yao was telling a piece of good news. She nodded her head with a smile.
General Yao nodded his head as he took it as her silent approval. He closed the doors of the carriage and walked back to his own carriage.
"Well, that was fun to watch. Do you have any idea what he said and did? " Mingyu chuckled with an amused smile on her face.
" Nothing at all…I feel like it all went well though. But I seriously hope this misunderstanding doesn't cause anything bad." Zhiqing let out with a wry smile on her face.
"Everything will be fine," Mingyu said as she comforted her.
Zhiqing nodded her head silently as they traveled.
It looked like people of Dongxin had already prepared to leave as they immediately got into formations.
Dongxin Kingdom guards led in the front followed behind by the carriage of Prince Lan and his Royal Tutor. The remaining Dongxin guards followed behind them.
Most of the citizens who saw their carriages, cheered for them as they knew that their Prince was going for the sect selection exams.
"Prince Lan is such a kind person, I hope he gets selected"
" You are right and I'm sure that Prince Lan will get selected. He is a super genius in this kingdom. He will definitely succeed and show the strength of our kingdom. "
" It's too bad that the king only had one kid, If his highness had more kids, we could have had more geniuses like Prince Lan."
" Yea, but don't you think that it's strange? The previous king had 27 wives but only one kid, the boy who became the current king. Our current king is even more romantic than the previous king and has 69 wives, yet he has only one kid as well, Crown Prince Lan. Is the Royal family cursed that they can't have a second kid? "
" Shhh… If the city guards heard you talking about Royal family like that, you would be punished…but yes, it is quite strange"
" It's fine! Even though the king only has one son, Crown Prince Lan is alone equal to hundreds of geniuses. I don't think his highness ever feel the need to have another kid"
The people in the crowd talked amongst themselves in whispers as they saw the carriages depart.
________________________________
The team of Huanji Kingdom followed behind the team of Crown Prince Lan with only a little distance in between them.
"Hmmph… he is making a spectacle out of his leaving. Just a showoff.." Prince Estelin of Huanji Kingdom snorted as he gazed at the crowds of citizens from the window of his carriage.
They left the Dongxin kingdom amidst the cheerful gazes of the Dongxin citizens. Crown Prince Lan occasionally opened the door of his carriage as he waved at the citizens.
They got on the road as they traveled ahead. There was only one more kingdom between them and the Xuan Kingdom. They traveled at full speed as they rapidly moved on the road which diverged through wild forests quite a few times.
" I'm hungry… " Zhiqing muttered with a cry like face.
" Didn't you have breakfast this morning?" Mingyu chuckled lightly as she glanced at Zhiqing.
" That was over 8 hours ago! " Zhiqing let out with a downcast face.
" We might have to go hungry for a few days as I don't think that the barrier will break before Long Chen wakes up from his comprehension, and you can't exit either. " Mingyu said with a light smile on her face.
"That's easy for you to say! Earth Realm Cultivators can spend weeks without having to eat" Zhiqing let out with a wry smile on her face.
"You are in the gold core realm. I think you can go hungry for a few days as well without much strain on you" Mingyu said with a light smile.
" It might be his protection mechanism to save himself against threats when he is in comprehension" Mingyu further continued as she told Zhiqing her thoughts.
" Ohh?… or maybe he wants the beauties to never escape from his grasp even when he's in comprehension. He's such a possessive devil, " Zhiqing said with a chuckle.
"hahahaha… Yes, that might be a reason as well" Mingyu nodded her head as she burst into laughter after hearing Zhiqing's statement.
"Though it's fine, I can stay hungry if it's for him," Zhiqing said as she continued.
More time passed as the sun began to set. Both the teams decided to set up camps as they prepared tents for their squads.
Huanji Kingdom's guards were busy setting up their camp while Princess Maia, Prince Estelin and General Yao stood at the corner and watched the guards working hard.
"It's been so long since we last saw Aunt Zhiqing. What's so amazing about that guy, that she is spending so much time with him." Prince Estelin snorted as he looked towards Zhiqing's carriage.
"Prince Estelin, you shouldn't talk like that! Those people are from an Empire and are really strong that even I can be killed with ease if they wanted. " General Yao said in a heavy tone as he looked at Prince Estelin.
" Hmmph… what's so special about that? It's only because he had been born at a privileged place inside an empire! I'm sure that he hasn't gained strength because of hard work and effort, It's only because of consuming the Empire's resources did he gain strength. If I was born in his place, I would be even stronger than him! " Prince Estelin said with jealousy on his face.
"That's a completely wrong thought process! Even if he was born privileged, no one in this world can gain much strength without putting in some effort! I know that resources and pills can help strengthen the cultivation of a cultivator, they aren't much use if a person doesn't put in the necessary effort" General Yao said in a serious tone.
"hmph… I still think that he was just lucky" Prince Estelin said with an unconvinced expression on his face.
"Hmm? Why is he coming over here?" Prince Estelin let out as he saw a man coming towards him.
The Prince of Dongxin strolled through the camp as he walked towards General Yao, Prince Estelin and Princess Maia.
"Hmm? Why are all of you looking at me like I'm here to assassinate someone? " Prince Estelin chuckled lightly as he noticed the guards looking at him with caution.
