At that young age, it was still difficult to differentiate one’s body structure to be male or female and that tiny waist did not even seem like it would be able to stand up to a tight embrace from him.
“He sure is.” Fan Jin reaffirmed with a laugh.
“I might have been too forthcoming, I hope I had not frightened little brother Jun.” Lei Chen said with a smile.
Jun Wu Xie did not even lift her eyes in the slightest but Qiao Chu at the side cringed up with goosebumps running up his arms.
[What’s with him and his little brother Jun! ?]
[This should be the first time the Crown Prince is meeting Little Xie isn’t it? What’s with this familiar form of address! ?]
Qiao Chu dared to swear then, that if Jun Wu Yao was there at that moment, this overly friendly Crown Prince would have suddenly found his head detached from his body by now!
Lei Chen did not think much of Jun Xie’s cold indifference. He chatted with Fan Jin for little while more and then stood up to leave. Before he left, he had even made it a point to bid Jun Xie with a word of farewell.
However…..
Jun Wu Xie continued to ignore him.
After everyone from the Crown Prince’s Residence had left, Fan Jin was finally able to heave a big sigh of relief before slumping back into his chair. He had just assumed the chair as the Headmaster and he was still rather lacking in dealing with such situations.
“Is there something wrong with this Crown Prince? He keeps calling Little Xie his little brother Jun throughout the entire night. He almost caused me to jump up with all the goosebumps he caused to run throughout my body!” Qiao Chu said, shivering uncontrollably as he rubbed at his arms furiously, his face twisted up in disgust.
Jun Wu Xie’s brows were creased together as well. Having always disliked meeting with strangers, she was feeling rather put off by Lei Chen’s overly friendly demeanor and self assumed affability.
“Erm….. Would all of you really be going to the Crown Prince’s Residence tomorrow?” Fan Jin asked cautiously. Judging from their reactions, he could clearly see that Lei Chen’s visit had not left any of them a positive impression but had instead disgusted them completely.
“Yes.” Jun Wu Xie said with a nod. “That thing is with him. Even if we intend to make our move after the Spirit Battle Tournament has concluded, we will first go scout out the place.”
Jun Wu Xie narrowed her eyes. The Yan Country was now gathered with too many people. Besides the elites from the various scores of academies, they were also many people from different powers across the lands. If they made a move against Lei Chen now and were discovered, Lei Chen would only need bring out his position as the Crown Prince of the Yan Country and raise a call to arms, to easily secure him the help and support of the masses of people from different powers in the Capital city. Without complete confidence in her chances of winning, Jun Wu Xie was not prepared to reveal her hand as yet.
Volume 8
Chapter 774: “Banquet (1)”
Every year, before the Spirit Battle Tournament commences, the Yan Country would hold a huge banquet in honour of all the participating disciples from the various academies. But this year’s banquet was a little different, as the entire Spirit Battle Tournament would be fully handled by the Crown Prince, Lei Chen, and even the banquet was to be hosted by him, and would be held within the Crown Prince’s Residence which would receive more than a thousand guests consisting of all the disciples from the various academies taking part in the competition.
Night had just begun to fall and the youths from the different academies within the Imperial Capital gathered in groups to make their way towards the Crown Prince’s Residence. They had all thought it out carefully, on how they were to present their best side, before the eyes of the Crown Prince, in order to increase their chances of being discovered and serve under the Crown Prince. The youths were all dressed in the uniforms of their respective academies, all excited and highly motivated, as they stepped on the moonlit path, on their way to the Crown Prince’s Residence.
The guards of the Crown Prince’s Residence were lined up on both sides of the main gates, long spears firmly grasped in their hands, their faces stalwart and grim, looking impressive and formidable.
The Crown Prince’s Residence sat on a sprawling and vast amount of land, huge enough to be able to accommodate such a large number of people. The premise inside had been tastefully decorated to make it look even more lavish than it already was and as it was the first time the disciples had set foot into the Crown Prince’s Residence, their eyes were wide with wonder as they stared at the blossom filled place, the light from the bright lanterns, further mesmerizing the naive eyes of the young and inexperienced youths, igniting an unextinguishable spark of yearning and anticipation.
The servants with led the disciples from the various academies to their allocated seats, in an immensely large open plaza where the banquet would be held. The youths were separated onto four sides, forming a large rectangle, with a large space empty in the middle. The Crown Prince sat upright on his elevated seat as the host, smiling and nodding in acknowledgement to the youths entering the banquet floor.
“I’ve seen extravagance, but not to such a large extent. How much did they actually spend on this Crown Prince’s Residence? Just for the Crown Prince’s Residence, the size of the land alone is already almost just as big as the entire Phoenix Academy!” Qiao Chu said, his eyes looking all around the lavishly decorated Crown Prince’s Residence, gazing at all the furniture made from high grade rosewood, the various decorative ornaments littered throughout the place made out of beautiful lustrous jade with various precious gems embedded within. Even for Qiao Chu who knew nothing about these things could see that even the crockery they were using that the Crown Prince’s Residence had provided them with for the banquet were already incredibly expensive!
“The Yan Country was the first country to be founded and they are currently the mightiest power. The country and their people are rich and even the commoners here are much more well off than their neighbouring countries, needless to mention their ruler.” Fei Yan said with a shrug. He had already known all this when he was investigating into the place.
The Yan Country was really so rich they were oozing with money and their military were strong. Although they did not have any elite strike forces like the Rui Lin Army, but their numbers alone were highly daunting, and no other country even came close to them.
Jun Wu Xie looked at everything in the Crown Prince’s Residence without expression. Compared to this place of Lei Chen’s, the Crown Prince Residence that Mo Qian Yuan’s had used to live in could only be described as rundown and decrepit. Although they had both shared the same title of being Crown Princes, their circumstances had been a whole world of difference, just like there was no way the tiny Qi Kingdom could be compared to the humongous Yan Country.
“Are our esteemed guests from the Zephyr Academy?” A servant approached them smilingly.
Jun Wu Xie nodded slightly.
The servant then replied: “Would our esteemed guests then please proceed to the banquet? It should begin in just a little while and allow your humble servant here to lead you there.”
Jun Wu Xie and the others followed behind the servant to walk into the banquet hall. They had not arrived early and the banquet was about to start. The banquet for a thousand people extended over a huge area and they could see that many other youths were already seated. The rows of seats on the same side as where Lei Chen’s seat was already had quite a number of people there. Among them, a number of the youths could be seen dressed in the uniforms of the Dragon Slayers Academy and of the War Banner Academy.
“Looks like there are underlying reasons even in the seating arrangements.” Fan Zhuo said smilingly after glancing over the banquet hall. The more famous and prestigious the academy was, the closer the arranged seats would be to Lei Chen, for the academy’s disciples. As for those academies which were relatively unknown, t
heir seats had been arranged to be at the back row, furthest away from him.
Volume 8
Chapter 775: “Banquet (2)”
It was now rather obvious, that the seating arrangement for this year’s banquet was based on the various academies’ might. But even when that was the case, there wasn’t much that people could pick on, but it was not known whether it was arranged like this only this year, or had it been like this every year.
The servant led Jun Wu Xie and her companions towards the seats beside Lei Chen, and it ended up that the seats for the Zephyr Academy were directly beside Lei Chen. That greatly surprised many people as they all knew that the Zephyr Academy was no longer like before. But the fact that Lei Chen would still extend to them such favoured treatment was beyond many of the people’s expectations.
“Oh, little brother Jun, you’re here.” When Lei Chen saw Jun Xie, he actually stood up to welcome him, and that action caused many attendees at the banquet to reel with shock!
Many of them had noticed earlier, when the disciples from the Dragon Slayers Academy and the War Banner Academy had arrived , Lei Chen had merely nodded to them in acknowledgement and he had not shown the slightest inclination to stand up. And this time, Lei Chen had not only stood up in person, but he had even called out to his “little brother Jun”!
At that moment, everyone’s eyes were all suddenly focused on Jun Xie, who was receiving extraordinarily favoured treatment from the Crown Prince, Lei Chen.
All the people found themselves looking at a petite and delicate youth, with a cold and distant demeanor. The eyes blatantly scrutinised Jun Xie from head to toe throughout, obviously not thinking much of the little brat in the slightest.
That pint sized kid seemed to be only barely fourteen or fifteen, skinny and frail looking, and did not even possess any good looks. Just what did Lei Chen see in that puny brat?
For those youths who had resolved to get themselves noticed by the Crown Prince so as to soar and enjoy success beyond all their peers were suddenly feeling rather dejected. For all their tireless efforts they had put in trying to please and win the Crown Prince’s favour, they had only won a nod and a smile from Lei Chen. But the insufferable little brat had shown up with a damned face filled with disdain and Lei Chen was instead showering him with such courteous attention!
At that very moment, the youths who had wanted to fawn and grovel upon Lei Chen quickly developed a deep and intense enmity against Jun Xie subconsciously.
However, Jun Wu Xie merely looked briefly at Lei Chen expressionlessly, and did not react in the slightest towards Lei Chen’s “warm reception”, turning her eyes away after just a glance at him.
Lei Chen did not mind Jun Wu Xie’s lack of response. He had specially ordered for people to go investigate on Jun Xie, and those disciples who had left the Zephyr Academy had confirmed that Jun Xie had always possessed that icy cold personality, even back when they had been at the Zephyr Academy, he had been the same. Lei Chen had even heard stories from those disciples of the little kid’s “legendary exploits” in the Zephyr Academy.
When gravely misunderstood, he did not argue or dispute the fact, and when he soared and excelled, he continued to remain low profile and silent.
Lei Chen knew that people who knew of the Spirit Healing Technique were few and very rare throughout the lands, and the faculty Gu Li Sheng founded and ran accepted an extremely small number of disciples. Moreover, those disciples’ understanding of Spirit Healing itself was barely adequate, except for Jun Xie. He had been good enough for Gu Li Sheng to publicly praise his talent! That irrefutably proved the value and talent of the kid.
For someone worth his time to try to recruit, Lei Chen did not mind them having strange temperaments and personalities.
As long as they were of good use, everything else can be discussed.
Qiao Chu and the others took their seats as well. As only the participants for the Spirit Battle Tournament were invited to come to this banquet, the entire banquet hall was fined mainly with young and exuberant youths.
When Lei Chen saw Jun Xie taking his seat, Lei Chen went back to his seat as well. Sitting next to Lei Chen, was a fat and wide lavishly dressed man. He suddenly leaned close to Lei Chen and said: “Why must my Royal brother be so courteous to the people from the Zephyr Academy? The Zephyr Academy had already fallen into such a sad state, and you would have been seen as highly benevolent if you even give them some space here at the banquet, why do you still need to treat them so politely?”
Volume 8
Chapter 776: “Banquet (3)”
The person who spoke was not just anybody, but the current Second Prince Lei Yuan. The reigning monarch of the Yan Country had a total of four sons, with the Crown Prince among them the son of the reigning Empress. As the Second Prince and the Third Prince were born from Imperial Concubines, their stations and statuses were naturally not comparable to that of the Crown Prince Lei Chen. Moreover, Lei Chen was the eldest son and he was the most talented one among the princes, so his position was highly rock solid. Although the Yan Country’s youngest Prince was not born from the Empress, but as his biological mother had met with an early demise, he was brought up by the Empress from young.
The banquet this year was hosted by the Crown Prince Lei Chen and the other princes had been invited to join in. The banquet had yet to begin and only Lei Yuan was present at that time. Lei Yuan’s rotund body looked rather massive and the chubby flesh on his face had squeezed his actually considerably attractive features together and distorted them. Even when dressed in a beautiful brocade robe, not an ounce of nobility or grandeur could be seen on him, but a sense of vulgarity or wretchedness was instead obvious.
Lei Yuan’s voice had not been soft when he said it and the seated youths surrounding them could hear him clearly. When they heard those words, they laughed among themselves. They did not think that the current Zephyr Academy still deserved such favoured treatment and Lei Chen’s actions greatly confused them, while being were in complete agreement with Lei Yuan instead.
“Do not utter such nonsense my Second Royal Brother.” Lei Chen said, staring at Lei Yuan and shaking his head, looking displeased with Lei Yuan’s discourteous outburst.
But Lei Yuan seemed to be not in agreement with his brother as his gaze swept over Jun Wu Xie and the others, his eyes filled with utter contempt.
“My Royal Elder Brother is being too kind, be careful that your easygoing personality might be taken advantage of by others seeking to get close to you to gain from it”
Lei Chen gave Lei Yuan an admonishing glare before turning to look apologetically at Jun Xie, as if he was apologising on Lei Yuan’s discourtesy.
Jun Wu Xie swept her eyes over the two brothers of the Lei Family, her gaze exceptionally calm. She showed not the slightest sign of joy at Lei Chen’s favoured treatment, nor did she look like she was needled by Lei Yuan’s sarcastic anger, remaining calm as a placid lake.
Jun Wu Xie did not think that Lei Chen was being genuinely kind to the Zephyr Academy. As the Crown Prince, it was impossible that he wasn’t aware of the dire straits the Zephyr Academy was currently in. The Zephyr Academy’s recent tumultuous affairs had already put them in the centre of attention and the Crown Prince was still intentionally showering them with special treatment before all these people from the other academies. This was obviously not a just a simple show of polite courtesy, but an act designed to push the Zephyr Academy into the eye of another storm! If Lei Chen had not done it this way, it would not have brought about Lei Yuan’s subsequent sarcasm.
It seemed that this Crown Prince, wasn’t much of a saint as well.
Jun Wu Xie was still a sea of calm and she could faintly feel several pairs of burning eyes fixed upon her. She turned her head to look into that direction and saw several youths dressed in the uniform of the Dragon Slayers Academy seated not far away, staring at her with great resentment and discontent. Jun Wu Xie merely swept her calm gaze over them very briefly and
turned away.
When Lei Chen had gone to the Immortals’ Loft previously, that had greatly riled up people from the Dragon Slayers Academy. So, when the disciples from the Dragon Slayers Academy saw Jun Wu Xie and her companions now, their eyes were so filled with burning rage and hatred like they had just seen their worst enemies.
If the Zephyr Academy was still in its previous glory, they might have been more forgiving towards them, but because of an academy that was on the verge of collapse, Lei Chen had instead publicly snubbed them for that trashy place. They did not dare to hold it against Lei Chen, so they had directed all their bottled up burning rage against the disciples of the Zephyr Academy here.
“Those few are from the Zephyr Academy?”
“They look so soft and fluffy, every inch the type that’s nice to look at, but in reality, completely useless.” Several disciples from the Dragon Slayers Academy said in a jerring sneer. They did not lower their voices as they spoke, in fact, they seemed to want Jun Wu Xie and the others to hear them.
The banquet had not even begun and the air was already smoking with the smell of gunpowder.
Volume 8
Chapter 777: “Banquet (4)”
The six from the Zephyr Academy were like as if accursed. Within the entire banquet, masses of disciples from the other academies were pointing and whispering about them. The Zephyr Academy had already been a “hot topic” this year and with Lei Chen’s favoured treatment showered upon them, they were immediately thrown into the muck.
Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss Volume 8 Page 20
