As for your father... though no one has seen him, rumor suggests he was merely at the peak of Yaoxuan cultivation. Even in a direct fight against Elder Lord Jun, the outcome is uncertain, with the odds perhaps leaning toward your father's defeat and demise... to claim he could deal with Jun Zhantian without breaking a sweat—that’s sheer arrogance.

This fellow surnamed Cheng is a descendant of the Cheng family, a prominent Xuanqi lineage in Jiangdong. His father is the current Cheng family head, who recently, for reasons unknown, pledged allegiance to the Second Prince. Considering the significant family power he commands, the Second Prince has treated him with considerable courtesy.

But it’s one thing that this person’s appearance lacks masculine vigor; his temperament is even more utterly that of an incompetent fool, yet he carries himself with immense self-regard, broadcasting an air of "I am the greatest under heaven."

He usually pays no mind to anyone else. Despite possessing only peak Yinxuan cultivation, his demeanor is insufferably self-important.

The Second Prince summoned him today because he knew Jun Moxie was an absolute profligate. He figured this Cheng might be kindred spirits, perhaps even a case of using poison to fight poison... but seeing his current performance, the Prince now worries whether he might botch things up and create an embarrassing situation here.

The other person seated nearby looked considerably dispirited, sitting with his legs spread wide in a rather peculiar posture; was this not that official Liu from the other day? That day, while pursuing the mysterious figure, he fell into the water, and his groin was struck forcefully by a bamboo pole with thunderous might, directly resulting in the birth of a genuine palace employee. Except, this birth occurred outside the palace—an auxiliary, so to speak.

Official Liu considered that incident the greatest humiliation of his life!

These past few days, Official Liu has been frantically treating his... affliction, and simultaneously conducting frantic searches. But he never clearly saw the face of the mysterious person that day; at most, he only caught sight of a pale, fair bottom. Therefore, every person apprehended these last few days has gone through the same procedure: brought before Official Liu, instructed to turn around, drop their trousers for verification!

This led to a rumor spreading from the Second Prince’s manor: ever since the injury, Official Liu’s tastes have drastically changed; he is now only interested in buttocks, and they must belong to young men, seemingly favoring those that are paler... This resulted in a consequence: whenever his subordinates met Official Liu, the first thing they did was nervously clutch their own rear ends... What would become of them if Official Liu took a liking to their plump bottoms?

“Your Highness, Young Master Jun has arrived.” As the hall doors opened, a stunning beauty with a graceful figure walked in, smiling softly. She was tall, with phoenix eyes and peach-like cheeks, a proud bust, and a slender waist that could be held in one grasp; she moved like lotus leaves swaying in the wind, elegantly poised yet without the slightest hint of coquetry—a truly peerless beauty.

“Yue’er, you are becoming more beautiful every day,” the Second Prince praised with a smile, a trace of enchantment flashing in his eyes as he rose and walked toward the hall entrance.

The Misty Lake was vast and hazy, the blue water calm. Along the road bordering the lake, a small sedan chair approached, swaying gently at an unhurried pace.

Miss Yue pointed to the commoners walking alongside the sedan: “Your Highness, please observe these few people. They are the elders who always remained by Jun Zhantian’s side. From this, we can deduce that the person sitting in the sedan must indeed be Jun Moxie.”

“Such a vulgar, garish red sedan chair…” The Second Prince could barely suppress a laugh. “Young Master Jun’s taste is truly unique, singular in its kind.”

“Isn’t he just a typical, wastrel prodigal son!” A cold glint flashed in Miss Yue’s eyes. She turned, smiled sweetly, and said, “Your Highness, how about I personally host Jun Moxie today?”

“You?” The Second Prince showed a hint of displeasure, but seeing the resolute look in Yue’s eyes, he finally sighed in resignation, “Very well. Just don’t let him take undue advantage of you.”

“Heh heh, rest assured, Your Highness. Not just anyone can take advantage of Yue. The price for taking advantage of me is rather steep,” Miss Yue smiled confidently, watching the incredibly gaudy red sedan chair come to a halt.

“That’s true, even I myself…” Heh heh;” The Second Prince stopped mid-sentence with a knowing smile.

Below, Jun Moxie had already clambered out of the sedan. He stumbled slightly upon landing, spat a mouthful of saliva, then let out a sneeze toward the sky. He rotated his neck, pounded his lower back a few times, and then, swaying his shoulders and tilting his head, walked toward the upper floor with a staggering gait, like a crab moving sideways.

“He certainly has... character,” the Second Prince observed, his gaze deep as he watched Jun Moxie’s every movement. “I never imagined that the sole heir of the renowned Military God of the continent, Elder Lord Jun Zhantian of the Jun family, would turn out like this... Alas, I am truly disappointed!” He sighed, then turned and walked inside.

As Jun Moxie climbed out of the sedan, a single character written on his grandfather’s desk in the study was still fresh in his mind: Sever!

He couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. The old man still doesn’t trust me completely, leaving such a word to remind me! But ‘severing’ isn’t something that can be done just because one says so. It seems the Second Prince is in for some bad luck today... Jun Moxie stepped into the Neon Feather Pavilion, snatched the hat from his head, fanned it twice, squinted, and drawled to the attendant who rushed up, “Where are the Second Prince and the others?”

“The Second Prince and the others await your distinguished arrival in the Feather Robe Hall on the third floor, Young Master,” the attendant replied respectfully.

“Feather Robe Hall? Isn’t that the place where those women strip naked?” Jun Moxie cackled twice. “The Second Prince certainly knows how to pick a spot; he deeply understands my heart, no, he’s practically carved a niche right in my very core.” He leered suggestively and sauntered upstairs.

The Second Prince’s attendants collectively fainted. Did this fellow truly believe the Second Prince invited him here for that kind of pleasure? How could he have such a pigheaded brain? The host today is an actual Royal Highness; would he ever do something as crude as inviting someone for debauchery?!!

“Haha, Brother Moxie, it has been too long! You possess such an air of scholarly grace now, truly heroic and extraordinary!” The Second Prince stood up affectionately, maintaining an air of noble reserve while appearing exceedingly intimate, gesturing for Jun Moxie to approach.

“Uh, well, that is, greetings to Your Royal Highness the Second Prince…” Jun Moxie seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the honor. “How dare Moxie accept such courtesy from Your Royal Highness? I dare not, I dare not.”

“Heh heh, no need for formalities.” The Second Prince quickly reached out to stop Jun Moxie from bowing. As his hand extended, he paused, a flicker of displeasure crossing his mind: this fellow hadn’t intended to bow at all; it was merely a gesture. Before his hand could even reach, Jun Moxie had already straightened up.

Jun Moxie certainly had no intention of bowing to him. In Jun Moxie’s heart, even the Emperor was not worthy of a single bow. If there were gods in this world, would he kneel? Jun Moxie would probably think: What the hell do the gods of this world have to do with me?

Let alone a mere Prince? In the eyes of Jun Moxie, the great assassin, they were nothing more than corpses waiting to be made.

“Heh heh, setting aside the relationship between sovereign and subject, our two families are genuine lifelong acquaintances,” the Second Prince said with a warm smile. “I recall we often played together when we were children. But as we’ve grown into adults, looking back on those times truly evokes deep emotion.”

There was an underlying meaning in the Second Prince’s words, a reminder to Jun Moxie that there was still a layer of liege-vassal relationship between them. Don’t get too presumptuous, kid. Others might care about the Jun family’s influence; do I care? I am the ruler, you are the subject; I, this Prince, am inherently superior to you.

“Uh, yes, yes,” Jun Moxie immediately formed an evaluation in his mind: Full of subtle malice, narrow-minded. To let such a small thing cost him face, refusing to concede even a little bit, always needing to win back ground in words—he won’t amount to much!

With this thought, he became distracted. Four other people were glaring at him intently nearby, especially the greasy, powdered fellow in his late twenties, whose eyes held nothing but contempt and disdain. Why did the Second Prince invite such an annoying person? Who the hell do you think you are, daring to give me that look!

“Brother Moxie, let me introduce you to a few good friends; everyone, please get acquainted.” As the Second Prince spoke, the other four rose.

“This gentleman here is my teacher, Scholar Fang Bowen of the Hall of Literary Attainment.” The Second Prince’s attitude was extremely respectful. Scholar Fang felt greatly honored, stroked his beard, and looked at Jun Moxie, chuckling, “This old man is just a common old fellow; how can I compare to the talented young men like yourselves?”

“Greetings, Grand Scholar,” Jun Moxie said, feeling a degree of wariness toward the old man. Though old, this man was far from common; his spirit was concentrated, his energy contained, his essence restrained. Such a person was the Second Prince’s teacher? And from the Hall of Literary Attainment? He clearly had a background!

“This is Official Liu Sibo, a man equally adept in both literary and military arts—a rare talent in this dynasty,” the Second Prince smiled.

Jun Moxie looked up and down at this Official Liu, who had caused him to swim naked and nearly lose half his manhood that other day, and asked with a hint of amusement, “Official Liu’s standing posture is rather unique, wouldn’t you say? Tsk tsk, look how straight and open he stands—a true, bold, imposing man.”

Unexpectedly, Jun Moxie’s very first words laid bare his scar. Liu Sibo’s face instantly flushed crimson. He was standing right in front of Jun Moxie, legs spread wide, terrified that a slight movement might aggravate the injury in the center. Naturally, his stance was very different from everyone else’s.

“Young Master Jun is also quite unique, though much more handsome than others,” Liu Sibo forced a grin, gnashing his teeth slightly as he clasped his hands in greeting.

“You noticed that too! I’ve often wondered myself why I’m so handsome? Truly outrageously handsome! So handsome it invites envy and jealousy! A kindred spirit, a soulmate! Just based on that one sentence, I’ll treat you to drinks another day!” Jun Moxie flirtatiously swept back his hair, gave a theatrical shake of his head, looking extremely dashing. He shamelessly took Liu Sibo’s sarcasm as high praise and accepted it entirely.

Everyone was momentarily speechless. They had never seen someone so narcissistic... And Official Liu was even more frustrated; who in their right mind would consider that fellow a kindred spirit or soulmate!

“Young Master Jun truly lives up to his fame. Meeting him is better than hearing of him, and seeing him is better still! I am impressed, truly impressed, haha. My name is Cheng Decao.” Seeing Jun Moxie’s gaze turn toward him, Young Master Cheng forced an arrogant smile, offering a perfunctory clasp of his hands, careful not to miss an opportunity to poke barbs at Young Master Jun.

“Cheng Decao?! Never heard of him,” Jun Moxie dismissed him with a shake of his head, showing him his back. This guy is high and mighty, damn it. He’s been giving me attitude since the beginning, and now he dares to mock me? Does he think I can’t hear? Who the hell does he think he is?