The younger you are and the higher your position, the more you need to have achievements that truly shock people—only then can you suppress those who rely on seniority and keep others from looking down on you.
Whether in the martial world or at court, background and seniority matter, but personal ability matters more. Sean Xuan has the talent; all he lacks is an opportunity—a chance to make his name and Skyvault Palace known. Prince Nolan is handing him that chance.
Sacrificing the Demon Sect is a small price—both he and Sean Xuan stand to gain, so why not do it?
Prince Nolan felt no guilt about moving against the Demon Sect. In the struggle for power, there is no right or wrong—only personal interests. If you measure everything by conventional morality, then you might as well give up and wait for death.
Vincent Su appreciated Prince Nolan’s plan. It was simple, but effective. The Demon Sect had no ties to them, and as for using those martial world heroes—even if they knew they were being used, they’d still be willing to help.
They’ve wanted to destroy the Demon Sect for a hundred years. Now that the chance is here, there’s no way they’ll let it slip by.
It’s a win-win situation. Vincent Su believes that not only Sean Xuan but also the top martial world experts won’t refuse.
As long as nothing goes wrong, taking down the Demon Sect is only a matter of time, and the Nine Provinces Treasure Map will soon be in their hands. Vincent Su thought of another place with a map and asked, “What’s your plan for the Assassin Alliance?”
Prince Nolan shook his head. “Not much. You have to eat one bite at a time. With the resources we have now, we can’t go after both the Demon Sect and the Assassin Alliance at once.”
The Assassin Alliance isn’t like the Demon Sect. The Alliance has plenty of enemies, but those enemies would never unite the way the Demon Sect’s enemies do.
That’s true, but what about Serena? Unless the Assassin Alliance’s bounty is dealt with, Serena will never be able to leave the Capital in peace. She was targeted by assassins several times even during the Shandong campaign.
“We’ll deal with the Assassin Alliance later. Let’s settle the Demon Sect first.” Prince Nolan sighed inwardly. If the Assassin Alliance were easy to handle, he would have done it long ago.
He knows where the Assassin Alliance is—everyone does—but no one dares approach them, because...
The old monsters who sit in command at the Assassin Alliance are all freaks.
Their martial skills are monstrous, their methods vicious, their protectiveness extreme, and their disregard for reason unmatched.
Unless he was absolutely certain, Prince Nolan would never act against the Assassin Alliance lightly.
By the way, how are you doing with quelling the rumors? Prince Nolan grew frustrated at the mention, wondering if he should visit Feng Manor again.
He worried that if too much time passed, Serena would only grow angrier.
It’s a bit difficult. Rumors among commoners are easy to deal with, but most of these circulate among the nobility. It'll take time to turn them around.
In other words, it's easy to fool ordinary people, but much harder to fool the noble families—their sources of information are far more extensive.
“Then forget it, let it go.” Prince Nolan had originally planned to take things slow, but now it was clear that wouldn’t work—he needed to act fast.
The best way to quell a rumor is to create an even bigger one. Prince Nolan had already made up his mind.
But quelling rumors only treats the symptoms; to cure the root, another matter had to be handled. Prince Nolan told Vincent Su, “Vincent, send word to Storm Cloud Bu. Have him hand his current tasks to Brandon Bu and go to Liancastle to protect Belle.”
“Wait, Storm Cloud is going to protect Belle? N-Nolan... does this mean what I think it means?” Vincent Su’s mouth dropped open, unable to believe what he was hearing.
Was Prince Nolan really in such a hurry to put a green hat on himself?
Prince Nolan grunted in affirmation.
“But—but Brandon is in Northlyn.” Vincent Su saw Prince Nolan’s dark expression and didn’t dare press further.
“Have Brandon return from Northlyn and take over Storm Cloud’s assignments. He doesn’t need to worry about Northlyn anymore,” Prince Nolan said, tapping the table lightly.
“Brandon’s made progress there—if he comes back now, it’ll all be for nothing. He says Snow Peak in Northlyn is very likely sheltering Phoenixfield survivors.” Vincent Su looked entirely unconvinced.
To sacrifice the greater good for personal feelings—this wasn’t Prince Nolan’s style. He was moving too hastily.
“Don’t worry about Northlyn—I’ll go myself.” Prince Nolan withdrew his hand from the table and spoke.
Vincent Su was startled. “What? You’re going to Northlyn? Can you even leave the Capital?”
Prince Nolan’s identity was both his best protection and his greatest restraint. With it, he couldn’t just leave the Capital whenever he pleased.
“Isn’t Serenity being married off to Northlyn? I’ll go as part of the wedding escort.” Prince Nolan had long planned to use this opportunity to visit Northlyn; otherwise, he wouldn’t have arranged the match between Quentin Feng of Northlyn and Serenity.
Vincent Su exclaimed, “You’d already planned this back then?”
No way—Prince Nolan had been preparing to go to Northlyn that early? That was... at that time, they’d only just realized something was wrong in Northlyn.
“It was just one path, preparing in advance. Whether or not I’d use it was another matter. But since Brandon says there are Phoenixfield people living on Snow Peak in Northlyn, I have to go see for myself.” It was also time for Serena to learn his true identity.
But that meant Serena’s burden would only grow heavier. Before, she only needed to revive Feng Manor; now, she’d have to restore the entire Phoenixfield clan.
Serena had never enjoyed the honor of being Phoenixfield’s heiress, yet she had to shoulder all its responsibilities. It was deeply unfair, but the world was never fair to begin with.
Seeing that Prince Nolan intended to go to Northlyn himself, Vincent Su’s eyes filled with worry. “But what if it’s a trap? Our people have only just started operating in Northlyn—if something happens, we won’t be able to do anything.”
Prince Nolan’s forces had only been developing in Northlyn for less than half a year, and that was thanks to the Walker clan’s smuggling routes there. Without those, they wouldn’t have been able to gain a foothold at all.
“Even if it’s a trap, I’m still going. I’ll go to Northlyn openly—what’s there to fear?” Prince Nolan didn’t believe the Northlyn people had the nerve to let him die there.
“Unless Northlyn wants to destroy itself, their emperor won’t let anything happen to me there.” Prince Nolan’s tone was calm, but Vincent Su was stunned. Then he blurted, “Are you planning to reveal your true identity?”
“No, I just need to show my strength. My backing isn’t Eastlyn—if I depended on Eastlyn, I’d have been dead long ago.”
Vincent Su let out a sigh of relief. “As long as you’re not planning to say it. The Cui clan is getting restless—if you expose your Lan heritage now, I’m afraid they won’t let you go.”
The Cui clan had Lan family members under their control too. If Prince Nolan revealed his identity, the first to feel threatened wouldn’t be the Emperor, but the Cui clan.
If that happened, the Cui clan would definitely unite the four kingdoms to wipe out Prince Nolan, the last Lan heir—so only they would have Lan blood and could rightfully restore their nation.
“I have my own plans—I won’t be reckless.” Although he was impatient, he knew now wasn’t the time to reveal his and Serena’s true identities.
Hiding in the shadows might be a little cowardly, but it was the safest. He’d never claimed to be a gentleman—if he had to play the villain, so be it.