Competing, He Cares Not for the Realm but for Beating You

"Jason Lan." Ninth Royal Uncle said these three words without a trace of emotion.

Serena Feng froze for a moment, staring at Ninth Royal Uncle in shock and utter confusion: "Why would he want to kill the Valley Master and Divine Doctor Guile? Is he working with the Hsieh Clan? That can't be right. His identity can't be exposed—just as a Jixia Academy lecturer, the Hsieh Clan wouldn't even take him seriously."

"No, this was his own private move." Ninth Royal Uncle had already investigated—those men Jason Lan sent were personally trained for him by Commander Lucan Lu, but because the training time was short, their skills weren't strong.

"Then why did he do it? Just to stir up trouble in Eastlyn? But that doesn't benefit him at all." Serena Feng ran through several possibilities, but none of them made sense.

She really couldn't figure out what would drive Jason Lan to go after the Valley Master and the others—sacrificing his own hard-trained men for nothing in return. That just wasn't the kind of thing people like him did.

"He doesn't care about benefit. As long as he can ruin my plans, he's satisfied." Ninth Royal Uncle had searched for a long time but found no trace of Jason Lan contacting anyone else; in the end, he chalked it up to pure rivalry.

He didn't give the old Lan faction any face—executing Commander Lucan Lu was a direct slap to Jason Lan. So if Jason acted this time, it wasn't to help the Hsieh Clan or the Princess Royal, but to get revenge for Lucan's death.

"Is he... mentally sound?" Serena Feng made a strange face.

She couldn't help but feel that something was off with Jason Lan—he was willing to sacrifice the men he'd worked so hard to train, just for a pointless feud.

Just like when he leaked the Phoenixfield Clan’s hidden refuge just to hurt her and Ninth Royal Uncle. He’s really addicted to these self-defeating stunts that hurt others without helping himself.

Ninth Royal Uncle couldn't help but laugh: "His mind is fine. To earn a place at Jixia Academy as an orphan, he's no fool."

"But all I see him do is foolish things. With a background like his, he should be keeping his head down, not stirring up trouble everywhere. Isn't he afraid the Four Kingdoms and Nine Cities will figure out who he really is?" Serena Feng shook her head.

Jason Lan is just like those fake princes the Heaven and Earth Society raised in the Qing Dynasty—no real skill, but plenty of noise.

"His identity can stand up to scrutiny." If not for knowing a few secrets, no one would suspect Mr. Jingyang had anything to do with the Lan clan.

"Even if it can, so what? His bloodline means he'll never live like an ordinary person. From the time he could understand anything, someone probably told him his mission was to restore the Former Dynasty. Someone like that has no right to be willful."

Serena Feng looked utterly dismissive. After a pause, she added, "I don't know how much power the Former Dynasty has left, but I can say for sure: with just those remnants, Jason Lan could never restore the dynasty. If they had enough strength for that, they wouldn't have been destroyed in the first place."

History tells us again and again—restoring a fallen royal house is as hard as reaching the heavens. In all the Nine Provinces Realm and the world I once knew, there's never been a case of a deposed royal family actually reclaiming the throne.

"You're absolutely right. If the old Lan faction could have restored the dynasty, they wouldn't have been wiped out." Ninth Royal Uncle's voice suddenly grew heavy; he stared up at the canopy, lost in thought.

Serena Feng frowned. A thought flashed through her mind, but it was gone before she could catch it. When she tried to recall it, Ninth Royal Uncle rolled over and pulled her into his arms: "It's late. Sleep."

"Okay." Serena Feng saw the exhaustion in Ninth Royal Uncle's eyes. Even though she couldn't sleep, she obediently closed her eyes.