Dragon Martial Sovereign
Chapter 289: The Abandoned Child of the Royal Family

Chapter 289: Chapter 289: The Abandoned Child of the Royal Family

"Very well, very well!"

Everyone nodded and began to introduce their backgrounds.

In fact, like Lin Fan, none of them had any significant lineage; they all came from other cities to enroll, rising step by step from lesser places to finally enter the Royal Academy.

Even Lin Fan only shared some unimportant details about himself.

In the end, only the spherical one remained silent, just sitting there with a contemplative look on his face, leaving everyone curious about his thoughts.

"Eh?"

Someone couldn’t help but express their surprise: "Song Jing, you’re usually the most talkative one, aren’t you? How come you’re silent now? Could it be that you dare not reveal your own background to us?"

"This..."

After a brief hesitation, the spherical one spoke: "It’s not that I refuse to say, but... if I tell you about my background, I fear I might frighten you all!"

"Get out of here!"

Someone waved their hand dismissively: "Song Jing, stop being so enigmatic. Do you think your lineage is that impressive? Saying you’re afraid you’ll scare us? Do you really think you’re from the Dasong Royal Family? Haha!"

Everyone else also began to laugh out loud.

The spherical one chuckled. He seemed indifferent to the mockery of others and said calmly, "You’re actually right, I am indeed from the Dasong Royal Family."

"Ha!"

Someone burst into laughter, saying, "Song Jing, you’re truly from the Dasong Royal Family? Then tell us, which Prince is your father?"

The spherical one replied, "My father is indeed... the current Emperor!"

"What?"

Everyone laughed even harder, showing disbelief in the spherical one’s words.

Someone said, "So it turns out our Song Jing is a Prince, haha!"

"Hmph!"

Song Jing snorted coldly and spat disdainfully, "What Prince? I am but a discarded piece."

Seeing the seriousness in Song Jing’s tone, everyone put away their jest and someone asked, "Song Jing, are you really a Prince?"

The spherical one shook his head and said, "Although my father is the Dasong Emperor, I am not a Prince, hmph..."

Lin Fan couldn’t help asking, "What’s the story behind that?"

The spherical one glanced at Lin Fan and said coldly, "Isn’t it because my mother’s status is low? I, Song Jing, swear here today that one day I will rise against the sky. Once my power is sufficient, I will turn the entire Imperial City upside down!"

Song Jing’s words started to take on a tone of bitter cynicism.

After hearing what Song Jing said, everyone was taken aback and someone quickly said, "Song Jing, don’t talk nonsense. If someone hears this, we’ll all suffer because of you!"

"Heh, scared?"

Song Jing asked.

No one spoke.

"Ha ha!"

Song Jing laughed loudly again.

Lin Fan suddenly asked Song Jing, "By the way, Song Jing, do you know why the Royal Academy is recruiting so many students this time? Has something happened?"

Lin Fan thought, since Song Jing was a Prince, he might know some secrets.

Song Jing scoffed and said, "Nothing but cannon fodder!"

Cannon fodder?

After hearing Song Jing’s words, everyone was stunned, looking at Song Jing with confusion.

However, Song Jing just smiled and said no more.

Seeing that Song Jing had nothing more to say, they did not press him; instead, they were left contemplating the ominous term Song Jing had uttered: "Cannon fodder!"

Lin Fan thought to himself, "It seems that my previous suspicions were correct. The Royal Academy has suddenly recruited so many students because something is amiss. I just don’t know what dangers lie ahead for us."

Afterwards, Lin Fan began to cultivate in silence.

It was a pity that Lin Fan’s cultivation had already reached a bottleneck. To advance further, he needed to find Strange Energy from the world and use it to merge with the Soul Eye.

Regrettably, Strange Energy was scarce in the world; finding it was easier said than done.

In the end, Lin Fan slowly stood up and walked out of the small building.

"Hm?"

But as soon as Lin Fan stepped out of the small building, he froze. To his surprise, troops had already been stationed around the cluster of small buildings?

Moreover, these troops seemed powerful. Each of their cultivations had reached the Heavenly Profound Realm, and they were clearly battle-hardened, not something the younger generation inside could compare with.

"What’s going on?"

Lin Fan felt uneasy again in his heart.

"Stop right there!"

Suddenly two soldiers coldly blocked Lin Fan’s path, one of them said, "Young man, if you take one more step forward, don’t blame us for being impolite!"

While speaking, a murderous aura surged from the soldiers, sweeping directly towards Lin Fan.

Lin Fan did not wish to provoke further troubles, silently nodded, and then returned to the building.

"Damn it!"

Lin Fan cursed inwardly, but there was nothing else he could do.

At this moment, Lin Fan suddenly realized that Song Jing had woken up.

Song Jing looked towards Lin Fan, stood up, smiled, and said, "Brother Lin, let’s go outside for a chat!"

As he spoke, Song Jing walked out, and Lin Fan, though puzzled, followed him out.

"Brother Lin, are you curious?" Song Jing suddenly asked.

Lin Fan nodded and said, "I feel like we’ve entered into a grand conspiracy."

Song Jing nodded and said, "Brother Lin, you indeed have a keen observation. If I’m not mistaken, it won’t be long before most of us here will meet untimely deaths, heh heh!"

Lin Fan was startled and asked, "What do you mean?"

Song Jing said, "Because we’re all going to the battlefield."

"The battlefield?" Lin Fan was surprised again and asked, "The Royal Academy recruited us in order to send us to the battlefield?"

Song Jing nodded and said, "Precisely speaking, they plan to use us as cannon fodder!"

"This..."

Lin Fan fell silent.

Then, Lin Fan asked, "By the way, Song Jing, if you knew that we were going to the battlefield to become cannon fodder, why did you still want to come in? Although you’re a discarded piece within the Royal Family, if you were unwilling, surely no one could force you, right?"

Song Jing said, "You’re right, if I’m unwilling, no one can force me, but... this is all my voluntary choice!"

Lin Fan was even more astonished.

He hadn’t expected that Song Jing would voluntarily become cannon fodder?

Song Jing continued, "Although the battlefield is dangerous, it is also full of opportunities. Having fallen from grace within the Royal Family, if I want to turn the tide, I must seize the chance on the battlefield, so... the battlefield is my only chance. Even if it’s a mountain of swords and a sea of flames, I will not hesitate and will only rush forward."

Lin Fan was silent again.

Everyone envies the good life within the Royal Family, little knowing that the struggles among them are even more perilous than those of commoners.

Afterward, the two sat in silence, and after a long while, Song Jing stood up and said to Lin Fan, "Alright, Brother Lin, let’s go back and rest well. As of now, none of us present here should think about escaping. If anyone tries to flee, the soldiers around us will not hesitate to execute us. Don’t think that most of us here are Heavenly Prides; we are not the match of these soldiers who have experienced blood and blade. If we attempt to flee, we will simply lose our lives in vain. If we go with the flow and enter the battlefield, perhaps there will be a glimmer of survival!"

After finishing speaking, Song Jing didn’t say much more, took steps forward, and entered the building.

Lin Fan sat quietly; in that instant, his heart ignited with a fiery passion.

Although dangers lay ahead, Lin Fan didn’t care at all—in fact, he was looking forward to the perils ahead.

You see, in his previous life, Lin Fan had longed to join the military, to show his prowess and experience the unique life within the army.

Sadly, Lin Fan never got the opportunity.

However, now that the chance had come, Lin Fan naturally did not want to miss it.

"Just as Song Jing said, even if there are mountains of swords and seas of flames ahead, I won’t care. Besides, the battlefield holds many fortunes, and if I can gain other opportunities there, perhaps my strength will increase significantly!"

Lin Fan was never the kind to settle for anonymity. Now, knowing that grave dangers were ahead, most people would be scared, but Lin Fan, this guy, was not only unafraid but even somewhat excited.

The next two days passed without anything extraordinary happening.

Nevertheless, when the others realized that soldiers were guarding outside and were not allowing them to leave, they could not help but fear, vaguely aware that perhaps joining the Royal Academy was not such a good thing for them after all.

Some tried to flee, but regrettably, they were ruthlessly killed by the soldiers outside, and after the execution, their heads were even hung on flagpoles as a stern warning.

This deterred any thoughts of escape among the people; none dared to attempt fleeing anymore!

"Heh, Imperial Power?"

During the night, Lin Fan stood in a secluded place, able to see the heads hanging on the flagpoles, feeling an indescribable sorrow and hatred simmering in his eyes.

And at this moment, for the first time, Lin Fan began to despise Imperial Power.

Regrettably, Lin Fan’s current cultivation was too weak. Even if he despised Imperial Power, there was nothing he could do.

Lin Fan yearned even more for his strength to increase rapidly.

"If my strength could return to the level of my previous life, why would I ever need to fear these?" Lin Fan deeply missed the times in his previous life when he freely dispensed justice and wrath.

"Brother Lin!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out; Song Jing, the plump one, walked over step by step. He was so chubby that it seemed a bit difficult for him to move.