Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 170 - 90: The One Who Breaks the Game

Chapter 170: Chapter 90: The One Who Breaks the Game

After meeting Yi Wuyang, Cai Die finally understood what the Third Prince meant by the long-treasured fine wine.

It was a sum of money for her to take with the Elder Princess and escape far from the cloud sea academy; with that money, they would not only have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives, but they could also use it to help the academy rise again from the east and pave the way for re-entering the world.

Moreover, there was a commerce manual left by the Third Prince, which detailed the points of attention for dealing with different star kingdoms’ chambers of commerce.

If the academy had plans to re-enter the world, this notebook should be able to help them.

"The Third Prince has ordered me to take you and flee from the Imperial Court amidst the chaos tonight,"

Yi Wuyang solemnly handed over the manual to Cai Die.

"And where is the Third Prince?" Cai Die pressed.

Yi Wuyang only looked at her deeply, without a word.

Do you believe in destiny?

He had once posed this question to the Third Prince. Practicing the Yin Yang Technique could pry into the heaven’s secrets; The destiny they revered had nothing to do with the Extraterrestrials but was the cause and effect of this world. By understanding the changes of cause and effect, one could see the trajectory of destiny clearly. The moment a decision was made, a cause was set.

On this path, all outcomes led to the same conclusion.

"If you defy the corporation, you are bound to die."

Yi Wuyang had once warned the Third Prince, yet at this moment, he understood the Third Prince’s true purpose.

The Prime Monarch had perished, the Second Prince had ascended to the throne, and the Elder Princess was taken away from this planet. The corporation would also try to hollow out his power, removing him from this land just like the Elder Princess. This was the future he had divined, but now, although the Third Prince could not change the outcome he had planted himself, he had rewritten the destinies of the two.

Falang was assassinated, the Elder Princess and Cai Die took advantage of the chaos to escape from the Imperial Court and returned to the cloud sea academy.

"No wonder he kidnapped the envoy of the Red Star Chamber of Commerce."

Duan Mingyuan also realized, and all the mysteries were unravelled.

That day at the Emerald Theater, when he accidentally met Cai Hui, she mentioned the "Red Death" prevalent on the Red Star—once the red crystals within the envoy’s body exploded, Red Death would envelop the entire Imperial Court in an instant.

The Third Prince had said he never harbored intentions of contesting for the throne; his real ambition was, in fact, the opposite—he wanted to destroy the decaying kingdom built by the Extraterrestrials with his own hands.

This included the Second Prince, as well as those court nobles at the banquet whom he deemed beyond redemption.

Once the Second Prince’s regime crumbled, this planet would be plunged into chaos again. To prop up another puppet regime, the corporation would be too preoccupied to spare thoughts for the cloud sea academy, thus buying them time to heal and recover.

Whether the academy could make good use of this opportunity was no longer a concern of the Third Prince.

"...Why did he do this?"

Leaning on a chair, Cai Die felt weakened. It was not long ago that the Third Prince had strictly scolded her to learn to live with her eyes closed. Reflecting on it now, the words "do not do anything foolish" were actually telling her to follow Yi Wuyang’s arrangement and not to waste this hard-won opportunity.

"Because the Third Prince has always been one to keep his promises,"

Yi Wuyang said, "He had promised you and others that he would bring a better Imperial Court for them."

That is why, even though the Second Prince held great power, many people followed the Third Prince without looking back.

The Third Prince was never alone; even at this moment, the Imperial Court still had many people who knew well where this path led, yet still chose to follow without remorse.

So, what constitutes a better Imperial Court?

This was a question the Third Prince had been pondering all along, never ceasing in his efforts to bring change to this stagnant place over the years.

Commerce, new professions, and the introduction of advanced ideas, yet he ultimately discovered that corruption within the Imperial Court had seeped deep into its bones.

"It must be broken before it can be rebuilt."

Yi Wuyang said, offering the final answer the Third Prince received, "Only by eradicating every rotten root can the world possibly sprout anew."

Perhaps the Yunhai Academy was the new sprout the Third Prince had been waiting for, or perhaps it wasn’t.

But all changes cannot be achieved overnight; someone must take the first step.

As he spoke, Yi Wuyang looked towards Duan Mingyuan, "And you, Mr. Duan, you are the one to break the deadlock. This journey will surely be fraught with extreme dangers, and I fear you are the only one who could escort them back to the academy."

Over a decade ago, the Prime Monarch had made the same decision, to escort the young Elder Princess out of the city.

However, those loyal guards never returned to the Imperial Court to report back.

Naturally, they couldn’t return to the Imperial Court either.

For that was both an act of defiance by the Prime Monarch against the heavens, and a way for the company to eliminate the Prime Monarch’s confidants. In that gamble, both parties achieved their respective goals.

"I will lead you all to the secret passageway, which leads directly to the train platform. One-Eye is already waiting there for you. He will take you out of the Imperial Court, but from there on, you’ll have to make your own way."

"What about you?"

Cai Die asked.

"Having received the Third Prince’s trust, I naturally will fight here until the very end... Mr. Duan, this is the Yin Yang Technique passed down through generations in my family. There is only one successor to each generation’s Yin Yang Technique. I hope you can take it back to the academy for me. If in the future someone is fated to understand its mysteries, it would fulfill one of my lifelong wishes."

Yi Wuyang packed the tome into a satchel and solemnly handed it over to Duan Mingyuan.

Initially, he was puzzled as to why the Third Prince placed such faith in a foreigner, but after meeting Duan Mingyuan, he too came to trust the Third Prince’s judgment.

The journey was fraught with peril, but surely Duan Mingyuan would lead them through danger unscathed.

"Before leaving the academy, I promised the Chief of the Qin Institute that I would safely return fellow student Elder Princess Ning Ruyue to the academy. Even if the Third Prince had not entrusted me with this task, I would have done it anyway."

Duan Mingyuan received the bundle, but to Yi Wuyang’s astonishment, he opened the satchel and handed the tome back to him, "But not now. The matter of the Heir is of grave importance; it would be best for you to personally find the right person for it."

"Mr. Duan, you..."

"The Third Prince is indeed a heinous rebel against the company, but during our previous encounter at Yu Quan Bathhouse, we had already become two-star rebels against the company in alliance with him. You can think of it as a kind of Strange Gates and Devious Techniques; once merged, it’s not easily separated."

Hearing this, Jiuyue, another member of the two-star rebels against the company’s iron triangle, finished her last chicken leg. She stood up, placed her chopsticks on the table, and stretched contentedly, "Ah—! Full at last, time to get to work."

Mr. Mingyuan had said that two-star rebels against the company had the innate ability to withstand Heaven’s Punishment once. She was eager to experience the wrath of "Heaven" herself, to see what it was like.

"You all—"

"Elder Yi, I have a favor to ask. Could you introduce me to the Prime Monarch? Regarding some intricacies of the Sword Control Technique, I hope to learn and discuss them with him personally... Just say it’s a request to see him from the Royal Hunting Court."