After settling the Martial Outlaw Gang, Wang Wei summoned all his new subordinates. He sat on a throne in the middle of a room, with Mongke and his wife on his right and the Flame Blacksmith on his left. He looked at everyone else, but his gaze did not immediately focus on the second prince but on the Poison and Flesh Demon, who were fine after being rescued.
"You should understand that it's not a good look for you two to be captured on the first task I assigned you, right?"
"We understand," the Flesh Demon bowed, accepting this reprimand. Meanwhile, the Poison Demoness felt this was unfair given the situation; however, she also apologized.
"This is your first failure, and there were extenuating circumstances, so I'll let you off with a verbal warning," Wang Wei continued. "However, all of you must understand what is at stake. We are about to fight a war to end an era, so I don't need to remind you what failures will mean for us or anyone we care about."
Wang Wei let his words simmer for a few seconds before addressing the second prince. "What's your name?"
"I am Jia Ping, the second prince of the Great Tan Divine Court."
"Great Tan? I remember you guys were top members of the Dynasty Assembly," Wang Wei stated. This assembly was not among the 13 Overlords since Great Qin was the only dynasty-form faction in the 13. However, the Great Qin Saint Court was too ambitious, forcing countless dynasties to fuse or bow to them. So, the other 13 supported the establishment of the Dynasty Assemble to quell their ambitions and balance them out.
"That was in the past," Jia Ping replied. "Our dynasty was destroyed and looted by these parasites. Now, we are a shell of our former past."
"What exactly happened?"
"The Five-Feather Phoenix wished to use us as pawns against the Earth Emperor, who started acting like the Human Emperor and the Great Qin Saint Court. The official warned my father to use diplomatic means to remain neutral and isolated, but he wouldn't listen," Jia Ping explained, sighing deeply."He was first rude to the envoy, and afterward, he tried to contact the Undead Phoenix to join him in eliminating Five-Feather. He probably thought he could take her out and replace her amongst the seven. As you can guess, his actions backfired, and the others used this opportunity to eliminate us and plunder our territory and resources."
"It appeared as if your father was not the best ruler, so how did he get the throne?" Dulgun asked.
"He was indeed subpar regarding governance compared to his siblings," Jia Ping admitted. "However, he was the best military commander. From what I pieced together, the elders and ancestors chose him as the successor because they believed they could make up for his lack of governing ability with their presence. Unfortunately, they died, and without their presence to restrain my father, he did whatever he pleased."
"A terrible twist of fate," Wang Wei commented. "What about your situation? It's now apparent that you were already in the Empyrean Realm, but you hid your cultivation. Then, there is the fact you've secretly controlled your father's army."
"I had no choice," Jia Ping said, smiling wryly. "Since I was young, it was apparent I was more competent than my elder brother, meaning the throne should have been mine. However, my father secretly despised me for some reason and treated my brother better even though we had the same mother.
"He probably saw his past situation with his siblings in our competition and projected his insecurities on me. When my mother was still alive, he at least pretended to treat us equally. But after she reincarnated after failing her Paragon Tribulation, he no longer had to pretend. I suspect that's why he also never searched for her reincarnation."
Jia Ping had a sneer on his face. "Mother suspected this may be the case, so she warned me to look out for myself."
"Your mother tried to become a Paragon in this political climate? She's a bold woman," Wang Wei praised.
"That she was." One of the main reasons the elders allowed my father to ascend to the throne was his marriage to Jia Ping's mother. She was to be his anchor, reigning in his arrogance and pride.
"So, what method do you use to hide your cultivation?" Wang Wei wanted to know what method could hide from him.
"It's nothing impressive: a Tier 12 Talisman," Jia Ping replied, showing the jade talisman to everyone. "My mother gave it to me before entering the Source Qi Space for her tribulation. It's one of the few things I have left of her."
Jia Ping looked at the talisman with love and care. "However, you can have it if the lord wishes. Although it can only be used to hide cultivation, it's an excellent resource for the correct opportunity."
"I won't take such a precious thing from you for no reason," Wang Wei declined. "However, if the situation arises, I may need to borrow it." He knew he needed all the resources for this upcoming fight, but he did not need to take it from his subordinate. Such an act is detrimental to the team's cohesion.
"No problem," Jia Ping nodded.
"I have two more questions," Wang Wei stated. "Firstly, it's about your reaction when we first appeared on the battlefield. Your eyes saw something — what was it?"
Jia Ping hesitated briefly after hearing this question before explaining his talent classification to the room.
"Anomaly, huh?" Wang Wei muttered. He was surprised that the second prince had some kind of connection with his future wife. However, as for this talent classification, Wang Wei was only mildly intrigued, and that's because there was too little information to determine what made him and Wu Hong an anomaly.
For example, would his ancestor — the Sword Empress — known for her unparalleled talent be an Anomaly or someone close to it like Mongke? Does it have to do with achieving a perfect Nine Supremacy, or do other factions come into play? There were too many questions and no answers.
"Lord, what do you think I'm missing?" Mongke asked. He suddenly felt this question was crucial to his future.
"I can't say for sure since there is too little information," Wang Wei replied. "It could be that you need to double-cultivate the Dao."
"But, I'm a body refiner. Could it be that a single-focus path cannot become an [Anomaly]?"
"Like I said, there is too little information to tell," Wang Wei reinstated. "Another possibility might be you must achieve Taboo Realm. I did it in the Emperor Realm, so maybe that's what you're missing." Wang Wei theorized his future wife might have achieved Battle Realm Taboo Realm in the Empyrean or Paragon Realm. However, these were all speculations."
"Taboo Realm, huh," Mongke muttered.
"You should not focus too much on this now," Dulgun reminded him. "This classification is based on the lad's visual prowess and personal interpretation, and as the Lord said, there is too little information to go on. So, don't lose your focus."
Dulgun knew how her husband could easily become obsessed with strength or achievements. As such, she warned him not to put all his focus on this classification and lose sight of their current situation.
"On to my second question," Wang Wei continued, secretly nodding that Dulgun reminded Mongke of his current priority. "Did your eyes awaken?"
"They did," Jia Ping responded proudly. The Double Pupil was a top physique in itself, but if its own could awaken it, its value would be comparable to the top 5 Heavenly Physiques due to the ability it will acquire — [Copy Dao].
As the name implied, this ability allowed the owner of the Double Pupil to copy someone else's cultivation level and acquire their Dao. In other words, Jia Ping could copy Wang Wei's Fate Dao and instantly achieved the same level of cultivation as Wang Wei now — 77%. Jia Ping could then choose whether this ly acquired Fate Dao is his primary or a sub-Dao.
"Which level?" Wang Wei asked with a smile.
"The highest."
Wang Wei's eyes lit up. "Meaning you can copy a Paragon's Dao." Although the limit of the Double Pupil was 90%, and Jia Ping could only use it after becoming a Paragon himself, it was still a terrifying ability. After all, who wouldn't want a free Dao that reaches the Paragon Tier? If Wang Wei had those eyes, he would definitely use them to raise one of his Professional Dao to the Paragon Realm.
"You're more talented than I thought," Wang Wei praised. Awaking the Double Pupil was slow, tedious, and challenging. On top of that, it can only be accomplished before proving the Dao.
Wang Wei suddenly sighed. "Your father was truly a moron." Jia Ping was a prince, meaning his awakening task would use this identity as the basis. Heaven and Earth would slowly cultivate Jia Ping into the perfect emperor/ruler, and his Double Pupil would evolve accordingly. The fact his eyes developed the ability to detect talent was proof of this. Yet, despite knowing all of this, the Ruthless King still isolated such a talented heir.
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