CHAPTER 24: CHAPTER 24: KNEELING TO THE CROWN PRINCE OF THE FLAME EMPEROR

EDITOR: ENDLESSFANTASY TRANSLATION

"I’m not sure. You know, I just awakened as a Star Martial Warrior..."

"I’m very curious. S-class Star Martial Skills aren’t something ordinary people can possess. The four major Star Martial Academies are so exceptional precisely because it’s possible to learn S-class Star Martial Skills there... But you..."

At this moment, Jiang Xinyu felt envious.

"I’m also not clear if the Phoenix form is an S-class Star Martial Skill; anyway, my mom never told me."

"Wang Lan, we’ve known each other for many years, haven’t we?" Xu Xiangwen put an arm around Wang Lan’s shoulder. "You know whether you can trust my character or not."

"Yeah, clear as day. You’ve got no character at all."

"Who exactly is your mother? Could she be one of those famous heroes that are rumored?"

"Yeah, to have an S-class Star Martial Skill passed down, your mother must be some high-ranking military official, right?"

"Probably not. Plus, my mother disappeared on a mission many years ago, don’t you know that?"

"Back when we were in elementary school?"

"I did meet Wang Lan’s mother once," Jiang Xinyu nodded thoughtfully. "She was called Wang Ling, a very gentle auntie. I always thought she was a corporate white-collar worker. If it hadn’t been for the accident that happened later, I really wouldn’t have known she was a Star Martial Warrior..."

Wang Lan looked at Jiang Xinyu in surprise. Do you have some misunderstanding about the word ’gentle’?

"Wang Ling? Never heard of her..."

"Could she be some hidden big shot? Hey, Wang Lan, stop beating around the bush. Can you tell us or not? If you can, just say it quickly; if not, we won’t ask anymore."

"I can tell. There’s nothing I can’t say; it’s just an identity... As Xinyu said, my mom is just an ordinary Star Martial Warrior. Her name is Wang Ling. There are tens of thousands with this name across the country, so it’s nothing special."

"Really?" Xu Xiangwen was somewhat skeptical. "Could your ancestors be a very impressive family? Your Star Martial Skill is definitely not ordinary. You, at the Starlight Stage, could blow up the Spider King with one punch. When you reach the Galaxy Stage, who knows how incredible you’ll be? Could it be that you’ll blow up a Star Sea Stage cultivator with one punch?"

"Isn’t that an exaggeration? Because the Phoenix form is a Star Martial Skill learned at the Galaxy Stage, it has the power of the Galaxy Stage. Actually, even when I reach the Galaxy Stage, the power of this Star Martial Skill won’t increase by much. However, my aunt did mention that my mom seemed to have earned a title given by others."

"A Star Martial Warrior with a title?" Gong Feiyu exclaimed in shock.

"No wonder we’ve never heard your mother’s name. Once a Star Martial Warrior is given a title, that title is generally what spreads. Jade Country has so many titled Star Martial Warriors. Even for those who are renowned, we often don’t know their real names."

As he spoke, Gong Feiyu ceremoniously clasped his hands together and bowed. "May I inquire as to what title your esteemed mother has...?"

"Can you not make it so ceremonial?" Wang Lan smiled wryly. "My aunt said my mom’s title is Flame Emperor."

"PFFT—" Gong Feiyu spewed out a breath he hadn’t managed to inhale properly.

"Impossible, right? The Flame Emperor... one of the Five Emperors is your mom? You’re... kidding, right?"

"The Flame Emperor is a woman? This is the first I’ve heard of it."

"It’s not impossible..." Jiang Xinyu said calmly after taking a deep breath. "The only ones who could possess an S-class Star Martial Skill are the top-tier experts. And since she’s one of them, it’s not so hard to accept that Wang Lan’s mother is the Flame Emperor."

"THUMP!" Next to Gong Feiyu, Xu Xiangwen dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Hey, do you have to be so dramatic? It’s just a title, right?"

"I’m kneeling to the Flame Emperor’s heir... This flex of yours is too much; I can only kneel. The Flame Emperor, do you even know what that means? Right, you don’t. Even though you’re the Flame Emperor’s son, you don’t have a clue about the Flame Emperor.

"The Five Venerables and the Five Emperors—Jade Country invincible.

"This is a universally recognized axiom on Sky Blue Star: as long as the Five Venerables and Five Emperors are all present, Jade Country is invincible. The Five Venerables represent the highest prestige; the Five Emperors, the ultimate combat power.

"Your mom is the Flame Emperor? Your mom is *actually* the Flame Emperor?

"Holy crap... AH!

"Why is your mom the Flame Emperor, and not mine? Bro, dear brother! Did you know? I’m actually your brother, lost for sixteen years—your own flesh and blood brother—"

Xu Xiangwen suddenly pounced and tightly hugged Wang Lan’s leg. "Bro, as soon as I get out, I’ll change my household registration, acknowledge my ancestors, and return to the family..."

Wang Lan looked at Xu Xiangwen, goosebumps rising all over him. "This is the character you so emphatically wanted me to trust? Get lost!"

"No, wait, Wang Lan, the Flame Emperor hasn’t disappeared," Jiang Xinyu asked gravely.

"Yeah, she hasn’t disappeared. She must be in some secretive position or place. But because her existence is now a top-level national secret, even I can’t know her whereabouts. Maybe that’s why I’ve been an orphan all these years," Wang Lan said with a half-forced smile.

The state had covered up the Flame Emperor’s disappearance. But, on reflection, could that really be the truth? Perhaps Wang Ling intentionally cut off contact for Wang Lan and Wang Qi’s safety, to separate Wang Ling from the Flame Emperor. Auntie is just an ordinary person; she couldn’t possibly know the real story. Maybe for her, the ’truth’ at Jade Country’s level is just a cover. Even with the video Wang Ling left, I started to doubt after thinking it over. I’m already sixteen; are they still treating me like a child? If, as Auntie said, Wang Ling really is the Flame Emperor and disappeared during a mission, her fate unknown to this day... this information shouldn’t, and couldn’t, possibly be known to Wang Qi. Would Wang Qi really not leak it? If the country wanted to cover up Wang Ling’s disappearance, the best way would be to keep even Wang Qi and me in the dark. Wang Qi knowing about the Flame Emperor’s disappearance is more likely because the higher-ups in Jade Country *wanted* her to believe Wang Ling had disappeared. That’s also why I revealed my identity and Wang Ling’s. If it’s truly a secret, then come find me. Slap a gag order on me. If Wang Ling really has disappeared, give me an explanation. But if not, then I won’t let this go so easily. You took me in, raised me, and then abandoned me for eight years without a care! Doesn’t your conscience bother you at all?

WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!—

While Wang Lan and the others were resting, the alarm from the garrison in the beginner’s trial space suddenly blared.

The Southeast Military Region’s Star Martial Special Warfare Brigade, Martial Arts Corps, Third Battalion command center instantly became a scene of chaos.

"What’s going on? Why did the Snow Spiders suddenly go berserk?" roared Battalion Commander Wu Changfeng, his eyes bulging like a bull’s with fury.

"We’re not sure yet. Our men have gone to investigate, but the most likely reason is that someone killed the Spider Queen."

"Which son of a bitch did it? If I catch him, I’ll make him pay with his life. The top priority is to stabilize the situation. Has the rescue team set out? Are there any casualties?"

"The rescue team has already departed. No casualties reported so far."

"Commander, there’s been a coup among the Flaming Leopards! The Old Leopard King has been driven out of the tribe..."

"Commander, the Snow Spider upheaval has triggered unrest in the Red Flame Demon Tribe! They’re expanding aggressively!"

"Commander, the Gale Wolves are moving southward..."

"It’s chaos, complete chaos! The entire trial field is a mess. Damn it!"

"What should we do?" a subordinate officer asked, somewhat lost.

"What else can we do? Suppress it by force! First and Second Companies, plus five special combat teams, deploy immediately! Quell the uprising! We must restore order before any casualties occur!"

"Yes, sir!"

Wu Changfeng slumped back into his chair, grumbling, "Damn it. Why can’t we use tech products in the Different Dimensional Space? Firearms being useless is bad enough, but no surveillance equipment either? If we could use it, we wouldn’t have so many problems..."

After an anxious half-hour wait, a warrior hurried into the command center.

"Commander, we’ve found the Spider Queen on the outskirts of the Snow Mountain. Many Snow Spiders are converging on her. Not far from her, we discovered a spatial Exotic Beast cage."

"Damn those poachers... Where are they? Caught yet?"

"Afraid they’re all dead. The men speculate that the poachers probably calculated that Spider Queen Sherry’s life was ending. They stole the new queen she laid, before it could hatch, planning to take it out and sell it. Unfortunately, they didn’t account for Sherry dying before they could escape. The new queen evolved instantly, and their plans were foiled."

"Hmph, they got off easy. But the poachers must still have contacts out there. We must find them. They’ve caused me so much trouble. If we catch them, every last one will be executed by firing squad!"

"The men feel the same way, sir."

"Fu!"

"Present!"

"You stay here and coordinate. I’m going out myself."

"Commander, is that wise? For you to go personally?"

"Leaving it to those kids to suppress this, who knows how long it’ll take? If I go, it’ll be faster, and maybe fewer people will die. How many Trialists are in the trial field this time?"

"Twelve hundred."

"Notify the gate to temporarily close the trial field until the Exotic Beasts settle down. Also, have the Trialists gather at the gate area as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary casualties."

"Yes, sir!"

Outside the Wind Valley, north of the Snow Mountain, Wang Lan and the others sat around a campfire, eating energy bars. Compared to the chaos outside, this place seemed like a peaceful haven.

"Rested enough?" Jiang Xinyu asked casually.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"What about Wang Lan?"

Wang Lan exited the system interface. Activating the Phoenix form not only cost ten skill points per second but also had a damned cooldown period—a full twenty-four hours.

But thinking of the horrifying aftereffects of using the Phoenix form, Wang Lan felt the cooldown period was no big deal. Believe it or not, I swear I’ll never use such a self-destructive skill again. After using it, I felt like I was going to die.

"I’m fine too, mostly recovered."

"Good. I still have a hundred Soul Beads. I’ve already made a breakthrough, so I won’t be included in the distribution of these. You can divide these hundred Soul Beads among yourselves," Jiang Xinyu said.

"I was already allocated some before. I won’t take part in dividing these hundred beads; you three take them. We’ll distribute the Soul Beads from our future kills together," Wang Lan chimed in first. It was important to be generous at the right time. Killing the Spider King had earned him fifty skill points, so he considered it a net gain.

"What’s the next target? We obviously can’t go after Snow Spiders anymore."

"Flaming Leopards. Don’t we have someone in our team whose fire-based strength is too weak?" Jiang Xinyu said with a hint of indifference.

"Ah?" Wang Youle lifted his head in surprise, looking as if he’d received an unexpected favor.

Xu Xiangwen’s mouth twitched slightly. He gave Wang Youle a deep look but said nothing.

One must be considerate; he feared the child might take it too hard.

The Flaming Leopards were neighbors to the Snow Spiders. Taking a detour around the back would be about fifteen kilometers. The terrain in the Different Dimensional Space was complex, but fortunately, with Xu Xiangwen as their human navigator, Wang Lan and the others could avoid getting lost.

They encountered no threats along the way. The five of them didn’t rush, proceeding at a normal pace toward the Flaming Leopards’ territory.

Suddenly, Jiang Xinyu stopped. The other four looked at her, puzzled.

Without warning, Jiang Xinyu crossed her hands. An icicle materialized between her palms and, with a WHOOSH, shot into the vegetation not far behind them.

"AH!" A figure darted out. "Don’t attack, don’t attack! I’m a Star Martial Warrior, here for the trial..."