“Demonic cultivators? Those lots are troublesome fellows with no morals whatsoever. They would resort to anything just to get what they want. They are dangerous.”

“Indeed, they’re much harder to deal with than normal experts.”

No one no longer complained about the opportunity that the three supreme geniuses got. Although this was undoubtedly special treatment for them, they now had nothing to say. Getting two stages ahead of everyone else in the competition might be good, it wasn’t tempting enough for them to risk their lives. The task was too crazy. They had to kill not only one but three Four Transformation experts. They wouldn't want anything to do with that.

Still, it was unavoidable to have some people who wanted to cause some trouble for them. Humans were jealous creatures after all. Though they didn't have the courage and confidence to go against a Four Transformation expert, they didn't want to see someone succeed at what they couldn’t do. If anything, they couldn't wait for the three supreme geniuses to fail in their tasks. That would bring them an immense feeling of schadenfreude.

The fourth prince looked at the three supreme geniuses and said, “You don’t necessarily have to accept the task. Now that you know what your task is, either you accept it or refuse it, it’s all up to you. Of course, if you refuse, you’ll just have to take part in the competition normally like the others.”

“Say no more, Fourth Prince,” Yun Ling interrupted with a smile. His eyes were watching the fourth prince with arrogance as he continued. “This task, consider it done.”

The task Yun Ling had might be too difficult for others to handle but to him, it would only take a slight effort on his part. That was how confident he was of his abilities.

“Hmm, although it’s slightly dangerous, I’ll accomplish my task to the best of my ability,” Yu Shan added.

“I’ll do anything within good reason if it’s for the royal family. I can’t very well back out now and lose face for our family, right, little brother?” the crown prince said, grinning a little at the fourth prince.

The fourth prince simply stared at them for a few seconds before sighing. Only these three would have this much confidence. Normal people would have long been frightened when faced with this task but to them, they viewed it as a challenge. In fact, they seemed a bit too excited at the prospect of facing powerful experts.

“These three...” he muttered under his breath as he clenched his fist. He couldn’t help but feel some jealousy in his heart. Who didn't want to be as fearless as them? Who didn't want to be as formidable as them?

Albeit the fourth prince had just formed an enmity with Yun Ling, deep in his heart, he admired him. His father, the emperor, had always told the princes about how great Yun Ling’s talent was. If even the ruler of a big empire was in awe of his talent, that was saying something.

If he could help it, he would rather not offend Yun Ling at all, however, he was left without a choice. He wanted to befriend him or at least, maintain a neutral relationship with him while he secretly plots behind his back. Unfortunately, Yun Ling saw through his intention right away and already put him on his bad side. Still, he had no regrets. He couldn’t get Yun Ling to his side no matter what he does anyway so sooner or later, they would have eventually become enemies.

Though he and Yun Ling were now hostile with each other, he wasn’t scared or discouraged. After all, he might just be a lowly and weak prince but he had his own trump card. For the sake of his ambitions, for his dreams, he will do anything, he will do everything.

On the side, Yun Ling frowned as he secretly examined the fourth prince.

‘This guy...’

The fourth prince smiled at them as he said, “As expected of the three supreme geniuses of the capital. This little prince is truly in awe of you. Alright, since you’ve chosen to accept the task, you must do so within three weeks. Any later and it will be considered a failure regardless of whether you accomplish it or not. Is that fine with you?”

“I have no problems with that,” Yu Shan said.

“Hmm,” the crown prince hummed, nodding.

Yun Ling remained silent but he nodded along.

After hearing their response, the fourth prince looked towards the crowd.

“Everyone, I wish you all luck in the upcoming Golden Dragon Election! Do your best and make the emperor proud! Show the people how powerful the geniuses of the empire are!”

The people started cheering around after getting riled up by the fourth prince’s words. Adrenaline rushed in their head as they were now too excited for the approaching competition to happen.

While this was happening, the crown prince approached Yun Ling and Yu Shan.

“I have a proposal for you two, would you mind hearing me out?” The crown prince started.

“Proposal?” Yu Shan raised a brow at him.

“What is it, Crown Prince?” Yun Ling asked with a faint smile.

The crown prince gave them a deep look for a moment before saying. “Our tasks, let’s do it together.”

“Oh?” Yu Shan got interested after hearing that.

“Why should we?” Yun Ling was also intrigued by the crown prince’s idea but he didn’t show it. Instead, he asked, wanting to hear his explanation.

“It’s simple really. If we help each other do the tasks, it will be much easier. We might be forbidden from getting any assistance from our family but it didn’t say that we can’t help each other out. I know any of us can do our task on our own, but there’s no need for us to risk our lives unnecessarily if we can do it together and at the same time, ensure our safety,” the crown prince explained.

“I see, there’s merit in your proposal, Crown Prince.” Yu Shan found his idea to be good.

“Indeed. Our targets are Four Transformation experts after all. There are three of them while we’re on our own. If they team up together, we probably won’t get out unscathed.” Yun Ling then thought for a moment and added, “Not to mention, some people might get in our way.”

There was no need for Yun Ling to elaborate on who he meant. They already knew who he was talking about. It was none other than the participants. If the three of them got killed in their confrontation with the Four Transformation experts, they would be the ones to benefit the most. They were the three strongest contenders for the first place after all. If they die, they would lose three formidable enemies in the competition.

“So what do you say?” the crown prince asked.

“I refuse,” Yun Ling rejected his proposal.

The crown prince was taken aback by his answer. He thought Yun Ling would certainly agree to it after hearing his explanation, but his response actually turned out to be the opposite of his expectation.

“Why? Wouldn’t you agree that working together would be much better than working alone?” the crown prince asked, a little puzzled.

Yun Ling slowly nodded his head at him.

“It’s just as you said, our tasks would become significantly easier if we team-up. But, never forget, Crown Prince. We are fellow competitors.”

The crown prince’s gaze sharpened upon hearing Yun Ling’s words.

“If we decide to work together, it would be unavoidable for us to learn some of the other’s abilities, especially when doing our tasks. I would rather not have that. I want to keep my abilities to myself as much as I can until the Golden Dragon Elections. That’s why I refuse,” Yun Ling said as he looked at the crown prince in the eye without fear.

The crown prince stared at him in total silence, contemplating something. A few moments later, he suddenly let out a grin.

“It seems like I was too foolish. You’re right. If you accepted my proposal, we might be able to work together, for now. But in the end, we are competitors. Forget that I ever mentioned this thing.”

Yu Shan looked at the two of them with a carefree smile on his face as he added his thoughts, “I truly think that the crown prince’s idea is good. But at the same time, I can’t help but agree with Yun Ling here. I don’t know which side to choose.”

“There’s no need to choose,” Yun Ling said, smirking. “We are competitors and as such, let us meet each other in the competition the next time we meet.”

Yu Shan smiled while the crown prince’s grin went even wider.

“We’ll decide who’s the best among us in the Golden Dragon Election.”