On the Ark.

"Who do they think they are?!" Ying Jie roared. "Are they ordering me around?!"

Before he could finish speaking, another Imperial Guard rushed over: "Your Highness! His Majesty has sent a telegram instructing you to prioritize the preservation of Luoyang and to swiftly direct the relocation of the city."

Upon hearing the news, Ying Jie felt a wave of dizziness and almost collapsed.

Father already knows, Father already knows, Father already knows...

However, no one has yet been caught who can prove that the Crown Prince colluded with the Imperial Observatory to deliberately harm him.

If this continues...

Ying Jie dared not think any further, but he had no other choice. If the South District suffered a disaster just to capture one person, even if that person was indeed sent by the First Prince, his father would not forgive him. Therefore, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Imperial Guards, listen to my command! Abandon the search for Ying Li and the prisoner, and instead fully cooperate with the Dali Temple in the South District in the relocation of the city."

"As ordered!"

……

"The Imperial Guards have retreated!" Ying Li was overjoyed when she saw the Imperial Guards withdrawing in an orderly fashion outside the window. "We can go now!"

"Leave? No, we can't leave now." Lin Ye shook his head.

"Can't leave? When are we going to leave now?! What else do you want?!" Ying Li was really going crazy.

"You can run for a while, but you can't run forever." Lin Ye turned to look at Ying Li, and then slowly took off the hood. "I know I don't have the ability to protect you for a lifetime, so... we must solve the problem at its root."

Ying Li was stunned. She looked into Lin Ye's eyes and felt a sense of unease.

"A prince's revenge story," Lin Ye said with a smile. "What do you think of this plot?"

Chapter 584 Ying Jie and Ying Zhen

Lin Ye's desire to cause trouble for the Second Prince Ying Jie was not impulsive; it was the result of careful consideration.

Just as he had initially told Warfarin, even if they managed to take Ying Li away from Los Angeles, or even from Yan Kingdom, they would have no way to return to Rhodes Island. If the Yan Kingdom's royal family found out that Ying Li was on Rhodes Island, the consequences would be obvious; even though Rhodes Island was very, very far from Yan Kingdom, it would most likely be destroyed.

After all, one side might be the most powerful country in the world, while the other is just a pharmaceutical company—they're not even in the same league. Even if Rhodes Island has Skadi and Shining, whose combat power far surpasses that of ordinary people, it won't make a difference. Therefore, even if Lin Ye really wants to save Ying Li, he can't drag the entire Rhodes Island into it.

But if they couldn't return to Rhodes Island, their only option to evade the Yan Kingdom's pursuit would be to wander the world of Terra, like a typical novel plot. However, those novels are usually set in ancient times with limited information, and in the relatively information-rich world of Terra, such an escape would be extremely difficult. And even if it were possible, putting aside whether Ying Li would be willing to go from a revered princess to someone akin to a fugitive, living a life of constant wandering… Lin Ye certainly wouldn't.

Why live so humbly when you've finally been given a second chance at life?

If one is unwilling to live such a humble life, then the only solution is to address the problem at its root, just as he had told Ying Li earlier.

The root cause naturally refers to the Second Prince Ying Jie. It was the Second Prince Ying Jie who advocated marrying Ying Li to the Eastern Kingdom, and it was also the Second Prince Ying Jie who killed Lin Ye five years ago. Regardless of whether the Emperor tacitly approved it or not, as things stand, the Second Prince Ying Jie is Lin Ye's greatest enemy.

Although he had no memory of the Second Prince Ying Jie, and didn't harbor any deep hatred for him—after all, he now believed he and Ying Zhen weren't the same person, and that the Third Prince Ying Zhen might already be dead, and he was merely reborn in Ying Zhen's body—so what? Shouldn't he then help the original owner of this body fulfill his unfinished wishes as payment for being given another chance at life?

If Lin Ye is indeed the Third Prince Ying Zhen himself, but has simply lost his memory, then there's even less to say.

Therefore, by eliminating the Second Prince, they could avenge their family, free Ying Li, and eliminate the biggest threat—a triple win.

Ying Li understood Lin Ye's meaning and couldn't help but say, "Are you crazy? You want to kill Ying Jie?! On what grounds?!"

Lin Ye sighed softly, then smiled and said, "Don't judge people by their past. I'm not the same person I used to be. Ying Jie is probably no match for me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Ye heard Chen's cold voice: "Don't you know that the Second Prince is a swordsman appointed by the Eastern Kingdom?"

Lin Ye's smile froze.

Sword, swordsman?

What the hell? Why would a prince of a nation need to practice swordsmanship? Lin Ye thought Ying Jie was a weakling.

Lin Ye took a deep breath and said, "So what? I'm not bad either."

Chen Zheng wanted to mock Lin Ye, but he quickly recalled Lin Ye's performance at Longmen a few months ago, and couldn't bring himself to do so. He could only say, "You don't even have a weapon, how are you going to cause trouble for the Second Prince?"

That is a problem.

Lin Ye suddenly felt a little embarrassed, because he did not have [Maple] with him.

As for the reason... is there even a question? What kind of occasion is this? How could the Imperial Guards allow guests to bring weapons inside?

Without [Feng] by his side, Lin Ye's combat power would drop by at least half. Facing that "brother" with the title of "Sword Master," he would probably really be courting death. Therefore... he set his sights on the Crimson Cloud sword on Chen's waist.

"Hey!" Chen noticed Lin Ye's gaze and immediately shielded Chi Xiao. "Are you crazy?"

"Can't I borrow it for a bit?"

"How can this be?!" Chen said through gritted teeth. "Everyone knows that Chi Xiao is on me now. If you use Chi Xiao, wouldn't that mean..."

He could only say half of what he was saying before he couldn't continue.

Chen sensed that the Crimson Sky Sword in her hand was trembling violently, as if it would spontaneously unsheathe at any moment. This caused a slight change in her expression.

Lin Ye didn't notice Chi Xiao's strange noise, but understood Chen's predicament, so he nodded: "You're right, then I won't make things difficult for you, I'll go look again..."

clang.

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Ye saw Chi Xiao fall to the ground, and then Chen turned and left.

“It seems this guy prefers to be by your side… at least for now.” Chen said, his back to Lin Ye. “Then let it be.”

Lin Ye was stunned.

Then, Chen stopped, glanced back at Lin Ye and Ying Li, and said softly, "If it were anyone else who wanted to attack the Second Prince, I would definitely stop them. But if you really are the Third Prince, then I have no right to stop you. Chixiao is the royal sword, and it should be more suitable for you than for me. So, it's up to you what to do."

After saying that, Chen left without waiting for Lin Ye's response.

So only Lin Ye, Ying Li, and Chi Xiao on the ground remained in the corridor.

Lin Ye bent down, preparing to pick up Chi Xiao, but Ying Li grabbed his hand.

"I told you you've had enough of this," Ying Li said through gritted teeth. "Are you pretending I don't exist?! Why won't you listen..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Ye suddenly stood up and hugged Ying Li.

Just as Ying Li was about to break free, Lin Ye lowered his head and whispered something in her ear, which stunned Ying Li.

Then, Lin Ye slowly released Ying Li.

"Leave it to me," Lin Ye said with a smile.

……

The highest level of the venue.

Ying Jie stood alone in front of the First Emperor's statue, looking up at the ancient Lulu sword, feeling extremely depressed.

Ying Jie felt that his subordinates were all useless or traitors sent by the First Prince. Otherwise, how could he have ended up in such a state? Thinking this, he dismissed all his subordinates and went alone to the statue of the First Emperor.

Because he felt that he was just like the First Emperor, a lonely and isolated person.

However, he did not intend to give up; he always believed that he could become the supreme ruler.

Therefore, we must come up with a way to turn the tide.

We must come up with a way to turn things around.

Ying Jie gripped the Mikami-giri tightly in his hand, and then heard footsteps behind him.

"You bastard!" Ying Jie shouted without turning his head. "Didn't I tell you? Don't bother me!"

The person behind him said softly, "Really? I thought you would want to see me after five years."

Ying Jie paused for a moment, then turned around abruptly. When he saw Lin Ye behind him, his eyes widened to their maximum.

"Yingzhen!"

Chapter 585 Ying Jie and Ying Zhen (Part Two)

When Ying Jie saw Lin Ye's face, his first reaction was astonishment. His dragon-like eyes widened to their maximum, as if he were witnessing a ghost returning from hell. However, he slowly calmed down, as if he had guessed something. His eyes narrowed slightly, and then he slowly said, "It seems my suspicions were not wrong. The Imperial Observatory has also betrayed me."

Lin Ye didn't expect that Ying Jie would immediately associate him with the Awakening of Insects upon seeing him. It seems that his second brother's mind works quite quickly.

“I always thought my only opponent was Ying Ren,” Ying Jie said slowly. “I didn’t expect you to join forces with him as well.”

Yingren? That seems to be the name of the eldest prince.

Lin Ye had a vague recollection of it, but he shook his head and said, "Do you always see the whole world as your opponent?"

"Otherwise what?" Ying Jie suddenly laughed. "Actually, I've always only considered Ying Ren as my rival. You're not qualified yet."

"Is that so?" Lin Ye laughed as well. "Then why did you send assassins to Ursus to hunt me down five years ago? If you really didn't consider me an opponent, why did you go through all that trouble? Should I say you're being hypocritical or just feeling guilty?"

Ying Jie's smile gradually faded: "You're still as annoying as you were when you were a child, although the way you hate me is a little different now. What kind of courage did those five years of hiding in Ursus give you to stand in front of me?"

"It seems you admit that you were the one who did it five years ago."

"Heh, what's so hard about admitting that?" Ying Jie's tone was full of arrogance. "I am the second prince of the Great Yan Dynasty, and I dare to take responsibility for anything I do."

Lin Ye nodded and said, "That's enough. I've already recorded it on my phone, and I'll upload it online later so the world can see how courageous and responsible you are, Your Highness."

Ying Jie's expression immediately changed, perhaps fearing that Lin Ye was indeed recording, or perhaps tired of verbal sparring. He drew his sword, the Mikami-giri, from his waist, and charged at Lin Ye with a low growl, "You're asking for death." Lin Ye, who already knew Ying Jie's identity as a "sword master," had maintained absolute focus since entering the room, his hand always on the hilt of his sword, the Crimson Sky. So, when Ying Jie drew his sword, he also drew his Crimson Sky at the same time.

A crisp "ding" sound.

The white blade of the God-Slayer and the red blade of the Crimson Sky clashed fiercely before quickly separating.

The two men each took five steps back.

Ying Jie stared intently at the Crimson Sky Sword in Lin Ye's hand, gritting his teeth as he said, "The Crimson Sky Sword is actually in your hands! That cunning old fox Wei Yanwu actually dares to come after me!"

Lin Ye sneered twice, raised the Crimson Sky Sword, and pointed it at Ying Jie: "Envious, aren't you? This is the sword I'm going to use to kill you."

"Envious? Want to kill me? You're really arrogant." Ying Jie said with a sneer. "The real Crimson Sky Ancient Sword was destroyed long ago. What you have is just a fake made by modifying a small part of the Crimson Sky Ancient Sword itself. Otherwise, why do you think this Emperor's Sword would fall into Wei Yanwu's hands?"

Hmm? Is this Crimson Sky Sword modernized from fragments of the ancient Crimson Sky Sword? This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing. No wonder it looks so new.

But that doesn't matter. Lin Ye said without changing his expression, "So what? It's enough to deal with you."

"Deal with me? Ha, you're getting more and more arrogant. You were just stupid before... But it's fine this way." Ying Jie raised his hand and unbuttoned his clothes. "It seems you did learn something in Ursus, which gave you the courage to come here. But let me tell you, what you learned in Ursus is worthless in my eyes, and I'll prove that right now."

"Really? Then prove it to me."

Lin Ye feigned disdain, but inwardly he grew cautious. While Ying Jie's attack was far less powerful than Skadi's or even the Golden Ghost he'd fought months ago, Ying Jie's expression clearly indicated he hadn't used his full strength. Dragons were renowned as one of the world's strongest fighting races—just look at Chen to see that. Therefore, underestimating Ying Jie would be irresponsible.

After removing the yellow jacket that was utterly unsuitable for combat, Ying Jie's muscles were revealed to Lin Ye. Unlike the bulky muscles developed in gyms, Ying Jie's muscles weren't explosive or exaggerated, but they seemed alive. The blood of the dragon race flowed quietly in the veins within his muscles, gradually becoming clearer with each breath.

Then he grasped the God-Kiri with both hands and assumed the posture of an Eastern samurai.

Eastern swordsmanship? I wonder how it compares to the Yato.

Thinking this, Lin Ye also gripped the Crimson Sky Sword tightly in his hand.