Free Web NovelChapter 91: Chapter 91: The First Prince of the Sand Empire
The crowd grew restless with excitement as the servant called out the next name.
"Princess Shao Yuyan of the Sand Empire, please step forward!"
Suddenly, the whispers in the hall turned into a roar of anticipation. This was the moment many of the high-level Orcs had been waiting for.
In the four empires, it was rare for a powerful clan to produce a female child.
When they did, she was almost guaranteed to have incredible spiritual power and top-tier fertility. Because of this, Shao Yuyan was the star of the Rite.
Princess Shao Yuyan stood up gracefully. She was beautiful in a sharp, haughty way, and she knew exactly how much power she held.
She loved being the center of attention. As she walked toward the stage, her jewelry clinked softly, and she looked at the crowd with a playful, naughty smile.
She was confident that her results would crush every other female in the room.
Up on the high platform, the First Prince of the Sand Empire, Shao Han, watched her with a bored expression. He leaned back in his chair and sighed.
To him, this whole event was a waste of time. He was twenty-eight years old, an SS-rank Orc at the peak of his strength, but he had never attended the Rite before.
He had no interest in finding a mate or dealing with the drama of the noble females.
The only reason he was here today was because of his mother. Shao Yuyan was his sister...well, his step-sister. They shared the same mother, but her father was not the king of the Sand Empire, but his was.
Despite the complicated family tree, his mother had practically begged him to come and watch over her.
She knew Shao Yuyan was impulsive and arrogant, and she wanted Shao Han to make sure the girl didn’t make any foolish mistakes or offend the Temple.
Shao Han shook his head as he watched Yuyan reach the podium. She’s too loud, he thought, his eyes scanning the room with indifference. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
He just wanted the day to end so he could return to the border and fight real monsters instead of watching people touch a glowing rock.
Yue Yue watched the Princess from her seat next to Lin En. "She looks very confident," Yue Yue whispered.
"She has the right to be," Lin En replied, her voice filled with a bit of envy. "She comes from the Sand Empire’s royal bloodline. Her results will probably be the highest we’ve seen so far."
Shao Han, the First Prince, was about to close his eyes and tune out the world when a flicker of movement caught his attention.
He shifted his gaze toward the seating area reserved for the females. There, sitting away from the noisy, proud noble girls, he saw two figures.
It was Lin En and a purple-haired girl.
She was laughing at something her friend had said, her eyes curving into beautiful crescents and her smile bright enough to rival the sun.
For the first time in twenty-eight years, Shao Han felt his heart skip a beat. It was a strange, sharp sensation in his chest that made his breath catch.
He had seen thousands of beautiful women, but there was something about Lin En’s warmth that pierced right through his boredom.
He didn’t move a muscle, but his mysterious, cold aura softened ever so slightly. He found himself mesmerized by her simple, honest joy.
Then, his eyes flickered to the girl sitting beside her... Yue Yue. He frowned slightly, his analytical mind kicking in.
Who is that one? he wondered. She looked out of place, her aura too quiet and her beauty too ethereal for a regular noble family.
But he didn’t dwell on her for long. His eyes quickly drifted back to Lin En, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. He felt a sudden, possessive urge to know her name and her rank.
Shao Yuyan was still holding the crystal, her eyes glued to the giant screen. The fertility bar was climbing rapidly. It passed A, then A+, and then A++.
Yuyan’s chest puffed out with pride. She was absolutely certain it would hit the S-rank. She could already imagine the look of envy on the other girls’ faces.
But then, the light flickered and stopped.
[Fertility Result: A+++]
Yuyan’s bright smile stiffened. A+++ was incredible...nearly perfect...but it wasn’t the S-rank she had bragged about.
She felt a sting of embarrassment, but she quickly shook it off. It’s fine, she thought. My spiritual compatibility will be the one that shocks them. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
If she gets S in both, she would not become the treasure of four empires, and it is impossible; maybe only her spiritual compatibility is S and not her fertility.
She closed her eyes and poured her will into the crystal, hoping to see the spiritual bar skyrocket.
The bar started to move. It climbed through the B-levels and finally reached the A-rank. Yuyan held her breath, waiting for the surge that would take her to S.
But the bar didn’t surge. It hit A and simply stopped. The light faded, and the final results were locked in.
The crowd still cheered...after all, an A+++ and an A were scores most people could only dream of...but for a princess of the Sand Empire, it was a disappointment.
Shao Yuyan looked like she wanted to kick the crystal. She turned to look at the high platform, hoping for some comfort from her brother, but Shao Han wasn’t even looking at her.
Yuyan followed his gaze, her eyes landing on Yue Yue. She felt a sudden, sharp jealousy. Who is that girl? Why is my brother looking at her instead of me?
Yue Yue felt the princess’s hateful gaze and shivered. She leaned closer to Lin En. "I think the princess is angry," she whispered.
"She expected an S-rank," Lin En whispered back. "In her world, anything less than the best is a failure. But look, the priest is moving to the next name."
The servant unrolled the scroll further, his voice booming through the hall. "Next! Lady Lin En of the Southern Border!"
Yue Yue squeezed Lin En’s hand. "Go on. It’s your turn."
As Lin En stood up, Yue Yue realized that the list was getting shorter. After Lin En, there were only a few names left. Her heart began to pound against her ribs.
