Chapter 32

Successor to the Great Boundless Palace?

The Gandharva’s words tossed up a great wave.

It caused an uproar in the crowd!

The ministers, princes, and even the Emperor of Zhou all turned their gaze to Zhao Yuan, who was eating snacking on dried fruits. They had a strange look in their eyes.

The young Eleventh Prince seemed to pick up on the strange occurrence.

He looked up and saw his father, the imperial tutor, and everyone staring at him.

Although he did not know what happened, he still subconsciously tried to straighten his back.

He also wiped the stains at the edge of his lips and tried to put on a well-behaved look.

“Master must be joking. Yuan’er is still young and his talents lacking. Living Buddha Phags-pa would not choose him.”

The atmosphere was tense for some time. The Emperor of Zhou laughed it off and steered the conversation away.

He did not take it seriously and even thought of it as a joke.

That was because the Gandharva’s words were too serious and were not something to be mentioned so casually.

Anyone with some understanding of the Great Boundless Palace would understand that only the Buddhist Disciple handpicked by the Imperial Preceptor Phags-Pa could be considered as the successor. It was akin to a legacy disciple.

Take the King of Yakshas and Gandharva of the Eight Divisions for example.

They were merely inner disciples taken into the sect by the Yuanmeng Imperial Preceptor and would at most be given the honorary titles of Master and Guru.

They had no right to inherit the Great Boundless Palace in the future.

“Dear Saint of Zhou, this is not a joke.”

The Gandharva replied seriously.

The Great Boundless Palace did not have many honorary titles.

It represented a high social standing and excellent root bone.

The highest of them was Buddhist Disciple, followed by Master, and lastly Guru.

Yuanmeng Imperial Preceptor Phags-pa was a rare Buddhist Disciple.

As for his master, he was only given the title of Master.

Because of that, the Yuanmeng Imperial Preceptor was able to surpass Master Zhizhu.

The Gandharva, who was born with an exceptional spiritual sense, was also considered to have the second-grade root bone of a Master.

The moment she laid her eyes on the Eleventh Prince, she had a strong premonition that he was the person the Great Boundless Palace was looking for!

That was the reason she was willing to use 5,000 Yuanmeng warhorses as an ante to tempt the Emperor of Zhou to agree to the gamble.

“I have cultivated the Great Samsara Sense and could sense all the karma and fortune of the world.”

The Gandharva had a smile on her face and said in a sincere tone, “The Eleventh Prince has the rare fortune of a Buddhist Disciple. He is born with natural wisdom and zen. He is worthy of becoming the next successor to the Great Boundless Palace.

“For that reason, I beg of your permission for this gamble to take place.

“If I can best this master from the Heavenly Dragon Temple by chance, I hope to bring the Eleventh Prince along to the great snowy mountain for training and help him learn the ways of Buddhism.

“If I lose, then we will deliver the five thousand elite warhorses within three days.”

Seeing the Gandharva’s sincerity, the Emperor of Zhou was quite reluctant.

He looked over to Zhao Yuan who was seated upright and felt hesitant.

If the Yuanmeng ambassador envoy asked for the Eleventh Prince as a hostage because of the Zhou Kingdom’s loss, he would surely lose his temper and refuse their request despite risking both nations going to war as that would tarnish the dignity of the kingdom.

However, to be the next successor of the Great Boundless Palace was not a humiliating thing.

It was quite the opposite. If Zhao Yuan was truly favored by the Yuanmeng Imperial Preceptor and taken in as a legacy disciple, then he would have the chance to take over the Great Boundless Palace in the future. For the Zhou Kingdom, there were only benefits and no drawbacks.

On one hand, it was for the bigger picture and benefits.

On the other hand was his own child, his family.

The Emperor of Zhou considered for a moment, then stood up slowly and said in a calm tone, “This matter…we will talk about it later.”

A clear bell sound rang within Taiwei Hall.

According to proper etiquette, Marquis Zhao Kai and the princes took their leave first, then followed by the ministers and the Yuanmeng ambassador envoy.

Before they left, the Gandharva’s eyes brightened.

She stared intently at Zhao Yuan with a gentle expression on her face.

“Evil woman!”

The Eleventh Prince scoffed with an icy and gloomy expression.

He had no intention of leaving the Zhou Kingdom to some secluded plains with some monks to study scriptures and be a vegetarian.

That would mean his separation from his brother and never seeing each other again.

The banquet ended and news spread across the imperial city.

The request for a duel from Gandharva of the Great Boundless Palace to the head of Prajna Hall, Master Yuanhui was publicized in a short time!

Although the Emperor of Zhou had yet to give a clear confirmation, the princes, concubines, consorts, eunuchs of the inner court, and others all felt that His Majesty would most likely agree to it.

Even if not taking into account the boost of their military power at the borders with the 5,000 warhorses, just the prospects of being the future master of the Great Boundless Palace, the legacy disciple of Yuanmeng Imperial Preceptor Phags-pa, was sufficient to move the heart of any martial artist.

That was an Innate Grandmaster!

An existence listed on the top five positions of the ranking board!

“I think the luck of the Eleventh Prince is about to change.”

“If he could become the Vajrayana’s Living Buddha in the future and command the various tribes of the plains, then the barbarians of Yuanmeng Empire would no longer dare to invade our borders!”

“That’s right. The Zhou Kingdom will then be at peace and no longer fear any outside threat. It’s wonderful news! His Majesty has no reason to reject!”

Those were the discussions among the ministers.

“Why don’t I have such amazing luck to join the sect of an Innate Grandmaster?!”

“Innate wisdom, the heart of zen, and Buddhist nature! Did the Gandharva appraise wrongly?”

“I’m guessing that father is tempted. However, is the Gandharva from the Great Boundless Palace confident of besting Master Yuanhui from the Heavenly Dragon Temple?”

Those were the thoughts of the princes.

To that matter, people were expectant, in agreement, jealous, suspicious, and various attitudes.

The only thing they had in common was that nobody cared for the feelings of the Eleventh Prince, Zhao Yuan, nor did anyone tried to ask him for his thoughts on the matter.

“Your highness, it’s late. I’m afraid the Tenth Prince has already gone to bed,” said the eunuch holding a lantern before him as he bowed.

“Moreover, only His Majesty’s view matters in this matter. Nothing others say would matter.”

Departing from Taiwei Hall, Zhao Yuan had a blank expression as he quickly walked up to the door of the Eternal Happiness Palace.

In the grand imperial city, only his brother could give him a slight feeling of comfort and warmth.

However, hearing the eunuch’s statement, he could not help but stop in his tracks.

“If I’m unwilling to head to Yuanmeng Empire, Father might not force…” Zhao Yuan mumbled as he looked in the direction of the Hanging Arch Palace.

At the same time, his face showed a hint of doubt and fear, betraying his real feelings.

“Your Highness, your humble servant thinks that this is a good thing.”

The eunuch holding the lantern had been serving the Eleventh Prince since young and was very close to him. He said with a sigh, “Previously, you were troubled all the time because of the Tenth Prince being sent away to the Tong Province to watch the imperial tomb.

“Now that you have an opportunity presenting itself to you, why do you hesitate?”

Zhao Yuan was slightly stunned. He then looked to the plaque of the Eternal Happiness Palace.

The eunuch suggested a plan, “If Your Highness volunteers to head to the Yuanmeng Empire and follow the tutelage of the Imperial Preceptor Phags-pa, you can beg His Majesty to retract his order before you leave and let the Tenth Prince continue staying in the cold palace instead of sending him to the Tong Province. I believe you have a high likelihood of convincing him.

“Moreover, Your Highness claim that you want to be a top-tier expert in the world of martial arts and become an Innate Grandmaster to help the Tenth Prince regain his freedom.

“Who else other than the Yuanmeng Imperial Preceptor Phags-pa would be a better master for you to achieve your goals?”

Zhao Yuan’s hand gripped tightly on the edge of his clothes. His expression kept changing as though he was considering the matter seriously.

“I’ll not be seeing my brother tonight.”

After standing in place for some time, the Eleventh Prince tossed his sleeve as he turned around and left.

His gait was a little unstable as the shadow from his short figure was stretched long by the lantern’s light.