Chapter 394: Where It Began, Where It Will End
The news of Wuguan's fall first reached the Xingluo royal court, then spread like a storm across the entire continent.
In Xingluo City—the ancient capital standing for thousands of years—unrest began to stir.
"I never would have guessed. The Fourth Prince, once forbidden to even be mentioned by the royal family, has come back for revenge. Ha! How amusing! The mighty Xingluo royal family, slapped in the face by someone they once considered nothing but a bug."
"The Xingluo royals have ruled with such arrogance for so long. But this is their family feud. We'll sit back and watch the show and see how humiliated they get!"
"This Fourth Prince—call it loyalty, or call it foolishness—has actually come back to save Prince Hengyu. From what I know, he's talented enough to be a top-tier spirit master one day. If he'd waited, vengeance would've been within his grasp. But this… this is suicide."
"Maybe, but don't be so sure. The Spirit Hall is backing him in secret. Who knows which way this will go?"
Dai Yao's assault on Wuguan, openly challenging the Xingluo royalty, shocked the people of the Xingluo Empire. The prince who once fled like a stray dog had returned with his followers, not only to rescue his uncle but to claim vengeance.
Under Xingluo's long-standing rule of dominance, the people—nobles and commoners alike—had dared not show their dissatisfaction. Now, with the Spirit Hall fanning the flames, many factions chose to watch the events unfold in silence. Though they doubted Dai Yao's chances against the royal family, they relished the thought of the royals suffering a blow to their pride.
Only the emperor's close forces, his guards, and their longtime allies in the Zhu family truly stood with the royal family. As tensions mounted, Xingluo City became a place where shadows and whispers reigned.
In the palace's rear wing, the empress sat alone before her mirror. Once vibrant with youth, her beauty now bore the traces of time—fine lines creasing at the corners of her eyes.
"Bai Su, Bai Su… I've truly lost to you. Years ago, you stole Heng Tian's heart. And now, my own son can't even measure up to yours!"
Heng Tian—Xingluo Emperor Dai Hengtian's true name—was once her childhood betrothed, and she'd expected him to be hers alone. But a commoner girl had stolen his heart.
Seething, she thought she glimpsed Bai Su's ghostly reflection in the mirror—a stunning, gentle smile framed by silken hair. To her, that serene image was an unbearable taunt, a reminder that every effort she'd made had been in vain.
With a scream, she hurled a small wooden box at the mirror, shattering the glass into shards that scattered across the floor.
The empress gasped for air, staring at the fragmented pieces.
"Your Majesty! Are you alright?" A maid's concerned voice called from outside.
"Get out!" she shrieked, her voice trembling with fury. Silence returned to the hall, but her heart remained a storm of bitterness and pain.
She had been born to be his partner, raised beside him since childhood, yet his love was stolen by a nobody. Despite every tactic she employed, Dai Hengtian's heart never returned to her.
Highborn and proud, she couldn't accept her defeat. But when she ascended as empress, she had her revenge, sending assassins to eliminate Bai Su during childbirth.
But Dai Yao survived. Determined to ensure her son's superiority, she allowed Dai Yao to live but subjected him to endless suffering in the Cold Palace. With no powerful maternal family to back him, Dai Yao was at her mercy, tormented by eunuchs and servants loyal to her.
And Bai Su's bloodline? An impure Fire Fox spirit, unworthy of the White Tiger lineage. She convinced herself that Dai Yao's spirit awakening would prove her son's victory once and for all.
Yet fate defied her. Dai Yao awakened the Sacred White Tiger, an evolved version of the family's own White Tiger spirit, and bested her son Dai Mubai. She dismissed it as a fluke until he defeated her second son, Dai Yaming, and she had to face the truth: Dai Yao was a prodigy beyond her control.
Her hope was that her eldest, Dai Weisi, might finally surpass Dai Yao. But in the Continental Spirit Master Tournament, Dai Yao shattered that illusion, defeating Weisi despite a twelve-year age gap.
The day she learned of her eldest's loss, she shut herself away for three months.
She could no longer deny it—she'd lost not only to Bai Su but to Bai Su's son as well.
"If you dare come back, I'll make sure you never leave! With the Zhu family's help, you'll have no escape," she snarled under her breath.
As Dai Yao's return reverberated through the empire, his message reached even the farthest corners of Xingluo.
In his quarters, Dai Mubai gazed at the letter in his hand, emotions stirring within him. The autumn wind chilled him, its bite a reminder of the coming winter. Outside his window, he watched the yellowing leaves of an ancient tree fall and muttered, "The days grow colder… Dai Yao, you've returned once again."
Years of political intrigue had softened his once-bold features, eroding his defiant spirit as he navigated the endless schemes and rivalries of the court.
After a moment's reflection, he called for his servants to prepare food and wine. Then, without escort, he carried the offerings toward the Cold Palace.
In the Cold Palace
The air in the Cold Palace was dense with silence, broken only by the faint sound of footsteps as Dai Mubai approached. The palace walls were covered with moss, and cobwebs clung to every corner, a place abandoned and forgotten.
Inside, an older man sat alone, his head bowed and his spirit defeated. Once the Crown Prince of Xingluo, he now lived as a prisoner in these cold, empty halls.
Hearing footsteps, the man raised his head, a flicker of surprise in his eyes as Dai Mubai entered.
"Brother?" he asked, disbelief coloring his voice.
Dai Mubai said nothing at first, setting the food and wine before him. Then, with a soft sigh, he poured them both a drink, the amber liquid filling their cups.
"I never imagined… you would be back, Dai Yao," he whispered, gazing at his elder brother. "The boy once cast out… now stands at our gates."
The two sat in silence, a shared understanding lingering between them, each reflecting on the choices that had brought them to this point.
Outside the Cold Palace, crows cried mournfully, adding an eerie, desolate touch to the place's silence. Two guards stood idly by, bored and inattentive.
Seeing Dai Mubai approach, the guards snapped to attention, cold sweat beading on their foreheads—if the Crown Prince saw them lazing around, they might lose their lives. But Dai Mubai merely waved them off and paused in front of the gate, staring at the peeling red paint on the door. After a moment's hesitation, he raised his hand and knocked.
The Cold Palace seemed like an aged elder, slow to respond. Finally, a hoarse yet eager voice came from within, "Come in."
The door creaked open, revealing a man with disheveled golden hair and a face so dirty that no trace of the once-handsome eldest prince remained. His gaze, once proud, was now marked by a faint madness.
Seeing Dai Mubai, Dai Weisi froze, his solitude shattered in an instant. He had counted every weed in this courtyard over the years, and though his face showed anger, his crazed eyes turned icy cold as his hatred for Dai Mubai brought him back to lucidity.
"You've come to laugh at me?" Dai Weisi asked, his voice low and venomous, his gaze fixed on Dai Mubai.
Without a word, Dai Mubai looked around, found the small pavilion where Dai Weisi rested, and quietly set out the food and drink he'd brought on the stone table. "Sit down."
Dai Weisi looked at him in confusion, unsure what scheme Dai Mubai was playing. With a scowl, he followed him to the pavilion, slammed a palm on the table, and shouted, "What are you trying to do, Dai Mubai?! You took everything from me—my title, my life! Why do you need to come here and humiliate me too?"
Dai Mubai poured him a drink, unaffected by the outburst.
In the years before Dai Yao's spirit had awakened, Dai Mubai had endured years of suppression under Dai Weisi. As royal brothers, they were each other's most bitter rivals, locked in a feud without end.
But now, Dai Mubai felt no satisfaction in his victory. He knew that their enmity was born from the family's customs, and his rise to the title of Crown Prince was only thanks to Dai Yao. Without Dai Yao's intervention, he would have likely died by Dai Weisi's hand years ago.
"Dai Yao has returned," Dai Mubai said quietly. "He's back to settle his score with the family."
Dai Weisi's eyes widened, then he laughed—a bitter, broken sound. He downed his drink, feeling the burn in his throat, and began to laugh even harder, as if something in him had cracked. "So, the boy has the guts. He may have beaten me back then, but now he dares to challenge the whole clan. I admire him! I'd never even dare to dream of something like that."
Dai Mubai was silent. This was the very reason he too respected Dai Yao. While he and Dai Weisi had accepted their fate, locked in the family's power struggles, Dai Yao had rejected the family's constraints, turning against them and returning now to claim his revenge.
Dai Weisi laughed until tears filled his eyes. Dai Yao's victory had cost him everything—the title of Crown Prince, his mother's favor, and the woman he loved, Zhu Yun.
He quieted, then glared at Dai Mubai with bloodshot eyes. "Is that all? You came just to tell me this?"
Dai Mubai took a sip of wine, hesitating before answering, "Because there's no one else I could tell."
Dai Weisi stared at him, momentarily thrown off. In Dai Mubai's troubled gaze, he saw a shadow of his former self. When he'd held the title of Crown Prince, he'd never truly understood the world. Only after losing his status had he come to realize how isolating his position had been.
Now, Dai Mubai was facing the same crushing loneliness, a prince with no ally to share his burdens. The only one he could talk to was the very man who once sought to kill him.
After a pause, Dai Weisi laughed, a cold, weary sound. "Alright, Mubai, enough of this. Don't linger here—spend too much time with me, and you'll attract unwanted attention. Go. I didn't think that before my death, the only one who'd visit me would be you."
Dai Mubai looked up at him, his voice trembling. "B-Brother…"
Dai Weisi gave him a hollow smile. "Go on. We didn't get the chance to be brothers this lifetime. Perhaps we will in the next."
Dai Mubai knew he had to leave. He was the Crown Prince now, and his every move was closely watched. He himself had banished Dai Weisi to the Cold Palace. Many of Dai Weisi's former supporters were still lurking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike. Either Dai Weisi would die, or he would.
One day soon, Dai Mubai would have to kill him with his own hands.
Just before leaving, he paused. "What about Dai Yaming?"
Dai Yaming had been banished to the Cold Palace along with Dai Weisi.
Dai Weisi's face softened into a look of sorrowful nostalgia. "He's lying in bed most of the time now, but Zhuyue, that foolish girl, takes care of him every day. After losing his arm to Dai Yao all those years ago, his health declined. I doubt he'll last through this winter."
Dai Mubai fell silent, then turned and left the desolate place, closing the door behind him.
As word of Dai Yao's return spread, eyes turned toward Xingluo from all across the continent.
Tang San, preparing for his wedding in the Heaven Dou Empire; Bibi Dong, high in the Spirit Hall; the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in Hanhai City; and even the spirit beast forces within the Star Dou Forest—all watched Xingluo Empire, awaiting any change in Xingluo City.
In the midst of it all, Dai Yao finally arrived at Xingluo City.
An unseasonal cold snap gripped the empire, and as if welcoming Dai Yao's arrival, snow began to fall over Xingluo. The city lay blanketed in pure white, beautiful yet bitter, stirring memories in Dai Yao of his difficult past.
Looking at Xingluo City through the falling snow, Dai Yao exhaled a long breath, his breath forming a cloud in the cold air. He thought silently to himself:
"Winter again… I return to Xingluo once more. It all began here. Now, it ends here."
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Canserbero10