Three days later.
A secret message immediately caused a stir throughout the capital city— the two powerful factions, Xu Guozhong and Mingde Hall, had both revealed their support for the Eighth Prince.
Meanwhile, other forces have secretly discovered that more than a dozen Experts with strength surpassing Soul Saint have moved into the Eighth Prince's palace, including one named Titled Douluo!
Clearly, the Eighth Prince has a very powerful force backing him!
The news caused a stir throughout the palace, and all the princes were on the verge of a breakdown.
They worked tirelessly, making countless verbal promises and spending their days either drawing grand promises or on their way to doing so, before finally managing to win over a few scattered small factions...
And that bastard Eighth Prince, he just announced his participation in the competition for the throne, yet so many powerful forces have already chosen to support him.
Moreover, it was with the strong support of Mingde Hall and a prince!
You should know that even back then, Xu Tianran hadn't been able to persuade these two major forces to support him!
What right does that bastard Eighth Prince have?
Everyone racked their brains but couldn't figure out the reason.
...
...
"Bang!"
In the Sixteenth Prince's bedroom, Xu Tian'an, who was usually calm and collected, slapped the Ten Thousand Years sandalwood desk in front of him to pieces, his whole body like a furious Male Lion, his eyes bloodshot.
"Why! Why!! What makes him, a good-for-nothing who just loafs around and waits to die, better than me?!"
"Jing Hongchen and Xu Guozhong are truly blind. Not only did they refuse my invitation, but they actually turned around and supported that trash." Eighth Prince!
"That Trash, he spends all his time eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring, doing absolutely nothing. What's so good about him?!"
Xu Tianan roared angrily, his terrifying aura pressing down on the entire palace. Several maids even died instantly because they could not withstand this terrifying pressure.
The other maids and guards around them all knelt on the ground, trembling.
Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. To outsiders, this "Your Highness" appears to be brave, resourceful, ambitious, and kind to the people.
But only their personal guards and maids knew that Dao, Xu Tianan was an absolute tyrant.
He would often torture and kill his subordinates to vent his anger. These guards and maids had only been there for less than half a month, and were almost all newcomers, because all the veterans had died suddenly...
Some of those maids had only been there for a day or two...
"Your Highness, please calm down. There must be more to this than meets the eye. Besides, Your Majesty is still alive. If your performance can earn Your Majesty's appreciation, there may still be a chance to turn things around."
Beside Xu Tianan, a middle-aged man in a white robe slowly spoke, quickly trying to persuade Dao.
The man in white robes was named Zhao Gao. He was Xu Tian'an's strategist, the head of the think tank, and the eldest son of the Zhao family.
The Zhao family is one of the top ten clans in Mingdu. Originally, they had sided with the Third Prince, but after the Third Prince fell, they set their sights on Xu Tianan, who was the most promising candidate, which can be considered a gamble.
"Then tell me what exactly happened!" Xu Tianan was still furious.
"My guess is that Hall Master Hongchen and the Prince chose the Eighth Prince because of the bloodline in the Eighth Prince's body..."
"After all, everyone knows that Dao, Your Majesty values Bloodline the most, so they've also placed their bets on the Eighth Prince..."
Zhao Gao slowly spoke.
"Bloodline … What's the use of bloodline? Even if a trash like the myna bird is pure bloodline, it's still hopeless!" Upon hearing the word "bloodline," Xu Tianan became even more annoyed.
After all, although he possessed exceptional talent, his royal bloodline purity was among the lowest of all the princes…
Within the royal family, there are two factions: the Talent faction and the Bloodline faction.
The clan members and factions that once supported Third Prince were all from the Bloodline faction, because Third Prince... The inheritance comes from the purest and most authentic Martial Soul of the royal family —the Sun Martial Soul — and has the highest bloodline concentration.
Those who support Xu Tianran belong to the Talent faction.
Although Xu Tianran's royal bloodline purity is not high and he did not inherit the Sun Martial Soul, he has awakened the extremely rare but powerful " Purple Radiant Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon " Martial Soul, which is very rare among royals.
In terms of combat strength alone, Xu Tianran could absolutely crush the Third Prince!
After all, the former Second Prince had the highest bloodline concentration, but he was defeated by Xu Tianran in the battle and his body was never recovered.
Those bloodline factions that originally supported the Second Prince began to switch their support to the Third Prince.
The Third Prince lived up to expectations. Knowing that he was no match for Xu Tianran, he chose to rely on the purity of his bloodline to win over the bloodline faction within the royal family. He also accomplished many things and gained the emperor's great appreciation.
Meanwhile, Xu Tianran secretly rallied other forces, and the two sides were evenly matched.
Unfortunately, both the Third Prince and Xu Tianran died suddenly.
This is what benefited the later princes.
These princes went to great lengths to win over various powerful forces, but they never expected to be betrayed by that trash. Eighth Prince's rise to prominence is incredibly frustrating and infuriating...
"Your Highness, the Eighth Prince is still too much of a threat to us. I suggest we temporarily unite with the other princes and deal with the Eighth Prince …"
Zhao Gao's face gradually turned cold, and he made a throat-slitting gesture.
"I would like to, but Xu Guozhong and Jing Hongchen aren't fools. How could they be completely unprepared?" Xu Tianan frowned, feeling somewhat helpless.
Although many factors influence the struggle for the throne, military strength is undoubtedly the most important.
With the support of Jing Hongchen and Xu Guozhong, it is simply impossible to forcibly eliminate the Eighth Prince by force.
"No matter what, we have to try. We don't necessarily have to kill them outright; we can use other methods. Your Highness, together with the other princes, is an extremely powerful force, so we still have a good chance," Zhao Gao said through gritted teeth.
The Zhao family originally invested in the Third Prince and paid a huge price for it.
But no one expected that the Third Prince would die suddenly and inexplicably, which caused all their previous huge investments to go down the drain.
Now that the Zhao family has turned to investing in Xu Tianan, it can be said that they've risked everything, it's a complete gamble! A desperate gamble!
If successful, the Zhao family will take off.
If Xu Tianan fails in the end, then his Zhao family is finished! Even if they are not wiped out by their enemies, they will be exiled to remote cities, which is no different from being wiped out.
Now is arguably the best opportunity. If they don't take a gamble and wait for Eighth Prince to develop, they will truly have no chance at all.
"Alright, I'll give it a try!" Xu Tianan gritted his teeth and made up his mind to give it a shot!