Chapter 3: Secrets (Part 1)

  The eastern capital city of Wangfu is decorated with lanterns and streamers today. It's still early morning, but outside the palace, it's already bustling with carriages and horses. The wealthy merchants, noble families, and royal princes of the Chu dynasty are all enthusiastically greeting each other, bringing gifts and invitations as they enter the palace.

  Today is the coming-of-age ceremony of Qin Yu, the third son of Wang Zhen Dong.

  The Coming of Age ceremony and wedding are almost equally important in the land of LinYong. In comparison, birthdays are not valued as much. When Qin Yu was ten years old, his birthday was only slightly celebrated by some people in the palace, whereas the Coming of Age ceremony is a grand affair with invitations sent far and wide, and even the Emperor of the Chu Kingdom might attend. Eight years ago, when Qin Feng, Qin Yu's older brother, had his Coming of Age ceremony, the Emperor of the Chu Kingdom, Xiang Guang, personally came to congratulate him.

  Early in the morning, Qin Feng, Qin Zheng and Qin Yu, three brothers went to their father's room together to pay their respects. The eldest brother, Qin Feng, was the tallest, with a height of nearly 1.9 meters, always having a cold aura around him, rarely smiling on his face, only when he was with his own brothers would he smile. Qin Zheng and Qin Yu were about the same height, generally average.

  "The son greets his father, the king."

  The three brothers saw Qin De and immediately knelt down on one knee to pay their respects.

  Qin De looked at the three sons in front of him, feeling a sense of comfort. His three sons were all outstanding talents. Eldest son Qin Feng had entered the path of martial arts and not only became a great general of the army but also became a Xiantian expert last year, with his name spreading far and wide. There were only about a hundred Xiantian experts in the entire Chu royal court, and becoming one at the age of 23 was extremely rare.

  The second son, Qin Zheng, is more skilled in politics and other matters than Qin De himself. Nowadays, almost all the major and minor affairs of the three counties in the eastern region are managed by the second son.

  As for the third son Qin Yu...

  Qin De cast his gaze towards Qin Yu, and upon seeing him, Qin De couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in his heart.

  "No matter how hard one cultivates external skills, they can at most reach the pinnacle of acquired mastery, but cannot become a congenital master, and will ultimately be mediocre." Qin De sighed inwardly, thinking that his third son, Qin Yu, no matter how hard he worked, would not have too much achievement.

  "If he can reach the level of Yun Xing, although it's not innate, his attack power can already rival that of an early-stage Innate expert. Unfortunately, to reach that realm, it takes thirty years. Now, Yu Er has only cultivated for eight years and still needs twenty more years."

  Unfortunately, Qin De didn't know that Qin Yu's muscles were absorbing internal energy, and his progress was much faster than Zhao Yun Xing had initially estimated.

  "You get up first." Qin De smiled and looked at Qin Yu, "Yu'er, today is your coming-of-age ceremony, it's a big day in your life. After today, you'll be an adult, and you'll have to face everything on your own."

  "Father King can rest assured." Qin Yu nodded and smiled.

  Facing life alone? Three years ago, Qin Yu had already traveled the world with Hei Ying by himself. With Hei Ying's speed, he had almost toured the entire Chu Wang Dynasty. Having experienced many things, Qin Yu had his own understanding of life.

  "It's good, there are already many guests outside. You all come with me to greet them." Qin De said as he led the way out, followed by his three brothers, Qin Feng, Qin Zheng and Qin Yu.

  On that day, the East Town King's palace was extremely lively. One by one, the royal princes and nobles, as well as wealthy merchants, came to offer congratulations. Of course, these people showed absolute respect in front of the East Town King. There were also two other kings who held power on the same level as the East Town King: the South Town King and the North Town King.

  The King of Zhen Nan, Mu Lan, from the three southern counties came to congratulate in person. The King of Zhen Bei, Shang Guan Hong, from the two northern counties also came to congratulate in person. As for the four western counties which were completely under the control of the imperial family, the Item Family, this time Emperor Item Guang did not come himself but instead sent his younger brother, Item Shuo, to offer congratulations.

  The banquet had set up countless tables, and the number of guests who had arrived was unknown to Qin Yu. However, he did know one thing - the congratulatory gifts they received filled two entire rooms, which gave an idea of how many guests there were. After all, it was the eldest son of the Eastern Town King who was holding his coming-of-age ceremony.

  One day of hustle and bustle, waiting until late at night, all the guests left, but the Wang Fu was very quiet.

  Confined space.

  This secret room was a place Qin Yu had never been to before. It was already past midnight, and there were only five people in the room: Qin De, Qin Feng, Qin Zheng, Qin Yu, and Xu Yuan. Among the five, except for Qin Yu who looked puzzled, the others seemed to know something in their hearts.

  "Everyone, please sit down." Qin De led the way to the master chair and gestured to the others. Qin Yu and the other three also sat down one by one around the long table, Xu Yuan still holding a fan, gave Qin Yu a slight smile.

  "Father, why did you bring me here? What's going on?" Qin Yu asked, still completely in the dark.

  Qin De nodded calmly and said, "Yu'er, you've always been wondering what your father is doing, what plans he's making, haven't you? Indeed, I have many things that I've been keeping from you. Today, now that you're sixteen and an adult, I'll tell you some secrets."

  Qin Yu's eyes lit up instantly.

  He had long known that his father, the king, was making some plans, and he was also puzzled, but Qin De had never told him. Now hearing what his father said, it seemed that there were still many things he didn't know about, and today his father finally decided to tell him.

  "Feather, do you know if there has ever been a dynasty in the history of the Dragon Continent that unified the entire continent?" Qin De asked Qin Yu.

  Qin Yu smiled and said, "Needless to say, in the distant past, the Hidden Dragon Continent was always fragmented. It wasn't until a thousand years ago that the entire continent was unified for the first time. The one who unified the Hidden Dragon Continent was indeed the Qin Dynasty. The great name of Qin Shi Huang's victory still resonates like thunder today. Unfortunately, the Qin Dynasty was too short-lived, and after unifying the continent for only a hundred years, it collapsed and fragmented again. The Qin family was also completely annihilated."

  Qin De nodded slightly and said: "The first secret I'm telling you today is... our Qin family is the direct descendant of Qin Shi Huang!"

  Qin Yu felt as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt on his head, and for a moment, he was stunned.

  After a long time, Qin Yu slowly came to his senses and looked at his father in disbelief. He also looked at his two older brothers and Xu Yuan's uncle, but everyone was staring at him, the meaning in their eyes clear to Qin Yu.

  "Isn't the direct descendant of Qin Shi Huang surnamed Ying?" Qin Yu asked, although he had some feelings in his heart.

  Qin De shook his head and sighed, "The Qin Dynasty has been destroyed, the world is hunting down the Ying family, how can we still dare to be surnamed Ying? Changing our surname to Qin is also a reminder that we must not forget that our ancestors are the First Emperor of Qin. Yu'er, do you know that the traditional skills passed down in my Qin family were originally not called 'Zu Long Jue', but 'Qin Shi Huang Zu Long Jue'. Yu'er, remember, the blood flowing through the veins of the Qin family's children is the same as the First Emperor of Qin." Qin De's eyes emitted a sharp glow.

  The overall situation has begun