Feet anchored in wet sand, robe bellowing in the mist-shrouded seashore wind, Shiyuan took in the primary outcome of the battle with deep interest.

Of the group of eight nobles, all three of the water spirit sorcerers had been grievously injured. One of them was even missing his whole right arm. If healing magic didn’t reach them soon, they'd not survive the wounds.

The earth spirit sorcerer and the law spirit sorcerer were barely clinging onto the edge of consciousness. They had taken two of Bai Longxia's strongest moves head on. Shiyuan was more amazed that none of them had been blown into smithereens.

He didn’t know what kind of abilities the other three nobles had. One of them had long fled the zone of combat, now occupying the small boat they had travelled over with. Beside Shiyuan, the old man and the remaining noble were standing in defensive, jittery stances.

“Your highness," the old noble spoke through gritted teeth, “if the king's blood didn't run through your vessels, I'd certainly entertain you with my killing blows. But none of us here want to spill royal blood. So why don't we both back off a bit-”

“I know you don't have the guts, Marquis Shang. That's why I'm being so bold!” Bai Longxia said, grinning maliciously. The old man sighed in exasperation and waved a hand at the ocean quickly, signalling something.

Immediately, the ‘player’ Shiyuan had been the most wary about till now made his presence known. Bai Longxia's brother, the third prince, roared once more from the cruise ship with his magically magnified voice.

“Royal Sister Bai, for every man of mine you kill, my army will cut off one wing of your Phoenix Palace. Don't forget whose territory you left it hovering on!”

The threat didn’t really seem to land, not that Shiyuan expected it to. It was evident that Bai Longxia didn’t have a flexible, compromising character. The lack of weaknesses on her to exploit was a glaring issue here.

Shiyuan couldn’t help but be impressed. She seemed invulnerable. A dragon with no reverse scale was a force to be reckoned with! Not bad as a friend, but too troublesome as a foe.

Bai Longxia stared at the ship with hawkish eyes for a moment, and then turned to look at her own warship, which had been silently circling the island the whole time, cutting through the mist like a shark's fin on ocean's surface.

As if responding to her gaze, the moat-shaped ship suddenly veered away from its trajectory and glided over their heads, heading right towards the distant cruiser.

“Oh, come on, you can't be serious!” the old man threw his hands over his head in frustration. “Are you going to start an all out war between sector 4 and sector 1? Over him?!"

He jabbed a finger at Shiyuan, who was intently watching the two ships, hoping for a battle on an even bigger scale. Indeed, between two parties in a fight, the victor is always a third man. It didn’t matter to Shiyuan who won or lost in this violent encounter. The more damage they incurred, the more value they would place on the object of their dispute, and this object was Shiyuan himself.

His ticket back to human civilization was already a certainty!

“I'm not just fighting over him." Bai Longxia's voice was mechanical. “This is to teach you a lesson that your long life has failed to impart. You have no room to complain after poking your nose into my Bai Clan's private matters and forcing my hands.”

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“Private matters? Hah!” The old noble surnamed Shang barked out a wooden laugh. “Extracting the Royal Preceptor is your clan's private matter? What's next? Is the royal treasury your clan's private funding space? Is the king's throne your clan's private property? Ridiculous!”

Shiyuan was impressed once again. Bai Longxia's fearlessness clearly stemmed from her invulnerability. But what about Marquis Shang? The third prince couldn’t save him from half a kilometer away if Bai Longxia snapped.

“Royal Sister Bai, a war between us will doom your people, don't forget! First Brother will not hesitate to assist me in conquering your sector! And did I just hear you call your sneaky little mission a matter private to your clan? Do you have any actual explanation for such a claim?"

The third prince seemed to be able to hear the contents of the conversation between the two parties. The revelation immediately cast a shadow of doubt on Shiyuan's assumption that he had no way to stop Bai Longxia from that distant boat.

What ability did the third prince have? An air spirit sorcerer? Or did he have access to some esoteric law spirit?

Bai Longxia, meanwhile, wore a hesitant look for the first time since the beginning of the altercation, a detail that didn’t escape Shiyuan's notice.

So the dragon did have a reverse scale. It was the safety of her people! The third prince was not a simple opponent!

Shiyuan had seen enough. It was time to make a stand and enjoy the extra benefit of gratitude. Miss Longxia's character was too extreme for him to feel safe around her. But her observation was sound. He'd rather follow a powerful beauty than these nobles, even if both parties had a similarly rotten heart.

“Gentlemen,” he said, turning towards Marquis Shang and the faraway cruiser, “Let me repeat myself. I am not the royal preceptor. This whole battle began because you believed my claim and assumed that you could snatch me away by force. Princess Bai Longxia and I have already formed an agreement to work together. So you are indeed encroaching on the private matters of the Bai Clan.”

If Bai Longxia had gotten the hint that he was testing her, she'd realize now that she had passed the test. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed her stiff face suddenly light up in relief. The relaxed look suited her oddly well.

“The Preceptor has been exiled here for so long! Who wouldn't doubt that he'd lie to escape? Without proof, you can't expect us-”

Shiyuan raised a hand to stop the furious tirade of the old Marquis. “If the second prince needs proof, I can accommodate his wish. If you go to the center of the island, you will find a grave behind an old hut. Both belong to the same man. Your exiled preceptor has been dead for quite some time, years before I arrived on this island, at least."

Bai Longxia, Marquis Shang, and even the groaning, injured nobles froze for a moment. Had this revelation come a minute earlier, none of this chaos would have taken place. Shiyuan could almost hear the litany of silent insults being thrown his way, judging by the dirty looks from every direction.

“...He speaks the truth, it seems." The third prince's sonorous voice floated over the island, thoughtful and disheartened at the same time. The fact that he had been able to verify Shiyuan's claim within seconds alarmed him again.

What exactly was his path of power? What kind of spirit did he command?

“Good to hear," Bai Longxia remarked, having recovered from the shocking news faster than the others. “If you want to continue fighting, I can now accuse you of starting a war. So what is your decision going to be?”

Her warship was now face-to-face with the prince's cruiser. Faintly, Shiyuan could see him retreating from the low deck for safety. He must have sent some secret order to the nobles on the island, because all of the conscious ones sighed at the same time.

“We'll retreat for now, your highness,” Marquis Shang said, a cunning glint flashing in his eyes. It would be considered dishonorable for the prince to admit defeat on his own. No wonder he had ordered his men to speak in his stead!

“But you, young man... I advise you to be a little more cautious with your appearance and words. Do something to hide the Oracle's mark from your eye. And don't let a misunderstanding grow into a fight like this when you can dissolve it.”

“I have learnt from the Marquis." Shiyuan performed a standard scholar's salute, feeling a little surprised that the man would be so sincere. Did he make a mistake just now by siding with the princess?

A derisive snort came from behind. “Don't be so shocked, Shiyuan,” the Princess said as she walked over and stood beside him. “The Marquis just wants to ensure that no one other than his faction comes to learn about your existence. That reduces the future competition for him.”

Shiyuan didn’t mind Marquis Shang's small scheme, despite her dismissive tone. The motive of his advice might be selfish, but the advice was nonetheless good for him.

“Speaking of competition, I don't suppose I can tempt you out of the agreement with the Princess, can I? What did she promise you for your service, master Shiyuan? The third prince would be willing to pay ten times more!”

Marquis Shang's aged face now carried a mischievous smile. It didn’t suit his status, not at all. He was speaking to Shiyuan, but his eyes were tracking Bai Longxia's countenance, hoping to see how she would react.

Feeling a little insulted, Shiyuan said, “The princess promised her hand to me in marriage. So if the third prince can convince ten stunning, powerful ladies from the royal descent to marry me, I will consider your offer seriously!”

He expected both the Marquis and the Princess to be offended by his reckless answer. Marquis Shang did look scandalized, but he didn't expect that Bai Longxia would lock arms with him, face the shocked old man boldly, and say, “That's right. Now, if you will excuse us, Marquis, we'll be leaving. We have a grand wedding to plan.”