As soon his father emperor made this declaration, almost everyone within the hall had a joyful expression on their faces except for Shad.

At this moment, the gazes of crowd shifted over to Shad's directions. The Adult rite of passage was something that each of them has gone through, even the Emperor himself.

There was no discrimination between poor and rich, nobles or commoners when it comes to this tradition. they all had gone through it. The only way to escape that tradition was only if you had the power to magically change yourself into a woman.

Usually, people from the noble families arranged and rigged that kind of fight by sending one of their guards to challenged their young master. As such, the guards pretended to be beaten by the young master and praised his young master's manliness and might.

This kind of underhanded tricks was even orchestrated by some royal and imperial families as well because it would a shame to let their young princes get beaten black and blue in front of a bunch of high-rank nobles.

Furthermore, not anyone would dare to challenge the authority of an imperial family. As such, even if someone challenged them, they would purposely lose the fight to give the imperial family some face and get on their good side.

While Shad was waiting for his first challenge, there was this youth that caught his attention.

The youth was standing from his far left and behind him were five other young men of similar ages. This youth was very handsome and his body emanated an extraordinary air.

He casually stood there with a smile plastered on his face as he was looking at Shad. His demeanor did not lose out to his big brother the Crown prince in the slightest, giving people the feeling that this person was also of high status and power.

" This person is the 3rd prince of the Nicholas Empire, Klaus Nicholas, one of the Trio Prides of the Nicholas Empire. His authority in the Nicholas Empire did not lose out that of our big brother's in the Djage Empire despite not being the crown prince."

" The people standing behind him were none other than the most talented elites of the Nicholas Empire that pledge allegiance to him." As Shad looked back, he saw Theodore, his second brother. Theodore seemed to have seen the way that Klaus was looking at Shad and quickly came to find him and explained some stuff to him. He knew that Shad never go out of the capital or came in contact with anyone from the other powers outside the imperial capital, so he decided to enlighten him. this little brother of his was like an old hermit.

" What is he doing here," asked Shad nonchalantly.

" He is the envoy sent by the Nicholas Empire to attend your coming of age ceremony, and from the looks of it, it seemed like he planned on making things difficult for you," answered Theodore with a look of worry on his face.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

" But I don't know him nor have any grievance with him."

" Well, after today you will officially be an adult, as such father will probably send you to one of the affiliated kingdoms of the Empire to act as an emissary and protect the interest of the empire. I was sent to the Sky kingdom while big brother to the Enzo, the rest of the affiliated kingdoms already have someone presided over them, the only one left was the Mulan Kingdom which the 3rd prince is trying to conquer, and you my brother will be one his obstacle as father emperor will most likely send you there even if you have no intention of ascending the throne."

Listening to his second brother, Shad had a vague understanding of the situations. The Mulan kingdom was in between the two empires and not too long ago the Royal family had surrendered to the Djage Empire, and not everyone within the kingdom was happy about that. the Mulan kingdom used to be a neutral kingdom but as things changed and the future looked grim, they have decided to find a backer and they chose the Djage Empire which upset the people from the Nicholas Empire.

" Anyway, careful little brother because I am pretty sure he is going to try to use you as a stepping stone in his quest for power and show the superiority of his empire by beating our number one junior mage in front of his own people." Said, Theodore, before he left.

Shad was as calm as before. Aside from Theodore, everyone single guest in the room had already seen the way the 3rd prince of the Nicholas Empire was looking at Shad. Unlike Shad, they clearly had an idea who the 3rd prince was as well his ambitions to conquer the Mulan kingdom. From the moment he had entered the room, he had his eyes on Shad like he was his prey. From that moment, the people attending the party knew that he was going to make things difficult for him when the times come.

In the next moment, Klaus shook his head to of the young man behind him which in turn walked towards Shad.

" My name is Locke, and I am from the Christopher family in the In the Nicholas Empire. I have long heard about the tales of the 4th prince of the Djage Empire, It would be an honor for me if I can cross some magic spells with you." said the young man with a slight smile on his face, locking his gaze with Shad.

At this moment, everyone shifted their gazes towards Shad, waiting for his answer, including the Emperor.

Shad was known for his rebellious attitude and cunning way. he was not someone that likes to fight for fun unless it was necessary. Some of them even think that Shad won't fight or even go through this kind of tradition because he was someone that did not care about reputation or someone's approval, Even this father's eyes was concentrated on him.

He knew that his Grand-Father told him to let Shad grow up on his own pace and not force him to do things he doesn't like. Which means, even if he refused to fight he won't be able to force him to follow this tradition unless his old man agreed to.

"Sure, my name is Shad, nice to meet you." He said as he raised his hands to give him a handshake.

Everyone was surprised, since when the 4th prince was so cordial with others especially when it comes to a duel. they have heard about his tales in the battle magic assessment, about how he had thrown his opponents in the air, some of them believed it while others had some doubts. However, tonight might the night when they witnessed the 4th prince prowess with their own eyes.

However, the next moment they almost felt down on the ground out of anger, including the emperor because as soon the Locke shook Shad's hand, he was lying down on the ground with smoke coming out from his clothes.

They don't know when but Shad had already zapped him with a lightning spell as soon as their hands made contact. they did not see him chant any incantation or seen any magic circle, but the Locke was on the ground in pain and traces of electric sparks can be been coiling around in his clothes.

" I won the first match, so who's next," said Shad as he broke the deadly silence within the Hall.