Soon enough, the presentation ended just like that. The Martial Masters dispersed, returning to their sects, and Rui was finally left alone with a little bit of peace. He had finished the final deadline that he had left. Thus, he was no longer under any pressure of time.

He could fully dedicate himself to the four domain techniques that he had been working on for quite some time.

Yet by the time he returned home, he found an angry Kane waiting for him.

"Rui!" He glared at him. "I know you're responsible for Princess Rafia wanting to marry me."

Rui burst out laughing as his machinations bore fruit successfully. "Stop laughing!" He complained as Rui wheezed, stumbling around. "I know you're responsible for that!"

"Man…" Rui finally gathered himself. "That's fucking hilarious." This belongs to : ©.

Kane massaged his temples, heaving a stressed sigh. "Fae stopped talking to me ever since that happened."

"What?" Rui burst out laughing again. "You have fun with those two. Who knows, maybe you can bag both of them and get a harem."

"Stop laughing!" Kane growled, earning more laughter from Rui. "Good luck," Rui patted his shoulder, laughing as he sky-walked away. He didn't want anything more to do with Princess Rafia. Her presence freaked him out, and he would rather stay the hell away from anything that involved her. Even though he wanted nothing to do with any of them, he knew that, for the things that mattered to him, he needed to make an effort to meet one last prince.

He had already met Princess Raemina, Raijun, Rafia, Ranea, and Rajak.

The only ones he hadn't met were Prince Raul and Prince Randal. Though Prince Randal had certainly interacted with him using a member of the Hawk Faction, the offer to join them was still open.

He had never once interacted with Prince Raul.

This was the final of the seven prime candidates for Emperor and the one that Rui was most hopeful of.

Prince Raul was the most unique of the seven prime candidates, in many ways, including his personality and temperament, according to the foundation information that the Martial Union and the Beggar's Sect, he was truly different.

On paper, he was the weakest candidate for Emperor. He had the least estimated wealth. He had the least number of Martial Artists. He had the least number of resources and general political capital.

Yet, he was deemed by everybody to be an equal competitor for the throne as the others.

Why was that?

The answer was simple. He had the most powerful resource of a nation in absolute control.

Its people.

If there truly was a power bloc that was absolutely vital to the very existence of a nation, it was the people.

The Rafia Consortium, the Kandrian Seafare Association, the Martial Union, the Underworld, the Royal Army, and the Ministries of the government. These were the main six power blocs of the other princes and princesses. The cores of their factions.

Yet they were not absolutely important to the fundamental existence of a nation. Nations existed that didn't have these power blocs.

Yet every existing nation had one thing that defined its existence: its people.

That was what Prince Raul had firmly grasped with his hands. He had the people of Kandria in his hands. Every single common man and woman loved Prince Raul like a member of their family. He truly was the People's Prince.

Rui recalled one incident that the Beggar's Sect and the Martial Union both mentioned in their information packages on Prince Raul.

Eleven years ago, when the Shionel Dungeon had opened up to the rest of the world, the Kandrian Emperor had passed a Royal Bill that would have reduced the subsidies to the agricultural industry to redirect funds to the Shionel Dungeon to procure certain esoterics that were necessary in artifacts and products that were commonly used in the farming industry to allow them to naturally sustain themselves as opposed to relying on bailouts from the government.

Yet, allegedly, Prince Raul disapproved of the legislative decision to remove support for the average farmer.

He decided to act.

With a single command, the farmers across the entire nation gathered and united in a protest and boycott of all agricultural production. The Kandrian Ruffians relied on their treasury, which, while much lower than the other six princes and princesses, was more than enough to sustain the farmers in their boycott of any and all activities.

It was a blatant act of defiance to the Royal Emperor. It could even be considered treachery.

Yet the Royal Emperor was shackled in his ability to act. He could not do something as tyrannical as deploying the army to force the farmers to work against that will; that would be absolutely unprecedented and an even greater sin than Prince Raul's treachery. It would forever lose him any semblance of cooperation with the farmers of the agricultural industry of Kandria.

He could not arrest his own son, either. Prince Raul was not only beloved by everybody and their mother, literally but had also earned the absolute loyalty of many powerful Martial Artists.

Including Sage Farana of the Kandrian Border Patrol Force. The probability that at least some of the Martial Masters and Seniors would defy any legal action against him was high. And if Sage Farana herself decided to disallow his arrest, then it would be an absolute catastrophe. The Kandrian Empire could not allow a conflict between Martial Sages to unfold in the Empire. That was absolutely not tolerable.

He could not do anything to the farmers, he could not do anything to Raijun, he could not do anything to the Kandrian Ruffians that had embedded themselves amongst the people, indistinguishable. The Royal Emperor was forced to rescind the Royal Bill lest the Kandrian Empire be consumed by what was an increasingly intensifying civil conflict. In this manner, Prince Raul had overwhelmed the Royal Emperor himself.

This was why, despite having the least amount of wealth, Martial power, resources, land, and authority. He was feared by the other six candidates for the throne.

Such was the power of Raul Viva Kandria.