Dedian Umbrae heard the Emberhart lady's moans as he stood outside the royal hall. He had been waiting for the past half hour, and it seemed the lady was putting up quite a resistance. 'With father's skills, it's impressive she could hold it for so long. Dammit, I hope he would not break her completely!'
Of course, he didn't believe that by any chance his father had been enjoying the sex; he never did, and it pissed Dedian to his core.
Calming the rage building in his heart, Dedian let out a long sigh and asked with a forced smile as he turned to the two other figures waiting beside him.
"Why am I not the one who is dual cultivating with her? Would you care to explain, Grand Eunuch Herald?"
"Wasn't it me who personally visited the Island and took care of the Emberhart family?"
One of them was a bald man in white robes that seemed to shine too much. His face was full of wrinkles, but the shrewdness in his eyes still radiated out somehow. His hands had been crossed in front of his belly, and his gaze was fixed on the sky as if the intense sex inside the hall didn't affect him at all.
The other one was a bright orange-haired boy, crouching on the ground with his head buried inside his arms. With his ears pressed tightly by his arms, it was clear the boy was trying his best not to hear the moans coming from inside the hall.
Listening to Dedian, the bald eunuch named Herald replied without turning his head, "Ah, the urges of youth. I know it can be difficult, but have control over yourself, my prince; when the time comes, you may hate sex as much as your father!"
His voice had a tinge of mockery in it, and it pissed Dedian off, but he made sure not to show it in his demeanor.
Dedian chuckled lightly and responded while taking a glance at Herald's crotch: "You know the urges…How? You don't even have a dick!"
To Dedian's surprise, a reputed figure like Herald, who wrote most of the laws governing the human territory, shamelessly moved a hand to stroke the barren land between his legs and replied, "And I am quite content with it, you know, my prince!"
Then the bald man grinned and said, "Perhaps you should try it too, once it gets chopped off... "The world just changes."
Looking at the passion on Herald's face, Dedian couldn't help but cross his legs a little.
Knowing the reputation of this bald man dubbed the 'Dickless demon', Dedian knew he couldn't lower his guard.
"I am serious, Herald!" He blurted out.
Herald acted disappointed and replied with a pout, "No one, not even the son of the emperor, is allowed to perform dual cultivation unless the tournament begins."
Of course, Dedian knew it. It was the first thing his mother taught him. Never perform that infamous technique until the tournament begins.
Dedian clicked his tongue. "I wouldn't have performed dual cultivation; at least let me taste her, you know."
Herald shrugged. "Ask your father for it; maybe he would agree."
"Please stop you all!" Suddenly, the boy crouching on the ground wailed as he turned to look at Dedian.
His eyes were swollen from endless crying, but a soft face was still visible beneath the tears.
"She is my mother!" The boy cried out and tried to attack Dedian, but before he could, Herald made him sit back with a light push of his hand.
Dedian studied the boy and frowned. "And why is this little pimp alive? Shouldn't all Emberharts be dead?"
This boy was the son of the Emberhart lady, and surprisingly, Dedian had received a direct message from the Grand Eunuch to not kill this child.
"He inherited his mother's spell; it would be a loss to kill such a precious child, don't you think, my prince?" Herald said while stroking the boy's hair, who had again tried to stand up, making him fall on his butt again.
Dedian knew of the spell. It took him quite a while to deal with his mother.
Apparently, the Emberharts' bloodline abilities could only control the mass that had been lit aflame and move it around, but somehow the bloodline had shown a diversion, and she had been born with a new spell.
She didn't need an existing mass; she could literally produce raining meteors from thin air.
In fact, if not for the fact that the Emberharts had decided to collude with demons and force humans to wage war on them, the power would most likely have been hidden from his father.
This was another unbreakable law in the empire.
"If a new ability is found in any generation of a bloodline, the said woman would have to share it with the emperor through dual cultivation."
A law proposed by the Grand Eunuch himself.
Dedian's frown deepened. "Are you implying treason to humans is justifiable as long as you have a rare bloodline?"
"Then maybe I should marry one of the famous succubi, the demon princesses. Don't you think, I am sure I would still be fine, wouldn't I?"
"If you did that, perhaps even your mother, the empress, won't be able to save you from the judgment, my prince," Herald replied.
"Don't tell me you eunuchs have something planned?" Dedian pressed on.
Herald tilted his head and asked, "Are you accusing me of treason?"
"Maybe, after all, no one in the city trusts the army of your baldies…"
Dedian came to a sudden halt and turned to look into the hall. The voices had quieted down.
Suddenly, Dedian felt goosebumps all over his body as light tremors ran through the ground.
Then a figure exited the hall. His body was completely covered in a golden cloak, and only a face with endlessly shifting features was visible.
"Your Highness!" The herald bowed lightly and looked up at Emperor Vale.
Meanwhile, Dedian clicked his tongue and said, "Tch, there it is, the bored look on your face as if you haven't fucked one of the most beautiful women on the continent!"
Hearing Dedian, Vale turned to him and said, "I heard about your excellent performance on Flame Island."
"It seems I was right to trust you on this matter!".
"Hahaha that…!" For a moment, Dedian blushed because of the rare compliment from his father, but soon he put on a serious face.
He took a quick glance inside the golden hall and said, "Well, it's my duty, and perhaps you could reward me with your leftovers…!"
Vale raised his eyebrows, pretending to decipher his intentions, and soon gasped, "Oh, you mean the Emberhart lady? Forgive me, son; you should have informed me earlier if you liked her, don't you think?"
As he said so, Vale pulled out the orange-haired head from the thin hair and tossed it to Herald.
Looking at the decapitated head, Dedian's jaw almost dropped to the floor. "You killed her!"
"Nothing we can do about it now," Vale shrugged.
Then, turning to look at Herald, Vale ordered, "Hang it on the royal gates; let everyone see the consequence of treason!"
"As you wish!" Herald bowed again.
"Mother....!" The orange-haired boy screamed and wanted to jump towards the head, but another hard push from Herald made him sit back on the floor.
Vale glanced at the boy and muttered, "The Emberhart boy..."
"He has the spell... "I thought he could be of some help," Herald commented.
"I will kill you!" Suddenly, the boy screamed, hatred laced in his eyes.
"You bastards, you killed all of them... mom, dad, grandma, waaaaaa." As he said so, the boy broke into horrible wails that echoed throughout the royal hall.
Vale studied the boy for a while, then ordered calmly, "Turn him into an eunuch…let him join your faction."
Listening to Vale, Herald froze for a few seconds; a barely noticeable glint flashed across his eyes, then he bowed a little more than usual and said, "As you wish!"
The boy didn't quite understand what Vale meant and was lost in grief; he could only cry his heart out.
But Dedian, on the other hand, couldn't care less.
Frantically shaking his head, he asked with a horrified expression, "But... but father... how can you do this to me... I worked so hard... You know how annoying their power is, don't you…yet you still didn't consider it for once…."
"I have already promised you a befitting reward, didn't I?" Vale questioned back.
Dadian shook his head and replied with a sigh, "You did, but I would have to wait for the tournament to start to enjoy it, and who knows how many years it would take for you to start it, and I….."
"I have decided to start the tournament," Vale commented, cutting Dedian off completely.
Listening to Vale, Dedan didn't understand the words for a moment, but when he did, a rush of excitement shot through his whole body.
"What did you say... tournament...at long last?"Not able to control his emotions, Dedian laughed out loud like an idiot.
Meanwhile, Herald broke out in a cold sweat. "Your Highness, so soon, there haven't been any arrangements... So much needs to be done…how?"
"That's up to you, Grand Eunuch!" Vake replied and suddenly joined his hands in front of his chest.
"Haha…it's happening right now!" Dedian almost cried out, whereas Herald rubbed his temples in frustration.
Almost immediately, an invisible aura spread from Vale's figure and extended outward to every corner of the human continent.
On that day, every human male, be it a commoner, noble, or royal, between the ages of 18 and 24, felt a few golden words flash before their eyes.
[You have been selected as a candidate for the Tournament of Madness.]