"You are right," Princess Shan admitted, closing her eyes with a sigh. "Although I told you the truth, I intentionally omitted some information. I wanted to tell you later, once you became stronger."
"I didn't lie about the Prince. I chose to attend the White Lotus Academy because I didn't want to marry him. Just like you, I thought it would be enough to stop him, but I didn't expect him to be this obsessed. When he learned I was hiding in the White Lotus Academy, he sent me a letter saying I couldn't escape him no matter what. He plans on competing in the Azure Dragon Tournament and using his Golden Wish to force the marriage," Princess Shan explained while sniffing, tears threatening to stream down her cheeks.
Xuefeng felt terrible seeing her cry. He took a risk and canceled his Spirit Shackles, allowing her to sit down and wipe her tears with her sleeve. She looked at him with red eyes, blaming him for making her cry.
"Okay, don't be mad. Calm down and tell me what that Golden Wish is," Xuefeng said in a comforting tone, picking her up and placing her on his lap. Only after he hugged her did she smile again as if she had won a silent battle.
'Ugh, I'm so weak... What would I do if a female opponent suddenly started to cry? Damn, I need to turn my heart to stone. Yeah, next time. Definitely,' he thought as she started explaining.
"Golden Wish is the reward for placing in the top three of the Azure Dragon Tournament. It's organized once every ten years in the Empire Capital, and you can wish for almost anything with it. As long as it's not something ridiculous like 'I want to destroy this country' or 'Kill everyone from X family,' you can have anything. The most popular wish is to marry someone or become a sect head of the top ten sects," Princess Shan explained, placing her head on his shoulder.
"So even the academy can't help you?" Xuefeng asked, recognizing this Golden Wish was quite unfair.
"The White Lotus Academy is just a small power compared to the Azure Dragon Emperor. Normally this tradition wouldn't be popular if not for the fact that only three wishes are given every ten years. Since it happens so rarely, no one dares to complain," Princess Shan said, her body shivering slightly. "There was a situation where a lady refused to be with the winner, but it was either agree or die. She had no choice but to accept him."
"Well, since it's that rare, how sure are you that this prince will win?" Xuefeng asked in a comforting tone. "There are millions of cultivators in the Empire. There must be someone stronger than him."
"He might not be the strongest cultivator, but the rules state that you have to be under 30 years old to take part in the tournament. When it starts, he will still be under 30, and he will probably advance to the Spirit Overlord stage. He is such a battle maniac that his chances of getting into the top three aren't small." When she talked about him, her voice was filled with disgust.
"How long till the tournament starts?" Xuefeng asked calmly.
"It's still 16 months away. I didn't want to leave myself to fate, so I wanted to find someone to help me defeat him. I almost gave up when we came here with Father, but then I saw you awakened Black talent. At first, I just wanted to charm you into helping me, but after you gave me the necklace, I changed my mind. I even gave you my grandma's necklace," she muttered softly, opening his robe to look at the shining golden crystal.
"Wouldn't it have been better if you told me everything earlier?" He asked, speechless, knowing this whole conversation could have been avoided.
"I just didn't want to scare you into rejecting me. After all, the only way to protect me would be to either win the tournament yourself or become a powerhouse that even the Azure Dragon Emperor can't mess with," Princess Shan answered with a pitiful sigh.
Xuefeng let go of her and stood up. He didn't know how he should feel.
'Ling, what do you think?' he asked Ling out of helplessness.
'Well, you will definitely meet a lot of Fate Fragment holders in an event like this. Besides, even if you don't participate, I believe we can easily dominate this region much sooner than that. Don't underestimate the power of a Fate Spirit,' Ling assured.
Xuefeng was doubtful for a second but believed her in the end. If he already had such power as talent-raising and rapid regeneration, he was sure to acquire even more powerful abilities.
"Alright then, I will help you deal with this guy," Xuefeng decided after helping her stand up. "Nothing has changed after all. Only the scale has become bigger."
"Really?" Princess Shan brightened excitedly, running into his arms. "Thank you."
"I just don't like that you hid this fact from me," he sighed as he hugged her.
"If only you could have waited a bit longer, I would have told you everything. You had to pin me to the ground and make me cry," she said, hitting him in the chest and blaming everything on him.
"Oh, so now it's all my fault?" he laughed, finding it funny.
"Of course!" Princess Shan nodded righteously, her confident self back at its peak.
"So are you really leaving in two days?" Xuefeng changed the subject, recalling she would be leaving soon.
"Actually, I only wanted to stay two more days to find a chance to tell you the truth. Now that you know everything, I can return faster. I will visit you before I depart to join the academy," she decided.
"So soon?" he asked, surprised. He wasn't that mad at her, so he wouldn't mind if she stayed longer.
"I already stayed for a long time. I want to spend some time with my mother before I leave her," she answered honestly.
"Oh, I understand." He would do the same in her place.
"Then I will take a bath, change my clothes, and we will meet outside." She kissed him lightly before leaving the training room.
"Eh, this is getting more and more complicated. At least Wuying doesn't want me to defeat anyone." Xuefeng sighed, finding the whole situation troublesome.
"What about me?" Wuying asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.
"Ah, it's nothing. How did the meeting go?" She had informed him earlier that she had a meeting with Shadow Guard members and would be late for training.
"Quite good. I have good news. We will cancel today's training. You should keep your strength as we are going on a mission tomorrow," Wuying said without beating around the bush.