While Wen Qinxi was making his way to the capital, Qie Ranzhe had already been in the capital for a full fortnight and sent word for Machu to join him leaving Shuen in charge of the shelter. It still angered him when he thought of Lin Jingxie being with Lee Jienjie fighting off the urge to go look for him. He held back because it was better to let the prey come to him as he would have an unrivalled home ground advantage with the guild as his backing. Confronting Lin Jingxie in his home town wouldn't be favourable to him as that was the Lin family's territory.
He silently endured counting down to the day of the imperial exam. To pass the time, he trained non stop with other guild members in the arena. Whenever he showed his face at the training grounds, trainees felt like climbing over the wall and run away as his training session was not only long but hard leaving the unlucky opponent sprawled on the ground unable to move a single finger each time.
Today was such a day were Qie Ranzhe was harassing an unfortunate victim in the arena. He was fully engaged in hand to hand combat with the fourth-ranked guild member that he didn't notice a group of men approaching the stands looking down into the arena.
Among the group was a man dressed in golden robes embroidered with a red dragon on the back. His garments were of the finest quality demanding respect where ever he went. This person was none other than Emperor Qie himself. Behind him was a young man dressed in sophisticated navy blue robes and silver hand braces with his fresh face exuding aristocracy. It could only be Prince Anzhie.
The father and son pair were conversing miscellaneous matters with Old Chen. Initially, Prince Anzhie wasn't meant to be there but after hearing his father constantly rave about this heroic guild member, he just had to take a look. Ye Lang guild was the emperor's personal stronghold loyal only to the dragon throne. As long as one had the support of Ye Lang guild they could stay in power no matter what. So he naturally had to be in good books with this old fart if he wanted to be emperor in the future.
Prince Anzhie knew Old Chen never liked him so he hoped to get close to his successor. If something unfortunate was to happen to the old fart this second in command would naturally take over. This prompted Qie Anzhie to befriend this person. As soon as they reached the arena both Prince Anzhie and Emperor Qie were stunned to see a young man barely out his teens. Seeing his not so impressive fighting skills, Prince Anzhie scowled asking, "This is the second-ranked mercenary in the guild? His skills are not as impressive as rumoured," he said pointing at the arena.
The Grandmaster didn't bother looking at the Prince saying, "This merely a friendly match, he is giving Fourth some tips. Would his highness like to give it a try? I am sure you can learn a thing or two."
Emperor Qie chuckled with his eyes fixed on the distant figure his eyes brimming with admiration. "I didn't expect him to be this young. I don't think my son is capable enough to take down the second in command of the Ye Lang guild. Bring in your eighth or ninth-ranked mercenary then it would be a fair fight," said the emperor trying to safe his son some face. He was fully aware of what this guild was capable of. Though he had his son trained under the best masters he was still light-years away from engaging the top-ranked mercenaries in combat. Even comparing him to the ninth-ranked mercenary was a stretch.
Of course, Prince Anzhie didn't appreciate his father's kindness but took it as a classic 'his not good enough' provocation and so jumped into the arena on impulse. In a few strides he reached the pair and immediately attacked Qie Ranzhe causing Fourth to stumble back. He was about to subdue Prince Anzhie but the Old Chen beckoned him to step aside.
Qie Ranzhe who had been attacked from nowhere wasn't in the least bit polite landing a punch on Prince Anzhie's jaw. The punch was enough to make the impulsive prince see stars in broad daylight as his vision blurred but he soon recovered peering at that face that bore resemblance to his father. In a daze, he almost called out father but swallowed his words when he looked at the stands. His father was still up there staring down at them. He looked back at Qie Ranzhe and said "You!" loss for words, "Wh-who are you?"