Chapter 50

"Your Majesty..." Prince Zhong was about to say more, but the Sacred Emperor impatiently waved his hand and coldly said, "This is already the greatest concession I can make. Prince Zhong, there's no need to say more."

Prince Zhong had no choice but to retreat in disappointment. In this battle, Prince Zhong's faction suffered a complete defeat. Not only did they lose a cabinet chief, but they also lost control over the three special intelligence agencies. These agencies were among the most powerful in the Holy Lion Empire, with a sophisticated intelligence system and the authority to secretly monitor officials. If they wanted to take down a political rival, they could simply accuse them of "endangering the empire's security," and no one could say anything. It was truly a powerful tool.

Prince Zhong felt a sharp pain in his heart, his pulse racing.

Prince Kang, on the other hand, had calmed down. He bowed and said calmly, "Your subject obeys your command."

The three special intelligence agencies were definitely lost. At the gate of the Wen family, he had bet that if they couldn't find evidence of Wen Liren's treason, he would resign voluntarily. At the time, he was confident he could bring down Wen Liren, but the situation took an unexpected turn. His plan failed, and he fell into a trap set by the other side.

He lost, utterly and completely! But compared to Huang Tingxuan, he at least still had his life and the title of a county prince. This was already a good outcome. After all, he was an accomplice to a treasonous crime, and the Sacred Emperor's decision not to execute him was not out of kindness, but rather a compromise with Prince Zhong.

After dealing with the two involved parties, the Sacred Emperor changed his tone, his expression softening. He smiled and said, "The Holy Lion Empire has always been clear about rewards and punishments. Those who commit crimes must be punished, and those who make contributions must be rewarded. County Prince Song Xinghai, step forward to receive your appointment."

Song Xinghai stepped forward calmly and bowed solemnly.

"County Prince Song Xinghai has protected the emperor today with great merit. Your title is elevated to 'Prince,' and you are granted the title 'Prince Ming.' You are awarded ten thousand gold coins and ten bolts of fine silk. Your son, Song Li, is appointed as 'Heir Prince'!" Song Xingtian's voice was filled with joy as he continued, "From today, the three special intelligence agencies will be under your command. I hope you will not辜负所托, and serve the empire well!"

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty! Long live the Sacred Emperor, may he reign for ten thousand years!" Song Xinghai knelt on one knee and shouted "Long live the emperor."

"Long live the Sacred Emperor, may he reign for ten thousand years!" The ministers immediately knelt, and the hall was filled with flattery and praise.

Song Xingyun's face turned ashen. The sixth brother, Song Xinghai, whom he had always looked down upon, had risen to become "Prince Ming." He, the legitimate prince, had been demoted to a county prince. The ups and downs of life were too swift, leaving him feeling somewhat melancholic.

The most critical issue was not the title but the three special intelligence agencies, which now fell into the hands of his sixth brother. It seemed that the Sacred Emperor's intention to support his sixth brother had truly become a reality.

Song Xinghai appeared to be humbly thanking the emperor, but his heart was far from calm. He never expected that just by reacting a bit faster, dispatching two assassins with a few swift strikes, and shouting "Protect the emperor," he would become a meritorious subject. Not only was his title elevated, but he also became a powerful prince with control over the three special intelligence agencies.

Song Li, that kid, really had some skills. It seemed he was right; a good performance in front of the leadership at a critical moment was more valuable than ten years of hard work.

"Damn, he really dares to do anything!" In the alchemy room of the county prince's mansion, Song Li had just finished refining a batch of pills, his face beaming with joy.

He was not happy because the pills had been successfully refined. This was just a batch of mid-grade human pills, and there was nothing particularly exciting about it. While for most novice alchemists, being able to refine mid-grade human pills after a month of practice would be considered a prodigy, for Song Li, who had exceptional fire control, it was just part of his practice to familiarize himself with the properties of herbs.

With Song Li's current fire control skills, he could refine low-grade earth pills. However, to build a solid foundation and familiarize himself with basic pharmacology and the properties of herbs, his mother, Yun Lin, had devised a step-by-step plan for him, starting with the most basic pills. He was now in the second stage, refining mid-grade human pills.

He was so happy just now because, during the pill refinement process, he discovered that he had mastered more fire transformations.

After the "Imperial Fire Seed" devoured the primordial fire seed at the foot of Langya Mountain, it not only strengthened itself but also indirectly helped Song Li break through his cultivation realm. As the fire seed and Song Li's own strength increased, his understanding of the profound principles of his cultivation technique deepened. The "Crimson Emperor Purple Flame Technique" automatically advanced to a mid-grade mystic technique, and his fire control skills also advanced.

Previously, he could only skillfully control sixty-four fire transformations, which was a fourth-level fire control ability. But during the pill refinement, since his mother Yun Lin was not around, he used the "Crimson Emperor Purple Flame Technique" to extract a small amount of energy from the Imperial Fire Seed, creating a "Purple Heart Crystal Fire." He then used this flame to refine the pills.

The "Purple Heart Crystal Fire" was a manifestation of the Imperial Fire Seed. Even a tiny manifestation possessed all the attributes of the Imperial Fire Seed. Therefore, theoretically, the "Purple Heart Crystal Fire" also had infinite transformations. As Song Li's strength increased and his understanding of the fire control principles deepened, he could now control one hundred and twenty-eight fire transformations, doubling his previous ability!

In other words, his fire control ability was now at the fifth level!

He had been diligently accumulating his foundational knowledge under his mother's guidance, making rapid progress. With his fire control ability now advanced again, he estimated that in a short time, he would be able to refine mid-grade earth pills. His mother, a mid-level alchemist, still found it challenging to refine mid-grade earth pills. The last batch of "Mystic Ice Qi Pills" would not have been successful without Song Li's guidance. After just over a month of learning alchemy, Song Li would soon be able to refine mid-grade earth pills.

It had to be said that sometimes the gap between people was really significant.

Song Li extinguished the flame, collected the pills, and as he stepped out, he saw his mother, Yun Lin, riding a flying beast landing in the courtyard. This flying beast was a second-stage magical beast with almost zero attack and defense capabilities, but its main advantage was its large size, allowing it to carry people for long-distance flights. Almost every noble family kept such a flying beast, and the county prince's mansion was no exception.

Yun Lin had flown back to her family home yesterday. The Yun family was located a thousand miles away in Yunzhou, and she had made a round trip in one day, demonstrating the flying beast's formidable flying ability.

"Mom, you're back? Did you see Grandpa?" Song Li smiled and went to greet her.

Yun Lin had returned to the Yun family to report Song Li's situation to her father, hoping he could take Song Li under his wing and personally cultivate him. After all, Song Li possessed a once-in-a-century talent for fire control, and with proper cultivation, his future was boundless!

Alchemists were divided into alchemists, master alchemists, and grandmaster alchemists, with subtle differences. Her father, Yun Hengtian, was a grandmaster alchemist, meaning he could refine holy-grade pills. Above holy-grade pills, there were heaven-grade pills, which could alter the laws of nature.

In the past century, no heaven-grade grandmaster alchemists had appeared on the Star Cloud Continent. This level of alchemist was already a legendary existence. Yun Lin had a small hope that her son would become a heaven-grade grandmaster alchemist, which would certainly bring glory to the continent and leave a name in history!

She had initially wanted to send a message to her father via a flying pigeon, but she was afraid it might be intercepted, causing unnecessary danger to her son. So she decided to go in person to ensure her father would take it seriously.

"Alas, Grandpa went on a journey and wasn't there," Yun Lin's eyes showed some regret. "But I wrote about your situation in a letter and had your uncle deliver it to Grandpa."

"Oh, it's fine. He'll know eventually." Song Li went to help his mother dismount and then instructed the servants to take the flying beast to be fed.

"Brat, it's good to see you again. Let me take a look. Hmm, you seem to have grown a bit taller." Yun Lin grabbed Song Li's cheeks and playfully twisted them.

"Mom, you were only gone for a day. How could I have grown taller?" Song Li rolled his eyes. This mother of his was really unreliable.

"Who asked you to care! I just like saying it that way." Yun Lin glared at her son, then smiled and hugged him affectionately.

"Mom, what's Grandpa's family like? I remember going there once when I was a child, but I don't have much of an impression." In fact, Song Li did have an impression. That year, he was seven, and he remembered everything. His mother had taken him to his grandfather's house, but because he had neither cultivation talent nor alchemy talent, he was a complete waste, and thus, he was not well-received.

He still remembered the disdain and contempt in people's eyes. His cousins called him "waste" and refused to play with him.

Although they were his relatives, these memories were too vivid in his mind, and he had no good feelings toward them. Of course, he wouldn't say these things to his mother, as they were her family.

Yun Lin was silent for a moment. Because Song Li had been looked down upon by the Yun family, she hadn't taken him back to her family for many years. Of course, she still harbored resentment. Her son was her heart's treasure, and she could scold or hit him, but she couldn't bear it if others gave him a cold look, even if they were her relatives.

This was also one of the reasons she urgently reported her son's situation to her father. Didn't you mock my son as a waste? Didn't you look down on him? Now his hidden talent has finally emerged, and it's a once-in-a-century talent for fire control! It's enough to outshine any of the Yun family's peers. What do you have to say now?

"Son, next time I'll definitely take you back to see. You'll know then." Yun Lin lovingly stroked her son's hair. She decided to take her son back in glory, to show everyone what a true genius looked like, which would be like slapping them in the face. After a pause, Yun Lin asked, "Brat, have you been following the alchemy plan I set for you these past two days? Have you been slacking off?"

"How could I slack off? I just refined a batch of mid-grade human pills!" Song Li refuted his mother's suspicion and said proudly, "Not only that, but I've also improved my fire control! I can now control one hundred and twenty-eight fire transformations, which is a fifth-level fire control ability!"

"Really?" Yun Lin's eyelashes fluttered rapidly, and she stammered, "What did you say? You... say it again?"