"How about this? You come live with me as well."
"Huh?" A baffled expression appeared on both of their faces.
Does he swing both ways?
Why would he want to live with a boy?
Yujin wondered, puzzled by Ashen's request.
However, a grin soon replaced his puzzled expression as a thought crossed his mind:
Wait!
If I agree to this, wouldn't that mean I'd be living alone with Xiran, without interference from these villagers?
She would have to rely on me since it would be a new place for her… hehe.
Scheming this, Yujin came forward and showed a thumbs up, a smile hanging on his lips: "I agree!"
Watching Yujin agree this readily, Xiran approached him and held his hand, whispering into his ear: "What are you doing? Shouldn't we discuss about this with the villagers first?"
She was confused.
Why was Yujin ready all of a sudden?
Was he this greedy?
First, he broke their promise for 10 gold coins, and now, he wants to live in a palace?
She associated his excitement to live with Ashen with his greed.
Yujin, turning toward Xiran, seized her shoulders, coercing her: "We are doing this for the villagers, sister Xiran. They will definitely appreciate our decision."
Xiran nodded in understanding, however, she had doubts about his reasons.
"Alright then, let's leave right now!" Ashen chipped in, clapping his hands together with an excited smile.
They left this spot and approached the village head. They then informed him about their deal.
He was happy to agree.
What other did he have?
He wasn't naive like Xiran or Yujin.
He knew very well just what disaster denying Ashen could bring upon the village. He was the prince of the whole empire and not just any kingdom.
They were too small to even think of denying his request.
Thereafter, the three of them entered the carriage, leaving for Ashen's private mansion.
All the royal princes were provided with their private mansions around the capital. Ashen naturally had one.
The journey was smooth, the terrain was easy to traverse. Ashen sat beside Xiran while Yujin sat om the opposite seat.
Yujin had tried to make Xiran sit with him, however, Ashen insisted on wanting to converse with her and know about the village.
Ashen held her hand gently, conversing with her, informing her about the capital's vastness. Xiran quickly became interested in the topic. She didn't notice Ashen's caresses on her hand, however, Yujin paid full attention to Ashen's actions, gritting his teeth in anger and jealousy.
[Ding! Host, You have successfully made the protagonist hate you as a villain of his life. He now resents you as the most hateful villain of his life. You receive 300 Villain Points.]
[Ding! Host, The protagonist curses you for touching heroine Xiran. You obtain 200 Villain Points]
Similar to this, Ashen received multiple messages from the system throughout their ride. Ashen laughed inwardly, peeking at Yujin's furious face from the corner of his eyes every now and then.
And finally, The chariot arrived at Ashen's private mansion.
He let go of Xiran's hand as she stepped off the chariot, her eyes widening at the sight of this large and beautiful mansion.
Nestled within impeccably manicured gardens, the mansion stood as a symbol of power and prestige. The architecture of the mansion blended classical elegance with imperial grandeur. The exterior, constructed from the finest materials, gleamed in the sunlight, reflecting the wealth and influence of the imperial family.
The maids dressed in long maid dresses with flower carvings, welcomed them. An Old man with a long white beard, and white hair, a bit on the fat side, came running out of the entrance.
He stopped near Ashen, bowing as he greeted: "Welcome, Your Highness!"
This old man was Chen Jie, A subordinate of Ashen's mother, Shang Celine.
Ashen assessed this old man before nodding, he ordered domineeringly: "Prepare the rooms for these two in the mansion, They will stay here with me from now on."
"Yes, Your Highness!" Chen Jie bowed, leaving the way for Ashen as he pointed towards the entrance.
Ashen left for his room, leaving Xiran and Yujin with Chen Jie. He would arrange rooms for them.
Ashen's room...,
Ashen stared at his status window, observing the Villain Points he gained from the ride.
--------------------------------
------STATUS WINDOW------
Name: Fang Ashen
Age: 20 years old.
Villain Points: 1500
Cultivation: Third Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm.
Cultivation Technique: None
Skills: None
Bloodline: Dormant
Physique: Dormant
Spirit: 2-headed Sky flame Viper (2-star) [9-headed devouring Dragon] (dormant)
Weaknesses: None
--------------------------------
In this world, there were eleven ranks of cultivation.
~ Spirit Transformation realm.
~ Body Transformation realm.
~ Nascent Soul realm.
~ Origin realm.
~ Core Formation realm.
~ King Realm.
~ Emperor realm.
~ Dominion realm.
~ Saint realm.
~ Supreme Realm.
~ Immortal Realm.
In all the empires, The highest known realm was the Dominion realm, at which you could control a domain. Each of the empires only had one of them protecting them from the shadows.
Fang Ashen's father, The Emperor was an Emperor realm cultivator.
Dominion realm cultivators rarely made a move as they remained busy in close cultivation. They all desired to reach the next legendary realm.
Therefore, Ashen's goal was to become an Emperor realm cultivator first.
However, he was at the spirit transformation stage right now. Any cultivator who had awakened their spirit could advance to this stage, starting their cultivation journey
Ashen, after a few moments of contemplation, asked: "How many points do I need to advance to the Body Transformation realm now?"
Previously, he required 500 points to Advance, however, now that his spirit has evolved to a 2-star spirit, he was curious to know the change.
[Ding! The Host requires 300 Villain Points to advance to the Body Transformation Realm].
Ashen nodded, ordering: "Do it!"
The moment he said this, he started to feel his bones crack.
An excruciating pain filled his entire body.
Aaarrrgggghhhh...
He fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
The system placed a sound barrier around him to not let anyone hear him.
Ashen felt every bone in his body break before joining once again stronger than before. This process repeated innumerable times for fifteen minutes straight, however, these minutes felt like hours to him.
Ashen felt the pain leaving his body, however, he was not in the mood to celebrate.
[Ding! Congratulations Host on Advancing to the Bone Transformation realm.]
Ashen was jolted awake from the pain by the System's voice. He stood up from the ground, asking curiously: "How many points do I need to advance to the Nascent Soul Realm?"
[Ding! The Host requires 4000 Villain Points to advance.]
Ashen's eyes showed little change to the amount. He had expected this much increase in the price.
He commanded firmly: "Recommend me an attacking skill for the bone transformation realm."
[Ding! Host, with the amount of points available, the best skill would be martial fist worth 1000 Villain points.]
"Alright, Purchase it." Ashen ordered.
Adhering to his command, the system transmitted the information about the skill into Ashen's brain directly.
The information contained everything, from the form to the flow of energy.
[Ding! The Host has learned Martial fist.]
Ashen, ignoring the system, approached a wall and striked it without using the skill.
Thud!
The fist connected but nothing extraordinary occurred, the wall staying the same as before.
Next, Ashen prepared to strike the wall using the Martial fist.
His bones hardened, his spirit's power flowing into his fist as a python's mouth silhouette appeared around his fist in an ethereal form.
Boom!
He attacked the wall, a loud sound echoing before cracks appeared on the wall. Some debris fell off to the ground.
One thing to note was that this mansion was made from imperial concrete. It wouldn't shake even under an earthquake. Even a bulldozer would fail to scratch it, and now, Ashen was able to make cracks in it with a single punch.
Honestly, he hadn't expected anything to happen to the wall, but this was something extraordinary.
He turned toward the system with an expression of astonishment and asked: "What is the rank of this skill?"
[Ding! Host, this is a low sky grade skill.]
"What?" Ashen couldn't hide his surprise.
Low sky-grade skill was worth millions of gold in the market. Even as a royal Prince, it would be difficult to find a skill of this level and it was only worth 1000 Villain Points?
However, Ashen soon returned to his normal calm demeanor.
He decided to extort some more points from the protagonist who now lived in the same mansion.
At the time of dinner, He left his room and ordered Chen Jie to call everyone to the dining table to eat together.
At the dining table...
Ashen sat in the host's chair while Xiran and Yujin sat to his right and left respectively.
As soon as Xiran took her seat, Ashen looked at her and with a look of sincere admiration, complimented her:
"Miss Xiran, you look gorgeous in this dress!"
A light blush tinged Xiran's cheeks as she tried to hide it.
Meanwhile Yujin cursed his luck: "Here he goes again. How is he so smooth at flirting? This bastard doesn't even leave a chance for me to take the lead."
Yujin was planning to compliment her as well but Ashen did it first.
If he did it right after him, he will appear as if copying him.
However, this wasn't the end.
After he had complimented her, he extended his right hand and put it above hers. Her hand had been resting on the table, waiting for the food to arrive on the table.
She looked at Ashen with surprise, a bit taken aback by his sudden gesture.
He matched her gaze, looking straight into her eyes as his expression softened.
He sighed and asked: "Sigh... when will I get to have a beautiful wife like you?"
Xiran's heart fluttered and she didn't know why.
Maybe it was his voice, or his words.
Maybe it was the way he looked at her...
Xiran's already red cheeks turned even redder, she lowered her head down to hide her flushed expression.
On the other hand, Yujin gritted his teeth, his fists clenched under the table.
Ashen received multiple messages from the system.
Ignoring them, he kept his focus on gaining more points.
He then acted as if he was jolted awake as a realization dawned upon him.
His eyes shined with excitement as he held Xiran's hand between his and called: "Miss Xiran,"
She raised her lowered head and was met with a serious gaze, staring deep into her eyes.
He then asked softly: "Why don't you become my wife?"
"W-What?" Yujin yelled, standing up straight from his seat, his eyes widened in shock and anger.
-----------------------------
(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)