The Imperial Prince frowned when he saw Hei and Lian and the miserable condition in which the bodies of the victims were. Immediately, his four subordinates positioned themselves in front of Long Tian and prepared to draw their weapons at the slightest hint of hostility from the young couple caught on the scene of the ma.s.sacre.

"My name is Long Tian. I would like to know what happened here."

The voice of the Imperial Prince was calm but contained an authority that only those with exceptional leaders.h.i.+p skills possessed. His gaze contained no trace of disgust or apprehension for the crime committed there. And this was true even when there were two possible suspects in front of him.

"My name is Hei while she is Lian. We don't know what happened. One of my companions is a beast tamer and has a spirit beast with a great sense of smell. Concerned about the smell of human blood, we came to investigate and found this scene."

Hei replied with a calm, equal to that of the Imperial Prince. Although he was facing one of the sons of the Sun Emperor and one of the possible candidates as the next emperor, he wasn't at all intimidated. This reaction surprised Long Tian as he didn't expect such calm.

"One of your companions, you say? So it's not just you two. Do you mind staying still while I examine bodies? If it were for me, there would be no problems, but my companions are very protective of me. If you were to move even a few centimeters, they could consider it as an attempt to attack me."

Imperial Prince Long Tian approached the bodies without waiting for Hei and Lian's response. His subordinates moved accordingly but continued to keep their gaze fixed on the young couple.

'The bodies have stab wounds. It is certainly the work of humans, but the state of the bodies makes it seem like a crime dictated by feelings, probably a strong hatred. It isn't yet possible to exclude that it is the work of a hired a.s.sa.s.sin among the students. However, the victims are all from common origins; it wouldn't make sense for the hired a.s.sa.s.sin to risk his life just to kill people he could easily kill outside the academy.'

When Long Tian finished a.n.a.lyzing the state of the victims, he turned back to Hei.

"You said that you two came across this scene only because the smell of blood drew you. Considering that you didn't run away even though you knew we were coming and the spirit core of the spirit beast is still inside, I want to believe you. Nonetheless, I cannot completely exclude you from the list of suspects. Therefore I would like you to cooperate with my men and me to find the real culprit."

"Cooperate? What do you mean by that?"

"You are a beast tamer as well, aren't you? If it were hatred against a specific person, then only one of the bodies would have numerous stab wounds. Yet all the victims were tortured, especially the spirit beast. Whoever is responsible is likely to possess a strong hatred for the spirit beasts and anyone who deals with them."

When the Imperial Prince finished speaking, Hei was surprised. Ye and Xing were hidden in his long, thick hair and were concealing their spirit power. Therefore it wasn't possible to notice them from the position in which the Imperial Prince was. The only explanation was that.

"You already knew who we were. Isn't that right, Imperial Prince Long Tian?"

Seeing that Hei possessed a strong intellect and quickly came to the right conclusion, Long Tian smiled and didn't deny the fact. "Call me, Long Tian. In any case, yes, it's true. The first two martial artists from the Forgotten Ocean. Just this inspires a strong curiosity in others. If it weren't for the incident with Feng Gengxin, you probably would have been approached by many people. But apparently, most of our cla.s.smates are afraid of offending a member of one of the Eight Big Families, although Feng Gengxin is not at all to be feared."

"I understand. But you still haven't answered my question. What exactly do you mean by collaborating with the investigation? "

"Simple. Be the bait to attract the real culprits and, at the same time, prove your innocence. As a member of the Imperial Family, I cannot let the murder crime go unpunished when the Academy itself has banned it. After all, the orders given by the Academy are orders imposed by the Empire. To transgress them means to throw mud on the authority of the Imperial Family. Besides, I think, as a beast tamer, it is in your best interest to collaborate, isn't it?"

To Long Tian's question, Hei didn't answer right away but pulled out Xing and Ye first, placing them on the ground. "Alright. But I'd like to bury these people first. The Academy hasn't imposed rules regarding the recovery of dead students, and I think n.o.body would like to keep the bodies of people they don't know in their s.p.a.ce ring. Consequently, I think a burial, even if it is far from their homes, is appropriate."

This time it was Hei who didn't give the Imperial Prince time to respond and proceeded with the excavation operations with Ye and Xing. Lian instead remained close to them, ready to act if needed.

As Hei proceeded to bury the bodies of the victims, Long Tian remained in respectful silence as he watched the burial operations. It was when Hei was done that he started talking again. "You are a strange person. You are certainly interesting. We will follow you from afar, and I advise you to advise your other companions to do the same. After all, if we want to lure the culprit out, the bait can't be too big and risky."

At that point, Long Tian turned and started guiding his companions away from there. However, shortly afterward, the sound of something being launched resounded. Without batting an eyelid, Long Tian reached out behind him. When he grabbed the object, he realized what it was.

"You forgot this. I hope it will convince you to kill one less spirit beast for the trial." Hei said before leaving that place with his little sisters and Lian.

When the Imperial Prince was alone with his four companions, he burst out laughing. "Really, really interesting. I'm curious to see his fighting skills."

*

It was late afternoon, and the sun had already started to set. All around dwelled a state of apparent calm. The diurnal creatures were returning to their lairs to make room for the nocturnal ones who instead were ready to start their day. At an unspecified point in the immense forest, a young couple was strolling through the thick vegetation.

'Big Brother.' (Xing)

'Yes, I know. We are being followed.'

'They are getting closer. I'm counting fifteen. No, it's twenty.' (Ye)

Hearing that number, Hei's expression darkened. The number of enemies was higher than he had expected. Although he didn't know the strength of the enemies or that of the Imperial Prince and his entourage, he was still numerically at a disadvantage.

'Lian, get ready. We still don't know if the Imperial Prince will come to help us. If this happens, we will run away at full speed. Even if they are more than us, we are in the middle of a forest. I am confident in being able to outrun them.' Hei sent a spirit message to Lian to prevent the conversation from being heard.

'As you wish Hei. I'm ready to fight anyway. '

Suddenly, twenty shadows emerged from different points in the forest, forming a circle around them. They were all dressed in long black clothes and even had their faces covered in a thin black veil. They had no good intentions as they blocked every escape route to Hei and Lian.

"Hei and Lian from the Forgotten Ocean, right? We have nothing against you. Leave the two spirit beasts you bring with you here, and nothing will happen to you." A woman's voice rang out among the group of twenty people. From the tone of voice, it seemed that she was in command of that team dressed in black.

"Nothing will happen to us? Aren't you going to kill us like the other group you killed this morning? Or like the one you killed a little just now?" Hei replied without showing any sign of panic or fear. Furthermore, thanks to Ye's sense of smell, Hei could perceive the presence of fresh human blood, a sign that they had killed other people recently.

"That you know of this morning is one thing, but the fact that you know that we killed other people a little while ago... as I imagined, it is thanks to the spirit beasts that you hide, right? You also knew we were coming." The woman hidden in the black veil didn't appear upset from that news. Although Hei had been caught off guard voluntarily, it wasn't a problem

for her and her companions at all.

"Why did you kill those people? How come all this hate towards them?" Lian broke into the discussion, turning to the woman in charge. In doing so, she was giving Leon and the others enough time to get ready to act.

"Why? Is there really a need to ask? Spirit beasts are filthy creatures. All they do is spread death and destruction. They are an evil that must be eradicated from the roots until there isn't even a single spirit beast alive."

The woman's voice took on a hateful tone that could be perceived despite her hidden face. From how her body was shaking, it was also evident Lian's question had awakened her anger.

"Give up those two spirit beasts immediately. Or else you will have the same fate that has touched others. Anyone who tries to protect spirit beasts is nothing but a traitor to the human race!"

Seeing that there was absolutely no way to talk, Hei gave his answer. "I decline. I don't know why you have all this hatred for spirit beasts, but I certainly can't let you hurt my little sisters. "

At Hei's response, the woman's spirit power exploded outside as she removed the veil from her face. A young white-skinned woman with long pink hair. She had a beautiful appearance and a graceful look, however, the hatred inside her had deformed all that beauty, making her take on an unpleasant appearance.

"Little Sisters? Little Sisters? Do you consider filthy spirit beasts as part of your family? Do you know how many people the spirit beasts killed? How many people are the spirit beasts still killing? In the big cities, there aren't any incidents, but in the small villages, the inhabitants are left to deal with these creatures alone. Many people have their loved ones, their homes, their families destroyed because of those abominable creatures. And you instead treat them as if they were your family? Are you willing to protect them even by risking your life? You are crazy, crazy! You deserve to die! It is because of people like you that we have lost everything."

"And that's why you're killing anyone who refuses to deliver their spirit beasts? For vengeance?"

Suddenly, the voice of the Imperial Prince could be heard by everyone. When he and his four companions showed up, the group of twenty people gasped in fear. After all, one thing was to kill people with unimportant origins; another was to attack the direct son of the Sun Emperor.

"Imperial Prince Long Tian. I advise you not to interfere. Pretend as nothing happened and get out of here." The woman was the only one who seemed not to be concerned about the arrival of the Imperial Prince. Instead, she used a threatening tone to suggest that he should not interfere.

"I am afraid this is not possible. You have ignored the rules of the Academy. As a representative of the Imperial Family, I can't pretend nothing is happening. You should know it, don't you? Killing the students of the Academy equates not only to a crime against the Empire but against the entire human race. Every talented young martial artist is a possible candidate to become a Spirit Emperor. Since we don't know when there will be a total war against the demons, we can't let the students kill each other."

"Crime against the human race? No, you are the true traitors of the human race: the Imperial Family and the Eight Big Families. You stay in your palaces to enjoy the resources you take by force from us poor citizens. How many villages have had to suffer losses because of your negligence? Because the only thing that worries you is a stupid war that knows when will happen while you let your people die. It doesn't matter if you are the emperor's son. If you dare stop me, I will kill you. I will kill anyone who tries to stop me."

"Really? Do you think that we of the Eight Great Families take the resources of citizens by force? "Another voice came out of nowhere. The owner was a young man with short fire red hair while at his side, there was a young woman with long fire-red hair.

"Feng Chen of the Feng Family?" The woman immediately recognized who the newcomer was. But Feng Chen wasn't the only one of the Eight Big Families present there.

"Twenty people who attack small groups in groups. Cowards. You said you are going to kill anyone who interferes, right? So try to kill me, HU JIE! As a representative of the Hu Family, I will carry out the punishment for your crime!"

At that point, the woman's expression began to wrinkle not out of hatred but out of concern. She was confident that with the numerical advantage at her disposal, she could kill the Imperial Prince. But now there were also two geniuses from the Eight Big Families. They were also said to possess a talent incomparable to the geniuses of the past of their respective families.

"Hu Jie, Feng Chen. I see you arrived on time, excellent." Long Tian said before turning to the woman possessed by the hatred for the spirit beasts. "What you said is partly true. The misfortunes that have happened to you are the fault of the bad management of the Imperial Family. However, it isn't a good reason to kill innocent people who have nothing to do with it. I will repeat it the last time. Surrender without making a fuss, or it will be the end for you."

Hearing the Imperial Prince's ultimatum, some of those people with hidden faces began to have doubts. They thought they had an easy target in front of them, and it would take just a few minutes to kill them. But unexpectedly, they had hooked not only two of the greatest geniuses of the Eight Big Families, but also the Imperial Prince and his bodyguards.

"Emilia, what do we do? The situation has become more complicated than expected. We should retreat." One of the people with hidden faces tried to talk some sense into the woman who was also their leader. However, Emilia had no intention of giving up.

"Retreat? If you are afraid just because of the presence of the Imperial Prince or Feng Chen and Hu Jie, you must know that if they stay alive, your life will be over anyway. Besides, hadn't you already decided? Is your hatred so small? The blame for the loss of your loved ones also lies on their shoulders. If you are going to run away, go ahead. But I will avenge my family. Whatever it takes!"

Emilia's hateful voice erased doubts in the hearts of her companions. Suddenly, the other nineteen people activated their spirit power. As their group leader Emilia had said, they couldn't hold back now. The time had come to go all out.

"Long Tian, ​​Feng Chen, Hu Jie. Leave that woman to me, please." Hei asked as he locked his eyes toward Emilia. If Long Tian, ​​Feng Chen, and Hu Jie were all fighting as representatives of their families, then he too would fight as a representative of the spirit beasts.

At Hei's request, Feng Chen and Hu Jie frowned because they too wanted to face the female group leader. But with a gesture from Long Tian, ​​they let Hei deal with the woman in charge.

"Ye, Xing. You can take your true form, but remember not to use your Elemental Laws. Lian, focus on protecting Mareo and the others as during the fight against the jaguars." Hei whispered to Ye, Xing, and Lian. The three females replied with a nod to indicate to Hei that they understood.

"Let's go then!"