When the professor walked into the cla.s.sroom, Anfey and Hui Wei were already sitting quietly in the corner. The professor frowned when he saw the strangers, then he remembered Steger’s order and flipped open the textbook as if nothing was wrong.

Anfey was staring straight ahead, but Hui Wei looked uncomfortable. He felt strange sitting there. He poked Anfey and said, "Don’t you think it’s a little weird for me to sit here with all these kids?" Hui Wei sounds like he was trying to act old, but it was not without truth. He had only arrived a day ago and did not have the proper time to groom himself before coming to school. He barely had time to wash his face, let alone shave. The students were all clean-shaven and looked young compared to him.

"Shhh," Anfey whispered.

Hui Wei sighed and shook his head. He suddenly heard the hushed conversation of two students behind him. Hui Wei wasn’t interested in the cla.s.s, or else he would have missed the conversation.

"You know Prince Rodhart?" a girl asked.

"Who doesn’t? Isn’t he still in Swordbury Princ.i.p.ality?" a more masculine voice replied.

"Let me tell you: Rodhart was never in Swordbury. It’s all a big illusion."

"Really? Then where is the prince?"

"Here, in Sacred City."

"No way," the boy said.

"I don’t care if you believe me," the girl said. "Rodhart is studying under Lord Saul."

"What? Where did you hear that?"

"I overheard my grandfather talking yesterday," the girl said confidently. "You know him. He would never make up such a big lie."

The boy didn’t say anything for a few seconds, then he said in an even quieter voice, "Shhh. That guy in front of us is one of Saul’s students…"

Hui Wei couldn’t catch the rest of the conversation. He frowned and turned to Anfey. "Did you hear that?"

"What did you hear?" Anfey asked.

"Could it be Christian?" Hui Wei asked, curious. Of everyone, Christian was the most refined and educated. Everyone had talked about their families and past; only two had avoided the topic completely. One was Hui Wei himself, the other was Christian.

A ball of light was flung towards Hui Wei. The intensity of light increased dramatically as it approached Hui Wei, and the light filled the entire cla.s.sroom. Hui Wei was extremely alert, perhaps even more than Anfey. Before he could process what was happening, a black pentagon-shaped object appeared in his hand. A voice followed the light. "If you don’t want to listen to the cla.s.s, I suggest you leave so you stop distracting your cla.s.smates."

Hui Wei opened his eyes and saw everyone’s eyes on him.

"Look at that," a nearby student whispered to his friend. "What is he going to do, fight the teacher?"

Hui Wei coughed and avoided the angry gaze of the teacher. He wanted to put the pentagon-shaped object to his dimensional ring, but Anfey reached over and took it from him.

Hui Wei rolled his eyes and controlled his urge to take it back. Instead, he turned his head away.

"Professor, I don’t think my companion is feeling well," Anfey said, pus.h.i.+ng himself out of his seat. "Can I take him back?"

"Sure," the professor said with a sigh.

Anfey looked at Hui Wei then walked towards the door. Hui Wei shook his head and followed closely behind.

Once they were in the hallway, Anfey tossed the object he took from Hui Wei back to him. "He was just trying to scare you," he said. "Isn’t that a little extreme?"

"I prefer to be alerted," Hui Wei said. The object disappeared back into his dimensional ring.

Anfey stared at Hui Wei’s ring and suddenly sighed. "There are no unsolvable problems, only unsuitable methods. I see that this is true."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember what happened when we first met?" Anfey asked. "I’m curious about all those weird little things in your ring, but I know that I can’t force the answer out of you. If I knew you would react so badly to threats…"

Hui Wei snorted and fell in step with Anfey.

"I wonder who can play the role of the a.s.sa.s.sin," Anfey said slowly.

"As if you can find one," Hui Wei said with a smile.

"I’m still curious," Anfey said. "What else is in that ring of yours?"

"Nothing," Hui Wei said, hiding his hand behind his back. "Didn’t you hear? Christian may be the third prince of this empire."

"I know," Anfey said with a smile.

"You knew?"

"Yes."

"Why didn’t you tell us?"

"I didn’t know for sure," Anfey said with a shrug. "It was more of an educated guess. I figured he would tell us when he was ready."

"I’m curious, then. Why would Yolanthe allow his son to travel with us? Why did he risk his son’s life?"

"You should ask Christian that, because I don’t have the answer," Anfey said. "No wonder Yolanthe and Saul are good friends."

"What do you mean?"

"Yolanthe is the king."

"So what?"

"Who is the queen? Where is she?"

Hui Wei frowned. "I think I know her name, but I cannot remember it at the moment."

"Who is the queen of Shansa Empire, then?"

"Cherylina," Hui Wei said without a moment of hesitation.

"The queen of Maho Empire is a queen as well, but why does she remain anonymous? Why is the queen of Shansa Empire so well known, while the queen of Maho Empire is largely unknown?" Anfey paused for a few seconds before continuing. "Christian never talked about the queen. Niya never talked about her mother, either. Normally, these two women would be two of the most powerful women in the nation."

Hui Wei nodded, still frowning.

"Of course, we cannot just ask around when it comes to questions like this."

"We will find out one day," Hui Wei said quietly. "When the time is right. Let’s talk about Christian for now. Who would have thought he is the ruler of Swordbury!"

"Tell me what you know about that place."

"And you further prove your ignorance of this world," Hui Wei said, amused. He was a two-discipliner, but he was more knowledgeable than he was powerful. There were very few things he did not know about, including the ancient ruins. Whenever he talked about those ruins, Hui Wei would turn into another person. He would be more confident. "Swordbury Princ.i.p.ality is where the famous grandmaster swordsman Dimas retired after the Great War. There are two mysterious places in Maho Empire. One is Mambo territory; the other is Swordbury Princ.i.p.ality.

"After Dimas retired, the Sword of Pioneers was buried on Mount Swordbury. Dimas left some other things as well, but no one knew exactly what he left behind. He said it could be found when the time is right. If we have access to Mount Swordbury, maybe we can find that sword…"

"I don’t think we can," Anfey said, shaking his head.

"Why not?"

"Don’t forget who controls Swordbury. If there really is a sword there, it would have already been found," Anfey said, shaking his head. Compared to the Sword of Pioneers, the labyrinth under the mansion in Violet City was mostly unknown. No one had ever explored those pa.s.sages, and whatever was hidden in there should still be there.

"Maybe we can find something else," Hui Wei said.

"Do you really believe that?"

Hui Wei sighed. There were a few ancient sites even he would not visit. No one had ever survived those ruins because of the different people who secretly controlled them. A commoner like him would never have a chance to explore sites like that. He thought perhaps this was his opportunity to explore one of those forbidden sites, but he knew his dream was unrealistic.