In the study room of Olivia Rong’s Residence,

“Royal Sister, I heard you took in a stray dog to look after your garden, hahaha…What kind of an exalted dog would it be, to make you bring it home?”

Hearing the mocking and sarcastic tone coming from a person who looked about sixteen years of age, Lily tightened her fists but then decided to ignore him and let it go thinking that she should not stoop to his level.

She was anyway waiting here for a certain someone. But she didn’t expect her imbecile half-brother to be in the same room at the same time.

The sixteen-year-old boy was none other than the Rong Empire’s crown prince, Evan Rong.

He was clad in blue clothing, and his face was good looking despite the slight immature features on his face. But the haughty and arrogant expression on his face seemed to resemble his mother’s.

Evan Rong was Lily’s half-brother as his mother was the Rong Empire’s Empress, Olivia Rong.

Lily has another half-brother named Jamie Rong. But he was only ten years old, and unlike his older brother and mother, he was innocent and kind.

Olivia Rong didn’t mind that Jamie Rong was very innocent and naive since her plans involved only her older son. She didn’t care much about how her youngest son ended up. All her attention and time was only on Evan Rong.

Soon a middle-aged woman entered the room, “Evan, quit playing around. Didn’t I tell you to focus on your cultivation training? Go back to the Imperial Ethereal Court and don’t come back till you at least comprehend the second stage of your ethereal arts.” She admonished him.

Evan Rong’s haughty expression instantly changed to a docile one upon seeing his mother, “Of course, mother. I won’t disappoint you.”

He then rushed out of the room as if staying a moment longer could put him in dire straits.

Olivia Rong heard Evan Rong’s remarks from the outside, but she didn’t care what Evan Rong said to Lily. In fact, she would be happy if her son could rile Lily up. But to her disappointment, it seemed that Lily was more mature than she thought.

“Didn’t I tell you not to make any decisions for me without my permission?” Lily said indifferently as soon as Even Rong left.

“Oh, my. You are just like that dead wench, your mother. Do you think just because you were born with some talent and being her daughter, you could look down on me, your empress?” Olivia Rong said as she gave a disdainful look through her half-lidded eyes.

“Don’t you dare talk about my mother! No matter what you say, I won’t go with you for the ‘Rising Sun Annual Convention’.” Lily said in a firm tone.

Lily felt anger and disgust being in the same room as her for even a second longer. Every time they meet, there would only be heated arguments between them.

“You!! There’s a limit to how much I can tolerate your insolence. Your father is not here to protect you now. Even if he was alive, you would merely be delaying your own inevitable fate. Your ‘Tri-Elemental Mystic Constitution’ is not only a blessing but also a curse to you. Do you have any idea how valuable you seem to all the powerhouses of not only this empire but especially the other empires? You—”

“And…” Lily interrupted as she glared at Olivia Rong, “That is exactly the reason you can rule this empire. So, I have the right to look down on you if I want to. Without me, you would be nothing but a puppet empress.”

“Hmph, you are lucky those princes and the prodigies from other empires fancy you. Even without your constitution, some are even ready to make you their only wife because of your so-called celestial beauty. You have no idea how lucky you are to obtain their favors.”

When Olivia Rong mentioned Lily’s beauty and thinking how she could even easily seduce the most powerful man in the continent if she wants, jealousy seethed inside her, thinking why the heavens would bestow her with such qualities.

But then she thought it was for good…otherwise, she wouldn’t even have the power she holds now.

Using Lily’s marriage as a political tool, Olivia Rong wanted to make connections with other empires to consolidate her and her son’s power.

The Rong Empire was truly weak compared to the other three empires, so Olivia Rong thought of using Lily to secure her and her son’s future.

Lily’s Tri-Elemental Mystic Constitution caused an uproar in the whole continent. It was found that she possessed a high affinity towards three elements!

One is even considered a genius when they have a high affinity towards any one element.

And in the history of the continent, no one ever possessed affinity towards more than one element!

Being born with an affinity towards more than one element is considered impossible since a small child won’t be able to stabilize their ethereal core on their own without developing control over their core.

If there are more than one elemental seeds, the harder it is to maintain an equilibrium between the elemental seeds. Suppose there is no right equilibrium or balance between the elemental seeds. In that case, it could even cause the ethereal core to collapse.

Such extraordinary talent and her beauty, which only became more prominent as she became older, were the factors that made people title her as the ‘Celestial Princess’.

Even though they knew she was way out of their league, she was the dream girl of almost every man on the continent. If one were able to marry her, not only would they have the most beautiful wife in the continent but also increase their own power.

Where else can they find such a phenomenal girl?

This is exactly why when the news spread that Lily did not possess not one or two but three elemental seeds, there was a major upheaval in the continent. The previously weak and pathetic Rong Empire suddenly caught the eyes of all the other three empires.

If a boy was born with such a constitution, then the Rong Empire may have been finished and annexed before the boy could grow up to be a powerhouse.

It was obvious that someone born with such a constitution wouldn’t be a simple person in the future. Once they fully mature, they might even be able to shake the whole continent by themselves.

So, they would try their best to quell the threat before it can even sprout.

But before that, they might think of bringing that person into their own ranks by either marrying off their daughters or bribing them to switch their allegiance. At least they could hope for a talented descendant to be born amongst them.

But since Lily was a girl, it was way better for the other empires than if she was born as a boy.

Since males ruled all three empires, they would do anything to increase their own power.

As she was a virgin, her vital ethereal essence could make one’s elemental seeds mature and thus increase their affinity towards the elements considering they are able to take her virginity.

If someone with no affinity or elemental seeds took her virginity, even they would develop an elemental seed in their ethereal core!

It would be a significant boost to their comprehension of elemental laws, and their cultivation might even not have bottlenecks for a while!

After all, the three elements Lily had an affinity to were Fire, Wind, and Metal!

Her comprehension talents were superb, and even her ethereal talent was incomparable within the Rong Empire.

This was why she was able to attain her current cultivation despite the comparatively poor resources available in the Rong Empire.

The Gale Empire specialized in Wind Laws, Lancaster Empire specialized in Fire Laws, and the Xeton Empire specialized in Water Laws.

Despite Xeton Empire not being specialized in Metal Laws, for some reason, they wanted to participate in the tournament as well. People thought that they were probably interested in having the most beautiful woman join their family.

After all, it was common knowledge that the strongest empire in the Rising Sun Continent was the Xeton Empire! They obviously might not want to lose out on anything good to other empires.

That doesn’t mean the Lancaster Empire and the Gale Empire were weak, but even if they two gangs up on Xeton Empire, they can’t say with confidence that they would be able to defeat the Xeton Empire.

Unfortunately, Lily didn’t seem to fancy any one of their empires or had any interest in marrying into their family. So, they thought of pressuring the Rong Empire to have Lily marry one of their imperial family members.

One reason the Rong Empire was still standing was because of the Ancestor of the Rong Empire. But the other main reason was the deadlock between the three empires to see which empire can marry Lily into their family.

All three empires wanted Lily to marry into their own families. But since fighting it out against each other would only be foolish and destroying themselves, they came to an agreement with the Rong Empire to hold a tournament when Lily turns 18 years old so that only the best suitor would be able to marry Lily.

Actually, they wanted to hold the tournament as early as possible. Still, because of the Ancestor of the Rong Empire, they decided to play it safe.

The Rong Empire’s Ancestor was rumored to be dying, and it would be even considered lucky if he could hold on for more than two years.

The last thing Lily wanted was to be married off like a tool to a stranger.

But she couldn’t even run away as she was the imperial princess of the Rong Empire. If she runs away, then doom would befall upon the whole Rong Empire.

She felt that as the imperial princess, it was her responsibility to make sure no disaster befalls the empire.

And if she stays, then the Rong Empire would be safe since she would be joined by marriage with any one of the other three empires. So, there wouldn’t be any reason to annex the Rong Empire, nor will the other two empires exhaust their resources to annex a good for nothing empire.

Lily squinted her eyes and said, “Lucky? If I was someone like you, I might have thought that way. So, don’t think that I am anything like you. Someone who would even betray and throw away the people who loved them just to obtain some power.”

Olivia Rong gave a mocking smile as she said, “Don’t act pretentious as if you are all above me. Without me, this empire would have long fallen in the hands of other empires, and you would be lucky if you didn’t end up in the hands of some evil families to be used as a human cauldron.”

“I am done talking with you. My decision is still the same.” Lily ignored her taunts and walked past her before leaving the study room.

As soon as Lily left, Olivia Rong curled her upper lips as she mumbled, “We will see whether I can make you change your decision or not. “