Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 314 - 302: Spring Hunting Team

"Yes, very soon," Qin Qing nodded as well, responding to Lu Yu’an with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

"Really a dead duck’s stubbornness," Eighth Princess Qin Yun remarked with scorn as she glanced at Qin Qing.

Many people around them shook their heads in silence.

In their eyes, Qin Qing’s tough response to Lu Yu’an at this moment seemed somewhat like putting on a brave front.

However, once the spring hunt officially began, how could Qin Qing possibly stand against Lu Yu’an?

In the face of overwhelming strength disparity, Qin Qing’s so-called pride would likely be trampled into pieces before long!

Subsequently,

Qin Qing looked at his old "acquaintances".

Mu Yunlan and Mu Hongtu.

Mu Yunlan was dressed in a long purple gown.

Had it not been for so many things happening over the past year, Qin Qing might have thought he was seeing the Mu Yunlan of Tianjue City.

Wearing the same long purple gown, with delicate features and lips slightly uptilted, she seemed to carry a hint of pride.

Her appearance immediately drew the attention of many young men.

In Luochuan Imperial City, Mu Yunlan’s reputation was well known. Had it not been for Qin Qing’s superior cultivation talent overshadowing her, Mu Yunlan would have been a prominent figure herself, her talent shining brightly in Luochuan.

But...

Along came Qin Qing.

It was destined that Mu Yunlan’s brilliance would be dimmed.

Yet, even so, Mu Yunlan was still eye-catching, and her beauty added to her aura; she had already garnered a number of devoted admirers among Luochuan’s younger generation.

Next to Mu Yunlan was Mu Hongtu, now clad in an official uniform of the Great Qian Empire.

He had become a Councilor at the side of the Minister of War, a bona fide Imperial Court Official.

Mu Hongtu’s face was brimming with triumph.

He, too, saw Qin Qing, as did Mu Yunlan; both of them laid eyes on him.

Mu Hongtu seemed very pleased with himself.

This sense of triumph felt all too familiar to Qin Qing...

Just like last year at the Mu estate, during Mu Hongtu’s birthday feast, the look he wore was the same as now, full of smug satisfaction, his face glowing with delight.

However, due to the rise of Qin Qing, Mu Hongtu had once doubted his decisions and even regretted them.

But now...

He seemed to believe once again that he had made no mistake.

At this moment, looking at Qin Qing, his gaze held a trace of relief, as well as disdain and indifference towards him.

Undoubtedly, like many others, Mu Hongtu believed that Qin Qing would surely die in this spring hunt.

And Mu Hongtu was now an Imperial Court Official.

His daughter had a much longer journey ahead in the realm of martial arts. No matter how talented Qin Qing was, he was likely to meet an untimely demise soon.

Their fates had completely changed and were set on a path that would propel the Mu Family to soar high and wide.

As for Qin Qing, he would plummet to the depths, shattered beyond repair, with no chance of turning the tide!

Qin Qing remained indifferent; he had already seen through all the thoughts in Mu Hongtu’s mind.

But Qin Qing would never care. In his eyes, Mu Hongtu was no longer among his adversaries, because Mu Hongtu simply wasn’t qualified.

Mu Hongtu’s disdain for Qin Qing was due to his narrow perspective, using his self-righteous view to evaluate Qin Qing and the world.

How could he have imagined that the youth of the past had grown step by step and now possessed the capital to stand firm in the Great Qian Empire?

With the Zhuiri Ancestor there, even the Royal Family would have to weigh their options carefully if they wanted to move against Qin Qing. What was Mu Hongtu in comparison?

At this moment,

Several princes of the Great Qian Dynasty also came down from above.

This year’s spring hunt was still, in name, a competition among the princes.

Unlike in past years, where the princes themselves would enter the field, this time it was their teams vying for supremacy...

The four princes participating in the spring hunt were the Third Prince Qin De, Fourth Prince Qin Yuan, Seventh Prince Qin Zheng, and Ninth Prince Qin Ren.

Without a doubt, Third Prince Qin De, Fourth Prince Qin Yuan, and Seventh Prince Qin Zheng were the princes with the highest acclaim currently in the Great Qian Dynasty, and potential candidates for the Crown Prince.

It was the Ninth Prince Qin Ren’s participation in the spring hunt, however, that surprised everyone.

The outcome of the spring hunt was also considered by many to be the final competition between the three princes for the position of Crown Prince.

The Ninth Prince did not garner much support within the Imperial Court, and his participation in the spring hunt did not seem to be for the purpose of vying for the Crown Prince title.

And, unlike the other princes who were not personally involved in the hunt, the Ninth Prince took to the field himself, joining his team.

That is to say, among the four teams participating in the spring hunt, only the team of the Ninth Prince Qin Ren was personally on the field.

It was also as he had said himself, his only intention for this spring hunt was to develop his own strength.

Qin Qing was not meeting the Ninth Prince Qin Ren for the first time.

Previously, during Qin Qing’s first visit to Wanhe Palace, he was harassed by Sikong Tu at the gates of the imperial palace, who slandered Qin Qing for forging a token given by the Third Prince. It was the Ninth Prince who stepped forward at that time.

Therefore, Qin Qing’s impression of the Ninth Prince was rather favorable.

Before long, Qin De, Qin Zheng, and the other princes also came over.

In total, thirteen people were truly participating in the spring hunt, divided into four teams.

The first team belonged to the Third Prince Qin De, with Qin Qing as one of the members, alongside Qi Chong and Luo Qingshan.

Qi Chong and Luo Qingshan were both geniuses listed on the Hidden Dragon Ranking and were undoubtedly in the Golden Core Realm.

As for the Seventh Prince’s team, there were four members: Lu Yu’an, Shen Gongyuan—two experts from the Hidden Dragon Ranking—and Du Yuan and Xu Wenjian, who had both reached the top four in the last assessment and chosen to join Qin Zheng’s team afterward.

The third team belonged to the Fourth Prince Qin Yuan, which also included two experts from the Hidden Dragon Ranking, Qin Hong and Qin Zhantian, in addition to one more person, the Loose Cultivator Zhao Qilin.

Zhao Qilin managed to place in the top four thanks to Qin Qing and Lu Yuming. In order to challenge Qin Qing, Lu Yuming declared a forfeit during his duel with Zhao Qilin, which allowed him to challenge Qin Qing.

For this reason, Zhao Qilin advanced without fighting, entering the top four and earning his place in this spring hunt.

The fourth and last team was that of Ninth Prince Qin Ren, with two other members, both Golden Core True Persons under thirty-five years of age, besides Qin Ren himself.

Before officially starting the competition, there was first a grand Royal Family ceremony to worship Heaven.

Every year before the spring hunt, the Royal Family would hold a ceremony to worship Heaven, praying for favorable weather, prosperity, and peace for the nation.

After the worshiping of Heaven ceremony,

it signified that the spring hunt was about to begin.

An official from the Ministry of Rites stepped forward at the Martial Arts Ground and announced loudly, "This year’s spring hunt now officially begins!"