"Send the ball! Send the ball, noble!"
On the barren, grassless land, a young man in bright, clean green clothes was dribbling the ball in front of him with a smile on his face. As soon as he heard the voice, he looked up and saw the tall boy running towards the front of the goal. There were people chasing him, trying to mark him. 2 little kids. A shot from the ground had little chance of scoring. The 2 boys with him were shorter than him and it was a great position for a header. Still, it was a bit unrealistic to think he could score a header. It was not easy for the kids to score a header. He had to move toward the ball without dodging it and send it into the goal with efficient power.
The boy who blocked him was a few years older. He had been playing football for a longer time. Mais couldn't beat him one-on-one, only possible solution would be to curve the ball.
But he hadn't played enough to get the curve and he might miss. Also, the kid in the box could have missed and it would have been Mais' fault.
"Noble! Over here!"
At that moment, he saw another teammate running towards the back of the boy in front of him. The defender was running behind him, but apparently slower than the winger. The boy sprinting with all his might and wanted the ball. However, he was definitely less likely to send the ball in. He was running very fast, and even if he could get the ball over the end line, the distance between tall boy and the goalkeeper would be very small. Even If he had the ball, there was a small chance of scoring. If he threw it to the winger, the goal would be impossible.
Paattt...!
Mais kicked the ball forward and it appeared in the path of the boy on the right flank. Mais sent it into the corner, the ball appeared at the boy's feet and he slid it in from the edge of the pitch, not caring in the slightest about the dirt.
The tall boy headed the ball in and it was a goal.
***
" Master, is it really appropriate for you to go out in public and act like this? After all, today is the final round of the Star Path Tournament. Are you sure you don't want to watch your brother win? If we go to the arena now, we can still catch up."
Inside the imperial capital of Jadeweb, the streets that were normally crowded with millions of people now had only a few hundred thousand. A carriage passed through the street, emitting a powerful aura. This strong aura indicated that the person inside belonged to a noble family, but the truth was much more than that.
The carriage had much stronger defenses than the aura it emitted. The coachman was the one who had just spoken. His black hair was cut short in a military style. His eyes, inadequate to express his sobriety, shone as if they contained stars. The normal clothes were gone, and he was not very conspicuous. He looked like an ordinary man, but he was a eunuch. Eunuch Reter was the head eunuch of the third prince.
The 3rd prince was none other than the nobleman who had just played football with the people on the muddy ground. His tiny figure betrayed his age. He had taken off his bright green clothes and put on the red imperial robe. He had black hair and orange eyes. He was only 8 years old, but his eyes were full of intelligence. He may not have had the clear mind of a cultivator full of enlightenment, but as a human being, he had a mindset that was far beyond his peers and his realm.
Although the aura emanating from his body was so weak that it was lost in the car he was in, the thin black and white staff on the seat next to him was clearly visible in the car, unlike Mais.
It was a Bo staff. A martial arts weapon.
It was a completely straight and thin staff, not like the crude and barbaric ones. Some of the Buddhist warriors were also known to have such thin staffs and even used them to try to understand the ancient Tao of Balance.
But Mais did not use this stick to enter the path of balance. He had no intention of becoming a warrior. Mais just liked it and felt uncomfortable without it. He got to know the staff shortly after his birth and had carried it with him ever since.
Mais turned his head and watched the fast movement of people under the overcast clouds on this cold day. Was there anyone with a lower cultivation level than him?
As his eyes scanned the people on the street, he replied to Reter.
"My brother is strong and he will win. I'm sure there will never be a younger champion than my big brother in our history. After all, he is only 19 years old, and unlike me, he is one of the greatest geniuses on the planet 3rd Ferua."
Mais sighed. He was only eight years old, but he knew everything. He was incompetent. Especially in comparison to his own family. His development was too slow. He was bad at feeling energy. He was terrible at absorbing. At the age of 8, he was only at the 5th level of the Beginning Realm. His elder brother was much stronger at that time. Much, much, much stronger.
Mais became silent. His gaze wandered down the street, watching the people around him with the sad, disappointed eyes of a small child. Those footsteps on the street were usually those of the poor or the young. The people of the capital were not weak. They were certainly not poor compared to other parts of the planet. But it was not easy to enter the arena, and not everyone had the right. Even those people who were just on the outside were far superior to him.
"Cultivation is everything. What if I started to understand the Tao before anyone else? So what if I have the intelligence to be a genius? So what if I'm loved by generals and officials? They won't respect me. To make them listen, I have to be the emperor. To be the emperor, I have to understand them. To understand them, I have to integrate with the people. "
For Mais, everything he did was like climbing a mountain of ice. At any moment he could slip and go back to the beginning, and the top was very high. To succeed at his age, he had to work hard. And it wasn't just hard work. It was about survival. He had learned from what happened to his brother.
His elder big brother would no longer fight for the throne.
No matter how strong his younger big brother was, Mais had to fight for the throne.
Eunuch Reter fixed his sad eyes on the Third Prince. There was no need for this young man to push himself so hard. But he didn't say that. That was not his place.
"Let's go to the Sword Pavilion. It will be fun to see Lagos," Mais said. A smile appeared on his face. Lagos was not the Emperor of Swords. He was his son. He was eleven years old, and unlike Mais, he was incredibly talented. Considering his age, it was clear that in 15 years, he had a good chance of becoming the winner of the Star Path Tournament.
The Star Path Tournament was a major tournament for cultivators under the age of 30 that was held every 15 years, one for each side of the galaxy. Although Mais didn't pay much attention to the rules and prizes, as the chances of winning this tournament were slim, he knew that the winners were geniuses beyond their generation and had a great reputation.
His older brother Lion was in the finals today, and Mais knew he would win. His first brother had won. His father had won, and the children of the elders always won.
If someone from the palace participated in the Star Path Tournament, they would win.
Of course, there were exceptions, but not many.
The Sword Emperor's mansion covered a large area that stretched for several kilometers. There were about 500 people inside, including the workers. The Sword Emperor's wife had died, and his only child was Lagos.
Mais' car stopped in front of the Sword Pavilion. His servants got out and helped him out, then bowed their heads and waited behind Mais. As Mais waited at the door of the Sword Pavilion, he couldn't help but look at the sword-scarred door.
He could feel the traces of the Sword Tao radiating from the door. But he could not sense its depth. The Tao here was no ordinary Tao.
"3rd Prince Mais. I haven't seen you in a long time. To what do I owe this visit?"
A mighty voice resounded in the sky. Then a middle-aged man with white shoes stepped into the sky and landed on the ground. A look of admiration crossed Mais' eyes. People who reached the Ascension Realm could transcend ordinary people and step into the sky. They would have great freedom to travel around the planet. They were truly liberated people.
The man who descended from the sky stood as straight as a sword. His white hair reached to his shoulders, and his eyes were sharp as swords. Just from his posture, one could tell how virtuous and honorable he was. Of course, the Sword Emperor's path was to become a virtuous swordsman.
He had another young man in his arms. He was about 1.70 to 1.80 meters tall. Like the man holding him, he also resembled a sword, but the man beside him had far surpassed him in his development of the Tao of the Sword.
"I salute the 3rd prince."
The younger one bowed as well. These two were disciples of the Sword Emperor. And the younger one was exactly 15 years old. In 15 years, he might very well become the winner of the Star Path Tournament and become an elite. His age would be right at the limit, and he would show his full potential.
Mais also greeted them. He turned to the Ascension Realm cultivator with a smile on his face.
"Master Meng, there seems to be something different about you today. Not only do you seem more cheerful, but there is also a difference in your aura that I cannot detect. Have you advanced?"
Master Meng's eyes widened in surprise, and then he laughed. The young disciple brother next to him was also surprised. Did he not know about Mais' condition? It was unbelievable that someone of his level had discovered it.
"Nothing escapes the Third Prince's eyes. I recently managed to take a step forward in my Tao of the Sword, and I feel that I have reached my limit. My master told me to wander around the planet for a while and to take my young student brother with me. So we are leaving."
Mais nodded and saw them off. Master Meng looked after them as he and his young apprentice brother took to the skies again. He sighed deeply. Eunuch Reter knew what the little boy behind them was thinking. He was thinking the same thing. He sighed for the same reason. He knew the source of the sadness in the boy's heart.
'Will he be able to ascend one day?'
Master Meng, who was heading toward the city gate in the sky, also turned around for a moment and looked back. His younger disciple brother was still confused. After all, even he had not noticed his elder brother's progress. However, Mais, an 8-year-old boy who was only at the Beginning Realm, had noticed his elder brother's progress.
"If only his cultivation was as good as his brother's, the empire his grandmother had built would have reached the sky in his hands. What a pity. Heaven does not want rivals. "
Master Meng disappeared into the sky, remembering once again that cultivation is everything.