Ever since witnessing the mystery in the palace, Samuel Cooper had become much more confident, looking at the other party’s Qian Zong with a half-smile.

Foolish!

That was Samuel Cooper’s assessment of Henry Grant. No matter how weak James Carter was, he was still a prince. This kid thought that just because he had someone backing him, he could ignore the prince’s authority!

But who would know that the current James Carter was no longer the original James Carter? If it were the original soul, maybe he really wouldn’t have done anything to Henry Grant. But now, things were different—James Carter had to show his presence.

If it were the original prince, faced with such a situation, he would never have been so forceful. Most likely, he would have just brushed it off as something trivial.

But now, things were completely different. James Carter was already exuding a kind of royal majesty.

In a flash, Henry Grant realized he had been cornered and didn’t dare to even think about rebelling now.

With a clatter of armor, Henry Grant immediately dropped to his knees.

“Your humble servant, Qian Zong of Changtian City, Henry Grant, pays respects to Your Highness!” His face was already flushed red, and Henry Grant wished he could crawl into a hole. He had no choice but to do this.

“Beat him!” James Carter looked up at the sky, ignoring Henry Grant’s pleading expression.

Several guards rushed forward, pinned down Henry Grant, and in a few moves stripped off his armor. The captain of the guards, Thomas Baker, swung his whip and lashed it hard across Henry Grant’s backside.

Over a hundred horned beast cavalry saw their officer being beaten, and a few of them immediately rushed forward.

“Get back!” Seeing Samuel Cooper stride toward the soldiers who had rushed out, eyes wide, Henry Grant shouted loudly, “Return to your ranks! Anyone who dares step forward, I’ll have his head!” Now he understood very well that if any soldiers really came up, things would get out of hand, and this prince could easily have him executed on the spot.

The sound of the whip echoed across the open mountainside.

James Carter chuckled to himself. If you want to undermine a prince’s authority, you’d better be able to withstand his retaliation.

It seemed the road ahead would not be easy!

The prefect here probably didn’t want anything to happen on his turf, yet this Qian Zong had caused such a scene. After a quick analysis, James Carter understood well—he was even more certain that things inside Changtian City were not as simple as they appeared. At the very least, the prefect and the Qian Zong were not on the same side.

A very interesting place!

James Carter was getting a bit eager to try his hand. After reading so many officialdom novels, maybe they’d be useful in this new place?

From everything he’d encountered so far, it was clear that there were many cultivators at the local official level, but not so many at the higher ranks. In such a chaotic place, the danger level was still very high.

“Corporal punishment complete!” Thomas Baker reported loudly, a bit excited.

The guards following James Carter all looked invigorated after witnessing what had happened. What His Highness had done was satisfying—this was the bearing of a prince!

Twenty lashes was not something Henry Grant couldn’t endure. The soldiers in his own unit had already rushed over to apply medicine as soon as the punishment was done.

Enduring the pain, Henry Grant knelt down again and respectfully said, “Thank you, Your Highness, for sparing my life!”

Although he knew the other party harbored resentment, James Carter wasn’t worried at all and said in a deep voice, “Lead the way!”

Chapter 006: No One to Send

Riding on one of the horned beast mounts brought by Henry Grant, James Carter noticed that aside from the pair of sharp, powerful-looking horns on its head, the beast wasn’t much different from a horse on Earth.

With cultivation at the sixth level of Qingyun, riding the horned beast was as steady as Mount Tai.

With the help of the horned beasts, the group’s speed increased dramatically, and before long, Changtian City was in sight.

“Having a mount really is great!” Lucy Clark whispered to Evelyn Green.

Seeing Changtian City up ahead, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Originally, everyone had their own horned beast mounts before setting out, but after a series of ambushes along the way, all the mounts had been killed.

Although he had memories of the cities in this world, seeing one with his own eyes still made James Carter feel a bit emotional.

“The adviser has already led people to welcome us at the city gate,” Henry Grant said, knowing that royal authority was not to be trifled with. Ever since he’d been beaten, he’d become much more obedient.

James Carter understood the prefect’s difficulties. Being caught between different factions, he was doing the best he could, at least on the surface.

“Changtian City adviser Victor Howard, by order of the prefect, respectfully welcomes Your Highness.” Victor Howard knelt respectfully on the ground.

The streets were bustling with people and the cries of vendors. Amidst this prosperity, James Carter could still spot some refugees in tattered clothes from time to time.

Behind the prosperity of the Great Chu Kingdom, many problems already existed. The emperor spent every day thinking only about breakthroughs, with no energy left to govern the country. Surrounded by those people at court, the crisis of the Great Chu Kingdom was brewing.

Some of the things William Harper had talked about popped into his mind, but what James Carter was thinking about now was how to survive in this unknown dynasty.

He had already seen the royal struggle. With his father the emperor growing old, the fight for the throne had begun. His own strength was so weak compared to the other princes, and looking at the people around him, even self-preservation was becoming a problem.