Mark could only bitterly smile as the result wasn't as great as he boasted earlier but no one thinks that way as the General of the North is one of the strongest soldiers of the Imperial Palace. He is at the peak stage of the six-circle realm and even in the fighter path. It would be scarier if he would get injured.
Seeing the result, Shang Jiao said to her mother, "now, it's my turn."
As Lan Jingyi nodded, the princess left her mother's side and started walking toward the General to take his place. Mark placed his weapon down and started loading the ammunition for the next demo. His back was facing his mother.
Meanwhile, at the back of the spectators, two people looked at each other. One of them whispered, "She was helpless and alone. We will not get another opportunity."
The other one nodded and both of them quickly slipped past through the crowd and came to the front.
As the soldiers were just standing on the side, there was practically nothing that can stop the both of them from reaching the Queen, Consort.
Confirming once again that everyone is too distracted, they decided to act right away.
All of a sudden, both of them kicked the grounds and dashed towards Lan Jingyi.
"Queen Consort…" General Ye spotted it from far.
"Ma…" A scream escaped from Shang Jiao as she turned around to see two fellows nearing her mother. Lan Jingyi looked like she was frozen in shock. Until a moment ago, everyone was just concentrating on the demonstration.
The reason everyone had their guards down is because of the presence of General Ye, Shang Jiao, and Mark. Who would dare to even try to cause a ruckus with them around?
No one expected someone would attempt an assassination at such a moment. It is clear that neither of them fears their lives.
Meanwhile, Mark was just loading the ammunition. He turned her head to see two figures coming in his direction. They almost reached Lan Jingyi and both of them have daggers that are smeared with poison in their hands.
His eyes turned cold and his body acted in instinct, "Absolute Freezing."
10000 EP (ether points) were deducted.
In just a fraction of a second, all of his 200-meter surroundings, or one should say, the whole training ground and the people standing inside it were frozen in ice.
Everyone except for Shang Jiao and Lan Jingyi turned into ice sculptures, making the princess stupefied in shock. Even Queen Consort was shocked by the sudden turn of events.
The two assassins, who just tried to kill her, were just a couple of feet away from her. Their daggers are drawn out but alas, it wasn't successful.
Meanwhile, Mark was also taken aback to see his mother and sister weren't affected a bit. "What's going on?" A trace of confusion appeared on his face.
"This power? It belongs to Blizzard Pegasus. How is that possible?" Shang Jiao asked out loud in wonder. From Ji Guanli, she heard that Mark can cast ice magic but she didn't take it seriously. After all, he is a summoner. So, she thought he learned ice magic from some magic book.
But, Absolute Freezing is different from normal ice magic. It even freezes a higher realm expert without question, although in that case, the time will be less. She also has this bloodline skill.
How can she expect that this person possesses the same bloodline as her? That is not possible unless he was related to her grandfather. If he isn't, then, that would only mean that she wasn't the only special one as she thought. Shang Jiao felt as if the whole world started to crumble around her.
She turned toward her mother.
Tears started to fill up Lan Jingyi as she turned her head to look at him, "Shang Zhen…" She mumbled.
Even before this, she was confident that he is her son but other than the name of his parents and his similar appearance to her father, Lan Jingyi didn't have any proof to confirm it.
If this isn't proof that he is her biological son, then, what is? Now, she was 99.9% confident. All it left for her to confirm was that there was an eye-shaped birthmark on the back of his neck.
Mark, on the other hand, didn't understand how he couldn't affect both of them. He confronted the system.
And just like always, the system responded immediately.
*Ding! Bloodline skills don't affect people with the same bloodline.
*Ding! The divine grade (Mithril, Celestial, God) weapons can also have the power to resist the skills.
"I see…" Realization dawned upon Mark. Because of the second notification, he didn't suspect his mother but then, as he heard Shang Jiao's words, he looked at his mother.
When he saw her expression, Mark felt like his heart skipped a beat, feeling that he was caught. Before he was questioned anything, Mark decided to escape the situation.
Leaving the weapon on the ground, Mark got up on his feet and spoke calmly to his sister, "I have only frozen them for 30 seconds. They will get free. Whatever you do with them is none of my concern. Let's call it a day."
He picked up his pace as he walked towards the exit without even glancing at his mother.
Just as he passed through her, she opened her mouth, "wait."
Mark didn't stop and just continued to walk.
"Shang Zhen, wait for a moment…" Her voice was loud enough that even Shang Jiao heard it.
Mark's heart skipped a beat once again. He planned to reveal his birth secret when he destroy the Empire but not at the moment. There were so many deals pending and his store hasn't developed to the extent to take on the Imperial Palace.
In such a case, what can he do? Mark can only feign ignorance in front of the world.
Taking a deep breath, he turned around and finally looked at his mother who was almost crying, "Queen Consort Lan, I think you are too shocked by my magic that you aren't thinking straight. My surname is Lu. Anyway, since you could evade my magic, then, I guess you have enough treasures to protect yourself. Excuse me…"
Mark turned around once again and continued to walk. He left the training grounds and returned to the store, leaving the mother and daughter in thought. That whole day, he didn't open the store at all.
Later, on a lake, a boat was floating at a slow pace. Lan Jingyi and Shang Jiao were facing together as they sat inside the boat. Only those two were on the boat and no one else. The soldiers were waiting at the shores.
"Okay, tell me, Ma. What is it that you want to tell about Lu Zhen?" She asked her mother.
There was a look of hesitation on her mother.
She further said, "Lu Zhen clearly has the bloodline of Blizzard Pegasus. Is he related to you or my grandfather in some way? I thought it is strange when I heard that he looks like my late grandfather. But, now, it appears too coincidence. And the fact that you addressed him with the surname Shang baffles me. My head is getting heated with several theories."
Letting out a deep sigh, Lan Jingyi finally revealed the truth, "To know about him, I have to start with the destruction of the Lan sect. More than 30 years ago…"