"Sorry, no need to consider. I won't be anyone's subordinate." Zhou Hong refused without a second thought.
"Zhou Hong, do you really intend to provoke me?" The Eighteenth Prince was getting annoyed, feeling utterly disgraced.
"Reporting to the Eighteenth Prince, if I weren't giving you face, I wouldn't be speaking to you like this." Zhou Hong was also becoming impolite. If he got angry, he could just twist off his head and use it as a ball to kick, don't make it seem like he's afraid of royalty.
"Zhou Hong, at your current age, to have cultivated to the late stage of Fusion is unprecedented on our Zi Xiao Continent. If you could assist me, I would surely ascend the throne in the future. At that time, I would make you Prime Minister, and we would share the world." The Eighteenth Prince was still unwilling.
"Heh, I'm not interested," Zhou Hong sneered.
"Zhou Hong, if I were you, I wouldn't refuse, because it would only bring you harm, even death." The Eighteenth Prince threatened.
Zhou Hong's brow furrowed slightly, and he snorted, "How is it a dead end? Refusing your offer means I'll be killed by you?"
"Hmph, if you refuse my offer, you might be recruited by my other imperial brothers. If you were just an ordinary person, it would be fine. But your talent is so extraordinary. I remember no one on the Zi Xiao Continent at your age has ever cultivated to the late stage of Fusion."
"Thank you for the compliment, but so what if there's never been one before?"
"I thought you were a smart person, but I didn't expect you to be so inflexible. With your current talent, your future strength will undoubtedly be extraordinary. Any prince who can gain your assistance has a high chance of ascending the throne. If you cannot be used by me, then I may very well destroy you, so that my other imperial brothers cannot get you either."
Zhou Hong's brow furrowed slightly, he hadn't expected to become such a sharp weapon, that if others couldn't have him, they would destroy him.
"Hahaha, are you hinting that if I don't pledge allegiance to you, you'll kill me?"
"Hmph, Zhou Hong, very few people probably know about your cultivation to the late stage of Fusion. Once the news gets out, it will surely cause a sensation across the entire Zi Xiao Continent. At that time, all my imperial brothers will come looking for you. If they cannot recruit you, they will certainly prefer to destroy you. Therefore, I advise you to follow me. You will definitely be second to none in the future."
"Scram," Zhou Hong roared.
"You...!" The Eighteenth Prince was furious that he was being told to scram.
"Zhou Hong, out of consideration for your talent, I will tolerate your disrespect. However, I admire you. In a few days, I will come to find you again. I hope you will consider it carefully then. I will now pay a visit to your family and have a chat with them." The Eighteenth Prince turned and left, seemingly not letting Zhou Hong off the hook.
Zhou Hong snorted lightly, what a fool, actually trying to leverage his family.
Outside the restaurant, the Eighteenth Prince snorted heavily, "Zhou Hong, damn you, if it weren't for your talent being useful to me, I would have killed you long ago."
"Your Highness, I don't think this Zhou Hong will serve you. Even going to his family will be of no use. Why don't we strike first and get rid of him? Otherwise, if he's recruited by other princes in the future, he'll become a major obstacle." One of his followers quickly advised.
"Hmph, do you think I don't want to kill him? I've disliked this bastard for a long time, but not this time. His cultivation to the late stage of Fusion, such powerful talent, is unprecedented on our Zi Xiao Continent. So I must find every way to recruit him. With his assistance, I will definitely ascend the throne in the future. Of course, if it really doesn't work out, then I can only eliminate him, so as not to leave him to my opponents."
"Alright, then let's go to his family now and talk to his family patriarch. I hope they'll be sensible."
The Eighteenth Prince and his entourage immediately headed towards Zhou Hong's family, preparing to persuade the family patriarch.
Zhou Hong, still in the restaurant, gave a slight smirk as he watched them leave.
However, Zhou Hong also realized a problem: if news of his cultivation to the late stage of Fusion spread, it could indeed attract disaster.
Zhou Hong also knew that the Zi Xiao Empire had dozens of princes, and they were constantly scheming against each other to fight for the throne, with each prince secretly recruiting talent. If Zhou Hong became a target for all princes, and he refused to be recruited, he might very well be eliminated by them.
"Hahaha, hahaha, how laughable." Zhou Hong couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
Fortunately, Zhou Hong had his own trump cards, otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died. What was the use of strong talent if one didn't have the opportunity to grow? It was also zero.
"Zhou Hong, why didn't you agree to the Eighteenth Prince's offer?" Just then, the proprietress came over, carrying a plate of food.
"Why should I agree?" Zhou Hong snorted coldly.
"This Eighteenth Prince, his abilities are quite good. Among all the princes, he is quite competitive. His age is similar to yours, and he has cultivated to the early stage of Fusion. Although his talent is far behind yours, he is still ranked in the top ten among young geniuses on the entire Zi Xiao Continent."
"Heh," Zhou Hong couldn't help but curl his lips. Zhou Hong certainly knew that he was ranked first on the Zi Xiao Continent's Young Genius List, and this Eighteenth Prince was ranked ninth. His talent was indeed very good.
"If you could assist him, perhaps in the future, he could truly ascend the throne. At that time, you could also become a person of supreme importance, and your family could bring glory to your ancestors."
"Proprietress, I want to bring glory to my ancestors not by relying on the Zi Xiao Empire, but with my own hands," Zhou Hong said disdainfully.
"Heh, alright, as if I hadn't said anything." The proprietress smiled. From her perspective, she seemed to not quite understand Zhou Hong's actions.
Zhou Hong ate his meal alone in the restaurant, while at this moment, the Eighteenth Prince and his entourage had arrived at Zhou Hong's family.
Upon hearing that the Eighteenth Prince had personally come to visit, the patriarch of the Zhou family's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly went out to greet him.
"Your humble servant pays respects to the Eighteenth Prince." In the family's main hall, the Zhou family patriarch knelt and kowtowed to the Eighteenth Prince. Despite his strength far surpassing the Eighteenth Prince's, he was still a commoner before him. Behind the Eighteenth Prince was an empire, and this empire governed countless cultivation families, large and small.
If this empire wanted to destroy the Zhou family, it would likely take less than five minutes for none of Zhou Hong's family to survive. This was why Zhou Hong was reluctant to confront the royal family unless absolutely necessary. Even with his subordinate world, it was hard to avoid the entire family being scattered and exiled.
Earthlings could enter his subordinate world, but his family members could not, because Zhou Hong's subordinate world had almost no spiritual energy, making cultivation impossible.