As the saying goes, one should not judge a person by their appearance, and the sea cannot be measured with a bucket.
Although Dai Mubai may seem like a spoiled brat, he is indeed a prince.
In terms of birth, being a prince of the Star Luo Empire is far better than 99.9% of the people on the Douluo Continent, and by a significant margin.
In a world where inherited martial souls and bloodlines are paramount, the White Tiger martial soul of the Star Luo royal family is one of the top beast-type martial souls, possessing innate advantages that ordinary commoners do not have.
The rich rely on gold coins, while the poor rely on mutations. If a martial soul does not mutate, or if it mutates in a positive direction, commoners will always remain commoners. Even if they awaken a martial soul by chance, they will not see much improvement.
Moreover, Dai Mubai is a member of the royal family. His quality of life and cultivation resources are far beyond what ordinary people can imagine.
Upon hearing this, Dai Mubai's eyes twitched slightly. He wanted to retort, what did they mean by "he is actually a prince"? He, Dai Mubai, is a prince by birth. Does he not deserve it?
But when he looked around and his gaze fell on Zhongli, his eyes cleared slightly, and the words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back.
"Greetings, Martial God. Welcome to Star Luo City."
Dai Mubai bowed slightly to Zhongli as a polite greeting.
As a prince of a nation, and on his own territory, this level of courtesy was already considered polite.
He did not address Zhongli as the Geo Archon, as the title from the Heaven Dou Empire would not hold any weight in the Star Luo Empire.
Even if Zhongli's strength was extraordinary, it could not change this fact.
Moreover, Dai Mubai, as a prince of the Star Luo Empire, would find it more painful to address a foreign prince with a title than to be killed. Naturally, he would not do so.
About a meter to Dai Mubai's right, Ma Hongjun was slightly stunned. He turned his head and looked at Dai Mubai.
The Dai Mubai, who usually plotted revenge in secret, had now directly given in?
Ma Hongjun blinked, his eyes filled with confusion.
The current Ma Hongjun was completely different from the past. He was no longer as bloated as before and appeared somewhat sturdy.
After losing weight, he had a bit of a handsome look.
After a moment of thought, Ma Hongjun no longer hesitated and also bowed to Zhongli.
If Dai Mubai didn't even try to hold his ground, why should he?
Moreover, there was no conflict between him and Zhongli. The reason he disliked Zhongli was because of Zhongli's strength, which made him jealous. It certainly wasn't because of hatred.
This was entirely the doing of his companions!
If it weren't for that, he would have no reason to dislike Zhongli.
As the saying goes, one should not hit a smiling face. Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's polite greetings helped ease the atmosphere.
"Greetings, young friends," Zhongli nodded, his expression unchanged.
There wasn't much to say about these two. Everyone has their own aspirations and choices.
"I wonder if the Martial God and the others are visiting Star Luo City for the first time. I am very familiar with the city and can guide you," Dai Mubai forced a smile, though it looked somewhat strained. Such words and expressions were a bit difficult for him.
This was a polite remark. If he were more enthusiastic, he would have started introducing the city directly.
Zhongli shook his head. This child was too forced. It wasn't his true intention. Thinking this, he directly declined, "Thank you, young friend. We are just taking a casual stroll and won't trouble you."
If Dai Mubai were sincere, it wouldn't hurt to accompany him and hear some interesting stories.
Of course, if Zhongli wanted to, he could learn these things from the earth or the stones, but doing so would be meaningless.
"That… that is a pity," Dai Mubai's eyes flashed with a hint of joy, and the strain in his smile lessened slightly.
He was just being polite to demonstrate the demeanor of a prince of the Star Luo Empire.
When encountering such a figure, if he lost even the most basic sense of decorum, the other party might find fault.
To avoid such a situation, Dai Mubai had to "endure humiliation."
Even Xiao, who had low emotional intelligence, couldn't help but twitch the corner of his eye.
This Dai Mubai clearly had no intention of showing them around, yet he acted this way, which was quite detestable.
Xiao was straightforward and disliked beating around the bush.
He was somewhat uncomfortable with such "social interactions."
Guizhong shook her head. This human's behavior did not resemble that of a true prince of a great nation.
Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, a glimmer of light flashed in her eyes, and she suddenly understood.
This Dai Mubai seemed to have some conflict with the young people Zhongli had nurtured.
After her revival, during her time in Zhongli's residence, Zhongli often shared stories of his time on the Douluo Continent.
Listening to Zhongli's narration, she felt as if she had experienced it herself.
Among these stories, the conflict between the members of the Shrek Academy and the younger generation of the Body Sect had taken an entire afternoon to recount.
At first, Guizhong hadn't remembered this, but now, as she recalled it, she couldn't help but look at Dai Mubai with a hint of pity.
This little guy actually wanted to compete with Zhongli in strength?
Haha~
What a young man who doesn't know the vastness of heaven and earth! How amusing.
You must know, Zhongli's greatest strength has never been his intellect, but his martial prowess!
Even she, a god, had only challenged Zhongli in wisdom, not in martial strength.
Yet this human, who was less than thirty years old, dared to challenge the authority of the one who ended the God's war battles!
How clever.
The wisdom of humans is not evenly distributed.
After exchanging a few polite words with Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, Zhongli signaled for everyone to leave.
Whether these two were truly welcoming them could be seen from their expressions, so there was no need for further interaction.
After all, they weren't familiar with each other…
After Zhongli and his group left, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun finally let out a sigh of relief. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with helplessness.
Ma Hongjun looked in the direction where Zhongli and the others had left, then turned to Dai Mubai and said, "Boss Dai, a wise man knows when to yield. How about…"
In private, both of them were arrogant, even daring to challenge the authority of this Martial God. But when they actually met, they didn't dare to show the slightest disrespect.
Zhongli seemed no different from an ordinary person, but the aura he exuded and his calm demeanor put immense pressure on the two of them.
Especially when they knew he was a powerful figure.
Ma Hongjun was afraid. After all, he had no conflict with Zhongli. As for this Martial God, his teacher, Flender, had always held him in high esteem.
If it weren't for Dai Mubai, Tang San, Xiao Feilian, and the others having a deep-seated conflict, one that had reached a life-and-death level, Ma Hongjun would have been the first to surrender!
On one side was brotherly loyalty, and on the other was a "foe" that filled him with despair. Ma Hongjun was under immense pressure!