The Imperial Capital was the power central of Jiang Country and also its most prosperous place.
This was also the place where countless numbers of young people came to chase their dreams.
The Cloud Ship was drawing closer and closer to the Imperial Capital, and the city became clearer to everyone on board.
Lu Xiaoran, who was standing beside Ye Xuan, said suddenly, “Young friend Ye Xuan, the Imperial Capital is a place full of all kinds of people. You’ll have to act more slickly, otherwise, you could find yourself in a lot of trouble!”
Ye Xuan nodded. “I won’t look for trouble!” he said.
Lu Xiaoran shook his head and replied with a smile, “I’m not worried about you, but the nature of the people in this place. Even though I’m the master of a city, I still have to act carefully to not offend those people I can’t afford to have any trouble with.”
He looked as Ye Xuan as he continued speaking, “Young friend, in here, it’s not enough to keep to yourself. Get to make friends with more people if you can, it’ll be very beneficial to you.”
Making friends!
Ye Xuan nodded. Obviously, he knew the benefits of having more friends.
The Cloud Ship was drawing closer to the city, and he could already see the design of the Imperial Capital clearly from where he stood. It was not very huge, and it had a population of only about one million people. Its walls were old, evidence that it had some history.
However, it looked incredibly prosperous!
Before they got close to the city, he could see countless numbers of Cloud Ships entering and exiting the Imperial Capital.
“It’s so lively here!” Ye Xuan said softly as he observed the city on his horizon.
“It’ll be even more lively after we get inside!” Lu Xiaoran laughed as he replied.
Ye Xuan nodded. He got even more curious about the Imperial Capital in front of him.
The Cloud Ship came to a sudden halt about 300 meters before the city walls and gradually landed. There was a huge sea below the ship, and dozens of other Cloud Ships were parked in it. It was a grand sight!
Just at this moment, a voice rang out, “We’ve arrived at the Imperial Capital, all guests please prepare to disembark!”
Ye Xuan turned around and returned back to his room. He did not wake Ye Ling upon noticing that his sister was still sleeping. Instead, he carried her on his back and walked back to the deck of the Cloud Ship.
Lu Xiaoran laughed as he glanced at Ye Xuan. “Friend Ye Xuan, why don’t we go to my residence first?” he asked.
Ye Xuan nodded and replied, “Then I shall not stand on ceremony.”
Lu Ming’s face instantly lit up with joy as he heard Ye Xuan. He was bored after traveling to the Imperial Capital by himself, and naturally he would be happy to have two companions around him.
The ship descended slowly and landed stably on the huge river shortly after. There was a long flight of stairs leaning against the side of the ship, and many guests began walking down.
Ye Xuan carried his sister down the Cloud Ship and followed Lu Xiaoran toward the city gates not far ahead of them.
Han Xiangmeng looked at Ye Xuan’s back view from the Cloud Ship. “I’m afraid that the peace and quiet of Cangmu College will soon be disrupted,” she said softly.
“Why don’t you make peace with him, Young Lady?” an elder who was standing beside her suggested in a low voice.
Han Xiangmeng shook her head as she replied, “I’ve already missed the prime opportunity to do that. I’ll be disgracing myself if I try to make friends with him now.”
“Now, the only hope I have is if I enter Cangmu College…” she muttered as she lifted her head to gaze at straight ahead at the Imperial Capital.
…
Ye Xuan stood below the walls of the Imperial Capital and looked at the city gates in front of him. He felt deeply moved as he realized now how small Qing City was. The gates of Qing City was only one-tenth of the one before him!
This was a proper city. Green City looked just like a small town compared to this!
The first feeling Ye Xuan had upon entering the city gates was that the Capital was huge. The path he was walking on was about seven meters wide, and the houses around him were spaced properly; they did not give him any sense of being too clogged up. In fact, he felt completely at ease as he walked around. The second feeling he had was that the city was bustling with activity. The streets were filled with people, horses and carriages, and it was so noisy that one could not be heard if one talked a little softly.
At this moment, Ye Ling had awoken.
She looked in surprise at her surroundings. “Big brother, this place is much livelier than our Qing City!” she exclaimed.
Ye Xuan laughed a little and looked at Lu Xiaoran. “Senior Lu, where’s Cangmu College at?” he asked.
Lu Xiaoran laughed as he replied, “Don’t be so hasty, young friend. Cangmu College will only begin enrolment about two weeks from now, and it’s not open to the public now. Therefore, it won’t make much sense for you to go there at this moment. Come stay in my house first, rest for a few days, and when you’re sufficiently prepared, go to Cangmu College along with my son. What say you?”
Ye Xuan nodded and replied, “Of course!”
With Lu Xiaoran leading them, the small group soon arrived before a mansion. It was huge and luxurious. This was expected, of course. After all, Lu Xiaoran was the master of a city.
Lu Xiaoran separately allocated an entire yard to the Ye siblings and even assigned three maids to take care of them. This made Ye Xuan feel a little embarrassed.
Ye Ling fell asleep less than an hour after they reached the yard.
Ye Xuan’s heart sunk instantly upon seeing this.
Out of the 24 hours of a day, Ye Ling was sleeping for 18!
This was not normal at all!
After covering her with a blanket, Ye Xuan walked out of the room and came to the center of the yard.
About two more weeks!
Cangmu College was were his hopes resided in now.
However, he was still a little worried. This was because he had not entered the Qi Harnessing Realm yet, and it was a pre-requisite for being accepted into the academy.
He seemed to have thought about something and drew out a white jade ornament that An Lanxiu had given him. If he had no other choice, he would have to use it, even though he very much wanted to enter Cangmu College with his own ability.
Spiritual Sword!
Ye Xuan knew that he had to begin trying to obtain the Spiritual Sword after he managed to enter Cangmu College.
He was different from the others. If he wanted to advance to a higher realm, he had to absorb the Spiritual Sword. That said, it was extremely precious and even if he could find it, he did not know how he could purchase it. He did not have any money on him now!
It was only now that he realized how difficult it was for an ordinary person to train himself or herself!
Practice! Practice!
After entering the Prison World Tower, Ye Xuan had stopped training with the shadows, as they were no longer a match for him. The thing he should be doing now was to really master his battle intent. He had not completely understood this skill, which felt fleeting at times!
Time passed very quickly, and soon it was only two days before the enrolment at Cangmu College began.
Ye Xuan clenched his fists in the Prison World Tower, and a formless power began trembling as it enveloped them.
Battle intent!
At his present strength, he no longer had to use the sword technique One Sword Strike Decides Life and Death just to match up with experts of the Ascending Realm. He could engage them just using his battle intent alone, but whether he could emerge victoriously or not was another matter.
It was a pity that he had not picked up a conceptual sword skill instead. If that was the case, he would not have any problems with facing experts of the Ascending Realm now!
One hour later, Ye Xuan left the Prison World Tower.
That was because Lu Xiaoran had arrived at their little yard. He smiled upon noticing Ye Xuan and asked, “Have you been comfortable with your accommodation, young friend?”
Ye Xuan laughed before replying, “To be honest, both my sister and I have never stayed in such a nice place!”
Lu Xiaoran laughed heartily. “You’re being too kind, young friend. Right, there’ll be a banquet tonight, and I’d like to bring your sister and you with me if you’re free to go.”
“Banquet?”
Ye Xuan paused before replying, “What banquet?”
Lu Xiaoran laughed. “The First Prince of the Imperial Capital’s hosting a banquet. Everytime the Cangmu College enrolls another batch of students, talents all over Jiang Country will arrive in the city. The royal family of Jiang Country will not take them lightly, naturally. As such, the King will always send a prince to represent him in welcoming them.”
Ye Xuan muttered a while to himself before saying, “This doesn’t mean that just about anyone can participate, does it?”
Lu Xiaoran nodded. “Of course. Only those with status and power have the privilege of participating in the banquet. Or rather, those that have been invited to the banquet have almost been confirmed a spot in Cangmu College. Otherwise, the authorities would not have invited them over.”
Ye Xuan laughed bitterly and replied, “Senior, I wasn’t invited!”
Lu Xiaoran made a straight face as he replied, “Young friend, all you have to do is go along with me. About the invite, I’ll just have to invite you, don’t I? It’ll be better if you go; it’ll be beneficial for you if you can make friends with some of the exceptional talents of your generation. What do you think?”
Ye Xuan thought about it and nodded.
Like what Lu Xiaoran had said, it was not a bad idea to make some friends. Embarking on the Way of the Sword did not mean that one should lead a solitary existence. Furthermore, he wanted to see what the great talents of Jiang Country looked like!
Lu Xiaoran nodded and laughed. “Then please go get prepared, my young friend. We’ll head out in a short while!” he said.
He turned to leave after speaking.
Ye Xuan replied back to his room. At this moment, Ye Ling had awoken.
Ye Xuan walked up to his sister and rubbed her cheeks gently. “Don’t sleep later, okay? Big Brother’ll bring you out for a good meal!” he said softly.
Ye Ling blinked her eyes before breaking into a bright smile. “Okay!” she said.
Ye Xuan flicked his fingers gently across his sister’s small nose. “Go wash up quickly, we’ll head out soon!” he said.
An hour later, Lu Xiaoran led the Ye siblings and a small retinue out of his mansion. Shortly after, they arrived at an inn situated at the heart of the city.
The Inn of Immortals!
The inn was the largest of its kind in the Imperial Capital, and it had a surface area of nearly 1,000 square meters. It consisted of six storeys and its exterior was coated in gold. It looked like an extremely extravagant place to go to, and it was an asset of the Drunken Fairy Building.
The Ye siblings were stunned upon seeing the inn.
They had never seen such a huge and luxurious looking tavern before!
Even Lu Ming was a little shocked. There were no taverns as huge as this in the Thousand-mountain City.
Lu Xiaoran laughed heartily as he observed their expressions. “This is not the largest inn around. After you guys go out into the world in future, you’ll realize that the world is huge, and there are all sorts of things around us!”
Ye Xuan nodded. He firmly believed in the same theory as well.
He felt that he was fortunate to have left Qing City. If not, he would have been ignorant his entire life!
Lu Xiaoran led the three of them into the Inn of Immortals. A beautiful looking woman walked up to them instantly and asked, “Are you Chatelain Lu?”
Lu Xiaoran nodded.
The woman smiled sweetly before replying, “There’s still one hour to the banquet, and the First Prince has prepared some ‘entertainment’ for you, Chatelain Lu. Would you like to give it a try?”
Lu Xiaoran’s face turned slightly red as he heard her speak. He hurriedly shook his head and said, “There’s no need for that. Bring me to the First Prince.”
The woman nodded and led Lu Xiaoran and company up to the stairs. When they reached the fourth storey, the Ye siblings were stunned by what they saw.
The entire fourth storey was shaped like a plaza. It was huge and larger than their own house. Its interior was extravagantly furnished, much like a palace. The floor was covered with thick animal skin, and it felt extremely soft and comfortable.
“Wow!”
Lu Ming exclaimed as he laid foot on the animal hide. “Dad, this is the skin of a red tiger. It must at least be worth a few hundred gold coins, and there are tens of thousands of hides here… damn, the Drunken Fairy Building is wealthier than our family!”
Upon hearing him, Ye Xuan and Ye Ling looked at each other. Ye Xuan shook his head and laughed. “Poverty has limited my imagination!” he said.
Lu Xiaoran laughed. “Young friend, the Drunken Fairy Building’s wealth is on par with that of a few nations. Even the royal family is not as rich as them,” he said.
He then looked far ahead before saying, “Hold on a moment, young friend. I’ll be back shortly!”
After speaking, he strode away into the distance.
A young man walked over at this moment, and he cupped his fists as a sign of greeting to Ye Xuan. “Did you just arrive, brother?” he asked.
Ye Xuan nodded and returned the greeting. “We’ve just arrived!”
The young man laughed before replying, “I’m Yu Bu’er, the heir apparent of the Yu Family of Chuan City. Might I know your name, brother?”
Ye Xuan laughed and said, “Ye Xuan of Qing City, I belong to no sect!”
“A recreational practitioner?”
The young man was stunned momentarily before he took measure of Ye Xuan. “You’re a recreational practitioner?”
Ye Xuan nodded. “Exactly.”
The young man’s expression dimmed and he replied, “Sorry to have disturbed you.”
He turned to leave after speaking.
“…” Ye Xuan was speechless.
The young man walked to another corner and greeted another teenager before introducing himself like before.
The teenager returned the greeting and said, “I’m Mo Xiao, the heir apparent of the Mo Family of Yue City!”
The youth paused, shocked. “You’re from the Mo Family that owns dozens of gold mines?”
The teenager nodded. “Exactly,” he said.
The youth grabbed Mo Xiao’s arm and said with a smile, “Brother Mo, I feel as if we’ve known each other for a long time. Come, come, let’s have a few drinks…”
…
