Star Manor, Chen Palace

Li Tianming saw Flame Capital once more.

It was a blazing city. Even its walls seemed to have been scorched crimson by the blazing sun. From afar, it looked like a red-hot furnace, steaming with heat.

In his memory, Flame Capital had been the most prosperous city.

The illustrious clans of the entire Vermilion Bird Kingdom gathered here, along with the nation's wealth, experts, geniuses, and resources. It was the dreamland of the kingdom's young people.

Four years ago, Li Tianming had come to Flame Capital with lofty ambitions. He had passed the palace examination and entered Yanhuang Academy to cultivate, and everything had flourished.

Four years later, he had returned in full force, but the meaning of his life had become entirely different.

Seeing Flame Capital again, his state of mind was naturally different as well. Moreover, this time, he had brought his mother with him.

Wei Jing lifted the carriage curtain.

Her gaze was like water. The way she looked at Flame Capital was entirely different from Li Tianming's.

Even now, Li Tianming did not know what story lay between her and Flame Capital. But he knew that before marrying Li Yanfeng, Wei Jing had always been from Flame Capital.

Her childhood had been bound to this fiery city.

At that moment, her gaze was as gentle as water, and a smile rested on her lips, yet her eyes glistened as though mist had gathered within them.

It was clear that, after twenty years, returning to the hometown that had raised her had stirred countless waves in her heart.

Yet all those waves lay hidden beneath the smile at the corners of her lips.

Her head of silver hair danced in the wind. Though she looked frail and aged, that smile and those flying locks suddenly made Li Tianming imagine her youth.

She must once have been a lively young woman beautiful enough to make others envy her, as lovely as Jiang Feiling or Princess Qing.

Time and illness were truly too cruel. Li Tianming buried those words in his heart and did not say them aloud.

With a smile on his face, he looked at his mother and asked, "How is it? Do you feel like the scenery remains while people have changed, and before you can speak, tears have already begun to fall?"

"You rascal. Your mother isn't some sentimental woman. I simply miss Flame Capital's pastries—the mung bean cakes, osmanthus cakes, begonia cakes. They tasted so good." It was obvious that she was already drooling over them.

Once, she too had been a young girl who held delicious food in her hands and happily wandered through the streets and alleys.

"Don't worry. Once your son has money, I'll definitely let you eat your fill."

"From now on, we'll settle down in Flame Capital. I'll take good care of you and bring you tasty pastries every day," Li Tianming said.

"Pinky swear. You're not allowed to go back on your word. If you dare forget, I won't let you through the door," Wei Jing said with a stern face.

"What a cruel woman," Li Tianming said, shaking his head.

"I'll beat you!"

Sure enough, once they had left Lihuo City and no longer had to see that man, happiness was this simple.

"But we came to Flame Capital empty-handed. Where are we supposed to settle down?"

This was a problem Li Tianming urgently needed to solve. If he had come alone, he would have had somewhere to live after entering Yanhuang Academy.

But his mother could not enter Yanhuang Academy. She needed a home of her own.

"I'll take care of that. Your mother had quite a few friends in Flame Capital back then," Wei Jing said with a smile.

It seemed she had already made plans.

"It's just that I haven't seen my sisters in twenty years, and they're all doing better than I am."

Even the most free-spirited person would feel somewhat dejected at a time like this.

Back then, they had been inseparable as glue and lacquer. Yet later, each had gained her own family and her own life.

After entering Flame Capital, Li Tianming drove the carriage toward the western district under Wei Jing's guidance. The western district was Flame Capital's land of freedom, flourishing in trade and commerce, with fish and dragons mingled together.

Flame Capital was enormous. If one truly wandered through it, several days and nights would not be enough to cover it all.

"Do you know where Chen Palace is?" Wei Jing asked.

"Of course. Star Manor and Chen Palace are the most luxurious and magnificent residences in Flame Capital's western district. If not for their reverence toward the Vermilion Bird royal family, those two estates might have been built even more lavishly than the imperial city."

Li Tianming had spent a year in Flame Capital, so he knew its streets like the back of his hand.

The reason those two residences could be so extravagant was mainly because they had money. Because—

They were the residences of the two presidents of the Starfall Chamber of Commerce.

The Starfall Chamber of Commerce was the Vermilion Bird Kingdom's largest commercial alliance. It controlled the economic lifeline of the entire nation, with countless branches spread across cities large and small. Lihuo City had one of its branches as well.

As the saying went, there was only money you did not have, not things the Starfall Chamber of Commerce could not buy.

The two presidents of the Starfall Chamber of Commerce were legendary figures in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom.

They had been commoner geniuses who built their fortunes from nothing together. More than twenty years ago, they had been known as the Starfall Twins; now, they were revered as the Starfall Twin Sages.

In merely twenty years, the two of them had spread the Starfall Chamber of Commerce across the entire kingdom. They possessed wealth rivaling that of a nation, turning the Starfall Chamber of Commerce, with its history of only twenty years, into the Vermilion Bird Kingdom's newest rising power.

It even possessed enough strength to contend with many old aristocratic clans that had existed for thousands of years, such as Thunder Lord Manor.

Star Manor and Chen Palace were respectively the residences of the Star Sage and Chen Sage. Over the years, they had received countless figures from the upper class.

However, they were not places ordinary people could enter. In any case, Li Tianming had never even approached them.

"What are we going to Chen Palace for? Could it be that you know someone there?" Li Tianming asked curiously.

"One of my closest sisters married into Chen Palace," Wei Jing said.

Perhaps because she was about to see a friend she had not met in twenty years, she felt somewhat nervous and uneasy. After all, she was now gravely ill and at the end of her rope.

Before long, a residence bathed in starlight appeared before them.

The estate was like a small city, situated in the most prosperous part of Flame Capital and surrounded by numerous illustrious clans.

Chen Palace stood like the moon surrounded by stars, grand and elegant. Its many statues and relief carvings were exquisitely tasteful. That dazzling starlight alone was enough to make ordinary people feel ashamed of their own inferiority and not dare approach.

Far from the gates of Chen Palace, guards with profound cultivation stood watch beside savage Companion Beasts.

Seeing the fully grown male lions and tigers crouched upon the ground, even when they were dozing, they cast an intimidating presence over everyone nearby.

Li Tianming drove the carriage over. This carriage had been Li Yanfeng's personal vehicle, so it was sufficiently luxurious. The guards at the gate naturally assumed someone important must be inside.

Thus, they were fairly polite as they asked, "Are you here to visit Chen Palace, sir? May I ask whether you have an appointment?"

"Please inform your madam, Xue Lan, that an old friend, Wei Jing, requests an audience," she said softly as she gently opened the curtain.

"Our madam generally does not receive unfamiliar visitors. Please do not make things difficult for us," the guard said seriously.

"Just tell her my name. I'm sorry to trouble you. If there is no reply, I will naturally leave," Wei Jing said very politely.

The guards could not be certain. The woman before them was elderly; perhaps she was some elder of their madam. To be safe, they still sent word inside.

The wait was somewhat long. Chen Palace was simply too vast, and it naturally took time for word to reach the madam.

"Mother, does this madam hold a high position in Chen Palace?" Li Tianming asked curiously.

"Naturally. She is the Chen Sage's wife," Wei Jing said with a smile.

"Damn?" Li Tianming was startled. He could not help looking at Wei Jing with doubtful eyes.

One of her former friends was actually the wife of the Chen Sage. That meant her own status in Flame Capital could not have been low in the past.

The Chen Sage was a major figure in the entire Vermilion Bird Kingdom today, his status comparable to that of a court minister.

Even Li Yanfeng could not make contact with such a person.

While Li Tianming was still doubtful, word had already come from within. The guard hurried forward and said, "My madam will receive you. She is making arrangements at Snow Chen Pavilion. Madam Wei, please leave the carriage and follow this humble one inside."

Wei Jing had difficulty walking, so Li Tianming supported her as they entered Chen Palace.

Once inside, Li Tianming finally witnessed just how luxurious Chen Palace was. Jewels and glazed crystal were everywhere; a tower every five steps, a pavilion every ten, with flowers blooming like brocade and beauty beyond measure.

Compared to Chen Palace, the City Lord's Mansion in Lihuo City could only be called a humble hut.

For a woman to become the mistress of such a Chen Palace, this woman named Xue Lan was clearly no ordinary person.

Li Tianming had to remain calm, or he would look too much like a country bumpkin entering the city.

Yet these former sisters—one now lacked even a proper status or a place to settle, while the other was the mistress of Chen Palace and the Chen Sage's wife.

The twists of life truly made one sigh. Meeting the wrong man brought much suffering in life.

Yet Wei Jing's expression was composed. It seemed she did not envy her sister's happiness at all. Instead, she was deeply happy for her.

The journey to Snow Chen Pavilion was somewhat long, and they passed by a martial arts arena along the way.

The arena was exceptionally lively at that time. Quite a few young men and women of the Starfall Chamber of Commerce were sparring and training there.

At every Yanhuang Academy palace examination, many Starfall Chamber of Commerce disciples entered Yanhuang Academy to cultivate. Today's drills were likely their final preparations.

After all, the official palace examination would take place in three days.

Li Tianming noticed an exceptionally eye-catching boy of fifteen or sixteen in the arena.

The boy was tall and handsome, dressed in an azure training uniform. His long hair was combed neatly and meticulously. Yet the most striking thing about him was his eyes.

Those eyes shone as brilliantly as stars, crystal-clear like gemstones and jade.

Even from a great distance away, Li Tianming could see the light in those eyes.

He was definitely a child of a great clan. That innate, crystal-clear quality was not something ordinary fringe descendants could compare to.

Take Liu Qianyang, for example. He indeed possessed noble bearing and an imposing aura, but compared to this boy, he clearly lacked that crystal-clear innocence of heart.

From afar, the boy looked like a pure star. Though many martial geniuses surrounded him, one could tell at a glance, even from far away, that he was the most dazzling among them.

His Companion Beast was a burly purple male lion.

Six distinct star points gleamed in the purple lion's eyes, each one shining brightly. This was enough to show that the boy's Companion Beast was a Sixth-Order Companion Beast.

Possessing a Sixth-Order Companion Beast meant that this boy was considered a top genius even in Flame Capital, someone Liu Qianyang and Jiang Yilin's ilk could not compare to.

"This is our Young Master Chen Yao's Companion Beast, the Six-Star Radiance Lion. I hear that even among Sixth-Order Companion Beasts, it is considered top-grade," the guard said with pride, admiration, and envy.

Li Tianming knew that Companion Beast grades were classified more finely in Flame Capital.

Even Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Companion Beasts of the same order were further divided into three tiers here: top-grade, mid-grade, and low-grade.

For example, his Four-Winged Golden Roc had once been classified as a mid-grade Fifth-Order Companion Beast, placing it around the middle among Fifth-Order Companion Beasts.

This Six-Star Radiance Lion was not only a Sixth-Order Companion Beast, but also a top-grade one. This further showed that Young Master Chen Yao possessed peerless talent.

"Is this Xue Lan's child?" Wei Jing asked.

"Of course. Young Master Chen Yao is Madam's younger son. Madam's eldest son, Chen Hao, entered Heavenly Court to cultivate long ago. He is now ranked very highly on Heavenly Court's rankings," the guard said proudly.

Chen Hao?

Li Tianming knew him. During the palace examination four years ago, he had ranked among the top three. Suppressed by Lin Xiaoting, he had failed to enter Heavenly Court directly. Yet heaven rewarded diligence, and today he was already a Heavenly Court genius.

"Young Master Chen Yao will soon participate in the palace examination three days from now. He has great hopes of taking first place in the palace examination and advancing directly into Heavenly Court."

"I hear that the younger one is upon entering Heavenly Court, the more opportunities and cultivation one receives. If Young Master Chen Hao had taken first place in the palace examination four years ago, he probably would not be inferior today to that one from Thunder Lord Manor."

He did not need to say it for Li Tianming to know that Chen Palace's young master was definitely a favorite to take first place in the palace examination.