Tianyuan World, Great Li City.
The streets were bustling, with carriages and horses streaming past and pedestrians brushing shoulders.
In recent years, with the Great Li Dynasty beset by troubles at home and abroad—the Divine Eagle Empire eyeing it hungrily from the north, Ghost Ridge Palace carving out its own territory in the south, and uprisings erupting across the land—the dire circumstances had forced many Aristocratic Clans and powerful nobles to relocate to the safer Great Li City.
The gathering of powerful nobles had further driven Great Li City's luxurious commerce. Grand mansions, pleasure houses, brothels, casinos, and all manner of other establishments dazzled the eye.
Yet even so, beneath that luxury were still more commoners with sallow faces, wearing patched clothing and carrying numb expressions. The contrast was stark.
Even in Great Li City, the capital of the Great Li Dynasty, the common people struggled to get by. At least they could usually maintain a mouthful of food and avoid starving to death. Outside Great Li City, however, refugees and beggars were everywhere, and corpses lay scattered across the wilderness.
Jingle, jingle!
Suddenly, a crisp jade-bell chime rang out in the street. Colorful butterflies fluttered through the air, and a strange fragrance filled the surroundings.
The pedestrians in the street turned toward the sound one after another, just in time to see a procession entering Great Li City.
The procession included dozens of cultivators dressed as guards. Their clothing style was completely different from that of the Great Li Dynasty, carrying an exotic flair.
At the center of the procession was a luxurious carriage pulled by sixteen Giant Horned Spirit Deer. Every Giant Horned Spirit Deer was a genuine demonic beast, far beyond any ordinary horse.
And standing right in the middle was a dashing young master.
He had