Great Yan, Capital City.
The streets were bustling, and every passerby wore an air of confidence and optimism.
Ragged beggars were rarely seen by the roadside. It wasn't that there were none at all, but for a feudal Mortal Dynasty, their numbers were remarkably low.
"Your noodles, sir!"
A bowl of plain noodles in clear broth was set before Chen Yan. The waiter's clothes were neat, and the towel draped over his shoulder was spotless.
Chen Yan nodded, then pulled a pair of chopsticks from a bamboo tube nearby.
At the same time, he released his Spiritual Sense.
From high above, he surveyed the bustling Capital City of Great Yan.
There had been no wars in the past dozen years or so.
The nomads beyond Great Yan's northwestern grasslands had not encroached on Great Yan's territory by even an inch during those years.
Great Yan's domestic affairs were also remarkably stable. It was a time of sound governance and harmony among the people.
Behind it all lay the years of famine, when Luoling Sect had given the Great Yan Dynasty tens of millions of bushels of grain.
That grain had pulled the Mortal Dynasty back from the brink of ruin and disaster, while also laying the foundation for its prosperity today.
Clip-clop, clip-clop!
The hurried thunder of hooves rang out.
Several warhorses raced down the broad streets of Great Yan's Capital City.
Every soldier mounted on them wore black armor, with a gilded tiger's head set into each helmet.
They were members of the Tiger Leopard Battalion.
Drawn from Great Yan's frontier cavalry, these men had since become part of the Capital City's imperial guards. The Tiger Leopard Battalion was now the guards' most elite cavalry unit, under the personal command of the commander of the imperial guards.
As for