Post Road Outside the Capital

"Since that's the case, there's no time to lose. Let's go." Lu Chen nodded.

The Dragon Soaring Guard had already led over two exceptionally magnificent Dragon-Blood Horses. Their bodies were crimson from head to toe, with faint flames curling around their four hooves. They were top-tier mounts bred by the imperial family, capable of covering ten thousand li in a single day.

The two men swung themselves onto their horses. With a wave of Chen Feng's hand, fifty elite Dragon Soaring Guards formed a protective escort around them. The party became a black arrow, shooting out of Shanglin Garden and racing along the broad, level imperial road toward the Capital City a hundred li away.

The thunder of hooves shattered the evening tranquility outside the Capital City.

On both sides of the imperial road stretched royal hunting grounds and official farmlands. They had all been placed under martial lockdown, with not a single idle bystander in sight.

Seated on horseback, Lu Chen felt the wind howling past his ears as he continued adapting to the changes brought by the Dragon-Pattern Spirit Bones within him and the newly formed Dragon Soul Mirror imprint.

His senses had become extraordinarily sharp. Even while racing at high speed, he could clearly perceive the slightest stir within several li around him.

"Director Mo," Lu Chen transmitted his voice directly into Mo Qianqiu's ear, "His Majesty's dharma-body projection must have suffered considerable depletion in the Northern Frontier, correct?"

Mo Qianqiu glanced at him and replied through voice transmission, "Considerable? It was far worse than that. To condense a national-fortune dharma-body projection, descend across realms, and then directly withstand a strike from something like Soul Burial—His Majesty's true body will likely need time to recuperate as well. But it was worth it! This battle not only pacified