The Seventh Prince

Xiong Wanjin was still wrapped in a cloak made for desert travel, half his face covered by a veil. Caked in dust from head to toe, he looked as bedraggled as could be—no different from a beggar.

As for Xiong Qianjin, he wore a luxurious pale-gold robe. No one knew what sort of brocade it had been woven from, but dense layers of cloud patterns rippled across it like flowing water. Whenever Xiong Qianjin moved, those cloud patterns seemed ready to seep out of the robe itself. It was magnificent and extravagant to the extreme.

Such supreme-grade brocade simply could not be found on the Western Continent. Even Lin Qi could not help feeling a little envious when he saw the robe Xiong Qianjin wore.

The ornaments on Xiong Qianjin's body were even more astonishing. Set into his golden hair crown was an egg-sized ruby. The brilliant, eye-catching gem seemed to be on fire, gleaming beneath the sun. That jewel alone could make the nobles of the Western Continent squander tens of millions of gold coins.

Xiong Qianjin's belt was even more astounding. A row of thirty-six translucent yellow jades had been carved with patterns of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, plum blossoms, orchids, pines, and bamboo, then meticulously set into a belt woven from platinum thread. The yellow jade and pale-gold robe complemented each other brilliantly, making him positively glitter with jewels and treasure. They turned the plump, obese Xiong Qianjin into something like a walking display stand for jewelry.

Lin Qi swiftly glanced over those thirty-six hollow-carved yellow jade pieces. On the Western Continent, this type of yellow jade was also known as "Thunder Gemstone," a kind of magic crystal containing extraordinarily powerful lightning magic. It was one of the finest materials for lightning-element mages to craft all