Bright Capital and the Emperor

Under Xu Yan's shocked gaze, Qian Yuhan kicked down a doorway sealed with rubble and mud, walking inside with effortless grace. He left Xu Yan hovering in mid-air, staring at the massive cave—which appeared to be a natural formation expanded by human hands—behind the earthen wall, gasping in amazement:

"Good heavens! You've been living here all by yourself these past few years?"

"That's right. No one to disturb the peace; I've been quite comfortable living alone."

As he spoke, Qian Yuhan began stowing various strange and curious items from the cave into his storage Soul Tool.

Yes, you guessed correctly: the items Qian Yuhan was now placing into his storage Soul Tool were the spoils he had scavenged over the years from the ruins of Martial Soul Hall and the mausoleums of his descendants.

Don't you dare call this grave robbing of Martial Soul Hall.

Who was Qian Yuhan? He was the founding ancestor of Martial Soul Hall.

Can an ancestor who has returned to life be accused of grave robbing for taking back things he once bequeathed to his descendants? That was clearly just a normal retrieval!

With the help of the storage Soul Tool "graciously provided" by the Zhongli Three Brothers, a pile of miscellaneous items thick with historical significance was meticulously sorted by Qian Yuhan and tucked away into his possession.

All that remained was a cave that looked as if it had been ransacked a dozen times by ruthless bandits, whistling as the wind blew through it.

"Alright, since you've finished packing your things, let's set off for the Bright Capital to meet His Majesty."

"His Majesty?"

"Yes, His Majesty. Once we arrive in the Bright Capital, we must first go to the Imperial Palace to have an audience with him."

At this moment, a hint of craftiness, rarely seen by others, appeared on Xu Yan's rugged face.

It was true; he felt genuine pity for Qian Yuhan's background and was quite willing to believe that Qian Yuhan wasn't lying to him.

However, whether Qian Yuhan was trustworthy, whether he was concealing or deceiving them, and how he should be handled—the final decision-making power for all these matters rested solely with the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire.

He, Xu Yan, and his personal judgment were merely an insignificant link in this long decision-making process.

Professional matters must be left to the professionals.

This was a truth passed down by the ancestors!

He believed that as long as he delivered this kid to the Imperial Palace, to His Majesty, everything would work out.

He believed even more that the professionals in the Bright Capital's Imperial Palace would certainly be able to make a better and more accurate judgment than he ever could.

After saying this, Xu Yan flew out of the cave and soared into the sky.

Beneath his feet, a square, lustrous blue metal plate suddenly unfolded. At its base, eight flame nozzles of varying sizes held Xu Yan's sturdy frame perfectly steady in mid-air with exquisite control.

"Whoa~, Old Qian, look at that! This is a high-level Soul Tool! My goodness, it's practically a work of art."

"..."

Unlike the Rakshasa Phantom, who was clicking its tongue in wonder, Qian Yuhan carefully observed the flight Soul Tool Xu Yan was using.

In his memory, the various Soul Tools he and the Rakshasa Phantom had cobbled together over the past few years were mostly crude and rugged; at best... they could only be described as auxiliary items made of metal.

But the Soul Tools Xu Yan was using before his eyes today—whether it was the earlier Soul Tool barrier, the Soul Tool cannon, or this current flight board—all gave him a... uniquely distinct feeling.

He had a premonition that the world of the future would undoubtedly be a world of Soul Tools. Powerful Soul Masters paired with powerful Soul Tools would surely become the top-tier combat force on the Douluo Continent.

Harboring a complex mix of emotions, Qian Yuhan stood behind Xu Yan on the lustrous blue flight Soul Tool with his help.

As a layer of lustrous blue, egg-shaped energy film enveloped the two of them, Xu Yan tapped his foot lightly, and a powerful thrust was instantly transmitted from the flight Soul Tool beneath him to his entire body.

Following that, the surrounding scenery began to blur into a phantasm.

"How about it! I deliberately removed the shock absorbers on this thing so we could experience the G-force of high-speed flight. How is it? Thrilling, right!"

"It's alright," Qian Yuhan replied calmly.

"Then I'll add a little more speed. Let's aim to have a midnight snack in the Bright Capital."

Seeing that Qian Yuhan not only failed to show an over-the-top reaction but had actually adapted quite well, Xu Yan, feeling that his "humanized advanced design" had been validated, let out three hearty laughs and increased their speed by another fifty percent.

It wasn't until they entered the outskirts of the Bright Capital that he slightly slowed the flight Soul Tool, allowing Qian Yuhan to see the dazzling, eye-catching scene below.

"Look! This is the capital of our Sun Moon Empire, called Sun-Moon City."

"Of course, we can also call her the Bright Capital. She is the political and economic center of our Sun Moon Empire, the pride of our Sun Moon Empire." Xu Yan extended a finger, pointing proudly at the vast stretches of architecture below:

"I can guarantee you, even if you added the capitals of the Star Luo, Heavenly Soul, and Dou Ling empires together, they wouldn't be able to compare to our Bright Capital."

It was midnight, but precisely because it was midnight, the impact that the Bright Capital—the number one city on the continent—had on a person was all the more intense.

Qian Yuhan looked out; directly beneath the flight Soul Tool were vast stretches of buildings, and in the distance, there were more vast stretches of buildings.

These buildings were so numerous they seemed to stretch beyond the horizon. Among them, the vast majority were over five stories tall, and he even saw high-rises of ten, twenty stories.

This was a sight that Qian Yuhan, a "primitive man" from tens of thousands of years ago, had never seen before.

The lights of ten thousand homes illuminated this seemingly boundless city, making it shine so brilliantly it almost vied with the stars in the sky.

Between the buildings, wide stone-paved streets were laid out like a chessboard, with some main thoroughfares exceeding thirty meters in width.

"The Bright Capital, it lives up to its reputation!"

Seeing a foreigner express such amazement at his own capital, Xu Yan, feeling a sense of reflected glory, couldn't help but curl his lips into an extremely arrogant arc.

He stomped on the acceleration button, pushing the Soul Tool to its maximum speed.

"Little brother, stand steady! The Bright Capital Imperial Palace is just ahead."

Upon reaching a landmark building three kilometers from the imperial palace, Xu Yan performed an aerial drift, bringing his blue-flame-spewing flight Soul Tool to a halt.

The reason was simple: the imperial city was unlike anywhere else! Flying was strictly prohibited over the imperial city.

Under the watchful eyes of a patrol of Soul Tool guards at the city gate, Xu Yan leisurely fished a token from his robes.

It was a dark gold medallion, engraved with a fire dragon baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.

Seeing this token, the Soul Master guards immediately knelt in unison, bowing respectfully toward it. Xu Yan, however, waved his hand dismissively with a nonchalant air.

"Oh, alright, alright. There are no outsiders here, so who are you putting on this show for? We're all brothers here; you lot go back to your duties. Next time you're off shift, I'll treat you to a late-night snack."

As he spoke, Xu Yan reached out with his left hand and gave Qian Yuhan a casual, light pat on the shoulder, looking smug.

"Little brother, I'm not bragging, but in this imperial palace, I, Xu Yan, am someone who carries some weight. As long as you aren't plotting treason, just drop my name if you run into trouble here. It works like a charm."

And if someone really does commit treason and uses your name, wouldn't you be finished?

Watching Xu Yan's insufferable expression, the Rakshasa Phantom remarked.

Entering through a side gate of the imperial palace, they bypassed several less significant halls within the complex.

Xu Yan led Qian Yuhan deeper into the imperial city with practiced ease, swinging the token in his left hand while keeping his right arm draped over Qian Yuhan's shoulder.

Whenever a patrol approached, he would hoist the token high, looking as if he were terrified someone might not notice he possessed such a treasure.

Then again, the sheer scale of the Bright Capital imperial palace was truly staggering.

Even at the running pace maintained by Xu Yan and Qian Yuhan, it took a full two quarters of an hour to reach a magnificent palace with a golden roof.

"At this hour... my Fourth Uncle the Emperor is likely still burning the midnight oil over memorials. You wait here; I'll go find someone to announce us."

Putting away the token, Xu Yan tidied his appearance slightly and trotted over to the side door of the golden hall, striking up a conversation with the red-robed attendant standing guard.

"Oh my, Marquis, you've finally arrived. His Majesty has been waiting for you inside for quite some time."

Seeing that Xu Yan, whom he had been waiting for all this time, had finally arrived before dawn, the red-robed attendant let out a sigh of relief, his heart still racing.

He gestured for another purple-robed attendant to go inside and report, while his peripheral vision swept toward Qian Yuhan, who was standing below the steps, seemingly lost in thought.

"..."

After a long moment, the red-robed attendant withdrew his subtle gaze and whispered to Xu Yan, "Marquis, is this truly the prospective consort chosen by Her Highness the Princess? He looks decent enough, and his age matches the Princess, but a royal consort cannot be chosen based on looks alone."

"Chief Steward Wang, he is eleven years old, four rings," Xu Yan replied, not refuting the attendant but using a few short, concise words to block the rest of his concerns.

(⊙o⊙) What?

Eleven years old, four rings... Good heavens! Marquis, I am old, please do not lie to me.

At this moment, Chief Steward Wang, an inner-palace expert with eighty-six levels of cultivation, fell silent.

The higher one climbed in cultivation, the more one understood the value of talent; the weight of the words "eleven years old, four rings" was simply too heavy.

It was so heavy that he could be certain the youth standing below the steps—with his calm face and lack of expression—had a future potential that far exceeded the limit this old man, destined to be stuck at the eighth rank, could ever hope to reach.

To speak somewhat presumptuously, if the Princess's affair, which was currently just a possibility, truly came to fruition in a few years, then it would be their Princess who had climbed high to secure the future Chief Guardian Douluo of their Sun Moon Empire.

Just as the red-robed Chief Steward was lost in a brief mental storm, the purple-robed attendant who had gone in to report to the Emperor hurried out. He looked at Xu Yan, then at his master, hesitating to speak.

"What exactly does His Majesty mean? Why are you standing there saying nothing?" Chief Steward Wang gave his disciple a sharp chop to the head, chiding, "Speak! Don't just stand there looking back and forth."

"His Majesty said..." The purple-robed attendant turned his gaze toward Qian Yuhan, "Let him come in to answer."

"Alright, I'll take him in."

"Oi! Hurry up, I'm taking you to see His Majesty."

With that, Xu Yan turned and walked toward the main entrance of the palace.

Realizing his expression might have been misunderstood, the purple-robed attendant hurriedly reached out to stop Xu Yan, who was about to charge into the hall, and continued to explain.

"Marquis, His Majesty meant for him to go in alone; you may wait outside. Of course, it is quite late, so you are free to leave if you wish."

"Hey! What kind of talk is that? I've already come this far, what's a little more waiting? Fine, fine, since Fourth Uncle said so, this nephew will obey the decree," Xu Yan pouted, bowing toward the old Emperor deep within the hall from a distance.

He then stepped back, clearing a path, and watched as Qian Yuhan walked alone toward the hall, which was illuminated only by dim lights.

Without a hint of hesitation or awkwardness, Qian Yuhan strode to the front of the hall. Under the glow of the antique Soul Tool lamps used for lighting, he looked up and saw the plaque above the door—Wenhua Hall.

Wenhua Hall?

A fine name.

As Qian Yuhan pondered this, he heard the door, which had been radiating a faint warmth, emit a soft creak.

The door opened a small gap; it seemed someone inside had taken the initiative to open the tightly sealed entrance for him.

Stepping sideways into the hall, Qian Yuhan had barely steadied himself before a wave of warmth washed over him.

The warmth was mingled with a faint scent of ink and the peculiar smell that only aged books carried.

"No need for formalities, come in and see Us."

The speaker's voice was low, possessing the hoarse, weathered quality unique to the elderly, but the tone was clear, and Qian Yuhan heard it perfectly.

Following the direction of the voice, Qian Yuhan used the lamplight to catch sight of the person sitting behind the exquisite wooden imperial desk.

The soft, off-white glow of the soul-guide lamp shone from the side, casting deep and shallow shadows across the face of this old emperor who had "seized the throne through the Xuanwu Gate Heaven-Appointed Jingnan and earned his position through sheer strength."

This old emperor, who was ruthless—no, rather, decisive in slaughter—and had snatched the throne from his own brothers, possessed a healthy, bronze-toned complexion.

His weathered face was adorned with a neat, short beard, and a few strands of black hair were still interspersed among his greying temples.

Yet, all these seemingly ordinary features could not conceal his extraordinarily imposing aura.

A sense of imperial majesty, commanding without anger, radiated continuously from his bright eyes, which burned like a roaring furnace.

"Why do you keep standing there? Is Imperial We truly that terrifying?!"

Noticing the inquisitive gaze in the young man's eyes at the doorway, the old emperor slowly raised his head and asked Qian Yuhan, "Or is it that you have a guilty conscience and dare not come forward to see Imperial We?"

"It is not that; it is just my first time seeing an emperor, so I find it a bit novel," Qian Yuhan replied truthfully.

After all, this was indeed the first time in his life since obtaining the Style Shift that he had seen an emperor, let alone the emperor of the Sun Moon Empire.

Unlike Qian Yuhan, whose composure far exceeded that of an ordinary person, the imposing old emperor found himself somewhat bewildered after a brief silence.