Just from Dai Mobai's looks, the Yang Clan member guarding the entrance only thought he looked vaguely familiar.
The young man's clothes weren't flashy, but his bearing was extraordinary. His features seemed like they belonged to someone the guard had seen before.
But when Dai Mobai gave his name, the Yang Clan member finally understood where that familiar feeling came from—
The current Star Luo Crown Prince had come to visit the Breaking Clan in person!
"Your Highness, please wait a moment. I'll inform the clan leader right away!"
The Yang Clan member immediately bowed, bending deeper than usual. His voice brimmed with barely restrained excitement.
"Sorry for the trouble."
Dai Mobai's lips curved slightly, his tone as warm as if he were speaking to one of his own people.
Hearing such an exalted crown prince speak so casually, the Yang Clan member couldn't help feeling honored.
He waved his hands repeatedly and said, "It's no trouble." Before the words had even left his mouth, he had already turned and dashed through the gate, his hurried footsteps thundering across the flagstones.
Yang Wudi was sitting in the courtyard.
An old locust tree in one corner cast half the yard in shade. He sat beneath it, holding a cup of clear tea.
"Clan leader! The Star Luo Crown Prince is here to pay a visit!"
The clansman rushed into the courtyard, gasping for breath, his chest heaving and a sheen of sweat on his forehead.
Yang Wudi didn't change the way he held his teacup. He didn't even raise his eyes.
"How many people did he bring?"
"Just one guard."
"Hm?"
Yang Wudi's hand stopped halfway to his mouth.
He looked up. At last, a trace of surprise appeared on his usually placid face.
"He brought just one person?"
"Yes."
The Yang Clan member nodded emphatically.
Yang Wudi fell silent for a moment, then slowly set his teacup back on the stone table.
"He certainly isn't putting on airs like royalty."
Yang Wudi rose to his feet. His lean figure cast a straight shadow beneath the locust tree.
"In that case, let's go meet him."
Outside, the other guard on duty had already brewed tea for Dai Mobai.
It was served in an ordinary coarse porcelain cup, and the tea wasn't anything precious, but it had been prepared properly.
The guard offered the cup with both hands. Li Yue took it naturally, tested the cup's temperature with the back of her hand, then passed it to him.
Dai Mobai had just taken a sip to moisten his throat when footsteps sounded from inside the gate.
Two sets.
One was steady, each step firmly planted, as if measured with a ruler.
The other was somewhat disordered, quick and uneven—the clansman who had gone to report his arrival.
Dai Mobai set down his teacup and looked up.
A lean, upright old man was coming out of the inner courtyard.
He wasn't tall—in fact, he was quite thin—but the moment he stood there, his presence seemed just like his Martial Soul: straight, sharp, and unbending.
Even though Dai Mobai's memory of Yang Wudi's face was vague, that spear-straight posture made his identity obvious.
"This junior, Dai Mobai, pays his respects to Clan Leader Yang."
Dai Mobai spoke first, smiling with easy composure. His manner was courteous but not servile.
"Your Highness."
Yang Wudi returned the greeting with clasped fists, his back still ramrod straight.
His eyes swept over Dai Mobai—
There was no retinue trailing behind him, no lavish robe inlaid with gold and jade. Even the ornaments at his waist were of ordinary quality.
He was unlike every member of the imperial family Yang Wudi had ever met.
Though this was their first meeting, Yang Wudi had formed a rather good impression of the Star Luo Crown Prince.
He didn't put on royal airs. At the very least, he wasn't unpleasant to be around.
So even though Yang Wudi knew Dai Mobai must have some purpose in coming, he was still willing to talk.
"Your Highness, please."
Yang Wudi stepped aside, clearing a path.
Dai Mobai nodded and crossed the threshold, walking shoulder to shoulder with Yang Wudi.
Without thinking, they fell into step together, matching pace and position.
Yang Wudi noticed the small gesture, and his already favorable impression improved further.
As they crossed the front courtyard and entered the Breaking Clan's grounds, Dai Mobai's gaze swept over the surroundings.
The home of a whole clan was no bigger than the palace chambers he had stayed in before.
The houses were old, their window frames mottled where the paint had peeled away.
The roads were dirt, worn smooth and packed firm by countless footsteps.
He had known the Breaking Clan was struggling, but only seeing it with his own eyes made him truly understand what "struggling" meant—
The once-glorious Breaking Clan couldn't even afford to pave a level training ground.
Yet Dai Mobai's expression remained calm. He showed neither pity nor disdain.
Yang Wudi had been watching him in secret the whole time.
When he saw that Dai Mobai's expression didn't change, he couldn't help giving a slight nod.
There was none of the imperial family's lofty arrogance, nor the pitying gaze that those offering charity so often wore.
This crown prince really was a little different.
Yang Wudi led Dai Mobai all the way to the clan's reception room.
Calling it a reception room was generous. It was really just a somewhat spacious room.
The building was entirely wooden. Two rows of old chairs stood against the walls, with an Eight Immortals Table between them. Burn marks and scratches from years gone by marred its surface.
The only decoration was a calligraphy scroll on the wall, bearing four large characters: "Breaking Spear Like a Dragon." The brushwork was powerful and vigorous. Yang Wudi had written it himself.
"Your Highness, please."
Yang Wudi gestured for Dai Mobai to sit.
Dai Mobai nodded and took a seat on one side of the Eight Immortals Table.
Li Yue stood quietly behind him, her posture straight and her gaze lowered. She neither looked around nor spoke unnecessarily.
Yang Wudi sat opposite him, his back still ramrod straight. Even seated, he looked like a spear driven into the earth.
"May I ask what brings Your Highness here today?"
Yang Wudi got straight to the point, without beating around the bush.
Though he thought well of Dai Mobai and was willing to sit down and talk with him, that didn't mean he was willing to submit to the Star Luo Empire.
The Star Luo Emperor had sent several batches of persuaders already. They had offered him official posts, money, and territory—one scheme after another.
He hadn't yielded once.
This time, too, he was ready to refuse without hesitation.
Dai Mobai only smiled, then spoke unhurriedly.
"A few days ago, I happened to acquire an interesting plant. I heard that you, Clan Leader Yang, have some knowledge of medicinal properties, so I wanted to ask you to take a look at it."
Yang Wudi paused, taken aback.
He wasn't here to persuade the clan?
He wasn't going to talk about recruiting them or granting rewards, but had come to... ask him to inspect a plant?
This was the last opening he'd expected.
"Your Highness is too kind. I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but I do know a little."
Yang Wudi spoke modestly, but curiosity was already showing in his eyes.
Dai Mobai was the crown prince of an empire. He had traveled all this way to the Breaking Clan just to show him a plant? How unusual could it be?
Dai Mobai offered no explanation. He only gave Li Yue a look.
Li Yue brushed her hand over the Soul Tool at her waist. A faint light flashed, and a cloud-white jade box appeared in her palm.
She stepped forward and gently set it on the Eight Immortals Table. With a fingertip, she released the hidden clasp on the lid, then pushed it open.
Yang Wudi looked inside.
Nestled against the soft black velvet lining lay a Blue Silver Grass of a deep blue hue.
Its leaves were much longer than those of ordinary Blue Silver Grass, their color clear as crystal. Their veins weren't the usual deep green, but gleaming gold, with a faint golden light shimmering across them.
"This is... Blue Silver Grass?"
Yang Wudi spoke without thinking, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he took them back.
"No, that life force is incredibly strong."
He reached out and gently lifted the Blue Silver Grass sprout that had been transformed from the Blue Silver Emperor, holding it in his hand to examine it closely.
It felt warm to the touch, not cold like a plant. Instead, it carried a faint hint of body heat.
That life force seeped through his palm and into his skin. He had held it for only a moment, yet he already felt his blood and energy stirring more vigorously.
This was no ordinary plant.
Yang Wudi's pupils narrowed slightly. His expression shifted from curiosity to solemnity, then from solemnity to an almost rapt focus.
Seated opposite him, Dai Mobai watched Yang Wudi clutching the Blue Silver Emperor seed. For no reason he could name, a ridiculous thought crossed his mind.
In a way, did this count as Yang Wudi getting back at Tang Hao?