Playing with Ah Yin, is this considered revenge on Tang Hao?

Just looking at Dai Mobai's appearance, the Yang Clan member guarding the gate felt he looked somewhat familiar.

Although the young man's attire was not flashy, his bearing was extraordinary, and his facial features seemed like someone he had seen somewhere before.

But when Dai Mobai stated his name, the Yang Clan member finally understood where that sense of familiarity came from—

The current Crown Prince of the Star Luo Empire had actually come to visit their Breaking Clan in person!

"Please wait a moment, Your Highness. I will go inform the Clan Head immediately!"

The Yang Clan member bowed deeply, bending his waist lower than usual, his voice filled with irrepressible excitement.

"Sorry for the trouble."

Dai Mobai's lips curled slightly, his tone as gentle as if he were speaking to his own kin.

Hearing such approachability from a dignified Crown Prince, the Yang Clan member couldn't help but feel a sense of honor.

He waved his hands repeatedly, saying it was "no trouble at all," and before his words had even faded, he had already turned and dashed through the gate, his hurried footsteps thumping against the bluestone slabs.

Yang Wudi was sitting in the courtyard.

An old locust tree in the corner cast a patch of shade, and he sat beneath it, holding a cup of clear tea.

"Clan Head! The Star Luo Crown Prince has come to visit!"

The clansman rushed into the courtyard panting, his chest heaving violently, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

Yang Wudi's movement of holding the tea did not change; he didn't even lift his eyelids.

"How many people did he bring?"

"Just one guard."

"Hm?"

Yang Wudi's hand holding the tea paused in mid-air.

He looked up, and a trace of surprise finally appeared on his face, which had been as calm as an ancient well.

"He only brought one person?"

"Yes."

The Yang Clan member nodded vigorously.

Yang Wudi was silent for a moment before slowly placing the teacup back onto the stone table.

"He certainly doesn't have the airs of the imperial family."

Yang Wudi stood up, his lean, thin figure casting a straight shadow within the shade of the locust tree.

"In that case, let's go meet him."

Outside the gate, the other guard left on duty had already poured tea for Dai Mobai.

He used an ordinary coarse porcelain cup, and the tea was not a precious variety, but it was brewed properly.

The guard handed the cup over with both hands. Li Yue naturally took it from him, tested the temperature of the cup wall with the back of her hand, and then presented 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 and grounded, each step seemingly measured with a ruler.

The other was slightly chaotic, the steps short and hurried—clearly the clansman who had gone to report.

Dai Mobai set down his teacup and looked up.

A lean, upright old man was walking out from the inner courtyard.

The man's stature was not tall, even bordering on thin, but standing there, his entire aura was just like his martial soul: straight, sharp, and unyielding.

Even though Dai Mobai's memory of Yang Wudi's face was blurry, this posture, as upright as a spear, made his identity obvious.

"Junior Dai Mobai greets Clan Head Yang."

Dai Mobai spoke first, his smile calm, his attitude polite but not servile.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Yang Wudi cupped his hands in return, his spine remaining perfectly straight.

His eyes swept over Dai Mobai—

No grand procession, no gold-inlaid or jade-encrusted finery, even the ornaments hanging at his waist were of ordinary quality.

He was different from all the royals and nobles he had ever met.

Although it was their first meeting, Yang Wudi's impression of this Star Luo Crown Prince was quite good.

He lacked the airs of the imperial family; at the very least, he was not repulsive.

Therefore, even knowing that Dai Mobai must have an ulterior motive for this visit, he was willing to have a chat.

"Your Highness, please."

Yang Wudi stepped aside to clear the way.

Dai Mobai nodded, stepped over the threshold, and walked side-by-side with Yang Wudi.

The two men unconsciously adjusted their paces to match, keeping their positions perfectly aligned.

This subtle action did not escape Yang Wudi's notice, and it improved his already decent impression of the prince by a few notches.

Passing through the front courtyard and entering the grounds of the Breaking Clan, Dai Mobai's gaze swept across his surroundings.

The territory of a dignified clan was smaller than even the sleeping quarters he had previously occupied.

The houses were old, the paint on the window lattices peeling and mottled.

The paths were dirt, merely packed flat by the constant tread of feet.

He had known the Breaking Clan lived frugally, but seeing it with his own eyes, Dai Mobai truly understood the meaning of "frugal"—

The once-illustrious Breaking Clan could no longer even afford to pave a flat training ground.

Yet, the expression on Dai Mobai's face remained calm; there was no pity, and certainly no disdain.

Yang Wudi had been observing him the entire time.

Seeing Dai Mobai's unchanging expression, he couldn't help but nod slightly.

There was no arrogance typical of the high-and-mighty imperial family, nor the patronizing pity common to those offering charity.

This Crown Prince was indeed a bit different.

Yang Wudi led Dai Mobai all the way to the clan's reception hall.

Calling it a reception hall was a stretch; it was really just a slightly more spacious room.

The structure was entirely wood, with two rows of old chairs placed against the walls and an eight-immortals table in the center, its surface marked by burn scars and scratches from years of use.

The only decoration was a piece of calligraphy hanging on the wall, inscribed with the four characters "Breaking Spear Like a Dragon." The brushwork was vigorous and powerful—it was Yang Wudi's own handiwork.

"Your Highness, please."

Yang Wudi raised a hand to gesture for Dai Mobai to take a seat.

Dai Mobai nodded and sat down on one side of the eight-immortals table.

Li Yue stood quietly behind him, her posture straight, her gaze lowered, neither looking around nor speaking.

Yang Wudi sat down opposite him, his waist and back remaining as straight as a rod. His seated posture was just like his standing one—like a spear driven into the ground.

"I wonder, Your Highness, what is the purpose of your visit today?"

Yang Wudi went straight to the point, not mincing words.

Although he had a good impression of Dai Mobai and was willing to sit and chat, that did not mean he was willing to submit to the Star Luo Empire.

He had already seen several waves of lobbyists sent by the Star Luo Emperor, offering official titles, money, and fiefdoms in all sorts of ways.

He had never once relented.

This time, he was equally prepared to refuse at any moment.

Dai Mobai, however, smiled and spoke in a measured, unhurried tone.

"A few days ago, I happened to come across an interesting plant. I heard that Clan Head Yang is quite accomplished in pharmacology, so I wanted to ask for your expert opinion."

Yang Wudi was slightly taken aback.

He wasn't here to lobby?

No talk of recruitment, no talk of rewards, but instead... asking him to look at a plant?

He had not anticipated this opening at all.

"Your Highness is joking. I wouldn't dare claim to be an expert in pharmacology; I have only dabbled in it."

Yang Wudi was polite in his speech, but his eyes were already piqued with curiosity.

As the Crown Prince of a great nation, would Dai Mobai really travel thousands of miles to the Breaking Clan just to have him look at a plant? Just how rare could this plant be?

Dai Mobai offered no explanation, merely signaling to Li Yue with his eyes.

Li Yue brushed her palm over the Soul Tool at her waist, a faint light flickered, and a cloud-white jade box appeared in her palm out of thin air.

She stepped forward, gently placed the jade box on the eight-immortals table, flicked the hidden latch on the lid with her fingertip, and pushed it open.

Yang Wudi looked down.

The jade box was lined with soft black velvet, and a deep blue Blue Silver Grass lay quietly inside.

Its leaves were much longer and more slender than ordinary Blue Silver Grass, its color as translucent as glazed glass, and the veins on the leaves were not the usual deep green, but a brilliant gold that shimmered faintly in the light.

"This is... Blue Silver Grass?"

Yang Wudi spoke instinctively, but as soon as the words left his lips, he refuted them himself.

"No, such rich life energy."

He reached out his palm, gently picked up the seedling—the transformed Blue Silver Emperor—from the jade box, and held it before his eyes to examine it closely.

It felt warm and smooth to the touch, not the coldness of a plant, but rather possessing a faint, lingering body heat.

That surge of life energy seeped through his palm into his skin; after holding it for only a moment, he felt his own blood and qi seem to quicken.

This was no ordinary object.

Yang Wudi's pupils constricted slightly, his expression shifting from curiosity to solemnity, and then from solemnity to a focus that bordered on obsession.

Dai Mobai sat opposite him, watching Yang Wudi's hand tightly gripping the Blue Silver Emperor seed, and an irreverent thought flashed through his mind for no reason.

In a sense, did this count as Yang Wudi getting revenge on Tang Hao?