Dragon City, the Imperial Capital

Two days later, Xu Fei arrived at Shangyin Academy from the depths of Mang Mountain.

The great battle within the Ten-Thousand Mang Mountains had finally ended. The Demon Race had suffered countless dead and wounded, while the Moat Dragon Army had also taken losses, so Xu Fei was in no particularly good mood.

Xiaofengzi had emerged, and the cliffs of the Eastern Azure Sea were no longer peaceful either. The demons upon the sea were stirring restlessly, showing signs of expanding outward.

The Ten-Thousand Mang Mountains had to be incorporated into Great Yin's territory.

Not only was this place rich in heavenly treasures and earthly rarities, it was also easy to hide one's tracks here. If it fell into the Demon Race's hands and became their bridgehead, it would be extremely troublesome—an utter headache to deal with.

Inside the Master's Hall, Xu Fei spoke with Master Xun.

Xu Yan had also been summoned over.

"Greetings, Foster Father!" Xu Yan strode into the hall and cupped his hands.

When Xu Fei saw Xu Yan, the delight in his eyes could not be concealed.

Now that Xu Yan's Formless Aperture had opened, he could set foot upon the path of seeking the Dao. Great Yin now revered martial strength above all else; without cultivation, one could scarcely take a single step.

When Xu Fei had sent Xu Yan to Shangyin Academy, he had heard that the Shangyin Xun Clan had once researched Formless constitutions. He had merely intended to give it a try, never expecting his adopted son to truly succeed in opening his aperture.

"Yan'er, come quickly and greet Master," Xu Fei said in a deep voice.

Xu Yan had already been about to do so. He stepped forward and solemnly bowed to Master Xun, who sat in the seat of honor. "This disciple, Xu Yan, greets Master."

"Good!" Master Xun smiled.

"Master, you have given my Yan'er a new life. Xu Fei offers you his thanks as well!" Xu Fei said bluntly, clasping his hands.

"Your Highness overstates it." Master Xun raised a hand and rose to his feet, saying gravely, "Rather, I should thank Young Master Yan. His comprehension is exceptionally high. The opening of his Formless Aperture depended entirely on his own state of mind. This matter has benefited me somewhat as well. If your son can make a name for himself in Dragon City, Shangyin will also bask in some of the glory."

The Shangyin Xun Clan had once studied those with Formless constitutions. They had even published many scholarly reports in the imperial capital and submitted memorials to the court, requesting the experimental cultivation of certain individuals with Formless Spirit Apertures.

However, the emperors of those years—including the current Emperor Jiaguang—as well as the scholars of the Grand Secretariat, had shown no interest in this constitution and paid it no heed.

After chatting for a while about cultivation matters,

Xu Yan and Xu Fei left the Master's Hall.

The two chatted casually along the road. Xu Yan's relationship with this foster father of his could not be called good, nor could it be called close. On the surface, however, they seemed to get along even better than biological father and son. Yet Xu Yan was ultimately not a legitimate son.

Had Prince Wu'an not adopted him, the original Xu Yan might well have starved to death in some remote mountain village.

Prince Wu'an's Residence had shown him kindness, and Xu Yan knew full well why Prince Wu'an had adopted him.

Xu Ling Sha was a woman alone, weak and without support. Xu Fei could not remain stationed at Moat Dragon forever. Should anything happen to him, who would suppress the ministers below across such vast territory?

Moreover, the situation at court was complicated as well. There were plenty of people who did not see eye to eye with Prince Wu'an.

"You're leaving for the imperial capital already? And with the Third Princess?" Xu Fei asked, hands clasped behind his back as he turned his head.

Xu Yan nodded and said seriously, "There are only a little over six months until the Dragon Gate Examination. I want to go to the imperial capital early and familiarize myself with it."

"Fair enough. Should your foster father send Chief Steward Liu along with you?" Xu Fei asked.

Xu Yan shook his head and smiled. "There are quite a few Imperial Brocade Guards following the Third Princess. Rest assured, Foster Father. Nothing will happen."

"Hahaha, true enough!" Xu Fei laughed.

The next day, at the hour of the dragon, outside Dongli Prefecture City.

A man and a woman rode Blood-Sweat Dragon Colts, racing outward like the wind and lightning. Their hooves kicked up clouds of dust, and the dragon colts were as swift as bolts of lightning.

Qin Nishang's dragon colt was white, and its pedigree was even finer than Xu Yan's.

Though Shen Congyun and the other Imperial Brocade Guards were nowhere to be seen, Xu Yan knew they were guarding them from the shadows. His Glass Heart Realm had still heard those faint, indistinct traces of Grandmaster aura.

The more abundant one's spiritual power, the wider the range one could hear.

Ancient Shangyin records stated that if a Grandmaster could cultivate the Glass Heart Realm, then with their mana fully unleashed, not even the slightest rustle of wind or grass within a thousand li could escape their ears and divine sense.

"Xu Yan, catch!"

Qin Nishang, who was galloping ahead on horseback, suddenly drew the Golden Crow Sword from her Cosmos Bag and threw it backward.

Xu Yan fixed his gaze upon it, immediately stomped hard on the horse's back with one foot, and caught it in passing.

He had not yet entered the Qi Exhalation stage. Otherwise, he could have simply drawn it over with externalized spiritual power.

Buzz!

Xu Yan raised a brow and gave the treasured sword in his hand a fierce shake. Sharp golden qi howled forth, instantly cleaving several enormous boulders along the road in two. The might of this innate spirit treasure truly was extraordinary.

In that hazy instant, Xu Yan could even sense a trace of spirituality emanating from within the sword.

The two rode their dragon colts toward the imperial capital, Dragon City. Mountains and perilous terrain were as flat ground beneath the dragon colts' hooves.

Half a month later, they had crossed tens of thousands of li of territory!

Along the way, Qin Nishang had wanted to uphold justice and find some bandits or local tyrants to teach a lesson. Yet under Great Yin's flourishing age, such things rarely happened.

Every city and prefecture was filled with an air of peace and harmony.

The closer they came to Dragon City, the more stable the regions became. No wicked cultivators or demon fiends dared cause trouble.

Traveling and resting by turns, Xu Yan did not slacken in his cultivation. Every day, without fail, he tempered his body and opened another five sections of his spirit meridians.

Of the seventy-two sections of spirit meridians, he had now opened twenty-five, and his physical strength had surged greatly!

Three days later, the two stopped atop a high slope and gazed into the distance.

Faintly, they could see the towering imperial capital, Dragon City.

"We're here!" Qin Nishang said with a lift of her beautiful eyes.

Although Xu Yan had already expected Dragon City to be magnificent, it still surpassed all his expectations.

In truth, among the nine Dragon Cities, Prince Wu'an's Moat Dragon City was the shabbiest, for it had only been built within the last few decades.

As for the imperial capital, Dragon City, no one knew how many years of history it possessed.

Its origins could be traced back to the Near Ancient era.

Dynasties had risen and fallen in endless succession, yet the one thing that remained unchanged was this Dragon City.

Its location was simply too ideal. It stood at the very center of the Eastern Continent, and beneath its earth veins lay many ancient spirit meridians in slumber!

Xu Yan looked ahead. After countless dynasties and emperors had restored and expanded it, the ancient city of the imperial capital had grown ever more resplendent and ever taller, already reaching straight into the clouds. It stood a full thousand zhang high!

It was an utterly terrifying height. Clouds and mist already swirled above the city walls.

Within the mist stood an unbroken stretch of beacon towers, while below hung a great banner.

It was a crimson-black banner, embroidered with the ancient character "Yin." Centered and upright, it possessed a majestic, grand air.

The imperial capital covered an enormous area, stretching beyond the sight's end. The colossal city lay sprawled across the earth like an ancient beast, oppressive beyond measure. Xu Yan felt even his breathing grow hurried.

"See that moat on the right? When the time comes to leap over the Dragon Gate, it will be there!" Qin Nishang said with a smile, pointing to the right with her slender hand.

Along the city walls, which resembled a Great Wall, Xu Yan saw a huge opening over a hundred zhang wide.

A golden archway that seemed to hold up the heavens spanned both sides. Dragons and phoenixes were carved upon it, and the words "Dragon Gate" were inscribed above. Below lay an immense spirit lake, some five hundred zhang in diameter.

Waves churned upon the lake's surface, occasionally surging skyward with shocking force.

Faintly, Xu Yan could see many enormous goldfish raised within the great lake. Their scales gave off a pale glow, breathtakingly beautiful, making the scene seem like an immortal realm.

"I always thought leaping over the Dragon Gate was merely a symbolic saying. I never expected we would truly have to leap over a Dragon Gate." Xu Yan shook his head and laughed.

"On the first day of the Dragon Gate martial examination, the spirit waterfall will be opened wide, cascading down from above the Dragon Gate. A million disciples must cross the great lake, climb the thousand-zhang city wall, and leap over the Dragon Gate before they can participate in the next round," Qin Nishang said.

Every Dragon Gate Examination drew no fewer than a million participants.

If they were paired off to fight one another, who knew how long the matches would last?

Xu Yan had vaguely heard that the Dragon Gate martial examination had three stages. The first was Leaping the Dragon Gate, the second was Seizing the Golden Champion, and the third was the Heavenly God Battle.

Only upon reaching the final stage could one be considered to have crossed the threshold of the martial rankings. At that time, heroes throughout the realm, Grandmasters from every region, renowned clans, aristocratic families, academy masters, and even Emperor Jiaguang himself would come personally to observe the contest.

In such a grand event, whoever claimed the championship would naturally become renowned throughout Great Yin, with a future as bright as brocade and the chance to soar into the sky in a single bound!