Imperial Avenue

The majestic imperial capital had stood since ancient times.

The black Yin banners fluttering in the wind, the unbroken rows of beacon towers, and the orderly ranks of imperial guards—all of it displayed the dynasty's abundant martial might!

In truth, the entire Eastern Continent had already fallen completely within the Great Yin Dynasty's sphere of influence. The small border nations had all bowed their heads. Emperor Jiaguang had opened new lands and expanded the dynasty's territory nearly to the limits of what it could control.

It was the height of prosperity among all the dynasties.

Before the towering city gates, the crowds flowed like a river, an endless sea of black heads, with bustling clamor ringing without cease.

Every day, no fewer than a million people entered and left Dragon City.

The main entrance alone had more than a dozen fortified gates, with several thousand soldiers conducting inspections.

The Dragon Gate Examination would begin next spring. Though Xu Yan had arrived early, many scholars from humble families had also set out in advance.

Thus, with every passing day, the number of people in Dragon City, the imperial capital, would only continue to grow.

Xu Yan and Qin Nishang rode their Blood-Sweat Dragon Colts in through the main entrance.

The spirited dragon colts beneath them already proclaimed their identities. The guards merely questioned them briefly before letting them pass.

The moment he entered Dragon City, Xu Yan sensed a vast force pressing down upon him.

It was as though the intangible "Heavenly Dao" were gazing down from above. Xu Yan knew this was the suppression of imperial dragon qi. Emperors of every generation had resided here, and the imperial dragon qi had already reached its zenith. Heretical demons and wicked paths could not approach Dragon City at all.

Eldest Senior Brother serves as an official in the imperial capital. I should pay him a visit when I have the time.

Xu Yan thought to himself.

Master Xun's eldest disciple was a civil official of the Inner Cabinet. For one who pursued an official career in Great Yin, entering the Inner Cabinet was already the pinnacle.

As Master Xun's fourteenth disciple, Xu Yan naturally had to observe proper etiquette upon arriving in the imperial capital.

The broad street was more than ten zhang wide, paved with white stone.

This was Imperial Avenue. It ran through all of Dragon City, stretching for thousands of li.

Following Imperial Avenue deeper inward would lead one to the Purple-Gold Palace, where Emperor Jiaguang resided.

On both sides of the avenue, lofty and luxurious palaces rose one after another, carved with dragons and painted with phoenixes, magnificent to the utmost extreme.

"As expected of the imperial capital. Such grandeur, luxury beyond compare," Xu Yan said casually as he narrowed his eyes and looked around.

"No matter how luxurious or beautiful it is, you'll grow tired of it after looking at it for too long." After returning to Dragon City, Qin Nishang seemed somewhat unhappy. She immediately grabbed Xu Yan's wrist and smiled. "Come, to my residence!"

Why did that sound a little strange?

Xu Yan fell silent, thinking to himself.

The two headed along Imperial Avenue toward the right district. Riding horses was forbidden within the city, and one was even less permitted to casually fly on magical artifacts.

They seemed to have arrived in an area reserved for imperial nobles.

Xu Yan's eyes were opened. Outside the residences were picturesque mountains and clear waters; they had simply moved spiritual mountains and spiritual springs here.

The palaces of princesses and princes were nestled among the small hills.

Clear springs flowed, spiritual birds sang and flew—it was practically a paradise beyond the world.

Leading their dragon colts, the two headed toward a magnificent residence.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few royals dressed in splendid attire. They stared wide-eyed at the pair with astonished expressions, whispering among themselves.

"Third Princess, Third Princess!" A red-robed eunuch came running over from afar, bent at the waist. He moved with astonishing speed, his face crammed with smiles. When he reached Qin Nishang, the red-robed eunuch dropped to his knees with a thump!

Even Xu Yan was startled into a daze.

This man had moved incredibly fast and with ghostly unpredictability. Before Xu Yan's gaze had even caught him clearly, he had already arrived.

"Third Princess, this old servant was worried sick! Where did you go? Why have you only returned now?" the red-robed eunuch said, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"You're noisy. Move, move!" Qin Nishang said irritably, walking straight into the residence.

"And this young master is?" The red-robed eunuch turned around and sized Xu Yan up and down.

"Greetings, Eunuch. I am Xu Yan," Xu Yan said with cupped hands.

"Xu Yan?" The red-robed eunuch glanced at him. When his narrow eyes caught sight of the jade token hanging from Xu Yan's waist, his expression immediately changed. He at once piled on another smile and said, "So it is Young Master Yan of House of Prince Wu'an. This old servant failed to recognize Mount Tai before him. Young Master, please do not take offense!"

"You flatter me, Eunuch," Xu Yan said with a smile.

"Little Wei, clear out the best room in the residence. Brother Yan will be staying with me for some time!" Qin Nishang called loudly.

"Er, yes, yes, yes! This old servant will go at once!" Eunuch Wei glanced thoughtfully between Qin Nishang and Xu Yan, then nodded repeatedly.

After returning to the residence, Qin Nishang gave a fierce stretch.

With a wave of her hand, she pulled off her military robe and tossed it to a maid beside her. Yawning, she said, "I'm exhausted, Brother Yan. I'll go take a bath first. Look around as you please—just treat this place like your own home."

"Thank you for having me," Xu Yan said with a smile.

"What do you mean, thank you for having you? You're not allowed to speak so formally." As she spoke, Qin Nishang headed toward the rear quarters, followed by a group of maids.

At that moment, several beautiful maidservants approached with smiles.

"Young Master Yan, please come with us."

"Alright."

The maids led Xu Yan into a secluded courtyard.

Many flowering trees had been planted in this great courtyard, and there was even a spiritual pool within it, steaming with spiritual qi.

Such a treasured place was luxurious to the extreme.

"If Young Master requires anything, you may summon us at any time." The maidservants curtsied and bowed their heads as they spoke.

Xu Yan sat cross-legged on the bed by himself and quietly rested for a while.

Come to think of it, this matter was somewhat improper.

After all, a princess of the dynasty had yet to marry, while he, a young man, was directly staying in her residence. If word got out, it would surely invite gossip.

But Qin Nishang was an exception.

She was not like those princesses raised behind vermilion walls and lofty roofs. She had joined the army from a young age, and would likely go to the battlefield in the future.

Under the Son of Heaven's feet, in Dragon City, the imperial capital, no one dared to gossip behind the back of this deeply favored Third Princess.

Qin Nishang seemed utterly exhausted. After bathing, she went straight back to her room to sleep.

In the twilight, Xu Yan spread open the Li Clan Body Tempering Art and studied it by himself.

"To use this method to open the turbid veins, I'll still have to spend quite a few heavenly treasures."

Xu Yan had a headache. He had now opened twenty-five segments of turbid veins, and he could sense that it was becoming increasingly difficult. The spiritual power consumed by using this method to open them was also growing ever greater.

He deduced it for a while.

If he wanted to reach major completion within a little over half a year, he would need the aid of heavenly treasures to stand a chance.

Ancient methods consumed spiritual treasures one after another. This time, when he came to Dragon City, he had brought only a little over a hundred thousand Great Yin spirit coins in his universe pouch.

What he had the most of were those Daoist tomes.

I wonder how many spirit coins the Hunyuan Great Method can fetch.

The Great Yin Dynasty had a submission system. Any spiritual objects or precious books obtained from ruins could be handed over to the treasure vaults of the various prefectures and cities in exchange for spirit coins.

Xu Yan planned to copy out a version of the Hunyuan Great Method, then submit the original to the Great Yin Dynasty.

It was an inheritance method of an ancient sect, left behind by an earthly immortal. It was likely worth quite a bit of money.

There was no point in keeping this method on him, and Xu Yan did not intend to cultivate its spiritual power technique in the future.