The bustling commercial avenue in the eastern quarter of the imperial capital.
The buildings here stood in an artful arrangement, towering and magnificent.
Every brick and tile revealed the artisans' exquisite skill and boundless dedication.
The lofty towers pierced the clouds, proclaiming the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty's splendor and glory at every moment.
Back when Li Chen was a prince, he had known how deep the waters ran in the imperial capital. To avoid trouble, he had stayed in the palace and cultivated in seclusion.
This was his first visit to this area, and he was not particularly familiar with it.
That was why he had brought the two veteran ministers along: he needed a pair of guides.
But times had changed. Now, he could also call this an inspection of his own territory.
Watching people stream through the bustling streets around him, Li Chen considered how to complete his mission.
Cultivation in this world began with the meridians. Opening them greatly enhanced the body, allowing cultivators to draw in qi and condense primal energy, then raise their cultivation step by step.
Without a solid foundation, their cultivation would never reach great heights later on.
In combat, they activated their meridians to unleash tremendous power.
High-intensity combat, however, could damage those meridians.
Most cultivators rested for a while after a battle to let their meridians recover.
Under normal circumstances, then, no one could tell a cultivator's cultivation level unless they activated their meridians.
This put Li Chen in a difficult spot. Everyone looked more or less the same. Where am I supposed to find a Mid Meridian Opening Realm cultivator to beat up?
Originally, Li Chen had thought this mission would be easy because of things he had heard from people in the palace.
The imperial capital was full of scions from powerful lineages and noble houses. They often caused trouble and offended the children of influential ministers.
The palace consorts would then plead their case to the late emperor.
After that, the crown prince would be invited to mediate, reducing major troubles to minor ones and minor ones to nothing. There was a whole process for it.
The crown prince was certainly happy to do this. He handed out favors everywhere, building a network of connections for when he eventually took the throne.
Li Chen had nothing against the crown prince. After all, there was no possibility of a power struggle between them.
The crown prince treated everyone whose interests did not directly clash with his exceptionally well.
Even if it was all an act, he at least played his part well.
Li Chen had heard these stories often enough, so he watched the luxurious commercial districts with heavy foot traffic where scions of powerful lineages and noble houses liked to gather.
As soon as he caught someone causing trouble, he would beat them up and complete his mission.
The idea was good, but after wandering around for ages, why had he not found a single one?
The noble scions he passed along the way did not seem nearly as arrogant and overbearing as the rumors suggested.
That made Li Chen reconsider. Had he approached this the wrong way?
Most scions of powerful lineages and noble houses received excellent educations, and their elders held them to very strict standards.
Only a minority were ignorant wastrels. How can I find somewhere cultivators are getting into conflicts?
After pondering for a moment, Li Chen asked, "Tell me, where in the eastern quarter can I find the most cultivators?"
In Li Chen's view, many cultivators were proud and haughty. Gather them together, and friction was bound to arise.
Looking for somewhere with plenty of cultivators should therefore be the right approach.
Grand General Guo Poyun hurried to answer. "Your Maj-Young Master, there are several Battle Academies in the eastern quarter. They've trained many outstanding talents for our dynasty. There are plenty of cultivators there."
Until now, Chancellor Zhao Wenyuan had done all the talking and introduced the local customs and sights, while Guo Poyun had been practically invisible, silently fretting.
Now that he had finally found a subject he could discuss, he had to make a good impression on the new emperor.
As the foremost military official, he knew quite a bit about cultivation.
He had accompanied the late emperor on incognito inspections before. Judging by Li Chen's behavior, he was probably following the late emperor's example and inspecting the capital.
That was why he addressed Li Chen as "Young Master." He knew Li Chen did not want to reveal his identity.
The difference was that when the late emperor traveled incognito, mysterious experts from the palace accompanied him, and Guo Poyun also deployed numerous covert guards to ensure his safety.
As grand general, Guo Poyun possessed considerable strength himself, but an open spear was easy to dodge, while an arrow from the shadows was hard to guard against.
If His Majesty suffered a fright, that would be a dereliction of his duty.
The new emperor was in the Saint Realm. Even the powerful second prince had been scared into fleeing, so in theory, no one would dare lay a hand on him.
But did that mean he needed no guards?
Guo Poyun believed precisely the opposite!
A Saint Realm cultivator was already an existence beyond the mortal world. If this emperor lost his temper, to put it mildly, everyone would have more trouble than they could swallow; to put it bluntly, blood would flow in rivers.
That was why he had deployed more than three times as many covert guards as he had for the late emperor!
Some of the people who appeared to be ordinary passersby were actually Guo Poyun's subordinates, all exceptionally powerful.
Whenever anything unsavory appeared in an area Li Chen was heading toward, they dealt with it ahead of time.
For instance, two cultivators might get into an argument, or a particularly fierce demonic beast might be nearby.
The covert guards would tie up the people or pin down the beast, allowing Li Chen to pass through the area without incident.
Upon hearing that they would be guarding the new emperor, Guo Poyun's subordinates had thrown themselves into their work as though pumped full of stimulants.
That was why Li Chen had searched the bustling districts for so long without finding more than a few troublemakers.
When Guo Poyun mentioned the Battle Academies, Li Chen immediately perked up.
He was not the only one who spent his days in the palace. The consorts, maids, and eunuchs also grew bored and loved gathering gossip about the capital. Whenever Li Chen had nothing to do, he listened to plenty of it.
There was more than one Battle Academy in the imperial capital. The eastern quarter alone had three major ones, each controlled by a different faction.
Anyone who earned excellent marks at a Battle Academy and successfully graduated could take up a post in the army or a local military unit.
In other words, graduation came with an official position.
The number of positions available each year was limited, so the three Battle Academies competed with one another, and tensions ran high.
Li Chen often heard that students from the various Battle Academies got into outright brawls at gatherings. They would rather face disciplinary action than disgrace their academy.
The late emperor had always kept one eye open and the other shut over such incidents. He believed Battle Academy students needed some fire in their blood. The Heavenly Strategy Dynasty had no use for a pack of people who knew only how to flatter and fawn.
Moreover, the Battle Academies had plenty of both lineage scions and talented students from humble backgrounds.
Throughout history, some lineage scions and humble-born talents had gotten along and worked hard at cultivation together, even becoming pillars of the nation later on and leaving behind tales worthy of praise.
But there was still plenty of conflict. The lineage scions were there for official positions to cement their standing within their lineages, while how could the humble-born talents pass up a chance to leap through the Dragon Gate like a carp?
Anyone who successfully graduated from one of the capital's major Battle Academies with excellent marks truly was one selected from thousands upon thousands.
To Li Chen, it was as good as done! A breeding ground for conflict like this is bound to let me complete my mission!
Before you continue