Soon, the three arrived at the Imperial Palace.
The palace walls shone a solemn gold beneath the setting sun. Guards lined both sides of the long imperial avenue, each equipped with a full set of Soul Tools. Every guard was at least a Soul Saint, and the Soul Tools they carried were the Illustrious Virtue Hall's latest models.
The three headed straight for His Majesty's location as quickly as possible. Everyone along the way respectfully stepped aside and bowed upon seeing Jing Hongchen, and Lu Ren and Nana, who followed beside him, received quite a few curious looks as well.
However, with the Hall Master of the Illustrious Virtue Hall personally accompanying them, no one dared approach to question the origins of this boy and girl who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen.
The palace gates opened for Jing Hongchen after he presented his waist token.
Passing through several gates and around several magnificent palaces, the three finally stopped before the palace's main hall.
The hall glittered with gold and jade. A mural of the sun and moon shining together adorned the dome several dozen feet overhead, while intricately carved golden pillars entwined with dragons stood on either side.
And wasn't the person sitting on the imperial throne the young Xu Tianran?
This was Lu Ren's first meeting with Xu Tianran.
Xu Tianran sat on the imperial throne in imperial robes embroidered with patterns of the sun and moon illuminating one another.
He looked no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. His skin had the dark complexion distinctive to the Sun Moon Empire's nobility, and his features were sharply defined. His bright, piercing eyes held the keenness and caution unique to someone long accustomed to authority.
There was nothing deliberately imposing about the way Xu Tianran sat upright on the