The Dali royal residence was ablaze with lights that night, and a steady stream of dishes was brought to the banquet tables.
After leaving some people behind to take care of the remaining matters in the Valley of Ten Thousand Enmities, Duan Yu and his father accompanied Xu Xiao back to Dali City ahead of the others.
It was already late at night when they entered the city, but Duan Zhengming, the reigning emperor of Dali, had learned that his brother had returned safely and still ordered a grand banquet at the royal residence to entertain their honored guest.
"Come, come, Mr. Xu, let me propose another toast to you."
Duan Zhengming, seated at the head of the table, put on no imperial airs. He had spent the entire evening raising his cup in toast after toast.
Xu Xiao turned no one down. Whoever toasted him, he raised his cup and drained it in one gulp, while the beautiful maidservants beside him poured him bowl after bowl of wine.
Wine was an absolute luxury in the apocalypse, and this was his first time drinking it.
He had expected to be a lightweight and pass out after a few cups. To his surprise, he had drunk nearly a whole jar and still felt no hint of drunkenness.
With the dazzling array of fine dishes and exquisite dancing to go with it, Xu Xiao truly got a taste of the pleasures enjoyed by those at the top.
No wonder so many people pursue power and strength. This is how a true man should live.
As Xu Xiao drained his cup, some of his thoughts drifted free with the ferment of the alcohol.
Traveling through the myriad worlds not only allowed him to gain strength, but also let him experience the customs and ways of life of different worlds.
Singing girls performed dances, high officials kept him company, and fine dishes were laid before him.
By this point in the banquet, hosts and guest alike were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
After a while, once the wine had made several rounds, Duan Zhengming, seated at the head of the table, turned the conversation to business.
"Sir, your martial arts are peerless, and you share a considerable bond with my nephew. Today, you also saved my younger brother. Is there any way my Dali can be of service to you?"
As the ruler of a kingdom, Duan Zhengming knew just how formidable these reclusive masters were.
Before this, Duan Yanqing had repeatedly tried to force his way into the Dali imperial palace and abduct him, only to be driven back each time by the Dali clan's experts.
But while they might be able to defend against an ambitious Duan Yanqing, they might not be able to defend against other martial world masters.
In a transcendent world where martial arts existed, the finest experts of the martial world truly could hold a kingdom's lifeline in their hands.
Take Xiao Feng later on, for example: he could capture the Khitan king amid an army of ten thousand and thereby alter the Khitans' objective of invading the Northern Song. That was the confidence a supreme expert possessed.
As for Mr. Xu, who now sat before him, Duan Zhengchun and the others had described him as someone even Duan Yanqing dared not challenge.
Moreover, his techniques and methods were more mysterious and formidable than Duan Yanqing's. A man like that could only be befriended, never made an enemy.
Still, with Yu'er's relationship with him to lay the groundwork, even if I can't draw a master like him into my Duan Clan's camp, I should at least leave things on good terms. It might come in useful someday!
Duan Zhengming waited with a smile for Xu Xiao to speak.
So long as the other party's conditions were not too excessive, he would do his best to meet them, so that a master like this would stand behind the Duan Clan.
If nothing else, the likes of Duan Yanqing would at least no longer dare cause him trouble.
As for the claim that the other party had gotten Duan Yanqing under his thumb with a few words, that was not something Duan Zhengming was considering.
All he wanted was goodwill, and goodwill required exchanges between both sides.
Such give-and-take was the beginning of the intricate web of personal obligations in Huaxia.
Tap, tap.
Xu Xiao gently tapped the tabletop with his right hand, considering what reward he needed to obtain from the Dali Duan Clan.
Gold and silver, wealth, beauties, secret manuals-these were what most people would choose, but Xu Xiao needed none of them.
Wealth was of no use to him. As for beauties, he had not absorbed much Internal Energy at present, and his body was in a low-health state, leaving him with no desire in that regard. And as for secret manuals...
To be honest, he did not even think much of Dali's Six Meridian Divine Sword. How could wounding people with Sword Qi be as useful as his Telekinesis?
There were only two martial arts in this world that caught his eye.
The complete martial arts of the Carefree Sect and the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic of Shaolin Temple. The former encompassed everything, and even the Northern Darkness Divine Art was only one part of it.
The latter could cleanse the sinews and transform the marrow, improve one's innate foundation, and strengthen the body. It was something Xu Xiao had to obtain.
Xu Xiao used Internal Energy only as a means of nourishing his body. Under normal circumstances, he preferred to use Telekinesis against his enemies.
But the thought of Internal Energy suddenly reminded Xu Xiao of something, and he spoke calmly.
"Since Emperor Baoding has offered, I do have a request. I wonder whether it would be convenient for Emperor Baoding to grant it?"
"Oh? What is it, Mr. Xu? Please, speak freely. So long as it does not violate the laws of heaven and human morality or the laws of the Kingdom of Dali, I can agree to anything."
Duan Zhengming responded readily, but, clever as he was, he did not agree outright.
This also left both sides some room to maneuver. Otherwise, what if the other party made a request he simply could not fulfill?
Would he grant it or not?
With the condition that it must not violate the laws of Dali or the laws of heaven and human morality, he was the ruler of Dali, and any request he could not fulfill would be because it violated Dali's laws.
Who could say anything more?
Xu Xiao understood the meaning behind his words, but he did not object. His request was not particularly difficult anyway.
"As Emperor Baoding knows, I have something of a master-and-disciple relationship with Young Master Duan. In fact, a few days ago, we practiced a peerless martial art called the Northern Darkness Divine Art together."
"This martial art is profound and extensive. It can absorb others' Internal Energy to strengthen one's own, just as the sea receives a hundred rivers."
"I have only just begun practicing this art, and my Internal Energy is still shallow. I have heard that in Dali City, there is no shortage of martial artists who form gangs and make a living bullying men and preying on women."
"Why not hand these people over to me, Emperor Baoding? For one thing, I can use them to practice. For another, we can put the martial world people in Dali City in order and restore peace to Dali."
As soon as he said this, everyone at the banquet was shocked. The brothers Duan Zhengming and Duan Zhengchun exchanged a glance, and both their eyes showed that matters were just as they had expected.
When Duan Yu returned home, he had already given his two elders a brief account of what he had experienced during this time.
He had focused entirely on meeting Xu Xiao and on the Northern Darkness Divine Art.
The two old foxes, who understood the human heart all too well, had marveled deeply at the Northern Darkness Divine Art's wonders as soon as they heard that it could absorb others' Internal Energy and turn it to one's own use.
At the same time, they had realized that Xu Xiao might make some unfavorable requests when he came to the Kingdom of Dali with them. Sure enough, he had done so.
According to Duan Yu, this man was only a beginner in martial arts, and all his abilities were innate supernatural powers.
Xu Xiao's request was both unexpected and understandable to the two men.
They exchanged a glance, and in the end, Duan Zhengming played the villain, explaining that the martial world people in the city all came from the martial world of the Central Plains. Handing them over to Xu Xiao without due consideration might incur the displeasure of the Central Plains martial world.
Duan Zhengchun then played the good man, saying that martial world people were a destabilizing factor in society. Handing them over to Xu Xiao would both repay his kindness and restore good public order to Dali.
The two played off each other, and only after Xu Xiao agreed to give the Northern Darkness Divine Art to the Duan Family and allow its direct descendants to practice it did he finally obtain Emperor Baoding's support.
Thus, a deal was struck, and both sides were delighted with the outcome.
To Xu Xiao, it made no difference who practiced the Northern Darkness Divine Art. In any case, it was enough that he himself had learned it.
The same went for the Duan Clan. To rulers, martial world people did more harm than good.
Although some of those loyal to them had come from the martial world, far more martial world people were thorns in the eyes and flesh of rulers.
The two sides hit it off at once, and the following day, a three-day campaign to round them up began in Dali City.