While Qingfeng was speaking with Black Puppy in their room, deep within the Imperial Palace, in the Palace of the Crown Prince, a young man of about twenty years of age lay resting on a cushioned jade bed.
He was covered in a swan-down duvet, made entirely from natural feathers, that glowed with a soft radiance. The bed below was constructed entirely from high-quality white jade; it nourished the bodies of those who slept on it. The wisps of spirit energy the bed emitted were beneficial for the progression of self-cultivators.
This young man was very handsome. His skin was pale as snow, like that of a woman. His hair was long, his brows thin, but his thin lips made gave him a brooding air.
The man wore a robe with a python pattern. The python it depicted was in fact a Four-Clawed Python-Dragon, indicating him as someone of importance. This was the Crown Prince of Lingyun, first in line for the seat of Emperor.
Not far from him, there stood an average-looking guard dressed in black. He was one of the Crown Prince’s eyes within the Imperial City, in charge of the collection of information and news.
The guard in black knelt on the ground. “Reporting to Your Highness, the Crown Prince.” his voice was humble, reverent. “The Third Princess had just met with a young man in the Phoenix Palace. Subsequently, the son of King Ning, the young prince, went to challenge the young man and was defeated in one blow.”
The Crown Prince smiled faintly, not paying the matter too much attention. Then he spoke, “The young prince spends all day in merrymaking. It is quite normal that someone who doesn’t endeavor to better himself would be defeated.”
The guard in black continued, “Crown Prince, the young man in question is no simple character. His physical power was astonishing. Not only did he defeat the young prince, he had also withstood one strike from the Supreme Realm First Level Master, Profound Theory Cultivator.”
The Crown Prince’s expression shifted. He sat up, a cold glint in his eyes.
He knew that, if someone wanted to confront power of the First Level of the Supreme Realm with their physical strength, the cost of doing so would be great. This young man’s power and combat ability must be terrifying.
The Crown Prince then asked the black-clad man about Qingfeng Li in detail. He finally arrived at the conclusion that Qingfeng Li’s combat prowess was extremely strong.
The Crown Prince thought for a moment, then spoke to the guard in black. “Find Qingfeng Li,” he said. “Then, have him come to the Palace of the Crown Prince. Tell him that I wish to meet with him.”
The guard in black nodded, then turned and left the Palace of the Crown Prince, heading elsewhere.
In the palace of the Second Prince of Lingyun, there was an old man. He was also recounting the events at the Phoenix Palace to the Second Prince.
The Second Prince was also a handsome young man, but he radiated brightness and vigor, without the Crown Prince’s gloom.
When the old man finished his report, the Second Prince stood up without hesitation and walked toward the door.
The old man furrowed his brows. “Second Prince,” he asked, “where are you going?”
The Second Prince smiled. “I’m going to go meet this Qingfeng Li. Someone who could defeat the young prince must be interesting.”
“Second Prince,” the old man said. “Let me go summon Qingfeng Li. Have him come here, you need not go personally.”
But the Second Prince shook his head; he wanted to go see Qingfeng Li himself. This way, he could express his sincerity. He had a great appreciation for the strong and the gifted.
Qingfeng Li did not know that, because of what happened at the Phoenix Palace, he had already attracted the attention of both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince of Lingyun.
Right now, Qingfeng Li was discussing with Black Puppy about how he could see the Third Princess again. There came a knock at the door.
Qingfeng Li frowned. Walking to the door, he reached out and opened it. He saw a black-clad guard standing outside.
The guard was of average build. But his eyes shone brightly, exuding a fierce energy, making him a frightening sight to behold.
Qingfeng Li glanced at the guard, a tad surprised. He saw that this guard was actually a master of the Ninth Level Spirit Emperor Realm, just a hair short of the Supreme Realm. His power was even one level above Qingfeng Li.
Of course, if they were to do battle, Qingfeng Li would certainly be able to defeat this guard with ease.
Qingfeng Li smiled. “May I ask who you’re looking for?”
The guard in black frowned. “Follow me to the Palace of the Crown Prince,” he said haughtily. “The Crown Prince summons you.”
Seeing the guard’s arrogant expression, Qingfeng Li visibly displeased. He simply replied, “I don’t have the time.”
Not paying him any mind, Qingfeng Li closed the door in his face.
He had no interest in the so-called Crown Prince. He knew that, like the Martial Alliance from earlier, they must be here to cajole him.
Qingfeng Li did not intend to join any organizations just yet, not even if it was the Crown Prince who had invited him. He did not want to get involved because he would leave this country sooner or later. He needed to find Xue Lin and Ruyan Liu.
There were a lot of people in the inn. Seeing the scene unfold, the muttered amongst themselves, shocked.
“Who was that man just now? How important must he be to have the Crown Prince’s guard personally invite him to the Palace of the Crown Prince.”
“Didn’t you see? That man just refused the Crown Prince’s summons. And he closed the door right in that guard’s face!”
“This young man has quite the attitude. He has to be the toughest young man I’ve ever seen.”
The surrounding self-cultivators murmured in discussion, pointing here and there. Their eyes were brimming with curiosity.
Hearing the discussion of the crowd, a flicker of fury flashed through the eyes of the black-clad guard standing outside the door. He was a guard of the Crown Prince, respected by many. Wherever he went, people always met him with a smile.
He had just said that this was an invitation from the Crown Prince, the future Emperor of the Country of Lingyun. Unfortunately, this young man seemed to have no respect for them.
The black-clad guard raised his right hand and slammed repeatedly at the door, making a string of banging sounds.
Qingfeng Li originally didn’t intend to pay the black-clad man outside any more mind. But he kept on banging on the door, making a terrible racket. Qingfeng Li was displeased.
Qingfeng Li looked to his side, saying, “Puppy. Go teach this guy a lesson. He’s too freaking loud.”
Black Puppy nodded. Wagging its black tail, it came to the door and reached out a paw, opening the door.
“Shoo!” Black Puppy said to the black-clad guard outside the door.
The servant’s expression darkened, his nose wrinkled up in a snarl. He hadn’t expected that this black dog was shooing him away. This was blatant disrespect.
The black-clad servant’s face filled with rage. He raised his right hand, forming a fist from vital essence and striking toward Black Puppy’s head, intending to smash its head in.
Black Puppy rolled its eyes, staring at the man with disdain. Then, using its demon essence, it threw its right front paw forward in a clawing motion, striking straight at the black-clad man’s vital essence fist.
With a loud crack, Black Puppy had clawed the vital essence fist to shreds.