Xu Yuan wanted to say something to ease Ran Qingmo's dejection, but she had already dragged the prayer mat beneath her into a corner of the inner hall to cultivate, giving him no chance to speak.
He could roughly guess what was going through her mind.
Yet he could only feel helpless, because this wasn't something that could be coaxed away.
Although the big ice block was always cool and aloof, seemingly indifferent to anything outside cultivation, Xu Yuan knew she possessed an unmatched, soaring pride.
Without that pride, back in the cavern beneath Tianmen Mountain, she would never have claimed she could defeat Xu Changge when he was in the Grandmaster Realm.
Yet her pride had been skewered clean through by a walking cheat code like him.
She had cultivated diligently for nineteen years just to reach the Origin Realm, while he had skipped straight to the Transcendent Realm in three.
No normal person could take that in stride.
Watching the slender, black-clad figure facing the wall in meditation, Xu Yuan exhaled softly.
Ever since they had met, she had always played the role of his protector. Now, after being parted for less than a month, right after she had tasted the helplessness of facing a Semi-Saint, the dynamic had completely flipped.
Even more than having her pride pierced,
her dejection
stemmed mostly from feeling that she could no longer help him.
The long corridor was empty, footsteps echoing softly.
After leaving the three women the secret technique required to activate the talismans, Xu Yuan exited the inner hall alone to receive the distinguished guest from Celestial Master Manor.
Walking through the complex, Xu Yuan truly took in the airborne traveling palace beneath his feet for the first time—an abode that now belonged to him.
The entire palace had clearly been designed by a master. The overall palette was dominated by deep black, accented with dark gold and other muted tones. At first glance, it didn't feel lavish or extravagant, but rather carried a profound, dignified elegance.
It suited his old man's temperament quite well.
Unfortunately, after its completion, his prime minister father had never ridden it once due to the need to oversee Di'an, and in the end, it had fallen right into Xu Yuan's lap.
The corridor outside the inner hall was neither long nor short, measuring exactly nineteen zhang. Flanking both sides were the palace master's library, study, and other living quarters, all part of the inner hall's perimeter.
Further out was a staircase leading down, featuring four somewhat smaller split-level private suites. His father had likely prepared them for the four children, but now they served as private chambers for Su Jinxuan and the others.
Walking another ten zhang brought him to the end. Descending further, he arrived at an open-air breezeway. The view suddenly expanded, and standing there looking down, one could take in the full, magnificent sprawl of Great Yan's rivers and mountains.
In theory, this airborne traveling palace was just like the inner court of the Prime Minister's Manor—it would not have been designed with space for outsiders.
Yet as Xu Yuan swept his spiritual vision across the area, he discovered a section on the eastern side resembling a side hall, with decor that was not in the least inferior to his own inner hall.
It looked as though it had been prepared specifically for someone of great importance.
Now, however, all the living furnishings inside this side hall were gone, remodeled into an elegant reception parlor.
This was likely what his father had prepared for Li Yaoxuan.
From the looks of it,
the relationship between the two elders back then had been remarkably close.
Letting the emperor stay in the side hall while his own family occupied the main hall.
At the thought, Xu Yuan couldn't help but chuckle.
Perhaps back when this traveling palace was built, in that era when everything seemed full of promise, Xu Yinhe had also envisioned sweeping across the world and then gazing out with Li Yaoxuan over the peaceful, prosperous age they had forged together.
A pity that this past vision seemed to have been ground to dust by the inexorably rolling wheels of historical momentum.
Without realizing it, Xu Yuan had followed the suspended breezeway to the entrance of the side hall.
Before him was a sky garden.
It was vast, planted with many rare and precious flowers. At its edge stood a pavilion, where a stone table had a chessboard carved into its surface—a place to sip tea, play chess, and gaze upon the rivers and mountains together.
Looking at the traces left by time, imagining the stories of the previous generation...
In the next moment,
Xu Yuan spotted a familiar figure inside that pavilion.
The man stood before the wooden railing at the edge with his hands clasped behind his back. Clad in a python robe, his long hair fluttered in the wind, looking down upon the landscape below as though turning his back to all living beings.
The corner of Xu Yuan's eye twitched uncontrollably.
After a moment of silence, he walked up behind the man and suddenly spoke:
"Why are you here?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the python-robed man jumped in fright. Turning around to look at the lavishly dressed youth behind him, he laughed.
"With the colossal racket you caused in Zhenxi Manor, it would be hard for this prince not to know."
As Li Junqing spoke, he swept his intent soul over the man before him with a strange look. As a Grandmaster, he hadn't even noticed how the kid had approached.
Xu Yuan noticed the lack of restraint in the gesture, but he wasn't angry. Chuckling softly, he let his qi dynamic disperse for a brief moment.
"Motherfucker!"
The fathomless Source Qi, deep as an ocean, made Li Junqing's eyes go wide. He stumbled back a step, only steadying himself by grabbing the wooden railing behind him. Staring at Xu Yuan, he stammered:
"Wait, brother, wh-what... what cultivation realm is this?"
"Transcendent."
"..." Li Junqing.
"Really?"
"Really."
"..."
After locking eyes for a second, Li Junqing let out a dry laugh and tentatively asked:
"Brother, you're joking, right?"
Xu Yuan didn't speak. Pointing casually toward the outside of the parlor, a bead of light instantly condensed at his fingertip.
Then,
*Hum—*
The bead of light burst, and a fierce blast of astral wind sent Li Junqing flying backward off the airborne traveling palace.
By the time Li Junqing flew back, he found Xu Yuan already seated in the pavilion, pouring himself a drink.
After a moment of silence, Li Junqing patted down his python robe. Completely throwing caution to the wind, he slumped down opposite Xu Yuan, grabbed the flagon on the table, and downed it in several heavy gulps. Wiping the wine from his lips, he asked:
"What spell was that?"
"Cloud Qi Bomb."
Xu Yuan cast a strange glance at the young man, paying no heed to his brazen behavior. Taking out another bottle of fine wine, he smiled.
"Aren't you afraid of me?"
Li Junqing rolled his eyes.
"It's not like I haven't seen it before. Back in Huizhou County, you were even scarier than you are now."
Xu Yuan unhurriedly filled his cup and smiled.
"I almost forgot about that."
"If I hadn't run fast back then, I probably would have died there too."
With that, Li Junqing reached out to take the wine flagon from the table.
He had expected his hand to be slapped away.
Yet unexpectedly, Xu Yuan didn't mind in the slightest. He calmly brought out another bottle of rare vintage and even pushed a fresh porcelain cup toward him.
Li Junqing froze for a moment, feeling somewhat uneasy.
*This isn't my final drink before execution, is it?*
Smacking his lips, he asked cautiously:
"Changtian, when did you become so generous?"
The fierce wind generated by the black eagle's rapid flight was mostly kept out by the wind-warding formation, reducing it to a gentle breeze brushing across the pavilion.
Xu Yuan half-squinted as he drank, tapping his index finger on the stone table.
"It doesn't take much silver. You should know very well what the palace beneath our feet represents."
Li Junqing hesitated before pouring himself a cup. Staring at Xu Yuan for several seconds, he narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice:
"You've changed a lot since the battle in the Western Desert."
Xu Yuan smiled faintly, not denying it.
"People always change. Have you remained the same from the start?"
Li Junqing took a sip of the wine and chuckled, shaking his head.
"I haven't changed since I can remember. This is probably all I'll ever be in this life."
Xu Yuan shook his head.
"You can never be certain about what lies ahead. When your personal maid died in Huizhou County, weren't you sad?"
Li Junqing set down the porcelain cup, leaned back against the chair, and fell into thought for a moment before speaking quietly:
"I was sad. But I'm an optimist by nature, so I forgot about it after a while."
"I rather envy you."
"You envy being cold and unfeeling by nature?"
"Isn't everyone in your family like that? It's a callousness forced upon you by your environment. If you weren't like that, you'd only end up hurting yourself."
"..."
After a brief silence, Li Junqing sighed, raised his cup toward Xu Yuan, and smiled with mixed emotions.
"Even though it feels like you're insulting me, thank you."
With that, he drained the cup, then pointed toward the side hall.
"The Celestial Master and the Young Celestial Master came together. Shouldn't you, the crown prince, go meet them first?"
Xu Yuan didn't dispute the phrasing, treasonous enough to wipe out nine generations of kin, and said softly:
"Compared to Celestial Master Manor, I'm more curious about why you are here, Junqing."
Li Junqing didn't hide it.
"Because I had a feeling you'd pass through here."
"Huh?" Xu Yuan was puzzled.
Li Junqing pondered for a moment, then said, "Do you remember when we first traveled back to the capital together, and I was ambushed by those Dongying assassins? Remember the Origin Realm woman who showed up?"
Saying that, he curled his lips in mild exasperation, took a sip of wine, and lowered his voice.
"After that incident, I used the Imperial Shadow Guard under my command to investigate her. I uncovered her identity, and I also found out about her relationship with your eldest brother.
"Not long ago, Xu Changge visited Celestial Master Manor. Although he ultimately returned to Di'an injured for reasons unknown, connecting that with what happened in the Western Desert, I figured that if you wanted to return to the capital, you'd most likely stop by here."
Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow, smiling in praise.
"Sending you to Dongying truly wastes your talent."
Hearing this, Li Junqing shrank back slightly, his eyes guarded.
"Don't you go buttering me up to set me up for a fall."
"I'm just speaking the truth."
Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, gazing out at the vast lands beyond the pavilion for several seconds before asking seemingly offhandedly:
"Junqing,
"do you know which two people this pavilion was originally prepared for?"
The moment the question was uttered,
the pavilion fell silent, leaving only the rustle of the gentle breeze.
Li Junqing swallowed hard. A peculiar gleam flickered in his starry eyes, but in the end, he shook his head with a laugh.
"I don't know, and I don't want to know."
"Is that so... A pity."
Xu Yuan sighed. Reaching into his Sumeru ring, he casually tossed a black case to him.
"Here are the funds and provisions I promised you before the new year."
Li Junqing caught it with a bit of a scramble. Opening it to look, he found twenty neatly arranged Sumeru rings inside. He couldn't help licking his lips, but before he could speak, the other man had already risen to his feet.
Looking down at this "good friend," Xu Yuan said softly:
"As for the troops promised to you, head to Huizhou County yourself. My authorization order is inside the Sumeru rings. The divine official named Yi Kui will accompany you to Dongying."
"Changtian, wait a moment."
Lightly closing the black case, Li Junqing slowly stood up as well.
Xu Yuan halted his steps, turning half of his body to glance back at him.
Li Junqing weighed his words for a moment, then sent a voice transmission:
"On the fifteenth of this month, at the first quarter of the tiger hour, you can pay a visit to Wanxiang Pavilion in Sishui Abbey. I arranged a meeting with someone for you; you can go see them."
"Alright."
Xu Yuan nodded with a smile, his figure fading into the lush foliage and blossoms.
Watching him vanish,
Li Junqing didn't leave immediately. Instead, he lowered his gaze to the stone table carved with a chessboard. Lightly brushing his fingertips across its engraved surface, he stared at it for a long while before murmuring in a faint voice:
"If we had met five years earlier,
"perhaps this prince's answer would have been different...
"But now, this prince can only wish that you make it all the way to the end, Xu Changtian."
Chapter 703