Summer winds had spent their strength, giving way to endless autumn rain.
A three-plumed phoenix-tailed kite soared through the sky. Its avian talons were clad in cast metal, and a small pavilion engraved with the Feng family crest hung suspended beneath them.
As the giant bird sped along, a young girl in tight-fitting martial attire leaned over the windowsill, her eyes flashing with curiosity as she took in the view outside.
Across the firmament, countless flying beasts flew alongside them beneath the veil of rain. On the boundless earth below stretched myriad acres of fertile plains. As the three-plumed phoenix-tailed kite surged onward, a towering behemoth prostrating upon the ground gradually emerged through the downpour on the distant horizon.
Gazing at that magnificent megacity on the horizon named Di'an, the girl's red lips parted slightly in disbelief.
"Feng... Feng Xianru, is that Di... Di'an City? It's... it's magnificent..."
"Shut up."
A detached voice came from the back of the three-plumed phoenix-tailed kite.
A youth sat quietly amidst the wind and rain. His clothes were white as snow, completely untouched by the downpour. His eyes were half-lowered, yet a faint trace of astonishment was concealed in their depths, hidden remarkably well:
"When traveling abroad, do not bring shame upon the Feng family's name."
This was the first time Feng Fangming and Feng Xianru had ever left Mount Qifeng, the ancestral land of the Feng family, and it was also their first time arriving in the capital region, where nobles and grandees gathered in droves.
They had often heard of Di'an's towering grandeur and bustling prosperity, yet seeing it today far surpassed anything they had imagined—both the colossal city itself and the countless flying beasts and giant birds converging toward it like a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix.
Soon, however, Feng Xianru's attention was drawn to a black speck on the distant horizon. Only by channeling his cultivation technique was he able to discern its full form.
It was a hundred-zhang-wide colossal fortress floating in midair.
Tethered to no flying beasts, it simply hung still within the rain. Dozens of golden-armored Imperial Guards mounted on small black birds landed and took off from it.
The surface of the fortress was covered with array formations, and atop it, a huge night-luminescent pearl allowed the insignia engraved within to remain clearly visible even through the sheets of rain.
Feng Xianru recognized it as the insignia of Great Yan's Imperial Guard.
The Imperial City Directorate of the Imperial Guard.
Frowning slightly, Feng Xianru subconsciously looked sideways into the distance.
Across the distant horizon, there was far more than one such aerial fortress; they spanned the skyline like gate towers, encircling the entire airspace of Di'an.
Whenever a flying beast approached the airspace of Di'an, golden-armored Imperial Guards riding small black birds would fly out to board and inspect it.
Yet Feng Xianru remembered that the procedures for entering Di'an were not supposed to be this strict.
Had something happened in Di'an recently?
As he lowered his eyes in thought, a massive aura that suddenly arrived above the three-plumed phoenix-tailed kite caused his breath to catch.
When Feng Xianru lifted his gaze,
he saw a man encased from head to toe in golden armor already standing atop the kite beast's head beneath the cold autumn rain.
Origin Realm...
Feng Xianru subconsciously clenched his hands.
Through a ferocious iron visor, the golden-armored commander's icy gaze swept over the white-clad youth, his voice steady:
"Routine inspection by the Imperial City Directorate. Present your medallion."
Cultivators of the third rank and above who wished to enter the capital had to be registered with the imperial court.
Feng Xianru tossed over a medallion.
The golden-armored commander caught it with a flick of his hand, looked down, and asked with surprise in his tone:
"A jade medallion of the Feng family... Quite rare. I haven't seen one in over ten years. What brings the three of you to the capital?"
As he spoke, the golden-armored commander's gaze shifted past Feng Xianru to the woman climbing out of the window.
She was a beautiful woman whose eyes were filled with weariness. She did not channel Source Qi to shield herself, and before long, her coarse hemp clothes were drenched by the autumn rain.
"Elder Sister," Feng Xianru called softly, channeling his cultivation to shield her from the rain.
The weary woman kept her eyelids half-closed, her voice sluggish:
"Entering the city... to visit relatives... and to see a doctor..."
The golden-armored commander returned the jade medallion and said solemnly:
"My apologies, but this jade medallion expired three years ago. These are extraordinary times. Young master, young ladies, please turn back."
"Oh, okay."
Hearing this, the weary woman nodded with heavy-lidded eyes. Without arguing, she turned straight around and said:
"Xianru... let's go home..."
Feng Xianru fell silent for an instant before speaking rapidly:
"Elder Sister, Fangming's physique has already begun awakening. Without the Family Head—"
Before he could finish,
the golden-armored commander, already preparing to depart, suddenly jerked his head upward toward the higher sky.
In the next instant—
Buzz—
Before Feng Xianru and the weary woman could react, a fierce gale tore through the curtain of rain, and the three-plumed phoenix-tailed kite beneath their feet lurched in fright, losing its balance and plummeting downward.
As the two looked up amidst the violent turbulence,
a gargantuan shadow emerged from the inky rain clouds covering the sky. The terrifying aura alone forced all flying beasts within a radius of ten-odd li to bow their heads and plunge toward the earth!
And immediately after,
that vast shadow began descending through the clouds!
The moment it broke through the clouds—
A desolate beast giant eagle;
a towering traveling palace emerged amidst the pouring rain.
In the following instant,
an earth-shattering eagle screech rang through the heavens, carrying across a hundred li into that distant megacity on the horizon!
And it was precisely at this moment
that Feng Xianru clearly saw the long-haired man standing atop the jade palace.
When the other seemed to sense something and looked back over his shoulder,
the gale raged like astral wind, the rain poured like a waterfall, and crimson eyes burned brighter than blood.
From just a single instant of eye contact,
that haughty, mountain-like pressure made it hard for Feng Xianru to breathe.
Fortunately, the sensation lasted only a moment before the giant eagle streaked past them, hurtling down toward the majestic city on the horizon!
Everything returned to calm. A brand-new medallion of the Prime Minister's Manor had landed in Feng Xianru's hand, and the three-plumed phoenix-tailed kite gradually began climbing back into the air.
Amidst the trio's silence,
the weary woman looked at the floating palace receding into the distance, poked the golden-armored commander's cuirass with a finger, tilted her head, and asked:
"General... aren't you... going to inspect that person just now?"
"..." The golden-armored commander.
Autumn rain listened to the wind. Bai Muxi, clad in a plain white dress, stepped slowly up to the man at the eagle's head and asked:
"Young Master, were those two back there the geniuses from Mount Xifeng? And it seemed that boy's elder sister was there too."
Xu Yuan did not turn around, giving a light grunt in affirmation:
"Mm."
"What are they... doing coming to Di'an at a time like this?"
"The Yin-Yang Profound-Pattern Physique has begun awakening. They came to Di'an seeking salvation."
"I see."
Seeing that Xu Yuan had no desire to dwell on the matter, Bai Muxi fell silent. She looked toward the aerial fortresses belonging to the Imperial City Directorate and quietly lowered her eyes.
Di'an City was under full martial law.
Di'an's airspace was under total military administration by the Imperial Guard, and the ground was no different. Of the thirty-three official highways entering the capital, the vast majority were now blockaded by the imperial royal guard, leaving open only essential supply routes.
In the silence, the traveling palace flew into the airspace close to the Imperial Capital.
Standing atop the eagle's head, Xu Yuan could clearly see every detail within this megacity, yet his gaze did not linger in the slightest, sweeping straight toward the northern outskirts of Di'an.
There, garrisoned outside, were the troops newly triumphant from the Northern Border. Barracks stretched across the fields and military banners fluttered high, but dancing upon them were insignias Xu Yuan had never seen before.
They were not of the Black Qilin Army, nor the Beifeng Army, nor Li Qingyan's Feather Forest Guards.
In the end,
Xu Yuan's gaze came to rest on the commander-in-chief's tent in the very center of the encampment.
At that exact moment,
a youth in a python robe walked out at an unhurried pace. His sharp brows and starry eyes radiated an aloof calm as he raised his head to look over.
The gazes of the two crossed a hundred li, colliding above the summit of Nine Dragons Mountain.
Li Zhaoyuan stood before the command tent.
Lifting his eyes,
he saw the lavishly dressed youth standing atop the eagle's head, high and mighty, looking down as if from the peak of a mountain.
Li Zhaoyuan smiled faintly. Parting his lips, he waved toward the descending giant eagle.
Long time no see, Xu Changtian.
Unfortunately, Li Zhaoyuan's greeting went unanswered.
The youth who had stood at the peak of the mountain from birth merely cast him an indifferent glance, and then vanished beyond the crest of Nine Dragons Mountain.
Li Zhaoyuan stood in place for a long time before lowering his hand and looking down. He stared at the palm he had just raised for several breaths, shook his head slightly, and turned to walk into the dark command tent.
Still not high enough.
He still had to look up.
Yet it was already close.
He would use every means at his disposal to climb this path, step by step, and stand upon that mountaintop.
Chapter 706