In the very center of the Imperial City there was a huge and magnificent palace.
Around the palace, there was a myriad of guards walking around.
That palace was the core of the Imperial City but also of the entire Xue Yue Country. That palace belonged to the Imperial Clan.
The rumors say that there are 8100 checkpoints in the palace. These checkpoints had heavy curtains which would need to be passed through. Only those who managed to go through all of these checkpoints could reach the inner palace.
At that moment, there was a silhouette walking inside the palace. That person was walking normally as if they were walking on a normal street. Nobody was obstructing their way.
That person was wearing black clothes. That man's facial expression was rigid and motionless like a mountain.
That man passed through various heavy curtains and arrived in front of a pond. By the pond, there was a bench where someone was sat as they fished in the pond.
That person was wearing simple white robe and looked very friendly. He was about twenty years old. The man in black clothes and the one in the white robe looked similar. The man in the white robe was sitting on the bench and fishing, looked quite enigmatic.
The man in black clothes had arrived behind the man in the white robe and didn't say anything.
An instant later, the man in the white robes who was fishing suddenly started shaking, especially his hand and with a quick pull he suddenly pulled a silver fish out of the water, which landed next to him in his bamboo basket. The fish was about half a kilo. The way the man in white robes had caught that fish was both graceful and elegant. Immediately after that, a big smile had appeared on his face.
"Nan Shan, come, sit down." said the young man in white robes to the man in black clothes while smiling warmly.
"Your Majesty." said Nan Shan while bowing. He didn't sit down.
"Nan Shan, I haven't seen you in a while. What brings you here?"
"Hehe." smiled Nan Shan while nodding his head and then said: "Your Majesty, Chu Zhan Peng and Luo Xue are here."
"The Holy Courtyard of Xue Yue is about to be inaugurated so this is not at all surprising. You probably haven't come only to tell me this."
The young man still had a warm and friendly smile on his face but he also looked very wise.
"His Majesty has a sixth sense and can see the future with supernatural accuracy. Today, Qing Xin's restaurant was destroyed. I also met with two very interesting people."
"Qing Xin's restaurant? Her restaurant is quite a nice place to go. Nan Shan, Qing Xin is not a small girl anymore. When do you intend to marry her? I will gladly arrange for your wedding."
The young man didn't seem to be interested in what Nan Shan was saying. He rather changed the subject and started talking about Nan Shan's private life.
The young man in black clothes looked grateful. His Majesty always unconsciously moved the hearts of other people. He was indeed a very kind man.
Qing Xin was the woman he liked so if the young man approved their union, the woman's family had no choice but to accept it, no matter how illustrious they were. Therefore, the young man's sentence had been enough to make Nan Shan's heart beast faster with joy.
But Nan Shan thought that it wasn't the right moment to talk about his wedding.
"Your Majesty, today, Duan Yu went to Qing Xin's restaurant. She acted childishly and made a scene and when she came across a sixteen year old young man, he slapped her."
"Huh?" The young man smiled and said: "Well, that is a funny and interesting story. People who would dare slap her outside of the Imperial City are indeed rare. I am sure that Duan Lie helped her to deal with this situation. It is also unlikely that Qing Xin watched with folded arms, right?"
"Your Majesty, you are right. Everybody got involved but in the end, it wasn't enough and the restaurant ended up being destroyed. I also had to escape with Qing Xin. There was a young teenager of the Xuan Qi layer."
Nan Shan smiled which made the young man look even more interested in his story. The young man then said: "A teenager of the Xuan Qi layer. It's impossible. What clan could he be from?"
"Your Majesty, I didn't express myself clearly. There was indeed a teenager of the Xuan Qi layer but it was a young girl. She is extremely beautiful. She looks very delicate, innocent and graceful. The clan she comes from… Hmmmm….."
Nan Shan was deliberately trying to make his story sound more interesting which made the young man laugh. The young man then said: "Nan Shan, you know how to keep me in suspense but that young girl of the Xuan Qi layer, what is her social status?"
"I really don't know. I've never seen her before but I think that Your Majesty will definitely be more interested in that young man."
"Oh?" the young man was really curious at that moment. Who could be more interesting that a young girl of the Xuan Qi layer?
"What's his name?"
"Lin Feng." replied the man in black clothes.
"Lin Feng." whispered the young man. "On the day when the Yun Hai Sect was destroyed, one of the disciples was saved and I'm pretty sure his name was Lin Feng."
"Indeed. That's him. The story of his life is even more interesting..." said the man in black clothes keeping the young man in suspense.
"Tell me!" said the young man with lexcitement flashing in his eyes.
"Lin Feng is from Yangzhou City." said the man in black clothes.
"Yangzhou City…. Lin Feng…." repeated the young man in a low voice. He thought for a few second and then his face became rigid. His eyes were sparkling and then he said: "Her son?!"
"Indeed. Her son." nodded the man in black clothes.
The young man seemed fascinated and then said: "I'm indeed really interested in him. Please tell me more. By the way, Nan Shan, you should not tell too many people about this."
"Your Majesty, I know what to do." replied Nan Shan while smiling.
Lin Feng didn't know that people were talking about him at that moment. One important thing was that Lin Feng didn't have a social status in Yangzhou City or in the Imperial City. He was just an ordinary person with no powerful background to protect him.
The four of them got out of the carriage and were looking at the gigantic Celestial Academy. There were many cultivators walking by. Most of them looked excited and incredibly arrogant.
The name of the academy was written in huge, bold and flamboyant cursive calligraphy at the entrance of the city.
Under the arch of the entrance gate. There were some old men sitting on chairs and had tables in front of them. On the tables, they had ink and brushes.
People who arrived next to them gave them a letter which the old man signed. After that, the cultivators happily entered the Celestial Academy.
"Raaawwwrr." At that moment, a ferocious beast roared which drew the attention of many people.
Everybody turned around and saw a woman in red robes sitting on a ferocious beast.
That ferocious beast was a Brown Goblin Lion. Its hair was thick and looked like flames. Its roaring sufficed to make anyone feel intimidated.
"Sitting on a Ling level ferocious beast. How imposing."
Some people were amazed. Some of them looked jealous, some others looked envious.
"Zhong Ling!" At that moment, an illusion flew through the air and arrived behind the woman in red robes.
"A Moon Wolf… another ferocious beast of the Ling level." the eyes of the people in the crowd shrank. They could only see a young man sitting on the back of that ferocious beast. The young man was about sixteen years old.
"The Celestial Academy really deserves its reputation."
Everyone was astonished. Even though the Celestial Academy wasn't well known in the Imperial City, its reputation was obvious at that moment. It was also known for accepting only extremely outstanding disciples as well as disciples coming from the best clans and families of the country.
Of course, some of them weren't paying attention to the ferocious beasts. Some of the people only had eyes revealing determination and willpower to succeed.
"Duan Feng, it seems like we look a bit downtrodden." said Lin Feng who was driving the carriage. They could feel the Qi released by the ferocious beasts. Suddenly, the horses of their carriage stopped. They refused to move further, scared of the ferocious beasts. Lin Feng smiled wryly and tried to make the horses move forward.
"Lin Feng, brother, I came here to practice cultivation and not for fun." said Duan Feng while shaking his head and smiling.
At that moment, some people turned around and, while looking at Lin Feng, Duan Feng and the others, they said: "Another group of beggars has arrived. They look so miserable."