256 Imperial Capital

Seeing that their inn was already prepared upon arrival, Xue Wei understood that they had somehow been informed in advance, and he was curious as to how they had done so.

He had been walking next to Elder Sun the entire way, but he had not seen anything out of the ordinary, at least nothing to indicate that a message had been sent through a communication device or anything of the sort.

Sensing Xue Wei's curious glance, Elder Sun smiled. "I sent them a mind transmission earlier," he explained. "Mind transmissions can be sent across ten thousand miles, but you need to have the mental brand of the person you try to contact."

"That sounds quite practical," Xue Wei said with shining eyes. If he had that, would it not be much easier to contact his friends if they had to work separately in the future?

"I will let you learn it when we return to the Garden of Shadows," Elder Sun promised. "It is not a difficult spell at all, more or less everyone knows it, and it is readily available at the first floor of the martial art halls."

Xue Wei smiled and nodded his head. Hei Gou and the others also raised their eyebrows in surprise and wondered whether or not they'd be able to learn it as well.

It would be no difficulty for Bai Tianyi to learn it, as his aptitude for spiritual energy was second to none, but since Lin Xiao and Hei Gou did not really cultivate spiritual energy, would they still be able to learn it?

Sighing, they looked at their arms, where they had a communication bracelet. Even if they could not use the mental transmissions, they still had these toys to assist them.

It seemed that every continent was different. Their customs were different, the situation of the land was different, and also their methods were very different.

But considering that they had been split up for ten thousand years, it was not all too unexpected.

In the inn, five people were supposed to share a room, but since Xue Wei and his friends had tamed Da Jia, they were allowed a room to themselves. Although they were now students of the academy, they were still foreigners. It was better to let them have some space for themselves to gather their thoughts after having arrived in Yan Dalu for some time.

Xue Wei was aware that the reason that they were receiving such treatment was mostly because of their performance and the skills they had shown so far.

The reason for their treatment was largely due to the show of Lin Xiao taming Da Jia and Xue Wei's concoction of pills which allowed for them to break through to the Ordinary Knight rank. Without these two episodes, it would be impossible for them to be treated as well as they were now.

The four friends sat still in the room, one on each bed, and looked at one another. Their faces displayed relaxed smiles.

They knew they could speak of whatever they pleased. Da Jia was already tamed by Lin Xiao and was incapable of rebelling against him. His mind was not blank, but deep within was an ingrained slave contract that made it impossible for him to go against his tamer. Even if he later were to be handed over to another master, Lin Xiao would still hold the strongest authority over him.

"So we are in the Imperial Capital now." Bai Tianyi sighed as he took his boots off and sat cross-legged on the bed.

"Yeah, we should arrive at the Garden of Shadows soon." Xue Wei nodded his head.

"I feel that things are not as simple as they are making them seem," Lin Xiao suddenly mentioned with a frown.

"Although we are foreigners and we have helped them, there is no real reason for them to be this courteous to us. It is as if they are expecting something from us."

Xue Wei mused over the words for some time and shrugged his shoulders.

"They were quite pushy when they wanted us to join the academy, but they were also very fair, and joining the academy is without a doubt a benefit for us."

"For now," Hei Gou said with a low voice. Xue Wei just smiled. "The oath means that we can withdraw at any time we feel that we are being unjustly treated. It is not a bad idea."

"I don't understand them though," Bai Tianyi added. "The students are okay. They were arrogant and opposed to us at the start, but we subdued them by showing them our power. But Elder Sun, who is supposed to be a noble figure, was so elated to see us. There is likely to be some hidden agenda."

"Hmm." Xue Wei considered what his friends said. "I don't know," he admitted. "There could be many reasons behind his behavior, but we lose nothing from keeping our guard up."

Bai Tianyi, Lin Xiao and Hei Gou heaved a heavy sigh of relief when they heard Xue Wei agree.

Although Xue Wei usually was quite vigilant, he seemed to trust these multi-eyed experts from Yan Dalu a little too easily, and it had caused the other three to be worried.

Now that he had said what they wanted to hear, they felt much better. There was truly no harm in being cautious and they were not willing to risk anything just when they had escaped Chang'an.

"When we reach the school, we have to decide whether or not we wish to be low-key or if we wish to cause a ruckus," Xue Wei suddenly said with a smile on his face, stunning the other three.

"Well, we have never been good at being low-key," Hei Gou said while scratching his head embarrassedly. He remembered all the people who had chased them from one end of Chang'an to the other in an attempt to catch them, and how they ended up killing them all along the way.

Now they had finally found some peace and quiet, but it was too good to be true. It was likely that these people wanted something from them.

"You are right. It is not in our nature to be silent," Xue Wei snickered. "So I suggest we cause a great change to the continent."

"A great change to the continent?" Lin Xiao's eyes widened in surprise when he heard this. He was unable to comprehend what Xue Wei wanted to accomplish with this.

Bai Tianyi was also slightly startled. "Why would we bother with this continent? It is just a stop on our way towards the Demon Phoenix Continent."

"Do not forget that if we want to make it to the Demon Phoenix Continent, we need a lot of merit points. They are not easy to gather, but I do have an idea."

Hearing Xue Wei's words, the other three looked with a glint in their eyes as they leaned forward, ready to hear the next words spoken from Xue Wei's mouth.

Like this, the night passed. They ordered a few dishes after discussing their strategy and spent the rest of the night chatting and having a small party with just the four of them.

The following morning everyone from the academy woke up early and gathered on the road outside the inn. They continued their advance deeper into the city, their speed neither too fast nor too slow.

The city was getting more and more lavish the further in they came. It was like a country within a country, a kingdom dotted with proudly towering buildings everywhere.

The further into the city they came, the cleaner it was. Guards were patrolling the streets; gardens, parks, and squares were everywhere, but the bustling atmosphere of the outskirts was not seen.

There were still many people on the street, but you did not see kids running around playing. Instead, it was rich people hurrying from one place to another or servants on errands for their masters.

But everyone was dressed in fine clothes. Even the servants had, albeit of very common make, clothes that were of good quality.

There was a dignified air the further into the city they came.

Soon, they saw a palace that was stretching towards the heavens. Xue Wei had to take a step back and almost bend his back and his neck as far back as they could go to see the top of the palace.

It was made from some kind of white stone, and it was adorned with a lot of gold that shone in the sunlight. It was incredibly stunning, built in a style quite different from the palaces that could be found on Chang'an.

It did not take long before Xue Wei realized that they were walking towards this palace and he could not help but frown.

Were they not heading to the Garden of Shadows? Why were they going towards the palace?

Even without thinking too much, it was obvious that this palace was the place where the royals lived.

Was the Garden of Shadows attached to the royal palace, or was there some other reason?

Xue Wei did not hide the frown that formed between his brows and Elder Sun instantly noticed it, smiling dejectedly and shook his head.

He could easily guess what was on Xue Wei's mind and he was quick to assure him.

"Young Wei, do not mind. We need to announce your arrival to the King before we can return to the academy," he explained quickly, his heart beating rapidly. He was worried about Xue Wei's reaction.

Xue Wei's face turned dark when he heard it. "Why so?" he asked rather curtly.

"It is rare we get visitors from outside the continent. The King is very interested in these things, and thus I am afraid he will be very displeased if we do not go straight away."

Xue Wei's frown deepened.

He was not sure what he felt about this. Was he willing to meet the King? He felt that it was likely that he would land himself and his friends in even more danger if he was exposed to the King, but after considering the plan they had made earlier, it might not be such a bad idea to meet the King first.

As such he gestured for the tensed Hei Gou, Bai Tianyi, and Lin Xiao to relax, and he then nodded his head to Elder Sun.

"I only hope that the King will see kindly to us," Xue Wei said to Elder Sun, who nodded his head vigorously.

"The King is a five-eyed genius. He is only a mere twenty years old, but he has already become a Heavenly Knight!"

Xue Wei raised an eyebrow in surprise. When he heard that they would be meeting a King, he had expected it to be an old man, but it seemed that the King was merely a young man, one not much older than he himself.

Thinking like this, he also calmed down a bit more. He did not belittle the King, but he imagined that, being a young man, what he found was curiosity towards the outside world rather than some old wily fox that was willing to get rid of all things that might pose as a threat to his continent.

Lin Xiao's face also turned slightly odd when he heard the age of the King, but he said nothing.

Finally, the group arrived at the gates of the palace. A big row of guards adorned in golden armor was standing outside, all of them carrying long spears in their hands and swords by their waists.

"Greetings Elder Sun!" they all called out in unison, once again showing that they were expecting Elder Sun to appear.

Elder Sun cupped his hands and bowed to them before he turned around and looked at his students.

"Tu Long, take the students back to the academy," he ordered, "I will personally lead the four experts to see the King."

Having been given an order, the man called Tu Long cupped his hands and bowed deeply before he assumed the leading position and ordered the others to follow him in a stern voice.