2718 Puzzled

Duan Ling Tian discovered the capital had its own rules. Apart from the Imperial guards, everyone was prohibited to fly in the capital. It was seen as a challenge to the Imperial family of the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom. Due to this rule, he and Huan'er could only enter through one of the entrances of the city.

At this moment, apart from the veil that concealed her face, Huan'er was also wearing a hat. Due to this, only her limpid eyes and a small patch of her forehead could be seen.

Duan Ling Tian had learned his lesson in Qi Lyu City and requested her to wear a hat as well. After all, he discovered Huan'er was still like a flower that attracted all the bees even if she wore a veil to conceal her face. Ever since she had put on a hat, she no longer attracted everyone's attention like before. On the contrary, Duan Ling Tian's handsome appearance ended up attracting attention from the women in the surroundings. Some men even looked at Duan Ling Tian enviously when they saw how handsome he was.

There was no lack of handsome men in this world. However, handsome men with an exceptional bearing like Duan Ling Tian were extremely rare.

Due to his bearing, many people instinctively thought Duan Ling Tian had an exceptional background when they saw him.

When Huan'er saw so many women looking at Duan Ling Tian, it made her rather unhappy for reasons unknown to her. For this reason, she said, "Brother Ling Tian, can I take the hat off? Look, there are so many people on the street, but none of them are wearing a hat." It was not her intention to attract attention. However, she felt that if she took off her hat, the women's gaze would fall on her instead of Duan Ling Tian.

Although Huan'er was unwise to the feelings between a man and a woman, after traveling with Duan Ling Tian all this time, she had developed a sort of dependence on Duan Ling Tian. She did not like the thought of having to share Duan Ling Tian with other women. She did not like it even when the women only looked at him.

Duan Ling Tian sternly said, "Huan'er, don't make a fuss. If you don't listen to me, I'm not going to accompany you to look for your mother."

What a joke! He had already seen and experienced the effects of Huan'er's beauty. Even with the veil, she was still attracting bees. To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was better that she kept the hat on. How could he allow her to take the hat off knowing it would only attract trouble? He was slightly confused as well. Up until just now, she had been fine wearing the hat. Why did she suddenly want to remove the hat? He would never expect that it was because she did not want other women to look at him. To put it bluntly, she was jealous.

Being in close proximity, Duan Ling Tian who saw her eyes glistening with tears for the first time felt a slight headache. He helplessly tried to comfort her. "Huan'er, I'm only asking you to keep the hat on to avoid unnecessary trouble. You might be able to suppress everyone in Qi Lyu City with your strength, but it's different here. This is the capital of a high-rank Celestial Kingdom. There are many people who are stronger than you here. It's better to keep a low profile. In a while, we'll look for an inn to stay in. At that time, you can remove your veil and hat, okay?"

"Then… Brother Ling Tian, you must accompany me to buy interesting things and eat delicious food," Huan'er said with glistening eyes.

"Fine, fine… I'll accompany you," Duan Ling Tian replied as though he was coaxing a child.

When Huan'er's eyes were no longer brimming with tears, Duan Ling Tian finally sighed in relief. She was just like a child, and it was honestly quite exhausting to be with her. However, what other choice did he have? Abandon her? Based on how naive she was, if he were not by her side, it would not take long for her to be captured by men stronger than her. At that point, perhaps, death would be a better option for her. Moreover, he had taken her out of the ruin, and she had helped him to get rid of the Illusory Realm. He felt somewhat responsible for her. Although as a man, he also had the desire to possess her, his rationality was much stronger than a base instinct such as lust. Apart from that, after interacting with her, he only saw her as a child. 'I hope we'll be able to find her mother soon. At that time, I'll finally be free.'

As Duan Ling Tian led Huan'er down the wide streets of the capital of the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom, he said, "Huan'er, we'll first look for a restaurant to eat delicious food." He looked for a lively restaurant with private rooms. After all, he could not let Huan'er eat in the main hall. She would have to remove her veil and hat to eat. How much trouble would she cause if the people in the restaurant saw her appearance?

The spacious roads of the capital bustled with an endless stream of carriages and carts. The pedestrians walked on the sides while carts and carriages took to the middle of the streets. Many exotic Celestial Beasts could also be seen. They were used as mounts. These Celestial Beasts, naturally, lacked intelligence. They were similar to the snow-white steeds that pulled King Qin's chariot back in the Cloudy Rock Celestial Kingdom. Although their cultivation bases were comparable to Voilet Sun Golden Celestials, without any intelligence, they could only accept slavery.

"This one!" Duan Ling Tian finally picked a relatively lively restaurant that had private rooms in the south of the capital. He and Huan'er had entered the capital using the south entrance. Despite roaming around for half a day, they were still in the southern side of the capital. One could just imagine how big the capital was.

…

After being seated in the private room, Duan Ling Tian waited until all the dishes were served before he ordered the waiter to withdraw. When the door to the room was closed, he finally allowed Huan'er to remove her veil and hat.

Huan'er did not waste any time and began to eat as though she had been starved for days, completely lacking the manners of a noble and virtuous lady.

"This is tasty! This one is also tasty! This is pretty good as well!" She devoured the dishes like a ravenous beast. With grease staining her mouth, she said to Duan Ling Tian, "The dishes here are better than the ones we had previously."

"Of course. This is the capital of the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom after all," Duan Ling Tian said with a smile.

On their way to the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom, whenever they arrived in a city, he would bring Huan'er to a restaurant to eat. Hence, he had already gotten accustomed to Huan'er's way of eating.

While Huan'er was eating, he eavesdropped on the conversations in the main hall. When they had entered the restaurant, he had chosen the private room closest to the main hall for this purpose. It had to be said that the soundproofing of the restaurant was pretty good. If Duan Ling Tian did not deliberately eavesdrop, all he would hear was indistinct background noises.

Initially, there was nothing interesting about the conversations in the main hall. However, when Huan'er had finished half of the dishes, he finally heard something that caught his attention.

"In a month, all the King Mansions in the territories of the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom will be bringing their most outstanding young powerhouses to the Imperial Palace. I wonder which King Mansion will produce the most outstanding young talent?"

"A heard there's a Violet Sun Golden Celestial who's younger than 100 years old in King Hongwei's Mansion. Violet Sun Golden Celestials younger than the age of 100 are rare in our kingdom."

"A Violet Sun Golden Celestial who's not even 100 years of age? How outstanding!"

Upon hearing these words, Duan Ling Tian's eyebrows slightly rose. 'It's young powerhouses less than 100 years of age again? Moreover, all the King Mansions in the territories of the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdoms have to gather these young powerhouses as well and bring them to the Imperial Palace in a month? Don't tell me the Martial Competition of the 16 Counties by King Qin's Mansion in the Cloudy Rock Celestial Kingdom has something to do with this? With such generous rewards, I initially thought there must be a catch behind the competition. However, it seems like it was an order passed down by the Imperial family of the Cloudy Rock Celestial Kingdom. Why are the Imperial families of both kingdoms frantically gathering young powerhouses who are less than 100 years old?' He was confused by all these thoughts that were running through his mind. Although he had stayed in the Cloudy Rock Celestial Kingdom for a long time after he ascended, he did not hear about the Imperial family passing down such an order.