The imperial city of the Haoyang Empire is located in the core area of the Haoyang Empire's territory, and at the intersection of two mountain ranges running east-west and two mountain ranges running north-south, there has always been a saying that the city is protected by four dragons.
In fact, the Imperial City is indeed the most prosperous city in the entire Haoyang Empire. It is not only huge in area, but also a large number of masters in the world gather here.
As for Xiao Zhan and the others, they were still nearly 100,000 miles away from the imperial city.
With this distance, it is impossible to reach the Imperial City when the Tianjiao Battle is held just by walking.
In the end, it was Xiao Zhan who led Du Yue and others to fly at high speed, and they arrived at the Imperial City the day before the start of the Tianjiao Battle.
It is square in shape and protected by a city wall hundreds of meters high.
On the city wall, the Imperial Guards were standing, each wearing a battle armor and holding a silver gun. They looked majestic and exuded a powerful aura.
Moreover, there is another rule in the imperial city.
No matter whether they are princes, nobles or casual cultivators, they are not allowed to fly in the air.
There are nine gates on all sides of the imperial city.
Xiao Zhan and others were outside the ninth gate of Nancheng.
Seeing the large number of people entering and leaving the imperial city, as well as the tall and solemn imperial city in front of them, Du Yue and Du Hao, who were visiting for the first time, were full of excitement.
The youngest Han Xiao was still sleeping soundly on Du Hao's back.
Liu Yong had been to the Imperial City once on a mission a few years ago, so he acted calmly.
At the city gate, there are two silver-armored imperial guards, checking everyone who enters the imperial city.
After seeing Xiao Zhan and others, one of the forbidden soldiers raised his spear expressionlessly and stopped in front of Xiao Zhan.
Xiao Zhan smiled and said:
"We are here to participate in the battle of geniuses."
The forbidden soldier frowned and then asked:
"Which sect?"
Liu Yong took a step forward and said in a deep voice:
"We are from the Xiuyuan Sect."
Hearing the words "Xiuyuan Sect", the silver-armored forbidden soldier was stunned and subconsciously said:
"The seniors of the Xiuyuan Sect have entered the imperial city with all the geniuses participating there a few days ago."
Liu Yong nodded:
"We separated halfway."
The silver-armored imperial guard looked at Xiao Zhan, then clasped his fists and said:
"Senior, please follow me. I will take you to Xiuyuan Sect's residence."
Xiao Zhan said "hmm" and followed the silver-armored forbidden soldier towards the city.
In the imperial city, there are thousands of streets crisscrossing each other, countless houses, and pavilions and pavilions everywhere.
Each street is ten meters wide, and the ground is paved with flat white jade slabs, which looks extremely luxurious.
Most of the people walking on the streets were gorgeously dressed, and their auras were not weak.
Du Yue looked at the shops selling various things on both sides of the street, her eyes almost blurred.
Xiao Zhan chuckled:
"Is there anything you want to buy?"
Du Yue's eyes lit up:
"Master, do you want to give me a gift?"
Xiao Zhan shook his head:
"I don't have any silver with me, so I can't give it to you."
Du Yue suddenly became disappointed, but soon she took out a few banknotes.
These three thousand taels of silver notes were given to her by her father before she and Du Hao joined the Xiuyuan Sect.
It just hasn't come in handy.
Du Yue stopped outside a rouge shop, staring straight into the shop, unable to walk.
Xiao Zhan chuckled:
"Why don't you just wander around the imperial city by yourself? When you've had enough, come find me."
"Is it really okay?!" Du Yue divided the banknote in his hand into three parts, one thousand taels for himself, one thousand taels for Du Hao, and the other one thousand taels for Liu Yong.
Liu Yong was stunned.
He was born in a peasant family, and from the day he joined the Xiuyuan Sect, he never had any money on his body.
"Take it, Senior Brother Liu Yong!"
Du Yue slapped the silver note into Liu Yong's hand, then looked at Xiao Zhan and asked:
"Master, is there anything you want? I'll buy it for you then!"
Xiao Zhan thought for a while, threw his wine gourd to Du Yue, and said:
"Bring back a jug of good wine."
After saying that, Xiao Zhan followed the silver-armored imperial soldier and walked toward the "Xiuyuan Pavilion" where the Xiuyuan Sect lived.
Xiuyuan Pavilion, the fixed residence of Xiuyuan Sect in the imperial city, is very large, and the palace usually arranges people to clean it.
At the same time, Xiuyuan Pavilion is more than ten times larger than the residences of other sects in the imperial city.
A disciple of Xiuyuan Sect was waiting at the gate of Xiuyuan Pavilion.
Seeing Xiao Zhan arriving, he quickly clasped his fists and said respectfully:
"Master Xiao, you are here."
Xiao Zhan nodded and asked with a smile:
"Do you have any silver with you?"
The disciple was stunned for a moment, and then quickly took out a few banknotes from his arms.
Xiao Zhan casually pulled out one and handed it to the silver-armored Imperial Army standing next to him.
The silver-armored imperial soldier quickly took it with both hands, bowed and said:
"Thank you, senior."
Xiao Zhan waved his hand, and then pointed on the shoulder of this Xiuyuan Sect disciple.
The accumulated energy in this disciple's body became smoother in an instant, and his complexion improved by three points, making him feel refreshed all over.
He smiled excitedly and thanked:
"Thank you, Lord Peak!"
Xiao Zhan said "hmm" and then walked into Xiuyuan Pavilion.
In one of the quiet rooms of Xiuyuan Pavilion.
Ye Qingcheng and Gu Chen were meditating in seclusion.
The moment Xiao Zhan appeared, the two of them opened their eyes.
The next moment, Xiao Zhan had walked in.
He sat cross-legged and said with a smile:
"A little late."
Gu Chen shook his head, "The battle of Tianjiao will only start tomorrow, Master Xiao is not late."
"There are just some things that I want to talk to Master Xiao about and see what Master Xiao thinks."
Xiao Zhan nodded lightly:
"The ancient peak master just said it doesn't matter."
Gu Chen's face turned serious:
"This year's Prodigy Battle has many changes compared to previous ones."
"In previous years, all sects and families would send people to participate."
"This year, casual cultivators in the martial arts community who meet the conditions can also sign up to participate."
"In this way, the number of participants will increase dozens of times."
Xiao Zhan smiled and nodded:
"Isn't this a good thing?"
"The casual cultivators in the world may not be able to join the sect due to various reasons and do not receive enough training resources."
"We can take this opportunity to recruit another group of disciples for Xiuyuan Sect."
Gu Chen frowned:
"If that's the case, that would be great."
"It's just that the royal family has announced the rules."
"All casual cultivators among the top 10,000 in this competition will be eligible to join the Forbidden Army."
"If our Xiuyuan Sect continues to recruit disciples under such circumstances, we will be clearly competing with the royal family for people."
Xiao Zhan waved his hand:
"This is not something very important."
"As long as those casual cultivators can obtain training resources, it doesn't matter which force they join."
Gu Chen was silent for two seconds and continued:
"This is just the first change."
"This year's competition rules have also changed."
"In addition to competing in combat prowess, we also need to compete in writing. Isn't this nonsense!"
Xiao Zhan laughed:
"I think it's quite good. Isn't it wonderful to have both civil and military skills?"
Ye Qingcheng frowned and said:
"But since then, those at the top may be slightly less powerful than those at the bottom, relying on their literary talents to overwhelm others."
"The most important thing is that our Xiuyuan Sect sends people to participate in the battle of Tianjiao for the first time."
"Our people must win the top three."
"And in the first hundred miles, there must be at least twenty people from our Xiuyuan Sect. Only in this way can the world know that Xiuyuan Sect is the strongest force in the Haoyang Empire."
Xiao Zhan smiled and waved his hand:.
"You take your reputation too seriously."
"Actually, what can I do if I am not the number one sect in the Haoyang Empire?"
"This way Xiuyuan Sect will save a lot of trouble, and no one will keep an eye on Xiuyuan Sect's movements all day long."
"And those of us who practice the Yuan Sect can still practice peacefully and wholeheartedly pursue the Tao."
"Besides, without this reputation, our Xiuyuan Sect can still protect the people of the world."
Ye Qingcheng and Gu Chen were both silent.
After a long time, Gu Chen looked solemn and said:
"Master Xiao, the sect leader said that our consciousness is not at the same level as yours."
"I admit this, I am a layman, and most of us in the Xiuyuan Sect are also laypeople."
"They say they are cultivating immortals, but in the long years since our Xiuyuan Sect was founded, not a single immortal has been born."
"Even the sect leader is still in the early stages of the Mahayana realm."
"If you don't step into the upper five realms, you can't be regarded as an immortal."
"Since we are secular people, we are bound to have worldly disputes."
"Once our Xiuyuan Sect loses its reputation as the number one, I'm afraid we won't be able to get any peace and stability, and will only cause more trouble."
Ye Qingcheng also nodded and said:
"Xiao Zhan, your heart is not only for the Xiuyuan Sect, but also for the poor people in the world."
"We are different. We must first ensure that there is a respected Xiuyuan Sect, and then we will consider helping the common people."
Xiao Zhan smiled and nodded:
"So, what you are worried about is that the Xiuyuan Sect will not take first place in the Tianjiao Battle for the first time?"
Gu Chen shook his head:
"Winning the first place is inevitable. The key is that the performance of our Xiuyuan Sect disciples must be far enough away from other forces."
"Also, in addition to the competition between disciples, each sect, each family, and the strong casual cultivators in the world will also organize a sparring meeting, and it will be held right after the battle of geniuses."
"In other words, when the time comes, the three of us may have to compete with other Fusion Realm masters."
Xiao Zhan nodded:
"Master Gu Peak, are you worried that you will lose?"
Gu Chen shook his head:
"I won't lose."
"It's just that when you reach the Fusion Realm, if it's not a life and death battle, you basically won't use your trump cards."
"In other words, there is no way to tell the winner in a competition in the Fusion Realm. It is very difficult to overwhelm your opponent."
"And if we don't defeat the Fusion Realm masters from other forces, then it will be considered a tie, and our Xiuyuan Sect will be considered a loser. After all... we are number one!"
"Also, we can't be cruel to other Fusion Realm masters, otherwise the Xiuyuan Sect will definitely be attacked in groups."
"I suspect that this is most likely a plan of the royal family, a rule formulated specifically for our Xiuyuan Sect!"
Xiao Zhan looked indifferent and smiled softly:
"Relax and be normal."
"Actually... it's not that difficult to win."
