Chapter 63: The First Day in the Imperial Capital

Since it was a flying magical beast provided personally by the royal family, Xiao Yan and his group flew directly over the palace walls and landed on a hillside within the imperial palace.

Before they had even landed, Xiao Yan saw a grand welcoming procession; mighty and handsome honor guards and graceful, slender palace maids filled the space, but the most eye-catching were the four people at the lead. They were two old men, a middle-aged man with a rather stout build, and a young girl who looked about the same age as Ya Fei but whose brows and features bore some resemblance to Yao Yue.

Among them, the old man standing diagonally behind the first elder was someone Xiao Yan had met before; it was none other than Hai Bo Dong, whom he had parted ways with in Mo City just a few months ago. With this, the identity of the person standing before Hai Bo Dong became obvious—it was the Jia Ma Empire's number one powerhouse, Jia Xing Tian! Xiao Yan thought to himself.

As for the two behind them, Xiao Yan guessed from the stout middle-aged man's position behind Hai Bo Dong that he should be Teng Shan, the patriarch of the Mittel Clan. On the other side, the person standing behind Jia Xing Tian was undoubtedly Yao Yue's older sister, Yao Ye. It had to be said, although the age gap between the sisters was not ridiculously large, the gap in certain aspects was indeed not small, and their temperaments were completely different. If one were to say that Yao Yue hid a mischievous heart beneath her usual fresh and elegant exterior, then Yao Ye was cold and glamorous both inside and out. Superimposed with her status as a future empress, she was absolutely the type of woman men most wanted to conquer. Secretly sweeping a glance over Yao Ye's curvaceous figure, Xiao Yan sighed with emotion.

However, although he had thoughts that all men have, Xiao Yan did not reveal the slightest bit on his face, and his gaze toward Yao Ye was just a fleeting glance, not lingering for even a moment.

"Haha, little brother Xiao Yan, you have finally arrived; this old man has been waiting for quite some time." After Xiao Yan's group descended from the flying magical beast, Jia Xing Tian was the first to step forward to greet them, his peripheral vision glancing at Yao Yue who was following closely behind Xiao Yan, and he could not help but feel a trace of joy in his heart. This girl Yue'er, I never expected her to be so clever this time.

"Old Jia, you flatter Xiao Yan. What virtue or ability does Xiao Yan have to deserve such a highly respected senior as yourself coming to welcome me personally? This is truly Xiao Yan's great fortune." Xiao Yan cupped his hands, his face revealing a brilliant social smile he had never shown before.

Seeing Xiao Yan's attitude, Jia Xing Tian's worries that such a young man would be lawless due to his talent vanished, and his mood became very pleasant, so he laughed and exchanged a few more polite pleasantries with Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan also responded politely, then turned his gaze to Hai Bo Dong, who was looking him up and down from the side, and said, "Long time no see, Old Hai, has your health recovered well?"

"Hehe, thanks to you, kid, this old man has now recovered to the level of a six-star Spirit Emperor." As he spoke, Hai Bo Dong revealed a smug expression, "What about you, kid? Why are you still at the peak of the Great Spirit Master realm? Weren't you already there a few months ago? Didn't you think about continuing to break through?"

"Oh, Old Hai, you don't know about this; sometimes, cultivating too fast is not a good thing. Not only is the foundation unstable, but one's state of mind can easily fail to keep up, so I want to settle down a bit more during this time before going to Canaan Academy." Xiao Yan explained with a smile, having no intention of mockery. But after hearing this, everyone felt as if they had been subjected to a personal attack, only feeling that they could not understand the thoughts of a genius.

"By the way, Xiao Yan, did you and Hai Bo Dong know each other beforehand?" Jia Xing Tian suddenly asked with some curiosity, while Yao Yue,

Ya Fei, Yao Ye, and the others around them also looked over curiously.

"Oh, this? I met Xiao Yan twice when I was in the Tagor Desert before, and we made some trades." Before Xiao Yan could speak, Hai Bo Dong said somewhat vaguely; clearly, he did not wish for too many people to know about his experiences in Tagor.

"I never thought you two would have such a connection." Although he knew that the matter between the two was definitely not that simple, Jia Xing Tian had no intention of pressing for details, so he turned to Xiao Yan and said, "Xiao Yan, let me introduce you. This is Yao Yue's older sister, and also the next leader of our Jia Ma royal family, Yao Ye."

"Hello, Xiao Yan." Yao Ye immediately stepped forward and extended her jade-like hand in a poised and graceful manner.

"Hello, Princess Yao Ye." Xiao Yan smiled and extended his hand, lightly grasping that jade-like hand, then quickly withdrew it. Although it was only for a very short time, that soft, boneless jade hand still left a very deep impression on Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan had just arrived in the Imperial Capital, so naturally, it was impossible to keep chatting here, and soon Jia Xing Tian invited Xiao Yan and the others to the banquet.

Honestly, the number of banquets Xiao Yan had attended in the last few months was truly high; sure enough, no matter where it was, people liked to talk at dinner parties.

That night, following the arrival of Xiao Yan's group, the news that Xiao Yan had refined a Tier 4 Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill at the Xiao Clan's training grounds quickly began to spread through the royal family and the Mittel Clan, and then immediately and inevitably spread outward.

Jia Xing Tian and Hai Bo Dong, who received the news first, summoned Yao Yue and Ya Fei respectively for a talk.

"Yue'er, tell your grandfather, did Xiao Yan really refine a Tier 4 Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill?" Jia Xing Tian asked his granddaughter before him with a trembling voice; even as someone who was about to face death, he still could not remain calm in the face of Xiao Yan's achievements.

"It is true, Grandfather. At the time, your granddaughter was in the audience and saw it with her own eyes, and—" Thinking of the situation at that time, even Yao Yue, who was a witness, felt somewhat dazed.

"And what?" Jia Xing Tian asked somewhat anxiously.

"And he seemed to have created a new pill-condensing method on the spot!" Yao Yue's tone was hesitant at first, but it gradually became certain.

"What!" Jia Xing Tian, who had already been shocked by Xiao Yan three times, had thought there was nothing left that could shock him, but he did not expect that he had still underestimated Xiao Yan.

"Yao Yue, there is one thing Grandfather wants to tell you." At this moment, Jia Xing Tian's gaze became exceptionally serious: "What do you think of this person, Xiao Yan?"

Hearing this, Yao Yue's face instantly turned red, and her two hands unconsciously gripped the hem of her skirt, acting somewhat coyly: "What do you mean, what do I think?"

Seeing Yao Yue like this, Jia Xing Tian was instantly overjoyed, thinking that there was a chance, so he went a step further: "Grandfather and your sister have discussed it and feel that to win over a young genius like Xiao Yan, we must rely on marriage. What do you think?"

After hearing this, Yao Yue's little face turned even redder, her head lowered as low as it could go, almost sinking into her own chest, her rosy cherry lips moving gently, and she said in a voice like a mosquito's hum: "If the clan needs it, Yue'er is—not opposed to it."

"Good!" Jia Xing Tian said with great joy.

On the other side, the same thing was happening at the Mittel Clan.

With a *bang*, Ya Fei walked out of the secret chamber, looking at the moonlight outside the window, and thinking of what Hai Bo Dong and Teng Shan had just said to her, Ya Fei could not help but mutter to herself.

"I never thought that the thing you promised me would actually be realized in such a way. It really is—cheap for you!" Ya Fei said with slightly flushed cheeks.