Every movement and action taken by Xu Qing and his group was being observed by various organizations in the imperial capital. Everyone was watching. From the moment they entered the Imperial Region, they had been under observation, and that was more the case now that they were in the city.

As soon as Kong Xianglong sent the swordsages out, countless gazes locked onto them. They instantly noted that the swordsages went to Tenth Prince’s mansion. Based on various clues and information channels, it didn’t take long for people to determine the reason.

Twelfth Prince had lost something that had been stored in his mansion, and it turned out Tenth Prince had taken it without notice. Tenth Prince had a domineering personality, which was why the number-one heavenly king from his mother’s clan didn’t like him very much. Given that personality, it seemed a given that he would ignore the jade slip delivered to him by the swordsages.

“How interesting. I wonder how Xu Qing and his friends from Sea-Sealing County will handle this?”

“When people come to the imperial capital, they either keep a low profile or make a big splash. We’ll be able to learn a lot about this Xu Qing based on what happens.” 𝐟r𝚠eno𝘃𝐥.c𝗼m

“Maybe the number-one heavenly king doesn’t like Tenth Prince very much. But in the end, they’re on the same side. This is actually kind of funny.”

Organizations and government offices throughout the capital chose to simply observe. That was how they usually dealt with unknown entities. It was essentially an instinct, and generally speaking, it was the most correct course of action.

Xu Qing had sensed what was going on the moment he entered the city. Therefore, as everyone stood by and did nothing, he stepped out into the afternoon light. As he walked down the street, he could sense people watching him from every direction. There were spies in the crowd, and also streams of divine will locked onto his location. There was no question that everything he did here in the imperial capital would be observed by someone. He understood the situation, and knew there was nothing he could do to change it. So he kept his expression neutral.

In terms of what happened after that jade slip reached Tenth Prince, the reality was that Xu Qing didn’t care. He had already determined how to resolve the situation.

If Tenth Prince accepted the jade slip, fine. If he didn’t…. Xu Qing’s eyes glittered coldly. He had already chosen to make a splash. After dealing with the misery of life as a youngster, he had learned through experience. Growing up in the slums, he had made it a practice of killing people who tried to harm him, then hanging their heads on his door as a warning. 1

In short, he was ruthless. But in addition, he was patient. Patient and vicious. Those qualities came out in different ways depending on the circumstances. And based on Xu Qing’s experiences, he felt that, as a newcomer, making a splash right away was the best way to settle conflicts. That was why he hadn’t done anything to restrain the ancient sun back when dealing with the spell formation.

So he ignored the people watching him from afar and the spies shadowing him on the street. He walked along calmly, taking in the unfamiliar city that was the top location for all humankind.

Ningyan also went out, as did Plumdark and the Captain, though none of them went with Xu Qing.

Before leaving, Plumdark had exchanged a glance with Xu Qing, and he immediately understood that she was going to start looking for her lamp. Plumdark was completely different from Ling’er. If Ling’er were here, she would want to stay as close as possible to Xu Qing. Not Plumdark. She did things her own way, and had her own way of thinking.

The Captain worked all of the shiftiness out before leaving. Based on his behavior, Xu Qing had no trouble guessing what he was up to. He was going to start figuring out where all the treasure was in the imperial capital. Either that, or he was going to work on tracking down traces of his past lives.

Xu Qing shook his head. As the afternoon sunlight filtered down, he walked past building after building, street after street, all while planning out what to do going forward. This was what he usually did in unfamiliar environments. He kept his guard up and stayed vigilant. It didn’t matter how high his status had climbed, that fundamental aspect of his personality hadn’t changed. That said, he didn’t let it show. He kept everything hidden, just as he had learned to do from others in Seven Blood Eyes. 2

Tense on the inside, relaxed on the outside. That was his mental state. From an outsider’s perspective, he seemed completely calm. As he walked, he mentally reviewed everything Princess Anhai had told him about the state of the imperial capital, including the details of the important officials and the imperial children. After combining that with information that Ningyan had given him, Xu Qing felt that he had a pretty solid understanding.

Three imperial daughters. Twelve imperial sons. Grand Princess and Second Princess entered into marriage alliances with nonhumans… and aren’t in the capital.

The emperor had fifteen children. And in many respects, they were the foundation of what happened with all the other organizations. Just about everyone had connections to the imperial children.

Of the imperial daughters, only Anhai has the right to establish a mansion in the city. However, she didn’t choose to do that. She stuck close to the emperor. She has a lot of organizations that back her. The patriarch of her mother’s clan is the number-two heavenly king, King Eastcauldron, who is actually the commanding officer in the current hostilities with the Nightshades. Now, after the imperial daughters, we have the imperial sons….

Xu Qing looked thoughtfully in the direction of the Nightshade lands.

Grand Prince is an accomplished warrior, but is reckless and disorganized. His mother is a Firemoon Darkheaven, which is a bit awkward for him. He’s either hated or viewed with suspicion. Even the emperor doesn’t seem to like him very much. After all, despite how his son is such an avid warrior, he hasn’t sent him to the front lines, but instead kept him here in the capital.

Second Prince keeps a low profile, and is known to be humble and kind. His grandfather was prime minister in his time, and worked hard to help Emperor Dark War ascend the throne. Although Second Prince’s clan never produced a heavenly king, followers of the prime minister can be found in all parts of society.

Third Prince is extremely talented, and is a font of knowledge. He has vassals from all over working in his mansion, including quite a few nonhumans. He’s an erudite learner, and thus, it’s no surprise he holds a position at the Imperial University.

Fourth Prince is cultured and refined. He’s friendly, likes to help others, and is well-liked by his brothers and sisters. Though his mother is a commoner, he earned the approval of the Prehistoric Cyan Moon Sect, and took the imperial preceptor as Master.

As Xu Qing thought about such things, he found himself looking in the direction of the Star-Plucking Tower. He didn’t have much information about the imperial preceptor, so it was hard to form any impression of him.

Fifth Prince… has the same mother as Seventh Prince. He has the most impressive battle prowess among the imperial sons, second only to Grand Prince. He’s also brave and good at fighting, and has earned the notice of the emperor, who arranged for him to be the apprentice of the number-one heavenly king. Along with the first heavenly king, he’s stationed on the Firemoon border, and rarely comes back to attend court. Because of my past with Seventh Prince, I probably ought to treat Fifth Prince as a potential enemy.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he continued with his assessment.

Both Ningyan and Anhai said that Sixth Prince is a real playboy. That said, he treats people well. All the young women in his mansion are completely obsessed with him. In fact, Anhai even mentioned a rumor that the only female heavenly king among the thirty-three heavenly kings, King Wildmist, is also infatuated with him.

And then there’s Seventh Prince…. After the death of King Heaventide, he returned here to the capital and hasn’t appeared in public.

Xu Qing laughed coldly.

Eighth Prince is known as the richest of all the imperial sons. His mother’s clan is the wealthiest merchant clan among all humankind. Eight Prince has financial support from multiple fronts, and is richer than many entire nations.

Ninth Prince is intelligent and skilled. He cares little for the outside world, and focuses completely on matters related to creation. The emperor assigned him to the Creation Division, where he was largely responsible for… creating the Dawning Suns!

As for Tenth Prince, the most important thing about him was that he ranked higher than Eleventh and Twelfth Prince.

Eleventh Prince was Ningyan’s twin brother. However, after he died, that left behind only Ningyan. It was all related to their mother. And that was taboo in the imperial capital.

When Princess Anhai had come to that part of her explanation, she transmitted some information to Xu Qing so that Ningyan didn’t hear.

“Ningyan’s mother was a mortal! She had no talent for cultivation at all. However, she was devastatingly beautiful, and the emperor was deeply in love with her. After she died, he had her portrait hung in the imperial palace, and he takes time every day to look at it. When he does, his expression is one of pain and sorrow. Since then, he hasn’t had any other children, and he hasn’t let any other wives or daoist partners wait on him. Her death is actually a mystery. Not even I know the details of what happened.”

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered. He had long come to realize that Ningyan’s whole story revolved around his mother. Because of his mother, Ningyan experienced a lot of hardship. At the same time, there were still unexplained mysteries.

Xu Qing stopped and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He looked up into the sky, where the setting sun was turning red. Somehow, he had already walked around the city for about four hours. He had even used teleportation portals a few times. After reviewing all the information he knew about the imperial children, he had a general understanding of the big picture in the capital. That said, he also knew that what he knew was only the surface. Everyone wore masks, though they were usually manifestations of their inner attitudes.

Xu Qing rubbed his own face.

I suppose I’m the same.

Overhead, the red light from the setting sun created a rosy glow in the clouds. Sunsets like this were beautiful, but at the same time, seemed filled with the color of blood. It made Xu Qing think of a certain day back in Seven Blood Eyes when the same color in the sky had heralded a very tragic event. 3

Xu Qing’s gaze fell onto a huge statue right in front of him.

Without even realizing it, he had walked to the eastern part of the city, close to the rainbow road. And he was standing right in front of the statue of Grand Emperor Swordsage.

Looking at the statue, he thought about the assessment of the heart, and what the grand emperor had shown to him… how the broken face’s true body encircled the Revered Ancient mainland. He thought about what was said during that assessment, especially the last thing Grand Emperor Swordsage told him.

“I hope that no matter what happens… you never change!”

As Xu Qing looked at the statue, there were numerous spies in the crowd behind him, watching his every move and keeping others informed of his whereabouts. Divine will proliferated. Numerous government departments were using a variety of methods to keep track of Xu Qing and his actions. After all, he was basically a walking Dawning Sun.

“The subject has gone through three districts and has stopped to study nineteen buildings.”

“The subject seems to be memorizing the layout of the city.”

“The subject teleported.”

“The subject is standing in front of the statue of Grand Emperor Swordsage. He’s just looking at it.”

“The subject… is bowing to Grand Emperor Swordsage.”

“The statue of Grand Emperor Swordsage… is moving!!!”

“What’s going on here? The Grand Emperor… is about to wake up??”

As messages sped to different corners of the city, a buzz began to build. All eyes widened with shock and disbelief.

From a distance, the statue of the grand emperor towered high into the sky, as if to guard all humans. Down below, Xu Qing, clad in a green jerkin, respectfully bowed. One of them was massive, the other tiny, and they were separated in life by countless years. But then a hoarse voice echoed out, seemingly from nowhere, filled with ancient time. It echoed through heaven and earth, thrumming with mightiness.

“You’re here.”

1. It was in chapter 53 that we first heard the story of Xu Qing hanging a head outside his door as a warning. ☜

2. Another callback to the early parts in the story. In chapter 51, when Xu Qing first joined SBE, he was told to be like a needle concealed in silk after being told he telegraphed his abilities too much. ☜

3. The reference here is to the Blood-Soaked Performance. The red sky was mentioned in chapter 310, which was basically when the ‘performance’ began. ☜