''City lord, you are back already?'' The golden-armored old man asked in a surprised tone as he looked at the Northern Sovereign, before his eyes darted towards the group of 5 young people who were floating in the air behind her.

There was approximately half a year left until the King's Palace closed, so the golden-armored old man was naturally stunned to see Lu Qigang return to the city so quickly.

This old man was had followed her for many years, but he had never seen the Northern Sovereign return from the King's Palace ahead of time.

Nodding her head, Lu Qigang looked at the golden-armored old man and said calmly

''Things have changed in the core region of the palace. Old Lin, you will learn about this soon enough as well. Hehe, even if I wanted to keep this matter under wraps, I wouldn't be able to do so in the first place.''

Lu Qigang then turned around to look at Shun Long and the others before she continued

''I have some things to take care of, so old Lin will be the one to show you to your courtyard. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask him. Other than me, he is the person with the most power inside my Sovereign's estate!''

Old Lin was stunned when he heard the casual tone that the Northern Sovereign used when she spoke to Shun Long and the rest.

Her voice lacked the usual authority and coldness that she usually had when she spoke to others, and instead, it seemed like she was actually speaking to someone whom she considered her equal.

However, with his cultivation that was clearly in the Sovereign realm, how could old Lin not realize that the 5 people in front of him were just a bunch of newly advanced Dao Kings?

Even Sovereign realm experts like himself had to bow their heads in front of the Northern Sovereign, let alone a small group of Dao Kings.

''City lord, are these guests really going to stay within the Sovereign's estate?'' After a moment of hesitation, old Lin couldn't help but ask the Northern Sovereign, intending to make sure that he had understood her intentions.

Nodding her head, Lu Qigang said seriously

''Naturally! Shun Long and his friends are my guests. Let them stay in the 'Southern Dragon's courtyard' and have commander Quan personally protect them when they leave the Sovereign's estate.''

Although old Lin was surprised inwardly, on the outside he didn't show any hesitation as he looked at the Northern Sovereign and bowed before he said respectfully

''Understood, city lord!''

Old Lin knew that commander Quan was one of the Northern Sovereign's personal guards, an extremely powerful expert at the peak of the Dao Emperor realm who was just a step away from breaking through to the Sovereign realm.

To have such an expert personally guard Shun Long and his group, it only served to show how much importance the Northern Sovereign placed on this matter.

As for the 'Southern Dragon's courtyard', it was actually the second-best courtyard in the entire city, second only to the Northern Sovereign's own courtyard!

To have Shun Long's group stay there, old Lin naturally wouldn't take this light-heartedly.

Nodding her head, the Northern Sovereign looked at Shun Long and the others and said with a smile

''Feel free to tour around my Northern Sovereign's city and have a look. I am sure that you will find plenty of interesting things that you have never seen before while you were in the Holy sect. For the next few days, I will be busy with the matters of the golden skeleton, but I will come and find with you for a chat once I am done.''

''Thank you, senior.'' Shun Long and the others cupped their hands in thanks at the Northern Sovereign, who nodded her head before she disappeared on the spot.

''Young lords, young ladies, please follow me.''

The golden-armored old man then turned around, as he led Shun Long and his group deeper inside the Northern Sovereign's estate.

As they walked deeper inside the Northern Sovereign's estate, Shun Long and the others could see countless guards patrolling the interior of the estate.

The guards inside the estate were actually even more numerous than those who were guarding the outside, and even the weakest of them was at the peak rank 1 of the Dao King realm, while most of them were at the late stages of the Dao King realm instead.

There were actually plenty of those guards who had reached the Dao Emperor realm as well, surprising Shun Long and the others quite a bit.

In the Holy sect, the number of Dao Emperor realm experts didn't even exceed 20 and every single Dao Emperor was an inner court Elder.

However, in the Northern Sovereign's estate, Dao Emperors were only qualified to be just above most guards in terms of status.

A few minutes later, the golden-robed old man stopped in front of a massive open silver gate, while the passionate shouts of guards could be heard from the inside.

Old Lin led Shun Long and the others past the silver gate before he said calmly

''Young lords, young ladies, this is the training ground where the guards of our Sovereign estate spar with each other. Naturally, as the guests of our Sovereign, if the young lords and the young ladies are willing, you are welcome to spar with any of the guards here at any time.''

Seeing the provocative gazes that the guards were sending them, Jiang Chen and the others all stared at them with looks that were filled with fighting intent.

Unlike old Lin who knew that they were the Northern Sovereign's guests, these guards thought that Shun Long and the others were new guards who were about to join them.

Even if Shun Long's group was brought there personally by old Lin, those guards would only respect strength and nothing else.

A group of newly advanced early rank 1 Dao Kings would naturally be at the very bottom of the ranks among the Northern Sovereign's guards.