Inside a teahouse, a pot of fine fragrant tea was being brewed, wafting its distinctive aroma. Yang Kai sat across from Zhu Qing, while the little black dog lay curled in one corner of the tea table, eyes closed in a nap.
"What happened just now?" Zhu Qing asked in a low voice. Even now she still couldn't figure out why Yang Kai had been injured. The wound wasn't serious, but he had bled all the same. It seemed unlikely that the Third Prince had done it—she knew better than anyone how strong Yang Kai was. How could a mere first-level Emperor Realm cultivator possibly hurt him? And all it took was a snap of his fingers.
If the Third Prince truly had that kind of ability, then he couldn't be far from the Great Emperor realm himself.
"This Human Emperor City is no ordinary place." Yang Kai loosened the silk cloth he'd been pressing against his nostrils. The bleeding had stopped, but the cloth was a mess. He casually stored it away.
Zhu Qing gasped. "Was it really the Third Prince who hurt you?"
"Yes." Yang Kai nodded.
"How is that possible?" Zhu Qing's expression shifted. "Could it be that he's been hiding his true strength?" Her heart was shaken—what kind of powerhouse could conceal their strength to the point that even she couldn't see through it? If such a person truly existed, their power would be far too terrifying.
"Not at all." Yang Kai shook his head vigorously. "That fellow isn't hiding anything. His strength really is just first-level Emperor Realm."
"Then how could you possibly…" Zhu Qing's red lips parted slightly.
"Well, how should I put it…" Yang Kai frowned, replaying the scene in his mind. After a long pause, he finally spoke. "Within Human Emperor City, there is an incredibly powerful force, and the Third Prince seems to be able to command it at will. It wasn't the Third Prince who hurt me—it was that omnipresent force."
The explanation was a bit convoluted, but the meaning was straightforward enough, and Zhu Qing naturally understood. She stared blankly. "What kind of force is that?"
"I can't say for certain." Yang Kai shook his head. "Do you remember how that woman warned us earlier not to provoke anyone with a leaf emblem on their chest?"
Zhu Qing lightly slapped the table. "The Third Prince's robes seemed to have a leaf emblem on them."
Yang Kai grinned. "And it was a nine-leaf emblem!" He raised a finger toward the sky. "You might not have noticed, but those people flying back and forth up there—every single one of them has a leaf emblem on their chest. The only difference is the number of leaves."
At his words, Zhu Qing immediately released her divine sense to probe the area, and sure enough, it was just as he said. Every person flying through the sky, regardless of their strength, was no ordinary individual—all of them bore leaf emblems on their chests.
"These people probably hold a rather special status in Human Emperor City." Yang Kai tapped the table lightly with his finger. "There's a Human Emperor, there are Princes… I'd wager that those with leaf emblems on their chests are all members of the imperial family, which is why they enjoy certain privileges."
Zhu Qing frowned. "But aren't there just far too many of these so-called imperial relatives?"
Yang Kai laughed. "That's why most of them only have one or two leaves. Five leaves or more is rare. As for that Third Prince with a full nine leaves—looks like he's a man of real authority too."
Zhu Qing said, "I just remembered—Steward Liao in that cave from before, he seemed to have one of those leaf emblems on his chest as well."
"Exactly." Yang Kai nodded. "That's how he was able to control the spatial formation over there and possess the main imprint of the Human Emperor Seal. Even though that married couple surpassed him in strength, they had no choice but to swallow their pride. Tsk… having privileges really is something."
"What are you thinking about?" Zhu Qing asked, eyeing him coldly.
Yang Kai adopted a serious expression. "What I mean is, only these imperial relatives can tap into that mysterious force within the city—that's how the weak can easily defeat the strong. Of course, it's not as if every single one of them has that ability. There are probably certain restrictions—perhaps only those with five leaves or more, or six leaves or more, are qualified. The more leaves one has, the stronger the force one can command."
"Mm, that does make some sense." Zhu Qing didn't dwell on it deeply, finding nothing obviously wrong with Yang Kai's reasoning.
Yang Kai let out a cold laugh. "When all is said and done, it's still a dog-eat-dog world—just that some people here get to borrow a special kind of force to even the odds. And that force seems to be everywhere within Human Emperor City."
"Can we resist it?" Zhu Qing asked.
Yang Kai shook his head. "Hard to say. The Third Prince wasn't using his full strength just now, and I wasn't on my guard either. So if it really came down to a fight to the death, I honestly don't know whether I could withstand it. Right now, the most important thing is to figure out exactly what that force is, so we can find a proper countermeasure."
"Should we go ask around?" Zhu Qing suggested.
Yang Kai shook his head with a smile. "No need."
"Why not?"
"Because someone has come to us, little fool." Yang Kai grinned at her.
Zhu Qing shot him a glare. "You're the little fool." Yang Kai's words had reminded her that ever since entering Human Emperor City, her wits didn't seem to have been up to par. Thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be because she felt she had someone to rely on now, and as a result both her judgment and observational skills had plummeted. She felt a bit uneasy about it, yet couldn't quite bring herself to mind the feeling.
"That lord over there, since you've already arrived, why not come and join us? Sitting all alone without even anyone to talk to—what's the point of that?" Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and looked toward a table not far away.
There was only one guest at that table. He appeared to be around fifty, with a goatee, and a refined, scholarly air that at first glance made him look like a schoolteacher. His cultivation was restrained, his aura vague and elusive, making it impossible to gauge his true strength.
This fellow had entered the teahouse just moments after Yang Kai.