Half a day later, in a teahouse, Yang Kai and Li Jiao sat facing each other across a table.
The fragrance of tea curled upward, yet neither spoke a word.
Half a day of observation had been enough to see many things.
This Half-Dragon City was far too bizarre. Setting aside the almost unbelievable number of Dragon Descendants, the sheer concentration of powerful experts here was staggering — at least one Emperor Realm cultivator for every thousand people on the streets.
The city had a population of roughly five hundred thousand. In other words, there were five to six hundred Emperor Realm cultivators residing in this Half-Dragon City alone!
What did that even mean? The number was nothing short of terrifying.
Across the entire Star Boundary, there were countless cities of every size, yet not a single one could compare to the Half-Dragon City in terms of Emperor Realm cultivators. Typically, even a major city would be considered extraordinary if it had a few dozen Emperor Realm experts — and that was counting those merely passing through, let alone a hundred, or five hundred?
Even with the exceptionally pure spiritual energy here that aided martial artists in their cultivation and advancement, this ratio was still too frightening.
After all, a peak Sect like the Azure Sun Divine Hall had only a little over a dozen Emperor Realm experts in residence — a number that didn't even come close to a fraction of what the Half-Dragon City boasted.
Beyond that, within this Half-Dragon City, those who possessed the Dragon Clan's bloodline — the Dragon Descendants — all seemed to hold a somewhat elevated status. Among martial artists of the same cultivation level, the Dragon Descendants were almost always the ones others looked to for leadership.
Yang Kai estimated that if the experts of this city were mobilized, they could sweep through any city or any peak Sect in the Star Boundary. Only a Great Emperor's Sect could hope to stand against this Half-Dragon City.
This was a colossus of a city!
But both Yang Kai and Li Jiao had noticed something else equally strange.
Those Dragon Descendants — especially those with slightly purer bloodlines — all appeared to have unstable auras. Regardless of their cultivation level, their steps seemed unsteady, as though every one of them carried hidden injuries. And at the Emperor Realm, the higher the cultivation, the fewer Dragon Descendants there were.
What was going on? Yang Kai and Li Jiao couldn't make heads or tails of it.
In theory, possessing Dragon Clan bloodline gave Dragon Descendants tremendous advantages in cultivation. Li Jiao was a prime example — without his Dragon Descendant heritage, he would have peaked at the second layer of the Emperor Realm for the rest of his life. It was precisely because of his Dragon Clan bloodline that he had been able to break through to the third layer.
Yet here in Half-Dragon City, the situation seemed to be reversed.
Dragon Descendants with purer bloodlines actually had lower cultivation ceilings — capped at the second layer of the Emperor Realm at most. The majority of Dragon Descendants who had reached the Emperor Realm were only at the first layer. Meanwhile, those humans and demons without any Dragon Clan bloodline included cultivators who had reached the third layer of the Emperor Realm.
After spending a long while in the teahouse, listening to the conversations around them, Yang Kai and Li Jiao hadn't gleaned much of substance. Only one person had inadvertently uttered the words "Dragon Palace," which caught both their attention.
Unfortunately, the speaker seemed to immediately realize their slip and quickly changed the subject, leaving Yang Kai and Li Jiao itching with frustration.
Half-Dragon City. Dragon Palace. Dragon Descendants.
All the signs pointed to this place most likely being Dragon Island. But the population of several hundred thousand made Yang Kai unable to believe it.
How could Dragon Island have so many people?
Li Jiao was equally baffled. This place was far, far removed from what he had imagined — to the point where he couldn't accept reality.
Just as the two sat in silence, a sudden commotion erupted from a shop across the street, as though people were arguing about something. Spiritual energy surged, and Laws manifested one after another.
With a loud crash, a figure came flying out of the shop and slammed heavily onto the ground.
It was a woman, dressed in a pale yellow palace gown. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her slender, graceful back was all that was visible — her face couldn't be clearly seen. Her aura was not weak; she was a first-layer Emperor Realm cultivator.
It was unclear who she had clashed with inside that shop to end up thrown out like this, but from the looks of it, she was hurt badly.
Pedestrians on the street immediately cleared the way upon seeing this.
Without knowing the full story, no one was willing to meddle in someone else's business and risk bringing trouble upon themselves.
"Mama!" A young voice cried out, tinged with a sob.
The woman on the ground struggled to her feet, wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, and stared ahead with eyes blazing with fury. Whether from rage or pain, her delicate body trembled.
"Hmph!" A cold snort sounded as a man stepped out of the shop. His face wore a sinister, gloomy expression, and he walked with measured, unhurried steps. One hand was raised, gripping a young girl by her hair and pulling it backward. Forced into this posture, the girl could only shuffle out bent at the waist.
The girl had delicate features and looked quite young, her body not yet fully developed, with two small swells on her chest — she was extremely petite and slender. From her appearance, she was at most fifteen or sixteen years old.
Her eyes were red, tears streaming down her cheeks. She seemed to have been badly frightened, her face a mask of terror. She looked ahead and cried: "Mama, save me!"
Judging from the way she spoke, this girl and the woman who had been thrown out were clearly mother and daughter.
"Let her go!" the woman hissed through clenched teeth, her Emperor Energy surging violently as though she was about to rush forward in a desperate fight. But with her daughter held hostage, she was in a position where she didn't dare act rashly. No matter how furious she was, she couldn't make a reckless move.