Yang Kai had long been awake — in fact, he had not slept at all during the night.
The two Blood Warriors were refining the medicinal effects to heal their wounds. Qiu Yimeng and Luo Xiaoman were women, so the task of keeping watch over their surroundings naturally fell to him.
Looking at Yang Kai, a faint, subtle warmth stirred in the hearts of the two Blood Warriors.
Just as they were about to speak their thanks, Yang Kai gave them a detached glance and asked, "Which force does this territory belong to?"
Tu Feng thought for a moment and replied, "I believe this should be within the jurisdiction of Tianyuan City."
Tianyuan City — it was both the name of a city and the name of a faction.
"What tier of force is Tianyuan City?" Yang Kai frowned slightly.
"First-tier. Why do you suddenly ask about Tianyuan City, Young Master?" Tu Feng didn't understand why he had taken an interest all of a sudden.
Yang Kai bared a row of pearly-white fangs and flashed him a grin, one that carried a distinctly sly edge.
Qiu Yimeng opened her eyes and shot him a look from the side, curling her lip. "He's found yet another target to rob."
"It's circumstances beyond my control — I have no choice!" Yang Kai shrugged.
Seeing that he hadn't denied it, both Blood Warriors couldn't help but feel a dark cloud pass over their heads.
Come to think of it, even the Lü Family, tens of thousands of kilometers away, had been dragged into yesterday's disaster through no fault of their own. Before long, Lü Liang would probably come staggering into Zhongdu with armloads of gifts to present to Yang Kai. How could Tianyuan City, right here in the vicinity, hope to stay out of it?
After all, Yang Kai had been ambushed within Tianyuan City's sphere of influence. Whether Tianyuan City bore a great or small responsibility for that was entirely a matter of perspective.
It all depended on whether the higher-ups of that faction had the sense to read the situation.
During such a sensitive period, even the smallest incident could escalate into something enormous.
"Should we send word to Tianyuan City?" Tu Feng asked, already sounding rather eager. He had clearly gained considerable experience in these matters. "If so, I can make the trip right now. I doubt they'd dare say a word against it."
Even Tang Yuxian was sporting an excited expression, as if she wanted to race Tu Feng for the messenger's errand.
"No need. They'll find out about this on their own," Yang Kai said, shaking his head. He rose to his feet. "All right, let's get moving. We've wasted enough time on the road already. I have no idea what state Zhongdu has gotten into."
"Are the injuries of our two seniors serious? Should we rest a few more days?" Qiu Yimeng frowned, asking with a note of concern.
Tu Feng and Tang Yuxian exchanged a glance and hastily shook their heads. "It's nothing to worry about."
Seeing them say so, Qiu Yimeng didn't press the matter.
Without their Cloud-Treading Steeds, the five of them had no choice but to travel by flight, which naturally slowed them considerably.
After a full day and night, the gap in strength among the young people became strikingly apparent. Despite having flown for so long, Yang Kai's expression remained placid — his face wasn't flushed and his breathing was even, as though he had barely exerted himself.
Qiu Yimeng, on the other hand, was already slightly out of breath. In order to keep pace with the two Shenyou Realm cultivators, her true essence consumption had been rather heavy.
As for Luo Xiaoman, she was faring even worse. Her cheeks were flushed red, beads of hot sweat dotted her forehead, and the pair of jade rabbits on her chest rose and fell with her labored breathing — a truly remarkable sight.
But she gritted her teeth and followed behind the others without a single complaint.
If Tang Yuxian hadn't taken pity on her and deliberately slowed to keep her company, Luo Xiaoman would have been left far behind long ago.
They took remote roads and encountered no further dangers along the way. They stopped to rest at night, then set out again after dawn.
The sun rose and the moon faded.
After a full eight days, the group finally caught sight of a colossal city in the distance.
Zhongdu!
It seemed to be the very center of the world. The sheer enormity of Zhongdu defied description — even from several hundred li away, they could still make out its silhouette.
The magnificent grandeur of it bore down upon them, and an involuntary sense of insignificance welled up in their hearts.
When people thought of Zhongdu, a certain phrase inevitably came to mind.
"North and South Cannot See Each Other — the Greatest City Under Heaven!"
Standing at the city's southern edge, one could not see the northern boundary at all. All of Zhongdu stretched out like a boundless ocean, vast and magnificent, covering an impossibly wide expanse of land.
It was not uncommon for one end of the city to be blanketed in dark clouds with lightning and thunder while the other end basked under brilliant sunshine and a sky as clear as a freshly washed mirror.
Even a Shenyou Realm master would need at least two or three hours of continuous flight to cross the entire city from end to end!
Such was the immensity and scale of this place.
The Greatest City Under Heaven — the title was well deserved!
It was almost impossible to imagine how a city so vast it could be called a small nation had been built. It seemed, according to historical records, that it had already existed since time immemorial. For countless years, the Eight Great Families of Zhongdu had firmly held dominion over this greatest city in the world, continuously expanding and reinforcing it, further enlarging its area.
And so had today's miracle been born.
The group of five halted in their tracks, all gazing at Zhongdu from afar.
"I've lived inside it all my life, but every time I return from a trip, I can't help but stop to admire it a little longer," Tang Yuxian said with quiet emotion.