A thousand miles from the Battle City, on the second floor of a tavern in a stone town, the place was packed with patrons, business booming. Over a dozen square tables were filled with traveling warriors who had stopped for a bite and a drink.
At a table by the window, a gaunt middle-aged man who looked like nothing but skin and bones sat with an indifferent expression.
His table was covered with wine jugs of all sizes — at least several dozen. The man seemed to have an astonishing capacity for drink; even after consuming so much, his face wasn't the slightest bit flushed and his heartbeat remained steady.
His cold, sinister gaze drifted down toward the pedestrians on the street below.
Every time he spotted a warrior with even slightly impressive strength, those chilling, predatory eyes of his would emit an eerie, frigid light — like a starving beast that had just come upon fresh meat, itching to tear someone apart and devour them alive.
His face was alive with barely suppressed agitation — struggle, hesitation, indecision — before it gradually settled. He couldn't help but sigh, then snatched up another wine jug and guzzled greedily.
"Starving this old man to death," he muttered under his breath. His crafty eyes roamed over the patrons on the second floor, and strange, suppressed sounds kept rumbling from his throat. His expression kept shifting as he wrestled with the urges clawing at him inside, making his struggle painfully obvious.
"Cangyun Evil Lands was better, at least. You could do whatever you wanted there," the man sighed again.
The waiter kept bringing up aged fine wine and then scurrying away in fear. Whenever he got close to this skin-and-bones specter of a man, the waiter felt a sense of mortal danger hanging over him — as if this middle-aged man could transform into a vengeful ghost at any moment and swallow him whole.
Just as the man sat there looking thoroughly displeased and annoyed, a conversation drifted over from nearby.
They were talking about the treasure battle that had taken place a few days prior. The speakers described the scene with such vivid detail that it was as though they had witnessed it firsthand.
"You guys haven't heard yet? The number one young lord in the Central Capital isn't Liu Qingyao of the Liu family anymore."
"Someone defeated Liu Qingyao?" Everyone at the table was shocked.
"Well, not exactly defeated. But the youngest young lord of the Yang family, with only the eighth level of the Zhenyuan Realm, went head-to-head with Liu Qingyao for two moves without falling behind. Liu Qingyao is at the third level of the Shenyou Realm — with that kind of gap in strength, the fact that he could hold his own evenly is incredible. Given time, once that young lord reaches Liu Qingyao's level, he'll definitely surpass him."
"You serious?"
"Absolutely. The news is a hundred percent true — I saw it with my own eyes. That young lord is something else. Young as he is, with such refined cultivation, and he's already gathered over a dozen first-rate supporting factions. I'm telling you, when it comes to this battle for succession, he might be the one laughing last."
"No way! Isn't that young lord supposed to have no connections?"
"You know what 'playing the pig to eat the tiger' means, right? Show your enemy weakness first, then strike with everything — who can withstand that?"
"I think that youngest young lord — isn't his name Yang Kai?"
"Yes, yes, that's him — Young Master Kai…"
The moment the name Yang Kai reached his ears, the man who had been drinking voraciously suddenly froze. He turned his head to glance over, apparently intrigued.
The conversation at that table hadn't been hushed, so everyone on the second floor had heard every word. Someone immediately scoffed in rebuttal: "What do you know? Young Master Liu clearly wasn't using his full power that day, which is why Yang Kai could hold on for two moves. I was there too — you know what Young Master Liu said?"
He chuckled, pausing for effect, then continued at his leisure: "Young Master Liu said, 'Yang Kai, you are no match for me. I'll wait for you to grow, and then we'll have a proper fight!' That's the bearing and class you'd expect from the Central Capital's number one young lord. He merely showed restraint for two moves, and you act like Yang Kai is all that?"
The warrior who had spoken first bristled with indignation: "That was just face-saving talk from Liu Qingyao. If that third move had landed, who would have won or lost is anyone's guess. Yang Kai is the true number one in the Central Capital right now!"
"Bullshit!"
Their argument quickly spread. Right now, warriors across the entire Han Dynasty were following the battle for succession, and everyone had their own opinions about how it would unfold.
In no time, the warriors on the second floor had split into two camps, shouting back and forth at each other.
Only the man by the window remained silent, letting out low, sinister chuckles without saying a word — though the gleam in his eyes grew increasingly dangerous, increasingly terrifying.
After arguing for quite a while, no one had reached a resolution.
The warrior who had started the whole thing, his face red and his neck bulging, turned and spotted the gaunt man by the window. He couldn't help but shout over: "Hey, you there — what do you think? Who's really the number one in the Central Capital?"
"You want this old man to say?" The man looked startled, asking in mild surprise.
"That's right, we want you to say it. You've been sitting there quiet as a mouse — must have your own opinion. Let's hear it. But come on, at your age, calling yourself 'this old man'? Ha ha ha ha!"
Everyone couldn't help but laugh, wondering if this middle-aged man was just the type to put on airs about his age.
The second floor fell silent as all eyes turned to the gaunt man, waiting for his answer.
The man nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, then said: "If you truly want this old man to say — the number one in the Central Capital would definitely be that Young Master Yang Kai. Not only the number one in the Central Capital, but in the future, the number one under heaven as well. Heh heh heh heh!"