"I have always been very bold," Ling Han said in a very calm tone.
"You aren't scared that I will kill you?" Feng Yan asked, as if there was only the two of them there. He did not even care about the presence of the Third Imperial Prince.
The Third Imperial Prince's entire body was shaking all over. He could barely hold himself back anymore.
"Do you dare?" Ling Han smiled.
Feng Yan actually considered this question seriously for a moment, then answered. "Temporarily not!"
Temporarily not… so that meant that he would dare to in the future?
Hiss, could it be that this guy didn't know Ling Han had the two big bosses of alchemy standing behind him, and was someone that even the Rain Emperor had to give some amount of face to?
"If you don't dare to, then get lost. What are you lingering around here for? Planning to show off your pretty face?" Ling Han rebuked.
"Hahahaha!" the Third Imperial Prince laughed loudly, feeling very gratified.
Yet Feng Yan was not angered in the slightest, and said, "You've beaten up that worthless brother of mine a few times, and I have come tonight to repay the favor, but it'll be enough if I thrash you once. In the future, I will thoroughly discredit you, and you will become spurned by all before I finally kill you!"
The tone he used was one of complete calmness, as if he had secured some incredible power and authority that allowed him to kill anyone he desired to in this Imperial City.
"Feng Yan, are you finished?" the Third Imperial Prince stood up and strode towards Feng Yan, flames of rage burning within his eyes, "You are indeed very brave to actually dare to proclaim repeatedly your intention to murder in this Imperial City. I shall apprehend you and deliver you to the prison to reflect on yourself."
"Oh, is Your Imperial Highness going to personally give me some guidance?" Feng Yan smiled calmly, and said, "I have long admired the Son of Heaven Fist Technique that Your Imperial Highness uses, and I'd really enjoy experiencing it tonight."
This guy must have lost his mind, everyone else thought, but they could not help but admire Feng Yan's bravery. How many people in the Imperial City would actually dare to so openly oppose the Third Imperial Prince? Even the young elites and geniuses of the Eight Great Clans would not have such ability nor the courage to do such a thing.
"You will soon get your wish!" the Third Imperial Prince's fists trembled, and instantly, flashes of Qi circulated all over his body.
That was the power of the nation!
All descendants of the imperial line, even if they were from a branch line like Qi Yong Ye, were able to use this ability. The difference between power of the nation and power of the city only lay in the strength of the ability—they were basically the same thing.
Using power of the nation to support oneself, and to gain the ability to suppress one's opponent. It was enough to increase one's battle prowess by another two or even three Battle Stars!
The Third Imperial Prince was in the seventh layer of Gushing Spring Tier in the first place, once he began to manipulate power of the nation, his battle prowess would at least be worth ten Stars, and that was yet to take into consideration the additional power upgrade from his martial arts technique and Fist Qi. Taking all these into consideration, there would definitely be no issue for the Third Imperial Prince to reach eleven Stars.
Facing a Third Imperial Prince who was making a full-out effort, Feng Yan did not dare to be careless, and eventually withdrew his laidback expression, becoming serious.
The two of them made a move to attack, and the air instantly became extremely tense.
"Hehe, is it appropriate to start fighting in my Cherishing Flower Pavilion?" a dainty voice was heard, and a shapely figure shot over. It was a beautiful woman with a very sensuous figure, and her face was temptingly gorgeous and coy. Her mature body was practically enough to turn the eyes of all onlookers red.
How sexy! How impressive! It was enough to incite others to commit crime!
"Lady Yan!" the Third Imperial Prince raised his clasped hands in her direction and smiled. This was the owner of the Cherishing Flower Pavilion. To be able to open such a money-squandering establishment in the Imperial City, how could the owner be just any common, ordinary person?
Even Feng Yan withdrew his battle intent, raised his clasped hands, and said, "Greetings, Lady Yan."
Lady Yan smiled brightly, and said, "I cannot bear to receive such great courtesy from esteemed guests such as you two. However, the Cherishing Flower Pavilion has its own rules, and it is forbidden to fight here. If the two of you want to fight, please proceed outside for your battle."
"Haha, since Lady Yan has already thus spoken, how could I be rude!" Feng Yan once again raised his clasped hands, turned to Ling Han and said, "I will let go of you this once, but… there will be no second time!"
He turned around and left, not giving any face to the Third Imperial Prince at all.
Ling Han and the Third Imperial Prince were both clear. This was all due to Feng Luo. Because of him, Feng Yan had began to nurse a grudge towards the two of them.
More importantly, what kind of trump card had this guy obtained that he would even dare to oppose the Third Imperial Prince in public?
After the trouble caused by Feng Yan, all the guests had lost the heart to continue drinking and having fun, so the Third Imperial Prince simply ended the banquet, and everyone returned to their respective homes.
"Mr Ling, could you meet with me for a moment?" Ling Han had just stepped out of the courtyard when he heard Lady Yan's voice. It was dainty and sweet as if it was made out of honey, a very beautiful voice.
Ling Han smiled faintly, and said, "Of course." He told Li Hao and Zhu Xue Yi to go first, while he walked towards Lady Yan.
"Mr Ling, please." Lady Yan invited Ling Han into an elegant little courtyard, where flowers bloomed all around, creating a very beautiful environment.
"May I know your reason for meeting with me, Lady Yan?" Ling Han sat down, and an extremely beautiful young girl served some fragrant tea. This young girl tea was of much higher quality than the two women before, and every move and smile from her seemed to have some kind of spell that would cause the hearts of those who saw her to throb and beat faster.
She was also a very brave girl. She took her place, standing behind Lady Yan, and directed a curious gaze at Ling Han. That was because there were very few people in the Imperial City who could enter this side courtyard, and any one of these people could cause the whole Imperial City to tremble with a few stomps of their feet.
A young man that looked to be even younger than herself… what basis did he have to come here? Moreover, his expression looked completely calm. There was no sign of nervousness or pleasant surprise, causing her to be even more baffled.
"Mr Ling has obtained the favor of two ultimate Grandmaster Alchemists, which is a very curious thing for me," Lady Yan said with a beautiful smile, "Perhaps I will have something that may need Mr Ling's help in the future, and so would like to establish good relations with Mr Ling."
Well, she was direct.
"This is a little gift from me, and it would please me if Mr Ling would agree to accept it." Lady Yan nodded at the young girl, and the latter withdrew a small wooden box, which she then placed on the table.
Ling Han did not refuse, and simply opened the box on the spot. Inside the box lay a red-colored brocade pad, and on the brocade pad was a handguard. From the looks of it, it should be quite old—a simple, primitive air emanated from it.
He stroked the handguard a few times, and closed his eyes slightly. After a moment, he finally said, "Lady Yan is indeed very generous. Such a gift… I do not feel deserving of it!"
"Oh?" Lady Yan looked curious at this, and asked, "Does Mr Ling know the use of this handguard?"
"If I have not guessed wrongly, this will help one increase one's battle prowess, and it should be able to at least increase it by a whole Battle Star!" Ling Han said.
The increase of a whole Battle Star was a very terrifying thing. For most people, they were only able to use battle prowess that corresponded to their cultivation level, but once the battle prowess they could display exceeded their cultivation level, that would mean that they had gained the ability to challenge an opponent stronger than themselves, regardless of individual cultivation levels. That was why Ling Han had said Lady Yan was very generous.
This was their first time meeting, and yet she had given him such a valuable gift. Even if Lady Yan was a very generous person by nature, this was still too much of a shock.
"Mr Ling is indeed knowledgeable. That's right. The name of this tool is 'Purple Star Handguard'. Once activated, it would be able to increase the user's battle prowess by another Star, but exactly to what extent this power upgrade would be, would depend on the level of affinity the user has with this handguard," Lady Yan explained.
Ling Han put back the lid on the box, and asked, "Milady, is there something you want my help with?"
"There is indeed!" Lady Yan smiled faintly.