59 Leaving the Capital (1/2)

Bliss. The expression on both Luo Zhirou's and Shen Mu's faces were that of utter bliss.

They cupped their hands and bowed deeply to the Crown Prince, completely incapable of expressing their gratitude with words.

Xue Wei watched the scene with a smile on his face. He was quite satisfied with how things were progressing. Although he had no intention of siding with a faction, his friends were eager to do so considering how much of a blessing it would be for their families.

Xue Wei knew that they were different from him, and he was happy for them, but he also understood that this Crown Prince was doing it for the sake of him and his uncle.

”We will not let you down, Your Royal Highness,” Luo Zhirou said while bowing. Shen Mu also said, ”We will forever be your loyal subjects.”

The Crown Prince seemed satisfied with what they said, and he waved his hand. ”I look forward to working with you in the future,” he said with an amiable smile on his face before he turned to Xue Wei.

”You might want a communication orb too?” he asked, tempting Xue Wei, but Xue Wei understood that accepting anything from this prince included being indebted to him.

”No need, Your Highness.” Xue Wei laughed. ”I have no one I need to communicate with. Had I known they existed, then I would have asked my uncle to give me one, but since I cannot get into contact with him, it is pointless.”

The Crown Prince was slightly disappointed, but this was what he had expected. He had a hunch Xue Wei would do what he could to stay away from a specific faction, and his only aim with today's meeting was to sow a seed of friendship in his mind.

Xue Wei, Luo Zhirou, and Shen Mu said their goodbyes to the Crown Prince and what other experts they met on their way. As they left the building made from jade, they found that the outside was completely dark and that only the path they had to walk had been lit up by the most beautiful street lamps made from various colors of jade.

”Thank you for allowing us to follow you to this banquet,” Luo Zhirou and Shen Mu would repeat the same thing over and over again like a broken record. ”We were able to forge up a relationship with the Crown Prince, and now we will be able to see our families flourish in the future.”

Xue Wei said nothing. He just smiled. There was truly no need for thanks between them, because they were true friends.

As they made it back to the inn, they found that many of Luo Zhirou's and Shen Mu's friends were waiting for them, eager to hear what they had encountered. They too were noble-born youngsters of Tiankong City, and they understood just how big an opportunity they had lost out on.

Because of this, some of them held a grudge against Xue Wei. They had wanted him to bring them too, but others understood that they had no great relationship with him and thus it was natural for them not to be invited. Those experts were regretting never acknowledging Xue Wei in the past as Luo Zhirou had done.

Xue Wei excused himself and slipped upstairs to the room he had for himself, where he sat down and started cultivating.

He had gained a good understanding of the one person he had exchanged pointers with that day, and he had felt the power of his attacks.

This man had practiced his body and Qi at the same time. The qi would usually transform one's body, so the more Qi one had, the stronger one would become, and the more powerful one's physical body would become as well. Qi was rebuilding the body.

The burly man he had faced earlier, however, had walked down the unconventional path and had trained his body, resulting in a buff appearance.

However, this buff appearance was not only for show, he also had at least double the strength of any average Ordinary Warrior.

Still, Xue Wei had only needed half his strength to force him back five steps and make his entire body shake and tremble from the impact.

Xue Wei was very well aware that his own body was not trained. It was clear that he had not had the time it took to strengthen one's body, and the only strength he had was gained through his cultivation of Qi.

Still, he was many times stronger than an average Ordinary Warrior. It was clear that his special physique was quite unique.

The next couple of days were spent in leisure at the inn. A few gifts arrived to Xue Wei from the Crown Prince and a few other experts that wished to establish a good relationship with Xue Wei, but otherwise he had peace and quiet to train.

As the seventh day arrived, all of them checked out from the inn in the early morning and made their way to the allocated destination where they had to meet up with the captain, the commoners, and the guards.

As they arrived at the location, they found that some of the other commoner youngsters were already there. They all looked rather different from before. Some were wearing fine clothes and looked almost like nobles; others looked even more haggard than before.

There was one-third of the commoners who had not appeared by the time the captain and the guards arrived, and none of them seemed shocked by this.

”Flaunting one's wealth is the same as having a death wish within the capital,” he sighed as he shook his head and looked at the now much smaller group than it had been when they set out two months prior from Tiankong City.