The imperial city of the Haoyang Empire is in the core area of the Haoyang Empire, and at the intersection of the two mountain ranges in the east-west direction and the two mountain ranges in the north-south direction, there has always been a saying that the four dragons protect the city.

In fact, the Imperial City is indeed the most prosperous city in the entire Haoyang Empire, not only with a huge area, but also with a large number of masters in the rivers and lakes.

And Xiao Zhan and a few people are still nearly 100,000 miles away from the imperial city at this time.

At this distance, just by walking, it is impossible to reach the imperial city when the battle of Tianjiao is held.

In the end, it was still relied on Xiao Zhan to take Du Yue and a few people to fly at high speed, and only then did they rush to the imperial city the day before the start of the Battle of Tianjiao.

It is boxy and protected by a wall hundreds of meters high.

On the city wall, there are forbidden troops, each of whom is wearing battle armor and holding silver spears, looking majestic and exuding a powerful aura.

Moreover, there is another rule in the Imperial City.

From the princes and nobles to the rivers and lakes, they are not allowed to fly in the air.

On all sides of the imperial city, there are nine city gates.

Xiao Zhan and a few people were outside the ninth gate of Nancheng at this time.

Looking at the large number of people entering and leaving the imperial city, as well as the tall and solemn imperial city in front of them, Du Yue and Du Hao, who came for the first time, were full of excitement.

And Han Xiao, the youngest, was still asleep on Du Hao's back at this time.

Liu Yong was on a mission a few years ago and had been to the Imperial City once, so he behaved indifferently.

At the gate of the city, there are two silver-armored forbidden soldiers, who are checking everyone who enters the imperial city.

After seeing Xiao Zhan and a few people, one of the forbidden soldiers raised his spear expressionlessly and stopped in front of Xiao Zhan.

Xiao Zhan smiled and said:

"We're here to take part in the Battle of the Celestials."

The forbidden soldier frowned, and then asked:

"Which sect?"

Liu Yong took a step forward and said in a deep voice:

"We are people from the Cultivation Yuan Sect."

Hearing the three words "Xiuyuan Sect", the silver-armored forbidden soldier was stunned and subconsciously spoke:

"The predecessors of the Xiuyuan Sect had already entered the Imperial City with the participating Tianjiao a few days ago."

Liu Yong nodded:

"We're halfway apart."

The silver-armored forbidden soldier looked at Xiao Zhan, and then hugged his fists and said:

"Senior, please come with me, and I will send you to the residence of the Xiuyuan Sect."

Xiao Zhan let out an "um" and followed the silver-armored forbidden army towards the city.

In the imperial city, there are thousands of streets criss-crossed, countless houses, and pavilions abound.

Each street is ten meters wide, and the ground is paved with smooth white jade slabs, which looks extremely luxurious.

Most of the people walking on the streets are gorgeously dressed and have a lot of breath on their bodies.

Du Yue looked at the shops selling all kinds of things on both sides of the street, and his eyes were almost glazed.

Xiao Zhan chuckled:

"Is there anything you'd like to buy?"

Du Yue's eyes lit up:

"Master, do you want to give me a gift?"

Xiao Zhan shook his head:

"I don't have any silver taels on me, so I can't give it to you."

Du Yue was immediately disappointed, but soon she took out a few silver tickets.

The three thousand taels of silver tickets were given to her by her father before she and Du Hao entered the Xiuyuan Sect.

It's just that it hasn't come in handy.

Du Yue stopped outside a rouge shop, staring straight into the store, and couldn't walk anymore.

Xiao Zhan chuckled:

"Why don't you wander around the Imperial City by yourself, and when you've had enough, come back to me."

"Really?!" Du Yue divided the silver ticket in his hand into three parts, one thousand taels for himself, one thousand taels for Du Hao, and the other one thousand taels for Liu Yong.

Liu Yong was stunned.

He was born in a peasant family, and since the day he entered the Xiuyuan Sect, he has never carried a silver tael on his body.

"Take it, Senior Brother Liu Yong!"

Du Yue slapped the silver ticket in Liu Yong's hand, looked at Xiao Zhan and asked:

"Master, do you have anything you want? I'll buy it back for you when the time comes!"

Xiao Zhan thought about it, threw his wine gourd to Du Yue, and said:

"Bring back a jug of good wine."

After speaking, Xiao Zhan followed the silver-armored forbidden army and walked towards the "Xiuyuan Pavilion" where the Xiuyuan Sect lived.

Xiuyuan Pavilion, the fixed residence of Xiuyuan Sect in the imperial city, has a large area, and there are usually people in the palace to clean it.

At the same time, the Xiuyuan Pavilion was more than ten times larger than the residence of other sects in the Imperial City.

A disciple of the Xiuyuan Sect was waiting at the gate of the Xiuyuan Pavilion.

Seeing Xiao Zhan coming, he hurriedly clenched his fists and said respectfully:

"Lord Xiao Feng, you're here."

Xiao Zhan nodded and asked with a smile:

"Do you have silver taels on you?"

The disciple was stunned, and then quickly took out a few silver tickets from his arms.

Xiao Zhan casually took out one and handed it to the silver-armored forbidden army standing next to him.

The silver-armored forbidden soldier hurriedly took it with both hands, bowed and saluted:

"Thank you, senior."

Xiao Zhan waved his hand, and then pointed at the shoulder of this Xiuyuan Sect disciple.

The Yuan Force accumulated in this disciple's body instantly became smooth, and the complexion of the whole person also improved by three points, and he only felt refreshed.

He smiled excitedly and thanked him:

"Thank you, Lord Peak!"

Xiao Zhan let out an "um" and then walked into the Xiuyuan Pavilion.

In one of the ashrams of the Xiuyuan Pavilion.

Ye Chengcheng and Gu Chen were meditating in retreat.

The moment Xiao Zhan appeared, the two of them opened their eyes.

In the next moment, Xiao Zhan had already walked in.

He sat down cross-legged and said with a smile:

"It's a little late."

Gu Chen shook his head, "The battle of Tianjiao will only start tomorrow, and Lord Xiao Feng is not late."

"It's just that there are some things to talk about and listen to Lord Xiao Feng to see what Lord Xiao Feng thinks."

Xiao Zhan nodded lightly:

"Gu Feng Lord, but it doesn't hurt to say it."

Gu Chen's face became serious:

"This year's Tianjiao Battle has changed a lot compared to previous years."

"In previous years, various sects and families sent people to participate."

"This year, as long as you meet the conditions, you can also sign up for the casual cultivation in the rivers and lakes."

"In this way, the number of participants will be dozens of times higher."

Xiao Zhan smiled and nodded:

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"The casual cultivators in the rivers and lakes may not be able to join the sect for various reasons, and they can't get enough cultivation resources."

"We can take this opportunity to recruit another batch of disciples for the Xiuyuan Sect."

Gu Chen's brows tightened:

"If that's the case, that's fine."

"It's just that the royal family has already announced the rules."

"Among the top 10,000 in this competition, all the casual cultivators can be qualified to join the forbidden army."

"If our Xiuyuan Sect still goes to accept disciples under such circumstances, it is clearly robbing the royal family."

Xiao Zhan waved his hand:

"It's not a very important thing."

"As long as those casual cultivators can obtain cultivation resources, it will be the same for any force they join."

Gu Chen was silent for two seconds before continuing:

"And that's just the first change."

"The rules of this year's competition have also changed."

"In addition to competing for combat strength, you also have to compare Wenbi, isn't this nonsense!"

Xiao Zhan laughed:

"I think it's good, both civil and military, isn't it wonderful?"

Ye Chengcheng frowned at this time and said:

"But in this way, the top of the ranking may be slightly inferior to the bottom of the ranking, and they can overpower others by virtue of their literary talents."

"The most important thing is that for the first time, our Xiuyuan Sect sent people to participate in the Battle of Tianjiao."

"Our people must win the top three."

"And in the first hundred miles, there must be at least twenty people from our Xiuyuan Sect, so that the world can know that the Xiuyuan Sect is the strongest force in the Haoyang Empire."

Xiao Zhan smiled and waved his hand:.

"You take false names too seriously."

"Actually, if it's not the first sect of the Haoyang Empire, what can it do?"

"In this way, the Xiuyuan Sect will be able to save a lot of trouble, and no one will stare at the movements of the Xiuyuan Sect all day long."

"And those of us who cultivate the Yuan Sect can also cultivate with peace of mind and seek the Tao wholeheartedly."

"What's more, without this reputation, we can still protect the people of the world by cultivating the Yuan Sect."

Ye Qingcheng and Gu Chen were silent.

After a long time, Gu Chen said with a solemn face:

"Lord Xiao Feng, the sect master said that our consciousness is not at the same level as yours."

"This, I admit, I am a layman, and most of us in the Xiuyuan Sect are also laymen."

"It is said that it is cultivating immortals, but since the establishment of our Xiuyuan Sect, in the long years, no immortal has been born."

"Even the Sect Master is only in the early stage of the Mahayana Realm now."

"If you don't step into the Upper Five Realms, you won't be an immortal."

"Since you are a layman, you are free from worldly strife."

"Once our Xiuyuan Sect loses its first place, I'm afraid that we won't be able to get any peace and stability, and it will only cause more trouble."

Ye Tingcheng also nodded and said:

"Xiao Zhan, your heart is not only towards the Cultivation Yuan Sect, but also towards the world's Han Scholars."

"We are different, we must first ensure that there is a respected Xiuyuan Sect, and then we will consider the matter of helping the common people."

Xiao Zhan smiled and nodded:

"So, what you're worried about is that the first time the Xiuyuan Sect participated in the Battle of Tianjiao, it won't be able to get the first place?"

Gu Chen shook his head:

"It is inevitable to take the first place, the key is the performance of our disciples of the Cultivation Yuan Sect, and we must keep a large enough distance from other forces."

"Also, in addition to the competition between disciples, the various sects, families, and the strong cultivators on the rivers and lakes will also organize a competition, and it will be behind the battle of Tianjiao."

"In other words, when the time comes, the three of us may have to compete with other Merge Realm masters."

Xiao Zhan nodded:

"Lord Gu Feng, are you worried that you will lose?"

Gu Chen shook his head:

"I'm not going to lose."

"It's just that when you reach the combined realm, if it's not a life-and-death battle, you basically won't use your hole cards."

"In other words, it is impossible to distinguish the winner from the battle between the combined realms, and it is very difficult to crush the opponent strongly."

"And if we don't defeat the masters of the Merge Realm of other forces, then even if it is a tie, our Cultivation Yuan Sect will be considered a loss, after all...... We're number one!"

"Also, it's impossible for us to be ruthless against other Merge Realm masters, otherwise the Xiuyuan Sect will definitely be attacked by a group."

"I suspect that this is most likely a royal plan, a rule specially formulated for our Xiuyuan Sect!"

Xiao Zhan's face was indifferent, and he smiled lightly:

"Take it easy, be calm."

"Actually...... It's not that hard to win."