Xijing truly was a nation of desert, through and through. Had it not been for a dedicated guide leading the way, even Situ Haonan’s remarkable sense of direction likely couldn’t have gotten them to Albak City in such a short time!

This oasis, nestled at the foot of Mingsha Mountain—this pearl of the desert!

The weather today was exceptionally clear. From the city gate, one could look up and see the entirety of Mingsha Mountain’s silhouette—yet unfortunately, no one in Jun Beiyue’s party had any interest at all in this sacred mountain.

Everyone knew full well that Jun Beiyue hadn’t come here for the sand-worship ceremony at all—he had come entirely for Yelu Chenyi and Yanzi!

The carriages slowly rolled to a stop. Albak City’s southern gate stood wide open, two rows of guards standing in perfect formation, extending from just inside the gate to half a li beyond it—an impressively warm welcome indeed, though to everyone present, it carried more the air of a display of imperial pomp than genuine hospitality.

Yelu Chenyi himself stood at the very center of the gateway, dressed in the formal ceremonial attire of Xijing—a voluminous black robe, a black headscarf, entirely black from head to toe, without a single ornament, which only lent his handsome, indifferent face an even more mysterious quality.

Jun Beiyue dismounted, his gaze cold and reserved, sparing not even a glance at his surroundings as he strode directly toward Yelu Chenyi.

Seeing him step down, Yelu Chenyi came forward to meet him as well.

The two men walked toward each other, both utterly expressionless, both silent. Compared to Yelu Chenyi’s loose, flowing robes, Jun Beiyue’s tightly fitted black combat attire only accentuated his lean, powerful build all the more. He advanced step by measured step, yet carried with him an unmistakable, weighty presence.

Though a prince’s title ranked below that of a crown prince, the moment the two men stood together, Jun Beiyue’s sheer presence immediately overwhelmed Yelu Chenyi’s own.

“By royal command, welcoming Prince Yao of Da Zhou—please, this way!” Yelu Chenyi said, his words carrying the flat, perfunctory air of mere formality. With that, he turned to lead the way.

Within Da Zhou, Jun Beiyue’s standing was effectively equivalent to that of a sovereign ruler—naturally, Xijing had to send someone of comparable rank to receive him. Yet since Jun Beiyue had not formally ascended the throne, the Crown Prince himself had come in the King’s stead to welcome him, personally leading the way, a clear demonstration of the Xijing King’s sincerity.

To speak a single sentence and immediately walk away was entirely consistent with Yelu Chenyi’s reserved, withdrawn nature. Under ordinary circumstances, Jun Beiyue wouldn’t have made much of it at all—but under the current circumstances…

Jun Beiyue slowly bent down, scooping up a handful of fine sand, and said with a smile, “Xijing’s sand really is quite different from the Eastern Sea’s, isn’t it.”

As he spoke, he slowly released his hand, letting the fine sand trickle down—yet there was no wind at all in this moment, and someone with eyes as sharp as Situ Haonan’s could clearly see that the falling grains of sand were, in fact, shooting forward with startling precision, straight toward Yelu Chenyi!

Even Situ Haonan couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath of shock, astonished at just how much Jun Beiyue’s martial skill had advanced in such a short span of time.

Yelu Chenyi clearly sensed it too, shifting his body slightly to dodge, his movement so natural that had one not witnessed the sand shooting toward him directly, no one could possibly have known he was deliberately evading anything at all.

Among everyone present, only Situ Haonan seemed to truly grasp what was happening, watching Yelu Chenyi with a flicker of hatred in his eyes, now certain beyond doubt that this man had indeed been the black-clad figure that New Year’s Eve!

What remarkably sharp perception!

Yet even as he dodged, Jun Beiyue’s own movements remained entirely unchanged—the sand trickling steadily from his hand seemed to possess eyes of its own, chasing relentlessly after Yelu Chenyi wherever he moved.

This level of control could only be achieved through internal energy manipulation—and the smaller an object, the harder it was to control with such precision. Yet Jun Beiyue managed to control every single grain of sand with pinpoint accuracy!

Not only that, the sand quickly began converging on Yelu Chenyi from multiple directions at once. Small as each grain might be, at such velocity, their destructive potential was hardly negligible—and heaven only knew just how much force Jun Beiyue had imbued into each and every grain.

Facing simultaneous attacks from several directions at once, Yelu Chenyi finally found himself unable to dodge with his usual composure, forced to abruptly lean back. Jun Beiyue’s lips curved into a sinister smile as he suddenly clenched his fist—and by the time he opened it again, every grain of sand had already crumbled entirely to dust.

This time, even Situ Haonan couldn’t quite make out exactly what had happened.

He merely saw Yelu Chenyi abruptly straighten his body, his knees seeming to buckle under some unseen impact, dropping suddenly to the ground in a kneeling position. Jun Beiyue, standing beside him, acted as though nothing at all had occurred, casually brushing off his hands, saying flatly, “The Crown Prince of Xijing need only lead the way ahead—there’s really no need for such grand ceremony.”

At these words, everyone behind Jun Beiyue could barely restrain themselves from breaking into applause right there on the spot!

This was Jun Beiyue, through and through—this was Prince Yao himself! Not even through the gates of another nation’s capital yet, and he’d already forced their own crown prince to his knees—this wasn’t merely an unspoken warning, but a blatant, open provocation!

Yelu Chenyi, will you accept this provocation as it stands?

The Xijing guards standing all around were utterly dumbstruck, every one of them lowering their heads, not daring to look further, none of them having clearly seen exactly what had just transpired—only that, somehow, their own crown prince had ended up kneeling before Da Zhou’s Prince Yao.

On a rooftop in the distance, Yanzi lay stretched out, watching intently—truth be told, ever since Jun Beiyue had stepped down from his carriage, her eyes had never once left him.

She had witnessed that entire exchange just now, and it left her positively delighted—she had never imagined Jun Beiyue’s martial prowess had advanced so remarkably. On that New Year’s Eve, his skill had been roughly on par with both her own and Yelu Chenyi’s.

And in the time since Han Ziqing’s disappearance, he had apparently spent every moment honing his skills further still!

Truly a man among men—she found herself even more captivated by him now than before.

To imagine that one day she might conquer him entirely, bring him kneeling before her skirts, begging for her hand in marriage—what a wonderfully satisfying thought that would be!

At this thought, the smile on Yanzi’s face grew even more radiant. Reluctant as she was to leave, she nonetheless resolved to veil herself once more and slip away—she still had far more pressing matters to attend to.

At the gate, a heavy silence fell—no one dared speak, no one dared step forward to help him up.

Yet Yelu Chenyi was, after all, Yelu Chenyi—a man of deep, calculating cunning, who had spent years cultivating a facade of perfect silence and restraint. For him, enduring humiliation was a matter of the utmost ease.

He had heard Jun Beiyue’s words clearly enough, yet chose to act as though he hadn’t heard a thing at all, slowly rising to his feet, brushing the dust from his robes. He offered no response, sought no excuse to save face, but instead gestured politely toward Jun Beiyue. “Prince Yao, please, this way. But where is the Consort of Prince Yao? I don’t see her accompanying you.”

He actually had the nerve to ask!

Ziqing had, of course, come along—only, thanks entirely to Yelu Chenyi’s own doing, though the corpse toxin had by now finally been fully expelled from her system, she still hadn’t woken.

Situ Haonan and Yingzi both froze abruptly in place!

Yet Jun Beiyue simply turned back two steps, personally taking hold of the horse pulling Ziqing’s carriage, striding forward directly into Albak City’s southern gate, offering only three flat words in response. “She hasn’t come.”

Yelu Chenyi glanced briefly at the large carriage, a flicker of coldness crossing his eyes, but he asked nothing further and followed along behind.

Jun Beiyue’s entourage on this journey consisted of merely two carriages—one driven by Yingzi, the other led personally by Jun Beiyue himself, guiding the horse by hand.

Albak City differed entirely from other capital cities—Albak City itself effectively was the imperial palace. The moment one passed through the southern gate, one had already entered the royal grounds proper, meaning there existed no separate quarters designated for foreign envoys at all.

Jun Beiyue was assigned to reside in the Eastern Splendor Palace, situated directly opposite the Western Splendor Palace where the Western Liang marriage delegation was staying—the two palaces facing each other across a considerable distance, east and west.