When Yan Xuehen, the royal court of the demon race, left without saying goodbye last time, Zu An was worried about her. Although he was relieved to learn from Chu Chuyan that she had returned to Baiyujing, he still felt empty inside. There were too many things between them that needed to be discussed.

Seeing that he seemed dumbfounded, Sun Xun smiled smugly. This kid really made a fool of himself. He thought that just because he was a marquis and had the title of imperial envoy, he was something special. Master Yan and Headmaster Guan were grandmasters, top figures in the whole world. How could you compare to them?

The officials of Yi County had originally planned to watch the show, but now they also felt that the Prince of Yan had done the right thing. After all, the names of Abbot Yan and Headmaster Guan were too famous. Abbot Yan, in particular, was not only highly skilled, but was also said to be extremely beautiful and had an otherworldly air about her. Even the emperor treated her as an honored guest.

Many officials from Yi County, who were initially reluctant to attend the banquet at the Prince of Yan's residence, suddenly became filled with anticipation, eager to see if the legendary Abbot Yan was truly as beautiful as a celestial being.

Zhang Zijiang opened his mouth, "My goodness, two Grandmasters, they really can't afford to offend them."

Although Zuan had already shown great skill, in most people's minds, Grandmasters were the top figures in this world besides Earth Immortals, and Zuan was definitely still far behind them.

Only Xie Daoyun was worried that Zu An was feeling bad, so she explained to him to ease his embarrassment: "Guan Chouhai, the leader of Lihentian, was a grandmaster who was famous throughout the world for many years. However, after the founding of this dynasty, the major sects retreated to the mountains and forests, causing ordinary people to gradually forget this name."

She didn't introduce Yan Xuehen, clearly because in her opinion, a celebrity like Yan Xuehen didn't need an introduction at all.

Zu An asked curiously, "What level of Grandmaster is Guan Chouhai?"

Xie Daoyun was taken aback: "Are there different levels among Grandmasters? I didn't know that, but given his reputation back then, he should have been considered a strong figure among Grandmasters."

Zu An then realized that the higher the cultivation level, the fewer people there were. Even the division of subsequent realms was a secret to most cultivators. If he hadn't received personal explanations from Grandmasters Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, he probably wouldn't have known the specific level of a Grandmaster.

After much anticipation, we finally arrived at the Prince of Yan's residence.

Zu An looked around at the magnificent palace before him. Last time he passed through Yi County with Sang Hong, the Prince of Yan had invited him, but he did not come at the time to avoid trouble.

Even before entering, a delicate fragrance could be smelled, and clusters of blooming plum blossoms could be faintly seen—red, pink, white… making one wonder if every variety of plum blossom in the world could be found here.

In this bleak winter, the beautiful plum blossoms truly add a touch of spring to the entire garden.

"So beautiful!" Xie Daoyun's eyes lit up; no woman could resist such a sight.

A hint of pride flashed across Sun Xun's face: "Our prince is a lover of flowers, and he appreciates the proud spirit of plum blossoms. All the peach trees in this garden are rare varieties. Almost every one of them was planted by the prince himself in his early years, and it took decades to grow to this size."

Even though local officials like Zhang Jie were at odds with the Prince of Yan's mansion, they couldn't help but admire the plum blossoms in the mansion at this moment.

Only Xie Daoyun frowned slightly. Zu An, with his keen senses, asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Xie Daoyun glanced at Sun Xun and whispered, "The Prince of Yan claims to love plum blossoms, but the garden is filled with rare varieties, not ordinary ones. This shows that he is not a true lover of flowers, but merely putting on a show."

Because the people from the Prince of Yan's mansion embarrassed Zu An, she subconsciously didn't like them either.

"Your younger sister is so perceptive, haha!" Zu'an naturally didn't have a good impression of the Prince of Yan. Whether it was when the Prince of Yan captured Qiu Honglei and fought against Yun Jianyue, or recently when he was suspected of murdering the seventh gold medalist, it was hard to have any goodwill towards him.

Led by Sun Xun, the group walked inside, and soon a middle-aged man in a python robe came out to greet them with a group of people.

An official nearby explained that Zu'an then learned that the other party was Zhao Huang, the heir apparent of the Prince of Yan. Although he was called the heir apparent, because the Prince of Yan was an elder of the emperor's uncle's generation, he was actually of the same generation as the emperor and had been the heir apparent for several decades. He still saw no hope of succeeding to the throne.

"Please come in, everyone. My father is already waiting for you inside." Zhao Huang was quite composed and appeared very dignified.

Zu An and his group followed him to a courtyard, and the local officials of Yi County immediately looked embarrassed.

Even Xie Daoyun, with her temperament, frowned slightly. The spacious courtyard was quite beautiful and more than enough to entertain guests, but it would be a bit excessive if the guests had already started their meal.

The Prince of Yan was seated at the head of the table, with several tables of guests on either side of him. They were all clearly of high status, and the Prince of Yan was having a pleasant conversation with them.

Xie Daoyun was somewhat annoyed. Wasn't the Prince of Yan being far too impolite? When inviting people to a banquet, how could he start the meal before the guests even arrived? Wasn't this clearly showing disrespect for those who arrived later?

"Please come in, everyone." Zhao Huang's face showed no sign of anything amiss, and he continued to extend the invitation with impeccable manners.

The group, seething with anger but unable to vent it, had no choice but to follow them inside.

However, everyone's attention was soon drawn to the left of the Prince of Yan. At the table to his left sat a woman in a white Taoist robe. She had phoenix eyebrows, delicate eyes, snow-white skin, and black hair. Even though her face was covered by a white veil, her unparalleled beauty and otherworldly grace were still evident.

However, her deep, cold eyes subtly revealed an imposing aura that reminded everyone that she was a renowned grandmaster.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!