1641 Blackheart City

"It happens every other day," Jai Heiyun answered Alex when he came to meet her. "I don't know how he's doing it, but he's been doing pretty well with forming pill clouds. He's very consistent too."

Alex grimaced when hearing that. The Dragon Emperor had gotten good, and he would only continue to get better. "And he wants the final trade next year too," he said softly.

"What trade?" Jai Heiyun asked curiously.

"Not something for you to worry about, child," Yao Ning said from the side. The two elders were grimacing the same as well.

After arriving in the Dragon Capital a week ago, Alex had gone to the palace to stay for a few days. At that time, the servants of the palace had notified the Dragon Emperor of his arrival, and Alex had expected to have to meet the man soon.

However, instead of asking him to meet him, the Dragon Emperor had simply sent a single message.

"I will meet you in a year when we'll have our final trade," he had said.

Alex very much openly frowned now, causing Jai Heiyun to get worried about what was happening. 

Seeing that he was causing others to worry, he quickly let go of his expressions and instead put on a simple smile. "Anyway, it is time for me to leave," he said. "Once again, congratulations on your results in the Realm of Trials. Getting white there is no laughing matter."

"It's all thanks to you, Your Majesty," Jai Heiyun said with a proud look on her face.

Alex walked away. He said his goodbyes to the other cultivators once more, including Wu Shun, who was now a better cultivator than most of the ones that Alex had brought along from the Southern Continent.

After saying his goodbye, Alex went to the Teleportation house from where he teleported to the Blackheart City with a small honor guard to keep him company.

Wan Deming, the Ebony king was there to welcome him to Blackheart City, the Capital of the Ebony Kingdom.

Tall black walls surrounded the city with spires inside that grew to be large. While the outside walls were painted black, the inner city was as colorful as every other place.

The bustling city was wide in some places and narrow in others. Plants of various species grew along the sidewalk separating the pedestrian side of the road from where the carriages and carts moved.

Small and large shops selling all sorts of goods and services covered both sides of the roads, and more than once Alex saw people with high cultivation bases walking around the street with a lofty look to them.

Wan Deming wasn't much of a talkative man, but he still put on a simple conversation while they went to the palace. He asked Alex about the Silver Kingdom, and how he liked his time there.

And Alex answered every question without much hesiation as he had truly come to love the places he had visited in his journey.

"Which country do you like the most?" the man asked him.

Alex found it hard to answer the question. Every country had its own good parts and bad parts, and comparing them was like comparing apples to oranges. It was more to a matter of preference than anything, but then that probably was what the man was asking him about.

"I can't choose between the Silver Kingdom and the Emerald Kingdom for now," Alex answered truthfully. "Both of those kingdoms had the most fascinating cities."

"Why not the other Kingdoms?" the man asked.

"The Ivory Kingdom and Gold Kingdom were more snow and mountains than anything, so even while the cities were great, they didn't leave a lasting impression. They were also not as varied."

"As for the Azure Kingdom, it probably had the most amount of cities I visited, but all of those cities were generic cities and they didn't entertain me just as much either."

There was also the truth that he couldn't enjoy the 3 Kingdoms as throughout his time there, he had to constantly think about the Oathbreakers.

Sometimes it was in fear of if they would find him again, and sometimes it was in desperation to see if he could find them again.

After his short explanation, the Ebony king slowly nodded. "Well, I hope the Ebony kingdom will top your list," the man said. "I will be leaving soon to start collecting more of the artifacts from around the kingdom, so I will take you on some of my journey that I know you are going to like."

Alex accepted the proposition. He was interested too.

"Why do I see so many strong individuals walking the street so casually?" Alex asked once the conversation seemed to die a little.

One of the counselors to the King spoke after noticing what Alex was talking about. "Those are people hoping to get a hand on the ticket that is to be sold for the secret realm," he said. "Most of them hope to get a greater chance to buy one by coming early, even if they should know they wouldn't. The tickets aren't to be sold for another year and a half."

"They're just desperate. It's not easy to get your hands on the ticket after all, with so many people looking forward to it," the King said and the matter ended there.

They returned to the palace and the King hosted Alex as well as any other monarch had. They chatted when they had the chance and shared knowledge and stories of their past.

Alex got to understand the king closely and felt like he was a friend. A week later, they were ready to leave for their journey.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked him.

"The Celestial Peak," the King answered.

Alex showed a hint of surprise. He had known about the place and had even been planning to go there himself when he had the chance.

"What are you going to do in the Celestial Peak?" Alex asked curiously. From what he could tell so far, the Celestial Peak was simply the tallest mountain in all of the continent, perhaps the entire world.

As such, people didn't exactly live there.

"We're going to the Blackspine city that is right next to the Celestial Peak," the King said. "There are 2 great families and 2 notable sects in that region. I will deal with them, while you can enjoy your journey to the highest peak of the world."

Alex nodded excitedly. "I would love to go to this peak," he said.

"You will love the sunrise you see from this place," the man said.

Alex was about to say something when he felt like he missed something in those words that he needed to revisit. 

"Blackspine City," he said softly. "I have heard this name before, in relation to something else. What was it?"

He tried to go through his memories as the name couldn't have been that much in the past.

"It's not a surprise you've heard of it," the King said. "It's where I come from. Or rather, it's where the sect I used to belong to still is."

That was when Alex finally remembered.

"That's right," he said with a surprised look. "That's where the Mountain Crushing sect is located."