The people nearby were also quite startled by the sudden appearance of a powerful aura, and they looked around to find its source.
The two men nearest to Zayden immediately felt cold as they took a few steps back.
Their bodies tensed.
Even though Zayden was only exuding a little bit of his aura, it was enough to make their souls shake in fear.
Zayden clenched his fist as he tried his best to restrain his fury.
He did not expect to hear the second prince mentioned here.
The second prince was none other than Devron.
He had already intended to keep a low profile. But the moment he heard about the second prince, he could not help but slightly lose control of his emotions.
He unconsciously released a bit of his aura, showing that he had a hostile reaction toward the second prince.
Zayden quickly retracted his aura and took a deep breath to calm himself.
He relaxed his fist and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.
"My apologies. I’m just remembering something unpleasant, so I lost control for a moment," Zayden said to the two tense men in front of him.
He also noticed some people further ahead looking in his direction.
But they instantly looked elsewhere when their eyes met his. It was as if they did not want to offend him.
Zayden then turned back to the two men and gave them a smile to ease the situation.
"Thank you for the information. Once again, my apologies for disturbing you," he said to the two men.
"Uh... Oh... yes, no problem. I’m glad that we could help," the brown-haired man replied nervously.
Unbeknownst to Zayden, not far from him, further ahead in the line, a middle-aged man with long brown hair tied in a ponytail was observing him.
He wore a simple grey robe that covered his body.
’A dragon?’ he thought.
His gaze clearly showed that he found this interesting.
’Or maybe a dragon follower? But whatever it is, why is that man, who has a connection to the dragons, here?’
He then turned to look forward and slightly smiled.
’Interesting. It looks like I will have some new intriguing information tonight.’
After the little commotion, Zayden continued waiting.
However, the situation nearby had already become awkward, with the other people not saying anything like they had earlier.
Zayden felt stupid for losing control for a moment.
’Damnit, to think that I lost my cool at that moment. Shit, I hope there aren’t any people in front of me who have met with the dragons,’ he thought.
But he just couldn’t help but feel angry, even though he had only heard them mention the second prince.
’From the looks of it, that bastard seemed to be doing well.’
After whatever that man had done to him, he just walked away and continued with his life.
Zayden actually still wanted to ask for some information. But seeing the situation and considering the risks involved, he decided to just look into it after arriving in the city, just like he had planned.
He was afraid that if he asked too many questions here, these people would become suspicious of him later.
Even right now, he believed that they might already be suspicious of him because of how he had shown hostility the moment he heard them mention the second prince.
He also did not want to show various expressions whenever he heard certain information.
For example, regarding his family.
As they continued waiting, there were others who also joined the line behind Zayden.
While waiting, Zayden couldn’t help but find it funny.
’Come to think of it, it’s the first time I have had to queue to enter the Vermion Empire. In the past, I could just pass through using my status.’
Wherever he went, the guards would always recognize him and show him great respect.
Time kept passing, and after waiting for an hour, it was finally Zayden’s turn to enter the gate.
A fourth stage guard was seated at a table beside the road, and his job was to record the information of everyone entering the empire.
Besides a few fourth and fifth-stage cultivators standing by as guards, there were also patrolling groups in the distance with the same cultivation level.
"Name?" the guard asked Zayden.
"Frederick Erson," Zayden answered.
"Where do you come from?"
"I’m from the Illumination Mountain Sect’s territory."
The Illumination Mountain Sect was a medium-sized sect that controlled its own territory southwest of the Vermion Empire.
The sect itself had aligned with the Vermion Empire during the Great War.
Zayden thought that he could use their name. Moreover, many disciples of the Illumination Mountain Sect, as well as people from their territory, used spears as their main weapons.
Seeing the spear behind him, the guard would find it believable.
"What is your purpose for entering the Vermion Empire?" the guard asked again.
"I’m looking for a herb at the Alchemy Pavilion’s branch in Bakdum for my sickly mother. I’ve already searched everywhere in the Illumination Mountain Sect’s territory, but I still haven’t found it, so I decided to try my luck in the Vermion Empire," Zayden replied.
"What herb?"
"A five thousand year old Purple Ganoderma."
The guard raised his eyebrows.
"Ouff, what a rare herb you’re looking for, bud. I don’t know if the Alchemy Pavilion’s branch in Bakdum has one. What kind of sickness does your mother have for you to need a five thousand year old Purple Ganoderma?"
"She has had a weak body since she was a child, and she was recently afflicted with Frozen Meridians," Zayden said, showing sadness on his face.
He really looked like a son lamenting his mother’s condition.
The guard, seeing his expression, nodded and continued writing on the document.
"Alright, to enter the empire, you have to pay one gold coin," he said.
Zayden already knew this, so he took one gold coin from his storage ring and gave it to the guard.
The guard then took a small, circular token from his storage ring and entered the information into it before giving it to Zayden.
"Now, you need to carry this token with you. As long as you are inside our empire, you have to keep this token. The token contains your information. It can be useful in preventing you from getting into trouble with our Law Enforcers."
Zayden nodded as he took the token.
"Thank you, sir."
He then continue walking and pass through the border.
Finally, after years, he had come back to the empire that he had served all his life.
But this time, he only came back with unpleasant feelings and hostile intentions.
When he passed through the border wall, he encountered another forest area.
The paved road where he was standing was connected to Bakdum, so he only needed to follow the road.
To shorten the time it would take to reach the city, he intended to use his movement technique again.
However, he couldn’t help but sense that someone seemed to be observing him.
"Someone is watching you from that tree twenty meters to your right. The tree with the branch that reaches over the side of the road. That guy is a middle sixth-stage cultivator. He is trying to conceal his presence in the darkness using a concealment technique," his master said.
"I sensed that person too, Master. But we still don’t know that person’s identity, so let’s be careful. He also doesn’t seem to be exuding any ill intent. For now, we can let him be and just continue our journey. Let’s see if he keeps following me," Zayden replied.
Zayden then used his movement technique and dashed toward Bakdum.
The person hiding behind the tree was the man with long brown hair who had taken an interest in Zayden earlier.
He decided to follow Zayden using his own movement technique.
Using the shadows of the night and the dense trees, he hopped from one tree to another. His movements made almost no sound despite stepping on tree branches.
As the man continued following Zayden, he became increasingly astonished by Zayden’s speed.
’He is obviously a middle fifth-stage cultivator, but what is this speed? He is as fast as me, even faster!’
He could see that the distance between him and Zayden was getting wider.
He pushed more of his movement technique to keep up with Zayden, but then he was stunned when he saw Zayden’s figure suddenly disappear.
The man widened his eyes as he suddenly felt someone appear beside him, and a voice resounded.
"Who are you? Why are you following me?"
Zayden was already moving alongside him!
The man was truly shocked and instinctively leaped away, landing on another tree branch as he put some distance between them.
His breath quickened as he looked at Zayden in disbelief.
’I cannot follow his movement! He just appeared right beside me without my senses even detecting him!’ he thought.
Zayden did not say anything more and observed the man for a moment.
"I don’t think I have ever seen you before. The fact that you’re following me is suspicious. Your movement technique is like that of an assassin’s, but I doubt that there is an assassin who would target me. Who are you? Depending on your answer, I will decide whether to keep you alive or not," Zayden said.
The man who heard this felt quite offended.
To think that a fifth-stage cultivator dared to threaten him.
But he did not lash out.
Instead, he tried to ease the situation before there was a misunderstanding.
He did not want to offend a person who might be a dragon.
The man raised his hands.
"Easy, easy. I’m not intending to cause you any harm. I’m just curious about you since earlier, when I sensed your aura."
Zayden sighed inwardly.
’As expected, I’m attracting someone.’
"You are following me because you’re curious about me? Are you expecting me to believe that?"
Zayden asked in a more intimidating tone as he prepared to take his spear from his back.
But the man quickly spoke again while waving his hands.
"Wait, I’m really just curious about you. An aura like a dragon’s is something unusual to appear in this place. I just want to observe why you are here. And I just want to make sure you’re not causing trouble in the empire."
Zayden frowned before raising his eyebrows.
Something came into his mind.
"You... are you from the Spider Net Pavilion?"