# Chapter 7: The Sand Emperor
Su Xiao entered Sand Capital through the city gates without any trouble. Carros, a ruler of such notorious reputation, would indeed pull strings behind the scenes, but in Sand Capital, she wouldn't show hostility.
Walking along the streets, although it was already six in the evening, there were still quite a few pedestrians. Hanging lamps lined the streets, their tarnished glass covers letting out firelight, making Sand Capital's night scenery beautiful.
Kaiser followed at the back of the group, drenched in sweat. He was carrying a large wooden crate on his back, and with every step, his twig-like legs trembled. Baha had previously offered to carry these gold coins, but Kaiser sternly refused. His exact words were that he was 'too weak' and needed to exercise.
"My dear friend, Kaiser, Kaiser thinks he sees angels."
"Hey, Kaiser, hang in there. Boss, Kaiser's foaming at the mouth..."
Half an hour later, in a small inn, Kaiser lay on the bed with a wet towel on his forehead.
Before arriving at Sand Capital, Su Xiao had already made arrangements. Kaiser was responsible for making money, with a starting capital of 4,866 gold coins—earn as much as he could.
Su Xiao would take the Brave Skull Clan's family crest and, through Kaiser's introduction, gain contact with Sand Capital's upper echelons, namely the Sand Emperor, the Queen, the High Priest, Carros, and others.
Wanting to obtain military power in Sand Capital was no easy task. The High Priest and Carros belonged to the same faction, which was currently the most powerful.
The Sand Emperor was very young, but that didn't mean he had no power. At only fourteen years old, the Sand Emperor was the backbone of all those in power. No matter what, no one could shake the Sand Emperor's throne. The people, the military commanders, and even the gods of the Sand Flame Kingdom all stood by the Sand Emperor.
The Queen's situation was unknown. Beautiful yet kind—that was the outside world's assessment of her. The fourteen-year-old Sand Emperor was utterly infatuated with her. Many officials had repeatedly petitioned, hoping the Queen could temporarily leave Sand Capital for 3-4 years and return only after the Sand Emperor came of age. They were worried about the young emperor's youthful constitution.
"That's basically the situation. I've met the Sand Emperor a few times. That little Sand King is so drained he has dark circles under his eyes. But if it were me, I'd probably be drained too. That Queen's looks... hehehe."
Kaiser spoke weakly, his smile gradually turning lecherous.
"The High Priest and Carros plan to use the Queen to kill the Sand Emperor?"
"Probably not. I feel like the High Priest and Carros are very afraid something might happen to the Sand Emperor. Having the Queen temporarily leave Sand Capital was their suggestion, but the Sand Emperor refused."
"So they don't have the capital to move against the Sand Emperor yet?"
Just as Su Xiao finished speaking, the room door was knocked on. The candle flame inside the lampshade flickered, standing upright like a sharp needle.
"Lord Kukulin Bai Ye."
A low voice came from outside the door. At Su Xiao's signal, Baha opened the door.
Outside was pitch black, with only two dark red eyes visible. These eyes held no expression, calm like stagnant water.
Hearing this form of address, Su Xiao knew the Brave Skull Clan's family crest had taken effect. The identity he had disguised himself as had a fairly high initial status but no real power. The Brave Skull Clan's family crest was likely an item obtained by another hunter.
Since this world didn't belong to Reincarnation Paradise, forcibly interfering with this world and consuming resources for identity disguise would be extremely costly. Using the Brave Skull Clan's family crest for disguise was different—this thing was a medium.
"His Majesty invites you to meet at the Rosai Palace in one quarter-hour."
After saying this, the man whose face couldn't be seen waited quietly outside the door, his presence faint and intermittent.
Kaiser sat up from the bed with a whoosh, his eyes practically glowing green. The situation was better than expected.
The Rosai Palace was the Sand Emperor's residence and the very center of power in Sand Capital. How many Holy Soul guards were stationed around and inside was unclear, but as for soldiers, there were at least eighty thousand, all elite among elites.
The darkness outside the door slowly dissipated, revealing a man in a long red robe standing with his head bowed. His face and hands were wrapped in cloth strips.
Seeing the visitor's appearance and that tearing aura, Su Xiao judged that if they fought, he had a sixty percent chance of victory.
This was definitely someone close to the Sand Emperor, possibly even a shadow guard of some kind. Comparing combat power with this person, Su Xiao inferred that the strength of a Demigod wasn't as formidable as imagined.
The soldiers possessing Gray Souls made this world dangerous. If one were to assassinate the Sand Emperor or someone similar, the world difficulty would definitely exceed the Lv.66 cap. Lv.66's maximum difficulty represented individual strength.
"This way, please."
The man in red walked downstairs from the inn. Kaiser was about to follow when Su Xiao blocked him.
"Kaiser, using this person's combat power as a standard, how much stronger would a Demigod be?"
Hearing this, Kaiser was stunned.
"How much stronger? Red Sand is a Demigod. You're not thinking of fighting him, are you? Among the Soul Holders, there are only six Demigods, and Red Sand ranks fifth."
"Oh."
"Could it be that you..."
Kaiser seemed to realize something, which greatly boosted his confidence.
The King's Shadow named Red Sand walked ahead. Leaving the small inn, Red Sand wasn't recognized by the commoners. Some civilians even looked at him curiously because of his attire.
"This way."
Red Sand spoke in a low voice. Hidden under his sleeve was an arm blade. He had sensed Su Xiao's blood aura and that sharpness that seemed capable of cutting through everything. This made Red Sand uneasy. The King was his reason for living. No matter what, the King must not come to harm.
Unconsciously, Red Sand began to tremble as he walked. He wasn't afraid, but rather suppressing the violent power within him. He hadn't felt a sense of crisis in many years. Today, that crisis appeared, intermittently emerging behind him, like a blood beast grinning with bared fangs.
"If you keep provoking, this entire area will be leveled."
Su Xiao, who was holding a skewer of horned lizard meat and savoring the Sand Flame Kingdom's delicacy, spoke.
"Apologies."
Red Sand walked faster. After passing through over a dozen streets and a stone bridge, Su Xiao arrived at the main entrance of the Rosai Palace.
In front of the Rosai Palace stood a row of stone pillars, each about ten meters tall, connected at the top. Behind these pillars was a magnificent circular building. It was impossible to determine its footprint. The building's top was dome-shaped, like half a stone ball inverted on it, with a thin iron spike piercing toward the sky.
Under Red Sand's guidance, Su Xiao passed through layers of guards. The auras of Holy Souls hidden in the shadows were too numerous to count.
Entering the Rosai Palace, there was an artificial fountain. Clear water flowed down from a ten-meter-tall water tower. An elderly man with graying hair and a slightly plump figure sat in the fountain pool. Seeing Red Sand approach, the old man just smiled amiably.
"Old bastard," Kaiser muttered behind Su Xiao, then continued, "That's the High Priest of the Sand Flame Kingdom, named Uno. That old geezer is wicked."
"Oh."
Su Xiao didn't look at High Priest Uno. Following Red Sand, he walked up the curved staircase to a bedchamber on the sixth floor of the Rosai Palace.
The bedchamber was very large. The front wall was mostly hollowed out, with only a few stone pillars. From here, one could overlook nearly half of Sand Capital. Gauze curtains hung down, stirred by the night breeze.
On the inner side of the bedchamber was a very low bed, covered with beast hide. Heaven knows what transcendent creature's fur was so large.
"Please, have a seat."
Leaving these words, Red Sand retreated to the darkness in the corner, his presence completely disappearing.
Before long, several servants hurried into the bedchamber. After tidying the already neat low bed, they retreated to the walls.
With a creak, the main door of the bedchamber was pushed open. Escorted by over a dozen soldiers, a young boy walked in. He wore loose white robes, and his slightly pale face showed fatigue. Behind the boy followed an extremely beautiful woman. The Sand Emperor and the Queen had arrived.
Su Xiao glanced at the Queen. She was indeed beautiful, but he didn't care about that. What he wanted to know more was how this drained Sand Emperor managed to hold back the Minister of Governance and that woman Carros.
"You're late."
The Sand Emperor sat on the low bed, his voice lacking vigor. He looked at Su Xiao, then smiled, his attitude inscrutable. He raised his hand, signaling all guards and servants to withdraw. The Queen knelt diagonally behind the Sand Emperor, gently massaging his shoulders.
"Only arrived in Sand Capital tonight?"
Su Xiao temporarily didn't know what identity he was disguised as, but from the Sand Emperor's attitude, he and the other party had clearly met before and had a personal relationship.
"Six years have passed in the blink of an eye."
The Sand Emperor narrowed his eyes. On his somewhat effeminate face, it seemed like a smile, or perhaps mockery.
"Last time we met, you punched me. You were taller than me then, and you still are now. But that you could come... it's really... too good."
The Sand Emperor stopped his ambiguous smile. After the servants and guards withdrew, his smile now came from the heart. Judging by his demeanor, if not for his weak constitution, he might have come over to embrace Su Xiao.
"Coming to Sand Capital but not coming directly to find me. Are you also distancing yourself from me because I'm the Sand Emperor? Or are you still blaming me for that matter?"
The Sand Emperor stood up. He picked up a small ball from beside the low bed, tilted his chin at Su Xiao, then smiled and tossed the ball over.
"The gift you gave me, I've always kept it. What about the one I gave you?"
As the Sand Emperor spoke, Su Xiao raised his hand to catch the small ball. A problem arose—he didn't know what gift he and the Sand Emperor had exchanged six years ago.