"Old Sir, I''m not fully aware of the situation in the north, can you exin to me how things work here!"


    The old man was happy to be of help to this kind King Realm expert infront of him as he began to share his knowledge:


    "Young Master, As you may know, The north is ruled by eight major powers that are mainly known as righteous and demonic tribes -


    There are four righteous tribes, namely, Qinglong Tribe, Baihu Tribe, Tianlu Tribe, and Tian Jian Tribe


    As for the demonic tribes, they are - Xue Mo Tribe, Mei Hua Tribe, Yedu Tribe, and Zhuji Tribe."


    He continued: "Each tribe controls around 16 million square kilometers ofnd more or less, and thisnd is further divided into five prefectures - north, south, east, west, and center. Each prefecture is over 3 million square kilometers in area."


    "Each prefecture has three prefecture lords who are king realm experts like yourself watching over the prefecture. Almost every prefecture lord has built their own power inside the prefecture, sometimes this power can be a sect, a n, or simply a tribe."


    "In righteous sects, there have even been cases where the three prefecture lordse together to create a sect to train disciples and function like a proper sect, passing down their skills to the next generation."


    "Under the shelter of these powers created by the prefecture lords, small tribes like this one, lives, and at the head of a tribe rules an emperor realm expert, however, he does not make a move due to the emperor''s decree"


    "Emperor''s Decree?" Ashen inquired.


    The old man nodded, exining further: "The emperor allows fights overnds and territory. The empire doesn''t interfere in the north''s affairs unless an emperor realm expert makes a move himself!"


    "Emperor realm experts are a precious resource for any empire to establish its rule and maintain its power. If the emperor realm experts were busy fighting with each other, that could create a gap in the north for the enemy to attack, therefore the emperor has forbidden fighting between emperor realm experts!"


    "The fighting is carried out by the king realm experts and lower cultivators. As for what happens inside the tribes, I have no idea."


    "There is also a massive forest located on the borders of the Zhuji Tribe and Tian Jian Tribe. This forest spans over 4 million square kilometers and is ruled by 4 emperor realm spirit beasts."


    "This is all that this old man knows, so please forgive me, young master," said the old man as he bowed respectfully.


    "No problem, you were helpful enough. You can go now." Ashen allowed the old man to leave.


    The old man bade his farewell before going back to work.


    Ashen now had a rough idea about the north. He decided to gather more information by asking this tribe''s people. He had enough time to go to the protagonist Qin Feng and it wouldn''t harm to gather more information.


    Along with Feng Xue, he got down the carriage. He looked around to see if there was anyone wise to talk to.


    These tribesmen wore primitive clothing made of fur, however, one could easily notice that the clothes were high quality.


    While he was looking around, a boy around the age of 18 came running over to Ashen before bowing in a greeting and expressing his intentions: "Young Lord, The carriage owner asked me to show you around the tribe. If you and your lover are interested, I can show you around"


    "I am not his lover! You better mind yournguage boy!!" Feng Xue said with disdain in her eyes.


    The boy, afraid of angering Feng Xue further, exined in a hurried pace with an innocent and bashful expression: "Oh, I am really sorry. I thought you two were lovers judging by how you called him Your Highness on the carriage. I thought that was your way of calling him instead of using honey or darling. I am really sorry for my misunderstanding"


    "Hahaha, I like you boy. What is your name?" Ashen asked, amused by this boy''s innocence.


    "It is Yan Li, my lord." The boy replied.


    "Ok Yan Li, show us around!" Ashen said gently with a smile.


    The boy joyfully nodded: "Yes my lord,e with me!"


    Ashen and Feng Xue followed Yan Li as he took both of them around the tribe to show them theke and temple in the tribe. The temple only had a simple rock, however, the tribe worshipped it as a god who would grant them luck and protect them from cmities.


    After they were finished, the boy apologized: "This is all our tribe has, my lord, I am sorry if you feel that I wasted your time!"


    The boy was sincere and Ashen had a fun time with him so he had noints: "Don''t worry, I had fun!"


    The boy smiled in joy before suddenly loud cries of joy came from behind them: "Brotherrrrrr!"


    Ashen turned to look behind him to only spot two children around the ages of six and four running towards him.


    The older one was a girl with neatlybed brown hair that parted from the side. The younger was a boy with a round and cute face. He had a tooth missing and he ran clumsily, however, he tried his best to run towards Ashen.


    The pair of children passed Ashen and jumped into Yan Li''s arms.


    Yan Li crouched and picked both of them in his arms as he smiled at them and asked: "What are you both doing here?"


    The girl replied with a bit of fear: "We couldn''t wait to y with you, Big Brother!"


    It was clear that she was afraid of her brother scolding her.


    At this moment, the younger boy cried out: "Big Brawder, y with us!"


    He clenched Yan Li''s clothes with his small hands before shaking them and throwing a tantrum to y.


    Yan Li sighed as he said while gesturing towards Ashen and Feng Xue: "I can''t y with you. I have to apany the lord and hispanion"


    The siblings both scrutinized Ashen and Feng Xue with their eyes from top to bottom before the sistermented: "So handsome. Big Brother, Who is this handsome big brother?" She asked.


    -----------------------------------


    (A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)