Chapter 402: Welcome to the Big Boys’ Playground!

The next morning, Ren and Aiko arrived exactly at the meeting place they had agreed upon the previous day.

Since Damian and his group still knew almost nothing about Hanamiyako, the siblings spent the morning guiding them around the enormous city.

Along the way, Damian suddenly remembered something and turned toward Ren. "Oh, right! Ren, what about that Hoshikawa branch Cassandra destroyed earlier? Just how powerful is the Hoshikawa Family anyway?"

Ren nearly stumbled upon hearing the question, clearly not expecting Damian to bring up such a troublesome matter so casually.

However, Damian wasn’t finished. "And what about those idiots from the Kurogane Samurai Guild we encountered yesterday? Are their headquarters located here? Are they actually strong?"

Ren quickly shook his head. "No, neither of their headquarters is located in the southern district."

Damian raised an eyebrow curiously. "Southern district?"

Aiko immediately pointed toward the enormous city surrounding them. "That’s right! Hanamiyako is divided into four major regions!"

Ren nodded and continued explaining, "Each region represents one of the Four Sacred Beasts, which are deeply connected to the Sakura Empire’s history and imperial families."

He began counting on his fingers. "The southern region is mainly influenced by Suzaku, the eastern region represents Seiryū, the western region belongs to Byakko, and the northern region represents Genbu."

Damian slowly nodded as he listened, finding the arrangement rather interesting.

Ren continued, "The Sakura Empire is also quite unusual compared to most other empires. Instead of having one imperial family ruling everything, there are actually four imperial families sharing control."

Aiko enthusiastically raised four fingers and explained, "That’s right! The Shuyoku Family represents Suzaku, the Seiga Family represents Seiryū, the Byakuya Family represents Byakko, and the Genbei Family represents Genbu!"

Damian blinked in surprise before chuckling. "Damn, they actually run an empire like that, huh? Four imperial families sharing power instead of just one."

Ren nodded in agreement. "Of course, those four are considered the imperial families, but that’s mainly their official status. If we’re talking about actual strength and influence, there are several other powerful families within the empire."

Damian immediately became interested. "Oh? Like what?"

Aiko quickly answered before her brother could speak. "For example, there’s the Shinrai Family! They’re one of the strongest cultivation families in the Sakura Empire, especially when it comes to thunder cultivation."

Hearing the mention of thunder cultivation, Damian’s expression changed slightly.

For some reason, the name immediately reminded him of Raika, and from there, his thoughts naturally drifted toward Akane as well.

"Come to think of it... I actually know almost nothing about either of their backgrounds."

Damian rubbed his chin for a moment before turning back toward Ren. "Alright, based on what you just told me, how strong are those families compared to the Hoshikawa Family and the Kurogane Samurai Guild?"

Ren immediately understood what he was asking and nodded. "The four imperial families and the Shinrai Family are all considered First Tier powers."

Damian raised an eyebrow, finding the classification rather interesting.

Ren continued explaining, "The Hoshikawa Family is only barely considered a Second Tier power, while the Kurogane Samurai Guild is a more established Second Tier force."

Miona crossed her arms and looked at him curiously. "First Tier? Second Tier? What’s the difference between them?"

Damian nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I was just about to ask that."

Ren hesitated for a moment before glancing around the busy street.

After making sure nobody nearby was paying attention to their conversation, he leaned closer and lowered his voice.

Aiko also became noticeably quieter, clearly understanding what her brother was about to explain.

"This isn’t exactly something ordinary people openly discuss," Ren whispered cautiously. "So please keep what I’m about to tell you to yourselves."

Hearing his mysterious tone, Damian immediately became more interested. "Oh? Now you’ve got my attention. Go on."

Ren nodded seriously before continuing, "The biggest difference is that every true First Tier power has at least one cultivator who has successfully reached the King Realm."

Damian immediately froze upon hearing those words. "A King Realm cultivator... Are you seriously telling me that?"

Ren nodded firmly. "Yes, Young Master. I’m absolutely certain."

For a brief moment, Damian remained silent, seemingly processing what he had just heard.

Even Cassandra and the other women became noticeably more attentive, as the mention of King Realm cultivators was enough to catch their interest.

After all, the King Realm was an entirely different level of cultivation compared to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Damian slowly glanced toward the enormous city surrounding them before muttering in a low voice, "Damn... So there are actually King Realm cultivators living here."

Ren quickly straightened his posture and gave him another cautious reminder. "Anyway, Young Master Damian, please keep that information to yourselves for now. It’s better not to discuss such powerful figures too openly."

Aiko immediately smiled cheerfully, seemingly trying to lighten the suddenly serious atmosphere. "Alright, enough serious talk! You came all the way to Hanamiyako to have fun, didn’t you?"

She pointed excitedly toward the bustling streets ahead before continuing, "So let’s actually enjoy ourselves instead of spending the whole day talking about powerful cultivators!"

Damian finally snapped out of his thoughts and burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Fair enough! You’re absolutely right. Lead the way!"

Ren and Aiko exchanged relieved glances before continuing to guide the group through the busy streets.

For now, Damian decided to put his thoughts about the King Realm experts aside.

After all, Hanamiyako was far too interesting a place to waste an entire day worrying about powerful old monsters he hadn’t even met yet.

---

Unbeknownst to Damian and the others, several shadowy figures were quietly observing them from the rooftops of nearby buildings.

One of the figures narrowed his eyes as he watched Damian’s group disappear into the bustling streets.

"That’s definitely them," he muttered, keeping his voice low.

Another figure beside him nodded. "Thirteen people. One man and twelve women. Their appearances match the description perfectly."

The first figure remained silent for a moment before asking, "Should we report their location now?"

"Not yet," the second figure replied. "We still need to confirm a few things. Our orders were to observe them, not make contact."

He glanced toward the direction Damian had taken before continuing, "Besides, we don’t know how strong they actually are. Don’t do anything stupid."

The others nodded in agreement.

Without another word, the shadowy figures spread out across the rooftops and silently followed Damian’s group from a distance.