My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

At this time, outside the Mingde Gate of Chang'an City.

The deep, desolate sound of a cow horn drifted from the end of the official road, carried by the wind and snow.

A strange procession of yak and tall horse slowly came to a stop outside the gates of the Tang Dynasty capital.

The people in the group were all dressed in heavy fur coats, with intricately braided dirty braids on their heads. They exuded a ruggedness and wildness belonging to the snowy plateau, attracting the attention of passersby from Chang'an.

At the very front of the line.

A middle-aged man, riding a black horse, is looking up at the towering Mingde Gate.

His face was thin and refined, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle soaring over the grasslands. Even in the bitter cold and snow, his back remained ramrod straight.

This man was none other than Gar Tongtsen Yulsung, the Grand Minister of Tibet.

"Great Prime Minister, we have arrived at the capital of the Great Tang Dynasty."

A Tibetan general riding along rode forward, looking at the magnificent city ahead that resembled a giant beast coiled up, a hint of awe in his eyes.

Lu Dongzan remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the city wall and landing on the ordinary people coming and going inside the city gate.

He keenly sensed that something was amiss.

In the past, when he was sent as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty, if he encountered such a blizzard, most of the refugees outside Chang'an were barely clothed, and frozen corpses could be seen everywhere on the street corners.

But today, the people carrying loads on shoulder poles and pushing wheelbarrows, though dressed in coarse cloth, all have rosy complexions. In the roadside tea stalls, you can even see strange iron cylinders emitting a faint blue glow, warming the surroundings.

"The Tang Dynasty seems to have changed."

Lu Dongzan frowned slightly, secretly memorizing the strange iron stove.

Just then.

"Get out of my way! You sheep of the Tang Dynasty! Don't block my path!"

A childish yet extremely arrogant shout came from the carriage next to Lu Dongzan.

The carriage curtain was lifted.

A boy, about five years old, dressed in a luxurious white fox fur coat, leaned half his body out of the carriage.

He held a short riding whip inlaid with jewels in his hand, pointing down at an old man from Chang'an who couldn't dodge in time and fell in front of the carriage.

The boy had a robust and chubby face, but his eyes revealed an arrogance and cruelty that were completely out of character for his age.

He was the eldest son of a collateral branch of the Tibetan prime minister's family, named Sangza. He came with the delegation as a child accompanying the tribute mission to broaden his horizons.

They saw the old man lying in the snow, unable to get up for a long time.

Sangza snorted coldly, raised the riding whip in his hand, and made as if to lash the old man's face.

"Snapped!"

A large, broad hand firmly grasped the riding whip in mid-air.

Lu Dongzan's face darkened, and he snatched the riding whip.

"Sangza, this is the capital of the Great Tang Dynasty. Put away your rules from the snowy plateau. Don't cause trouble for the Zanpu."

Sangza curled his lip and glanced disdainfully at the old man who was scrambling away.

"They're nothing but a bunch of weaklings who can't even hold a knife properly. Why should the Grand Chancellor be so wary?"

Lu Dongzan ignored the arrogant child who was spoiled by his family, lowered the carriage curtain, dismounted, and went to greet the officials from the Court of State Ceremonial who had come to welcome him.

But the gloom in his heart was even heavier than the blizzard.

……

The sun was setting in the west.

The backyard of the Prince of Qin's residence.

Li Chen was sitting on a rattan chair covered with a white tiger skin, tossing the piece of Starry Purple Gold he had just looted from the Lu family's villa in his hand, pondering how to deal with this rare and top-grade refining material.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian and the Qin family father and son were beaming with joy as they surrounded the dozens of large boxes of silver and medicinal herbs.

When it comes to robbing aristocratic families, there are only two possibilities: zero times or countless times.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

A guard from the Prince's residence rushed into the backyard. "Someone from the palace has arrived. They say it's Eunuch Wang, who serves His Majesty, and he has brought an imperial edict."

Li Chen stopped tossing ore and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Let him in."

Before long, the eunuch Wang walked into the backyard with small, quick steps and a big smile on his face.

Upon seeing the yard full of gold and silver jewelry, Old Wang's eyelids twitched violently twice. He quickly lowered his head, pretending not to see anything.

"This servant greets Your Highness Prince Qin and Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"No need."

Li Chen leaned back in the wicker chair. "Old Deng sent you on this sweltering day, what mischief are you up to now?"

Old Wang chuckled twice, lowering his voice.

"Your Highness. Today, the Tibetan Grand Minister Gar Tongtsen led a delegation to the capital. His Majesty is hosting a banquet in the Taiji Hall tonight to welcome the delegation and has specially ordered me to invite Your Highness to the banquet."

"Eating? Sure, anyway, the chefs in the Prince's mansion only cook the same old dishes, it'll be nice to change things up."

Li Chen yawned and casually grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the table to crack them open.

"this……"

Old Wang hesitated for a moment, and his expression became somewhat strange.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has one more message for you, which I must convey to you verbatim."

Old Wang cleared his throat and tried to imitate Li Shimin's stern tone of disappointment.

"His Majesty said: Tonight, foreign envoys are present, which concerns the prestige and dignity of our Great Tang! Tell this brat to stop dressing so sloppily! Dress more formally! The more formal, the better! Show the imposing presence befitting a prince of the Great Tang!"

After Old Wang finished learning, he quickly lowered his head, afraid that this living ancestor would take his anger out on him.

The courtyard was quiet for a moment.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Sixteenth brother, Father Emperor is saying you're dressed too shabbily. Indeed, you don't even have a decent four-clawed python robe. How about I go back to the Eastern Palace and get you a new one?"

Li Chen slowly spat out the sunflower seed shells from his mouth.

Instead of getting angry, he slowly raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a wicked smile that sent chills down Li Chengqian's spine.

"Should we make it a bit more formal?"

Li Chen stroked his chin, stood up, and a strange light, called "mischievousness," flickered in his dark eyes.

"Old Deng is just trying to show off, to project an imposing image, isn't he?"

Li Chen turned his head and looked at the star-shaped purple-gold piece beside him, which was about half a person's height.

He had just been worrying that it was such a waste to use this top-quality material to forge a flying sword, but now he suddenly had a brilliant idea.

"Alright, go back and report."

Li Chen waved to Old Wang, "Tell Old Deng that my attire tonight will be absolutely magnificent! I guarantee it will open the eyes of him and those Tibetan barbarians."

Old Wang felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He kowtowed repeatedly and slipped out of the palace as if his feet were greased.

Seeing Li Chen's eager expression, Li Chengqian curiously approached.

"Sixteenth brother, what do you plan to wear? Are you going to wear that gold-embroidered brocade robe that Mother made for you back then?"

"A gold-embroidered robe? That's too tacky. How can something like that match the 'domineering' quality Old Deng demanded?"

Li Chen lifted the several-hundred-pound piece of Starry Purple Gold with one hand and strode towards the abandoned blacksmith's workshop in the east wing.

"Huai Dao, go and bring me those pieces of red copper and mithril from the storeroom."

Qin Huaidao was completely confused, but he still obediently did as he was told.

Half an incense stick later.

The gate to the blacksmith's workshop in the east wing was tightly closed.

Li Chen stood in front of the roaring furnace.

Instead of using those ordinary bellows, he slowly raised his right hand.

"Buzz!"

A pure and dazzling golden natal flame burst forth in his palm!

The moment this ball of golden flame appeared, the temperature inside the entire iron room skyrocketed exponentially. Even the scrap iron piled up in the corner showed signs of melting.

Li Chen tossed the piece of Starry Purple Gold into the air, and the pill fire instantly enveloped it.

"It needs to be grand and imposing."

Li Chen closed his eyes, and his immense divine sense poured out.

In his mind, the ultimate armor from his past life, which had once made him excited and was so cool that he had no friends, was gradually taking shape in his consciousness, like the most precise blueprint.

"Old Deng, tonight I'll show you what I'm made of."

"What does it mean to be as cool as the Emperor's Armor!"