" Something is going on in the imperial city." The old man said, as he started working on the coat again.
" A power struggle." He said.
" Power struggle?" Levi asked.
" The world is ruled by strength, yes. but the imperial city's strength is what is causing this situation." The man said, as Levi listened silently.
" There are 4 powers in the imperial city. The church, the nobles, the large martial clans and the royalty. These four powers all want to absorb or destroy each other." The old man said.
" During the wars, the martial clans were obligated to assist the army, which saved our cloud continent from destruction multiple times."
" But if you have a powerful pet snake, would you dare to let down your guard and sleep beside it?"
" Of course not, you would be on your guard, just in case it decided to eat you."
" Although the martial clans are important to keep the continent strong, during these past years without war, the king, the strongest man in the imperial city, felt the need to try to get rid of them, as he feared that they would try to take the throne if they got too powerful."
" They were thorns in his side, and so he tried multiple times to get rid of them." The old man paused.
" After finding out about the kings plans to deal with them, the martial clans were furious, arguing that they defended this continent when it was needed and were repaid with multiple stabs to their backs."
" Their anger only grew when the king brushed off everything they had done, so they retaliated."
" After multiple attempts to ruin each other failed, the royals and martial clans stopped, or so they would have you believe."
" The imperial city looks like it is in peace, but that is only on the surface."
" The royalty and martial clans never stopped their fight, but now that war might break out with our neighboring continent, they are trying to put their enmity aside. " He continued.
" Next is the church."
" Although the church doesn't have much offensive power, their position in the kingdom is lofty, almost at the level of the royalty and martial clans."
" You might be wondering if that is even possible, but it is, and for one key reason, commoners."
" Although the commoners are the lowest of the low in a kingdom, and most commoners have little to no martial arts prowess at all, their voices still hold a lot of power, and the church channels those voices."
" All in all, the church has a large influence and power, and although they are quiet most of the time, not bothering with the clans or royalty, they could be plotting something else entirely."
" So although they don't consider the church a threat, the royalty and martial clans both keep their eyes on them." The old man said, as he snipped away at the jet black feathers.
" And lastly, the nobles."
" Although most of them spend their time in the countries of cloud continent, bathing in wealth in their own territories, a lot of them have been in the imperial city these past few years, and for one reason, the princes."
" The king fathered three princes, while the rest, including his oldest child, are girls, princesses."
" The nobles' long stay in the imperial city this time is so that they can support the prince that they would like to see on the throne."
" Or, in other words, the prince that has promised them the best compensation for their support if he were to become king."
" The three princes are currently currently fighting to find out who of the three will inherit the throne." The old man explained.
" That is the state of this city, peaceful on the surface, but filled with fighting at every corner underneath." The old man said in a grim tone.
" so? Now that you understand the inner workings of the imperial city, what are you going to do?" The old man asked.
" Nothing. Unless someone implicates me. In that case, i will just kill them all." Levi said coldly.
" Hahaha! Barely in the qi refining levels and you threaten to kill all of the powers in the imperial city!? You sure know how make good jokes boy!" The old man burst out laughing, while Levi kept silent.
" How strong are you, old man?" Levi suddenly asked.
" What are you talking about, boy? I'm just an old tailor that will soon die of old age, i have no strength." The old man said.
After that Levi just kept silent.
Aafter a few minutes of silence, Levi got up to leave.
" Wait boy, come here." As he was about to leave the old man called out to him.
He turned around and looked at the old man silently, before walking back.
" Watch." The old man said.
Puff!
A pale silver flame appeared in front of the old man's forehead, as a terrifying sharp silver qi erupted from his body.
Levi looked on at this scene in shock, as he watched the old man weave the sharp qi into delicate patters.
Layers upon layers of these patters were stacked.
Slow enough for Levi to see them, but fast nonetheless.
After making and stacking the patterns, the old man covered it all in a layer of mental energy and sent it into the coat.
" This is an inscription, when qi or mental energy is channeled through it...well, why don't you try." He picked up the coat and tossed it to Levi.
After catching the coat, Levi sent some of his qi through the coat and something shocking happened.
The coat and his hand dissapeared.
He could still feel it in his hands, but he could not see it.
Levi looked up at the old man with a questioning gaze.
" This inscription disrupts the light around it, making it essentially invisible." He explained.
Levi understood basically how it worked, since he himself acquired a light based appearance manipulation skill at the 5 year tournament.
Although he couldn't use it.
" What are you showing me this for?" Levi asked.
" Well, seeing as you have an abundance of mental energy at such a young age, learning inscriptions should be easy."
" You don't have to become my disciple or anything, you just have to learn inscriptions." The old man said, Levi kept silent.
" Well whatever, if you ever decide you want to learn inscriptions, i will be here. I have at least a few hundred years left, after all." The old man mumbled.
" That coat is yours." The old man pointed at the feathered coat in Levi's hands.
Black raven feathers lined at whole coat from the shoulders, down.
While the hood had purple scales on the outside.
Two of the talons were used in place of buttons and the rest were on the shoulders of the coat, pointing up and curving in.
Levi put on the coat, and put the hood over his head before leaving the clothes shop.
He tried to pay the old man, but he refused, saying that he hadn't worked with such quality materials in a while, so he didn't need to be paid.
Levi didn't argue and left the shop.