Breaking Through Four Realms, Xiantian Realm Fifth Level

Meanwhile, at the Huang Manor on the west side of the city.

Three masked figures lightly leaped onto the high wall. After a brief assessment, they jumped into the courtyard.

The man on the left, named Ding San, spoke with a slightly shrill voice, "This manor looks quite grand, but why has no one been living here?"

The man on the right, named Ding Er, replied, "Isn't it better if no one's here? Have you forgotten the time we were discovered and chased like dogs?"

These men had been staking out this manor for several days. From the outside, it appeared very ordinary, with only a few servants responsible for cleaning coming and going. They were all ordinary people without any cultivation.

This situation continued until this morning when three carriages stopped outside the manor. After the drivers carried ten boxes into the manor, they left.

They knew then that it was time to make their move.

As soon as it got dark, they slipped in over the high wall.

The person in the middle was clearly the leader of the trio, named Ding Yi. He lowered his voice.

"Alright, stop your chatter, you two. Let's move together and prioritize finding those ten boxes."

The three moved swiftly, approaching a house on the left. Near the window, Ding San lightly tapped the oiled paper, puncturing it. Through the moonlight, he could see the layout of the room.

Ding San grew excited, his voice rising slightly.

"Big Brother, we're rich! We're rich!"

Ding Er, impatient, slapped him on the butt. "Rich, rich, what's rich?"

Ding San turned back, his face beaming with excitement. "The furniture in this room is all made of rosewood. It's clear whoever lives here is either wealthy or noble."

"You think this might be a room a high official uses for his concubine? Look at the exterior – just plain white walls and black tiles. But inside, wow, the furniture is all rosewood..."

Ding Yi and Ding Er pondered for a moment, finding this possibility highly likely. If not a high official, then it must be someone of considerable importance.

"Alright, stop looking. Even if this furniture were made of huanghuali wood, we couldn't move much of it. Let's prioritize finding those wooden boxes. Perhaps our fortunes for the rest of our lives lie in this endeavor."

Ding San's gaze lingered reluctantly, but he still left the room.

Suddenly, Ding Er spoke in a low voice.

"Big Brother, I've found tracks."

The two men approached and saw a series of dense footprints on the ground. The three followed the tracks to a small house. They gently pushed open the window paper and saw ten wooden boxes placed inside.

The three exchanged glances, their eyes filled with fervor. They spoke in unison.

"Let's go!"

After confirming there were no traps, they entered the room. Ding San, holding a piece of wire, fiddled with the lock and opened it.

With great anticipation, they opened the box, only to be dumbfounded. Inside, there were no treasures as they had hoped, but a box filled to the brim with soybeans.

Ding San picked up a soybean and examined it closely, but it looked like an ordinary soybean no matter how he looked at it.

"These are soybeans? They went to all this trouble to transport ten boxes of soybeans?"

"Could they be some kind of special medicinal ingredient?"

Ding Er, clearly a body refiner, gripped the lock with his hand and applied sudden force, snapping it. This box was also full of soybeans. The two turned to look at their leader.

Ding Yi stood there, deep in thought, while the box in front of him was also full of soybeans.

Ding Er snorted, "Are they soybeans? I'll know if I taste them."

Ding Er displayed the characteristic simplicity of a body refiner. Even though he didn't know what this was, he intended to test its flavor with his robust physique.

The moment the soybean entered his mouth, Ding Yi's hand shot out and slapped his hand away.

"Do you have a brain? What if it's poisonous and you just shove it in your mouth?"

Suddenly, a commotion was heard from outside the courtyard. The three immediately fell silent, quickly closed the boxes, and hid somewhere in the room.

Soon, footsteps approached and pushed open the door, as if to inspect the boxes inside.

Ding Yi and the others held their breath. If the situation turned unfavorable, they would flee immediately. While they were confident in their hiding skills, one of the boxes had its lock broken by Ding Er.

However, it seemed they were not discovered.

One person's voice was extremely low, "Lord Sasaki, rest assured, the journey has been extremely safe, and no one is suspicious."

Another person, clearly of higher status, directly reprimanded, "Idiot! I told you not to call me Sasaki, but Huang Fu."

The voices gradually faded, and Ding Yi and the others emerged from the shadows.

Ding San scratched his head in confusion. "Sasaki? What a strange name."

"But they seem to value these beans quite highly. Could they really be something good?"

However, no one replied for a long time. Ding San looked over; Ding Yi's brow was furrowed in thought. Meanwhile, Ding San had already shouldered two boxes and was figuring out how to carry three at once.

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After a moment of hesitation, Ding San stepped forward to help.

At this moment, Ding Yi suddenly spoke, "Sasaki doesn't seem to be a name, but a surname among the Japanese pirates."

Ding San and Ding Er stopped what they were doing and exchanged a glance.

"Big brother, you even know about the Japanese pirates? You know way too much."

Ding Yi glanced at his two brothers and sighed. One had a shiny bald head, and the other couldn't resist money. If he didn't know more, they would have lost their heads long ago.

"Put down the boxes first. This thing might not be good."

"The Japanese pirates burn, kill, and plunder along the coast, committing all sorts of evils. Why else would he go to such great lengths to send this to Yongning Commandery if it wasn't for a good deed?"

A glint flashed in Ding Yi's pupils.

"If it's not a good deed, then it's a bad one. There's something wrong with these seeds!"

Time flew by, and it was soon the morning of the next day.

Shen Qing, who had been sitting quietly in his room, slowly opened his eyes, and a fierce aura erupted from him.

In just one night, Shen Qing had perfectly converted all the medicinal power into True Qi, and his realm had skyrocketed from Xiantian Realm first level directly to Xiantian Realm fifth level.

In a single night, Shen Qing had accomplished what other Xiantian Realm martial artists took many years to achieve.

If Zhang Shan knew about this, he would probably complain for a long time again.

Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers and fireworks reached his ears, accompanied by the joyous voices of the common people. His nose twitched slightly, and he could smell the aroma of wheat cakes.

Shen Qing rubbed his stomach.

"Is there some kind of festival? I'm hungry anyway, and wheat cakes sound good..."

He got up, slightly restrained his True Qi, pushed open the large door, and walked out of the courtyard.

The usually stern Hundred Households Office was filled with more laughter.

He turned his head and saw Scholar, Black Dog, Lin Zikai, and Old Li sitting in a circle, discussing something intensely.

Scholar spotted Shen Qing at a glance and quickly pulled the others up. "Boss, you're awake."

Shen Qing nodded and smiled, "I slept well. What's going on outside?"

Scholar quickly explained, "It's the Autumn Harvest Festival these few days. Everyone is preparing for the sacrifices outside."

"Sacrifices?"

"Yes, our Autumn Harvest Festival is a grand sacrifice held every three years to worship the God of Millet, to thank for the bountiful harvest of the past year, and to pray for favorable weather in the future."

"They're giving out free wheat cakes on the street too."

Shen Qing also remembered that there were Autumn Harvest Festivals throughout the dynasty, with slightly different dates, but generally around the same time.

The Autumn Harvest Festival in the Capital City was even more extravagant. Each sacrifice involved the offering of powerful fierce beasts; Xiantian Realm fierce beasts weren't even presentable.

Shen Qing walked towards the group and saw what they were discussing intensely: a map.

"What were you guys talking about just now?"

Lin Zikai quickly moved aside, revealing the map behind him. "Sir, we plan to pool our money to buy a courtyard on Academy Street. Academy Street has Yongning Commandery's best Taoli Academy, and we want to bring our younger siblings over to study there."

Shen Qing nodded thoughtfully. In this era, martial arts were revered, but practicing martial arts wasn't the only path. Studying was also a great way forward.

The dynasty seemed to offer special treatment to civil officials. Although it was said that practicing martial arts led to longevity, those civil officials lived quite long lives. Shen Qing remembered that the position of Prime Minister had not changed in four hundred years, meaning the Prime Minister had lived for four hundred years.

However, Shen Qing wasn't clear about the specific reasons. After all, his predecessor had just been a dandy in the Capital City, and he had run away to Baiyun County out of anger, wanting to prove himself.

"Where do you plan to buy, and how much silver?"

Lin Zikai smiled shyly and pointed to a location at the end of Academy Street. "Here, at the end of Academy Street. It only costs a little over three hundred taels of silver. Pooling our money, we can only afford this place."

Shen Qing leaned in to look. "Where is the most expensive one?"

Lin Zikai thought Shen Qing also wanted to buy and quickly pointed to a location. "Boss, the most expensive one is here, in the center of Academy Street. A set costs over seven hundred taels of silver."

"But don't worry, with Scholar here, he's great at bargaining. This house was originally selling for four hundred taels, but last night Scholar bargained it down to three hundred and fifty taels."

Shen Qing nodded. "Alright, wait for me here."

With that, he returned to his courtyard and came out again shortly after.

He placed thirty one-hundred tael silver notes directly on the table.

"Four people buying one set? If word got out, people would think we couldn't afford it."

"Take this. Each person buys a set. Buy the most expensive ones!"