Mitel

By March, Qingshan Town had already been dotted with plenty of green. It was the perfect season for all things to revive, and also Qingshan Town's busiest quarter, with a steady stream of carriages and travelers coming and going.

The events in South Town had gradually faded away, but whenever people spoke of Myriad Medicine Hall again, they could not help showing a trace of fear.

In early spring, countless mercenaries who had rested through the winter poured into the Magical Beast Mountain Range in groups, beginning new expeditions.

Outside Myriad Medicine Hall in Qingshan Town, a caravan slowly departed. Yan Qingshan stood atop one of the carriages, bidding a reluctant farewell to Xiao Yi Xian, who was waving to him from the entrance of Myriad Medicine Hall.

It had been nearly a year since he awoke from his sickbed and came to this world, and more than a month since he returned from the Magical Beast Mountain Range. In the spring of his second year, he finally chose to say goodbye once more and embark on a journey across the continent.

Before Yan Qingshan left, the situation in Qingshan Town changed again. Myriad Medicine Hall took over the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's former interests in South City, becoming one of Qingshan Town's three major powers alongside the other two mercenary groups.

Although Myriad Medicine Hall had no Dou Master in residence, its connections extended throughout Qingshan Town and even the surrounding towns. Moreover, after it introduced new high-quality wound medicine and Numbing Poison Powder with astonishing effects, the various voices of doubt gradually disappeared.

Yan Qingshan was not particularly worried about Xiao Yi Xian remaining at Myriad Medicine Hall. During his time there, he had taught her nearly every means of self-defense he could, and he had also left behind a contingency. No one would be able to harm her.

The strongest person in Qingshan Town was only a One-star Dou Master on the surface, while the contingency Yan Qingshan had left behind could easily deal with not only a Dou Master, but even bury all of Qingshan Town with them.

However, using that contingency would cause Xiao Yi Xian to awaken her poison body ahead of time, so he repeatedly warned her not to take that thing out casually.

Wutan City was one of the Jia Ma Empire's small cities, located in its northeastern province, between Black Flame City in the northern provinces, the Magical Beast Mountain Range in the northeastern provinces, and Black Rock City in the eastern provinces.

Wutan City was not considered a major city in the Jia Ma Empire. The strongest person in the city was merely a high-level Da Dou Shi close to becoming a Dou Ling. Within Wutan City, the Xiao, Jia Lie, and Aoba Families—the three strongest families—controlled and divided up most of the city's interests.

Naturally, Wutan City had an imperial city lord and officials, but for such a small city, neither a prosperous economic center nor an important strategic pass, there was no need to be overly strict as long as taxes and imperial interests were guaranteed.

In truth, most towns and cities in the empire were in similar circumstances. Imperial authority did not extend into the countryside, while local gentry shared power and governed themselves. There was no shortage of families like Wutan City's three great families, which controlled most of a city's interests, and they formed the lowest layer of the empire's ruling class.

Wutan City was merely a small city within the Jia Ma Empire, but the Xiao Family, Wutan City's foremost family, was not without fame in the empire.

The Xiao Family had once been a first-rate family in the Jia Ma Empire. Its head, Xiao Lin, had attained the rank of Dou Wang, and he had been sworn friends with Nalan Jie, one of the empire's current high-ranking officials and one of its ten strongest experts.

However, after Xiao Lin died, the Xiao Family had no worthy successors. By now, it did not even possess a Dou Ling. Unable to protect its own interests, it declined, and its power retreated from Jia Ma Holy City back into Wutan City.

Even so, the Xiao Family remained Wutan City's foremost family, occupying a greater share of the city's interests.

Wutan City's other two great families, the Aoba Family and the Jia Lie Family, were dissatisfied, but because of the marriage agreement between the Nalan Family and the Xiao Family, they did not dare target the Xiao Family too openly.

Wutan City's markets always opened early. Though the sun had only revealed a hint of crimson at the horizon, the entire street was already bustling. A caravan of over a hundred people and around twenty carriages slowly entered Wutan City's market street under the guards' protection.

"This is Wutan City!"

This caravan was not especially large and did not stand out among the traffic entering and leaving Wutan City. On a carriage in the middle of the convoy, someone lifted the curtain, revealing a face that still carried a trace of youthful immaturity. Perhaps because he rarely saw sunlight, his complexion was fairer than that of some women.

A young servant driving the carriage turned his head. He looked even younger than Yan Qingshan, yet aside from his face and short stature, there was nothing boyish about him. Smiling at Yan Qingshan, he said, "Physician Yan, you're awake. We've arrived in Wutan City. Would you like to get down and take a walk?"

"No. Sitting in the carriage is fine too."

Yan Qingshan shook his head, but he lifted the curtain and came outside anyway, sitting on the other side of the carriage frame. Seeing this, the servant beamed and eagerly fawned over Yan Qingshan.

"Xiaoliu, are you familiar with Wutan City?"

Sitting on the frame, Yan Qingshan casually swept his gaze around and naturally asked the question. The servant was named Ye Xiaoliu, one of the caravan's assistants.

"Who doesn't know the Xiao Family in Wutan City? Look, that's the Xiao Family's market over there. Look at those Xiao Family guards—how impressive and imposing they are!" Ye Xiaoliu pointed toward a market diagonally ahead on the left. His eyes gleamed when he spoke of those guards. "The Xiao Family guards all wear excellent equipment, and being a guard is much more respectable and safer than being a mercenary.

"My greatest wish in life is to become a Dou Practitioner and join a great family as a guard. Unfortunately, I'm only at the fourth stage of Dou Qi. Who knows when I'll become a Dou Practitioner?"

"Xiao Yan is here!"

"Come quickly and welcome the Third Young Master!"

"The Xiao Family's little devil is here!"

"Third Young Master is so handsome!"

The market ahead suddenly erupted in excited cries. Yan Qingshan focused his gaze into the distance. A boy around eleven or twelve years old arrived at the market surrounded by a group of young men and women. Everywhere he passed was filled with cheers and praise. The occasional dissatisfied remark was drowned out by even more laughter and compliments.

The boy was clearly very familiar with such scenes. He greeted the cheers, praise, and flattery with a smile, like the star performer of the show. Yet few noticed that he seemed somewhat restless, and the smile at the corner of his lips was slightly stiff.

"Physician Yan, did you see that? That's the Xiao Family's Third Young Master, a true favored son of heaven, a figure as legendary as any in the empire." Ye Xiaoliu pointed at the boy who was disappearing into the market, speaking with envy. "I heard the Third Young Master Xiao has extraordinary talent. He began cultivating at four, reached the ninth stage of Dou Qi at ten, and became a Dou Practitioner at eleven.

"He's considered twelve this year, though he hasn't even had his twelfth birthday yet. After several months of cultivation, I'm sure he's no longer merely a One-star Dou Practitioner!

"More importantly, the Third Young Master Xiao is betrothed to Miss Nalan Yanran, the direct daughter of one of the empire's three great families. This life is simply..."

"Twelve years old? I understand."

Yan Qingshan glanced from afar at the departing Xiao Yan. After muttering something inexplicable, he returned to the carriage. "Xiaoliu, I'm going to cultivate. Don't let anyone disturb me for now..."

"What a strange man, cultivating all day long... Hyah, hyah..."

Ye Xiaoliu had been talking enthusiastically when his companion suddenly disappeared. He did not dare bother Yan Qingshan on his own, so after grumbling a few strange remarks, he listlessly resumed driving the carriage.

It seems Xiao Yan's cultivation has already begun to have problems. Several months after becoming a Dou Practitioner, his qi vortex still hasn't stabilized. But there are still three years before it begins? That's fine...

Inside the carriage, Yan Qingshan sat cross-legged. Xiao Yan's slight abnormality naturally had not escaped his eyes. One reason he had passed through Wutan City this time was to determine the exact point in time of the plot's development.

Xiao Yan had just turned twelve, yet his aura remained unstable so long after breaking through to Dou Practitioner. Clearly, Old Ya had already begun awakening. Next would come the three-year period of being a good-for-nothing, but that had nothing to do with Yan Qingshan.

Now that he had confirmed the specific point in time, he had achieved his purpose in coming to Wutan City. His plans became a little clearer. Closing his eyes, he sat cross-legged and began cultivating deeply once more.

"Strange. Such a strong spiritual fluctuation... an alchemist?"

Yan Qingshan's carriage slowly passed through the market. As it went by Xiao Yan's group, a beautiful girl of eleven or twelve beside Xiao Yan turned her head to glance at the carriage, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

Black Rock City was a large city in the Jia Ma Empire's eastern provinces, ranking among the foremost of all the empire's major cities.

The central district of Black Rock City was its most prosperous and bustling commercial center. After parting with the caravan, Yan Qingshan arrived at this thriving district.

Carriages and pedestrians flowed endlessly through the streets. Giant winged birds flapped overhead, while many mercenary parties came and went. It was exceptionally noisy, and in such a place where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, anyone able to claim a spot and open a shop was either a local tyrant or a powerful outsider.

The Mitel Auction House was an outpost and major chain business base of the Mitel Merchant Guild, the Jia Ma Empire's largest merchant guild, established throughout the empire's cities large and small.

As one of the empire's three great families, the Mite'er Family's business extended across the entire Jia Ma Empire, with quite a few branches even beyond its borders.

The Mite'er Family had a long history, having developed in the Jia Ma Empire for several hundred years. Its connections were extraordinarily complex, and according to some rumors, this obscenely wealthy family seemed to have certain ties to the Jia Ma Empire's royal family.

At the Mitel Auction House's front desk, a figure almost entirely shrouded in a black robe, their gender indiscernible, paused briefly before walking into the appraisal room beside it.

The appraisal room was very spacious. A middle-aged man was inside. Hearing the movement, he looked up. Upon seeing the black robe that clearly concealed the visitor's identity, he frowned, then caught sight of the Storage Ring on the person's fair right hand. His face immediately broke into a professional, enthusiastic smile. "Sir, are you here to have an item appraised?"

"Mm."

From beneath the black robe came a somewhat dry, aged voice, light and drifting. The person raised the right hand bearing the Storage Ring, and a Golden Crown inlaid with countless gemstones appeared on the counter.

The middle-aged man's expression turned solemn the moment he saw the Golden Crown. He picked up a magnifying glass from nearby and carefully inspected it. His face changed slightly. When he looked up again, he was full of seriousness. "Please wait a moment, sir. Have a seat while I fetch our chief appraiser, Old Mister Zheng."