They Came Knocking

The white-clad maid's mood brightened at once. She earned commission, after all—the more the customer bought, the more she earned.

She swiftly picked through the shelves and eventually carried over a huge pile, including both books and jade slips.

Wang Hong examined them one by one, tossing the unsuitable ones aside. In the end, he selected thirty-two items, some jade slips and some books.

The white-clad maid could barely conceal her excitement, and two dimples appeared as she smiled. "Twenty jade slips and twelve books, thirty-two items in total, come to twelve thousand six hundred Spirit Stones. I can waive the six hundred for you, so you only need to pay twelve thousand Spirit Stones."

Wang Hong asked, "I don't have enough Spirit Stones on me. Could I use spiritual herbs to make up the difference?"

"Of course." At the same time, the white-clad maid felt somewhat worried, afraid Wang Hong truly did not have enough Spirit Stones.

Wang Hong took out a jade box and handed it to the maid. "What do you think of this?"

The white-clad maid opened the jade box and glanced inside, then quickly shut it again. "I can't be sure. Please wait a moment."

With that, she hurried toward the rear hall. A quarter of an hour later, the white-clad maid emerged from the rear hall behind a man dressed like a scholar.

Wang Hong's heart skipped a beat. He could not see through the man's cultivation at all; he was at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The scholarly man cupped his hands toward Wang Hong. "Little friend, might I take a look at the spiritual herb from earlier?"

Wang Hong respectfully handed over the jade box. The scholarly man opened the lid, sniffed it, then broke off a small piece of root and chewed it a few times.

The scholarly man said solemnly, "This is indeed a three-hundred-year-old Crimson Blood Ginseng. It is enough to help a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator break through to the late stage. It should be worth around thirteen or fourteen thousand Spirit Stones. I'll count it as fourteen thousand. How about it?"

Wang Hong immediately agreed. After making inquiries in many places, he had learned that Crimson Blood Ginseng could help cultivators break through cultivation bottlenecks. It could be used from the Qi Refining Realm all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm, though the required age of the spiritual herb differed.

Although Crimson Blood Ginseng was difficult to cultivate, some major powers still grew it. It was rare, but not so exceedingly precious that it could not be brought out.

The scholarly man handed Wang Hong a storage bag. "Two thousand Spirit Stones. Count them."

Wang Hong accepted it and swept it with his Spiritual Sense. The amount was correct, so he took his leave.

After returning to his residence, Wang Hong did not rush to study those cultivation arts. Such things could not be rushed and required long-term research in the future.

He first placed all the jade slips and books into the library. Anyone could borrow them using contribution points. He would be more than happy to see a few of his subordinates master skills such as alchemy, artifact refinement, and talisman making.

Having come from the army, he firmly believed that individual strength was far inferior to the strength of a collective. No peak expert could do without the support of a powerful organization.

If one fought alone, one had to worry about everything personally. Where would there be time left for cultivation?

No matter what happened, it could not interfere with cultivation. Cultivation was the foundation. No matter how skilled a Qi Refining cultivator was in other fields, he could not withstand a single slap from a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Wang Hong first swallowed a Qi Gathering Pill, then sat in meditation to refine its medicinal power. This was currently his most efficient cultivation method.

After refining the pill, Wang Hong plunged headfirst into his space to read.

Only with twenty-five times the time inside the space did he have the confidence to learn so many skills. Unfortunately, he had tried many times, but cultivation was impossible within it.

Cultivating and studying every day made Wang Hong's life quite pleasant.

Unfortunately, someone came knocking on his door on only the third day.

Lin Yun, a direct descendant of the Lin Family, wore white robes and stood with his hands behind his back. His eyes were long and narrow, and he looked at people from the corner of his eyes with an air of lofty superiority.

In an indifferent tone, he said, "You are Wang Hong? My younger brother may have been worthless, but he was not someone any random cat or dog could kill."

Wang Hong wore a thoroughly baffled expression. "Which brother of yours? Who killed him? Young Master Lin, the dead cannot return to life. You must restrain your grief and accept fate."

"Hmph!" Lin Yun snorted coldly. "It seems you have no intention of admitting it. Yin Lang, come out!"

A middle-aged man in black robes stepped out from among the attendants behind him. He had a hooked nose and triangular eyes. This man was Yin Lang, though his face was currently plastered with a fawning smile.

He then recounted in detail everything that had happened that night, from when Wang Hong and the others encountered the enemy, to killing them, to returning to the city.

After listening to him, Wang Hong burst into loud laughter.

"Your story is wonderfully told. But you and I have neither grievance nor enmity—why are you framing me?

"And since you are trying to shift the blame onto me, couldn't you at least put some effort into it and make the story sound believable?

"A minor nobody at Qi Refining Layer Four like me, leading a group of mortal soldiers, wiped out a whole crowd of cultivators. Do you believe that yourself?"

Even Lin Yun felt deeply suspicious after hearing those words. These people simply did not possess such strength.

Yin Lang bowed deeply to Lin Yun. "Every word I have said is true. If even one word is false, may I die a horrible death."

Wang Hong sneered from the side. "What use is an oath like that? One look at you and it is obvious you are no good man. I even suspect that you killed the deceased for treasure, then diverted the disaster eastward and left yourself free to roam at ease."

"Young Master Lin, this is all this man's one-sided account. Who knows what intentions he has?"

Lin Yun still spoke in the same calm tone. "Since you are connected to this matter, go down and accompany my disappointing younger brother in death. Of course, if it is later proven that you were wronged, I will kill this man and send him down to accompany you."

Wang Hong was angered by those words as well. "Then what do you want? Draw the line."

After all, fighting was forbidden within the city, so Wang Hong did not fear him. There were several Golden Core cultivators in the city, and the Lin Family did not dare openly violate the rules.

"Tomorrow, someone will challenge you at the Death Arena." With that, Lin Yun turned and left.

"I'll accompany you to the bitter end! When the time comes, don't blame me if you die!" Wang Hong shouted after him.

Though private fighting was forbidden in the city, there would always be irreconcilable conflicts. Thus, the Death Arena system came into being.

One party could register at the Death Arena and issue a challenge. The other party could choose to accept or refuse. No one could be forced to accept, but once a challenge was accepted, life and death were left to fate.

The next day, Wang Hong received a challenge letter sent by the Death Arena. A Qi Refining Layer Six cultivator from the Lin Family wanted to challenge him.

"Refuse it. Tell him I'm preparing a furnace for alchemy and have no time." Wang Hong snorted inwardly. Talking tough before had been one thing, but if they expected him to eagerly run over and offer up his life, they must think his head was sick. Knowing he was no match, why would he stretch out his neck for someone to chop?

On the third day, another challenge letter arrived. It was still from that same Qi Refining Layer Six cultivator.

"Refuse it..."

The fourth day...

On the eleventh day, they switched to a Qi Refining Layer Five cultivator.

"Refuse it..." He had no chance against a Qi Refining Layer Five cultivator. The last time he had killed one, he had only managed it by burying him beneath Spirit Stones.

His aptitude was mediocre, he cultivated ordinary Cultivation Techniques, and he had not mastered any powerful spells or secret arts. Trying to imitate others by challenging someone above his level would be no different from courting death.

For several more consecutive days, Wang Hong showed no intention of accepting the challenge.

Wang Hong continued cultivating as usual every day, studying the arts of alchemy and talisman making.

On the twenty-fifth day, the Lin Family finally sent out a Qi Refining Layer Four cultivator named Lin Dong. This time, Wang Hong accepted without a second thought.

His earlier refusal had been rationality. If he did not even have the courage to fight a cultivator of the same level, there would be no point in pursuing immortality.

Of course, courage was one thing, but not a single necessary preparation could be neglected. This time, Wang Hong again brought a large number of spirit talismans and spirit wine. Using magical artifacts consumed too much spiritual power; it was better to be prepared for anything.