Su Wan'er, a Common Girl, Pays Her Respects to Her Benefactor

In the pill-assistance section, a dazzling array of treasures filled the shelves.

The Greater Revitalizing Pill containing a century of Shaolin cultivation was merely the lowest-grade item.

Things like Dragon Essence and Phoenix Blood were the true top-tier treasures.

However, exchanging for Dragon Essence and Phoenix Blood required an enormous number of mission points. With the points he currently had, he could not even afford a fraction of the cost.

A slightly inferior option was Blood Bodhi. Not only could it increase one's cultivation, but it was also a sacred medicine for healing injuries.

Even someone grievously wounded and on the verge of death could recover after taking a Blood Bodhi.

Of course, no matter how powerful Blood Bodhi was at healing, it only worked on martial artists below the Shattered Realm. If a Shattered Realm martial artist suffered grave injuries, no amount of Blood Bodhi would be effective.

Only Dragon Essence and Phoenix Blood could help.

Lin Xiao did not linger over the items he could not yet afford. Instead, he went to the very bottom of the pill section and found the Shaolin Lesser Revitalizing Pill.

One pill could increase a martial artist's cultivation by ten years.

Even so, if this Lesser Revitalizing Pill appeared in the martial world, it would likely stir up a bloody storm.

One Lesser Revitalizing Pill cost a single mission point. It could be said to be extremely cheap.

However, the Lesser Revitalizing Pill had a major side effect: for every martial artist, only the first pill in their lifetime had the greatest effect.

If they took a second, its effect would be halved, and the third would be reduced further in the same manner.

In short, after the first pill, there was basically no value in taking any more.

Next came the divine weapons section.

There were things like the Fire Kirin Sword, Heaven Reliant Sword, Deer Slaying Saber, Snow Drinking Saber, Peerless Sword, and more.

However, Lin Xiao did not particularly need divine weapons.

He already had the Imperial-bestowed Embroidered Spring Blade, itself a divine weapon and keen tool. Unless he had ample mission points in the future, he could exchange for some just for amusement.

Next came the cultivation arts section.

Ordinary cultivation arts were not expensive, but arts such as the Six Styles of Freezing Arrogance and Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin from the Wind and Cloud World started at one hundred thousand mission points.

There were even martial arts from the Hong Kong comic The Legend of the Son of Heaven that cost over a million mission points.

The Innate Qiankun Skill, Celestial Jade Mirror, Buddha's Palm, and the like.

Of course, there were also the Nine Nether Profound Heaven Divine Skill, Longquan Seven Stars Art, Five Thunder Heavenly Star Art, and others from Drawing Jianghu.

In short, the system marketplace contained everything imaginable. It had every item from the martial arts fiction of his previous life.

While Lin Xiao was browsing the system marketplace, the three of them had already arrived at Dingzhou City's largest restaurant, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

The Drunken Immortal Pavilion was not unique to Dingzhou City. It was said to be an enterprise under the Wu Kingdom's largest Tian Tong Merchant Guild, with branches spread throughout all nineteen provinces.

The Tian Tong Merchant Guild was not something a small guild like the Su Family Merchant Guild could compare to.

Even though the Su Family Merchant Guild wielded considerable influence in Dingzhou, before the Tian Tong Merchant Guild, it was nothing more than a sapling.

The Tian Tong Merchant Guild was the towering tree.

At this moment, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion was already packed to the brim. Yet thanks to Su Cheng's influence, the pavilion had reserved its largest private room for him, showing Su Cheng considerable respect.

The previously boisterous Drunken Immortal Pavilion fell instantly silent the moment Lin Xiao entered.

Everyone's eyes turned toward Lin Xiao, their faces showing either astonishment or apprehension.

This man was the rising figure of Dingzhou's martial world lately.

Lin Xiao, a Jinyiwei Banner Captain in Dingzhou—though he was only a Banner Captain, his martial cultivation had already reached the Grandmaster Realm.

In no more than two days, Lin Xiao would likely receive a promotion. As for how high he would rise, that depended on the Emperor's intentions.

What no one knew was that the Imperial Edict promoting Lin Xiao was already on its way. They would probably receive news tomorrow that Lin Xiao had become a Thousand-Household Commander.

Who knew how many jaws would drop then.

After all, leaping directly from a Banner Captain to a Thousand-Household Commander was absolutely rare in the Wu Kingdom.

Those who received such treatment had, at the very least, rendered tremendous service to the Wu Kingdom.

Members of the Su family had long been waiting in the main hall.

The moment they saw Lin Xiao, they hurried forward to greet him.

"May I ask if you are Lord Lin Xiao?"

Lin Xiao glanced at the man before him and gave a slight nod. "Indeed. It is I."

"My lord, the master has been waiting upstairs for some time. Please follow me."

Lin Xiao led Chang Le and Xue Shan up the stairs of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

It was only long after he had left that the diners regained their voices.

"Damn, Lin Xiao's presence is terrifying. He only glanced at me, yet I felt like I couldn't breathe."

"Of course. Lord Lin is a Grandmaster Realm expert, a supreme master who easily defeated Qiu Li, the Iron Palm Gang leader. He merely looked at you. If he released even a wisp of his aura, it could crush you to death."

Everyone spoke over one another, discussing Lin Xiao's strength.

The owner of Drunken Immortal Pavilion hurriedly had everyone change the subject, not allowing them to discuss Lin Xiao too much. Though he had the Tian Tong Merchant Guild at his back, he had no desire to offend someone like Lin Xiao.

A man like Lin Xiao was destined to hold power in his hands and become a regional governor who suppressed an entire territory. If one offended him, he might come looking for trouble someday.

Everyone understood the owner's good intentions. If the owner could not afford to offend Lin Xiao, then they certainly could not either.

It was fine to talk about some of Lin Xiao's glorious deeds, but if they said anything consequential behind his back, disaster could easily come crashing down upon them.

A department like the Jinyiwei was simply not a place that cared to reason with you.

If they were displeased, they could throw you into the Imperial Prison. Getting out again would be impossible unless they peeled a layer of skin off you first.

They made their way to the fifth floor of Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

This Drunken Immortal Pavilion was absolutely a landmark of Stability Prefecture. Being able to build a restaurant five stories high in this ancient world meant its backing was anything but ordinary.

Even the ceilings of ordinary homes in this world were more than five meters high.

In the residences of royalty and nobility, the ceilings of an ordinary hall could exceed ten meters.

Though there were no skyscrapers like on Blue Star, the mansions and palaces here were still built on an undeniably grand scale.

The moment they reached the fifth floor, Su Cheng came out to greet them after receiving word.

"Ah, Lord Lin, you've finally arrived. I thought you might not honor us with your presence today."

Lin Xiao replied with a faint smile, "Since I gave my word, I naturally will not break it."

"As expected of Lord Lin. Your character, where one word carries the weight of nine tripods, surpasses that of countless others."

"Lord Lin, please come inside and take a seat."

Inside the private room were not only Su Cheng and Su Wan'er, but also several core members of the Su Family Merchant Guild.

Originally, they had not been invited today. Su Cheng had planned to host Lin Xiao alone, to thank him for saving his daughter.

But once Lin Xiao's reputation had spread, those core members of the Su Family Merchant Guild had also wanted to become familiar with him. They were willing to surrender considerable benefits just to attend this banquet.

Merchants pursued profit by nature, yet these core members of the Su Family Merchant Guild were willing to part with some of their profits merely to meet Lin Xiao. This showed just how tremendous Lin Xiao's reputation had become in Stability Prefecture.

Moreover, merchants were the shrewdest of people. Their actions likely meant they had seen Lin Xiao's future prospects.

Perhaps they could cling to his thigh and rise to prominence alongside him.

When Su Wan'er saw Lin Xiao enter, a blush could not help but bloom across her face.

From the curiosity she had felt when first meeting Lin Xiao, to the hero saving the beauty when she met him the second time—

And now, the shyness she felt whenever she saw him—she did not know what state of mind she was in. Whether it was affection or some other emotion, she could not tell.

After entering the private room, Su Cheng first introduced the core members of the Su Family Merchant Guild to Lin Xiao.

"Everyone, allow me to introduce you. This is Lord Lin, Lin Xiao."

"Lord Lin, these are the core members of my Su Family Merchant Guild. They have followed me ever since my Su family established the guild."

Lin Xiao gave a slight nod. "Greetings, everyone."

"Greetings, Lord Lin. Lord Lin is truly a man of outstanding bearing, a young hero among men. Being able to meet someone such as Lord Lin today is our honor."

Lin Xiao's expression did not change in the face of their flattery. He merely nodded in acknowledgment.

The current Lin Xiao no longer needed to watch anyone's expression, so naturally, he had no need to be polite to these people.

Su Cheng knew Lin Xiao's temperament and did not want the core members of the Su Family Merchant Guild to become too embarrassed, so he hurriedly waved Su Wan'er over.

"Wan'er, what are you standing around for? Come and greet Lord Lin."

Su Wan'er hurriedly approached with graceful steps. She dipped into a curtsy and said, "This common girl, Su Wan'er, greets her benefactor."

Lin Xiao waved a hand. "Miss Su, there is no need for this. I cannot be considered your benefactor. I accepted your Su family's money; each of us got what we needed."