Conflict Within the Trading Company

Ye Xiwen followed the attendant into the Qingfeng Trading Company, but suddenly heard a shout calling them to a halt: "A'Wen!"

Ye Xiwen turned his head and saw Wang Lie striding over with a look of delight, laughing heartily, "I didn't expect it was you, kid!"

"Greetings, Fourth Young Master!" the attendant said, bowing to Wang Lie.

"Fourth Young Master... Is this trading company owned by your family?" Ye Xiwen was stunned. He knew that Wang Lie's family was a major power at the foot of the mountain, but he hadn't expected it to be the Qingfeng Trading Company.

"Yes, why are you here?" Wang Lie asked Ye Xiwen with some confusion.

"I took on a escort mission, so I came!" Ye Xiwen replied.

"You took this mission!" Wang Lie's expression turned serious. "Alright, you're no longer needed here. I'll handle things from now on!"

After Wang Lie sent the attendant away, Ye Xiwen spoke again, "What's going on? Your family's escort mission is offering three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"Actually, the reward isn't coming from our family!" Wang Lie said. Three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones was not a small sum for anyone, let alone for just one person. If there were more people, the amount would easily exceed ten thousand.

"Our family is actually a trading company under the City Lord of Tian Yuan City!" Wang Lie explained slowly. "For a long time, our family has been collecting herbs and other items for the City Lord's Mansion!"

"This time, we need to escort a batch of herbs to the City Lord's Mansion. The rewards are all from the City Lord's Mansion. If our family had to pay, it would really hurt our vitality!" Wang Lie said.

"What kind of herbs are so important that the City Lord's Mansion values them so highly?" Ye Xiwen asked. Although Tian Yuan City was just a small city in the border region of the Dayue Kingdom, it couldn't compare to the large cities in the heartland of the Dayue Kingdom. However, it was still a city with a population of over 200,000, and with its affiliated towns, the total population exceeded 500,000. The lives of these 500,000 people were in the hands of the City Lord's Mansion. Moreover, it was close to Green Peak Mountain, where herbs were abundant. With the City Lord's Mansion's strength, why would they place such importance on these herbs?

"I don't know either. Even my old man is tight-lipped about it, so how could I possibly know!" Wang Lie said with a wry smile.

Ye Xiwen could understand to some extent. Wang Lie's family was not as harmonious as his own Ye Family. Because Wang Lie's father had built a considerable business, Wang Lie had three older brothers who were all ambitious. Wang Lie was the youngest son, born to a maid. When Wang Lie was born, his three brothers were already adults and had established significant influence. Even his nieces and nephews were around his age. In reality, Wang Lie's status in the Wang family was not high, which was why Wang Lie preferred to spend most of his time cultivating diligently on Green Peak Mountain rather than going home.

"I originally wanted to ask for your help, but I couldn't find you for the past month!" Wang Lie said.

"I went to the back mountain to cultivate!" Ye Xiwen answered truthfully.

"You're almost a cultivation fanatic!" Wang Lie remarked. Although he hadn't been able to see through Ye Xiwen's cultivation since their last meeting, it was clear that Ye Xiwen's aura had become increasingly profound over the past month.

Ye Xiwen smiled and said nothing. Wang Lie's talent was actually quite good, otherwise, he wouldn't have always been a step ahead of Ye Xiwen. It was just that he was naturally rather lazy and had a perfunctory attitude towards cultivation. Otherwise, he would have already reached the Houtian Fifth Stage by now.

As they chatted, the two arrived in a large hall on the second floor of the Qingfeng Trading Company. In the hall, about a dozen martial artists were standing in groups, talking amongst themselves. These were the experts hired by the Qingfeng Trading Company for this mission.

"Yo, isn't this Wang Lie?" Suddenly, one of the martial artists, a young man in fine clothes, walked over.

Wang Lie's face turned a bit grim, and he quietly explained to Ye Xiwen that this was his eldest brother's eldest son, named Wang Ding, who usually didn't get along with him.

"Tsk tsk, the person next to you, don't tell me that's the martial artist you found? He hasn't even shed his downy feathers yet, has he weaned?" Wang Ding said with unrestrained laughter.

"Hahahaha!" Wang Ding's words caused the other martial artists to burst into laughter.

"You blind fools, this is the champion of our Yi Yuan Sect's Sect Internal Competition this year!" Wang Lie said, his face turning slightly red.

"Hahaha, I've heard of the Yi Yuan Sect's Sect Internal Competition, but the champion is just the champion among Inner Disciples. They're all just naive brats who haven't seen the world. Have you seen blood? I can take on five of them!" A martial artist in his thirties, a burly man, said with a loud laugh.

The other martial artists also seemed to agree. Although the Yi Yuan Sect was renowned, compared to these lone martial artists who lived by the sword and traveled far and wide, the disciples of the Yi Yuan Sect were merely flowers in a greenhouse.

Each of these martial artists was at least at the Houtian Sixth Stage, and there was even one at the early Houtian Eighth Stage. Each of them had a powerful aura, had seen blood, and had killed people.

Suddenly, Ye Xiwen moved. His figure flickered, like the Heavenly Immortal Steps, and he instantly appeared before the arrogant martial artist. He brought his palm down.

"Bang!" The martial artist was squarely hit, several of his front teeth shattered, and his body flew out like a kite with a broken string. He crashed heavily into the wall, creating a dense network of spiderweb-like cracks, before falling to the ground, his life or death unknown.

"You're seeking death! Is the Yi Yuan Sect something you can slander so casually?" Ye Xiwen said expressionlessly.

Silence!

The hall was so quiet that the drop of a needle could be heard.

A martial artist at the peak of the Houtian Sixth Stage was actually knocked unconscious by Ye Xiwen with a single palm strike.

The martial artists were stunned, and then several of them became enraged.

"He actually dared to hit Fourth Brother!"

"Cripply him!"

"Break all his bones!"

The surrounding martial artists were furious and lunged at Ye Xiwen. Each of them was at the peak of the Houtian Sixth Stage, or even the Houtian Seventh Stage, exuding a fierce aura.

Ye Xiwen showed no fear, charging forward with the Heavenly Immortal Steps, instantly activating the Thunderclap Hand.

"Bang!" A martial artist was struck by Ye Xiwen's palm and fell out of the window with a scream.

"Bang!" Another martial artist was kicked by Ye Xiwen and slammed heavily into a pillar.

These martial artists were no match for Ye Xiwen. They were all subdued by Ye Xiwen in just a few moves.

I heard about something called Baidu Index today and looked it up. It seems the most people reading my book are in Zhejiang, followed by Guangdong and Shanghai. Men account for 90%, and surprisingly, 10% are women. The age group is mostly university students and IT professionals between 20 and 29 years old. It seems the age demographic has increased!