Tian Yuan City

As the sun set, casting a long, long shadow, the caravan finally arrived at Tian Yuan City just before nightfall.

As a city with a population of 200,000, its walls were incredibly high, easily over ten meters. Even as night approached, the streets were still crowded with pedestrians.

Since encountering the bandits from Qingfeng Village, the journey had been smooth, and they arrived at Tian Yuan City without any further incidents.

The group arrived outside the city. Wang De Ying cupped his hands and said, "Everyone, you've all worked hard on this journey. The rewards I promised will be fully delivered, and there will be additional compensation for those injured or fallen!"

"You are too kind, Senior. This is what we should do!"

Many martial artists responded in unison. After all, successfully reaching Tian Yuan City meant completing the mission. They hadn't expected to encounter Qingfeng Village so early, but the rest of the journey had been smooth, with no minor troublemakers daring to approach such a large convoy.

The group began to line up to enter Tian Yuan City.

"Wait a moment. What's inside your convoy? Empty everything out, I need to inspect it!" At this moment, an officer in his thirties, accompanied by several soldiers, approached them.

"Officer, we are a caravan from Qingfeng Trading Company on Green Peak Mountain!" Wang De Ying said.

"I don't care who you are. I will inspect everything to see if there are any contraband items!" the officer said arrogantly.

"Officer, you must be joking. How could our Qingfeng Trading Company have any contraband?" Wang De Ying chuckled, showing none of the ferocity he displayed when using his swift blade earlier.

"If I say there is, then there is. Brothers, search them!" the officer declared, disregarding their protest.

"Officer, I don't know who has slandered us, but these are medicinal herbs requested by the City Lord's Mansion. Are you sure you want to inspect them?" Seeing the officer's aggressive stance, Wang De Ying no longer backed down.

"The City Lord's Mansion is nothing! I'm from the City Guard Mansion. What are you talking about the City Lord's Mansion to me? Get lost, or I won't be polite!" The officer was completely unfazed.

Wang De Ying's expression immediately darkened. He cursed inwardly, realizing the trouble. They were from the City Guard Mansion. The City Guard Mansion and the City Lord's Mansion were two separate systems. In the Dayue Kingdom, some cities had both a City Guard Mansion and a City Lord's Mansion. In Dayue Kingdom, those who rendered great service would be appointed as the City Lord of a city, managing it alongside the original City Guard.

Generally, the City Lord's Mansion and the City Guard Mansion were not on good terms, and power struggles were common. Although the city theoretically belonged to the City Lord, the City Guard was backed by the Dayue Kingdom's imperial court. Therefore, who truly held power in the city depended on individual strength.

This situation was more common in remote small cities like Tian Yuan City.

"Whoosh!" As soon as the officer finished speaking, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air. An arrow flew through the sky and instantly pierced the officer's head.

"Bang!" The officer's head exploded, splattering brain matter everywhere.

"Idiot, just a petty squad leader, daring to look down on our City Lord's Mansion!" A clear, cold voice echoed. "Everyone from Qingfeng Trading Company, my apologies, I am late!"

Everyone looked and saw a troop slowly approaching from not far away. The leader of this troop was a young man in his early twenties, dressed in fine robes, holding a bow. He casually tossed the bow to a soldier behind him and strode forward.

"We wouldn't dare, we didn't expect Third Young Master to come personally this time!" Wang De Ying said, bowing.

"This is the City Lord's Third Young Master, Xu Zhen!" a martial artist who recognized him exclaimed.

"He is the City Lord's genius son. At only twenty-five years old, he's already at the peak of the Houtian Eighth Stage!"

"Peak of Houtian Eighth Stage, heavens, that's comparable to Chen Long and Chen Hu!"

"He killed that officer just like that. The City Lord's Mansion and the City Guard Mansion are already at odds!"

The martial artists were all astonished. Even in a sect with a long heritage like Yi Yuan Sect, achieving this at such an age would be considered a talent.

Ye Xiwen also glanced at this Third Young Master, noting his decisiveness in killing without hesitation. He was a man of action.

"My father and the others are quite busy, so I had to come. Thank you all for your hard work in delivering the medicinal herbs successfully this time!" Xu Zhen said with a smile.

"We also encountered an obstruction from Black Wind Stronghold on the way. If it weren't for Young Master Ye from Yi Yuan Sect, we would have been in grave danger!" Wang De Ying said. "Young Master Ye is also the champion of the Yi Yuan Sect's Sect Internal Competition this year!"

"So you are a distinguished disciple of Yi Yuan Sect. No wonder, no wonder!" Hearing Wang De Ying recount the events of the journey, Xu Zhen couldn't help but be moved.

Yi Yuan Sect was renowned in the surrounding area. Although not the main sect, it was still a behemoth to the nearby forces. For them, there were countless geniuses within. To win the championship among the Inner Disciples was undoubtedly the pinnacle of genius.

"Let's enter the city first!" Xu Zhen said.

Ye Xiwen and his group entered the city, and the escorted medicinal herbs were taken away by people from the City Lord's Mansion.

Everyone was settled into an inn. After dinner, Ye Xiwen received the promised rewards: three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, a special bonus of one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones from Qingfeng Trading Company, and another two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones as a reward from the City Lord's Mansion. The reason for this bonus was Ye Xiwen's killing of Chen Hu, who was one of the biggest bandit leaders in the area, and thus carried a substantial bounty.

In total, Ye Xiwen now possessed six thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, nearly half the assets of an average Core Disciple. However, for Ye Xiwen, this was a timely windfall.

With these six thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, Ye Xiwen could cultivate his Crescent Moon Slash to the minor accomplishment stage. With seven consecutive slashes, its power would be greatly increased, and he would even have the confidence to contend with experts at the early stage of Houtian Ninth Stage.

For others, Spirit Stones were merely supplementary for cultivation. But for Ye Xiwen, as long as he had Spirit Stones, his cultivation could advance by leaps and bounds, and breaking through realms in a short period would be no problem.

"How dare you! Who are you, trespassing into the City Lord's Mansion!"

Just as Ye Xiwen was about to enter meditation for cultivation, a booming roar suddenly echoed across the entire city, carrying far and wide.

Ye Xiwen immediately reacted. This was the roar of a Xiantian expert. Since the inn was very close to the City Lord's Mansion, the sound was exceptionally clear. In Tian Yuan City, there were only two named Xiantian experts: the City Lord and the City Guard.