Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild

Jiang Ding wore a longsword at his waist as he walked down the bustling street.

The disappearance without reason of a few beggar children had not affected East Spirit City in the slightest. On the contrary, ever since the Four Seas Merchant Guild joined forces with various factions to open up East Spirit Mountain, large quantities of herbs and rare beasts were sent back every day.

Goods such as medicinal herbs and beast meat had all dropped in price to varying degrees, and the market had grown increasingly prosperous and lively.

Blacksmith shops, medical halls, teahouses, brothels, and all manner of other trades that had once struggled to stay afloat now had a constant stream of customers, raking in money by the bowlful.

Many idle men who had never found steady work and often went hungry suddenly had all kinds of jobs available—moving cargo, lending a hand, doing hard labor. The bolder ones entered the mountains to hunt beasts and catch butterflies, and the wages were higher than in the past.

Against this backdrop, occasional news of people dying in East Spirit Mountain could not stir up the slightest ripple.

"Perhaps this is what they call investment-driven economic growth..."

Jiang Ding seemed to grasp something as he recalled certain things from his textbooks.

He had only put up the equivalent of fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver, yet through the Four Seas Merchant Guild's leverage, it had created an economic storm sweeping through the areas around East Spirit Prefecture, far surpassing the purchasing limit of fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver.

As he passed the magnificent Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild, the foremost merchant guild in East Spirit Prefecture, he found the place much more desolate than before.

The formerly noisy scene of people constantly coming and going was gone; it took a long while before a single customer appeared.

Groups of well-dressed attendants and maidservants, their faces perpetually wearing properly enthusiastic smiles, had become mere decorations. There were far more of them than customers.

The Four Seas Merchant Guild deeply understood the principle of not eating alone.

Taking advantage of the opening of East Spirit Mountain, it ceded profits to the Major Powers within the city. Rare medicinal herbs, minerals, exotic beasts, and other gains obtained during the operation were divided equally according to each faction's contribution and investment, ensuring that every side benefited.

With goodwill established, they naturally chose the Four Seas Merchant Guild first when doing business, and its trade flourished day by day.

"Seven Profound Martial Hall!"

In contrast, a large estate nearby whose former purpose was unknown had now become the main hall of the Seven Profound Martial Hall. Young men and women brimming with vigor came and went through its gates.

These were all promising young talents sent up from branch halls throughout East Spirit Prefecture. It was said that in little more than a month, several youths with outstanding aptitude had entered Seven Profound Mountain and become disciples of Zhang Ziteng, the acting sect master of the Seven Profound Sect, known as the Eagle Iron Sword. It could truly be called ascending to the heavens in a single step.

"Perhaps in the real world, evil and beauty are destined to coexist."

"Just like the yin and yang of all things."

Jiang Ding watched the joyous people around him, their faces filled with hope for the future, then compared them with the beggar children of Rotten Plank Street who had nearly been abducted, and thought this to himself.

Something seemed to dawn on him, and even the circulation of his inner force appeared to accelerate by a trace.

Over the past month, he had never once slackened in his arduous cultivation. He had opened more than six hundred tiny subsidiary branches of the Twelve Meridians, bringing his total number of opened meridians to more than seven hundred and twenty. At most another month would be needed to reach the twelve hundred required for the Minor Heavenly Cycle realm.

The Minor Breath Concealment Technique had reached Proficient (68%), while both the Vajra Seal and Thousand Threads Pull had reached Lesser Mastery.

Only his Fundamental Cultivation Technique, Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art, had reached Lesser Mastery (99%) half a month ago and could not break through any further.

Books also described this kind of cultivation bottleneck. It stemmed from young martial artists lacking sufficient understanding of the martial and immortal paths. They needed to study more, gain a thorough understanding, or experience more varied things; perhaps then, they might suddenly comprehend it.

Many people remained trapped before such a bottleneck for their entire lives.

Take Jiang Chaoyang, for instance. At nearly fifty years old, his Fledgling Eagle Takes Flight Art was only at the Proficient level, firmly locked in place by a bottleneck for decades.

Deliberately maintaining the Minor Breath Concealment Technique, Jiang Ding pondered various questions concerning martial arts. Before he knew it, he had wandered to the entrance of the small shop.

"Which big shot is this?"

"Hurry it up, we still need to buy rice and rush back to the village..."

Jiang Ding looked up and couldn't help but frown.

The entrance of the small shop, where an unceasing flow of people had been delivering unknown specimens these past days, was blocked by a group of sturdy servants clad in silk.

Every one of them was full of Qi and Blood, with arrogance written across their faces. Several even carried the aura of the Inner Qi Realm.

A large number of herb gatherers and mountain folk were blocked outside, not daring to take a single step forward. Some had grown tired of waiting and left on their own.

Judging by their restless expressions, they had been waiting for quite some time.

Displeased, Jiang Ding walked toward the entrance.

He had always had a good temper.

Huang Deyou and Long Shi—even if they had offended him, he did not care. As long as they did not obstruct his continued cultivation, he left them alone. Mistakes could be corrected, and differing views could be reconciled.

But they could not affect his cultivation!

Library Points were extremely important to him. No one could create the slightest obstacle to this matter for any reason!

"Please forgive us, Young Master."

The two servants guarding the entrance unexpectedly carried the aura of the Inner Qi Realm. Seeing Jiang Ding approach, they cupped their hands. "My master is discussing an important matter with the shopkeeper. Please wait a moment, or come again another day."

Jiang Ding placed a hand on his sword hilt and said indifferently, "Move."

The two Inner Qi Realm servants were about to say something when their hearts turned cold. They actually did not dare stop him again, allowing him to enter.

"Young Master Jiang!"

A manager by the side door shuddered. Seeming to recall something, he finally recognized Jiang Ding and hurried over in small steps, wearing a fawning smile. "My master is Ding Feng of the Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild. He has been waiting for you for a long time."

His words were humble, yet a hint of pride surfaced involuntarily.

The Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild—

The foremost merchant guild in East Spirit Prefecture. Its guild master, Ding Feng, known as the Spring Breeze Hand, was a renowned hero throughout East Spirit Prefecture. He loved making friends of all kinds from the martial world and enjoyed close ties with such prominent figures as the leader of the Righteousness Gang and the master of the Dragon Tiger Martial Hall.

A merchant guild like the Four Seas Merchant Guild was merely a middling one in East Spirit Prefecture.

"Hahaha!"

A burst of hearty laughter came from inside the house.

"I had long heard that East Spirit Prefecture had gained another outstanding talent. Ding Feng came uninvited; I beg Young Master to forgive the offense."

Hearing the commotion, a tall, burly, fat man in a brocade robe embroidered with golden toads hurried out from within and bowed deeply from afar.

Jiang Ding ignored him and swept his gaze across the room.

The original counter and square stools had been moved off somewhere. At the center of the front hall stood a precious redwood Eight Immortals table draped in brocade, incense burning around it, while silk curtains had somehow appeared over the windows.

Fragrant steam curled up from the tea on the Eight Immortals table. Its scent invigorated the mind, utterly incomparable to the poor tea Jiang Ding had previously served Long San.

A shabby, cramped little grocery shop had been arranged to resemble the parlor of a wealthy household.

Huang Deyou cowered in the corner like a quail.

Jiang Ding stared at the tall, burly fat man before him, glanced at the two iron balls rolling in his hand, and said expressionlessly, "Shopkeeper Ding, is this your home or mine?"

This sort of decorating style was beyond his appreciation.

More importantly, it had not considered practicality in the slightest. It had completely abandoned the grocery shop's original function, and restoring it would take time.

Many specimens would be lost as a result.

"Young Master Jiang, we merely cleaned up a little..."

Ding Feng froze. In his mind, this was much the same as using a broom to tidy up a host's home when visiting while the host was absent.

One had to know that the Eight Immortals table and silk curtains were all exceedingly valuable. It was the equivalent of handing over several dozen taels of silver for nothing.

This was how the name Spring Breeze Hand, the timely rain of the jianghu, had come about.

Nothing else to it.

Just throwing money around—throwing money at someone the moment they met. The cruder, more direct, and more vulgar it was, the more the brothers liked it.

"Please forgive me, Young Master!"

Seeing the smoldering anger in Jiang Ding's eyes, Ding Feng suddenly understood. Shame appeared on his face. "Ding has become accustomed to associating with friends from the marketplace. This is Ding's fault."

He bowed deeply.

"Ding has done wrong. Please punish me."

"No matter."

Jiang Ding found a seat and sat down, suppressing his emotions. He gained a new understanding of those who had made names for themselves in the jianghu: yielding and unyielding like water.

But he had no time to waste and let the specimens continue to be lost.

"Shopkeeper Ding, what business brings you here?"