The First Chapter

Chapter 1: Northern Que Prince Consort, Bookstore Owner

Southwest Dao, Chai Sang City, outside the Dong Gui Tavern.

There was a murderous aura on the long street.

The butcher holding a cleaver raised his hand and let it fall, carving flowers into bone; the old woman selling flower shoes flicked her needle through candlelight, dancing it up and down.

And there was the Oil Seller who was always eyeing Little Xi Shi.

Meanwhile, to the side.

In front of a book stall, a young man in blue sat on a bench, a pot of wine and a stack of books in hand, reading with such relish that he seemed to have forgotten everything else.

When the mood struck him, he would even recite a couple of lines of poetry aloud.

[Ding, watched rare books for five hours, rewarded with Three-Foot Qi Wall.]

Just then, peach blossoms drifted down, landing on the young man's hair, making him appear even more handsome and dashing.

Under normal circumstances, this would surely have drawn admiring gazes from passersby.

But at this moment.

Inside the Dong Gui Tavern, a fierce sound of fighting erupted, drawing everyone's attention and causing them all to wear expressions of intrigue.

It seems the plot has begun...

On the bench, Jiang Mu Ming cast a casual glance toward the Dong Gui Tavern.

He fell into deep thought.

Fifteen years ago, he had accidentally arrived in this world.

Yet his identity was somewhat awkward.

He was a Western Chu Prince.

Just after he was born, Western Chu was wiped out in a single battle by Northern Li, and he had witnessed his parents in this life die in the flames of war.

Fortunately, Jiang Mu Ming was lucky enough to survive.

And by chance, he arrived in Northern Que, which had also been destroyed and later transformed into Beyond Heaven.

Upon learning of Jiang Mu Ming's identity, the Emperor of Northern Que, Yue Fengcheng, saw an opportunity for profit.

He immediately betrothed Yue Yao to Jiang Mu Ming, making him Yue Yao's fiancé, and at the same time, he officially joined the Demonic Cult of Beyond Heaven.

However, Yue Fengcheng was a man of wolfish ambition.

The only reason he recruited him as a Prince Consort was entirely because of his status as a Western Chu Prince!

This resulted in Jiang Mu Ming being restricted at every turn within the Demonic Cult.

Not to mention, outside there was Emperor Tai An, who was bent on eradicating the remnants of the Western Chu royal family; Jiang Mu Ming's situation could be described as fraught with danger.

But fortunately, years ago, he had awakened the Reading and Preaching System.

As long as he read, he could receive rewards! If he preached, he could also receive rewards!

And this so-called preaching had two methods.

First, getting others to read; as long as they read, he would receive rewards.

Second, teaching various moves or cultivation techniques from other worlds.

However, the prerequisite for preaching.

Was that he first needed to have enough accumulation.

Fortunately, although the Demonic Cult was called a Demonic Cult, its predecessor was the Northern Que state, so it naturally possessed countless books.

Thus, over these fifteen years.

He had used the name of being Yue Yao's husband to read through all the books in the Demonic Cult's collection.

This had allowed his strength to progress rapidly.

He was now at the Half-Step Carefree Heaven Realm!

Moreover, thanks to his reading day and night without interruption, Yue Fengcheng had gradually lowered his guard against him.

The surveillance on him was no longer strict.

Yue Fengcheng only thought of him as a weak scholar who knew nothing of martial arts and only loved to read; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a bookworm.

He had no idea that Jiang Mu Ming possessed martial arts.

It was just a pity that no matter how many books the Demonic Cult had, there was ultimately a limit; when Northern Que was destroyed, only one or two out of every ten books had been preserved.

There were no more books left to read.

Otherwise, he would have already entered the Carefree Heaven Realm!

Coincidentally, Beyond Heaven made a move, so Jiang Mu Ming volunteered to come to Chai Sang City, using the identity of a bookstore owner as a cover.

He acted as an eye watching Baili Dongjun.

And right now, with the fight breaking out inside the Dong Gui Tavern, Jiang Mu Ming immediately thought of the original plot.

On the Southwest Dao, the Yan Family and the Gu Family were locked in conflict.

This ignited the prelude to a martial arts struggle, drawing in a multitude of factions.

It was not just Baili Dongjun and his companions.

The Dark River, Beyond Heaven, the Eight Princes of Northern Li, the Wen Family...

Furthermore, Emperor Tai An, Xiao Chongjing, was fanning the flames from behind the scenes.

However, if it were merely that, he naturally would not have bothered to intervene, for his goal was Spreading the Way Across the World.

But this incident involved Baili Dongjun.

And behind Baili Dongjun, it implicated Ru Jian Guchen!

The man's strength was astonishing; at his peak, he was at least in the Half-step Profound Spirit realm, a terrifying level of power.

He also held the Number One Under Heaven sword technique—the Western Chu Sword Song.

Having understood the original plot, Jiang Mu Ming naturally knew that shortly after the dispute between the Yan Family and the Gu Family concluded, Ru Jian Guchen would meet his end.

As a fellow person of Western Chu, he naturally did not wish to see such an outcome.

"Bang!"

Just as Jiang Mu Ming was lost in thought, several figures burst through a wall.

The long street was littered with debris.

The figures were locked in a fierce battle; it was one of the Eight Princes of Northern Li, Young Master Zhuo Mo, Lei Mengsha, fighting against Golden Mouth Yama, Yan Qiansui, and Granny Needle.

Both sides unleashed their ultimate moves repeatedly.

In mere moments, the fight turned white-hot, with gravel flying and dust filling the air.

Although Lei Mengsha could hold his own against Golden Mouth Yama, he could not withstand the combined assault of him and Granny Needle.

He gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

Seizing an opening, Golden Mouth Yama struck him with a palm, sending him flying to the ground.

He landed right beside Jiang Mu Ming, who was intently reading a book not far away.

"My friend, your posture is rather unsightly."

Lei Mengsha was stunned.

He had not expected anyone else to be on this street; shouldn't normal people have fled the moment a fight broke out?

Moreover, judging by the man's demeanor, he did not seem to care at all.

A pot of wine, a stack of books, falling flowers on the bench—where did this inexplicable sense of ease come from?

"Boss, aren't you going to take cover?"

Jiang Mu Ming set down his book.

He glanced at Lei Mengsha, then at Golden Mouth Yama and the others, and asked in confusion, "You fight your fight, I read my book. We don't disturb each other, isn't that fine?"

Having said that, he sighed.

"Besides, you lot aren't even going to kill anyone..."

With such amateur skills, who could they possibly kill?

"Huh?"

Lei Mengsha was dumbfounded and quickly stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes.

He stared at Jiang Mu Ming like a curious child.

The people here were all renowned figures; Golden Mouth Yama, Granny Needle, and the others—which one of them wasn't a ruthless killer?

And you say they won't kill anyone?!

Even the usually talkative Lei Mengsha was left speechless.

"Brat, you boast!"

Opposite them, Granny Needle was enraged.

She raised her hand, and a flurry of needles, like a celestial maiden scattering flowers, rained down upon them.

There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to dodge.

"Watch out!" Seeing the danger, Lei Mengsha immediately tried to intervene.

But the opponent was determined to take the Bookstall Owner's life, and even he found it difficult to block them all.

These long needles were lethal; a mere scratch would kill or maim an ordinary person!

"What is there to panic about?"

Jiang Mu Ming simply flipped his book.

A gust of wind rose.

A Three-Foot Qi Wall swirled before him.

Countless long needles fell to the ground; not a single one had come within a step of Jiang Mu Ming!

Everyone was shocked.

This unassuming Bookstall Owner was actually a master?!