Willow Bay Town stood beside the lake. Fishing boats lay moored outside town, and most of the shops lining its streets bought aquatic beast materials or sold medicinal pills.
Su Yu landed outside town, put Little Red away, and followed the address on the slip of paper to an unassuming little shop.
Behind the counter, a middle-aged man was examining a beast bone. His skin was dark, with a brown mark the size of a copper coin on his left cheek. He had thick eyebrows and a notch missing from the upper rim of his right ear, giving him a rather fierce appearance.
Hearing footsteps, he looked up and shifted his left leg aside. The leg was clearly stiff; his knee never quite bent all the way.
Bridge condensation realm.
Sensing his aura, Su Yu could not help feeling puzzled.
A half-step venerable possessed vigorous blood qi. Even if an ordinary injury to the bones and tendons healed slowly, it should have recovered after so many years. Why was this man's leg still so badly injured?
Rather than ask rashly, he stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Are you Senior Liang Zhong?"
"Sent by the Tianhai Chamber of Commerce?"
"Yes."
"Have a seat."
Liang Zhong set down the beast bone and pointed to a chair beside the counter, letting his gaze linger on Su Yu for a moment.
So young, yet already at the sea-breaking eighth layer. He was probably another disciple raised by some great sect.
With the Cloudsea Secret Realm opening this time, experts from several nearby provinces had been arriving one after another, including powerful cultivators accompanied by their juniors. This young man had most likely come ahead to gather information and prepare for entering the realm.
"President Xu's messenger already spoke to me. You're looking for