Buying a House

Jiangzhou City.

The provincial capital of Jiangzhou, a place blessed by nature.

It gathered the essence of tens of millions from across the province into one city, with skyscrapers everywhere, shops standing shoulder to shoulder, and all manner of malls and businesses filling the streets.

Li Pin's first impression upon following Fang Lingjue to Jiangzhou was traffic.

Cars were everywhere. So were people.

If you did not wait three to five minutes at every intersection, it seemed you would be doing the traffic lights there an injustice.

"Choosing the weekend to come to the provincial capital and look at houses..."

Li Pin rubbed his brow.

Jiangzhou's congestion was practically on par with a first-tier metropolis.

What had happened in Sanshun Town made him realize that neither the town nor the county was safe. Moreover, Canglong City had no particularly good universities, so he intended to have Li Yunyao come to Jiangzhou for school after taking the college entrance examination in June.

As it happened, Fang Lingjue said that the Jiangzhou branch had found a venue and invited him, the martial hall master who would oversee it for the coming year, to take a look. So he came along in the car.

The result...

A journey of less than a hundred kilometers had taken more than two hours, with one entire hour wasted after entering the city.

"Half a year ago, when I came to Jiangzhou City, it didn't feel like there were this many people. Why did so many suddenly appear now?"

Fang Lingjue said, "Could the news spreading online be true?"

"What news?"

"Something happened in Nanli Kingdom."

Fang Lingjue said, "Demonic Beasts rioted in the Fallen Temple, the greatest perilous region in their country. Nanli Kingdom mobilized the strength of the entire nation to suppress them, only to suffer a crushing defeat. Now those Demonic Beasts have left the Fallen Temple, invaded Nanli Kingdom, and ravaged hundreds of miles."

"Nanli Kingdom?"

Li Pin quickly recalled the nation's geographical location.

Taibai Kingdom was uniquely blessed. There was only one Level Four perilous region within its borders: Death Valley.

In such a place, even a third-level Star Refiner who had cultivated Gang Jin could venture inside.

There might be ferocious beasts and Demonic Beasts in the other wildernesses, but their numbers were scarce and they generally could not amount to much.

Under such circumstances, Taibai Kingdom had enjoyed peace for a long time.

The reason it did not have to face external threats was because Taibai Kingdom lay almost at the very center of the Tianyuan Federation.

Nanli Kingdom was precisely the shield to Taibai Kingdom's south.

The Fallen Temple within Nanli Kingdom was a perilous place that had reached Level Six.

Ordinarily, the Tianyuan Federation relied entirely on its geographical advantage, drawing Top-tier Star Refiners from various nations to assist in its defense. Now that such a massive upheaval had occurred...

Even with the Tianyuan Federation reacting swiftly, driving those Demonic Beasts back into the Fallen Temple would not be something that could be done in a short time.

"How did such a huge incident suddenly happen at the Fallen Temple?"

Li Pin said.

"Who knows? Matters like these, tied to a nation's stability, rise, and fall, are not something the two of us Embrace Dan cultivators can get involved with."

Fang Lingjue paused, then added, "Even when you have the chance to come into contact with such information in the future, it may not be easy. Unless you become a Martial Saint."

Li Pin nodded. He glanced at the hopelessly jammed lanes. "People from Nanli Kingdom crossed the border and fled to Jiangzhou? Perhaps even people from the counties and cities under Jiangzhou have sensed the danger and are flooding into Jiangzhou City?"

"Jiangzhou City itself may also be fanning the flames, absorbing the population below to accelerate its own development."

Fang Lingjue said, "Taibai has just passed a strategic policy this term: besides establishing Yaoyang City as the royal capital, it will choose two more places to build eastern and southern central cities. Jiangzhou City is a strong contender for the southern central city."

As he spoke, his tone paused. "You have heard about people from the Lihuo Sect coming to Jiangzhou City to participate in the martial arts tournament, right? They chose Jiangzhou because of the city's upcoming strategic positioning. If that positioning is confirmed, and their Lihuo Sect sweeps the top three—or even the top five—of the Jiangzhou Tournament, it will naturally be a tremendous honor to speak of."

Li Pin nodded.

After being stuck in traffic for a long time, the two finally arrived at a site Fang Lingjue had taken a liking to.

It was not downtown, but neither was it particularly remote. The venue was somewhat smaller than the Changfeng Martial Hall in Canglong City.

But considering how every inch of Jiangzhou City's land was worth its weight in gold, having such an area already counted as a large martial hall, worthy of his status as an Embrace Dan martial artist.

Li Pin was rather satisfied with what he saw.

"Next, I'll take you to look at houses."

As Fang Lingjue spoke, he turned the steering wheel and drove the Swift toward a villa district.

It was not that Li Pin looked down on large luxury apartments, but...

He worried that as his cultivation rose, he might accidentally stomp a building down while practicing martial arts.

In the long run, a grounded villa was clearly more suitable.

This villa district found tranquility amid the bustle. It stood on a small hill in the city, and on the other side of that hill was an open public park.

"You wanted to be closer to the martial hall and have a courtyard, so Jiangshan Yipin is your only option."

Fang Lingjue added, "The price is very high."

"How high?"

Li Pin asked.

"The money you have on you should barely be enough."

Fang Lingjue said.

When the vehicle arrived at the villa district, two exquisitely dressed women in uniforms were already waiting there.

"Mr. Fang, Mr. Li, welcome. Thank you for placing your trust in Jiangshan Yipin. I am Ye Shu, a property consultant."

The older of the two women spoke as she bowed and handed over her business card.

Fang Lingjue nodded and turned to Li Pin. "Take a look."

"Alright."

Li Pin followed the two women into the compound.

Across Jiangzhou City, Jiangshan Yipin was not among the most luxurious villa districts, but it was one of the finest villas ordinary people could buy.

Its quality was beyond question.

The entire development had only thirty-two villas, and more than half had already been sold.

The surroundings were equally refined. The park was right beside it, so there was no shortage of places to stroll, while a large shopping mall stood only a few hundred meters away, making daily life very convenient.

Yet it was precisely because of those large malls that Jiangshan Yipin's quality suffered somewhat.

The malls consisted of several high-rise buildings. Though the villa district had planted many trees for landscaping and screening, privacy was not particularly good.

In addition, there was a park next door with an amusement park inside. People came and went constantly; its tranquility amid the bustle was not complete.

For those true big shots who pursued perfection and did not wish to expose themselves to ordinary people's eyes, this was clearly unacceptable.

Li Pin toured several places but did not speak for a long while.

Seeing this, Fang Lingjue understood that he was not especially taken with the place and could only say, "If you want somewhere quieter, there is only Huayu Garden. But it is more than ten kilometers from the martial hall. The daily commute there and back would probably take over an hour."

"Let's choose this place."

Li Pin said, selecting the villa with the largest courtyard among the remaining nine.

Even with a few flaws, when it came time to settle the bill, the villa still cost as much as twenty-six million.

"I can get a loan, right?"

Li Pin said.

"Of course, but the loan amount cannot exceed fifteen million."

Ye Shu said.

"Fine."

Li Pin nodded.

Since he did not have enough money, he could only take out a loan.

But he believed that, at his rate of progress, ten million in the future would definitely not compare to ten million now.

The two sides promptly signed the agreement.

At that moment, his phone rang.

Once he answered, Zhao Yuan's voice quickly came through. "Something happened! Some 'teammates' Wang Daoyi met when hunting ferocious beasts back then are using avenging Wang Daoyi as an excuse to extort our Five Elements Sect! We're already looking for connections. To be safe, do not return to Canglong City for the time being!"