Skyfall City

In the old-fashioned private room, Shi Yan looked dazed. He stood frozen by the window for quite a while before slowly closing it.

Back at his seat, Shi Yan seemed dispirited. He stopped pawing at the girl in his arms and just drank in silence.

"Young Master Yan, was that the Bei Ming Family's procession just now?" Karl, a martial artist from the Shi Family, asked casually.

"Mm." Shi Yan gave a brief answer and continued drinking in silence.

Han Zhong stood by the window, frowning as he watched Shi Yan, his gaze a little strange. After hesitating a moment, he said, "Brother Yan, that woman on the warhorse just now... you know her?"

Shi Yan nodded and drained his cup. "Mm, I do. I traveled with her when we came out of Gloomy Forest. You know how demonic beasts were running rampant then. One person's strength was limited, so I had no choice but to find someone to travel with."

Han Zhong was an old hand. Seeing that Shi Yan was in no mood for anything, he rolled his eyes and guessed that there was definitely something between him and Di Ya Lan.

He came over, waved to the women beside him, and said, "You girls can leave for now. We have something to discuss."

The few alluring young women were quick to take the hint. Smiling, they stood and soon left the private room.

Only after the room held nothing but the Shi Family Martial Artists did Han Zhong speak. "Brother Yan, I don't know that woman's background, but Bei Ming Ce seemed interested in her. If she's willing to be with Bei Ming Ce too, don't dwell on it."

"Yeah. There are plenty of women in the world. There's no need to make an enemy of Bei Ming Ce over one woman. In our Merchant Alliance, Bei Ming Family is the most overbearing lineage, and their power is simply too great. And that kid Bei Ming Ce is Bei Ming Shang's precious darling. Picking a fight with him wouldn't be wise," Karl advised earnestly.

Karl was the small-time leader of their group of Martial Artists, with a cultivation base at Xiantian Second Heaven. It was because Shi Yan had won his favor that he offered this sincere advice.

"Old Han, what were those two old men's backgrounds?" Shi Yan didn't answer. Instead, he looked at Han Zhong.

"Yin Kui and Jiu Shan are senior and junior brothers, both at Nirvana First Heaven. No one knows where they came from. They used to serve the head of Bei Ming Family, Bei Ming Shang. After Bei Ming Ce was born with two Martial Souls and advanced through the realms at an astonishing pace, Bei Ming Shang feared something might happen to him as he grew up, so he assigned Yin Kui and Jiu Shan to protect him."

Nirvana First Heaven! Shi Yan's heart tightened.

Shi Jian, head of Shi Family, had only reached Nirvana Third Heaven.

In the vast Merchant Alliance, with a population of several million and countless people cultivating the Martial Dao, those who could truly reach Nirvana were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. You could count them on your fingers.

Two Nirvana experts did nothing but stay by Bei Ming Ce's side and protect him without ever leaving. Bei Ming Ce really was doted on.

"In our Merchant Alliance, Bei Ming Family is stronger than two other great lineages combined. Its Attendants are thick with experts, and its younger generation keeps producing outstanding talents. And Bei Ming Shang himself has reached Heaven Position. If you provoke Bei Ming Family, you won't come out of it well."

Seeing that Shi Yan wasn't speaking, Han Zhong feared he might act rashly, so he emphasized Bei Ming Family's strength again.

"Mm, I understand." Shi Yan was silent for a moment, then nodded. His expression returned to normal, and he smiled. "Don't worry, Old Han. I know what I'm doing. I know what I can do and when I need to endure for a while."

"Mm, as long as you understand." Han Zhong let out a breath of relief. "Should I ask the girls outside to come back in?"

"Forget it. I'm not in the mood. Let's drink."

"Fine, drinking it is. Come on!"

The Merchant Alliance was a peculiar place: a strange country jointly governed by lineages, Martial Artists, mercenaries, merchants, and various civilian groups.

It had no formal army, no official posts, and no government institutions of any kind.

The Merchant Alliance had many lineages, hundreds of mercenary groups large and small, thousands upon thousands of merchants, Martial Artists wandering far and wide, and commoners weary of war...

The Merchant Alliance never took part in the wars between Blazing Fire Empire and Divine Grace Empire, and was far more peaceful than either of those countries.

However, whenever a foreign country tried to stir up trouble in the Merchant Alliance, all its forces would unite to fight back.

Throughout the Merchant Alliance's history, both Blazing Fire Empire and Divine Grace Empire had coveted its wealth and sent troops to invade. Without exception, they had been routed by the allied forces formed from the great lineages and hundreds of mercenary groups!

This peculiar country was highly fragmented in ordinary times, with not even a ruler. But whenever it encountered a common enemy, it would immediately band together.

Here, there were many powerful lineages, hundreds of formidable mercenary groups, and wealthy merchants. Once they united, the force they formed was terrifying. Even Divine Grace Empire and Blazing Fire Empire could only bow before it.

If the Merchant Alliance didn't unite to resist only when facing foreign enemies, the combined strength of all its forces would be enough to crush either Blazing Fire Empire or Divine Grace Empire!

The Merchant Alliance occupied a distinctive position. Gloomy Forest lay to the south, Dead Silence Swamp to the north, the peaks of Cloudmist Mountains rose one after another to the west, and the boundless Endless Sea stretched to the east.

Whether Dead Silence Swamp, Cloudmist Mountains, or the islands in Endless Sea, they all held rich deposits of ores, spirit medicines, metals, and other resources. As a country built around trade, the Merchant Alliance sat right in the middle and naturally benefited from every direction.

Dead Silence Swamp, Cloudmist Mountains, and Endless Sea were rich in resources, but those riches came with terrifying dangers.

Miasma, demonic beasts, poisonous fog, vicious foreign races, and all manner of rare natural disasters...

Because of this, anyone who wanted to venture into those regions needed formidable martial strength. So the Merchant Alliance never lacked all kinds of mercenary groups and Martial Artists.

The Merchant Alliance had nineteen cities, but its largest and most important was Skyfall City.

Skyfall City lay at the center of the Merchant Alliance, with eighteen smaller cities scattered around it. The city itself covered nearly as much land as the eight neighboring cities combined, and its population was several times larger than theirs.

Thus Skyfall City could be called the heart of the Merchant Alliance. The great lineages all made it their primary base of operations.

Shi Family was no exception. Though it had estates and compounds in all the Merchant Alliance's major cities, its roots were in Skyfall City.

Shi Family lay in the north of Skyfall City, covering nearly a hundred mu and containing several thousand buildings. Rock gardens, courtyards, artificial lakes, and streams were everywhere. The direct descendants lived in the quiet rear compound, with an artificial lake at its center, buildings on all four sides, and training grounds, gravity chambers, and cultivation halls behind them...

Shi Family had few direct descendants, but with its collateral branches and Attendants, it had over a hundred people. Add in the maids, guards, and others, and nearly a thousand people lived there at any given time.

Every morning, Shi Family's direct descendants, Attendants, and Martial Artists all trained hard in the various practice grounds and training halls.

That day, the rooster had only just crowed and the sky was barely bright, but many Martial Artists were already limbering up and tempering themselves in the training grounds.

Shi Jian also emerged from Boulder Hall. He went to Yang Hai's building and called out to him. Then the two of them headed for the Shi Family gates.

Along the way, Martial Artists kept bowing to them. Shi Jian merely nodded indifferently, never slowing his stride for anyone.

Not long after Shi Jian and Yang Hai arrived at the Shi Family gates, Han Feng silently appeared behind them. Without a word, he took his place beside Shi Jian and narrowed his eyes as he watched the covered walkway outside the gate.

"Going by the information Han Zhong gave us, they should've arrived last night. Since they didn't make it last night, they'll definitely be back today," Shi Jian muttered with a frown. "I waited until the early hours of the morning yesterday just to see if that kid had really reached Innate Third Heaven Realm, but that little brat never showed up..."

"Maybe something delayed them on the way," Yang Hai said, cursing Shi Yan for his lack of manners in his heart but offering an excuse aloud.

"Crazy, do you think Han Zhong's information... could be wrong?"

Shi Jian turned and looked at Han Feng, seeming a little uncertain. "There are cases where Martial Souls awaken in someone's youth. That part doesn't surprise me too much. But... that kid never cultivated the Martial Dao before he was seventeen, and now he's suddenly reached Innate Third Heaven Realm. It's too unbelievable, isn't it? I've thought about it for several nights and still can't figure out how it happened. What do you think?"

Han Feng tugged at the corner of his mouth and narrowed his eyes. "Han Zhong may be reckless, but he knows better than to be careless about something important. I don't think he'd dare lie about this. Though... I can't figure out how it happened either. Still, if he says so, it should be true."

"Mm, I hope he's right. That kid disappointed me for seventeen years. I hope he doesn't disappoint me again this time."

After their morning training and meal, many Shi Family Martial Artists heard that the patriarch was waiting at the gate for someone. Curious, they came over and gathered there, whispering among themselves.

They didn't know who was coming, and guessed it might be an important figure from Bei Ming Family or Zuo Family. Otherwise, Shi Jian wouldn't have come out to receive them.

But even after they waited a long while, no one appeared. The Shi Family Martial Artists gradually grew impatient, cursing the visitor for being so arrogant as to keep the Shi Family patriarch waiting.

As the sun climbed higher and the person they were waiting for still hadn't appeared, Shi Jian grew worried too. He turned to Yang Hai beside him. "They've been gone so long. Do you think something happened?"

Yang Hai smiled wryly and shook his head to show he didn't know either, but sighed inwardly.

In the past, Shi Jian had occasionally mentioned Shi Yan, but had never shown much concern. He'd only asked about him in passing.

Even when Shi Yan went missing in Gloomy Forest, it was Yang Hai who reminded him before he remembered.

Now, as soon as he heard that Shi Yan had reached Innate Third Heaven Realm, he hadn't just asked for news of him every day over the past few days—he'd even come out early today, unable to wait...

The change in Shi Jian's attitude was so great that Yang Hai found it hard to adjust.

After a long while, the sun was high in the sky. Just before noon, the massive body of an earth dragon finally appeared on the covered walkway, moving at a leisurely pace.

In front of the earth dragon, two men chatted and laughed as they ambled along. They were Shi Yan and Han Zhong.