Skyfall City

In the rustic room, Shi Yan seemed a bit dazed. He stared out the window for a long while before slowly closing it.

Returning to his seat, Shi Yan appeared listless. He stopped bothering the young woman in his arms and just focused on drinking.

"Young Master Yan, was that the Bei Ming Family's entourage just now?" Karl, a Martial Artist from the Shi Family in the room, casually asked.

"Mm," Shi Yan replied, continuing to drink in silence.

Han Zhong stood by the window, frowning as he looked at Shi Yan. His expression was peculiar. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Brother Yan, that woman on the warhorse... do you know her?"

Shi Yan nodded and downed the wine in his cup. "Mm, I do know her. We came out of the Gloomy Forest together. As you know, Yao Beasts were rampant during that time, and one person's strength is limited. I had to find someone to travel with."

Han Zhong, being experienced, noticed Shi Yan's lack of interest and his eyes darted around. He guessed there must have been something between Shi Yan and Di Ya Lan.

He sat down and waved to the women beside him. "You girls can leave for now. We need to discuss something."

The alluring young women, understanding the situation, smiled and stood up, quickly leaving the room.

Once only the Shi Family Martial Artists remained in the room, Han Zhong said, "Brother Yan, I don't know that woman's background, but it looks like Bei Ming Ce is quite interested in her. If she's willing to be with Bei Ming Ce, you shouldn't dwell on it."

"That's right. There are so many women in the world. There's no need to make an enemy of Bei Ming Ce over one woman. The Bei Ming Family is the most overbearing family in our Merchant Alliance; their influence is truly too great. And that Bei Ming Ce kid is Bei Ming Shang's precious darling. Provoking him would be unwise," Karl also advised sincerely.

Karl was the minor leader of this group of Martial Artists, with a cultivation at the Xiantian Second Heaven. Because Shi Yan had earned his favor, he offered this earnest advice.

"Old Han, what's the background of those two old men?" Shi Yan didn't answer, instead looking at Han Zhong.

"Yin Kui and Jiu Shan are fellow disciples with Nirvana First Heaven Realm cultivation. No one knows where they came from. They used to serve the Bei Ming Family head, Bei Ming Shang. After Bei Ming Ce was born, because he possessed two Martial Souls and his cultivation progressed extremely rapidly, Bei Ming Shang feared that Bei Ming Ce might encounter unforeseen dangers during his growth. Thus, he assigned Yin Kui and Jiu Shan to protect him."

Nirvana First Heaven Realm! Shi Yan's heart grew tense.

The Shi Family head, Shi Jian, was only at the Nirvana Third Heaven Realm.

In the vast Merchant Alliance, with millions of inhabitants and countless Martial Artists practicing the martial path, those who could truly reach the Nirvana Realm were rare, countable on two hands.

Two Nirvana Realm experts, doing nothing but guarding Bei Ming Ce day and night, showed how favored he was.

"In our Merchant Alliance, the Bei Ming Family's strength surpasses that of any two other aristocratic families combined. The Bei Ming Family's honored guests are full of experts, and their family disciples are constantly emerging as skilled individuals. Furthermore, Bei Ming Shang himself is at the Heaven Position Realm. Provoking the Bei Ming Family will yield no good results."

Seeing Shi Yan's silence, Han Zhong, fearing Shi Yan might act rashly, elaborated on the Bei Ming Family's power.

"Mm, I understand," Shi Yan said after a moment of silence, nodding. His expression returned to normal, and he smiled. "Don't worry, Old Han. I know what I'm doing. I know what can be done and when to endure for the time being."

"Mm, it's good that you understand," Han Zhong sighed in relief. "Do you want to let the girls outside come back in?"

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

"Alright, let's drink! Come on!"

The Merchant Alliance was very peculiar. It was a unique nation governed jointly by aristocratic families, Martial Artists, mercenaries, merchants, and various civilian organizations.

There was no formal army, no official positions, and no various official structures.

The Merchant Alliance had many aristocratic families, hundreds of mercenary groups of various sizes, tens of thousands of merchants, wandering Martial Artists, and civilians tired of war...

The Merchant Alliance never participated in the wars between the Blazing Fire Empire and the Divine Grace Empire, and was relatively more peaceful than those two nations.

However, if any external nation attempted to cause trouble in the Merchant Alliance, all factions within the alliance would unite to resist.

Throughout the Merchant Alliance's history, both the Blazing Fire Empire and the Divine Grace Empire had coveted its wealth and had sent troops to invade. However, they were invariably defeated by the joint forces of the major aristocratic families and hundreds of mercenary groups in the Merchant Alliance!

This peculiar nation, the Merchant Alliance, was very decentralized in normal times, even lacking a central administrator. But once it encountered a common enemy, all factions would immediately band together.

Here, with many powerful aristocratic families, hundreds of formidable mercenary groups, and wealthy merchants, the combined strength of these entities was terrifying, causing even the Divine Grace Empire and the Blazing Fire Empire to bow their heads in defeat.

If not for the fact that the Merchant Alliance only united to resist when facing external enemies, the combined strength of all these factions would have been enough to defeat either the Blazing Fire Empire or the Divine Grace Empire!

The Merchant Alliance had a unique geography. To the south lay the Gloomy Forest, to the north the Silent Swamp, to the west the undulating Cloud Mist Mountain Range, and to the east the vast, boundless Endless Sea.

Whether it was the Silent Swamp, the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, or the islands in the Endless Sea, they all contained abundant resources such as various ores, spiritual herbs, and metals. The Merchant Alliance, being a nation primarily focused on trade and situated in the center, naturally benefited from all sides.

The Silent Swamp, the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, and the Endless Sea, while rich in resources, also harbored terrifying dangers.

These included miasma, Yao Beasts, poisonous fog, ferocious alien races, and various rare natural disasters...

Because of this, venturing into those areas required immense martial prowess, which was why the Merchant Alliance never lacked various mercenary groups and Martial Artists.

The Merchant Alliance had nineteen cities in total, but the largest and most important city was Skyfall City.

Skyfall City was located in the center of the Merchant Alliance, with eighteen smaller cities scattered around it. The area of Skyfall City alone was almost equal to the combined area of the eight surrounding cities, and its population was several times that of the smaller cities.

Therefore, Skyfall City could be considered the heart of the Merchant Alliance, and the major aristocratic families also considered it their primary base of operations.

The Shi Family was no exception. Although the Shi Family had industries and courtyards in the major cities of the Merchant Alliance, its roots were in Skyfall City.

The Shi Family's estate was located north of Skyfall City, covering nearly a hundred acres with thousands of buildings. Artificial mountains, courtyards, and streams were found everywhere. The direct descendants of the Shi Family resided in a secluded area in the backyard, centered around an artificial lake, with pavilions on all sides. Behind the pavilions were training grounds, gravity rooms, and halls for arduous cultivation...

The Shi Family did not have many direct descendants, but there were a hundred collateral relatives and retainers. Together with maids, guards, and so on, nearly a thousand people resided at the Shi Family estate daily.

Every morning, regardless of whether they were direct descendants, retainers, or Martial Artists, they would cultivate diligently in the various martial arts training halls.

This day, as the rooster's crow just sounded and the sky was still dimly lit, many Martial Artists were already stretching and tempering themselves in the various cultivation grounds.

Shi Jian also emerged from the Boulder Hall, called out under Yang Hai's pavilion, and then walked towards the Shi Family's main gate with Yang Hai.

Along the way, numerous Martial Artists bowed respectfully. Shi Jian merely nodded indifferently, his pace unhurried by anyone.

Not long after Shi Jian and Yang Hai arrived at the Shi Family's main gate, Han Feng silently appeared behind them and stood beside Shi Jian without a word, squinting at the corridor outside the main gate.

"According to the information Han Zhong gave us, they should have arrived last night. Since they didn't show up last night, they'll definitely be back today," Shi Jian muttered, frowning. "I waited until dawn last night to see if that kid has really entered the Innate Third Heaven Realm, but that brat didn't show up..."

"Maybe something delayed them on the way," Yang Hai thought, cursing Shi Yan's lack of manners internally, but he still offered an explanation.

"Crazy man, about Han Zhong's information... is there any chance it could be wrong?"

Shi Jian turned his head, looking at Han Feng with a hint of doubt. "It's true that Martial Souls have awakened in youth before, so I don't really doubt that. However... that kid never cultivated the Martial Way before he turned seventeen. To suddenly enter the Innate Third Heaven Realm is too unbelievable, isn't it? I've thought about it for several nights and still can't figure out what's going on. What do you think?"

Han Feng twitched the corner of his mouth, his eyes narrowed. "Although Han Zhong likes to mess around, he has a sense of propriety in important matters. I don't think he'd dare to lie about this. Although... I also can't figure out what's going on, if he said it, it should be correct."

"Yeah, I hope it's correct. This kid has disappointed me for seventeen years. I hope he won't disappoint me again this time."

Many Martial Artists from the Shi Family, after their morning cultivation and meals, heard that the Patriarch was waiting at the main entrance and followed out of curiosity. They gathered at the main entrance, whispering and discussing amongst themselves.

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

However, after waiting for a long time and still no one appeared, those Shi Family Martial Artists gradually grew impatient, cursing the visitor for having too much of an attitude, making the Shi Family Patriarch wait.

As the sun rose higher and higher, and the person they were waiting for still hadn't appeared, Shi Jian also began to worry. He said to Yang Hai beside him, "It's been so long, could something have happened?"

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

In the past, although Shi Jian would occasionally mention Shi Yan, he never showed much concern. He just asked casually.

Even Shi Yan's disappearance in the Gloomy Forest this time was only remembered after Yang Hai reminded him.

Now, upon hearing that Shi Yan had entered the Innate Third Heaven Realm, not only has he been inquiring about Shi Yan's news daily for the past few days, but today he even came early and impatiently to wait...

The drastic change in Shi Jian's attitude made Yang Hai a little unaccustomed to it.

After a long while, the sun was high in the sky. As it was nearing noon, the enormous body of the Earth Dragon slowly appeared on the long corridor.

In front of the Earth Dragon, two people were chatting and laughing, walking at a leisurely pace. It was Shi Yan and Han Zhong.