Insufficient strength, wanting to navigate a complex environment and rise rapidly, leaves only the path of leveraging power.
However, how to leverage power is also a profound study. If one leverages it poorly and backfires, it will only lead to a faster death.
If it were the pre-transmigration Chen Dengming, talking about leveraging power here in the cultivation world and wanting to use the strength of the Qi Refining First Level to negotiate terms with other cultivators at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Level, that would be overestimating oneself and making a fool of oneself.
Yet the current Chen Dengming's life experience and wisdom were long beyond comparison to the naive young man of yesteryear.
In wisdom and vision, he was still that Chen Family Head of the Nanxun Kingdom; it was merely that as a newcomer to the cultivation world, his strength still fell short, requiring accumulation.
Ever since making up his mind to leverage power, Chen Dengming wandered around and returned to the vicinity of his former shanty dwelling.
He had not forgotten the woman who had previously lent him travel expenses and given him a meal.
The result came as no surprise: the dwelling he had previously rented had already been leased out by someone else, and the door to Xu Wei's shanty next door was tightly shut.
At this hour, she should be at home.
Chen Dengming approached, preparing to knock on the door.
A somewhat unfamiliar, heavy tread sounded from behind the door.
His hand paused.
The door opened almost simultaneously, revealing a man's rugged face.
"Who are you... Ah, Immortal Master! Greetings, Immortal Master."
Chen Dengming cast a surprised glance at the man, then peered into the inner room and said, "Who are you? Have you seen Xu Wei?"
"Xu Wei?" The man looked blank, then shook his head. "Immortal Master, this little one does not know any Xu Wei."
Chen Dengming's brow ridges gathered, and after some questioning, he learned that this man had moved in three months ago.
Prior to that, the house had stood vacant for several days, the previous owner having moved out some time before.
Carefully calculating, the time of Xu Wei's move out roughly coincided with the time he left the gathering place.
Thinking along these lines, perhaps Xu Wei had moved away from this area out of fear, either because he was wanted or because of his previous warning.
I have actually implicated this neighbor.
Chen Dengming thought to himself, turning away to walk toward the commercial district of the Golden Character Workshop.
Xu Wei herself belonged to the Golden Character Workshop, but due to her mortal status, her position was very low.
Now that she had moved, she could naturally only be found by going to the Golden Character Workshop.
As a mortal, it was still very hard for her to earn spirit grains.
The lease on her dwelling had not yet expired, yet she suddenly changed locations—she must have suffered considerable losses, and she had already given her travel expenses to him. Where could she go now?
In this rogue cultivator gathering place, if there was anyone he could still trust somewhat and to whom he could entrust certain matters, it was only Xu Wei.
Aside from finding Xu Wei, he also intended to personally visit the Golden Character Workshop to see its workshop head, Xu Ning, and simultaneously collect the promised 'merit' belonging to him.
This was not because he held himself in high esteem, but rather a necessary step in his subsequent plotting.
Many matters, even if one wished to avoid such trouble, still had to be so troublesome; this was the helplessness of being adrift in the martial world.
Sometimes Chen Dengming thought how wonderful it would be if he could directly attain immortality and never die.
If he lacked money, there was no need to rush—he could slowly earn it. If his strength was low, there was no need to rush—he could slowly cultivate.
Regrettably, reality was very stark, and cultivation was not romantic.
He still had to worry about a few pennies of silver.
After all, extending one's life required learning cultivation techniques, techniques cost money, and resources were limited; naturally, others would come to compete with you. Wanting to remain completely aloof from the world was difficult!
As one of the four largest forces among the dozen-odd factions in the rogue cultivator gathering place, the territory occupied by the Golden Character Workshop within this gathering place was naturally also the largest and best.
The gathering place was divided into five regions: east, west, south, north, and center.
Among them, the central region was the core area where the erstwhile exhausted spiritual vein was located.
The residual spiritual qi there was also the thickest, and the Golden Character Workshop occupied a quarter of the streets and houses in the central region.
Secondly, a portion of the shanty towns in the western district also fell under the jurisdiction of the Golden Character Workshop, which collected living fees from them.
Chen Dengming soon arrived at the Golden Character Workshop zone within the city.
People here were standing in a long queue to pay their living fees, just as it had been when he first arrived.
At the rear of the queue stood two ancient-styled, elegant pleasure houses, though that already marked the boundary of the city proper.
Aside from those working within them or people from the Golden Character Workshop, generally only cultivators were allowed free passage; ordinary mortals had to pay spirit grains even to enter.
From this, one could also perceive how precious and scarce resources were within the rogue cultivator gathering place.
Mortals wishing to enjoy resources and approach areas rich in spiritual qi like the city center had to pay spirit grains just to do so.
Chen Dengming was already a cultivator, so no one stopped him, allowing him to enter the city zone and approach the two pleasure houses.
Having weathered the bustling nightlife, these two popular pleasure houses had also quieted down, leaving the turtle-heads exhausted as they swept up the morning mess before their doors.
Some refined guests who had listened to music in the brothels were sent off by procuresses wreathed in smiles, their steps light as they drifted out of the building. They had entered with bulging money bags, but left emptied of both person and purse.
Noticing Chen Dengming approaching and sensing the spiritual might emanating from him, the procuress naturally did not dare to neglect him, hurriedly stepping forward to host him.
"Oh my~ This Immortal Master, you have such refined tastes just as the sun is rising?"
Chen Dengming cast a cold glance at the procuress, uttering not a word.
The procuress's flour-coated face stiffened, and she hastily smiled and slapped her own mouth in apology.
Chen Dengming directly stated his purpose.
"Looking for the girl Xu Wei?"
The procuress's expression altered slightly. Appraising Chen Dengming noncommittally, she stiffly smiled and said, "Immortal Master, that girl Xu Wei has a notoriously stubborn temperament. If you are looking for her, this..."
Stubborn?
Chen Dengming thought to himself that he really hadn't seen any trace of stubbornness in Xu Wei, who always spoke to him timidly. He said flatly, "Quit the nonsense. Since she is right here, bring her to see me. I happen to like stubborn ones."
The procuress was left speechless, her expression peculiar, yet she dared not be remiss.
Seeing that Chen Dengming had no intention of going inside, she hurriedly turned with a smile to summon someone.
As a procuress of this pleasure house in the Golden Character Workshop, she was naturally a person of the workshop herself, and ordinary cultivators would not dare to easily manipulate her; yet she was ultimately just a mortal, and she dared not provoke a cultivator over a trivial matter of fetching someone.
Although she did not reveal her emotions, Chen Dengming had already discerned that something was amiss.
Xu Wei appeared to have offended someone, and the procuress seemed unwilling to let him see Xu Wei, having only agreed under pressure.
Chen Dengming could not help recalling the swelling on Xu Wei's face when he last saw her, and his brow ridges gathered.
"Immortal Master, you... You, Young Master Chen..."
At the entrance of the pleasure house, Xu Wei, having been summoned, parted her sandalwood lips in astonishment as she stared at Chen Dengming's familiar face. She immediately covered her mouth to suppress crying out his name, terrified, she glanced left and right for a moment before looking at Chen Dengming in shock, blinking her apricot-like eyes and stammering.
"You, how did you already break through to..."
Chen Dengming smiled and nodded, saying, "Indeed, Sister Xu. I broke through some time ago and only returned today."
Xu Wei hurriedly waved her hands. "That won't do, Immortal Master. Now you are a man of cultivation, while this humble concubine is merely a mortal; I am unworthy of such a form of address from you. Immortal Master, you had best call me Little Xu."
Though she spoke thus, the taut nervousness in her heart also relaxed accordingly, and the gaze she directed at Chen Dengming was filled with joy and admiration.
She thought to herself that since this Young Master Chen had now returned as a cultivator, his status was completely different, and he should win the attention of the Golden Character Workshop's higher-ups; the warrant for his arrest in Hutong Street should no longer pose much of a threat to him.
"I'll call you Little Xu."
Chen Dengming frowned, thinking of the reality and gap of the distinction between immortals and mortals in this world. Sighing inwardly, he smiled.
"Calling you Little Xu feels rather awkward as well. I'd rather just call you by your name.
Aside from repaying your kindness in giving me travel expenses that day, I have come this time to entrust you with a matter. I wonder if you have the time and are willing to help."
Xu Wei had felt nervous and panic-stricken over the form of address, but upon hearing this she was surprised instead, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents as she curtsied. "Since Immortal Master is willing to trust this humble concubine, I am naturally willing to assist; I only fear that I lack any real ability."
"Hey!~"
Chen Dengming waved a hand to stop her, saying, "The matter I am entrusting you with is not difficult either. It is simply having you deliver a letter for me—a letter to the Luo Family."
"Immortal Crane, that's the one on the street down below. Look..."
Simultaneously, in a room on the third floor of the pleasure house with its windows wide open, the procuress was fawning and flattering an old man, then pointed down at Chen Dengming, who was talking with Xu Wei on the street below.
The old man looked down, appraising Chen Dengming's tattered side profile and the broken blade strapped to his back, and said thoughtfully, "Since when did Xu Wei become so familiar with a cultivator?"
The procuress spoke with difficulty, "This lowly servant truly does not know. Over the past three months, this girl has been living right here in the house. Her wages, even after being docked, weren't enough to cover her rent, and she owes a substantial amount—if not for that lord taking a fancy to this girl..."
"Hnm?"
A flash of displeasure crossed the old man's eyes.
The procuress immediately fell silent, holding her breath in terror.
The old man said indifferently, "The girl Xu Wei is considered quite talented among this batch of pure maidens; her low-grade spiritual root is quite valuable.
Originally, the plan was to groom her into a cultivator and send her to the lords above to serve for their amusement, or cultivate her to become a flower belle and sell her off at a high price.
Regrettably, since that side now has need of her, we have no choice but to use her to make up the numbers. From now on, let her mingle less with others, especially cultivators, so as not to let this girl overestimate herself and breed complications."
"Understood!"
The procuress had just acknowledged the order when she suddenly cried out, "Ah, look, the girl is leaving!"
The old man furrowed his brows and looked down unhappily at the street below.
Right at that moment, Chen Dengming turned around, casting his gaze upward as well, his fierce tiger-like eyes flashing with might.
Their gazes crossed, instantly clashing as if spiritual might had collided.
"Merely the Qi Refining First Level."
The old man's eyes narrowed into slits as he gave a cold, faint laugh. "Fellow Daoist, letting the maid of my Zanhua Tower leave in private—isn't that rather against the rules? This is, after all, the territory of the Golden Character Workshop."
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