Su Ling's divine voice had already become hoarse, yet he still recalled many things that had happened.
"From now on, follow the City Lord. Eat whatever he gives you, and you won't go wrong."
Mu Rong patted him on the shoulder, his expression indifferent. To him, this was merely a trivial matter.
Night fell, and a huge black curtain seemed to cover the entire world.
Su Ling clanged away as he hammered the material. Inside the room, the liquid boiled violently, while he placed himself within the domain.
Mu Rong possessed a terrifying strength. He directly threw several medicinal materials into a wooden box, and the gloomy aura slowly spread out, carrying a trace of deadly smoke.
He took out a hundred-year-old soul bone with a dark sheen and poured a basin of plain water over it before saying,
"One basin to soak the soul bone, and another to refine it with soul power."
Su Ling received the basin of pale water and looked at the strange soul-bone beast covered in countless pustules. After hesitating for a moment, he asked,
"Wait, City Lord... this soul bone isn't... isn't it the aid to break through?"
Mu Rong spat out a mouthful of water and angrily wiped his face before scolding Su Ling.
"You little brat, even the things in your stomach have been refined! Do you know what this is? This is a good thing that can directly raise your cultivation!"
"Unfortunately, this item can only be used once, and its effect will be greatly reduced. If you want to improve further, you'll have to seek out a higher-grade item."
After saying that, the two entered the wooden boxes and swallowed the soul bones.
At once, the energy contained in the soul bone and its materials began to boil in their stomachs.
The soul bone's energy became even more violent.
A stream of terrifying energy, like the stench of a nameless beast, surged toward the heavens. Mu Rong nearly vomited several times before forcing it back down.
Beside him, Su Ling's body shone dazzlingly white. His entire figure thrashed in the water as the violent energy surged through him.
"Get moving! Guard your mind and guide the soul power through your body! Otherwise, you won't be able to withstand this power!"
Mu Rong gave him a brief glance and reminded him.
No one knew how much time had passed. The soul bone's power was finally completely absorbed, and the two climbed out of the wooden boxes.
Su Ling collapsed onto the ground and gasped heavily.
"Kill me... I won't eat that disgusting thing ever again..."
At the same time, even Mu Rong had lost his appetite and did not want to eat anymore. That taste had nearly destroyed his spirit and sense of taste.
However, the effects were obvious and easy to see.
He could clearly sense that his physical strength had risen by a level, his soul power circulated much faster, and his spiritual power had reached a level it had never achieved before.
With these resources nourishing him, breaking through to the major soul realm at the thirteenth or fourteenth level was no longer difficult for him.
Early the next morning, the forest's manager hurriedly came looking for them.
"Boss! Boss! Great news! My father told me that I can receive three hundred gold soul coins every month! That means I can earn three thousand gold soul coins every year!"
San Shi Ling Chen!
Tsk, as expected of the young master of the City Lord's family.
"Since you have the money, you can cover my expenses from now on."
Mu Rong did not stand on ceremony and immediately said,
"Consider it compensation for your performance."
"Please be careful! I'm out of water!"
The forest manager clasped his hands together, knelt, and begged the boss to be merciful.
And on that very day, a major event sufficient to shake the entire Ju Yuan City, even spreading to the surrounding cities, occurred.
The City Lord's residence officially put up a sign and established a shop called "Demon Blade Benevolent Merchant Hall."
The exquisite cards that had been carefully made were sold for one gold soul coin each.
As for the goods brought out by the public, everyone who saw them immediately fell into a frenzy.
First grade: a soul bone with a thousand-year age limit.
Second grade: the City Lord's residence would personally take action, assisting soul masters in hunting soul beasts to obtain a top-grade Spirit Seed, with an additional three thousand gold soul coins required.
Third grade: ten portions of high-grade soul-bone bathing materials, plus a hundred-year-old spiritual herb.
As soon as the news came out, it was like a huge stone thrown into the calm surface of a lake. In an instant, enormous waves rose throughout Ju Yuan City.
Countless soul masters, commoners, merchants, and even the bandits outside the Soul Beast Forest, along with the residents of the nearby cities, all rushed madly toward Ju Yuan City after hearing the news.
The academy released its restrictions, and the forest manager hurriedly pulled Mu Rong and Su Ling along while returning to his own merchant hall.
The three of them finally squeezed into the nearest location, and the surrounding scenery was instantly drowned out by the crowd.
The dark mass of people surged like a tide. The entire merchant hall was packed so tightly that water could not pass through, and the long line nearly stretched outside the city gates.
Among the crowd, Mu Rong even noticed several familiar figures. The Martial Soul Hall's disciples were also impatiently waiting in line.
Most of the people left disappointed after entering. Fortunately, some managed to buy cards from the nearby stalls—either a packet of cigarettes or a bottle of liquor—which was enough to comfort them.
At that moment, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from the crowd.
"I got one! I got one! A first-grade soul bone! It's a first-grade soul bone!"
Everyone stopped moving. Several dozen pairs of eyes filled with envy, jealousy, and madness instantly turned toward the person holding the card.
Although that person had not been following the crowd, most of them wanted to see whether the City Lord's residence truly possessed the soul bones of that legendary city.
At the merchant hall, the manager of the forest was constantly sending gold soul coins from his storehouse to the card's source. He was grinning so broadly that his mouth could hardly close.
In just one day, numerous gold soul coins had entered the account. The money came in much faster than expected.
At that moment, a subordinate suddenly rushed in and hurriedly reported to the merchant.
"City Lord! This is bad! Someone has drawn a first-grade soul bone!"
The manager's smile froze instantly, and his heart ached fiercely.
That was a soul bone! Although it was only a hundred-year soul bone, it was still a soul bone. This meant he had lost a great deal of money.
The forest manager was stunned and hurriedly called for the boss to come see. He said that the City Lord's residence was deliberately making a loss.
He could not bear to let his son keep slaughtering the wolves.
With a clench of his teeth, the manager took out an exquisite jade box from the soul beast storage device and walked toward the platform.
In front of everyone, he handed the hundred-year soul bone emitting faint soul-power fluctuations to the person who had drawn it and was about to faint from joy.
"Cheer!"
The crowd once again erupted into an uproar.
It was real! The City Lord's residence really had a soul bone!
Although a hundred-year soul bone did not have a high age limit, it was still a soul bone.
It was enough to change an ordinary person's fate for a lifetime.
"That's enough. I won too, so I'll return to the academy first."
Mu Rong withdrew his soul power and turned toward Su Ling.
"Then I'll go. That one is the best for refining."
After saying that, he brought Su Ling away, leaving the forest manager in the crowd to set off a firestorm and act like a fool.
For a while, the situation became chaotic.
Some shameless soul clans wanted to imitate the Demon Blade's business model, but without exception, they were crushed by the City Lord's residence.
However, the commotion caused by this matter was simply too great. Very soon, it spread throughout Tiandou City, Xingluo City, and even the imperial cities of several major empires.
The Tiandou Imperial Family, the Xingluo Imperial Family, the Martial Soul Hall, and the seven great sects all took action after learning of the astonishing soul-bone business.
Damn, was this really an act of robbing money?
Before you continue