The Arena

After resting in the inn for a while, Shi Lan led the others to the market in the west of the city.

This market was the largest trading hub in Ancient Phoenix City, a melting pot of people and shops catering primarily to martial artists.

The streets were bustling with activity, which was precisely why Shi Lan chose to set up the arena here. The more people, the wider the news would spread.

Seeing that there was still some time before the agreed-upon meeting with the lumberyard owner, Shi Lan handed over several gold notes and instructed the others to wait while she and Wu Lingkong entered the market.

The shops lining the streets were a diverse array of businesses selling elixirs, magical artifacts, talismans, and more. The people walking on the street were mostly robust, with sharp, discerning eyes – clearly martial artists.

Moreover, Shi Lan occasionally spotted one or two Foundation Realm martial artists passing by. The quality of martial artists in Ancient Phoenix City was noticeably higher than in the cities they had passed through previously.

Shi Lan found the shops by the roadside quite interesting, but Wu Lingkong showed little interest, having visited places a hundred times more prosperous.

Wu Lingkong scanned her surroundings aimlessly, then her gaze suddenly fixed on something, and she stopped, appearing somewhat dazed.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Wu Lingkong's dazed expression, Shi Lan followed her gaze.

A rather grand three-story building stood by the street. Looking at the plaque above the entrance, Shi Lan asked with some confusion, "Nishang Pavilion... what kind of place is that?"

Wu Lingkong snapped back to attention and smiled. "It's a relatively large merchant establishment that primarily deals in auxiliary magical artifacts. I used to frequent it when I was in the Central Heaven Domain. I didn't