The Winds of Wutan City

Stepping out of the dilapidated shack, Su Chen ventured into the bustle of Wutan City for the first time.

The sunlight was a little harsh.

Unlike the lifeless little courtyard in his memories, where everything had been reduced to black and white, the world before him was vivid and three-dimensional, brimming with brilliant colors and clamorous sounds.

People flowed like a tide along the broad bluestone streets.

Burly mercenaries with giant swords slung over their shoulders brushed past, their bodies radiating a murderous aura.

Lavishly dressed young nobles, surrounded by attendants, arrogantly shooed pedestrians out of their way.

Street vendors hawked their wares at the top of their lungs. They had everything from ordinary grain and bolts of cloth to low-tier Magic Cores that shimmered with faint energy.

The air was a jumble of charred roast meat, the sickly sweetness of cheap face powder, and a faint tang of blood.

All of it left Su Chen feeling both fascinated and deeply unsettled, as if he'd been torn between two worlds.

He instinctively tugged up the collar of his faded shirt. His frail frame, lost in the press of the crowd, was like a wild weed that could be trampled at any moment.

He dared not meet anyone's eyes. Head lowered, he swept his gaze over his surroundings from the corners of his eyes.

Every passerby wore the look of someone who had been born and raised here, as though their place in this world were only natural.

And he was like an ant that had wandered into a land of giants, taking each step with painstaking care.

His soul came from a world utterly unlike this one, but his body belonged to this jungle where the strong preyed on the weak.

The first step to survival is understanding the rules.

Su Chen told himself, forcing down the panic that welled up from his body's instincts.

He had no destination. He simply followed the crowd, wandering aimlessly like a sponge greedily soaking up every scrap of information about this world.

He saw a guard wearing the Xiao Clan crest kick a commoner to the ground just because the man had accidentally bumped into him. The onlookers responded not with sympathy, but with fearful, evasive glances.

He also saw a plainly dressed young man leave a weapons shop with a gleaming longsword, having traded a heavy purse for it. Barely contained excitement lit his face.

Power.

Money.

Those were Wutan City's two most obvious rules of passage.

Su Chen stopped at the entrance to a market district.

It was even livelier than the main street. Shops stood in close-packed rows, and the cries of vendors, haggling customers, and clashing weapons surged over him like a wave of heat.

His gaze finally settled on an unremarkable tavern.

Its sign had faded, and its entrance was narrow. Most of those going in and out were rough-looking mercenaries whose faces were weathered by the elements.

Places like this were a melting pot of all kinds of people—the best places to find news and gather information.

Su Chen clenched the few copper coins left in his sleeve. They were all he had after selling the Flame Rat meat he'd used as bait.

He took a deep breath and stepped inside, as though he were walking to his death.

***

The tavern was dimly lit. The air reeked of sour, fermented ale mixed with sweat.

Su Chen found the least conspicuous corner and sat down, sinking into the shadows.

He spent one copper coin on the cheapest ale.

The cloudy liquid gave off a strange smell. He held the wooden cup but didn't take a sip.

His ears, however, swept the room like radar, catching every sound around him.

"Have you heard? That Jialie kid, Jialie Ao, broke through to the Eighth Stage Dou Qi a couple of days ago! Damn, isn't he only sixteen?"

"Hey, his family piles resources on him and he gulps down pills like food. What do you expect? We risk our lives in the Magical Beast Mountain Range for a little money, and it's still not enough to buy a bottle of healing medicine."

"Speaking of which, the Xiao Clan's been going downhill lately. I heard their genius, Xiao Yan, can't even hold on to the Third Stage of Dou Qi anymore. What a joke."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Even if the Xiao Clan's fallen, they're not people we can gossip about. Have you forgotten what happened to that loudmouth at the city gate last time? Xiao Clan guards broke his leg!"

The conversation among the mercenaries at the next table drifted in and out of Su Chen's hearing.

The Jialie Clan, the Xiao Clan...and the Aoba Clan in the west of the city.

Those were Wutan City's three great clans.

They controlled most of the city's markets, mines, and resources. They were the true rulers of this small city.

Su Chen silently committed the information to memory. His hazy fragments of knowledge about this world were beginning to grow clearer and more concrete.

He kept listening.

"Boss Wang, how was the haul from the Magical Beast Mountain Range this time?"

"Don't ask! Damn it, we ran into a peak first-tier Iron-Armored Rhino. It nearly wiped out our whole squad! Thank goodness Li Mo from our team is a Three-Star Dou Zhe. Otherwise, we'd all have been done for!"

"Three-Star Dou Zhe! Tsk... That's someone who can form Dou Qi Armor!"

Dou Zhe.

Su Chen's heart gave a small thump.

Beyond the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi came the Dou Zhe realm.

It was an entirely new level. One could coat the body in Dou Qi to form armor, greatly increasing one's defenses. In the eyes of ordinary people, a Dou Zhe was a true powerhouse.

And Su Chen didn't even have Dou Qi.

The gap between them was a huge, invisible mountain, pressing down on him until he could hardly breathe.

He lifted the wooden cup and forced himself to take a sip of the strange-tasting ale.

The cool liquid slid down his throat, calming his scattered thoughts a little.

There's no need to rush.

You eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.

His greatest advantage wasn't Dou Qi. It was that mysterious Stone Platform, and his ability to purify and copy flames.

His target customers weren't these mercenaries who lived by the blade.

They were...

Just then, a sharp complaint rang out from a table not far away, instantly drawing all his attention.

"This is infuriating! Another failure!"

A young man in a pale blue robe slammed his cup onto the table, his face twisted with irritation.

A finely crafted badge was pinned to his chest. It bore the image of a tiny medicinal cauldron, with a silver star above it.

A one-star apprentice alchemist!

Su Chen's pupils contracted slightly in the shadows.

Alchemists were the most prestigious and respected profession on the Dou Qi Continent!

Even an apprentice had a status far beyond that of an ordinary Dou Zhe.

"Brother Liu, don't let it get to you. Alchemy fails nine times out of ten. Just keep a level head," a companion beside him offered.

The apprentice known as Brother Liu looked furious.

"Keep a level head? How can I do that? The Flame Rat Beast Flame my teacher gave me is full of impurities, and it burns too fiercely. I can't control it at all! Every time I get to the condensation stage, that damned flame scatters the medicinal energy! This is the third time this month!"

His anger mounted, and he punched the table.

"I finally understand. Without a good Beast Flame, becoming a true alchemist is nothing but a fool's dream!"

"But where are we supposed to find a high-quality Beast Flame?" another companion sighed. "The Miteer Auction House did auction off a Beast Flame from a Tier 2 Wind Wolf a few days ago. I heard it burned gently, making it perfect for apprentices like us. But someone from the Jialie Clan snatched it up for the exorbitant price of three hundred gold coins!"

"Three hundred gold coins..."

A chorus of sharp intakes of breath rose around them.

Three hundred gold coins could keep an ordinary family in Wutan City comfortably for years.

And that was the price of just one Tier 2 Beast Flame.

The apprentice, surnamed Liu, looked bitter and envious.

He lifted his cup and drained it, as if trying to douse the fire in his heart.

"Alas..."

He let out a long sigh, his voice full of helplessness.

"A good flame is worth its weight in gold!"

The words exploded in Su Chen's mind like a thunderclap!

Every hazy thought and uncertainty he'd had was blown away. In that instant, they coalesced into one crystal-clear, unwavering goal!

A market!

A demand!

This was the market he'd been searching for! This was the real, desperate need he could fill!

Ordinary Beast Flames were impure and difficult to control.

The flames purified by his mysterious Stone Platform, on the other hand, were pure and stable—the perfect tool, tailor-made for apprentice alchemists!

Beneath the table, Su Chen's hands clenched into fists of their own accord, his knuckles whitening with the force of his grip.

He could even feel his heart hammering wildly in his chest.

He'd found it!

He'd found the broad road that would lead him to survival—and perhaps even to power!

He paid no further attention to the sounds in the tavern. He drained the rest of his ale, dropped his last copper coin, and got to his feet.

By the time he stepped outside, dusk had fallen.

The setting sun bathed all of Wutan City in a warm golden glow.

The clamor of the streets no longer sounded like a threat to Su Chen. In his ears, it was a symphony brimming with opportunity.

He lifted his head and gazed past the rooftops toward the city center, where the grandest, most imposing building stood.

The Alchemist Guild.

It was where every alchemist and apprentice in Wutan City gathered.

And it was where his future commercial empire would begin.

Before, he'd been a desperate survivor in the dark, looking frantically in every direction, unable to see what lay ahead.

Now, a flame called hope was already blazing in his chest.

Su Chen's lips slowly curved upward.

It wasn't the gentle smile he'd worn in his previous life, but a sharp, ambitious smile.

"The winds of Wutan City..."

He murmured softly to himself.

"Are about to change."