"Black dress, silver hair, uses a sword, beautiful as a celestial being?"
The human youth running a stall in the trading area scratched the back of his head and furrowed his brows, trying hard to remember. A moment later, he gave up in frustration.
"Brother Mu Chen, do you know her name?"
The young man admired Mu Chen greatly, so he was quite eager to help.
"Never mind. Thanks."
Mu Chen's lips moved slightly, but in the end he didn't say the name "Luo Li." He casually tossed down a Spirit Beast Essence, then turned and left.
"You're a generous one, brother!"
The stall owner grinned as he accepted the payment, then cupped his hands toward Mu Chen's retreating figure.
And so, the Royal Heir's first attempt to find his wife ended without success.
The trading area was enormous, drawing in nearly half the people in the entire Sanctuary.
Mu Chen walked along the street, unhurriedly scanning the stalls on either side.
The Mu Clan's family motto was simple: when you were away from home, if you didn't pick up a bargain or two, you were losing out!
"Hm?"
Mu Chen had been strolling absentmindedly when he suddenly stopped in front of a stall.
The stall was piled high with its owner's painstakingly gathered wares: nameless cultivation techniques, broken beast bones, rare spirit plants, Treasure Pills mostly worn away by the elements, and fragments of divine weapons.
His gaze went straight to a small patch of black in the corner.
It was a thin sheet of black paper, gleaming like metal and roughly the size of his palm.
There were no words or traces of spiritual power on its surface, but faint, extremely indistinct patterns crisscrossed it, ancient and imbued with an unspoken mystery.
It had been casually tossed into an inconspicuous corner and left to gather dust for who knew how long.
The owner's disdain for it was obvious. He'd tossed it aside like dirt and sand.
Mu Chen crouched in front of the stall and picked up the thin sheet of black paper, rubbing it between his fingers as he admired it without hiding his fondness. "I'll take this. Name your price."
The guys on the Spirit Road were all talented.
Every last one was as crafty as a fox, each more cunning than the next.
Better to lay your cards on the table and ask the price outright than to throw up a smokescreen.
"So it's you, Brother Mu Chen. My surname is Zhou. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The stall owner, Zhou, clearly recognized the young man who had displayed his might at the city gates the other day.
"I've always admired your bearing, Brother Mu. Since you've asked, how about this price?"
Zhou had a good impression of Mu Chen, and immediately held up his hand to indicate a number.
Some fledglings who'd just entered the Spirit Road thought they could find a bargain. They'd either pick up something they liked while pretending to be casual, or feign interest in something else and treat the item they really wanted as an add-on.
Then they'd try to haggle the price down. What a joke.
Under my fiery golden eyes, who could get away with such a trick?
Compared with them, Brother Mu Chen was refreshingly straightforward!
"Five mid-grade Spirit Beast Essences? That's so cheap! I'll take it!"
Mu Chen looked at the stall owner's five raised fingers, nodded at once, and pulled a low-grade storage pouch from his robes and tossed it over, lamenting what a bargain it was.
"Mid-grade Spirit Beast Essences? No, I meant five low-grade—"
The stall owner, Zhou, opened his mouth. He reflexively caught the storage pouch Mu Chen had tossed over, then wisely shut his mouth, his heart filled with wild joy.
I didn't want to sell it in the first place, but he was simply offering too much!
Young man, you have no idea what you've just lost.
Mu Chen saw the stall owner's delight and said nothing, smiling.
Maybe you made a killing, but I never lose.
After smiling, he tucked the Mysterious Black Paper in his robes.
"Hold it right there, kid. I've got my eye on that too."
Suddenly, a voice rang out from afar.
The crowd parted as a group swaggered through, throwing their weight around.
At the head was a burly, powerfully built youth.
His head was shaved smooth, his gaze cold, and an oppressive aura seemed to emanate from him.
At his arrival, those nearby who sensed trouble immediately stepped aside.
"Brother, I, Shi, have my eye on that thing too. Name your price."
The burly youth walked up to the stall and grinned, his tone calm.
Mu Chen naturally wasn't about to hand over the rare treasure he'd just acquired.
He brushed the dust from his knees and stood up without a word.
The newcomer didn't seem to be genuinely interested in the treasure. He had some other motive.
"Kid, our boss is talking to you. Are you deaf?"
One of the lackeys behind the burly youth couldn't stand it and immediately barked at Mu Chen.
"Hey, don't be rude."
The burly youth seemed good-natured enough. He waved a hand to stop his underling, then turned to the stall owner and asked, "Brother, would you sell me that sheet of black paper?"
"Whatever price he offers, I'll pay double."
"Brother Mu Chen and I have already completed our transaction."
"Since the black paper belongs to Brother Mu, you should ask him for it."
The stall owner, Zhou, rejected him without a moment's hesitation. Then he looked the newcomer up and down and smiled. "And are you sure you're willing to pay double?"
"Brother Mu just paid five mid-grade Spirit Beast Essences."
The burly youth had been about to flaunt his wealth, but his hand paused as he reached for his money. He couldn't believe it.
What was wrong with this guy? Who'd pay that much for a worthless sheet of paper of unknown origin?
Five mid-grade Spirit Beast Essences were worth at least twenty points. Double that would be forty.
It wasn't that he couldn't afford it. The point was, it wasn't worth it.
Besides, he hadn't actually meant to buy it. He'd just been putting on a show.
"Heh, if that's the case, I won't try to take what belongs to someone else."
The burly youth, troubled by poverty, gave an awkward smile and stiffly changed the subject. Then his tone shifted. "You're Mu Chen, right? I'm done pretending, Shi Hao. Do you dare fight me?"
Mu Chen gave a knowing smile.
He'd wondered why the man had been acting so strangely from beginning to end, so awkwardly, and with a faint hostility. So he'd come looking for him.
And Shi Hao? He wondered if the man had a nickname like "the Desolate One."
"Shi Hao? So it's him, the king-level contender who's risen to prominence recently."
"I hear he has a biological older brother, Shi Jingtian, who's also a Level 6 Spirit Body and a king-level candidate. Two kings from the same family!"
"If both brothers can make it to the end of the Spirit Road, it'll be a fine tale to tell."
"Where's the other king of the Shi family? Is he watching from the shadows?"
The crowd buzzed with discussion, revealing the Shi youth's identity.
Shi Hao heard the stream of praise and couldn't help looking pleased with himself.
The Shi brothers came from a higher-grade continent and had astonishing cultivation talent. They were hailed as the Twin Stars, and their family ruled that continent, wielding immense power.
Having been selected for the Spirit Road and chosen as king-level seeds, they naturally had every reason to be proud.
After all, Level 6 Spirit Bodies were exceedingly rare across the Spirit Road.
A born fighter, Shi Hao had heard about Mu Chen's exploits and refused to accept that someone could be better than him. So he'd deliberately left his biological brother behind, brought along a group of lackeys, and rushed to this Sanctuary, eager to test himself against Mu Chen.
"I've heard about your feats."
"A month ago, in the Qiyun Mountain Range, you defeated three Level 5 Spirit Bodies fighting together. You were suspected to be at the late Level 5 stage."
"The day before yesterday, you defeated Chu Qi, who was at the peak of Level 5. You're probably already half a step into Level 6. I hope you won't disappoint me."
Shi Hao stood with his arms crossed and recited his opponent's information point by point.
I know everything about you, while you know nothing about me.
Kid, what do you have to fight me with?
P.S. Shi Hao is the correct name. It was chosen by the big shot Tian Can Tu Dou, and it's the same name as the Desolate Heaven Emperor.
We don't know whether the two big shots, Tian Can Tu Dou and Chen Dong, have any specific collaboration in mind. We don't dare ask.
Also, does anyone know how to publish a bonus chapter? You can get twenty extra monthly votes for one. I'm so jealous.jpg.
Forgive this old geezer. I have no idea how to do it.
Before you continue