Section 6: Preparations Complete, Unforeseen Powerful Enemy

"Eh? You actually recognized it at a glance." Old Red Spear was slightly surprised; Snow Sand was a rare material, seldom seen on the market. Even veteran beast tamers often mistook it for common sea salt. He was just about to ask how Chu Yun had confirmed it, but saw the latter grinning as he held out an open palm.

"Fine, you brat managed to surprise this old man. Here!" Old Red Spear laughed heartily, fished a pouch of stone coins from his bosom, and placed them in Chu Yun's hand.

As the pouch hit his palm, Chu Yun's expression shifted slightly; there were at least 50 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins inside. He could even guess that this was the payment the old man had earned through the back-breaking labor of selling salt.

A wave of emotion stirred in his heart, yet he did not refuse, tucking the pouch into his robes. He was currently short on funds, and once he rose to power in the future, he would naturally repay this drop of kindness with a gushing spring!

"Right, remember to go find Old Monkey Qiao and Old Fish King. They have some good things over there." Before leaving, Old Red Spear winked at Chu Yun, offering a mysterious reminder.

Chu Yun knew exactly what he meant and found it amusing, yet he still wore a look of feigned confusion mixed with anticipation. He wasn't intentionally trying to deceive Old Red Spear; rather, he felt a unique, nostalgic pleasure in reliving these past events.

Old Monkey Qiao and Old Fish King were comrades-in-arms with Old Red Spear. After retiring from the service, Old Red Spear had opened a sea salt field and owned a salt shop in the village. Old Monkey Qiao tended a grove of Copper Bell Coconut Trees, making a living by selling coconuts. Old Fish King had become a fisherman, struggling to make ends meet by relying on his aged beast, the Sea Spider, to cast its webs for fish.

Chu Yun had known them since he was very young. During his recent time away from Shu Family City, living in the fishing village, he had been under the care of these three elders.

The Copper Bell Coconut Trees planted in the south of the fishing village were a very common type of tree-beast on Shu Family Island. They were gentle in nature and grew up to three zhang tall. Each tree bore only three milk coconuts and fifteen copper bell fruits. Never more, never less. Among these, only the milk coconuts were marketable goods; the copper bell fruits were useless, serving only as toys for children.

Thus, although Old Monkey Qiao tended a large grove of Copper Bell Coconut Trees, he remained impoverished. Even so, he had still given Chu Yun a full waterskin of fresh coconut milk.

Next, he went to the seaside at the east end of the village, to Old Fish King's crude, dilapidated shack. Just as in his previous life, Chu Yun obtained the Pearl Tears stored in a jade bottle. This material was also extremely rare. It was harvested on sea nights when the stars and moon shone together, when the two types of beasts—the Starlight Clam and the Moonlight Clam—floated in schools on the surface of the sea, opening their shells to absorb the starlight and lunar essence, allowing the liquid essence hidden beneath their flesh to condense.

If this essence encountered cold, it would shrink into bead-like shapes, becoming round, snow-white pearls. If it encountered heat, it would dry into pearl powder. Only in weather that was neither cold nor hot could these droplets be collected.

From this, one could see how hard-won and precious a full jade bottle of Pearl Tears truly was. This material could not be bought in the fishing village, nor even in Shu Family City.

Chu Yun silently etched these kindnesses into his heart. After bidding farewell, he returned to the fishing village market and stepped into the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion once more.

"Oh my, Young Master, you've returned!" As soon as he stepped through the door, the clerk from earlier let out a shout, his face overflowing with exaggerated, fiery enthusiasm. He covered the distance in three strides, scurrying right up to Chu Yun.

Chu Yun glanced at him and smiled. "I recall that your Iron Vine Hemp Rope, Mountain Chopping Blade, and Fragrant Locust Wood Stick only cost 10 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins, correct?"

The clerk nodded incessantly. He had been fretting over Chu Yun's large potential order; after Chu Yun left, he didn't know how many times he had cursed himself in his heart. He had even slapped his own face, calling himself short-sighted for losing a big fish over a small one.

Chu Yun looked at him and chuckled.

The clerk couldn't help but swallow hard, his palms sweating with inexplicable tension.

"You also sell medicinal salves here, right?"

"6 stone coins a pack, Young Master," the clerk answered cautiously.

"And Tasteless Powder?"

"Also 6 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins a pack."

"Give me 5 packs of salve, 5 packs of Tasteless Powder, one Mountain Chopping Blade, five zhang of Iron Vine Hemp Rope, and one Fragrant Locust Wood Stick. That makes 30 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins in total, right?" Chu Yun asked with a mocking smile.

The clerk froze, meeting Chu Yun's playful gaze. He was about to say, "But that should be 70 coins," when a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and his heart began to race. A test! This was a test!

"Yes, Young Master, you are absolutely right!" The clerk, overthinking in his shrewdness, concluded that Chu Yun's anger had not yet subsided.

"Good, then pack them up for me." Chu Yun tossed over the pouch he had received from Shu Er that morning, which contained exactly 30 coins.

The clerk hesitated for a moment; he knew that selling at this price was a massive loss. But when his eyes landed on the pouch on the counter, his pupils dilated, and he exclaimed inwardly: "The craftsmanship on this pouch is so fine, and it's embroidered with the character 'Shu'. It seems this young master is a member of the Shu family! That's it! It must be!"

His heart settled, and he carefully packed up everything Chu Yun had requested. Chu Yun accepted them one by one with a calm expression, slinging the coil of Iron Vine Hemp Rope over his shoulder. He strapped the Mountain Chopping Blade to his back and held the Fragrant Locust Wood Stick in his hand, then tucked the salve and Tasteless Powder into his robes.

The clerk watched him, feeling that something was increasingly wrong, until he finally couldn't hold back and tentatively probed, "Young Master, do you need to buy anything else?"

"No need." Chu Yun remained indifferent.

In an instant, the clerk's body stiffened, his eyes nearly rolling back into his head. He felt so frustrated he could vomit blood. Just as he was about to shout, he accidentally caught a glimpse of the pouch containing the Snow Sand peeking out as Chu Yun packed his things.

"Snow Sand! Did I see that right?!" His heart jolted.

He immediately hurried to ask, "Young Master, are you selling that bag of sea salt?"

Chu Yun let out a cold laugh, gave him a deep, meaningful look, and turned to leave.

"Young Master, hey, Young Master, wait!"

Chu Yun didn't look back, and the scene from the morning played out once more. The clerk chased him to the shop entrance, but where could he find a trace of Chu Yun?

He walked back into the shop, soul-crushed, when his body suddenly trembled. Seeing the person standing before him, he gasped, "Ah, Shopkeeper, I..."

The shopkeeper of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was a man of pure fat, his small eyes flickering with cold, sharp light. He stared at the scrawny clerk, the flesh on his face quivering as he growled, "Hmph, your cleverness has been your undoing! Take ten men, catch up to that brat, and finish him off in secret. I want that bag of Snow Sand, understand?"

The clerk's face turned pale, and he stammered, "Shopkeeper, that... that's a member of the Shu family."

"The Shu family, heh! In a month, will there even be a Shu family left?" The shopkeeper lowered his voice with a sinister laugh. In an instant, his smile vanished, and he glared at the clerk, barking, "Still not moving?!"

"Yes, yes!" The clerk scrambled away in a panic. A moment later, he led ten burly men out, inquiring with passersby as they quietly followed the path Chu Yun had just taken.

Shu Family Island was a city-level island, and the Salty Salt Fishing Village was located on its eastern coast. In the center of the island lay a dense, deep forest, and within that forest was a nameless volcano. This was Chu Yun's destination.

He left the fishing village and headed west. Along the way, the scenery turned lush and green, the vegetation growing increasingly dense. It was nearing dusk, and the sun was setting. The evening glow was as brilliant as fire and silk, and flocks of birds returning to the forest flew over Chu Yun, circling gracefully in the air as if bidding a reluctant farewell to the sky.

Chu Yun looked up and could see the silhouette of the nameless volcano. Its deep, pitch-black form stood firmly in the depths of the jungle. In an instant, his eyes grew hazy, falling into memories of his past life.

To hatch a beast egg, one first had to choose the right location. In his previous life, Chu Yun had mistakenly believed his egg was a Fire Fox egg, so he naturally chose a location rich in fire energy. After hearing about this nameless volcano, he had brought the reckless courage of a newborn calf and resolutely charged into the forest.

His luck had been good; through a series of blunders, he had stumbled and dodged the predation of many beasts in the forest, eventually succeeding in hatching the Heavenly Fox Egg on the nameless volcano. However, because the egg had developed cracks and leaked too much essence, the resulting Heavenly Fox was born with a congenital deficiency. It performed on par with an ordinary Fire Fox, and it wasn't until a long time later that Chu Yun gradually discovered the truth. But by then, it was already too late to remedy it.

In his past life, Lady Shu had been vicious and cruel. She had first humiliated Chu Yun with a bag of Earth-Fiend Stone Coins to provoke him, then taken the opportunity to "righteously" discipline him. During the beating, four beast tamers had "carefully tended" to the Heavenly Fox Egg in Chu Yun's arms. They only stopped once the egg was covered in cracks.

But in this life, after his rebirth, Chu Yun had calmly accepted the bag of Earth-Fiend Stone Coins and successfully seen through Lady Shu's scheme. The Heavenly Fox Egg now lying in his arms was intact, its innate essence completely un-leaked, round and flawless.

"I am truly looking forward to this!" At the thought of hatching a perfect Heavenly Fox, Chu Yun couldn't help but clench his fists, his heart racing as a strange, brilliant light erupted in his eyes.

"The regrets of my past life, I will make up for them one by one! Not only will I hatch the Heavenly Fox, but I will also pass the three great assessments as the champion during the coming-of-age ceremony. I will make sure Father is no longer disappointed!"

The "Father" in Chu Yun's mouth referred to his foster father, Shu Tianhao. Shu Tianhao had raised him with great kindness and cherished him dearly, and Chu Yun loved and respected him deeply as well.

In fact, defeating Shu Da and Shu Er in a fair and square manner held significance far beyond that.

Winning first place in the assessment would earn him a recommendation for enrollment into the Heavenly Song Academy.

The Heavenly Song Academy was the most prestigious holy land for cultivating Spirit Demon Tamers in this entire sea region. Every year, they dispatched mentors to every island to recruit the youths who had been recommended.

In his past life, Chu Yun had yearned for the Heavenly Song Academy, but after being sabotaged by Lady Shu, he could only watch his dream shatter in despair. From then on, he was forced away, compelled to mingle among the lowest rungs of society, struggling and crawling through hardships, wasting so much of his prime time.

In this life!

He absolutely could not lose at the starting line of life.

Chu Yun clenched his fists tightly; enrolling in the Heavenly Song Academy would provide a massive boost to his grand plans.

Having been reborn and accepting this reality, Chu Yun had many thoughts in his heart and had brewed many ambitions. This was only human nature.

What he had to do now was seize every opportunity, make up for the regrets of his past life, and realize the wild ambitions of this life.

"A true man should traverse the world, battle every hero, and witness all the scenery under the heavens! I possess twenty years of memories; the trends of the world are clear in my chest. Such a golden opportunity must not be missed!" His heart surged with excitement, yet his footsteps did not falter as he gradually ventured deep into the forest.

A moment later, following the tracks, the shop assistant and ten fierce-looking burly men stood at the edge of the dense forest.

"Damn it! That brat can really run. Is he looking for death by entering the forest so late?" The shop assistant looked at the forest, which was gradually turning pitch-black, and cursed powerlessly.

"It's truly strange, what is that little rabbit running in here for?" A cold, sinister voice rang in the shop assistant's ear.

The one who spoke was a man with triangular eyes and a vicious, venomous temperament. He was tall and thin, with his long arms bare and a green leather pouch tied around his waist. He stood to the side, gazing at the forest, lost in thought.

"Who cares what he's doing! Hurry up and chase him, you bastard! It'll be troublesome if he runs deep into the forest." A bearded man with a brutal expression, carrying a ghost-headed broadsword on his back and a black leather pouch at his waist, roared loudly.

The shop assistant dared not say more, casting a fearful glance at the two men. Seeing the bearded man glare at him, he immediately offered a fawning smile. These two were Spirit Demon Tamers whose combat power far exceeded the others; if it weren't for the shopkeeper's orders, he would never have been able to command them.

"There are fresh footprints here." Soon, someone discovered Chu Yun's tracks once again.

"Move out." The shop assistant, also wanting to finish off Chu Yun as quickly as possible, took the lead and walked into the forest. Following closely behind were the silent man with triangular eyes and the cursing bearded man, with the other eight burly men bringing up the rear.

Soon, their figures gradually vanished into the forest.