Maple Fragrance City

"Of course, if you have the means, getting a first-rank Type Four or higher gold spirit core would work too. From Type Four to Type Nine, all the way up to the Type Nine true transmission edition. No need for a Type Nine Taixu—you can't handle that one yet. You can replace it when the chance comes later. Well, can you understand what this old woman is saying?"

Lu Li nodded. He still knew the classifications of spirit cores.

Take a first-rank Type Four gold spirit core. The "first-rank" before it represented a rank of one—plainly speaking, its grade. The "Type Four" after it meant it was Type Four, namely the fourth-generation product. "Gold" represented the lineage to which the spirit core belonged.

Spirit cores of the same rank used materials that were more or less alike, but differed greatly in construct blueprint design and manufacturing craftsmanship.

Beyond the differences in model types, there were also certain special suffixes. The suffix [True Transmission] meant it had been personally forged by a master, with finer workmanship and, naturally, a longer service life.

The suffix [Taixu], translated into plain language, meant a specially enhanced edition. Its performance could even rival some second-rank spirit cores, and its price naturally soared into the heavens.

"What rank has been developed at the highest now?"

"Among lower-stream sects, a fourth-rank spirit core is enough to serve as a sect's supreme treasure. Azure Sun Hall only possesses construct blueprints for spirit cores up to the third rank, but it does have a fourth-rank Type Three wood spirit core. That is a supreme treasure bestowed by its superior sect, the Spirit Tin Sect."

"That powerful?"

Lu Li weighed the first-rank Type One water spirit core in his hand. The one he had was obviously secondhand at a glance; most of the paint on it had long since peeled away. For all he knew, it might even have been thirdhand.

Even so, that did not stop him from yearning for high-rank spirit cores.

"Are there even higher ones?"

"There may be great experts among the upper-stream sects capable of refining fifth-rank Type Nine spirit cores, but they almost never enter the market. Don't aim too high just yet. This is not something you can lay your hands on."

Lu Li silently finished gathering up the spirit cores. Excluding those damaged in battle, he had obtained a total of nine intact first-rank Type One water spirit cores, along with a pair of damaged Mountain Ape Strength Arms.

Lu Li popped a fasting pill into his mouth, packed up the spirit cores and tied them before his chest, then slung the Mountain Ape Strength Arms over his back. This pair of junk was truly heavy put together, especially since his shoulder had been bitten by the ape and was still bleeding.

"What a pity. My boat is gone, and the ore on my boat is gone too. Now I can only walk back."

Lu Li sighed long and short. If all the ore aboard his boat were sold, it would at least be worth twelve or thirteen spirit stones.

He applied some medicine to his wound and temporarily stopped the bleeding. It was still the middle of the night. As Lu Li walked upstream along the riverbank, he saw several boats rowing against the current from behind him.

"Hm?"

Watching those scattered fishing lights draw nearer, Lu Li narrowed his eyes, his heart lurching in alarm. He suspected that band of river pirates had doubled back.

It was still night, with a thin mist hanging in the air and visibility poor. Lu Li could not make out who was coming, only hear someone shouting:

"Boss, boss, wait for me! Don't go that way! We're back, and we even got that kid's boat!"

Hearing this, Lu Li glanced at the Strength Arms on his back. Having made up his mind, he took them off, tucked them under his armpits, pretended they were his own arms, and waved at the figures in the mist.

The other side had yet to realize anything was wrong and charged excitedly toward Lu Li.

The distance between them closed bit by bit. In the end, they could clearly see each other's faces. The man took one look and met Lu Li's pale, indifferent face.

"Ah!"

Old Liu dropped onto the ground on his backside in fright. His expression changed rapidly—from terror, to shock, until only bewilderment and disbelief remained.

"How can you possibly still be alive?!"

Lu Li removed the Mountain Ape Strength Arms and casually tossed them onto the sand. He slowly walked toward Old Liu and the others without saying a word. The Monkey King's fate was self-evident.

"Sir, sir, spare us! This commoner failed to recognize Mount Tai and offended the great artificer!"

Slash!

Before the three could finish speaking, a flash of cold light swept past, and three heads thudded to the ground.

Not long ago, the mechanical ape had begged him for mercy, and Lu Li had nearly fallen for it. Now that he faced living people, he was naturally even more vigilant.

Lu Li searched the three corpses and found some silver, totaling five spirit stones. All of a sudden, he felt that smashing a mechanical ape and killing a person did not seem all that different.

Following the footprints the three had left behind, Lu Li soon found his little boat. It had been tied to the shore, and not a single piece of spirit ore aboard was missing.

Wasn't everything back now?!

Lu Li was overjoyed, hating only that his learning was too shallow for him to compose a poem to express his delight.

Counting what he had earned before, and then selling the spirit ore and spoils, Lu Li now effectively possessed more than two hundred spirit stones. There were still twenty-four days until the agreed deadline. This progress was even faster than Lu Li had originally expected.

The following evening, Maple Fragrance City.

The youth stepped down from the carriage, pulled out a string of copper coins from his pocket, and handed it to the driver before beginning to sort through his belongings.

The driver immediately dropped to his knees with a thud, trembling in fright.

"Young Master Duan, h-heh, what are you doing? You're putting this commoner through misery!"

"What's wrong with that? What's yours is yours. Besides, I ate noodles at your place several times. You weren't this reserved back then."

"It was only two or three bowls of noodles. If you'd told me earlier that you possessed such ability, how would this commoner have dared charge you?"

After returning to the ferry crossing, Lu Li rested for a while and recovered his strength.

In the latter half of the night, he dreamed again that he had become a woman. In the dream, he became Lu Ling. At the time, he was bathing; looking down, he saw no magic pill, only two white little steamed buns floating in the water.

Then Lu Li woke with a start, thankful that it had only been a dream—and dreams were always the opposite of reality.

Lu Li had wanted to leave without a sound, but who would have thought that word of what he had done the previous night had already spread from the river pirates who escaped, one passing it to ten, ten passing it to a hundred. As it happened, the noodle-stall owner was returning to the city to restock, so Lu Li caught a ride with him.

In the past, those people had looked at him with envy and greed in their eyes. From then on, they did not even dare look directly at Lu Li, terrified that he might set his sights on them.

He could stash away the spirit stones and spirit cores, but those enormous Mountain Ape Strength Arms were impossible to hide. They lay openly on the cart, gleaming in plain sight and frightening the people around him into trembling.

Some even whispered that this stretch of river was about to change hands, that from now on protection fees would have to be paid to him, and other such talk.

Maple Fragrance City was far more prosperous than Southern Sun Town. There were no fewer than twenty stamping workshops and welding shops combined within the city, pedestrians packed the streets, and Wood Crows filled the sky.

At the sight of those Wood Crows, Lu Li could not help shrinking his neck. Guilty as a thief, he feared they would discover his identity. After all, he still owed Azure Sun Hall money, and he had killed one of their disciples.

"No need to panic. Maple Fragrance City falls under White Moon Palace's jurisdiction, and these Wood Crows are controlled by White Moon Palace as well. Just be careful not to let Azure Sun Hall's disciples recognize you on the road."

"So that's how it is."