The Message That Arrived

For ten days straight,

each day passed like this: practicing swordsmanship, drawing talismans, and cultivating the Minor Breath-Concealing Technique.

Jiang Ding lived quite comfortably. He lacked no resources, made steady progress in his studies, faced no insurmountable problems, and could see his own improvement every day.

Sizzle~

With a stroke of his brush, the densely packed array diagram on the table crackled, then began to smoke. Its center turned into charred black carbon.

"A Spirit-Gathering Array truly deserves to be one of the highest-grade first-order arrays. The Great Sun Spirit-Gathering Array is even harder. Failed again..."

Jiang Ding sighed, set down his talisman brush, and slowly reviewed every detail of his previous attempt, committing them to memory.

Fortunately, the talisman brushes, talisman paper, and spirit ink were all specially made by the Immortal Sect for post-class practice. A successful attempt produced only a faint reaction, while failure would not bring serious consequences. They were cheap to make and could be recycled.

Compared to low-level cultivators beyond the realm, who had to work for nothing for days or even months just to afford a single practice attempt, the gap was at least dozens or even hundreds of times greater.

It was because of such foundational technologies that technical talents such as Immortal Sect alchemists, array masters, and artifact refiners became so abundant.

Cultivators beyond the realm had once tried to imitate them as well.

But they discovered that although such technology seemed inconspicuous and was only used by low-level cultivators, its technical complexity was extraordinarily high. Only great sects on the level of the Nine Great Immortal Sects, giving it their all and even calling upon their sect ancestors and large numbers of high-level cultivators, might have a chance of cracking it.

Yes, only a chance. That was simply how research worked.

And who would have the nerve to do such a thing?

An Immortal Sect belonged to its powerful elders and ancestors, not the other way around—making those mighty figures neglect their own cultivation to serve some minor cultivator.

Anyone who truly dared to do that would be slapped to death, even if they were the most favored disciple.

Practice talisman paper, educational-system pills, Optical Array Etching Machines, the Fledgling Eagle Takes Flight Sword Art, Spellbreaker Steel... and so on. They seemed unremarkable, found everywhere in daily life.

But which of them was not the painstaking work of Immortal Sect predecessors over countless millennia? None of them could be made simply because some genius had an idea on a whim.

They required a vast and intricate cultivation-industrial system, a constant supply of cultivation talent, and accumulated technical knowledge.

Jiang Ding suddenly looked up, gazing into the distant sky.

At the city gate,

many black-armored soldiers stood stunned while crowds of commoners scattered, not daring to block the way.

"The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce... has really suffered this time."

"Hiss~ Who could have done this? That is Long Zhengwu, the 'Heavenly Dragon Spear,' a renowned master at the peak of inner qi!"

Amid the many discussions, Long San gritted his teeth and tightly clutched his severed arm, blood constantly seeping through his fingers.

The others from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce were in much the same state: missing arms and legs, lying on the carriages with barely a breath left, wretched and miserable. More than half as many had returned as had left the city earlier.

Even Long Zhengwu, the 'Heavenly Dragon Spear,' was pale-faced and seriously injured.

"The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce will not forget this grudge!"

Long San spoke one word at a time, each filled with boundless hatred.

In this battle, more than half of their elite escort team had been killed or wounded. Most were members of the Dragon clan. Many had been his uncles, elders, nephews, people who had watched him grow up, or childhood companions of many years.

One of them was his eldest son.

Long Zhengwu, his temples faintly gray, supported himself on a black-gold iron spear and remained silent.

As they passed along the street, many people revealed gloating expressions.

The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce had grown powerful by swallowing up the interests of many others.

While it treated distinguished guests, people it sought to win over, and powerful factions with great generosity, it was far less kind to those beneath them and smaller forces. Huang Deyou's friends and people like Xiaocui understood this all too well.

Now, it felt as though everyone was pushing at a collapsing wall.

Veins bulged on Long San's forehead, and he looked ready to devour someone. The bystanders scattered in fright before he calmed down again.

"Great-uncle, this time it was my mistake. I thought we could swallow all the profits." Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes. "Once this matter is over, I will personally go to Goldfall Hall for punishment!"

"You bastard!"

Long Zhengwu snapped, "Why are you trying to absolve this old man of responsibility? My son was trapped at a bottleneck. I was the one who ordered this!"

They looked at one another, then silently lowered their heads and wept.

"Oh my, Long San, how did you get hurt?"

A somewhat shrill voice came from nearby. "I told you, didn't I? Eastspirit Mountain's waters run deep. You were not suited to walking this road, not suited to it at all, yet you refused to listen. Well? Look what happened now."

Long San and Long Zhengwu abruptly raised their heads and stared fixedly ahead.

A tall, burly, fat man in a robe embroidered with golden toads slowly rotated two iron balls the size of bull's eyes in his hands. Surrounded by groups of servants, he drawled, "Poor nephew Long Yuyue. He reached the inner qi realm at such a young age, and he might even have had hopes of reaching the innate realm in the future. Yet now he died here because of his father."

The moment this man appeared,

the street fell much quieter. One could hear a needle drop.

If the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, despite its ruthless methods, still maintained some semblance of a great merchant association's dignity and always had a plausible excuse for its actions, then this 'Spring Breeze Hand' was far less particular.

His 'spring breeze' was reserved only for friends in the martial world whom he found useful.

"Ah! And that nephew of the Dragon clan, what a pity as well..."

Ding Feng wore an expression of sorrow for all under heaven and sighed mournfully.

What surprised him was that, despite his provocation, the two men opposite him, though their eyes were bloodshot, remained calm. With a few blows, they knocked over several younger Dragon clan members who had rushed forward.

"Shopkeeper Ding was one move ahead. This time, the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce lost."

Long Zhengwu cupped his hands and said with a smile, "No matter. The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce has businesses throughout the Yue Kingdom. What we lost here can be made up elsewhere. Until we meet again."

With that, he ignored Ding Feng's taunts and led his people away.

Ding Feng's mournful expression vanished, and uncertainty flickered across his face.

Not far away, a group of black-clad constables who had arrived at some point saw that there was nothing to do and quietly departed.

Rotten Plank Street, general store.

A young man in green robes stepped out to greet them a thousand meters away, standing with a hand on his sword.

An invisible aura spread outward. Passersby automatically avoided him, leaving a large empty circle around him.

"Young Master Jiang."

Unable to suppress his emotions, Long San shed large tears. "The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce was incompetent. We failed to recognize the heights of heaven and depths of earth, overestimated our own abilities, and beg your forgiveness."

"All the Blueglow Butterflies accumulated over the past ten-odd days were lost, seized by bandits from Tiger Den."

Though he had long expected it, Jiang Ding's brow still twitched, and a trace of killing intent spread from him.

"Shopkeeper Long, this is only a minor matter. Your injuries are more important."

Jiang Ding comforted him and led everyone into the store.

In the rear courtyard, the three sat facing one another as Jiang Ding gradually learned the details of the matter.

"In the end, I was too greedy and forgot the ancestral teaching of sharing profits with others." Long San said bitterly. "Though we shared out some gold, silver, old medicinal herbs, and aged ginseng, how could those people possibly have been satisfied?"

"Everything before this was merely to lull us into complacency."

Jiang Ding frowned. "You mean the major forces within the city were involved in this?"

"Without a doubt."

Long Zhengwu, the 'Heavenly Dragon Spear,' sneered. "Though they covered their faces and altered their appearances, and none used their signature techniques, where could a small place like Eastspirit Prefecture have found three masters at the peak of inner qi, along with so many inner qi martial artists?"

"Rest assured, Young Master." Long San said in a low voice. "They went to such lengths to seize them, so they certainly will not let any harm come to the Blueglow Butterflies. The butterfly gathering in Eastspirit Mountain will not stop either."

"Someone should come to contact you soon."

"As for this matter, the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce will stop here."

He gave a cold smile.

"There is plenty of time ahead!"