Departure

"We'll cross the border after another hundred li."

Tie Li had chosen to cross the border with the trading house's convoy. With the trading house's travel permit, they would face far less trouble at the border.

Generally, only medium-sized and large trading houses could obtain travel permits. However, when such trading houses hired outside Soul Masters, the Soul Masters had to present their employment records with the trading house.

Compared to a Soul Master's handbook, they trusted this more. It was essentially a Soul Master's credit within the trading world.

Tie Li's record bore the seal of the Snowwind Trading House, proof of his credibility.

The more seals it carried, the better a Soul Master's reputation among trading houses naturally was.

Fortunately, Snowwind Trading House was a medium-sized trading house, and the credit represented by its seal held enough weight. Combined with Tie Li's young age, it had allowed him to take on this escort mission.

The convoy had already been traveling for three days. Aside from Tie Li, a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster, there were two other Soul Masters.

Their destination was Hadrian City within the Star Luo Empire.

After reaching Hadrian City and heading farther south, they would enter Antonio Province. Gengxin City lay within Antonio Province.

However, Tie Li could no longer visit the blacksmith shop his father had mentioned on this trip to Gengxin City.

At the very least, before he understood the changes in Benoa City's situation, Tie Li had to conceal his identity.

If the people from the Great Soul Arena learned that he was still alive and had secretly come to Gengxin City, they would definitely come here to capture him.

Then they would surely suspect him of secretly possessing a Soul Bone. If they searched him, the Soul Bone in his right leg would be completely exposed.

By then, it would be like mud in his trousers—impossible to explain away.

Heavy troops guarded the border between the two nations. They would basically never encounter bandit attacks, and no bandit would be bold enough to do something so foolish.

Mason was the convoy's manager. He had been extremely cautious throughout the journey, though he relaxed somewhat once they reached the border region.

"Manager Ma, you said you'll be buying a batch of iron ore on the return trip?" Tie Li asked curiously.

"Hadrian City is close to Gengxin City, so iron ore is much cheaper there, and the quality is excellent."

At the mention of Gengxin City, a faint smile appeared on Mason's face.

"I've been to Gengxin City before. The weapons they forge changed my understanding of blacksmiths."

As he spoke, he removed the longsword at his waist. The instant he drew it from its sheath, its sharpness could be felt.

Mason was a One-Ring Soul Master. His talent was mediocre, and after spending years traveling with merchant convoys, he had virtually no time to cultivate. He had also missed the best period for cultivation.

He poured Soul Power into the longsword, and the blade became scorching hot. As he swung it, faint flashes of fire flickered through the air.

"My Martial Soul is the Fire Serpent, and my Soul Power possesses the fire attribute. This longsword was purchased from a master blacksmith in Gengxin City. Not only is its quality exceptional, but it can also condense Soul Power;

when fighting Soul Masters of the same rank, aside from my own Martial Soul and Soul Rings, it is equivalent to having an additional Tool Martial Soul."

Mason even held the longsword out before Tie Li, indicating that he should try it for himself.

Soul Masters from great powers placed more importance on cultivating and developing their own Martial Souls. In their eyes, external objects were ultimately just external objects.

But Soul Masters like Mason were different. They belonged to the lower ranks and would do everything possible to strengthen themselves.

Tie Li took the longsword and poured Soul Power into it.

"Crackle, crackle."

The blade immediately turned blue-white, with arcs of lightning coursing across its surface.

"Before I went to Gengxin City, I thought blacksmiths could only forge ordinary weapons, far inferior to Martial Souls themselves.

But once you meet a blacksmith—even an apprentice blacksmith—a simple conversation can change your fixed impression of them," Mason said.

Tie Li returned the longsword to Mason, and they continued chatting.

Most of their conversation concerned Gengxin City, deepening Tie Li's understanding of the place.

Upon reaching the border, they had to undergo an inspection.

This was when some social maneuvering was needed. Otherwise, they could be held up for days.

After crossing the Heaven Dou Empire's border and entering the Star Luo Empire, they would have to undergo another inspection. The unspoken rules were much the same.

Only then could they properly enter the Star Luo Empire's territory.

Fortunately, the profits from this shipment were high enough. Otherwise, they would have lost all their money on this trip.

After the convoy had traveled some distance, Mason finally spoke.

"The more valuable the goods, the higher the toll they demand. They size people up before naming the price."

Tie Li nodded, understanding what Mason meant.

"It's getting dark. Let's set up camp and rest here."

Being close to the border made this area much safer.

This merchant convoy was clearly an experienced one. They handled all the tedious tasks very quickly.

At night, they assigned people to keep watch and observe the surroundings at all times.

Tie Li rested in his own carriage. He had thought it would be a safe night, but uninvited guests still arrived.

"Manager Ma, this is bad! It looks like people from the Black Armor Sect!" The night watchman noticed something wrong and immediately shouted.

The Black Armor Sect?

Tie Li stepped out of the carriage and looked at Mason questioningly.

Mason felt that things had gone terribly wrong. He had not expected to encounter the Black Armor Sect.

Just as Mason was about to explain, the people from the Black Armor Sect appeared before them.

"Which trading house's convoy are you? Which city are you heading for? Our Black Armor Sect can provide escort services and make sure you have a smooth, peaceful journey."

There were seven of them in total, all with obvious Soul Power fluctuations. The burly man at the front had a long scar across his face, stretching from beneath his eye all the way to his neck.

"We're a convoy from the Feather Weave Trading House. We won't trouble the gentlemen of the Black Armor Sect," Mason said, hoping to use the Feather Weave Trading House's reputation to intimidate them. If they could avoid fighting, that would naturally be best.

"The Feather Weave Trading House? Hahaha, then we have even more reason to protect you. Or do you look down on our Black Armor Sect?"

The leading man's aura abruptly changed, and three Soul Rings appeared beneath him.

One white, two yellow!

He was actually a Soul Elder.

Seeing this, the other six men released their Soul Rings as well.

Two were Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters, while the remaining four were One-Ring Soul Masters.

Their first Soul Rings were all white Ten-Year Soul Rings, while their second Soul Rings were yellow Hundred-Year Soul Rings.

The combined presence of the seven men immediately overwhelmed everyone in the merchant convoy.

The three-ring Soul Elder placed immense pressure on Mason, but he could not simply give in. Otherwise, not only would this trip have been for nothing, they might even lose money.

Mason glanced at Tie Li and the other two Soul Masters. The three quickly understood what he meant.

Tie Li was the first to summon his Martial Soul. A flash of lightning burst forth. Since they were going to fight, they had to seize the advantage first.

Although the leading man was a Soul Elder, he did not possess a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

After Tie Li made his move, the other two Soul Masters immediately followed.

One white and one yellow Soul Ring appeared beneath each of them. Both possessed Beast Martial Souls and instantly entered Martial Soul Possession.

"Attack!"

Mason did not hesitate either, immediately calling for the convoy members to attack.