Azure Cloud Market

Xiao Jian froze when he heard the name Azure Cloud Sect.

What place was that?

He had never even heard of it.

For all these years, Azure Cloud Sect had long since ceased to appear at the foot of the mountain. It had even stopped accepting disciples, and its name had all but vanished for nearly a hundred years.

It would have been strange if Xiao Jian had heard of Azure Cloud Sect.

But he did not dare be careless. Anyone capable of casting the Heavenly Thunder Spell was absolutely not someone he could afford to offend.

"Rest assured, Immortal Elder. I will immediately report this to the family head." Xiao Jian lowered his posture completely, not daring to act arrogant in the slightest.

Zhang Yang nodded. "I'll be waiting for an explanation from your family head!"

He walked straight toward the huge pile of copper ore that had been mined nearby. There were probably tens of thousands of catties of it, and it seemed it had not yet been transported away. With a wave of his hand, he collected all the copper ore into his Spatial Ring.

Xiao Jian cried out instinctively, "That's our copper ore—"

Before he could finish, he stopped, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

They had toiled in the wilderness for so long and spent so much money, only for all the copper ore they had mined to vanish just like that?

Zhang Yang glanced at Xiao Jian and said blandly, "Until your Xiao Family gives a clear explanation, stop mining. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourselves! Martial Uncle, let's go!"

He shot into the air and left.

"Mining is forbidden from now on!" Ling Yunzi warned as well. After glancing at the miners, he followed Zhang Yang away.

Xiao Jian stared blankly at the two flying figures. Only after a long while did he hurriedly shout, "Stop! Make them stop! Everyone, stop right now! Old Blade, take everyone to rest. No one is allowed to resume mining until I return."

As he spoke, he gathered his things and fled. He had to send the news back as quickly as possible.

This time, the Xiao Family had probably truly provoked a major disaster.

On the other side, Ling Yunzi looked at Zhang Yang with an odd expression. "Wasn't it inappropriate for you to rob their copper ore?"

"Rob?" Zhang Yang looked at Ling Yunzi. "That was our Azure Cloud Sect's copper ore. I was merely taking it back. Martial Uncle, it's not that I want to criticize you, but there are probably more things like this happening within Azure Cloud Sect's territory. I suggest several martial uncles head out together and conduct a thorough inspection. These are all Azure Cloud Sect's assets; we can't just let others take them away. You people only know how to cultivate. You don't even know when your home has been robbed."

Ling Yunzi said nothing.

Zhang Yang shook his head repeatedly. "Martial Uncle, if this copper ore is refined and produces even a little high-grade material, it can be fed to your Flying Sword to increase its power! These are all treasures, yet you simply ignore them!"

Ling Yunzi said decisively, "When I return, I'll have them all mobilize. We truly need to inspect the area properly!"

Zhang Yang was speechless.

Over the next half day, they inspected several more villages, but they had not even finished surveying one-fifth of Azure Cloud Sect's territory.

"Martial Uncle, we need to head back," Zhang Yang said to Ling Yunzi. "The two-day deadline I agreed on with them is almost up. We need to return and deal with the matter."

Perhaps because of the copper ore, Ling Yunzi showed a little more enthusiasm. "Isn't there still half a day left?"

Zhang Yang smiled. "We need to spend the remaining half day at Qingyun Market!"

He turned and flew toward Qingyun Market.

Ling Yunzi understood. "We should indeed go to Qingyun Market to buy some things. Those eighty-odd people who just came up the mountain are ordinary people; they still need food."

Zhang Yang did not explain his real purpose for going to Qingyun Market. Of course, buying daily necessities was definitely part of it.

The origins of Azure Cloud Market dated back several centuries.

At that time, Azure Cloud Sect still accepted disciples normally.

Those who came to Azure Cloud Sect to join the sect needed somewhere to rest. And during Azure Cloud Sect's disciple assessments, all those people stopping over needed to eat, drink, and answer nature's call, which was how the present Azure Cloud Market came to be.

Even in recent years, some people still went to Azure Cloud Sect for assessments, hoping to enter the sect.

Moreover, people from the surrounding villages had been migrating toward Azure Cloud Market over the years. It became increasingly prosperous and had now grown into a small town with a permanent population of several thousand.

In the beginning, all kinds of commerce in Azure Cloud Market went unmanaged and was extremely chaotic.

More than twenty years ago, a cultivator suddenly arrived, recruited a group of people, and began managing Azure Cloud Market. Only then did Azure Cloud Market begin collecting taxes.

Of course, after that, Azure Cloud Market also became orderly.

Zhang Yang, who frequently came and went through Azure Cloud Market, naturally understood its situation well.

The only thing he could not gauge was the cultivation level of the cultivator managing Azure Cloud Market. That was also the main reason he had brought Ling Yunzi here.

Zhang Yang brought Ling Yunzi to the small hill at the center of Azure Cloud Market. Stopping before a pavilion, he said to the two guards outside, "Please inform the town mayor that Zhang Yang of Azure Cloud Sect has come to visit."

He had decided to offer courtesy before resorting to force.

Of course, he was definitely going to get the money.

Azure Cloud Market had collected taxes for so many years. There was no way it could avoid coughing some of it up—unless its manager was so formidable that Azure Cloud Sect could not afford to provoke him.

But that possibility was minuscule. If there truly were such a powerful cultivator, why would he hide in Azure Cloud Market?

The two guards did not dare delay. One of them went inside to report.

A moment later, the guard hurried back and said to Zhang Yang, "The honored guests are invited in!"

Zhang Yang nodded and said to Ling Yunzi, "Martial Uncle, let's go!"

The two entered the pavilion and met Jiang Zhiqiu, the manager of Azure Cloud Market.

Jiang Zhiqiu wore a blue robe and had a weathered face. He bowed to Zhang Yang and Ling Yunzi. "Greetings, you two. May I ask what important business brings you here?"

Zhang Yang got straight to the point. "Do you know that everything within three hundred li of Azure Cloud Peak belongs to Azure Cloud Sect?"

Jiang Zhiqiu's eyes darted rapidly. He smiled and shook his head. "I truly did not know that."

"Now you do." Zhang Yang looked at Jiang Zhiqiu seriously. "You have collected taxes at Azure Cloud Market for so many years. Azure Cloud Sect wants half!"

Leaving Jiang Zhiqiu half was already quite polite of him.

Jiang Zhiqiu's expression changed at once, and he asked angrily, "Are you trying to rob me?"

Though he was a Rogue Cultivator, he had collected taxes in Azure Cloud Market for years and lived no worse than disciples of major sects. In fact, he lived better than many sect cultivators.

Now someone had come up and demanded half his benefits. How could he possibly agree?

"Rob?" Zhang Yang sneered. "The land Azure Cloud Market occupies belongs to Azure Cloud Sect. Even Azure Cloud Market itself only came into being because of Azure Cloud Sect. For all these years, Azure Cloud Sect never collected taxes. What right does an outsider like you have to collect them? Therefore, asking you to cough up half is already more than polite. If not for the fact that you have maintained order in Azure Cloud Market all these years, it would not be half—it would be everything."

Jiang Zhiqiu sneered. "Fine, fine, fine. You really think I'm easy to bully. Want me to hand over Spirit Stones? Absolutely impossible. At worst, I'll kill you two and leave Azure Cloud Market today!"

Spiritual energy surged around him as he prepared to strike.

But he immediately stopped.

Before his forehead, a Flying Sword gleamed with cold light, its tip aimed directly at his brow!