A New Beginning

At the end of the long street paved with bluestone, a magnificent complex of stone buildings suddenly came into view, completely shattering the ordinary bustle of the roadside shops.

This was the headquarters of Wildgoose City's Demon Ember Guild.

The guild's outer walls were built from blocks of hard stone, exuding a steady, weighty solidity. Directly above the main gate hung a guild banner.

The banner's background was pitch-black. Embroidered in its center was a lifelike white spirit fox, graceful and nimble, its lines sharp and fierce. At the tip of its fluffy tail burned a cluster of crimson flames.

Su Lan led Lin Qing to the guild entrance. After raising a hand in indication, she walked straight inside.

The instant they crossed the wooden gates, the warm scent of alcohol and the hubbub of voices rushed over them, instantly diluting the solemn grandeur outside. The guild's main hall resembled the spacious, magnificent lobby of an upscale tavern.

The hall was broad and airy. At the front stood an exquisite solid-wood counter, while shelves behind it displayed wine jars of all sizes. Rich aromas of wine spilled from their mouths and lingered throughout the entire hall.

Dozens of tables and chairs stood neatly arranged across the hall. Their wooden frames were sturdy and secure, while the seats and backs were padded with thick, soft cotton cushions, shaped to fit the human body for a relaxed, comfortable feel.

At this moment, the hall was brimming with voices and liveliness. Dozens of martial artists dressed in fitted combat attire sat scattered about in groups of two or three around tables.

Some raised cups and drank deeply, while others conversed in low voices. The noise was lively but not chaotic, carrying the vibrant spirit of martial artists.

Just as Lin Qing followed Su Lan across the hall's threshold, a hearty shout immediately pierced through the commotion and landed squarely on them.

"Yo! Su Lan, you really pulled Brother Xie Chen into our Demon Ember Guild!"

Following the voice, Lin Qing saw a tall young man in gray combat attire sitting at a table by the window, smiling in their direction. His brows and eyes were bold, and his bearing carefree.

Hearing this, Su Lan lifted her eyelids slightly and shot him an irritated glance, her expression carrying the familiar reproach of an old acquaintance. Then, she abruptly raised her voice, her clear tone ringing through the entire bustling hall.

"Brothers and sisters, from today onward, Xie Chen has officially joined the Demon Ember Guild! From now on, we are guildmates. Let us watch out for one another!"

The martial artists in the hall turned to look over. Their gazes fell upon Lin Qing, who stood beside her with a calm aura and upright figure. Their eyes held friendliness and curiosity. Quite a few raised their hands in greeting, and the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious.

After the brief welcoming ceremony, Su Lan ignored everyone's gazes. Turning sideways, she took Lin Qing by the sleeve and led him to an empty table and chair in the corner of the hall.

"Wait here for a moment. I'll get your membership things. I'll be back soon."

After giving him that instruction, Su Lan turned and headed briskly down a corridor beside the counter.

The moment she left, the gray-clothed man who had called out earlier approached with a smile, carrying two enormous celadon wine cups.

The man sat down opposite Lin Qing, gently pushing one cup filled with clear rice wine before him. His smile was open, and his tone warm.

"Brother Xie Chen, I've long heard of your name. I'm Song Shiye, ranked twenty-second on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. We're in the same guild from now on, so let's get along well. If you go out to hunt Ferocious Beasts, just call me. I'm absolutely reliable in a team!"

Lin Qing raised his eyes and quietly examined Song Shiye before him.

Since entering the martial path, he had encountered very few young prodigies. Apart from Sun Shaoping outside the Ten-Thousand Mountains, only Ye Lingchuan had been on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Song Shiye before him was the third Hidden Dragon Ranking prodigy he had met.

Lin Qing did not immediately agree to the invitation to form a team. Instead, he took the opportunity to ask about the Ferocious Beasts outside Wildgoose City. Song Shiye patiently shared his years of experience hunting Ferocious Beasts with him.

After the two conversed for a while, Su Lan returned with crisp footsteps.

At her side was a slender young man with a cold, detached temperament. He wore black combat attire, and though his brows and features were refined, his face was expressionless. His eyes were calm and still, carrying an aloofness that warned strangers to keep away.

"Xie Chen, let me introduce you to a guildmate." Su Lan walked to the table and introduced him brightly. "This is Shen Xingci, one of our guild's experts, ranked thirty-first on the Hidden Dragon Ranking."

Lin Qing nodded slightly at this, his manner gentle and courteous, and lightly inclined his head toward Shen Xingci in greeting.

Shen Xingci's eyes shifted faintly. Without any extra expression, he also nodded slightly, counting it as a response to the greeting.

Song Shiye, standing nearby, was instantly displeased. He slapped the table and began complaining in mock grievance.

"Hey, hey, hey! Su Lan, that's too much!"

"You specially introduced Shen Xingci, but what about me? I got here before him! How could you forget me and not introduce me?"

Su Lan rolled her eyes at him again, sounding helpless yet amused.

"You, Song Shiye, spend every day drinking in this hall. Who in the entire guild doesn't know you? Do I really need to introduce you specially?"

Before Song Shiye could argue, Su Lan handed Lin Qing a neatly folded blue cloth bundle.

"This contains our Demon Ember Guild uniform. But the guild doesn't require you to wear it, so it's up to you. Still, if you wear it while hunting Ferocious Beasts outside, others will give you some face when they see it. It can save you a lot of trouble."

"Now I'll take you to get settled in your residence."

With that, Su Lan turned and led the way, taking Lin Qing through the noisy guild hall toward the rear courtyard.

As they walked, Su Lan carefully explained the guild's internal rules and benefits to Lin Qing.

"Our Demon Ember Guild has complete facilities, including a dedicated apothecary and Ferocious Beast meat shop. The Ferocious Beast carcasses you obtain while hunting outside, as well as all kinds of herbs you gather, can be sold directly to them."

"If you need them yourself, you can buy them back at the original price anytime. It's the same as the guild storing and safeguarding them for free, so you don't have to worry about supplies piling up, going to waste, or having nowhere to keep them."

"Also, when the apothecary refines pills and the meat shop processes Ferocious Beast meat, they charge only the basic cost of raw materials. It's considered an internal guild benefit."

"Besides that, the guild doesn't use any complicated internal currency system. All transactions and exchanges use silver."

As they chatted along the way, the two soon arrived before the gate of an independent courtyard.

The courtyard walls were likewise built from hard stone blocks. Tall and enclosed, they shut out the noise and clamor outside, forming a quiet little world of their own.

Su Lan stopped and turned toward Lin Qing, saying softly, "We're here."

"Following your request, I specially chose this relatively secluded area for you. No one will disturb your cultivation. Go in and get settled first. If there's anything you don't understand in the future, just go to the main hall and ask anyone. Guild members are usually there drinking and chatting whenever they have free time."

"I'm there most of the time too. Come find me anytime if you need something. The guild's two Fourth-Tier Martial Artists have gone out to hunt demon beasts and aren't at the headquarters for now. When they return, I'll introduce you to them."

After explaining everything, Su Lan turned and left. Lin Qing raised his hand to push open the wooden gate and stepped into the courtyard.

This courtyard was completely different in style from the two residences he had lived in previously. It possessed less elegance and tranquility, but more grim, steady severity.

Beyond the screen wall lay a level, open training ground. The ground was paved with pitch-black stone slabs, their surfaces covered in fine scratches of varying depths, old and new marks crisscrossing one another.

The rooms in the courtyard were likewise built from hard rock, their walls thick and solid. The towering sealed walls wrapped tightly around the entire courtyard, giving him the sense of being protected. For martial artists who needed to devote themselves to secluded cultivation, it could not have been more suitable.

Lin Qing swept his gaze over the courtyard and was quite satisfied. He slowly walked into the central bedroom, crouched down, pried up a floor tile, and gently placed the box containing Earthheart Marrow and Body-Tempering Marrow inside. Then he restored the tile seamlessly to its original place.

After settling in, Lin Qing did not rest. He turned and quickly left the courtyard, heading straight for the guild's Ferocious Beast meat shop. At the moment, only his Life-Nourishing Art was still operating within his body.

Inside the meat shop, Lin Qing bought ten jin of cooked Third-Tier Ferocious Beast Meat and found a quiet corner to eat quickly.

Such an appetite would naturally have been shocking back when he was concealing his strength, but now it was perfectly ordinary. After all, he was publicly a Third-Tier Peak martial artist.

Some Hidden Dragon Ranking prodigies began cultivating Fourth-Tier techniques while still at the Third Tier. If they also had sufficient talent and cultivated those Fourth-Tier techniques to near mastery, their energy consumption would be about the same as Lin Qing's now. Hidden Dragon Ranking prodigies like Song Shiye and Shen Xingci ate this much in their daily lives as well, so it did not stand out.

However, for Lin Qing, this could only be said to relieve the pressing crisis. He had not yet begun cultivating Fourth-Tier techniques. These ten jin of Third-Tier Ferocious Beast Meat could only get the techniques within his body running again and slowly advance his cultivation progress.

Once he began cultivating Fourth-Tier techniques, his body's demand for energy would undergo another explosive surge. If he still relied on the guild's meat shop then, he would easily draw others' attention.

Besides that, another more practical issue lay before him: time.

Eating ten jin of Ferocious Beast meat every day already consumed more than half a shichen of his time. Once he cultivated all his Fourth-Tier techniques to completion in the future, if he relied solely on Third-Tier Ferocious Beast Meat for replenishment, then judging from past experience, he would need to consume a hundred jin of it every day. At that point, eating alone would take up a great deal of his time each day.

After sorting through some of the problems his current cultivation faced, the ten jin of Ferocious Beast meat had already entered his stomach, and the long-dormant techniques began operating within his body once more.

With a thought, Lin Qing opened the panel.

[Host: Lin Qing]

Realm: Blood-Qi Realm (Breakthrough Time: 758 days)

Fused Techniques: Still-Standing Essence-Nurturing Stance, Thick-Earth Root-Bearing Stance (Expand)

Recorded Techniques: Lunar Visualization Art (1324/7000), Solar Visualization Art (932/7000), Fire-Fusing Heart Stance (0/400)

Body Control Rating: Yellow-Tier High Grade

Recorded Martial Arts: