Huang Yun stood before the second-floor window of the inn, his gaze sweeping through a gap along the window frame toward the old locust tree across the street.
Beneath the tree stood a candied hawthorn vendor. He had been there since morning without selling a single skewer, yet his eyes kept drifting toward the inn's entrance.
The vendor's stance was far too steady. An ordinary person would not stand motionless for four hours, much less instinctively grip his sleeve whenever someone passed by.
Huang Yun withdrew his gaze without exposing him.
Dai Weisi's men had been watching him since yesterday. They had rotated through three groups: one posing as a vendor, one as a shoe mender, and another riding back and forth at the street corner.
Their methods were not terribly crude, but to Huang Yun, who possessed Lightning Falcon Eyes, such little tricks were no different from standing directly in front of him.
He paid them no mind.
They were merely watching and had not made a move, which meant Dai Weisi was still observing and had not yet decided to offend him.
Since that was the case, he could not be bothered to waste time looking for trouble.
"This matter is settled. Time to leave."
He had stayed in Gengjin City long enough.
The air here was always filled with the smell of iron filings and charcoal fires. It had seemed novel when he first arrived, but after half a month, it only felt stifling.
Huang Yun himself disliked staying in one place for too long. Besides, he had already acquired his equipment, and both the Dragon Fang Knuckle Duster and Dragon Bone Soft Armor had proven effective. There was no reason to remain in Gengjin City.
He quickly packed his belongings, stuffing several changes of clothes and miscellaneous items into his Storage Ring. After checking that he had properly brought the knuckle duster and soft armor, he pushed open the window and leaped out.
He left through the alley behind the inn, moving so quickly that he landed without a sound.
By the time the "candied hawthorn vendor" across the street noticed something was wrong and rushed into the inn to investigate, the room was already empty.
After leaving Gengjin City, Huang Yun flew more than a hundred li south before landing at the edge of a wasteland.
He sat atop a large boulder and took a map from his Storage Ring, spreading it open.
Gengjin City lay in the north-central region of the Star Luo Empire. His destination was Vast Sea City, a coastal city on the continent's western shore, more than two thousand li away from Gengjin City.
At full speed, he could reach it in about a full day without stopping. But he was in no rush, so he planned to travel leisurely and restock in towns along the way.
Vast Sea City was one of the largest port cities on the western coast. Its people lived off the sea, and many folk tales and hunting methods concerning sea Soul Beasts circulated among them.
His goal for this trip was clear: Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber.
Whale Rubber was a gelatinous substance extracted from deep-sea whale Soul Beasts. After special processing, it could strengthen a Soul Master's physical body and the toughness of their muscles and bones.
For Huang Yun, who had already achieved the initial stage of the Indestructible Vajra Body and possessed two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones, Whale Rubber could still provide considerable benefits through tempering.
More importantly, Vast Sea City was a coastal city that worshipped Sea God Island. It fell under neither the Heaven Dou Empire nor the Star Luo Empire, and it was not within Spirit Hall's sphere of influence.
The environment there was relatively free, with fewer rules and fewer watchful eyes. He could cultivate there in peace for a while.
Huang Yun put away the map, rose into the air again, and flew westward.
His speed was astonishing!
Like a streak of lightning, he vanished in an instant!
After flying for most of the day, he passed through a small town called Bluestone Town at dusk and descended to find an inn for the night.
He continued on his journey early the next morning. At noon, he crossed a stretch of rolling hills. By afternoon, a salty, damp sea breeze began blowing toward him, the salt content in the air noticeably increasing as a dark blue line emerged on the distant horizon.
Vast Sea City was close.
Toward evening, Huang Yun saw Vast Sea City's outline from afar.
This city was unlike every other city he had seen before.
Its walls were built from grayish-white stone. They were much lower than those of Heaven Dou City, but astonishingly thick. The walls were covered in gullies carved by the sea wind, bearing witness to countless years of exposure to wind and sun.
Among the crowds entering and leaving through the city gates were many fishermen and dockworkers dressed in coarse short garments, their skin dark and their hands and feet thick and callused. There were also sea hunters wearing leather armor and carrying harpoon-like weapons at their waists.
The air was thick with a salty, fishy odor. Damp sea winds poured into the city, while shop signs along the streets bore images of fish and sea beasts. Even the roadside stone pillars were carved with wave patterns and fish-scale designs.
As Huang Yun walked along Vast Sea City's main street, his steps were much lighter than they had been in Gengjin City.
The wind here might have been salty and fishy, but it was far more pleasant than Gengjin City's rusty scent.
The open horizon, moist air, and faint sound of waves in the distance all made him feel at ease.
He found a small inn near the docks and settled in.
The innkeeper was a plump middle-aged woman. Seeing that Huang Yun was young and alone, she asked a few extra questions. But after Huang Yun directly paid for three days of lodging, she stopped prattling.
After settling down, Huang Yun did not rush to inquire about Whale Rubber. Instead, he first wandered around the city to familiarize himself with the area.
Vast Sea City's dock district was bustling. Fishing boats and merchant vessels of all sizes were moored along the shore, while dockworkers carried cargo back and forth through air mixed with the smells of fish and seawater.
At the end of the docks was an open square filled with stalls. Some sold dried seafood, some sold tools and ropes for ships, and several stalls were surrounded by crowds as their owners loudly hawked their wares.
Huang Yun moved closer to take a look.
On one stall lay several fist-sized amber-colored gelatinous objects, gleaming with a warm luster beneath the sunlight.
A wooden sign stood beside them, bearing several crookedly written words: Three-Hundred-Year Whale Rubber, fifty Gold Soul Coins per piece.
Huang Yun glanced over the pieces of Whale Rubber. His Lightning Falcon Eyes activated for an instant, allowing him to see the patterns and texture within the substance clearly.
They were indeed genuine three-hundred-year specimens, but their age was too low to be of any use to him.
What he needed was Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber. Whale Rubber of that age could not be bought from ordinary stalls.
Either he had to acquire it from sea hunters through specialized channels, or he had to go out to sea and hunt Ten-Thousand-Year whale Soul Beasts himself.
But he was in no hurry. He would settle in first.
Huang Yun made a round of the square, memorizing several sea hunter stalls that looked fairly reliable before turning back toward the inn.
He calculated that tomorrow, he would ask some experienced sea hunters for information. Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber should be in circulation within Vast Sea City; he simply needed to find the right avenue.
Night fell, and Vast Sea City's sea breeze, laden with moisture, seeped through the gaps in the window. In the distance came the steady, peaceful sound of waves striking the seawall.
Huang Yun sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes in meditation as Soul Power slowly circulated within him.
Outside the window, moonlight on the sea shattered into countless silver scales, flickering with the rise and fall of the waves.
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