"By the way, is that fellow who calls himself the Pill King really here? No matter how I look at it, I can't imagine a high-tier alchemist living in a godforsaken place where even birds wouldn't shit."
Feng Qing'er suddenly remembered Qin Yun telling Thunder Venerable that there seemed to be a place called the Misty Cloud Sect nearby, with an alchemist who called himself the Pill King.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don't tell me you were eavesdropping outside while I was talking to Teacher. That's not very polite, you know." Qin Yun rolled his eyes at her.
"Oh, don't fuss over it. Hearing a little extra won't carve a piece of flesh off you,
so what tier is that fellow? An eighth-tier alchemist or a Ninth-Tier Alchemist?" Feng Qing'er's cheeks reddened slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.
"Not as high as you're imagining. Around the sixth tier."
"Seriously? That lousy? With strength like that, he actually has the nerve to call himself the Pill King?"
When Feng Qing'er heard that he was merely a Sixth-Tier Alchemist, she couldn't help scoffing. She had thought he really was a king among alchemists.
"Enough chatter. Looks like we're here. That little town up ahead should be Wutan City."
Qin Yun couldn't be bothered to answer such elementary questions from her and instead looked toward the city drawing ever closer ahead.
However, the guards on the city walls had also spotted the three of them,
especially the two people in front who might be Dou Wang experts, followed by an even stronger expert who could walk through the air.
They were instantly so frightened they barely dared breathe, and immediately adopted the most humble attitude they could.
After all, guards like them were only around the Dou Zhe level. Although they had seen some Dou Wang experts before,
even the least distinguished of those experts were important ministers or princes of the Jia Ma Empire, let alone someone who could fly through the air.
"Hey, is this Wutan City?" Feng Qing'er was the first to stop in midair and speak, though her tone was rather brusque.
"Reporting to you, miss, this is indeed Wutan City, the Wutan City of the Jia Ma Empire."
A man who looked like a squad captain answered first,
taking no offense whatsoever at Feng Qing'er's discourteous question.
Compared with some of the other important figures they had met, she was already fairly easy to deal with.
"All right, disperse. We're from the Central Plains, and we have some business to attend to here."
Feng Qing'er waved impatiently, signaling for them to stop spoiling her mood by lingering in front of her.
In her eyes, only humans like Qin Yun, who could overpower her at the same cultivation level, deserved her recognition. Everyone else was merely trash.
"Yes, yes, we'll disperse right away. We won't disturb you, my lords and lady." The squad captain wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and signaled for his men to return to their duties.
"No need to be so nervous. We're not unreasonable people. We just want to stay here for a while, and we won't do anything dangerous during our visit."
Qin Yun spoke much more courteously, even tossing the squad captain a pouch of gold coins to share with his men.
"Thank you for your understanding, my lord." Their impression of Qin Yun clearly improved considerably. After all, almost no powerful expert would treat ants like them so politely.
After exchanging greetings, the group landed and entered the city. However, Qin Yun also asked the other two to adjust their appearances a little and avoid drawing too much attention.
After briefly tidying themselves up, Qin Yun and Fei Tian changed into rather luxurious clothes and restrained some of the wild Dou Qi within their bodies, looking much like ordinary people.
As for Feng Qing'er, she was genuinely rather unhappy now.
"Why should I hide some of my magical beast features
to look more like a weak human? These are symbols of my noble heritage as a member of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan."
Qin Yun had specifically asked Feng Qing'er to disguise herself a little. Although she was beautiful,
other people could tell at a glance that she wasn't a pure-blooded human.
The guards earlier had looked as though they wanted to say something, clearly hoping to ask about it, but ultimately they had kept their mouths shut.
"Don't forget what you promised me before we came. You agreed to follow my instructions without any objections."
On certain matters, Qin Yun refused to indulge her at all, directly bringing up the promise she had made before coming.
Over the past year, he had more or less figured out Feng Qing'er's temperament. She truly lived up to the name Stubborn Sis: she responded to force, not gentleness. To make her obedient, he had to beat her into submission first.
"Hmph, fine, fine. Since you're the one asking, I'll give you some face." Feng Qing'er finally agreed and made a few minor changes to disguise herself.
After entering Wutan City, Qin Yun asked around about the Xiao Clan's location, and plenty of helpful people offered directions.
He also picked up some information. Xiao Yan, the Xiao Clan's third young master, had been a useless failure for three years.
He was currently at his lowest ebb, and many people believed he was completely finished. The Jia Lie Family in particular often mocked Xiao Yan in public.
There was also news coming from the Xiao Clan that Xiao Yan's fiancée, Nalan Yanran, would soon be paying a visit to discuss certain matters with them.
As for exactly what they would be discussing, even the Xiao Clan's own members had differing opinions.
"You went to all this trouble and traveled so far just for a little Xiao Clan?" Feng Qing'er rather clumsily poured herself a cup of tea and took a delicate sip.
The three of them were currently drinking tea and chatting in a teahouse in the Xiao Family Market, while gathering a little useful information along the way.
When Qin Yun didn't answer immediately, Feng Qing'er couldn't resist adding a few more remarks.
"If my senses aren't mistaken, the strongest person in this tiny Wutan City is only a Da Dou Shi.
Don't tell me you came here simply because you didn't want to spar with me and grabbed the flimsiest excuse you could find."
"The strongest is only a Da Dou Shi? Not necessarily. Uncle Fei, what do you think?" Qin Yun didn't answer Feng Qing'er's question directly, instead turning to ask Fei Tian.
"There's something strange about this place. Near the Xiao Clan in particular, I sensed a hidden expert at roughly the Dou Emperor level.
Although that wouldn't count for much in the Central Plains, the main issue is that the gap here is simply too enormous.
Apart from that Dou Huang expert, not a single person here has even reached Dou Ling,
so I suspect that Dou Huang expert might be here to protect someone special." Fei Tian frowned.
He had to admit that, without such a large gap in their cultivation levels, he might not have detected the hidden Dou Emperor at all. The cultivation method that expert primarily practiced was stranger than he had imagined.
"In that case, could someone from a major clan be here? Just like us coming here."
Feng Qing'er seemed to understand a little. She tapped her fingers lightly against the table while weighing a few things in her mind.
But she soon scoffed. "Hmph, why are you thinking so much about it? Just like you said before, background and race are themselves part of one's strength.
If you'd consider being my mount for a month,
I might just call Auntie over to help you wipe all of Wutan City flat. Who cares about some fellow pretending to be a pig to devour a tiger?"
The first part of Feng Qing'er's remarks had been fairly normal, but the latter half directly exposed what she was thinking now.
Yet as Feng Qing'er confidently waited for him to come fawn over her, she found Qin Yun looking at her like she was an idiot and letting out a sigh.
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