A name that shook the land

Ancient Gaze City had never been so quiet.

In the distance, everyone who had witnessed the scene, from the qi refining cultivators to the golden core experts hovering in the sky, seemed to have been seized by the throat, unable to make a sound.

A foundation establishment cultivator had slain a golden core!

Did those monstrous prodigies of legend, blessed with peerless talent and heaven-defying combat strength, truly exist? And had one just enacted such a legendary feat right before their eyes, here in Ancient Gaze City?

Many instinctively rubbed their eyes, wondering whether they were trapped in some bizarre, kaleidoscopic dream.

Everything Si Chen had done before had already battered their understanding time and again, leaving quite a few with the faintest, most absurd premonition.

Yet when the scene truly unfolded before them in bloody reality, their scalps still prickled, and they felt as though they were dreaming.

The young man in blue named Si Chen had truly done it.

"Gulp."

Someone swallowed with difficulty, the sound standing out with startling clarity in the silence.

The golden core experts who had been watching from the sky felt even more conflicted.

The head of the Li Household let out a long breath, his gaze complicated. "The younger generation is formidable... truly formidable..."

The female cultivator beside him, who enjoyed watching a spectacle, had also put away her teasing expression. She nodded solemnly. "If this boy does not meet an early end, he will surely have a place in the Eastern Region someday."

At the window of a distant pavilion, Steward Qian of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower had taken everything in. He exhaled softly, a keen light flickering in his eyes.

He had expected the boy to be extraordinary, but never to this extent.

A little regret stirred in his heart. Had he invested more before the auction, perhaps the goodwill he had cultivated would have been more firmly rooted.

They all knew that word of what had happened today would soon spread as though it had grown wings.

This young man was destined to shake the region.

Si Chen paid no attention to the gazes that seemed ready to bore straight through him.

Although the Yi Wood Eternal Spring Art had already closed his wounds, his internal organs still ached faintly. He needed somewhere quiet to regulate his breathing.

As he considered this, his gaze fell on Lü Yan's charred corpse-or, more precisely, on a Storage Ring on the man's finger that appeared to be made of exceptional material.

Once again, he recalled the advice Third Uncle Si Shuo had given him with an arm hooked around his neck before he left home. "Kid, remember this: if you win a fight out there, anything good on your opponent is your spoils! You'd be a fool not to take it. Those are the rules!"

Si Chen thought it over. If those are the rules, I might as well take it.

He crouched down and quite naturally slipped the Storage Ring off Lü Yan's charred finger, putting it away without even looking at it.

Once that was done, he raised his eyes again and surveyed Ancient Gaze City, where he had encountered plenty of "trouble" and tasted plenty of good food.

There were no clues to Yang Thunder here, his grudge with the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect was settled, and he had eaten at almost all the renowned restaurants.

It was time to leave.

No sooner had the thought occurred to him than several figures flew over from the distance, landing lightly on an open patch of ground nearby. They were the golden core experts who had watched the battle.

All wore warm smiles and restrained their auras as much as possible to show their goodwill.

"Young friend Si Chen."

The head of the Li Household spoke first, cupping his hands. "Your battle today truly opened my eyes. If you are in no hurry to leave, why not let me play host while you stay in Ancient Gaze City for a few days? Allow us to extend a little hospitality."

The female cultivator chimed in with a smile, undisguised admiration in her eyes. "Indeed, little brother. I'm terribly curious about you. How about we become friends?"

Their words were earnest, their manner exceedingly humble. Before a foundation establishment cultivator capable of slaying a golden core, putting on the airs of a senior would be foolish.

Befriending him now was an investment certain to turn a profit.

Si Chen looked at them. His body hurt, but his mind was clear, and he did not much care for this sort of socializing.

Their smiles differed from those of the people he had known in Cloud Brocade City as a child, but the calculations hidden beneath felt much the same.

Following proper etiquette, he cupped his hands toward them. "Thank you for your kindness, seniors. I appreciate it. However, I am injured and cannot trouble you. Farewell."

With that, he rose on the wind, giving them no further chance to persuade him to stay.

He took one last look at the city that had left such a deep impression on him. His blue-clad figure slowly ascended, then, after choosing a direction, became a streak of light and flew straight into the distance without the slightest lingering attachment.

The golden core cultivators remained where they were, exchanging glances. In the end, they could only smile helplessly.

Not only was the boy immensely powerful, but he was also so cautious that he hardly seemed like a twelve- or thirteen-year-old.

"With such a temperament and such strength... the pond that is Ancient Gaze City is simply too small for him," the head of the Li Household sighed.

And it was just as he had said.

The name "Si Chen," along with his staggering feat of slaying a golden core as a foundation establishment cultivator and single-handedly wiping out the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect's Ancient Gaze City outpost, spread as though it had grown wings, racing outward from Ancient Gaze City in every direction at an unprecedented speed.

For a time, countless cultivators throughout the surrounding region were thrown into an uproar. Over tea, after meals, and in every conversation, the mysterious, powerful young man in blue was certain to come up.

No one knew where he had come from or where he was going.

After leaving Ancient Gaze City, Si Chen flew a great distance. Only once its outline had vanished entirely did he find an inconspicuous cave in a remote mountain range and land.

The cave was somewhat damp, but quiet. He sat cross-legged and began examining his injuries.

An inward inspection revealed that his condition was a little worse than he had thought.

His mastery of the Yi Wood Eternal Spring Art was still too shallow. It could only repair wounds to skin and flesh; for now, it could do nothing for his internal organs.

His meridians had also suffered from drawing too heavily on the power of lightning, and tiny cracks had appeared in several places.

He sighed. The human body truly was too fragile.

He sent his spiritual sense into the Storage Ring on his finger. Aside from mountains of spirit stones, the most abundant things inside were jade bottles of every description, filled with healing pills.

Each jade bottle bore a carefully written label giving the pills' names and instructions for use.

"Chen'er, these are Nine-Turn Jade-Reverting Pills. They can heal your injuries."

"Chen'er, this bottle contains Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Milk Marrow. Don't drink it! Drip it on your wounds, and they'll heal quickly without leaving scars."

"These are Purple Mansion Spirit-Nourishing Pills, for relieving fatigue. If you feel tired or worn out, take one."

The handwriting was gentle and graceful. It belonged to his mother, Ye Fu.

Si Chen could almost see his mother fussing over him as she packed the pills away like candy, wishing she could stuff every last one into his Storage Ring.

Warmth flowed through his heart. Holding the cool jade bottle, he suddenly felt a little homesick.

He missed his mother's gentle nagging, his father's steady gaze, and even, a little, the loud, boisterous voices of Second Uncle and Third Uncle.

He picked up the bottle of Nine-Turn Jade-Reverting Pills and pulled out the stopper. A refreshing, unusual fragrance instantly filled the cave; a single whiff was enough to lift his spirits.

Then he took out a Purple Mansion Spirit-Nourishing Pill and swallowed it along with the other pill.

The pills melted in his mouth. A gentle yet immense current of warmth instantly surged through his limbs and every part of his body, swiftly replenishing his nearly depleted spiritual power and sweeping away his mental exhaustion.

"Mm, much better."

Si Chen nodded in satisfaction.

He did not know what grade these pills were considered in the outside world, or how many spirit stones they were worth. As far as he remembered, they were simply things he could take from the medicine cabinet at home whenever he wanted.

Under the effects of these "household medicines," his injuries were mostly healed in the blink of an eye.

Only then did he remember the spoils he had taken from Lü Yan. He brought out the Storage Ring and sent his spiritual sense inside.

One look left him momentarily stunned.

The space inside was far smaller than his own, and its contents were pitifully sparse.

There were a few spiritual artifacts of ordinary quality, some spirit stones that did not amount to even a fraction of those in his own ring, and an assortment of miscellaneous materials and Jade Slips.

"This man... was far too poor."

Si Chen felt disappointed. Were these the spoils Third Uncle had spoken of? They were much too paltry.

Just as he was about to withdraw his spiritual sense, something caught his attention.

It was a palm-sized scale, dark in color and somewhat irregular around the edges. Cold and hard to the touch, it had come from some unknown demonic beast.

He took the scale out and examined it carefully in his palm.

What had caught his attention was the trace of lightning aura contained within it. Although extremely faint, it was unusually pure, and felt different from the lightning-aspected energy he had encountered in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

"Interesting." Si Chen's interest stirred.

Perhaps I can ask about this scale's origins when I reach the next city?

He carefully put the scale away, deciding to treat it as a new lead.

With his injuries healed and a possible clue in hand, Si Chen quieted his mind and began cultivating with the seemingly inexhaustible spirit stones in his ring.

About an hour later, amid the clear chirping of birds outside the cave, Si Chen's aura suddenly surged, then slowly drew inward again, becoming denser and more substantial.

He opened his eyes, and a flicker of lightning seemed to flash through them.

He had reached the late stage of foundation establishment, as naturally as water flowing into a waiting channel.