The two old men stared blankly at Yang Zhen's departing figure for a long time.
Elder Gu shook his head and clicked his tongue in amazement. "This kid is the most shameless and unconventional person I've ever met."
"It's such a pity that he was born with such great talent."
"What's a pity?" The Old Gu glared. "Becoming the Pirate King isn't that easy. He hasn't seen the vastness of the East Sea or how powerful Qishan Grotto-Heaven. Once he got to Donglin Island, he still obediently went to participate in the selection."
Old Man Chi chuckled strangely, stroked his beard, and said, "I really want to see what kind of expression this kid will have. Old Gu, you can't go easy on him; this is a matter of principle!"
Old Gu glanced at Old Man Chi: "You eat that tree first!"
Old Man Chi paused, then stared wide-eyed and said, "Half for each of us?"
Old Gu was stunned for a moment. "How about we just forget about it?"
"Good!"
The two disheveled old men, acting as if they had done something wrong, vanished from their spot in a flash.
A conversation between two people could be heard in mid-air.
"I heard that the Grand Preceptor of the Great Jiang Kingdom was so angry he vomited blood. He's really getting worse with age; after all these years, he still Niannian that girl from the Hua Household."
"We'll know once we see him. I wonder if we can find a few decent people this time in Raging Fire City. The Youzhou Continent is getting worse and worse; it hasn't produced a single outstanding young talent in all these years."
"That Hua Youyue from the Hua Household seems quite promising; she's a potential prospect this time."
"Her?" Old Man Chi scoffed. "She's no good. She hasn't even opened her Spirit Sea Spirit Sea yet. If she had, maybe she could have a chance."
The Hua Household has fallen on hard times!
In the guest room of the Hua Household mansion, Xiao Ji slammed an antique porcelain cup to the ground, his expression turning cold and sinister. He then sighed and waved his hand, saying, "All of you, step back. Let's just leave it at that. Yang Zhen may seem eccentric, but he's actually incredibly clever. I underestimated him."
The pale-faced White-Faced Scholar turned ashen upon hearing this, and respectfully withdrew, though his gait was somewhat strange.
"You're injured?" Xiao Ji frowned.
The White-Faced Scholar stumbled, gritting his teeth as he said, "No."
Xiao Ji stared at the White-Faced Scholar's backside for a moment, then nodded and said, "Go down!"
A moment later, Xiao Ji went to the bedside of another guest room and respectfully said to the Grand Preceptor of the Great Jiang Kingdom who was lying on the bed, "Master, this disciple is preparing for Star Shattering!"
The Grand Preceptor of the Great Jiang Kingdom glanced at Xiao Ji with surprise, pondered for a moment, and said, "In your current state, the success rate of Star Shattering is less than 60%!"
Xiao Ji smiled and said, "Sixty percent is enough!"
Star Shattering is an extremely insidious method in Xiao Ji's Cultivation Method. It is almost like destroying and rebuilding, forcibly breaking all the mechanisms of the body and re-condensing them through Star Attraction. If it fails, one will become a cripple at best, and die at worst, with even the bones turning into dust. If it succeeds, Xiao Ji's strength can almost double.
"Why?" The Grand Preceptor of the Great Jiang Kingdom gave Xiao Ji a deep look and said in a deep voice, "I don't want Yang Zhen to become your Heart Demon. If Star Shattering is related to Yang Zhen, then so be it."
Xiao Ji smiled and said, "It's related, and it's not. Does Master know why Yang Zhen dared to come to the Hua Household alone?"
The Grand Preceptor of the Great Jiang Kingdom was taken aback and asked, "Why?"
"He set up a six-star array plate in the valley east of the city, and also hid dozens of smaller array plates that had been made in advance. The energy contained within those array plates was extremely volatile; once detonated, the entire valley would be destroyed. Even so, the chances of him leaving the Hua Household alive were less than 30%, yet he still came."
The Grand Preceptor of the Great Jiang Kingdom frowned, then chuckled wryly, "This kid is actually so ruthless, he doesn't even spare himself?"
Xiao Ji nodded and said, "This disciple believes that if I were to truly face him, I might not be his match."
The Grand Preceptor of the Great Jiang Kingdom closed his eyes and gradually fell asleep.
"Go and prepare. Two Elders Gu and Chi will be arriving in Raging Fire City in the next couple of days. Please pay them my respects."
Xiao Ji's expression brightened. "It's actually the Two Elders Gu and Chi, who are known as the ' Twin Venerables '! This disciple will certainly not fail in my mission."
"If you can win over the two elders, you might reap unexpected rewards."
Xiao Ji couldn't help but respectfully leave the room.
Yang Zhen didn't throw away the two tokens, not because he was bold, but because he found it troublesome. He simply tossed them into his storage ring and forgot about them soon after.
Over the next ten days or so, Yang Zhen traveled at a leisurely pace, rarely using his sword. He ate wherever he went, and in those ten days, he consumed almost all the edible rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures in his storage ring.
Although it might seem a bit wasteful, like a cow chewing on a peony, Yang Zhen enjoyed it immensely. Such contentment is priceless. When Yang Zhen finally realized what was happening, her heart skipped a beat.
In just over ten days, the Golden Core in his Dantian not only became completely stable, but also grew larger and larger. Even if other people's Golden Core were cultivated to the ninth level of the Golden Core Realm, they were only the size of a walnut, but his was a bit too big, as big as a fist.
"This is probably the fattest Golden Core in the world!"
Yang Zhen was somewhat worried. What if this guy, when he breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, produces a little chubby baby?
The thought of a chubby, ball-shaped Nascent Soul inside her belly made Yang Zhen feel a sense of unease.
However, even saplings have sprouted in his head, so let the Nascent Soul be a little chubby.
Early that morning, Yang Zhen sold some unwanted items in a place called Xiushan City, exchanged them for some useful supplies and crystals, and then went to the Xiushan City Trading Company to inquire about flying ships to the East Sea coast.
A short waiter greeted Yang Zhen.
"This young master has come to the right person. There are countless merchant ships heading to the coast of the East Sea, but only a handful are truly powerful and actively recruiting guards. I happen to know one."
Yang Zhen was taken aback and asked, "Who told you I was going to be a bodyguard?"
Upon hearing this, the young shopkeeper was immediately dumbfounded. "If you're not going to be a guard, then why are you asking about the flying ship to the East Sea?"
"Of course, we're going sightseeing!" Yang Zhen said matter-of-factly. "Let me ask you, is there a powerful flying boat that doesn't need to beckon for guards and is willing to carry passengers?"
"This..." The young waiter thought blankly for a moment, then clapped his hands. "There really is!"
Oh my!
Yang Zhen immediately burst into laughter.
If we had such flying boats, that would be wonderful.
Those caravans that lack strength but want to make a fortune will not go. If they encounter bandits and are not strong enough, they can still kill them and show off. These are some established routines that appear in almost every novel and biography and are passed down by people with great interest.
But what if he encounters a group of powerful robbers and ends up getting raped instead of showing off? That would be a disaster. Yang Zhen wouldn't do something so unreliable.
Strong teams are still the most reliable; you can eat, drink, have fun, and enjoy the scenery along the way—that's life!
"But..." the young shop assistant said somewhat awkwardly, "The leader of this caravan is a bit strange."
"What's so strange about it?" Yang Zhen was taken aback.
"The leader of the caravan loves to make friends with geniuses from all walks of life. As long as you gain her approval, you can not only travel to your destination with the caravan for free, but also meet talented people from all over the world on the ship. In Xiushan City, being able to ride on the leader's flying merchant ship is a very prestigious thing."
Yang Zhen became interested and said, "This is interesting. How can we gain the approval of the leader?"
"Young master, you only need to answer three questions!"
Yang Zhen was taken aback, then said with great interest, "Come, come, take me there quickly."