For the past two weeks, Jiang Xuan has been living a fulfilling life.
Every day has been filled with practices to raise his cultivation and hone his martial skills.
He has even trained the martial techniques produced by the System to an entry-level standard, including the newly acquired movement technique.
Jiang Xuan had followed Xia Xiao Yu’s advice to compress each minor realm to its utmost limit before breaking through.
As a result, the spiritual power he needed to advance was significantly more than initially expected.
This was just piling on the woes for Jiang Xuan, who was already financially strapped.
After exhausting his savings, he only reached the peak of the Earth Martial seventh level, and he wasn’t satisfied at all.
He still had a long way to go to reach the Earth Martial ninth level.
And after that, he wanted to attempt to break through to the extreme limit of the Earth Martial realm, the Earth Martial tenth level.
That was even further away, and the spiritual power required was astronomical—Jiang Xuan estimated he needed about 2 billion high-grade spiritual stones still.
Though Jiang Xuan wanted to give up on cultivating, the moment he stopped absorbing the spiritual energy from the stones and instead started drawing from the surroundings…
Well, the strong would immediately notice him! After some thought, Jiang Xuan decided against it.
Before he had sufficient assurance in his strength, he needed to keep a low profile.
Jiang Xuan adhered to this principle:
When weak, he was meek; when strong, he’d roll up his sleeves and hit hard, taking care of the weak first before calling in the strong for a complete cleanup.
Now, he was still in the stage of hiding his talents, so he would obediently earn some spiritual stones before diving back into cultivation.
With a plan forming in his mind, Jiang Xuan’s first concern was how to successfully exit this secret passage.
Leng Wu Shuang had nearly sealed off the passageway to prevent Jiang Xuan from escaping, with a gigantic stone door blocking the exit.
In Leng Wu Shuang’s mind, Jiang Xuan’s weak frame wouldn’t be able to break open the enormous stone door, so he could only obediently wait for her return.
In reality, Jiang Xuan could easily break that stone door with his current strength.
But he chose not to.
He stood before the stone door, slowly reached out, and pressed down on a brick on the wall.
In the next instant, the massive stone door opened.
At times like this, the superiority of the System’s scanning feature was revealed.
After Jiang Xuan had System scan, it immediately pinpointed the mechanism controlling the stone door.
And before opening the door, Jiang Xuan had already disguised himself.
Not only had he changed his face, but he donned a rabbit mask and a black trench coat, completely concealing his appearance.
What’s more important, Jiang Xuan ensured that no strong presence was detected within a ten-mile radius before he pressed the switch.
As the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy—last time, he nearly got abducted by the Demon Sect due to carelessness.
He certainly wasn’t going to make the same mistake this time.
After exiting the secret passage, Jiang Xuan pressed the mechanism again, and the huge stone door slowly closed behind him.
Then, his figure appeared amid a rockery in the Imperial Palace garden.
Utilizing his Concealing Breath technique to hide his aura, supplemented by the System’s scanning feature, he skillfully dodged the strong people within the palace and left without a hitch.
Once outside the palace, Jiang Xuan thought for a moment and decided to take off his mask.
He still vividly recalled the hefty bounty poster with his masked likeness.
Indeed, walking around with a mask was just too conspicuous.
This time, he decided to go mask-free, as long as he kept an eye on the makeup’s shelf life.
After leaving the Imperial Palace, Jiang Xuan strolled down the street.
As a male, he was turning heads left and right.
Alas, the women who glanced at his face hurriedly scampered off after a quick look.
This time, his disguised appearance not only made him look ugly but also downright menacing.
Watching those women recoil and create distance from him, Jiang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.
Some of them even pointed fingers at him.
“This face is meant to scare people?”
“Get lost! Can’t you have a bit of self-awareness?”
“You scared my daughter to tears! Apologize, you brute!”
……
Hearing the uproar around him, Jiang Xuan lowered his head slightly and pulled his trench coat’s hood over his face.
Suppressed laughter bubbled up as he quickened his pace to leave.
From Jiang Xuan’s perspective, this disguise was a resounding success—he was thoroughly pleased.
Halfway through, he began contemplating how to quickly make a pile of spiritual stones.
Firstly, he was now in a bind; the nobles in the Imperial Palace already recognized his face and identity.
To avoid exposing himself, he definitely couldn’t use the same approach as before, utilizing newcomer gift packs and max-level skills to earn spiritual stones.
Secondly, that method of earning spiritual stones was still too slow.
For example, after days of hard work, earning over a million spiritual stones was only enough for a single hour of cultivation.
If pushed to go that route, his efficiency would tank.
After pondering, Jiang Xuan hit upon a swift way to earn spiritual stones.
That was to take valuable items to an auction house.
Coincidentally, the strong ones in the Cold Light Dynasty likely had far more spiritual stones than those in the Great Jiang Dynasty.
At that moment, Jiang Xuan’s mind drifted to the System space as he began looking around.
He was prepared to auction off some less useful items.
However, after searching, he discovered he had very little to offer.
It wasn’t until he arrived at the entrance of the largest auction house in Cold Light Imperial City that he made up his mind.
Yep, he decided to auction off that teleportation talisman he had drawn recently.
After all, he didn’t have a good impression of this item, and it was a one-time use.
What if he kept it for himself and System tried to throw him under the bus? He’d be out a fortune!
Since System might betray him, he might as well exchange it for spiritual stones—double whammy profit!
After all, this teleportation talisman indeed had a value of 800 points.
He could get a decent stash of spiritual stones from selling it and eliminate one hidden danger. It was an easy win.
Before entering the auction house, Jiang Xuan kept his hood pulled down low to avoid startling anyone.
After stating his intentions, he was led into a private room.
Soon, an appraiser arrived to attend to him.
“My dear guest, I hear you have a valuable treasure for auction. May I ask what item you wish to sell?”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuan slowly presented the teleportation talisman, then slightly altered his voice, responding in a commanding female tone:
“This item is called the teleportation talisman. After use, it can teleport you thousands of miles—a brilliant means for saving one’s skin. Please give it an estimate.”
“Uh…”
The grandmotherly appraiser before him jumped a little at Jiang Xuan’s words and hurriedly began evaluating the talisman.
After a moment, the old woman took a deep breath, her eyes widening in surprise as she spoke:
“The space array hidden in this talisman is extraordinarily profound! The person who crafted this must be a master of the highest caliber. To utilize spatial force so skillfully, they must be a Martial Master-level powerhouse.”
“Could it be that you, esteemed senior…”
“Stop right there! I don’t want to expose my identity; just give me a price.”
“This… this item is extremely precious, practically priceless on the market. I estimate its value to be over 10 billion high-grade spiritual stones.”
Jiang Xuan: “????????”
Hearing this, Jiang Xuan felt a pang of regret—he had used that teleportation talisman once and it was worth 10 billion high-grade spiritual stones?
Good grief! The 10 billion high-grade spiritual stones had teleported right in front of him before!
He was such a spendthrift!
As Jiang Xuan was wallowing in sorrow over losing 10 billion spiritual stones, the kindly-eyed old lady continued:
“Senior, fortunate for you, I’m the auction house’s manager, and I can offer two options.
One is for our auction house to buy the teleportation talisman for 12 billion high-grade spiritual stones straight-up.
The other is to auction it at a price of 10 billion high-grade spiritual stones, but we will take a ten percent commission from the final auction price.”
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Xuan chose the first option outright.
From Jiang Xuan’s perspective, the second option was too risky.
What if the teleportation talisman didn’t sell? He’d be in deep trouble!
And what if it did sell but for a super high price? How would the auction house pocket the difference?
With his current cultivation at the Earth Martial realm, he couldn’t handle any confrontation.
Just a moment ago, he had scanned and discovered that the elderly lady was at the peak of the Martial Emperor ninth level.
In the event of a real conflict, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Considering everything, without a doubt, the best choice was to net 12 billion high-grade spiritual stones, and that was a straight profit.
After securing the spiritual stones, the wisest move was to find a place to cultivate.
Soon, after he opted for the first plan, the old lady handed over a storage ring.
When Jiang Xuan saw it filled to the brim with spiritual stones, he left with a content smile.
Not long after Jiang Xuan exited, the kind look in the old lady’s eyes faded.
Replaced was a hint of darkness.
“Why would someone like a top-tier powerhouse choose the first option and willingly concede?
Judging by that, it seems he might not be a true senior but just a lucky ordinary person.
After all, there are only two scenarios in which I can’t sense the opponent’s cultivation: either they’re terrifyingly strong, or they’re genuinely an ordinary person without any cultivation.
Clearly, this one leans towards the latter.
Just an ordinary person wanting to walk away with over 10 billion spiritual stones? Now that’s rich!”
…….
Meanwhile, as Jiang Xuan just left the auction house, he bumped into a familiar face.
It was Nangong Xin Wan, the girl he had previously left in the cave.
Right then, Nangong Xin Wan was walking right toward him, and Jiang Xuan feigned calm as he tried to shoulder past her.
Though he had no idea how she ended up in Cold Light Imperial City.
Given their past encounter, Jiang Xuan was utterly unsure how to face her.
Seeing her suddenly appear now made him feel inexplicably guilty.
But thankfully, she didn’t recognize him.
Just as Jiang Xuan thought he’d safely get past her, a figure zoomed by.
In the next instant, Jiang Xuan discovered his black kn*fe had been snatched from his hand.
Nangong Xin Wan appeared right in front of him, playing with the stolen blade.
“Your disguise skills are getting better and better! If I didn’t remember what your kn*fe looks like, I truly wouldn’t have recognized you—don’t you agree, Brother Xuan?”
Jiang Xuan: “!!!!!!!!!!”
Jiang Xuan didn’t expect to have made such a blunder, accidentally revealing such a huge flaw.
He thought holding a weapon in this precarious place would help him stay alert and feel secure.
But instead, he inadvertently got recognized by Nangong Xin Wan.
Now, explaining this was going to be quite the task!
Before Jiang Xuan could figure out how to respond, Nangong Xin Wan added:
“Here you are, deliberately avoiding me when you saw me, but once I found you out, you still won’t admit it.
Are you trying to play it cool? Brother Xuan, you’re not thinking of pulling the same tricks on me, like last time in the secret realm, are you?
Unfortunately, Senior Heaven Piercing Martial Saint has become my master and told me the truth. You can’t use that terrifying power again, can you?”
Jiang Xuan: “!!!!!!!!!!!!”
In the end, Jiang Xuan slowly spoke:
“Um… Xin Wan, long time no see… By the way, could you give me back that kn*fe?”
“Oh? You’re finally admitting it? I’ll keep this kn*fe for you until I cool down, then I’ll give it back.
As for now, I just arrived in this royal city, so you should come along and explore with me.”
Jiang Xuan: “…….”
Without giving him a chance to refuse, Nangong Xin Wan drew closer and hooked her arm around Jiang Xuan.
At that moment, Jiang Xuan felt an utter sense of despair.
He had been ready to find a spot to continue cultivating or, at the very least, return to the secret passage to practice.
After all, Leng Wu Shuang didn’t seem likely to wrap up her trial anytime soon. He could easily reach the Martial Sky realm after burning through these 12 billion high-grade spiritual stones.
By then, with his combat strength, staying safe around Cold Light Imperial City wouldn’t be much of an issue.
But right now, that beautiful dream was shattered. He had been caught by Nangong Xin Wan, and escaping from her wouldn’t be easy.
Moreover, there was still some rebellious disciple hidden with her.
If he couldn’t handle a one-on-one, a two-on-one would be impossible.
Along the streets of the Imperial City, after accompanying Nangong Xin Wan for half a day, she suddenly spoke:
“Brother Xuan, I’ve heard that the biggest auction house here in Cold Light Imperial City has many mysterious and wonderful items being auctioned tonight—I’ll take you to check it out.
If you find anything you like, I’ll buy it for you.”
Jiang Xuan: “???????”
He had just left there, and now Nangong Xin Wan was dragging him back—what kind of operation was this?
As she finished speaking, Nangong Xin Wan pulled Jiang Xuan into a secluded alley.
“Hey hey, it’s just us here, Brother Xuan; scream all you want—no one will come to help you.”
“Uh? Xin Wan, don’t do this! I’m your…”
Just at that moment, Nangong Xin Wan, who had been pushing Jiang Xuan against the wall, suddenly turned and shot down two figures behind her.
Then, stepping forward to inspect, she said to Jiang Xuan:
“Brother Xuan, these two Martial Kings seem to be coming for you.
And those tokens on them? I recognize them; they belong to the auction house I planned to take you to.
We definitely have to go there now.”
Jiang Xuan: “!!!!!!!!”
