“Senior Brother Xingyun, are we really just going to let this kid walk away like that? Did Senior Brother Li Rui die for nothing?”
Though they feared Ling Xiao, the Li family disciples still couldn’t let go of Li Rui’s death.
Plus, with their numbers, they kept thinking they could overwhelm him with sheer force.
“If I, Ling Xiao, want to leave, who among you can stop me!”
Ling Xiao sneered, hoisted the Moon-Howling Wolf’s corpse onto his shoulder, and strutted right through the Li family crowd.
No one dared to make a move.
The scene of Ling Xiao killing the third-stage martial vein warrior Li Rui with one punch was still vivid in their minds.
They all knew full well—whoever acted first would die!
Passing through the crowd, Ling Xiao quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Truth be told, his true qi hadn’t fully recovered earlier. After going all out to kill Li Rui, if the Li disciples had actually ganged up on him, he’d have had no choice but to flee.
But he hadn’t expected them to be so cowardly that they didn’t even dare to try.
This worked out perfectly for him—act tough and walk away. Bloody thrilling!
“This Ling Xiao—what’s his background? With talent like that, I’m afraid he’s not far off from that genius Ling Yixue.”
“Not just that—even Ling Feifan, at the peak of the second martial vein stage, couldn’t have walked away like this!”
Li Xingyun’s face was dark as he stared coldly at Ling Xiao’s retreating figure.
“No way, Senior Brother Xingyun, are you talking about Ling Feifan, one of the Four Young Masters of Tianfeng City?”
“That’s right, it’s him!”
“No way! Ling Feifan reached the fourth martial vein stage three years ago at age twelve. He’s a true genius—how could that kid compare?”
The Four Young Masters of Tianfeng City were all martial artists who’d reached the fourth martial vein stage before turning fourteen. They were the role models for every young person in Tianfeng City.
“Exactly, Senior Brother Xingyun, you’re giving this Ling Xiao too much credit. If you weren’t injured today, he’d be dead for sure.”
“Of course!”
Though Li Xingyun praised Ling Xiao, he was even more confident in himself. If he hadn’t been injured today, Li Rui would never have died.
“By the way, don’t spread word of this when we get back. Just say Li Rui was killed by the Moon-Howling Wolf. Otherwise, we’ll all be in trouble. Li Rui’s grandfather is an elder in our clan. If he finds out his grandson was killed by a Ling family member and we didn’t help, you know what the consequences will be, right?”
Suddenly, Li Xingyun snapped coldly.
“Understood, Senior Brother Xingyun.”
After leaving the Fulong Mountain Range, Ling Xiao first headed to the market, selling off his extra materials for a total of thirty-five thousand taels of silver.
This money was necessary. Even if he asked the Ling family’s medicine hall to refine pills for him, he’d have to pay a service fee—no silver, no deal.
And the rarer the pill, the higher the fee.
But thirty-five thousand taels of silver was more than enough.
Then he went to the auction house, collecting the hundred taels of silver he’d earned from auctioning a basic martial technique, after paying a ten-tael handling fee.
He stored all his silver in the Mountain and River Map.
This was far safer than keeping it in a bank.
He’d heard there was something called a storage ring in this world, though he’d never seen one. Even if they existed, they surely couldn’t compare to his Mountain and River Map.
This time, he had no plans to sell more techniques.
With silver in hand, he could pause these risky ventures for now to avoid any slip-ups.
After leaving the auction house, Ling Xiao quickened his pace back to the Ling family, heading straight for the medicine hall.
The medicine hall, as the Ling family’s dedicated place for crafting pills and treating injuries, was always busy no matter the time.
So avoiding people he didn’t want to see was a bit tricky.
Sure enough, just as he arrived at the medicine hall, Ling Xiao spotted Ling Yu and Ling Feng heading this way too.
Ling Yu was still that charming, graceful girl, clinging to Ling Feng’s arm with such sweetness it made one a little jealous.
Ling Feng, as usual, wore a flowing white robe, looking effortlessly dashing. His aura seemed even stronger than the last time they’d met.
Standing there, he was like an unsheathed sword.
“Heh, little beggar, here to scrounge for medicine scraps again?”
Ling Xiao noticed Ling Feng and Ling Yu, and naturally, they noticed him too.
Neither side was hiding from the other.
Back when he had no money, Ling Xiao often came to the medicine hall to beg for leftover scraps, mainly for his cultivation.
He’d been mocked and ridiculed plenty for it.
“Hmph, even the Holy Ancestor of our Northern Han Kingdom started as a beggar, you shortsighted girl!”
With a cold laugh and a snort, he tossed out the retort and entered the medicine hall without lingering.
Handling his own business was the priority—bickering was pointless.
“Heh, that kid dares compare himself to the Holy Ancestor? Talk about overreaching! I heard he beat Ling Chong a few days ago and outdid Ling Fei in lightness skills. With just those little achievements, he’s already getting full of himself.”
Ling Feng said coldly.
Speaking of being full of oneself, that label fit Ling Feng far better.
Ling Xiao never underestimated anyone, not even Ling Chong, whom he’d beaten twice in a row. He always went all out.
“Hee hee, Brother Feng’s right. The Holy Ancestor was a genius—what’s he? Just a penniless beggar.”
Ling Yu giggled, not taking Ling Xiao seriously at all.
In her eyes, sure, Ling Xiao’s strength had improved, but without money or backing, he’d never amount to much.
Ling Xiao didn’t hear their chatter. After entering the medicine hall, he went straight to the counter where registrations were handled.
To break through to the third martial vein stage, he needed one Breakthrough Pill, one Heart-Protecting Pill, and one Vein-Protecting Pill each. Plus, some Qi-Gathering Pills to boost his true qi for emergencies down the line.
Buying them outright, a Breakthrough Pill cost a thousand taels of silver, and the Heart-Protecting and Vein-Protecting Pills were the same price.
Qi-Gathering Pills were a bit cheaper at five hundred taels each.
Though Ling Xiao could afford them, there was no need to waste money like that. He had the materials—providing them meant the Breakthrough, Heart-Protecting, and Vein-Protecting Pills would only cost a hundred taels each in service fees.
A Qi-Gathering Pill’s fee was even lower—just fifty taels.
“Brother Feng, I should be breaking through to the third martial vein stage soon. You’ve got to get me a Breakthrough Pill, a Heart-Protecting Pill, and a Vein-Protecting Pill, or I won’t be happy!”
At that moment, Ling Yu and Ling Feng walked in.
From what Ling Yu said, it sounded like she was preparing for a breakthrough too, which made sense. She’d been at the second martial vein stage for a while, and with Ling Feng’s pills, it’d be odd if she didn’t break through.
“Sister Yu, you know the annual competition is coming up soon. I need to hurry and break through to the fourth martial vein stage, which requires a ton of Breakthrough Pills, Heart-Protecting Pills, and Vein-Protecting Pills. You’ll have to bear with it for now.”
From the sound of it, Ling Feng wasn’t planning to spend money on Ling Yu. He was focused on reaching the fourth martial vein stage, which demanded a huge number of pills.
Though he was a mainline Ling family member, his family wasn’t as well-off as Ling Chong’s. Even Ling Chong couldn’t squander resources freely.
The Ling family’s status as one of Tianfeng City’s four great families came with strict rules. Sure, some broke them occasionally, but that was rare.
“Fine, but you can at least buy me two Qi-Gathering Pills, right?”
Ling Yu was clearly a bit miffed, pouting as she spoke.
“Alright, you win. Fine, I’ll get them. You can use the Qi-Gathering Pills to stabilise your current cultivation anyway.”
Ling Feng nodded.
