A chef gets too damn good.


•all recipes are my own unless i state otherwise •

Top Warlord players did not hesitate to do whatever it took to bring out at least a little more of their potential. Their methods of doing so were called Doping Recipes.
Doping Recipes of Rankers even sold for money, and in-game doping potion recipes and materials sold for a rather high price. This was one reason why raids took an enormous sum of money.
An Jaehyun, of course, had his own Doping Recipe. However, he could never sell it for money.
Cling… Cling…
In front of An Jaehyun was a large cup the size of a glass of beer than a coffee mug. 2/3 of the glass was filled with coffee, while An Jaehyun dropped several mysterious white objects into it. These white objects weren't sugar cubes, but the glucose candy he often ate.
He continued to pour in glucose candy, so much so that he wasn't putting candy in his coffee, but his coffee soaked in candy. An Jaehyun did not stop until the coffee was on the brink of overflowing. Then, he lightly sipped his coffee. Tasting the mixture of cheap sweetness and cheap bitterness, An Jaehyun frowned.
The reason others didn't try An Jaehyun's Doping Recipe was obvious. Although caffeine and sugar were both great for energizing the brain, it was too barbaric.
'Ugh, too bitter.'
An Jaehyun himself knew how barbaric his method was. But as he had no money to work with, this was the best method, and its effect was clear. With just a sip, he woke up from his previously sleepy state and his mind became clear.
'Alright, let's see what new things happened while I was asleep.'
Now completely awake, An Jaehyun turned on his tablet PC and began to look through Warlord-related news.
[Hydra Guild, First to Discover Level 100 Monster. Preparing their Hunt.]
The first news to catch his attention was news about the Hydra Guild.
With the help of coffee and glucose candy, An Jaehyun quickly worked his brain.
'The first level 100 monster… Black Metal Warrior was it? Didn't they fail five or six times before they succeeded?'
An Jaehyun knew the future, but he didn't know everything. He only knew the general flow of it. The details, he would have to fill in by reading various news articles.
'I wish they'd fail more while they're at it.'
To Hyrkan, the entire Top 30 Guilds was his enemy. Getting revenge aside, to become the best in Warlord, he had to go beyond the Top 30 Guilds.
'The Black Metal Warrior is related to the Corrupt Count main scenario quest, so the Corrupt Count quest line should begin after this. Tsk. I need to get on this quest line to obtain the titles I need, but with my level… ugh, not a chance. If only I came back just 10 months earlier… I'd be the one killing that Black Metal Warrior. What a shame. Then I'd be getting the title for myself too…'
"Tsk."
In any case, An Jaehyun enjoyed reading these news articles and reaffirming the details of the future he knew.
"Well, no choice I guess. Looks like I'll have to make it up in The Immoral Prince, the next main scenario."
An Jaehyun felt as if he had become almighty being.
'The Immoral Prince… back then, I could only stay in the side lines and suck on my fingers. But now is different. Come to think of it, the Ares Guild that led The Immoral Prince main quest earned quite the money from it.'
An Jaehyun let out a light grin.
'Yep. Be it the Hydra Guild or the Ares Guild, doesn't matter! I'll be the last one to laugh, hahaha!'
But this light grin…
[Stormhunter Queen defeats Head Hunter!]
Became twisted as he read the next article.
"Fuck this."
Stormhunter Queen Choi Sulyeon.
An Jaehyun got a headache just reading her name on the paper. With her, he had an irreconcilable relationship.
"Tsk!"
He even clicked his tongue.
Of course, An Jaehyun didn't want to continue seeing this name, but he couldn't just avoid the name altogether.
'If anything, I'll do it for you, Choi Sulyeon.'
Turning off his tablet PC, An Jaehyun drank his coffee bottoms up as if it was a glass of beer. He threw the remaining candy in the cup in his mouth.
Then,
Crunch!
He bit down with all the anger he could muster.
★★★
Standing in front of a cave, Hyrkan turned on the flashlight app on his watch.
Pat!
A fist-sized sphere of light appeared from his watch. He grabbed a hold of the light sphere, and equipped it to the skull of the Skeleton Warrior next to him, making it look like he was wearing a miner's hat. Then, he smacked the Skeleton Warrior's head and yelled.
"Go forth!"
The Skeleton Warrior lightly touched the place he was hit, then walked into the cave.
As he watched the Skeleton Warrior go in, Hyrkan had a solemn expression.
'I'll finish this in one go.'
The Rising Star title wasn't something that could be so easily obtained. Most players would fail even if they were given the chance.
The reason?
One had to clear what would normally be at least a level 20 quest at level 15. The quest difficulty was just too high. But that's why it was called the Rising Star title. It was for someone who could do at level 15 what others could at level 20. Only someone of such caliber would be worthy of being called a Rising Star.
Plus, a 3-man party was the standard in Warlord. Quest difficulties were set with 3-man party being the standard. In other words, Hyrkan had to do alone what a 3-man party would find hard to do.
It was in no way easy.
'If I can't do this at level 15, it just means it's too difficult for me to do.'
That's why he got to level 15. Though everything would come to waste if he leveled up during the quest, it was a risk he had to take. As he didn't have the capital to plaster himself with unique-rank items, this was the best he could do.
Hyrkan pulled his sword out in advance, and lowered his stance. Concentrating on everything around himself and his Skeleton Warrior, he followed behind it. His concentration was now sharper than ever.
'Throw whatever you want at me.'
The smile beneath his hahoe mask was as frightening as a serial killer's. It demonstrated his confidence to catch whatever that's thrown at him.
But after just 10 minutes, his smile shattered.
With a snap of his finger, he yelled.
"End Camera!"
Then, irritated, he scratched his head.
"Garrggh!"
'Why isn't there a single monster?'
For 10 minutes, Hyrkan remained tense, as if he was walking on a mine field. But nothing came out to greet Hyrkan. There wasn't even a single split path, which was common in a cave like this. He had been walking through the same, long path continuously.
'My whole body's itching.'
These 10 minutes have been mentally taxing. Hyrkan wasn't just walking; he was walking while maintaining peak concentration and tension. Furthermore, the limited vision from the darkness, the one way path, the unchanging scenery, and the enclosed space all caused more stress. It was like staring at a clock on the wall in a white room.
Hyrkan hopped in spot and slashed in sword in thin air. It wasn't to warm-up his body, but rather his mind. Only after did the knot in his mind unravel. Hyrkan then reassessed his situation.
'Looks like there's something huge ahead.'
Hunting grounds had their own styles as well.
Even at the same difficulty, some were difficult because of the sheer amount of monsters, while some were difficult because there monsters were more-powerful in place of being fewer in number.
Anyone could tell that it was currently the latter.
'It's not so bad…'
Hyrkan thought it was better to fight against a few than multiple. This also lowered the chance of leveling up.
'But it's not necessarily good either…'
Even so, it was hard to find comfort in this situation. In the end, he would have to face a strong monster.
After organizing his thoughts, Hyrkan held his watch to his mouth.
"Start Camera."
He began walking.
★★★
The Skeleton Warrior suddenly stopped on his feet.
"Hm? Walk! Go forward! Why'd you stop?"
Even with Hyrkan's yelling, the Skeleton Warrior remained still in the darkness, turning around and staring at Hyrkan blankly.
What's this, a protest? The thought only glanced by before it quickly disappeared.
Hyrkan rejoiced.
'Could it be?'
He walked past the Skeleton Warrior, then stared at the empty space. He couldn't see a thing. Complete darkness blocked his sight, and not even the light on the Skeleton Warrior's head could shine light through it. Rather than darkness, it was as if there was a barrier made of darkness blocking their path.
Hyrkan reached his hands out into this darkness.
[Would you like to enter the stage?]
Immediately, he heard an alert.
'As I thought, an instance dungeon.'
The darkness came from an instance dungeon.
In Warlord, instance dungeons weren't too important. In fact, instance dungeons were often tied to quest. Once the quest was cleared, the instance dungeon would often disappear. This was why instance dungeons weren't too important. They couldn't be recycled.
"Hm."
Instance dungeons had their pros and cons.
The pro was that they were isolated from the outside. This prevented others from interfering and messing with whoever was inside. This was why guilds welcomed instance dungeons. They could do everything according to their plan. Furthermore, as instance dungeons required success on the first try, it served as a good symbol of achievement.
But it was not without flaws.
'I can't run…'
Though players were free to enter, they weren't free to leave.
If it was a field, Hyrkan could simply run if he went up against something he could not handle. It wouldn't be wrong to say that an all-strength necromancer like him was built to escape. If it came down to it, he could use his Skeleton Warrior as bait and run. But this didn't work in instance dungeons. He couldn't leave before killing the monsters inside. He couldn't expect any outside help either.
It was a true deathmatch.
Because of this, Hyrkan let out a short groan.
He didn't know what was inside. He couldn't escape either. He had no reinforcements. It was kill or be killed. With this in mind, the darkness in front of him was truly full of unfavorable conditions.
Danger.
Most players would choose to back out here. It was the logical thing to do.
'It's indeed dangerous.'
Hyrkan didn't deny this fact either. The risk was greater than he had expected.
'But there's more to obtain as well.'
The merit was bigger as well. Hyrkan organized the things he could obtain in his head.
'Kill the monsters inside the instance dungeon alone, then acquire the Rising Star title… now, quest-related instance dungeons have a high chance to giving a related title. Since there won't be any outside interference, I just have to deal with whatever's inside. I don't need to worry about other monsters either. It's not like I lost any strength on my way here, and I'm still in my top condition.'
He had a lot to lose.
However, more so than ever before, he was sure of his current intuition.
'If I can film this well, it'll pull in a good amount of views.'
His intuition told him that this battle video would turn out great. It wouldn't be wrong to say he had full assurance.
'The baits are in place. I'll at least get ten thousand within two weeks.'
The Rising Star title and solo-clearing an instance dungeon had great synergy as bait. Furthermore, anyone could tell it was something not everyone could do.
'I mean, what crazy bastard would do something like this?'
Something not everyone could do. To earn money in Warlord, this was what one had to do.
Far more people watched Warlord-related videos than did people play the game. What the viewers wanted to see was someone accomplishing something that was seemingly impossible. No one wanted to watch something that anyone could do.
To earn money, one had to capture these viewers. The money one could earn in-game through hunting and item crafting was incomparable to the money one could earn from pay-to-watch videos. It was why guilds and Rankers challenged unfathomably strong monsters.
Danger represented a chance to earn viewers!
'Once Skeleton Fragment cooldown ends, I'll go in.'
Hyrkan made his decision.

Year 2035. The Virtual reality game, Warlord, changed the world. An Jaehyun was one of the many who wished to change his life through the game. After dedicating his life to the game, he was met with a betrayal. A betrayal by his comrades. As a result, he lost everything. But a chance was given to him. A chance to redo everything again! "I won't play with others again. Whatever the outcome, I'll show that I can do it alone." Others rolled a dice to split the spoils of victory. An Jaehyun ate it all by himself. It was the start of An Jaehyun's solo game life.

11th July 1574
"Sir, to pay so much money for something that most likely grows everywhere in those lands… Is this really wise?"
While I could understand the hesitation of this simple sailor, it was already the second time where he put his employer and lord decision into doubt! While it irked me quite a lot, especially with how he was rather a new worker for my businesses rather than being one of the core workers that stuck with me ever since my humble beginnings.
"Trust me, I have my reasons for doing so. While paying so much for those products is indeed quite unreasonable, as long as I will find a way to turn them into something even better, I could easily make this money back with a huge profit. Also, I don't think we will manage to depart today. Go and arrange for some men to bring the wares back to our ship."
As we were already reaching the city docks, there was no point for him accompanying me anymore. Since I never carried too much gold on me, most of my disposable treasury was hidden on the ship, hence the attention and dedication of the sailors to protect it from any kind of thievery or uninvited guests. 
The moment I boarded the ship, I could sense the look of the captain on my back. With how I departed from the ship the moment I saw him smoking the pipe, I really wished I could see what kind of face he made when he realised that my sudden action resulted in nothing else but me smoking my own pipe on my way back!
And at this point, while I was insanely happy that I could finally rejoice in the nicotine rush that calmed my thinking and slowly started routing itself in my body as addiction, I had to pour the still-hot leaves from my pipe back to the waters of the river. After all, I wouldn't like to introduce my pregnant wife to this toxic smoke!
"What happened, dear? You were out for quite a long time."
Despite how she protested against sitting down and resting back when I did my very best to convince that it would be for the best for both her and our child when I came back, she was obediently laying down on our bed!
"I happened to meet a merchant with… quite exotic wares. Give me a few moments, I will try to obtain a few more products and I might be able to prepare something good for you!"
Showing up on the boat mostly for the sake of calming down Elia and procuring my money, I took half of the guards with me and rushed back to the place where the important merchant was staying. Meeting with the thugs hired by the sailor on the way, it took only an additional hour for all of the bags with the products that I exchanged for a hefty sack with golden coins to find their way to the ship.
Yet rather than boarding it as well and leaving this damned city before the night, I couldn't allow myself to waste this opportunity. With the recipe for the dark cacao water stolen from the Aztecs, all the rough cacao powder that I received was already properly dried out, allowing me to turn it into the first bar of milk chocolate without any real problem.
While the quality of my product was bound to be inferior, I never intended to feed it to my beloved wife in the first place!
Leaving all the men carrying to goods to the ship, I hastened my steps towards the still open, food market. While the current time of the year still lacked most of the granary products that would appear only when the first harvests would be done, it didn't mean that there was any lack of dairy products!
After obtaining a small jar with clear butter, thick and thin milk and some a small bottle of a thick, fruity syrup. With those products in hand, I barged into the first Tavern that I could find, instantly depriving myself out of a single gold coin for the right to use their kitchen for a while.
Thinking about this, I couldn't help but laugh when imagining what kind of thoughts was going through their heads when a noble like me demanded them to rent him a simple kitchen used to prepare cheap food for masses!
Yet rather than plaguing my head with this thought, I used one of the knives to turn the crude cacao powder into something of a finer and smaller structure, before randomly mixing the ingredients only to obtain something that not only looked too awful to even consider ever eating it, but also had a smell soo sour and repulsive that I had to hurry up and throw it away!
But in the end, I did manage to achieve what I wanted!
"Confectioner level one unlocked!"
"Basic chocolate recipes unlocked"
"Basic candy recipes unlocked"
With those three messages appearing in the corner of my sight in quick succession, I once again recalled the fact that I wasn't your damned simple noble with a modern knowledge! I still had this fucking system to cheat my way through this world!
But rather than using it to obtain the crown of the country and aim for the world domination… I made sure to use the perfect ratios for all the ingredients before turning them into the product that I really wanted to present to Elia!
A long bar of proper chocolate!
While it pained me a bit, there was no way I could simply hold this precious piece of deliciousness in my hands, as it would simply melt on my way back to ship. With no other choice, I tore out a few pages from my personal notepad that I created all the way back when the private paper factory was first introduced and wrapped the candy with it. 
While for a moment I had the idea to just leave the ingredients outside of the cacao in the kitchen, but given how there was a small chance that it could be problematic to obtain them back in Tarnow, I still decided to act calmly and bring it all with me.
The road back to the ship was one of the greatest challenges I have ever faced. With the anticipation of presenting my dearest wife the ultimate form of candy, I couldn't help but imagine what kind of dreamy expression she would have while tasting the chocolate. 
In fact, even the awful cacao drink that the Spanish court already fell in love with was a drink that only rich could afford. But attempting to improve the taste of the brew made by mashing the cacao grains and boiling them in water, just by adding sugar or vanilla? It didn't even come close to the precious taste of the milk chocolate in the first place!
As soon as I finally managed to board the ship and leave all the leftover ingredients right on top of the pile with the wares bought for an exorbitant price from that merchant, I rushed towards the shed. 
Only to be met with a dire surprise.


Discord link: https://discord.gg/pJTVGZZ


Political marriage, war taxes, subsidies, a tribute... All those terms sound nice when one juggles them from behind the screen of his trusty computer! 

Junk food? Check. Sugary drinks that will cause me diabetes? Check. Two weeks of leave from the work? Check. A fresh copy of the newly released game finishing downloading as I'm going back from the grocery store? Check. 

Oops! My emotions got better to me, and I tripped on the stairs. I'm so silly!

Then...

Why the hell am I kneeling in a throne room, watching the marriage and coronation ceremony of the King, dressed in the noble robes with the game itself only flashing in the corner of my eyes?

Lai Fu who would be operating on the second floor of the Tiangong Tree Mall was quite satisfied with his instance. It was designed to be something similar to a kelong, an offshore platform built mostly with wood and little metal was involved.
By using ropes or rattan, tree trunks and wooden planks were held together within a kelong, but in the dimensional shop instance, the System used something stronger to keep them together. In a way, the kelongs that Lai Fu requested was to create a scene similar to an offshore sea community within his shop instance.
The temperature as per Jin's standard was just the right amount, and the sea waters were calm. Occasionally, there would be a wooden frigate which passed by and provided the kelong with supplies. Even the trucks of his personal suppliers came in via a wide wooden shipping platform. Lai Fu did not go for anything fanciful but something that reminded him of the sea.
All his goods were spread out in various open concept platforms, and these platforms were clearly labelled with large advertisement boards so the customers would know where their desired items were. For those refrigerated items, the bins and tables were filled with an automated cooling system aka a permanent cooling inscription which ensured their freshness.
Lai Fu also half jokingly requested a spot where he could fish a little inside the shop instance, and Jin fulfilled the request by placing albacore, red snapper and the occasional tuna within this Offshore Kelong Shop Instance.
It was an excuse for him to practice his fishing and act as an impromptu activity for the customers who had the time to waste. If they managed to catch any of the three fishes, Lai Fu would give the said customer a small discount on the most expensive item they wanted to purchase. All Jin asked in return was for Lai Fu to inform them about the Fishing instance within his Dungeons and Pandas.
That being said, it was not so easy catching those fish because Lai Fu would be able to adjust the difficulty level and the fishing rods they could use were basic ones, unless of course, someone brought in their own personal rod.
All in all, Lai Fu's store had been amongst the few easy ones Jin had to make. Still, the dungeon supplier did not spare any expense in creating the wooden frigate when Lai Fu listed that he wanted to use a frigate as the 'discount' ship. The idea was that whenever the frigate reached his shore, it would offer the items he had planned to discount.
Normally, it would require additional manpower to charter a frigate, but since this was an instance, it was not much of an issue. Jin employed the Deep Ones dressed pirates who fit right into this store instance.
Whenever the frigate arrived, Deep Ones would pop out from the water and onto the platforms helping the frigate dock. Afterwards, they would be bringing down some of the treasure chests containing the discounted items.
A Deep One Mage posing as the pirate captain would loudly announce that they had arrived wishing to trade their loot for doubloons with these landlubbers as his crew was in dire need of more booze!
Thus, Jin had designed the frigate to be a little more menacing while at the same time somewhat comical. It looked deathly with the aura and ship design it was having( Basically, the ship was modelled as Derpy's head), but Jin placed a banner at the portside stating "All Aboard the High Discount Ship!".
"Imagine those aunties trying to literally fight the Deep Ones for more of a discount. That would be one hell of a funny scene!" Lai Fu chuckled as he called out to the Deep Ones to help unpack the items which the general suppliers had offloaded.
---------
Right beside the still named 'Fresh Price General Store' was the bakery with Qian Qian in charge. Similar to Lai Fu, the middle aged female boss with two kids did not request much for the shop instance.
All she wanted was both modern and traditional bakery equipment which could not be found on the market. To her, it was a feat that was hard to achieve since the traditional equipment required a lot of space and they were near non existential as of this age.
However, the Bread Lady Boss shared that she was in possession of generations-old recipes that were based on the traditional baking method all left untouched because there was no one who would make such equipment anymore.
She firmly believed that the past held onto treasures which people might not be able to appreciate. That was why Qian Qian wanted to preserve those recipes and the knowledge to do so.
With the new dimensional instance, the System had simply scoured its past database on how to make those traditional oven kilns. (In the past the Panda Clan had amassed the knowledge from a variety of talents and the experience of an entire trade conglomerate at its disposal made it an easy feat.)
Because it was an instance, the oven kilns had been made extremely large and spacious enough to make a plenty amount of bread. Lynn's experience in this field was somewhat limited, and after trying a few of Qian Qian's past samples, she admitted that the Bakery Lady Boss was clearly superior to anything she could muster without a lot of studying.
On the other hand, the System managed to peek at a few of those recipes and found striking resemblances to the ones it had in its database. Surprisingly those recipes were seemingly at the rank of Royal Kitchen Grade, and they were basically national treasures.
However, the System kept quiet for now and decided to pass a proper judgement once Qian Qian revealed her whole series of traditional recipes.
Instance wise, Qian Qian's bakery shop was located on a hill with a large hut at the top of it. Surrounding the hut were acres worth of reef knolls filled with grown wheat plants which were something she did not ask for. Could it be that Boss Jin was seriously growing wheat in her shop instance?
Qian Qian could only ask him the next time round she saw him, but one thing was for sure, it naturally complemented the scenery of her bakery.
However, that giant hut was merely the storefront where she would place her bread for sale. Right behind it was the oven kilns and even a wheat mill. Qian Qian also was unaware whether it was really producing any wheat grains or just for aesthetic purposes.
Continuing with the surprise, Jin had assigned her a few additional helpers aside from her own trusted employees. A couple of Orcs who knew some form of farming and traditional baking, as well as two penguins which Lynn had purposely selected for the baking learning experience.
While he wanted to use the werejackals who had experience in farming, they were somewhat occupied and decided to use the next best alternative. Besides, even though the Orcs' experience differed from the humans according to the System, their foundational basics on baking were quite similar. Thus the System had enriched them with its own knowledge.
As usual, data collection was priority number one, and Jin told them those helpers were 'on the house' while hiding his true intentions. He was sure people might suspect it but at the same time, who could not say no to free, extra work hands?
--------
Despite the separate instances, everyone was still helping each other out. For example, Lai Fu's general store supplies usually stocked more than adequately for his sales as well as for the food store owners. There were times the food store owners might experience a shortage, and that was where Lai Fu sold his stocks at a 'friendly' price.
Even with the new instances, this thing did not change, and Jin hoped to take advantage of such inter-business relationships too..
Another example was Qian Qian's bakery, which was vital for Si Fang's café because she sold cakes and desserts to Si Fang as a side business. Her cakes and pies were the bomb, and many knew that she let Si Fang sell them because she could not afford to make them on a daily basis to be countered as regular sales. However, Qian Qian believed that perhaps with the additional helpers and new experiments; things could change for the better.
Speaking about Si Fang, his dimensional shop instance was also located on the second floor as the first floor had been assigned for the Food Court instance and the Panda Burger instance. His dimensional instance would be considered one of the more unique ones.
His instance was essentially a castle tower.
It made Jin remember the Candy Castle which he had built for the Halloween although the interior was not exactly designed to house a lot of customers. Nevertheless, since it was a castle tower, Jin chose to use the candy castle to save some time and effort to create the exterior portion of Si Fang's dream instance.
He did not expect Si Fang wanted a high class royal treatment kind of café as he thought Si Fang was more of the 'café on top of a large tree branch kind' of owner. The relaxed and homely feel, and until Si Fang told Jin more about his request, he then realised that was really what he wanted.
"Yes, I want a relaxed and homely feel kind of café. One that gives off the feeling of being away from everything else. That is why I want a castle tower being surrounded by a tranquil lake with only a tiny weeny bridge connected the isle." Si Fang said.
"I want the café to be something like an escape from reality, away from everything else. No pompous kind of feel at all. Something like Rapunzel in the tower."
"Si Fang, my friend. Are you okay? Do you have any fever?" His fellow cultivators Ke Ru and He Rong asked simultaneously during the brainstorming session, and Jin laughed when Si Fang declared that he was serious and Jin kind of understood what he was going for.
The Boss of Lele Café wished to offer a sanctuary for his customers, allowing them to get away from all the hectic work and bedazzling attractions. So Jin did fulfil that wish of his, and although he did save time in the exterior initially, he actually placed a lot of effort in changing the interior. In hindsight, the dungeon supplier believed that it had been one of the hardest few instances he ever made.
To make something homely and cosy was difficult because everyone had a different image and expectation of it. So the use of colour combinations was vital as well as the furniture that was placed in the castle tower could not make it appear too professional looking nor also unique. The use of warm lights, as well as the placing of the windows, was important.
Eventually, Jin also remodified the exterior to suit the interior by modelling it similar to those airport control towers because of its open windows concept while still retaining the design of a castle. He finished this off by placing greenery within the place and smoothing jazz background to ensure the right mood.
Unlike the food court instance or Panda Burger, Jin did not place anything that would increase the table limit or seating capacity because space played an essential part in the design. The couches and benches were placed in a certain way along with a few cushions including (panda and fox) plushie toys too.
He did inform Si Fang about the decision of limited seats, who thanked Jin to have not gone down the route of profit but instead towards tranquillity. However, that had been just a passing remark until Si Fang had truly witnessed it with his own eyes.
As soon as Si Fang entered his shop instance, his tears accumulated, slowly rolled down from his eyes as he saw how much love and effort was placed into his shop instance.


In a modern world where cultivators need a place to cultivate or vent their boredom, there are private businesses that set up instance dungeons with the aid of technology and cultivation magic to enable cultivators to train and commoners to experience the life of cultivation. They are called dungeon suppliers.

Xie Jin's one and only dream was to be a dungeon supplier and when his only relative passed away, the relative's inheritance gave him a plot of land and surprisingly, a 'System' Module which the relative had previously used. 

With the help of the system, Xie Jin decided to pursue his dream of becoming the number one dungeon supplier.

Glossary Page:
nodsglossary.wordpress.com


-----------

Discord channel: https://tinyurl.com/pandawan

If you have some spare change, please buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/moloxiv

Wen Xinya was not planning to give Xia Ruya the herbal recipes for free. Hence, she had intentionally copied a herbal recipe that would make the soup taste extremely strange and horrid. Not only would it taste bitter, but it would also have a pungent odor.
Wen Xinya was incredibly thrilled to see how happy Xia Ruya was when she drank the disgustingly bitter herbal soup that Mother Wang had made for her.
The tender expression on her face vanished as she grimaced in discomfort. She had also thrown up all of the porridge that she had this morning, nausea making her too repulsed to even eat.
Old Mrs. Wen thought that Wen Xinya had tampered with the recipes and even requested Doctor Wu to take a look at the recipes. After taking look at the recipes, Doctor Wu said that the recipe was miraculous and would aid in nourishing the spleen and stomach despite having a peculiar taste. It also had excellent benefits for one's health.
Hence… Old Mrs. Wen instructed the servants to make another bowl of herbal soup. This time, she also instructed them to serve some plum, snacks, and candy… 
Wen Xinya began to think that it was not that bad of a thing for Xia Ruya to move into the Wen Family home. At least, she could openly pull pranks on her.
She could not help but begin humming merrily.
Her crisp and clear voice distracted Si Yiyan, who was reading some documents in the living room. He shifted his gaze onto the French window to see that the Sun was shining brightly like it always did in March. Its golden rays were cast onto the flowers and greenery, creating a beautiful sight. The rose vines climbed onto the gazebo where there were a few butterflies and bees, gorgeous and unrestrained. 
Wen Xinya had always loved rose vines. Hence, he grew some for her. Yet, she said, "Roses only bloom in May and wither in September. Why don't you plant another cluster of Chinese roses? That way, we'll always have blooming ones."
Hence, she planted some Chinese roses beside the cluster of roses.
He then put the documents down.
"Are you done reading your documents?" Wen Xinya asked, clad in a floral apron. She was as busy as a bee and looked extremely happy like a joyful Mickey Mouse.
Si Yiyan answered truthfully, "The sun is shining brightly and the scenery is beautiful. You shouldn't be wasting your time on arduous work."
"What should I be spending my time on then?" Wen Xinya asked while giggling. She then grabbed a peeler and skinning a papaya, before dicing it into cubes and placing it inside some honey water.
Si Yiyan smirked and said, "For instance… romantic exchanges!" 
Staring at the vibrant Chinese roses, Si Yiyan felt like there were flowers blooming in his heart too. He could no longer focus on reading his documents. 
Wen Xinya burst into laughter, having already expected that Si Yiyan would say that. She said, "It's not gentlemanly to be obsessed with love and lust. Confucius says that in order to become noble, you will have to cut out lust. When you're young, your hormones rage and you're full of lust. Even when you're old, lust will still be present."
The sun seemed to have followed her and shone down on her bright and rosy cheeks, making her look like beautiful peach blossoms. "Ah! I'm a man, not a noble character!"
Wen Xinya snorted with laughter and said, "Si Yiyan, I didn't expect you to have that much self-awareness! Casanovas like you are insults to gentlemen and noble men."
One could only be deemed as a gentleman when he attained Zhong Rufeng's standards. However, she dared to express her opinion, for Si Yiyan had always been petty, tyrannical and overly possessive.
Si Yiyan smirked and said, "If I'm not gentlemanly, who is? Chu Jingnan? Or Zhong Rufeng?"
Wen Xinya instinctively took a step back and said smilingly, "Ah, I only have myself to blame for being in love with a lustful lecher."
Si Yiyan chuckled and said, "You beat around the bush just to insult me, huh?"
Wen Xinya guffawed again and placed a few almonds into the blender and ground them into almond powder, after which she added the grounded powder into the boiling milk. She stirred it continuously, soon after which the aroma of almond milk wafted up into their noses.
Si Yiyan asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Lately, Wen Xinya had been feeding him consistently with herbal soups and tonics that were great for nourishing the brain, stomach, and liver.
"I'm making papaya almond milk. Not only is it a great beverage for beautifying, but it also has excellent health benefits as well. It dispels the heat and lowers the risks of cancer. It's the best time to take this now that the weather is hot." Wen Xinya then scooped the papaya milk and allowed it to cool in the refrigerator.
Papaya almond milk was good for nourishing the brain and aided in increasing the size of one's bosom. It was a great beverage that could be consumed all year round, which was also Wen Xinya's favorite. She felt that Si Yiyan would fancy it.
Si Yiyan shifted his gaze onto her well-endowed chest and said, "I heard that papaya aids in increasing the size of your bosom…"
Sensing that he was staring at her, Wen Xinya glowered at him and exclaimed, "What are you talking about… mine are natural, natural! They have nothing to do with papaya…" 
However, she would never admit that she had been consuming papayas for more than two years in order to achieve her full bosom. Her goal was to have a pair of 34Ds… 
Si Yiyan looked away slowly and continued smilingly, "You should have more papayas…" 
Wen Xinya flew into a rage and barked. "What do you mean? Are you complaining that I'm too flat-chested?"
She was clearly only eighteen and yet, she was already 34A. She was certain that they could grow up to 34D. I'm clearly developing well… 
Si Yiyan broke out into cold sweat and said cautiously, "The almond milk seems to have cooled."
Wen Xinya frantically proceeded to check on the almond milk that was at the perfect temperature for the papaya to be mixed in.
Si Yiyan heaved a sigh of relief and reminded himself never to crack such jokes again.
Wen Xinya grabbed two crystal bowls and filled them with the papaya almond milk. The papaya cubes and milk looked extremely appetizing in the crystal bowl.
Wen Xinya shifted her gaze onto Si Yiyan's chest and handed a bowl to him. "Papaya almond milk helps to increase one's bosom size. You have to eat more of it."
Si Yiyan grimaced and grabbed the bowl with trembling hands, causing the almond milk to almost spill out of the bowl.
"It tastes great!" The sweet aroma of the milk and papaya cubes was extremely appetizing and delicious. 
Wen Xinya smirked smugly and said, "Of course, I was the one who made it."
She had only decided to reward him with the beverage because Si Yiyan had been busy with organizing her coming-of-age ceremony.


Originally born from a wealthy family, she ends up leading a vagrant life for fifteen years. However, when she is eventually found by her family, she falls into another devious plot and eventually dies tragically. 

Fifteen years after her rebirth, ravenously raging for revenge, she tears down the hypocritical mask of the foster daughter who had taken her place, and reduces her greedy stepmother and stepsister back to their original sorry states. 

To the jerk's profession of his deep love for her, she only has one thing to say, "Get the hell out of my life. The love you speak of humiliates love!" 

Regardless of the appearances of you monsters, I’ll take in it my stride with my capability, building a business dynasty of my own, sitting in the depths of my riches, bathing in the glistening limelight of the world. 

A certain rich empire's CEO: "Don't mind me. I'm just leaving my mark here to declaring my possession rights; I’ll wait patiently for you to grow up!" The queen's mighty return with commercial warfare fully within her grasp, she navigates the power struggles with skill and verve. When it comes to scheming conspiracies, all she has to say is, "Who are you again? Don’t even bother!"

Years ago, in the Fang Clan's territory of the Blazing Sun City, a ragged youth stumbled onto the doorstep of the Fang Clan's Grand Elder. A sword wound ran down the youth's back as a sigil made from Metal Qi that empowered his body enough to move dispersed. The youth lay helplessly in front of the residence as his eyes were filled with despair. 

The memories of his family's slaughter and the silhouette of the ungrateful scum who poisoned them was still fresh in his mind as the innocence and naivety that came with young age slowly disappeared from his eyes, leaving behind a husk of his former self.

"Little brother, what's wrong?" A boy of similar age walked towards him while eating a desert off a stick. The food of the Azure Sky Continent was similar to the interventions of the Heavenly Sect known the Stone Mountain Turtle Sect.

Unlike the Arctic Ocean Dragon Sect that focused more on recruiting female talents, the Stone Mountain Turtle Sect in the North was more diverse in every conceivable way possible. The former earned their way of living through helping Dao Seeking Martial Artists reach the realm of Heaven Combatants before allowing those who were willing to give up their Colourless Bloods for more tangible and long lasting benefits while the latter made their living through refining Spiritual Medicines.

Other than that though, the Alchemists of the Stone Mountain Turtle Sect also cooked and recorded recipes as a way to relax and get away from the tedious nature of refining pills. The delicacies of the Azure Sky Continent's northern region quickly became one of the most well known attractions that made even those who weren't Alchemists to want to travel to become part of their Sect.

The desert stick the ordinary-looking boy held was called a Gem Candy, a warm but sweet delicacy that was hard for average people to afford. The ragged youth instantly knew the well-dressed youth wasn't of simple origins.

But the fact that the well-dressed youth had Gem Candy wasn't what annoyed him the most. What was most infuriating was that despite the ragged youth definitely looking older, the well-dressed youth still referred to him as 'Little Brother'. There was even a hint of shame on the well-dressed youth's face as he seemed unwilling to use any other form honourifics to refer to him.

"Seems like you're not quite the talkative type, are you? My name is Fang Yun, you can refer to me as Big Brother if you like." Even after the ragged youth ignored him, he still wasn't discouraged as he decided to introduce himself while sitting down next to him. To the talkative youth, the ragged youth was a strange one to lay down next his grandfather's residence.

"Just leave me alone." The ragged youth said tiredly as his eyes seemed to lost in despair. He felt like his existence was so insignificant when thinking about how he couldn't protect anyone...

When his father sacrificed himself to write a sigil on his back, all he could do was run and hope that he would one day return to seek justice for his murdered siblings and parents. But it was only after calming down did he start to feel that revenge wouldn't be able to bring back his loving family and that he would never see them again...

Fang Yun sighed as he looked at the ragged youth with innocent eyes. He didn't know what happened to the ragged youth, but he felt the 'Little Brother' in front of him was quite pitiful. Usually, when he go off calling others his 'Little Brother', the other person would at least try to defend themselves and give him some attention. However, the ragged youth seemed too sad to even bother arguing.

"Little Brother, I don't know what you've gone through but I can at least guarantee that nothing bad will happen to you from now on." Fang Yun tried to cheer him up before taking quickly one of the soft 'gems' of his candy stick and shoving it in the ragged youth's mouth.

The ragged youth had been running for an entire twenty-four hours with the empowerment of Metal Qi, so it was only natural that he wouldn't even try to resist when Fang Yun treated him to a delicious sweet. The 'gem' of candy melted in his mouth and warmed up his body that was being frozen by the cold weather surrounding them.

"Thank you." The ragged youth said in tears as he really didn't expect anyone to help him in darkest moments of his life. Fang Yun smiled as he didn't expect his one action could cause the ragged youth to have such an intense reaction. He started to like the feeling of being able to help others in need.

"You don't have to tell me what happened if you want to keep it a secret, but can you at least tell me your name?" Fang Yun spoke as he helped the youth up, yet was shocked to find the injury on his back. He panicked a little when saw the long wound which stiffened his back in empathy. Even though he didn't know how it feels to be cut in such a way, he could imagine the pain the youth must be feeling.

"My name is Lou Meng." The ragged youth wasn't surprised by his reaction and said while wincing a little from the searing pain he felt from being forcibly moved by Fang Yun. Lou Meng didn't even have strength to lift a finger after collapsing on Fang Yun's doorstep.

"I'm taking you inside to get you fixed up. Don't try to struggle, and remember... you owe me for this." Fang Yun said with a pale face. He had never experienced such situations where he would have to treat others yet and could only ask others to help him.

——————————————————

Ever since Lou Meng has been taken in by the supposed 'failure' of the Fang Clan, he had lived a stable life without many conflicts and watched as Fang Yun grew from an innocent child to a sixteen-year-old teenage physician.

Fang Yun had always been a somewhat arrogant but good-natured individual who acted older than he actually was. If it wasn't for Lou Meng knowing of his young master's true personality, even he'd have been tricked by how mature Fang Yun acted on the outside.

Whenever Fang Yun was treated like an outsider by the adults of the Fang Clan or looked down on in pity by his many cousins and relatives, he'd go back to his room to tantrum like a child. Lou Meng believed that if it wasn't for his young master being such a carefree individual, they both would have lived in a more depressing way considering Fang Yun's family history of tragedies.

"Young master, you're over-exerting yourself again. Go rest." Lou Meng spoke to his sleep-deprived young master who was still reading a book about different recipes to cure diseases.

Although the Azure Sky Continent was a place devoid of Heavenly Treasures that Cultivators would bet their lives to obtain, that didn't mean there wasn't any Mortal Treasures that could be used to various ways for many effects.

For one who treads the path of the Medical Dao, knowledge was something that took time and effort to learn. It may be less difficult than the Pill Dao, but the Medical Dao was also vast for those determined to learn it.

"I'm fine, just give me a few hours." He didn't even turn his head towards Lou Meng because he knew the dark-circles under his eyes would worry him...

A Physician needed vast resources to be nurtured. However, talent and effort was also a factor in how far one would walk on the Medical Dao. Fang Yun wasn't a genius nor was he a great talent when it came to the Medical Dao but the drive and determination he showed to study was exceptional.

"Go rest." Lou Meng repeated himself while forcefully closing Fang Yun's book. It was only then did his young master reluctantly give up to go sleep.

Lou Meng sighed as his young master had ceased to laugh the older they grew. Fang Yun may be intelligent but he knew that the incorruptible attitude his young master had towards the world would one day trip him up in life.

Most of the world consisted of Mortals whilst Cultivators were fewer. Only joined organisations that could accommodate them, meaning that the cynical mentality they induced from their way of handling certain matters didn't matter much to them currently.

However, Lou Meng still had an ominous feeling that things couldn't go on like this. When the old mortal servant named Old Qing asked for help the next night, he also didn't hold back his thoughts and informed Fang Yun that he felt something was off.

"You worry too much. No one would bite the hand that feeds them." Fang Yun said while not being able to believe Lou Meng's words. He was sheltered and spoiled by his grandfather due to his exceptional behaviour, plus it was mostly due to the fact that Fang Yang had no other grandchildren except him.

This decision to allow his young master to be as careless as he wanted became Lou Meng's biggest regret. If he could go back in time, he would do everything in his power to stop his young master from going through the trauma that practically changed Fang Yun's personality. He didn't know if it was the shock of betrayal or the Medical Dao that gave his young master's life meaning ended up leading to them almost being killed but he really missed the Fang Yun of the past.

He may call his young master 'Brother Yun' now but he hid the guilt he felt in his heart because he felt that Fang Yun's change was all his fault.

———————————————————

Fast forwarding to the current circumstances, Lou Meng paced around his young master in worry as he felt a more tangible regret from actually worsening Fang Yun's condition. At first he believed that a Spiritual Medicine like Colourless Blood was used for healing and irresponsibly thought that maybe it could help his young master wake up.

The results of his carelessness made everything worse as his young master struggled around in pain after the Colourless Blood was administered into him. He knew he wouldn't be able to help his young master due to being unfamiliar with the Medical Dao and knowing only basic knowledge of Spiritual Medicines, making him unable to think of a rational solution.

It was only after remembering the strange ice woman that gave him the Spiritual Medicine did he realise that the best way to help his young master was to beg her for help. Only Bai Lingyun, who had more knowledge regarding the Spiritual Medicine he was given, would know of a way to help his young master out in this situation.

'Damn it!  I messed up, the Spiritual Medicine she gave isn't of the healing category. I need to get her help!' He thought inwardly before deciding to put Fang Yun on his back and bringing him to Bai Lingyun. They both rested at the same in so it would be easier to ask where her room was located before bringing Fang Yun to be saved by her.

He wasn't the brightest when it came to handling things and was a little too impulsive sometimes, but he knew when to bow his head when asking other people for help. He let go of the animosity he had for her and braved himself to talk to the person who was even able to beat his young master.

————————————————————

Within sea of consciousness of Fang Yun and Alex Stuman, the face-off between the two split-personalities raged on with violent waves. Alex didn't want to take on Fang Yun the old-fashioned way and sinisterly used his Demonic Aura to trap his opponent in a world of illusions. Fang Yun could only see visions of his grandfather, his best friend and the love of his life leaving him due to his incompetence.

'You'll never be able to step out of my shadow.' A demon appeared before him as he looked at what he'd become.

He became vain and cowardly, twisting what he believed to be the influence of Alex's memories to protect himself. He remembered the fear Han Fenglin inspired within when he saw how vicious Martial Artists could be and how vain his efforts of becoming a Physician to help others actually was.

The day Fang Yun was almost killed by Old Qing was when his vision of the world took a great shift. He became as cynical as a regular Cultivator and even tried to rid himself of the responsibility by running away from his own Clan.

When Alex saw how Fang Yun was slowly falling into an abyss of total despair, he felt a little comfort. In his past life, he tried his best to become someone he wasn't. He tried to be 'good person' despite his upbringing as a tool for war but failed miserably.

Now, watching a 'good person' turned trash like Fang Yun be destroyed by his own hidden guilt, he felt like perhaps his decision to kill his 'father' wasn't a wrong decision. Right now, he believed that although people could change, the change only made people grow worse.

'I'm really a good person.' In Alex's distorted ideology, he could be considered worthy of a second chance at life for trying to be a good person despite his inclination to murder anything that was to block his path. He believed that the patience he showed towards John before his final moments was something others would definitely be unable to replicate in his shoes.

After dying by his master's hand, Alex crosses the void and finds himself in the body of the young master of the Fang Clan, also known as the waste of the Clan born with broken Spiritual Roots. Realising that the only reason he was able to survive was due to his extremely strong soul, he creates his own cultivation technique and returns to marry his fiancé despite how countless enemies lurk in the shadows.

Years ago, in the Fang Clan's territory of the Blazing Sun City, a ragged youth stumbled onto the doorstep of the Fang Clan's Grand Elder. A sword wound ran down the youth's back as a sigil made from Metal Qi that empowered his body enough to move dispersed. The youth lay helplessly in front of the residence as his eyes were filled with despair. 

The memories of his family's slaughter and the silhouette of the ungrateful scum who poisoned them was still fresh in his mind as the innocence and naivety that came with young age slowly disappeared from his eyes, leaving behind a husk of his former self.

"Little brother, what's wrong?" A boy of similar age walked towards him while eating a desert off a stick. The food of the Azure Sky Continent was similar to the interventions of the Heavenly Sect known the Stone Mountain Turtle Sect.

Unlike the Arctic Ocean Dragon Sect that focused more on recruiting female talents, the Stone Mountain Turtle Sect in the North was more diverse in every conceivable way possible. 

The former earned their way of living through helping Dao Seeking Martial Artists reach the realm of Heaven Combatants before allowing those who were willing to give up their Colourless Bloods for more tangible and long lasting benefits while the latter made their living through refining Spiritual Medicines.

Other than that though, the Alchemists of the Stone Mountain Turtle Sect also cooked and recorded recipes as a way to relax and get away from the tedious nature of refining pills. The delicacies of the Azure Sky Continent's northern region quickly became one of the most well known attractions that made even those who weren't Alchemists to want to travel to become part of their Sect.

The desert stick the ordinary-looking boy held was called a Gem Candy, a warm but sweet delicacy that was hard for average people to afford. The ragged youth instantly knew the well-dressed youth wasn't of simple origins.

But the fact that the well-dressed youth had Gem Candy wasn't what annoyed him the most. What was most infuriating was that despite the ragged youth definitely looking older, the well-dressed youth still referred to him as 'Little Brother'. There was even a hint of shame on the well-dressed youth's face as he seemed unwilling to use any other form honourifics to refer to him.

"Seems like you're not quite the talkative type, are you? My name is Fang Yun, you can refer to me as Big Brother if you like." Even after the ragged youth ignored him, he still wasn't discouraged as he decided to introduce himself while sitting down next to him. To the talkative youth, the ragged youth was a strange one to lay down next his grandfather's residence.

"Just leave me alone." The ragged youth said tiredly as his eyes seemed to lost in despair. He felt like his existence was so insignificant when thinking about how he couldn't protect anyone...

When his father sacrificed himself to write a sigil on his back, all he could do was run and hope that he would one day return to seek justice for his murdered siblings and parents. But it was only after calming down did he start to feel that revenge wouldn't be able to bring back his loving family and that he would never see them again...

Fang Yun sighed as he looked at the ragged youth with innocent eyes. He didn't know what happened to the ragged youth, but he felt the 'Little Brother' in front of him was quite pitiful. Usually, when he go off calling others his 'Little Brother', the other person would at least try to defend themselves and give him some attention. However, the ragged youth seemed too sad to even bother arguing.

"Little Brother, I don't know what you've gone through but I can at least guarantee that nothing bad will happen to you from now on." Fang Yun tried to cheer him up before taking quickly one of the soft 'gems' of his candy stick and shoving it in the ragged youth's mouth.

The ragged youth had been running for an entire twenty-four hours with the empowerment of Metal Qi, so it was only natural that he wouldn't even try to resist when Fang Yun treated him to a delicious sweet. The 'gem' of candy melted in his mouth and warmed up his body that was being frozen by the cold weather surrounding them.

"Thank you." The ragged youth said in tears as he really didn't expect anyone to help him in darkest moments of his life. Fang Yun smiled as he didn't expect his one action could cause the ragged youth to have such an intense reaction. He started to like the feeling of being able to help others in need.

"You don't have to tell me what happened if you want to keep it a secret, but can you at least tell me your name?" Fang Yun spoke as he helped the youth up, yet was shocked to find the injury on his back. He panicked a little when saw the long wound which stiffened his back in empathy. Even though he didn't know how it feels to be cut in such a way, he could imagine the pain the youth must be feeling.

"My name is Lou Meng." The ragged youth wasn't surprised by his reaction and said while wincing a little from the searing pain he felt from being forcibly moved by Fang Yun. Lou Meng didn't even have strength to lift a finger after collapsing on Fang Yun's doorstep.

"I'm taking you inside to get you fixed up. Don't try to struggle, and remember... you owe me for this." Fang Yun said with a pale face. He had never experienced such situations where he would have to treat others yet and could only ask others to help him.

——————————————————

Ever since Lou Meng has been taken in by the supposed 'failure' of the Fang Clan, he had lived a stable life without many conflicts and watched as Fang Yun grew from an innocent child to a sixteen-year-old teenage physician.

Fang Yun had always been a somewhat arrogant but good-natured individual who acted older than he actually was. If it wasn't for Lou Meng knowing of his young master's true personality, even he'd have been tricked by how mature Fang Yun acted on the outside.

Whenever Fang Yun was treated like an outsider by the adults of the Fang Clan or looked down on in pity by his many cousins and relatives, he'd go back to his room to tantrum like a child. Lou Meng believed that if it wasn't for his young master being such a carefree individual, they both would have lived in a more depressing way considering Fang Yun's family history of tragedies.

"Young master, you're over-exerting yourself again. Go rest." Lou Meng spoke to his sleep-deprived young master who was still reading a book about different recipes to cure diseases.

Although the Azure Sky Continent was a place devoid of Heavenly Treasures that Cultivators would bet their lives to obtain, that didn't mean there wasn't any Mortal Treasures that could be used to various ways for many effects.

For one who treads the path of the Medical Dao, knowledge was something that took time and effort to learn. It may be less difficult than the Pill Dao, but the Medical Dao was also vast for those determined to learn it.

"I'm fine, just give me a few hours." He didn't even turn his head towards Lou Meng because he knew the dark-circles under his eyes would worry him...

A Physician needed vast resources to be nurtured. However, talent and effort was also a factor in how far one would walk on the Medical Dao. Fang Yun wasn't a genius nor was he a great talent when it came to the Medical Dao but the drive and determination he showed to study was exceptional.

"Go rest." Lou Meng repeated himself while forcefully closing Fang Yun's book. It was only then did his young master reluctantly give up to go sleep.

Lou Meng sighed as his young master had ceased to laugh the older they grew. Fang Yun may be intelligent but he knew that the incorruptible attitude his young master had towards the world would one day trip him up in life.

Most of the world consisted of Mortals whilst Cultivators were fewer. Only joined organisations that could accommodate them, meaning that the cynical mentality they induced from their way of handling certain matters didn't matter much to them currently.

However, Lou Meng still had an ominous feeling that things couldn't go on like this. When the old mortal servant named Old Qing asked for help the next night, he also didn't hold back his thoughts and informed Fang Yun that he felt something was off.

"You worry too much. No one would bite the hand that feeds them." Fang Yun said while not being able to believe Lou Meng's words. He was sheltered and spoiled by his grandfather due to his exceptional behaviour, plus it was mostly due to the fact that Fang Yang had no other grandchildren except him.

This decision to allow his young master to be as careless as he wanted became Lou Meng's biggest regret. If he could go back in time, he would do everything in his power to stop his young master from going through the trauma that practically changed Fang Yun's personality. He didn't know if it was the shock of betrayal or the Medical Dao that gave his young master's life meaning ended up leading to them almost being killed but he really missed the Fang Yun of the past.

He may call his young master 'Brother Yun' now but he hid the guilt he felt in his heart because he felt that Fang Yun's change was all his fault.

———————————————————

Fast forwarding to the current circumstances, Lou Meng paced around his young master in worry as he felt a more tangible regret from actually worsening Fang Yun's condition. At first he believed that a Spiritual Medicine like Colourless Blood was used for healing and irresponsibly thought that maybe it could help his young master wake up.

The results of his carelessness made everything worse as his young master struggled around in pain after the Colourless Blood was administered into him. He knew he wouldn't be able to help his young master due to being unfamiliar with the Medical Dao and knowing only basic knowledge of Spiritual Medicines, making him unable to think of a rational solution.

It was only after remembering the strange ice woman that gave him the Spiritual Medicine did he realise that the best way to help his young master was to beg her for help. Only Bai Lingyun, who had more knowledge regarding the Spiritual Medicine he was given, would know of a way to help his young master out in this situation.

'Damn it!  I messed up, the Spiritual Medicine she gave isn't of the healing category. I need to get her help!' He thought inwardly before deciding to put Fang Yun on his back and bringing him to Bai Lingyun. They both rested at the same in so it would be easier to ask where her room was located before bringing Fang Yun to be saved by her.

He wasn't the brightest when it came to handling things and was a little too impulsive sometimes, but he knew when to bow his head when asking other people for help. He let go of the animosity he had for her and braved himself to talk to the person who was even able to beat his young master.

————————————————————

Within sea of consciousness of Fang Yun and Jordon Stuman, the face-off between the two split-personalities raged on with violent waves. 

Jordon didn't want to take on Fang Yun the old-fashioned way and sinisterly used his Demonic Aura to trap his opponent in a world of illusions. Fang Yun could only see visions of his grandfather, his best friend and the love of his life leaving him due to his incompetence.

'You'll never be able to step out of my shadow.' A demon appeared before him as he looked at what he'd become.

He became vain and cowardly, twisting what he believed to be the influence of Jordon's memories to protect himself. He remembered the fear Han Fenglin inspired within when he saw how vicious Martial Artists could be and how vain his efforts of becoming a Physician to help others actually was.

The day Fang Yun was almost killed by Old Qing was when his vision of the world took a great shift. He became as cynical as a regular Cultivator and even tried to rid himself of the responsibility by running away from his own Clan.

When Jordon saw how Fang Yun was slowly falling into an abyss of total despair, he felt a little comfort. In his past life, he tried his best to become someone he wasn't. He tried to be 'good person' despite his upbringing as a tool for war but failed miserably.

Now, watching a 'good person' turned trash like Fang Yun be destroyed by his own hidden guilt, he felt like perhaps his decision to kill his 'father' wasn't a wrong decision. Right now, he believed that although people could change, the change only made people grow worse.

'I'm really a good person.' In Jordon's distorted ideology, he could be considered worthy of a second chance at life for trying to be a good person despite his inclination to murder anything that was to block his path. He believed that the patience he showed towards John before his final moments was something others would definitely be unable to replicate in his shoes.

I’m Mu Long, the only Male of the Absolute Heavenly Ice Palace and Artificer extraordinaire! I received a mission from my Matriarch to find a place of retreat for the members of the Heavenly Sect to hide should its leader ever fall. After accepting the task, I decided to masquerade as a young master who knows how to intimidate and demand respect!

However, who could have known that he’d have a run in with a ‘protagonist’ type? Hey, why is my System awakening now of all times? I’m really not the bad guy alright? I’m a very ‘good’ Demon!

"Toby!" Greya lifted a hand. The seabird sitting on Angor's hair took off and returned to her.
"Toby has been following me ever since it was created. It's a new life form I made, using several phantom spirits and valuable materials, while based on an ordinary seabird. I tried many times to recreate the process, to make something similar. But I never succeeded. Toby is one of a kind," Greya explained while looking at Toby with a gentle look.
"Toby has been here for years. It doesn't have any special powers like other monsters, but it's intelligent. It can understand human speech now, and it also has a spirit capacity similar to apprentices."
Angor was already getting a hint about Greya's intention to leave Toby to him.
"Barbie's Restaurant is always traveling around the world looking for materials. Toby is safe with me. But now, I'm approaching my bottleneck to break through. When a gourmet wizard needs to do it, he or she will need lots of unique cooking materials and recipes. I've swept through the entire southern region in these centuries. There might still be something left, but they won't help with my breakthrough now.
"This is why I've decided to leave the south and head for somewhere far away. An unknown general plane, even. I never thought about this before, but I've stuck at the bottleneck for hundreds of years, if I don't find a path soon, I'll never make it. I'm doing it now."
Greya used a sound-proof ward when speaking, so only Angor heard it.
"The journey ahead is full of danger. I cannot protect Toby this time, so I hope, that you can keep it while I'm away."
Greya looked at Angor in the eyes. She had many choices, such as leaving Toby at the Candy House or ask a close friend. However, when she told the ideas to Toby, the bird refused all of them. It only wished to stay with Greya. After so much hard persuasion, Toby finally chose someone.
That person was not any friend or ally. It was someone who only met with Toby once: Angor.
She did not know why Toby chose the boy, but when she considered Sunders' particular attitude towards him, as well as Angor's nature and his possible achievements, Greya did not protest. Since she knew Angor was going to leave with Sunders tomorrow, she quickly came to The Redbud during the night.
Toby understood all of the conversations. It also stared at Angor with its tiny, shiny eyes, waiting for an answer.
"So my guess was right. It's not like they need me to do that forever, but close…" Angor spoke in his mind.
Angor tried to refuse with the big and small pairs of eyes fixed on him. He was not even sure about his own future. God knew why Sunders suddenly came and adopted him as a student, whether Angor could satisfy the man's expectation, or what awaited him in Brute Cavern.
Angor knew no answer to those questions.
Yet Greya was requesting him. A "real wizard who deserves respect", according to Sunders himself.
Flora also told Angor that he should maintain a good relationship with Greya.
Considering these, Angor clenched his teeth. 
Fine. It's not like things could get worse than this. 
If Sunders was ever unsatisfied with him, maybe Sunders would not be too hard on him considering Greya's pet was with him.
"Alright. I'll look after Toby until Lady Greya comes back."
"Psh." Looking at Angor's expression that looked as if he was going on a suicide mission, Greya could not hold back her snicker. "Don't be like that. You made it look as if I was bullying someone," Greya tidied her long hair a little. She added, "Don't worry too much. Toby is easy. When you reach the continent, you don't even need to feed him. He'll look for food on his own. Besides, Toby's smart. Who knows, maybe it will look after YOU instead."
Greya watched Toby sitting on her palm for a long time.
It went quiet.
Greya's deep love towards Toby was clear for anyone.
Angor was feeling a bit envious. Back in the common world, he got Jon and his brother, but when he went to the wizarding world, would he meet anyone he could trust?
After a while, Greya finally let go of her sorrow. She raised her hand and let Toby go.
The bird flew around her head.
"Go now."
Toby hesitated, then slowly perched on the same old spot on Angor's head.
"Aw, my hair… I gotta teach it not to do that later," Angor told himself.
"Before I come back… Toby's in your hands," Greya spoke.
Before she left, she handed a soft, bubble-like object in the shape of a capsule to Angor.
"This is a space capsule brewed using organism living inside grey space barriers. It's single-use though. There are necessities for Toby as well as some reward for you, for taking care of Toby. Break the capsule to take them out."
With that, Greya prepared to leave.
The door was suddenly pushed open. Alan walked inside while rubbing his sleepy eyes. He took Aleen back to her room when Angor talked to Mara.
"Grandpa, Aleen's asleep. Do you need—Huh, who is that?"
Greya did not pay him attention. He was just a kid. However, when she glanced at the boy, her expression became a little strange.
"He's your grandson?" Greya pointed to Alan and asked Mara.
Mara thought Greya was blaming Alan for barging in, so he quickly nodded in fear. "Yes, his name is Alan. Lady Greya, he's still a kid and doesn't know much—"
Greya waved a hand to stop him.
"What kind of change did your grandson see during his talent test?"
"Change?" Mara muttered in puzzlement. He said, "He saw something out of thin air. During the test, a brown bread appeared in an empty dish according to him."
Seeing something materialize was a very common change recorded in Abelles' Annual Talent Collection.
"Something appeared? I don't think so." Greya smiled. She took out a metal badge out of somewhere. There was a carved pattern of a cottage hidden in the forest on it, and an embossed portrait of Greya on the back.
"This is my Candy House badge. If you're willing, take the badge to Candy House. The gourmet wizards there are second to none in the entire south."
Mara understood Greya's intention.
Alan has the talent to be a gourmet wizard? 
Mara looked at his adorable chubby grandson. Really?
He thought about Alan's daily behaviors. The boy was either eating or on his way to eating.
Even the mirages released by Barbie's Restaurant today did not force Alan to do anything harsh. He was only confused.
Mara never thought about his grandson's actions. He only believed Alan needed to eat a lot for his growth. Now Greya mentioned it, all those facts pointed towards Alan's talent.
Yeah… people involved inside something could not see the whole picture.
When Greya finally left, Mara began to hesitate. Should he send Alan to Candy House to become a gourmet wizard?
Gourmet wizards were considered Occult. However, they had weaker positions in the wizarding world because they were not strong in combats. Many apprentices studying gourmet never made it to wizards. Added by the fact that they could not fight very well, they simply became cooks for stronger wizards. Not an outstanding achievement.
Alan had the talent, and of course, he could choose another path. It was up to the boy.
With Greya's recommendation, at least Alan would at least achieve something in Candy House. It was extremely difficult to become strong just by being a gourmet wizard. Mara really did not want his grandson to end up as someone's house chef.
What to do!?


A young traveler who receives enlightenment from another civilization is on a mission to save his beloved mentor. In his journey to seek the ultimate truth, he travels extensively and along the way, he experiences some unpredictable encounters. Will he be able to save his mentor or will his path be derailed?

After concluding the transaction, Fe Nitaa formally entered into Ves' service. From now on, she was sworn to serve him as a loyal Kinner bondswoman.
The only way she would leave his service was if he crossed the few lines that shouldn't be crossed. Among them was deliberately driving Kinners to their deaths or harming their children.
Another notable rule that Ves needed to abide by in order to retain the loyalty of his Kinners that he could not make overt moves against the Kinner Tribe. Any action that harmed the interests of the state would be met with heavy disapproval from the Kinners in his service.
If the transgression happened to be severe enough, then the Kinner bondsmen had the right to set aside their oaths and pledges and leave his service!
This was a very impactful rule, because it tied the hands of many people!
How many people employed Kinner bondsmen? A lot. Once they bought out a Kinner, they effectively renounced any possibility of launching any attacks against the Kinner Tribe.
This single restriction was one of the most prevalent means of protecting the Kinner Tribe. As long as they kept selling their Kinners to every influential person in the star sector, hardly any state could muster up the support to attack the Kinner Tribe directly!
Although his move to buy out Fe Nitaa was partially a sham, the oaths she swore were very real.
If Ves ever forced her to choose between her loyalty to a Holy Son or her loyalty to the tribe, she would fall into an incredibly difficult dilemma.
It was best if Ves never pushed her to this point!
Ves, Gavin, Lucky and Kelandra waited for a half hour more for Nitaa to finish her business. Now that she sold herself to Ves, she needed to check out of Trinity Halls, pack her luggage, get her paperwork in order and bid farewell to her acquaintances.
During the wait, Kelandra wore a sour face. She did not seem pleased at Nitaa's abnormal reaction to Ves.
"I hope you don't mistreat Miss Nitaa, Mr. Larkinson. She is an unfortunate woman who has never been right in the head ever since the Fl'xixians kicked her out of the order."
What did Kelandra think he was, a slavedriver?!
"You don't have to be concerned. I plan to employ multiple Kinners, remember? They'll keep each other company and make sure that they're treated right!"
The excuse was enough to placate their guide.
Once Nitaa returned, she positioned herself behind Ves, making it abundantly clear that she had begun her duty.
"I think I've had enough for the moment." Ves spoke. "Let's take a break before I resume my search for other positions to fill."
"Where would you like to go?" Kelandra asked.
"I'm feeling a bit hungry. Is there a notable food market nearby?"
"There is one not too far away. Many clients and Kinners here at Trinity Halls frequent the stalls when they are hungry."
The group did not need to take an aircar this time as the distance was only a couple of minutes way on foot. As they exited the premises of Trinity Hall and neared the bustling food market, they looked no different from any other well-heeled tourists.
"We Kinners love food." Kelandra said as she guided them to a stall that sold candy made on the spot. "After many years of subsiding on nutrient packs and other cheap food in our distant past, we have developed a craving for real food."
An old Kinner smiled at them as he manipulated the controls of his machine to produce a unique blend of flavors into a single piece of solid hard candy.
"While Bloodstone offers many restaurants that offer fine dining experiences that are not too shabby, most Kinners like to eat out in the streets."
Their guide gestured her arm down the street, which was filled with rickety, dusty stalls. Various chefs and vendors cooked up authentic meals using simple ovens and furnaces.
Despite the somewhat shabby cooking progress, lots of Kinners happily sat on the cheap chairs as they ate their hearty meals.
A wonderful blend of aromas suffused the air. Ves' nose constantly twitched as his mouth started to leak saliva.
He quickly shook his head and wiped his mouth. This was not the time to give in to temptation! He was here for only one goal!
"Ahem. Let's tour the market. Perhaps I'll find something yummy enough to eat."
Though the market streets were rather tight and crowded at some places, giving Fe Nitaa an immediate problem in ensuring his safety, Ves liked the atmosphere. No pretentiousness could be found among the patrons as they each let down their guards and enjoyed their meals.
"Some of the food here is cooked with love." He said with a smile.
This spoke right to the heart of his own design philosophy. Although Ves was incomparable to a mere street chef, they both worked to satisfy their customers.
Some of the local Kinner chefs at the market were passionate about their craft. They cooked with a smile and prepared their meals with gusto.
Despite the effort they put into their cooking, they never charged excessive prices for their items. This was not a fancy market and the vast majority of patrons consisted of local residents.
Yet Kelandra was right that Kinners loved food. Aside from selling local Kinner staple foods, many vendors also served foreign delicacies.
Gavin bumped his elbow against Ves. "Hey, look at that stall! Isn't that our cloud rice?!"
The group drifted over to a stall that sold fried rice bowls. A steamy and oily aroma overcame their noses as they stared at the chef tossing his big, dented wok.
Ves and Gavin both shook their heads after a few seconds. "It's fake."
There was no way authentic cloud rice would be sold this cheap at a street stall. The true cloud rice was a premium staple that already cost a fair bit to eat on Bentheim, let alone import to a state on the other side of the star sector!
While Ves couldn't figure out what kind of rice the stall was using, he was familiar enough with the real thing that it couldn't be the same.
Neither of them made a fuss about it, though. That would only land themselves into trouble over a cause that neither of them cared about. The two turned away from the stall lest they developed a greater animosity towards the Kinner who thought it was a good idea to butcher one of their local specialty products.
"It's an unfortunate fact that many of the specialty foods sold here use adapted recipes." Nitaa spoke out on her own accord, relaying the results of her own prior research. "We Kinners have fallen in love with regional specialties, but that doesn't mean we are willing to pay half of our daily wages to enjoy a meal."
In order to meet the expanding palates of their customers, the enterprising Kinner chefs resorted to substitute ingredients.
For this reason, a lot of pricy specialties were sold at just a tenth or just a hundredth of their actual worth!
"Do all of these Kinners even know they're eating unauthentic versions?" Gavin frowned.
The deception taking place in this market went a bit too far even from him! Chefs could get into real trouble if they pulled something like this off in the Bright Republic!
"Our people are not very.. refined." Kelandra stated. "If we never tasted the authentic version, how would we know if we are eating fakes? Besides, plenty of chefs here state that they are using their own recipes instead of the classic ones."
Ves shook his head. "It's still a form of misrepresentation. Do the customers here even know they are eating imitation meals?"
"When I looked into it, I found out that they aren't particularly interested in finding out the truth." Nitaa spoke from behind. "Whenever I confronted someone with the facts, they took offence. It can be a very prickly matter to expose that they weren't consuming the real thing for many years."
"Then how do the authentic recipes even get sold here if all these fakes are undercutting their prices?"
Nitaa smiled and gestured at one of the less-frequented stalls. "There are certain Kinners and plenty of foreigners who can tell the real from the fake. Look at the chefs charging vastly more for their meals."
Though not a lot of customers frequented the stall, it nonetheless served a small handful of customers, which meant that it was doing good business.
As Ves looked around and spotted similar stalls around him, he noticed that most of them were frequented by better-dressed Kinners as well as foreigners.
"I see." Ves murmured. "It's kind of an open secret, then. Those who can't afford anything better can enjoy the illusion of eating foreign delicacies. Those who are more informed usually have the money to afford the meals cooked with authentic ingredients."
Something like this would never take place in the mech market on a wide scale. While counterfeit mechs did exist and sold at significant numbers in the underground markets, everyone who bought them knew what they were getting.
Buying a mech on the black market that was thirty to fifty percent cheaper than the legal version meant that the buyer certainly knew that some corners had been cut!
Instances where mech buyers got fooled into buying a counterfeit mech while paying the price of an authentic version happened very infrequently.
Any mech buyer knew that their mechs should come with MTA certification. Counterfeit mechs didn't come with this essential proof.
Ves didn't ask why the local Kinner authorities refused to crack down on the chefs that were lying to their customers. This kind of deception may not be entirely ethical, but it was largely harmless seeing that the customers all enjoyed their meals.
As the group slowly meandered through the varied food offerings, Ves began to engage in casual conversation with his bodyguard.
His decision to hire her was rather abrupt, after all. They barely knew each other for more than an hour!
"Where do you come from, Nitaa?"
"Bloodstone." The tall woman grunted. "Born and raised here all my life, Mr. Larkinson. I'm a vatter."
"That's the local slang for a Kinner born from a facility that houses thousands of artificial wombs." Kelandra added.
Ves found that to be rather remarkable. He also held a presumption that people who lived monotonous lives were less likely to develop spirituality.
Yet this rule was anything but set in stone. Despite Nitaa's low birth and basic upbringing, she nonetheless managed to develop a hint of spirituality with a quality that Ves hadn't seen before.
Ves had closely studied it during their initial meeting. Her small but vigorous pool of spiritual energy had interacted with her nose, which must have been the primary reason why she could tell he was someone unusual.
"There is not much to tell about my youth." Nitaa shrugged. "I grew up like any other young Kinner in one of the camps. I mostly played with my fellow yearmates back then. When I reached ten, I was disappointed to learn that I couldn't pilot mechs, but I kind of already assumed this outcome so I quickly got over it. I still wanted to become a fighter, though, so I applied for combat training."
Nitaa had actually been a good performer when she began her combat classes. So much so that the Order of Fl'xix took a liking for her for some reason and added her to the next batch of trainees.
As for what happened after that, Ves already knew. Her training results began to slip as the order kept demanding more out of their growing trainees.
Ves didn't ask why she failed to keep up. This must be a very sensitive topic for her and a busy market wasn't the place to air out something so personal.
At this time, Ves finally spotted what appeared to be a hot dog stand. However, what was different was that aside from selling regular buns with meat, it also sold various other variations as well, one of which happened to be the spicy Nyx dogs that he craved!
In fact, the tangy, hot smell of a fresh spicy Nyx dog happened to pass through his nose!
Strong! Spicy! Hot!
No wonder Nitaa suggested that it might be strong enough to overpower his 'System scent'!
"I don't know about you guys, but that smells great!"


Humanity has conquered half the galaxy and the Age of Mechs reigns supreme!

Ves Larkinson lacked the genetic aptitude to become a famed mech pilot. Fighting against his fate, he studied mech design in order to express his love for mechs as a builder instead of a soldier.

When Ves graduated from college, he returned to a new but empty boutique. Left with a small, newly founded mech workshop that his father painstakingly built with a mountain of debt, Ves somehow needs to make ends meet with the bank breathing down his neck.

In the midst of his despair, he found salvation from another legacy his father had left.

"Welcome to the Mech Designer System. Please design your new mech."

--Join The Mech Touch's unofficial Discord server: https://discord.gg/APB5KCU

In reality, Ling Han wasn't delaying their journey because he was afraid of Jiang Anyun.
A ship would depart from Tyrant Axe Harbor every three days, yet the sizes of these ships varied.
For example, the ship this time was a large-sized ship that could hold more passengers. Moreover, it had the highest safety rating out of all the ships as it had a powerful elite at the Sun Moon Tier guarding it.
However, Ling Han and Shui Yanyu had come to exterminate pirates, so the more powerful were the people on their ship, the less likely they were to be targeted by pirates. Thus, they naturally wouldn't choose to take such a ship.
They had to wait for a small ship that was only guarded by a cultivator at the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier as this would greatly increase their chances of being targeted by pirates.
The ship in three days was still going to be a large ship. They had to wait for another three days after that for there to be a small ship.
After learning of this, Ling Han and Shui Yanyu entered the Black Tower to cultivate.
Shui Yanyu practiced her martial arts techniques, while Ling Han investigated the new pill recipes that he had obtained.
Although there were only four recipes, the levels of the recipes ranged from Level One Divine Pill up to Level Four Divine Pill. This gradual increase in difficulty was exactly what Ling Han wanted.
Before now, Ling Han hadn't had a chance to investigate these pill recipes, as the two had been cultivating or on the road the entire time.
He was the Alchemy Emperor, and he had even managed to refine a Semi-Divine Pill while he was still in the small world. Right now, he was already very close to becoming a Divine Grade Alchemist.
'There are two things of utmost importance in alchemy. The first is the art of controlling flames, and the second is the intertwining of divine patterns that have been extracted from medicinal ingredients.
'However one looks at it, these two things both boil down to control and the application of one's divine sense.
'I've drunk Reincarnation Tea before, so my divine sense is naturally far stronger than that of ordinary cultivators at the medium extreme. In fact, it might even be on par with that of cultivators at the consummate level. Coupled with the tempering by the Indestructible Heaven's Scroll, the strength of my divine sense is unparalleled among those at the same cultivation level as me.
'In other words, my condition right now is far, far better than others'.
'In terms of pill refinement techniques, there's not much difference between Divine Level and Ordinary Level Spiritual Herbs. It's just that the peak temperature of the flames and method of intertwining the divine patterns far exceed those needed for Heaven Level Spiritual Herbs.
'Then, let me start now!'
Ling Han started to refine the Heavenly Qi Pill. It was a Level One Divine Pill that could increase the speed of Origin Power accumulation for cultivators at the Mountain River Tier. There were many pills that had the same effect, but the Heavenly Qi Pill was definitely one of the best among them.
However, all pills came with their drawbacks, and one couldn't eat pills as if they were candy. Thus, if one could only ingest 10 pills a month, pills that were more effective were naturally more desirable.
Fail, fail, fail…
It was a Divine Pill, after all, so Ling Han's cauldron continued to explode as if he had become an inexperienced alchemy student again. However, he wasn't disheartened, as he made clear improvements with each failure that he experienced.
Disappointingly, however, Ling Han still hadn't managed to succeed when six days passed, and they needed to set sail.
'I can probably succeed after a dozen or so more attempts.'
Ling Han and Shui Yanyu exited the Black Tower and headed to the harbor.
Not long after they arrived, others also started to arrive one after another. There were even some people with whom they were familiar.
Jiang Anyun was naturally one of them. He had 10 underlings at the Mountain River Tier, and his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he leered at Shui Yanyu.
"Those three are from the Luo Clan," Shui Yanyu whispered in Ling Han's ears. "Luo Yu, Luo Wu, and Luo Senyun. Luo Senyun is an elite at the Sun Moon Tier, and he most likely advanced to this tier over 30,000 years ago. It's extremely likely that he's already reached the peak stage of the low extreme.
Shui Yanyu glanced at another direction, and continued, "Those two over there are Zuo Xiao and Fan Yong, the other two followers of Zhao Lun. They've been at the high extreme of the Mountain River Tier for a long time, so they've most likely reached the peak stage already."
Ling Han nodded as he listened to Shui Yanyu. Meanwhile, he also noticed four sharply dressed females. Weren't they Liu Ying and the others, the four female guards of Sha Yuan?
These four females couldn't be underestimated, as their cultivation levels were all at the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier.
Apart from these familiar faces, there was also a youth in coarse clothes who looked to be around 17 or 18 years old. However, he was evidently at the Immortal level already, though it was hard to discern what specific tier and sub-minor level he was at. This youth had a fierce gaze that could instill fear in those he stared at.
There was also a woman in a white dress who was as beautiful as a celestial maiden. Her skin was as white as jade, her lips were as red as dye, and her long hair was braided into a large plait that rested on her jade-like neck. She wore an aloof expression that made her appear like an unapproachable icy beauty.
Nearby, there was also a youth who hugged his sword to his chest wherever he walked. It seemed as if he was unwilling to ever let go of the sword.
The last person present was an ordinary man in gray clothes. He was the type of person who wouldn't attract a second glance if thrown into a crowd of people.
Ling Han had the Cloud Piercing Shuttle, so he and Shui Yanyu had naturally arrived here the quickest. However, the Luo Clan, Sha Clan, and Zhao Clan were all able to easily identify his final destination. Thus, they were also able to arrive here not long after Ling Han.
"We're departing in 30 minutes," a sailor shouted. "If you want to board, then hurry up. Each person has to pay 10 True Origin Stones."
The coarse-clothed youth was the first person to board. Following him, the woman in white and the sword-hugging youth also boarded. However, no one else followed after them.
Ling Han couldn't help but smile. By the looks of it, the remaining people all had their eyes set on him. If he didn't board, the others naturally wouldn't board, either.
'Come on, then!'
He and Shui Yanyu walked onto the ship deck after paying 20 True Origin Stones. They stood near the bow of the ship.
Immediately after they boarded, the people from the Luo Clan, Sha Clan, and Zhao Clan all paid 10 True Origin Stones each and boarded the ship.
"Halt! You're at the Sun Moon Tier, so you're not allowed to board this ship." The sailor stopped Luo Senyun from boarding the ship.
"Why can't I board?" Luo Senyun asked in displeasure. A mere cultivator at the Mountain River Tier actually dared to block him? He unleashed his aura, and instantly caused the sailor to tremble.
"Humph! Sir, please go elsewhere if you want to show off your might. Don't forget, this is Tyrant Axe Harbor!" An elder in an embroidered robe walked over like a spirit. There were a sun and moon hovering behind his back, and he said, "The rules of our Yang Clan are simple. Small ships only accept passengers at the Mountain River Tier. This is to ensure everyone's safety and to prevent fellow passengers from targeting each other while out at sea."
The guards on small ships were only at the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier, so how could they maintain the safety of all the passengers if an elite at the Sun Moon Tier boarded?
Luo Senyun stared at the elder for a long time before humphing in displeasure. He turned and whispered a few words to Luo Yu and Luo Wu before retreating back onto the harbor.
A powerful dragon couldn't defeat a snake in its nest[1]. Moreover, Luo Senyun couldn't be considered a powerful dragon when compared to the Yang Clan anyway.
He didn't mask his killing intent as he stared at Ling Han intently. Even if he couldn't board the ship, Luo Yu and Luo Wu were both at the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier. Luo Yu was more so at the peak stage of the consummate level already. He could definitely suppress Ling Han with a single hand.
After 30 minutes, the ship raised its anchor, and started to sail toward the boundless sea ahead.
This ship was small, measuring only 30 meters in length and 15 or so meters in height. There was a total of three levels, with the uppermost level for passengers, and the lowest level for sailors. The middle level was for storing weapons, and it also housed the cannons of the ship. These cannons were powered by True Origin Stones and could unleash devastating attacks.
However, these cannons were normally never used, as they consumed one or more True Origin Stones with each shot that they fired. The price of using them was far too high.
The fuel for the ship was also True Origin Stones, and there was a formation set up inside the ship. When they couldn't rely on the wind, they could use True Origin Stones to activate the formation and power the ship.
When the ship disappeared from the harbor, many pairs of eyes were already fixed on Ling Han's body.
[1] This means that a powerful person can't necessarily defeat a weaker opponent if the weaker opponent enjoys a home ground advantage.


An ultimate warrior, the one and only Alchemy Emperor, Ling Han, had died in his quest to achieve godhood. Ten thousands years later, and he, with the "Invincible Heaven Scroll", was reborn in the body of a young man with the same name. From then on, winds and clouds moved, as he set himself against uncountable geniuses of this new era. His path of becoming a legend has begun once more. At all eras, and underneath the heavens, I am the strongest!

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