"Don't you think you were a bit too harsh on the young lady?" Inside the luxurious room, a figure clad in black stood beside Lin Meilin before asking in a hoarse voice.
"You could have gone a bit easy on her. She is always trying her best to prove herself."
"Heh!" Lin Meilin just sneered in response. "Then she should try harder. She still hasn't seen the world for what it truly is."
"Then..." There was some doubt in the other voice.
"It is time for her to go through some trials. Her life has been smooth sailing so far." Without waiting for another party to respond, Lin Meilin took out a black token and threw it to the other party.
"You know what to do."
"This..." The other party was obviously in disbelief, but in the end, they just let out a sigh before disappearing from the room, leaving behind the figure of Lin Meilin, who was gazing deeply at the moon.
------------------
On the other side of the Yuyang city, Yang Ze finally reached his destination.
Unlike Yuyang City, Feiyang Town wasn't that large. The town's walls were much thinner and shorter than those of Yuyang City. Its terrain was also vastly different. Instead of mountains, it was surrounded by lush green plains. However, there was a wide river flowing through the middle of the town.
Reaching the gates of the town, Lin Wan just took out her token, and the guards examined it for a while before letting them pass.
Stepping inside the town, Yang Ze silently enjoyed the passing scenery.
Unlike what he thought, the town was rather well-maintained. The streets and roads were clean, the houses were arranged properly at a set distance, and one could see the constant flow of people entering and exiting the town. Just a glance, and he could see all types of shops as well as street stalls and moving hawkers. For a moment, he couldn't help but compare it to his village fair on Earth.
After a few minutes, the caravan finally stopped in front of a large manor. Looking at the bright name plate at the entrance that had 'Lin Family' etched into it, Yang Ze clicked his tongue in wonder.
While the rest of the members of the caravan were unloading the goods, he kept on looking around in amazement. He couldn't help but have an itch to explore this town.
As if sensing his restlessness, Lin Wan shook her head before whispering to him.
"You can go and explore the town, but don't get into any trouble and make sure to come back here by tomorrow morning."
"Don't make me come and get you personally." With those words, she turned around and observed the goods being transported. Initially, she wanted to take him with her inside the manor, but upon realising just how busy she was going to get now, she decided to let him loose. On one hand, it was because she was worried by his constant presence around her, while on the other, she wanted him to have his own experience and growth. She didn't want him to be a sheltered flower forever. Otherwise, it would do harm to both of them in the long term.
As for him escaping her grasp... How could she not have made any preparations for that?
Upon hearing that he could explore the town, Yang Ze almost jumped in excitement. He looked around and was about to head out when he suddenly thought of something and paused before raising his hand and placing his open palm in front of her.
"...."
"...."
"What is it?" Lin Wan raised an eyebrow. This guy was getting more and more daring. What the hell was he even thinking about in such broad daylight?
"Money." Contrary to her expectations, Yang Ze's answer was rather simple. "You certainly don't expect me to wander around without money, right?"
"...." Lin Wan's lips twitched in response as she took out a small bag, poured a few gold coins and handed them to him. She couldn't help but blame herself for thinking too much.
"Do not waste it all." With these words, she turned around and left him behind.
Yang Ze just waved his hand before choosing one direction and heading towards it. The first thing he needed to do was to buy a damn mask and get rid of this thick cloth around his face.
After parting ways, it didn't take him long to come across a shop selling some clothes and animal-shaped masks.
Yang Ze looked for a while before setting his eyes upon a normal-looking bear-shaped mask. Initially, he wanted to buy it, but thinking about how it would make him stand out even more, he held back this idea and asked for something more ordinary.
The shopkeeper just gave him a knowing smile before heading in and coming out with a different mask. Compared to the other masks, this one was a real human mask. It even came up with its own set of hair.
"Perfect." The moment Yang Ze saw it, he knew he had to buy it.
When he handed the shopkeeper a gold coin, the other party just shook their head in helplessness. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and buy a few extra sets of clothes to spend that gold coin.
Walking out of the shop, his entire demeanour changed. His old grey robe was replaced by a set of new blue robes. And the clothes he was wearing underneath have also changed from old rugged clothes to brand new silk clothes. As for his face... it now resembled the face of a man in his mid twenties with an extremely ordinary appearance.
Although it was uncomfortable to wear and felt like wearing someone's skin, Yang Ze just endured it. He needed to get used to it. In the future, he was bound to travel around and see this wondrous world with his own eyes.
The mask fit him perfectly. If one were to look at his face for too long, one would even find him unsightly.
Of course, it only worked for the mortals and some low-level cultivators. The shopkeeper repeatedly told him that this mask was useless in front of a powerful cultivator. But Yang Ze didn't think too much about it. It wasn't as if he was going to constantly jump in front of powerful cultivators.
He didn't stay there for too long. After walking around a few times, he didn't find anything of value. Though the market was filled with all kinds of strange things, they were at most some random trinkets, completely useless to him.
He even tried looking for a suitable talent to sign in; unfortunately for him, the highest talent he ever came across was green, one level above the lowest white. There wasn't even a blue talent in sight.
After roaming around aimlessly for a long time, he just made his way to the nearest restaurant before picking a corner seat with a window and sat there.
Since coming to this world, he hasn't had a single meal. He was afraid that he would forget the taste of real food.
And with the excess money in his hand, he wasn't shy about ordering.
"Bring me your best dishes."
"And the wine?" The waiter asked with a bright smile. It was rare for such a big guest to arrive this early.
"No. I don't like to drink." Shaking his head, Yang Ze focused his gaze on the street outside.
The constant shouts of the hawkers, the low whispering of people and the bustling of the town... it gave him a sense of warmth and comfort.
It wasn't long before the waiter came back with all the dishes.
Yang Ze quietly began to eat his meal. He had to admit that the dishes here were quite flavorful. Initially, he thought that because of not being technologically advanced, the dishes here would be mediocre at best. But to his surprise, they were even better than those on Earth. Every bite was full of flavours. From chicken to different types of meats... he just couldn't get enough of them.
It took him almost an hour to finish every dish, and yet even after that, there was a feeling of wanting more. Perhaps it was due to him already stepping into the peak of Body refining, but he still didn't feel full.
"Forget it." Shaking his head, Yang Ze quietly handed a gold coin and sat there in silence, thinking about his next course of action.
It was impossible for him to escape from the clutches of Lin Wan. At least he didn't have the ability for now. As for running away... he wasn't stupid enough to think that Lin Wan wouldn't have taken measures against it. The face mask might fool others, but he wasn't so sure about Lin Wan.
The only thing he could do was to copy as many talents as possible and break through to the highest realm possible. Only in this way would he have a chance to break free from this desperate situation.
The other thing that bothered him the most was the matter of fighting skills and techniques. As a person from the modern Earth, where the hardest fight of his life was choosing between a normal Coke and a diet one... It wasn't hard to imagine what he lacked the most in this world, other than cultivation.
Without any fighting skills and techniques, he would be like a brute who had strength but no hands or legs. Not to mention the men in this world were inherently weak and could be suppressed by women with lower realms than them.
"First find a fighting talent, then get some techniques and then increase my realm." Yang Ze finally made up his mind to follow the plan. And just when he was wondering where to find suitable talent, he overheard a few people.
"Have you heard? A new ruin has been discovered near Stonegate City?"
"Real or just another rumour?"
"Looks to be real. I heard it from the travelling merchants."
"Damn it... I wonder what kind of treasures lie there? Should we go and join the excitement?"
"The four of us? Haha! Do you think you have lived long enough?"
"What's the harm in trying? Perhaps one of us could get lucky!"
The four women there talked about it excitedly, but it was at this moment that another person chimed in.
"EH! Stonegate City?"
"Isn't it under the jurisdiction of the Duality sect?"
The moment this statement came out, the entire tavern descended into silence. Even a handful of people who were laughing stopped midway.
Yang Ze, on the other hand, just listened to it with great excitement. Till now, he had only read about acquiring information in the tavern from other novels. And now that such a scene was being played in front of him, he couldn't help but have a sense of novelty. For a moment, he even had an urge to walk to them, slap a few coins on the table and ask what they were talking about.
But in the end, reason won over impulse and after a while, he stood up and left the tavern. Regrettably, the handful of people stopped talking about it after a while.
Soon, seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours as the entire city descended into nighttime.
Even though he had time till tomorrow morning, he still arrived early with a handful of books. These books were all about his surroundings, factions and different powers. Amongst these books were a handful that contained information about the so-called ruins and the cultivation realm of this world.
And the last few books were martial arts books that he bought at a bargain.
Till now, Yang Ze was still under the illusion that this world wasn't that well developed and perhaps knowledge would be tightly guarded.
But to his surprise, he found a dozen bookstores selling these things. A few of them were even selling cultivation techniques.
Unfortunately, the money Lin Wan gave him was spent on food, clothing and these books.
"Also, I didn't sign in today." At first, he wanted to find a talent that would help him improve his combat techniques. Unfortunately for him, he didn't find one even after roaming the entire town.
In the end, he could only look at the handful of guards in front of him and chose one randomly.
[Sign in to Clear Mind. Congratulations on getting a bottle of Pulse Opening pills.]
"These again?" This was the third bottle he had gained. The previous two were still in the system's space. He didn't know how effective those things were, but he decided to wait till he reached the Lin family before taking them to a safe space.
With these matters resolved, he found a guest room, sat on a chair and began to read the books he had just bought.