With the engagement dissolved and his enemies dealt with, Ye Yu found himself with nothing to do. He was already invincible, cultivation was pointless, and spending his days idling in the City Lord's Mansion held no appeal. He told Ye Hao he was leaving to train, and Ye Hao, proud of his son's newfound drive, saw him off without objection.
Before departing, Ye Yu quietly laid down an invisible formation over the City Lord's Mansion. Anyone who dared scheme against it would be silently and ruthlessly eliminated. With that taken care of, he set off into the wider world.
---
After a leisurely journey, he arrived at Nanling City, the nearest major city to Songyang City and a vastly different place. While Songyang City ranked last among the thirteen cities of the Tianfeng Kingdom, Nanling City held the fourth position, and the difference showed in every street and storefront. Prosperity radiated from the city inside and out. Even the city lord here was a genuine Martial King, a far cry from Ye Hao's seventh-grade martial artist rank.
As Ye Yu approached the gate, one of the guards stepped into his path.
"Hey, boy. Don't you know there's a toll to enter the city?"
The reason was simple: Ye Yu looked young, his clothes were unremarkable, and no trace of spiritual power emanated from him. In the guards' estimation, he was either an ordinary civilian or a low-ranked cultivator, easy prey. They had already shaken down several passersby that day by the same logic, waving through anyone with a powerful aura while targeting those who seemed unable to fight back.
In a world where martial strength determined everything, this was simply how things worked.
They just happened to pick the wrong person this time.
Ye Yu raised his eyes and looked at them.
That was all.
In an instant, every guard felt as though they had been plunged into an ice cave sealed for a thousand years. Their bodies trembled involuntarily, their souls shaking at something they couldn't name or see. Death felt very close.
Then, just as quickly, the sensation vanished, like waking from a nightmare.
Ye Yu's expression returned to its usual mild innocence. "So, may I go in?"
The guards snapped back to themselves, bowed deeply, and scrambled to escort him through. "Right this way, young master. Please, follow us."
Once Ye Yu had passed through and was out of sight, they sagged to the ground, mopping sweat from their faces.
"I thought I was going to die."
Everyone nodded. It was the closest any of them had come.
They quickly reached the same conclusion: the boy must be the scion of some great family, and the terrifying pressure had come from a hidden guardian watching over him from the shadows. None of them considered, or dared to consider, that it had come from the fifteen-year-old boy himself.
---
Inside the city, Ye Yu found the most lavish-looking restaurant in sight, settled into a seat, and ordered a few dishes that caught his eye. Although his invincible constitution meant he had no physical need for food or drink, his appetite was another matter entirely. Some habits were harder to give up than cultivation.
As he worked through the restaurant's signature dish, Double Dragons Playing with Pearls, the conversation at the next table drifted over.
"Have you heard? Tianbao Pavilion is holding a grand auction in three days."
"Tianbao Pavilion holds auctions all the time. Is this one worth paying attention to?"
"You don't understand. I've got inside information. Apparently this is the most significant auction they've held in a hundred years. And I heard that a Wuhuang Pill will be on offer."
"A Wuhuang Pill?!"
The table fell quiet for a moment as the weight of that sank in.
The Wuhuang Pill, known also as the Martial Emperor Pill, was a legendary alchemical treasure capable of helping a Martial King attempt the crossing into the Martial Emperor realm. It offered no guarantees, but it raised the odds of a breakthrough by thirty percent. That alone was enough to set the hearts of every peak Martial King warrior racing. The chasm between Martial King and Martial Emperor was one that most cultivators spent their entire lives failing to cross.
"If the Martial Emperor Pill is appearing, this auction is going to be something else."
"There are even rumours that members of the Tianfeng royal family will be attending."
Ye Yu set down his chopsticks, mildly intrigued.
A Tianbao Pavilion auction. That sounded like it was worth seeing.
There was one small problem. Auctions of that calibre required a considerable entry fee and the means to actually bid on things. His current finances were, by any honest measure, insufficient.
He could simply take what he needed without anyone noticing, his abilities made that trivially easy. But that felt beneath him.
Then a better idea came to him.
If there was one profession on the entire Tianxuan Continent that produced wealth beyond all others, it was alchemy. A single high-grade pill could draw hundreds of powerful cultivators into a bidding frenzy. And as it happened, Ye Yu's compensation package had come with complete knowledge of alchemy.
He reached into his storage ring and drew out an assortment of spiritual medicines, first-grade through ninth-grade, a dazzling spread of colours and scents laid out on the table before him.
He had gathered them from the Tianduan Mountains on the day he first received his abilities, giving a portion to Ye Hao and keeping the rest for himself. There was more than enough to work with.
The choice of what to refine made itself.
The Wuhuang Pill.
If so many peak Martial Kings were willing to travel to Nanling City for a chance at one, its value at auction would be extraordinary.
A white flame kindled in Ye Yu's palm. More than a dozen spiritual medicines dissolved into it. Within moments, ten small, rounded pills had condensed and settled neatly into his hand.
Done.
He held one up and examined it, pristine white, perfect in every way. He frowned slightly, then pressed a finger against it. A thin layer of grey spread across the surface.
He nodded, satisfied.
The grey was deliberate. Left in its natural state, the pill would be flawless, a one-hundred-percent guaranteed breakthrough for any Martial King who consumed it. That would raise far too many questions. So Ye Yu had introduced a trace of impurity, enough to bring it in line with what the market would expect.
Even so, the altered pill was still far superior to anything commercially available. A standard Wuhuang Pill improved breakthrough odds by thirty percent. This one, impurities and all, would push that figure to sixty.
Whoever bought it was getting a remarkable deal, they just wouldn't know it from looking at it.
Ye Yu tucked the pills away and returned his attention to his food.