Forty years is enough time for a soft baby to turn into a strong man, and for a child with spirit roots to become a low or mid-grade cultivator. But in the scope of an ancient city that existed for over a million years, it may as well happen over the blink of an eye.
When the three human territories were formed, Yu Yang City was the first founded in the Heavenly Origin Region.
Although it was only a medium-grade city and the city lords had no plan for expansion, it repelled every beast torrent easily. Never once did it encounter great danger.
This was because Yu Yang City was one of the most populated cities with body refiners. It carried this reputation throughout the Heavenly Origin City.
It was said that the current Heavenly Origin Sage had cultivated the body refinement technique to perfection in the city, leaving behind a grand history there.
The city housed countless body refinement sects and schools. High-grade body refiners rare in other areas were present in the city in large numbers. At the heart of the city, there was even a ‘sacred tower’ that stored the collections and experiences of body refinement sects. The collection was so expansive and detailed that it was renowned as one of the best in the region.
With such things located in the city, it attracted more low and mid-grade body refiners each year. Against such a formidable fighting force, a trifling beast torrent posed no threat.
Apart from this, Yu Yang City had a reputation for creating spirit tools on par with Heavenly Origin City. Each year a large number of spirit tools were refined there and purchased by merchants and body refiners alike.
Several auction houses greatly profited in selling rare spirit tools.
These auction houses more or less held a large number of spirit tool master smiths.
The so-called spirit tool masters were akin to pill refinement masters and spell formation masters as a master of their craft.
However, these people were peculiar where they needed to refine body refinement techniques to a certain extent and acquire some understanding of spell formations as well. Furthermore, they also required a naturally powerful spiritual sense.
With these conditions, one can become a spirit tool master. Those who wish to become one would need immense amounts of practice in addition to their natural talents.
The spirit tool masters held by the auction houses were all excellent and produced spirit tools with great power and inconceivable abilities.
Of course, these spirit tools were also meticulously forged. It commonly took several months to refine one, and when their extraordinary abilities were displayed in an auction house, they were sold at sky-high prices.
The Long Xing Auction House was one of the largest in Yu Yang City. They abruptly emerged and created a reputation that rivaled long-established auction houses.
The master of this auction house quickly became someone of considerable status in the city.
But one day in the Long Xing Auction House, a fat man wearing extravagant robes was pacing back and forth in the main hall.
He occasionally looked in the direction of the entrance with worry.
Another moment later, the fat man came to stop and loudly yelled, “Feng Er! Go take another look outside and see if Grandmaster Han has arrived.”
“Yes, milord!”
A young man hastily acknowledged his order and ran off, his footsteps quickly becoming faint.
The fat man paced for a moment more. Then, he seemed to tire and sat down, the chain creeping from his weight.
The fat man didn’t fear that that chair would collapse. Rather, he simply took a teapot from the table and poured himself a few cups in an easy manner.
“Could it be Brother Fan’s temper is a result of illness?” A clear voice sounded from the direction of the door, followed by the owner’s appearance.
When the fat man saw the newly arrived man, he immediately stood up, and the rolls of fat underneath his chin shook from his laughter, “Brother Han, you’ve finally arrived. Feng Er, that idiot didn’t inform me of your arrival.”
“Don’t blame him, I had him keep watch outside.”
The person who arrived appeared to be a common middle-aged man. He had creases on his brow and long black facial hair. As he carried a long bundle in his arms, he looked at the fat man with a mysterious smile.
It appeared the two were quite familiar with one another.
“Haha, although I know Brother Han never missed an appointment, this matter is quite important. This is related to my efforts in the city for the last several tens of years, so I was quite worried. This is the item that Brother Han personally forged?” The fat man looked at the middle-aged man’s bundle with excitement.
“That’s right. Old Brother Fan should take a look at it. The middle-aged man smiled and handed over the bundle. Then he took a seat at a nearby chair.
The old fat man took the long bundle and began to quickly tear off the cover, revealing a meter-long sword covered in a faint golden sheath. The sword was embedded with three spirit stones of various colors. At a glance, one could tell it was an unordinary spirit tool.
When the fat man saw this, he grasped the sword handle carefully and slowly took it out of the sheath.
A ring akin to the dragon’s cry sounded and a ball of golden light appeared before the fat man. It turned into a small golden wyrm that twirled in front of him.
The fat man glanced at the light and shook the sword sheath. As soon as the wyrm vanished, a glistening golden sword with a wyrm pattern appeared in his hand.
“Marvelous, marvelous! This is the sole top-grade spirit tool that emerged within Yu Yang City within the last hundred years. It possesses the inconceivable ability to take another form. Hehe, with this word, the others won’t dare to compete with me. Big Brother Han, you’ve helped this little brother tremendously.” The fat man sheathed the sword and broke out into bellowing laughter.
The middle-aged man sipped on the tea, revealing not a trace of excitement, “It was nothing. I was only able to refine the spirit tool because of the materials you’ve supplied me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to refine it no matter the skill.”
“Hehe, that is so, Big Brother! Those with empty reputations can’t hope to compare with you,” The fat man laughed.
“There is no need to flatter me. That sword is the last spirit tool I’ll make for you. In a moment, I will depart from the city. I reckon I won’t return.” The middle-aged man spoke with a smile.
The fat man woke up from his glee and hastily said, “Big Brother, what are you saying? Why do you want to leave the city? Could it be the subordinates I’ve assigned to you? Give the word and I will immediately cut them off and assign you better ones.”
The middle-aged man slowly said, “In the past, I made an error in my cultivation and you happened to pass by and lend me a hand. I was also unable to safely break through my bottleneck at the time. Now that several decades have passed and I forged all these spirit tools for you while hiding my identity, I have fully paid back your kindness. Now, the Long Xing Auction House has become one of the largest in the city. After you present that sword to the city lord, I’m sure it will be the largest for sure. I wasn’t able to fully teach my techniques to the apprentices you gave to me, but they know enough to continue your auction house. You should know I fully intend to cultivating body refinement techniques. Forging spirit tools was something I only did in passing. I won’t gain anything else from staying here.”
“Could it be Brother Han’s cultivation has reached another bottleneck?” When the fat man’s heart jumped when he heard Han Li’s final sentence.
The middle-aged man simply replied with a silent smile.
The fat man was stunned.
While others might now know of this person’s formidable power, the fat man clearly understood it.
Ten years ago, he came across danger and this good friend of his saved him. In a single breath, he killed a dozen low-grade body refiners that invaded his mansion. He displayed fearsome cultivation that was no weaker than a high-grade body refiner. Now that he has encountered another bottleneck, his cultivation will greatly progress after he breaks through it. At that moment, Brother Han’s cultivation will reach an inconceivable stage.
“Old Brother Fan, it is good that you know. I must thank you for keeping quiet about me and purchasing large quantities of techniques and medicine pills on my behalf. However, we must now part. I can only bid you farewell!” With that said, the middle-aged man stood up and saluted him, walking out without turning back.
The fat man’s lips quivered, but eventually, he couldn't come up with any words to convince him to stay. He could only watch the middle-aged man walk away with a dim face.
When the fat man saved Brother Han, it was the biggest turning point in his life. With all his power, Brother Han supported the nameless merchant until he became one of the leading figures in Yu Yang City. But now that Brother Han felt that he paid back his kindness in full, he walked away without any hesitation.
Naturally, he couldn't tell him to stay.
Outside the Long Xing Auction House, the middle-aged man saddled on a deer-like mount and made his way to the city exit.
Several hours later, the middle-aged man appeared on a cliff many kilometers away from the city. He looked at the tremendous city in the distance and leaped off the deer, sweeping his sleeve past his face.
An inconceivable event occurred.
After his sleeve fell, his facial hair disappeared and his middle-aged face turned young, turning into a youth that appeared to be in his late teens.
He was Han Li, who was last seen with the Gold Jade Sect Cultivators to seize the treasure.
Han Li indifferently glanced at the city walls from a distance and he suddenly turned around. Leaving behind the deer, the strode in the distance.
Not long after, he turned into a black dot on the horizon and disappeared into the wilderness.
