Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A free meal? Just now?
(⊙ o ⊙)
It was no wonder this person looked familiar—he was the owner of the restaurant they ate at earlier.
Shen Ying’s expression darkened. She and Yi Qing both turned to Lonemoon with chiding eyes.
“Holy shit, what are you looking at me for?” Lonemoon’s expression also darkened. If he had not been so agitated by that stupid radish, he would not have forgotten to pay. Also… must he always be the one footing the bill?
“Owner…” Lonemoon had an awkward expression on his face as he stepped forward. He had already lived one lifetime and was on his second, but this was the first time he had been chased after for having forgotten to pay for a meal.This is so embarrassing! “Heh, this was our mistake. We were in such a rush that we forgot to pay our bill. We’ll compensate you right now. How many spirit stones did our meal cost?”
“Stop acting!” The owner glared at him and shouted, “All the cultivators saw what you did earlier. The three of you ran away on purpose. If I didn’t chase after you, would you have come back to foot the bill?”
“Er…” Lonemoon blushed, growing increasingly ashamed of himself. He really had not realized that they did not foot the bill.
“You expect this to be over just because you claim it was a mistake? It’s not so easy! All the food you ate earlier on was made from spirit herbs and spirit rice. It would cost you more than ten low-grade spirit stones.”
“…”
“I’ve seen many people like you. You’d continue to hold out hope until you’re faced with grim reality. If I don’t teach you a lesson today, everybody would come to my restaurant and think they can have free meals.” As soon as he had finished, he waved his hand. The crowd surrounding them began to draw their weapons.
“Wait… Owner, I can explain.” We really just forgot. Lonemoon was starting to get anxious, but he knew he could not fight back because he was in the wrong. “Let’s talk it out amicably! Hey, say something!” Lonemoon shouted as he turned around to look at his companions.
Shen Ying and Yi Qing kept quiet and retreated, turning away.
Holy shit, they lack loyalty.
“That…” He plucked up the nerve to ask, “What do you think about this. I’ll pay you double in spirit stones for the meal we had earlier on.”
“Double?” The restaurant owner’s expression softened. He looked Lonemoon up and down, then signalled for the men around him to put away their weapons. “Are you serious?”
“I’m serious, I’m serious,” Lonemoon answered as he took his spirit stones out of his bag. “Forgive us, Owner, we really just forgot.”
“Alright! Since you’re so sincere about this…” The owner seemed less angry now as he continued, “My restaurant isn’t unreasonable. I’ll accept your spirit stones.” He received the bag of spirit stones and suddenly seemed to realize something. “From your looks, you must be cultivators who have just arrived here in the Upper World. I’ll let you off this time. Hmph! The next time I catch you trying to eat a free meal, it won’t end this simply!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Lonemoon nodded. This is so embarrassing!
“Oh yes, what’s your name?”
Lonemoon stiffened. Was he going to add his name to the blacklist? After half a second, he said firmly, “I’m Shen Ying!”
Shen Ying: “…” Son of a b*tch!
“That’s S-H-E-N Y-I-N-G!” Lonemoon added.
“Shen Ying…” He turned to look at the other two. “And you guys?”
Yi Qing hesitated and replied, “Radish!”
“Why are you named after a vegetable?” The owner frowned. He turned to look at Shen Ying and said, “You… Forget it, it’s not important! We’ll forget about it this time. Let’s head back, guys!”
He waved his hand and, together with the cultivators he had brought along, flew into the sky.
The three of them: “…”
After a moment…
“What are you looking at me for? You were the one who ate the most just now.”I’m only using your name. “We can’t tell him our real names, can we? Yi Qing changed his name to Radish as well.”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Your presence is insignificant anyway, so they won’t remember you.”
Lonemoon patted his chest and made a guarantee.
However…
Three hours later, in Upper Azure Town…
At every street and alley, the shops had the same wooden signboard hanging beside their doors. The words on the wooden board were painted in gold and they were extremely eye catching:
No entry to Shen Ying and his dogs!
Shen Ying: “…”
Lonemoon: “…”
Yi Qing: “…”
Son of a b*tch! Didn’t he say it would be fine?
——————
Upper Azure Town was an Immortal Town in the south of the Upper Azure World. Upper Azure Town was located beside several districts where aristocratic families lived, but it did not belong to any one aristocratic family or sect. It was one of the few neutral Immortal Towns. There were many types of people in the bustling town as anyone who was a cultivator could enter. Most of them were cultivators who had just arrived at the Upper World or cultivators who were looking to join an aristocratic family.
Lonemoon and Yi Qing asked around and began to get a good picture of the situation in the Upper Azure World.
It was the same story up here as it was in the Lower Realm—the most powerful Immortal Cultivators were not in the sects but in the four aristocratic families. There were three others apart from the pill-refining Xuan Yuan Family: The Yu Family who was famous for their talisman arrays, the Yi Family who specialized in beast control and weapon refinement, and the Yin Family who was filthy rich. The Yin Family controlled more than half of the Spirit Stone mines and more than half of the shops in Upper Azure Town including the restaurant where they were accused of eating a free meal.
Shen Ying finally understood why it seemed like all the shops were hanging up the same wooden signboard.
Son of a b*tch!
The four aristocratic families each had their own strengths and their talents didn’t overlap much. Apart from the main family, they also had several smaller families under them. It seemed that more than 70% of the Immortal Cultivators’ resources were under their control.
Although fewer and fewer people could achieve Immortal Ascension, most of the people who had achieved Immortal Ascension came from one of the four aristocratic families. Moreover, the aristocratic families were incredibly strong—they each had dozens of Soul Formation experts and four or five presiding Traveling Immortals.
The rest of the sects were regular Immortal Cultivator sects. Although they occupied a part of the spirit veins and had many disciples under them, they were still no match for the aristocratic families. The strange thing was that there were very few itinerant cultivators in the Upper Azure World. The aristocratic families often claimed all the land where danger had been expelled from or that had dense Yin Qi. Seldom would one find land with no owner. Regardless of which realm one was born in—the Upper World or the Lower Realm—people sought to join a family or sect in the Upper Azure World.
This meant that Shen Ying, Yi Qing and Lonemoon were in a very awkward situation.
“We’re not suited to join any sect or family given our current situation,” Lonemoon frowned. Shen Ying’s reputation as a freeloader aside, Lonemoon and Yi Qing’s names were spreading like wildfire because of what happened with the Xuan Yuan Family. The four aristocratic families existed as coequals; if any one of those families took Lonemoon and Yi Qing in, they would clearly be pitting themselves against the Xuan Yuan Family. As for the other sects, no one would dare to make an aristocratic family their enemy.
“It’s not going to be easy for us to survive in this world unless the Xuan Yuan Family stupidly invites us back. No family or sect would dare to take us in otherwise.”
“Why must we join them?” Shen Ying asked. “Why can’t we work on cultivating ourselves?”
“This place is different from the Middle Azure World. The aristocratic families have never been kind to Fiendish Cultivators. If we want to find a place with thick Spirit Qi to train at, we have to go under a family or sect’s name. Otherwise, we’ll make ourselves out to look like Fiendish Cultivators.”
“Oh.” In other words, we have to hang tags around our necks or we’ll look like Fiendish Cultivators? “Then let’s just establish one on our own.”
“Establish one?” Lonemoon repeated in shock.
“Master, you’re saying we should establish a sect?” Yi Qing was also startled.
“Yeah.” Shen Ying nodded. All they needed to do was find a corner to train in, right? It was better to rely on themselves than on other people. Or did they have to settle administrative matters and apply for permits?
“Establish a sect with just the three of us? Don’t be silly!” Lonemoon rolled his eyes. “Do you really think it’s so easy to establish a sect? Do you think it’s like setting up a shop and all we need is money? All else aside, we need to at least have a place! The spirit veins in the Upper Azure World are all occupied by the aristocratic families and sects. Where are we supposed to find a spirit vein for ourselves? We’d have to return to the Middle Azure World.” It was not that easy to find one even in the Middle Azure World.
“If we don’t have a spirit vein, we won’t have Spirit Qi. Without Spirit Qi, we won’t have spirit herbs and spirit beasts. Without those, how are we supposed to cultivate?” He turned to the radish beside him who had once again taken human form. “All we have is a radish. It might be valuable and it might help us find spirit herbs, but most of the land in the Upper Azure World belongs to the aristocratic families. If a spirit herb is in someone else’s land, knowing where it is doesn’t mean you can grab it!”
Shen Ying turned around to look at the obedient radish. “Are radishes and whatnot really so important?”
“Of course!” Lonemoon explained, “Refining pills aside, wherever herbs and spirit herbs grow, the Spirit Qi would be ten times thicker than normal. That’s also how a spirit vein forms. Every cultivator needs Spirit Qi.”
So that’s why vegetables are important. “Any place where radishes grow would be acceptable?”
“You could put it that way.”
“I know somewhere we could go,” Shen Ying said seriously.
“…” What?
——————
Three days later, in the Demon Palace…
The Rabbit Monarch’s legs went jelly and it rolled down from its throne, unable to believe its eyes.
Was it dreaming? Was this real?
“Hey, Rabbit. Long time no see!”
