He turned around and saw a man in a long yellow robe looking at Yun Chen with a puzzled expression.
This person was none other than Steward Huang of the beast-drawn carriage station.
This fellow had seemingly been involved in some kind of transaction with King of Hell Cui earlier.
Yun Chen ignored him entirely.
This caused Steward Huang’s expression to shift, and he said in a deep voice, "Brat, I'm talking to you. Are you deaf?"
Turning his gaze, Yun Chen asked coldly, "What, do we know each other?"
"No!"
"Since we don't know each other, how was I supposed to know you were talking to me? Besides, what does my life or death have to do with you? Are you some kind of supreme ruler that my life and death are any of your concern?"
Yun Chen’s words were laced with thorns, not giving Steward Huang an ounce of respect.
This made Steward Huang’s face turn ashen with fury. A powerful aura belonging to the Qi Condensation Realm violently erupted from his body, whipping up a gale that caused his robes to snap and flutter. "Brat, do you know who you're talking to?"
"Heh!" Ignoring the other man's aura, Yun Chen made to walk toward the beast-drawn carriage.
At that moment, quite a few cultivators were already boarding, and the carriage was about to depart.
Yun Chen's continued disregard nearly caused Steward Huang to spit a mouthful of blood.
Seeing Yun Chen board the carriage, Steward Huang seemed to remember something. His gaze flashed abruptly, and he boarded as well.
The ticket Yun Chen had bought was the cheapest kind, so he, like many others, had to stand in the main hall of the carriage.
The hall was very spacious, capable of accommodating over a hundred people.
Finding a random spot, Yun Chen sat down.
Carriage tickets that came with private rooms reportedly cost one hundred thousand gold coins.
When Yun Chen had purchased their tickets, he only had around fifty thousand gold coins on him, and since he needed to buy two, he had settled for ordinary tickets.
Yun Xiaoer had been following Yun Chen closely; wherever Yun Chen went, she naturally followed.
"Brother, where are you headed?"
A seemingly shrewd-looking young man took the initiative to speak up. "My name is Zhang Tao. I'm planning to head to Yancheng this time to participate in the Dayan Mountain disciple selection tournament. Heh, this time I'm definitely going to become a Dayan Mountain disciple and bring honor to my family."
"Yun Chen, heading to Yancheng as well!" Yun Chen wasn't someone particularly skilled at socializing, but since the other person had taken the initiative to greet him, it wouldn't do to ignore him.
Chapter 24: A Slap
"That's great! The two of us can keep each other company. By the way, Brother Yun, are you also going to participate in the Dayan Mountain disciple selection tournament? Heh, Dayan Mountain is one of the top factions in our Daxia Nation. If I can enter Dayan Mountain, I'm sure Sister Qing will look at me in a completely different light."
At this, a look of yearning inevitably surfaced on Zhang Tao's face.
Yun Chen guessed that the so-called Sister Qing was probably this fellow's dream lover.
"More or less!" Nodding faintly, Yun Chen was actually wondering whether or not he should take out the recommendation letter Qu Wan'er had given him once he reached Dayan Mountain.
With that recommendation letter, he should be able to join the outer sect of Dayan Mountain.
It was just that doing so would mean owing Qu Wan'er a personal favor.
More importantly, as far as he knew, outer sect disciples were not allowed to bring family dependents. If he wanted to bring Yun Xiaoer into Dayan Mountain with him, either he would have to become an inner sect disciple, or Yun Xiaoer would have to become a Dayan Mountain disciple in her own right.
Seeing Yun Chen nod, Zhang Tao was overjoyed. "That's wonderful! From now on, we'll have a companion at Dayan Mountain!"
He said it as if he had already joined Dayan Mountain.
...
Inside a room.
Steward Huang was frowning slightly.
Previously, he had assumed that King of Hell Cui had already wiped out Yun Chen.
Yet now Yun Chen had returned, while King of Hell Cui was nowhere to be found.
Given King of Hell Cui's temper, anyone he targeted would never be let off—unless some unexpected change had occurred during that time.
"Those two—one is at Qi Cyclone Realm Layer 1, and the other is at Spirit-Guiding Realm Layer 6. With such cultivation, it's absolutely impossible for them to be King of Hell Cui's match. It looks like King of Hell Cui must have had some urgent business and didn't have time to go trouble these two!"
Steward Huang guessed inwardly.
Ordinarily, these matters had nothing to do with him, and he couldn't be bothered to care.
But now, he had to stick his hand into this.
Because that fellow had actually dared to show him disrespect.
In the past, every single rogue cultivator he met was extremely polite; that fellow, however, had actually dared to openly talk back to him.
"Someone come!"
After a moment, Steward Huang called out toward the outside.
The door opened, and two guards dressed in cyan robes walked in.
"Go help me summon Jiang Yuan. Tell him Huang Tianxiang has a small matter to discuss with him," Steward Huang instructed indifferently.
His given name was Huang Tianxiang, and he had already reached the Peak Qi Cyclone Realm. In fact, a large portion of the spiritual qi in his body had already transformed into true qi, and it wouldn't be long before he stepped into the Origin Opening Realm.
Once he entered the Origin Opening Realm, his status would more than double, giving him much greater say at the beast-drawn carriage station.
"Understood!"
The two guards immediately withdrew.
Before long, a young man in coarse linen garments walked into the room. Casting a faint glance at Huang Tianxiang, he asked, "I wonder what instructions Steward Huang has for calling me here?"
"This is a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills!" Huang Tianxiang directly produced a jade bottle and handed it toward Jiang Yuan.
Jiang Yuan did not immediately reach out to take it, but instead looked at the other man with some puzzlement.
"I want you to help me kill someone. He's in the main hall, cultivation at Qi Cyclone Realm Layer 1. This is his image!"
As he spoke, Huang Tianxiang raised a hand, and a crystal ball materialized in his palm.
This crystal ball could record everything happening around it; he had retrieved it from the carriage station's surveillance room.
In the crystal ball, Yun Chen's image was exceptionally clear.
"You want me to kill this person?" Jiang Yuan asked, puzzled.
"That's right. This fellow showed me disrespect earlier, so I want him dead. However, as a steward of the beast-drawn carriage station, I cannot personally step forward to deal with him; otherwise, killing this fellow would make it difficult for me to report to my superiors. Therefore, I can only ask you to make a move!"
"Alright, I'll take care of this for you!" Jiang Yuan reached out and accepted the bottle of pills.
This wasn't the first time he had done this kind of work for the other man.
A mere Qi Cyclone Realm Layer 1 fellow was nothing he took to heart.
Having secured the pills, Jiang Yuan left the room immediately, walked down to the second floor, and headed toward the first-floor hall.
Before long, Jiang Yuan appeared in the hall.
There were over a hundred people in the hall, and his gaze swept across them, quickly locking onto Yun Chen.
When he saw there was also a little girl by Yun Chen's side, his eyes lit up involuntarily.
Walking straight up to Yun Chen and his companions, he stared coldly at Yun Chen and said, "You've got some nerve, actually daring to flirt with my sister. Brat, go die right now!"
The moment his words fell, he made his move directly.
An excuse was easy enough to find—any random one would do.
Killing someone inside the hall practically carried no consequences.
Therefore, he held nothing back. Besides, didn't he have Huang Tianxiang backing him up?
Seeing this fellow come charging in with intent to kill, Yun Chen sprang to his feet with a swish.
He didn't know this person at all.
Sister? Yun Xiaoer was clearly his own sister.
With a loud "bang," Yun Chen reached out and grabbed the descending palm: "Who sent you?"
Jiang Yuan had no intention of answering at all. With a slight vibration of his palm, he mobilized the spiritual qi within his body, attempting to shake off Yun Chen's arm and press the attack.
"Since you don't want to talk, you'll never have to speak again!" Seeing that this fellow refused to utter a single word, why would Yun Chen show any courtesy?
Gathering spiritual qi in his palm, he brought it down in a slap directly toward the top of the other man's head.
With a muffled "bang," Jiang Yuan instantly bled from all seven orifices, and his body crashed straight down, dead as dead could be.
Chapter 25: A Benefactor
Silence. A deathly silence.
The entire hall fell abruptly silent, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
Everyone stared at Yun Chen with a gaze of absolute, utter disbelief.
This person actually dared to kill someone inside the beast-drawn carriage station's main hall, and moreover, he had killed a Peak Qi Cyclone Realm cultivator with a single slap.
That was a Peak Qi Cyclone Realm cultivator! Not just some ordinary cultivator.
The strongest people present in the hall possessed mere cultivation of this level.
"Brother, you..." After a long moment, Zhang Tao finally snapped out of it, saying nervously, "Y-you've really stirred up a huge disaster this time!"
"Don't worry. This kind of thing happens frequently on the beast-drawn carriages. Generally speaking, as long as the person killed doesn't have deep connections, the people running the station can't be bothered to care about such matters," a veiled woman draped in a black robe spoke up abruptly from nearby.
Hearing the woman's words, Yun Chen's heart sank involuntarily.
He thought of Steward Huang.
Before boarding the carriage, he hadn't offended anyone—the only person he had offended was that Steward Huang he encountered right outside.
The fellow who had just been killed was most likely sent by that Steward Huang.
"What if this person knows the carriage management personnel?" Yun Chen frowned and asked.
"If that's truly the case, they will definitely find an excuse to meddle in this matter, and you'll be dragged away immediately." Seeing Yun Chen's expression shift, the black-robed woman turned serious. "If it comes to that, Fellow Daoist, you'll likely be in grave danger."
"Is there any way to resolve this?" Yun Chen asked.
No matter how dense Zhang Tao was, he finally caught on at this point.
It looked like the person Yun Chen had offended wasn't just anybody—it was a staff member of the beast-drawn carriage station!
Perhaps even an elder of the commercial guild.
The beast-drawn carriage station belonged to the Tianque Commercial Guild, and the Tianque Commercial Guild was one of the three major commercial guilds in the Daxia Nation, holding massive influence across the entire nation. Rumor had it that there were top-tier factions standing behind them, though no one had ever been able to verify it.
If Yun Chen had truly offended some elder of the Tianque Commercial Guild, continuing to walk alongside Yun Chen would likely implicate him as well.
With this thought, Zhang Tao felt a tinge of regret for having struck up a conversation with Yun Chen in the first place.
"Tell me first, what kind of person did you offend?" The black-robed woman's tone was stern.
"It was a man in a long yellow robe. He should be some sort of steward at the carriage station!" Yun Chen didn't hide it, recounting his conflict with Steward Huang right before boarding the carriage.
Hearing Yun Chen's story, the black-robed woman visibly let out a sigh of relief.
"The person you offended should be Huang Tianxiang. Huang Tianxiang is just an ordinary steward on the carriages; he's far from being able to cover the sky with one hand. However, now that you've killed Jiang Yuan, he'll likely continue targeting you. Next time, he won't send subordinates—he'll likely step forward himself to drag you away. With his Peak Qi Cyclone Realm cultivation, if he takes you away, you probably won't come back alive!"
"Then what should I do?" Yun Chen asked instinctively.
"Find a backer stronger than him! That way, even if he wants to move against you, he won't dare!" The black-robed woman said, "As it happens, I know someone. If she's willing to help you, Huang Tianxiang will definitely not dare to come looking for trouble with you again. I just don't know if you dare come meet them with me."
"Lead the way," Yun Chen said without the slightest hesitation.
"I'd like to ask, what is your current cultivation?" The black-robed woman continued.
If not for the formidable combat prowess Yun Chen had displayed, and the fact that his spiritual qi density was not the least bit inferior to her own, she wouldn't have bothered stepping forward to waste her breath.
She was already a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator herself, specifically at the mid Qi Condensation Realm.
"Qi Cyclone Layer 1!"
Yun Chen had no intention of hiding it.
Don't let his Qi Cyclone Layer 1 realm fool him; in reality, even when facing an Origin Opening Realm expert, he dared to put up a fight.
Of course, he didn't know just how strong Origin Opening Realm experts were, so whether he could truly match one remained to be seen in actual combat.
"Qi Cyclone Realm Layer 1... your cultivation is a bit low. I can only say that I'll introduce you so you can meet. As for whether you can make the other party look at you in a new light, that depends on your own ability." The black-robed woman was clearly somewhat disappointed.
Yun Chen's speed when striking earlier had been too fast, preventing her from immediately sensing his cultivation level.
Had she known beforehand that Yun Chen's cultivation was so low, she probably wouldn't have opened her mouth.
With this thought, the black-robed woman felt a secret pang of regret.
Following that, the black-robed woman led Yun Chen and his sister out of the hall entirely.
The second and third floors were guarded by personnel.
However, whatever her status might be, the black-robed woman produced a token, and the guards immediately let them pass without the slightest intention of obstruction.
The three of them arrived in front of a room on the third floor. The black-robed woman bowed slightly and said, "Jing Yuan requests an audience!"
"Come in!"
A somewhat deep voice came from within.
The room's door opened, and to Jing Yuan's surprise, there were quite a few people inside, with her young master sitting in the main seat.
Chapter 26: Bodyguards?
Inside the room, a young man styled like a pampered soft-faced youth sat in the master seat.
Seated below him were four people, while eight others stood in the middle. All eight were youths whose strength was below the Origin Opening Realm, and at that moment, they were looking rather nervously at the pampered youth above.
"Jing Yuan, is this the person you found? A Mid Spirit-Guiding Realm, and another whose cultivation I can't see through, though I imagine their strength can't be much higher." A haughty-looking young man seated below spoke up.
The young master above also looked over. When he saw Yun Chen and his sister, his brow furrowed slightly.
Logically speaking, Jing Yuan should have known what kind of people he wanted to find, rather than two little fellows whose cultivation was too low to bear looking at.
The ones the others had brought were all in the Qi Condensation Realm.
There were even two at the Peak Qi Condensation Realm.
What kind of game was Jing Yuan playing?
However, Jing Yuan had always been fiercely loyal to him and had never botched anything in the past, so he wanted to hear how she would explain herself.
Jing Yuan's face was full of bitter resignation; she already regretted inviting Yun Chen and his sister.
Yun Chen remained silent, while Yun Xiaoer looked somewhat nervous, instinctively clutching a fold of Yun Chen's robe.
"Young Master, I..." Jing Yuan wanted to explain something, but had no idea how.
This made the young master's expression turn quite unsightly.
"I must say, Jing Yuan, you couldn't possibly have just randomly grabbed two people off the street, could you? Don't you know how important this secret realm selection battle is to the Young Master? Or did you never take the Young Master's words to heart in the first place?" The haughty youth seemed to hold a grudge against Jing Yuan and immediately chimed in.
"Jing Yuan, the Young Master trusted you, which is why he let you help him look for people. But doing something like this... isn't this going a bit too far?" A remarkably alluring matron beside the youth said coldly.
"Enough. Since we need to pick candidates anyway, why not have these people spar one-on-one? The final four victors will accompany the Young Master to the selection battle!" Another white-haired youth spoke up.
"That works too." A woman in red nodded indifferently.
"Then let's do it that way!" The pampered soft-faced youth apparently didn't want to make things too awkward for Jing Yuan either.
"This is Prince Fusu. Prince Fusu is the seventeenth prince of the Daxia Kingdom. Esteemed martial artist, if you can become the Seventeenth Prince's bodyguard, then Huang Tianxiang will definitely not dare to continue targeting you!" Hearing this, Jing Yuan finally turned to introduce him to Yun Chen.
Hearing Jing Yuan's words, the group finally understood why Jing Yuan had brought along this unremarkable fellow—it turned out this guy had offended a steward on the carriage.
As for Yun Chen, he looked with some surprise at the pampered youth.
The seventeenth prince of the Daxia Nation, Fusu Mingyu.
Fusu Mingyu enjoyed an immense reputation. Rumor had it that at only eighteen years of age, he had already stepped into the Heavenly Martial Realm—an authentic freak of nature. Even before Yun Chen had tested for his Heavenly Spiritual Roots, his fame definitely couldn't match the other's. Yet he had never expected to encounter the famed Fusu Mingyu right here, on a tiny beast-drawn carriage.
Fusu Mingyu raised an eyebrow.
Jing Yuan was always cautious, but this time alone, she had deeply displeased him.
Displeasure aside, though, he couldn't say too much. He simply resolved in his heart that next time there was any important matter, he would try to keep her from participating to avoid mistakes.
"Greetings, Seventeenth Prince!"
Yun Chen cupped his fists, neither servile nor overbearing.
As for making him kneel—that was impossible.
Let alone the fact that the other party was merely a seventeenth prince, even if the monarch of the Daxia Nation stood right in front of him, he wouldn't dream of making Yun Chen kneel.
Seeing Yun Chen merely offer a perfunctory cupped-fist salute with a casual tone, Fusu Mingyu grew even more displeased. However, instead of doing anything to Yun Chen, he asked, "What is your name?"
"Yun Chen!"
"Could you be of the Yun family?"
"No."
"Very well, Yun Chen, is it? If you want to become my bodyguard and participate in the selection battle, you must display your full strength. Also, I must warn you: once you start fighting whoever you're matched against later, it's life or death. If you're scared, it's still not too late to quit right now!"
"Do you understand my meaning?"
Yun Chen nodded. "I understand. However, Your Highness, I didn't come here to become your bodyguard, but rather to seek your temporary protection, Your Highness. Once we reach Yancheng, I will leave to participate in the Dayan Mountain disciple selection and strive to become a disciple there. Therefore, I'm afraid I won't have time to accompany Your Highness to any selection battle."
Hearing Yun Chen's words, Fusu Mingyu shot Jing Yuan a cold glare.
Jing Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and internal regret washed over her.
Had she known, she shouldn't have brought Yun Chen and his sister along.
She had seen Yun Chen kill a Peak Qi Cyclone Realm cultivator with a single slap and therefore wanted him to become the Seventeenth Prince's bodyguard, never stopping to consider whether Yun Chen would agree.
It seemed she had acted too eagerly.
"I'm sorry, but we have no relations of any kind, so I naturally won't protect you. You may leave now!" Fusu Mingyu directly issued an order of eviction.
Chapter 27: Negotiation
Yun Chen pulled Yun Xiaoer up and turned to leave.
He had no intention of becoming anyone's bodyguard; even if he needed to save his skin, he wouldn't use this method.
Seeing Yun Chen turn and leave, Jing Yuan didn't say anything further either.
As for the haughty youth, a gloating expression crept onto his face.