Is this man serious?
Did he really expect Wu Jian to believe his bullshit? Anyone with half an ounce of gray matter in their head would recognize what was going on here. These men had felt Zhou Lihua refining a pill and came here because they wanted to attain whatever she was making. No doubt they believed it would help them achieve even greater heights of strength.
In this world, so long as you had the power to do so, you could take whatever you wanted without consequences.
Wu Jian studied the young man some more. His luxurious clothes, well-groomed face, and bodyguards made it clear that he was from a well-off family. It did not look like he belonged to a sect. There was a badge pinned to his chest. It was the Alchemist Association crest, and its color suggested that he was a rhenium rank alchemist.
“Oi! Did you not hear Master Feng Zhongxin?” asked Brute, scowling like he had tasted something foul. “Move aside and let us through.”
“I heard you just fine,” Wu Jian sighed. “I was simply wondering how I should deal with you.”
“Excuse me?!”
“Now, now. Settle down.” Feng Zhonogxin waved the man back with a placid smile that hid his poisonous fangs. He looked at Wu Jian with an expression that was somehow both arrogant and supplicating. “My friend here is merely overly worried about those chi waves emanating from the room. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Feng Zhongxin, a rhenium rank alchemist of the Alchemist Association--in case you couldn’t tell.” He gestured toward his badge. “That’s the reason I am here. It’s obvious someone is trying to refine a high level pill, but those are quite dangerous. I merely wish to make sure that person is not biting off more than they can chew.”
Wu Jian would have laughed at how obvious this man was being. Did he think that dropping his Alchemist Association rank would make him seem impressive? Well, perhaps it would to the average cultivator, given the rarity of alchemists. What made Wu Jian really want to laugh was how this man thought it would impress him. Could he not tell that the person refining a pill in the room behind Wu Jian was an alchemist far beyond his station? Obviously not if he was being this dumb.
Wu Jian was just about to tell them off when Youmei’s stomach growled, causing him, Feng Zhongxian, and his henchmen to look at the little girl.
“Youmei is hungry. Big Sis’s cooking is making her tummy rumble.”
Wu Jian was partly distracted from his companion by the disgusting look of lust on Feng Zhongxian’s face. Youmei was barely eleven years old. She was just a child. He had been thinking about letting this man off with a stern warning and maybe a few broken bones, but Wu Jian had changed his mind.
“If you’re hungry, why don’t you eat these six?” suggested Wu Jian.
Youmei eyed the group of six like a predator. Her eyes were so sharp that even Feng Zhongxin, who seemed rather oblivious of danger, took a step back.
“They don’t look very tasty,” Youmei mumbled.
“Unfortunate. I guess that means you’ll have to wait until lunch.”
“Wha… but Youmei is hungry now! Oh, fine! Youmei will eat them.”
“Hey… uh… young master… something isn’t right here. Maybe we should leave,” suggested Skinny. It looked like at least one of them was smart.
Feng Zhongxin looked like he was going to consider it, but then he scowled. “I will not leave. You five should just shut up and do your jobs. We’re just dealing with two brats!”
The five men glanced at each other like they didn’t know what to think. They were a bit more perceptive than this young man, but it seemed they weren’t perceptive enough to recognize that they couldn’t feel Wu Jian’s or Youmei’s cultivation. That was a fatal flaw in this world. Being unable to tell the difference in strength between yourself and another was a sure way to get killed.
Feng Zhongxin walked over and reached out his hand as though to pet Youmei.
“Now, now, little girl. You shouldn’t say such cruel things, lest you find yourself--”
It happened in an instant, before the man even had a chance to finish his sentence. Shadows swirled around Youmei’s mouth and formed the massive jaws of a panther, and the young girl opened her mouth wide and bit down, taking the man’s hand in a single bite.
“Eh?”
Feng Zhongxin didn’t seem to understand why his hand was missing and the pain hadn’t sunk in yet. He stared at the stump spurting blood with something akin to shock. It was only after his bodyguards screamed “young master!!” that he seemed to realize what happened. That was when the pain set in.
“AAAAAHH!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
Youmei flinched as the man screamed like a little girl. He fell onto his knees, clutching the stump to his chest. It was clear from his crying that he had never experienced a day of pain in his life. This inexperienced young master was a fool, and he would pay for his foolishness.
“Shut up!”
Youmei snapped at the man, forming a claw from the shadows around her hand, then swiped at him. Wu Jian sighed as her claw tore through Feng Zhongxin’s flesh, muscles, and bones like they were made of paper. His face literally fell apart into bloody chunks. He was dead before he even hit the ground.
“Y-young master!”
Brute, Skinny, Baldy, Shadow, and Brat stood frozen and unsure like they didn’t know what to do. Wu Jian held out his hand, and, quite suddenly, five hearts appeared hovering over his palm.
[Spatial Folding]
It had been a long time since he had used this technique, but it came to him as naturally as breathing. He folded space around their hearts and teleported them to him. They died instantly. The five idiots who had followed their idiot master were killed in less time than it took to blink.
“Master, can Youmei eat them now?” asked the little magical beast, pointing to the corpses.
“I thought you said they didn’t look tasty,” Wu Jian teased.
Youmei pouted. “Youmei is really hungry, so she’ll eat anything! Anything is fine so long as Youmei can fill her belly!”
“Then take these. You can eat them in my shadow.”
“Really?! Yay!”
Youmei grabbed the five hearts Wu Jian offered and jumped into his shadow. He didn’t want to see her eating human hearts. That might sound hypocritical since he had eaten animal hearts before, but it just felt different.
“I guess I should clean this up…”
[Spatial Folding]
With a wave of his hand, Wu Jian folded space around the six corpses, transporting them into the sky outside of the airship. He didn’t know where they would plummet. He didn’t care. Let them go splat against the ground. It would serve them right.
Silence once more enveloped the hall. Wu Jian wondered how long it would take Zhou Lihua to finish refining her pills.
***
Zhou Lihua finished refining the first pill she needed nearly 12 hours after she started. She had told Wu Jian that it could take a long time to refine a pill, but he was still shocked. Mei Xilan and Zhou Wen had returned long before the young alchemist emerged from their room. It seemed they had been taking a tour of the ship.
After Zhou Lihua emerged, the group found a place to eat. This vessel had several restaurants located in the lower and upper levels. Restaurants on the lower levels catered to the common folks, cultivators who didn’t belong to any clan or sect and didn’t have much money. The higher one ascended, the better the restaurants became. At the top level was the most luxurious restaurant, which only catered to important individuals. Not even money could get you a spot at one of their tables.
Wu Jian’s group was fortunate enough to eat there. Not only was Zhou Lihua the apprentice of Alchemist Master Yun Chi, but Wu Jian was a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect. They made their way to the upper deck. The clear delineation in wealth was showcased by the increasingly opulent decorations found in the various levels. At the uppermost deck, floors made of polished jade and statues crafted from meteorite silver created a posh aesthetic that Wu Jian found distasteful.
“Are you sure the food here is worth it?” asked Wu Jian.
Mei Xilan nodded. “The food on the uppermost deck is said to be not only delicious but good for cultivators. It is made from rare magical beasts.”
“That sounds delicious! Youmei wants to eat it!” Youmei was already drooling at the thought of more food even though she’d just had five hearts.
As they got closer, the sound of shouting reached Wu Jian’s ears.
“Look! I’m telling you, I have the money to pay for whatever food you make! Just let me through!”
“And I’m telling you that we don’t want your money. Our restaurant won’t cater to someone who was kicked out of their clan.”
“That voice sounds familiar…” Wu Jian muttered.
They turned a corner and found two men arguing. One of them looked like a server. He was handsome, with black hair, pale skin, and delicate features. The other was very familiar--a man with long crimson hair that looked like flames and golden eyes. He was taller than Wu Jian remembered, but his sharp brows and defined jawline looked the same as always. His hair had grown silkier. Was that a result of having the blood of the Vermillion Bird flowing through him? Wu Jian called out to him either way.
“Huǒ Shuchang?”
“Eh?”
Huǒ Shuchang turned around, eyes widening when he caught sight of Wu Jian and his entourage. His face lit up in a smile.
“Jian Wu?! Ha ha ha! Man, it’s been a while since I saw you! Hey, hey. Could you help me get into this restaurant? These assholes won’t let me in just because I got kicked out of the Phoenix Clan. Oh! You shouldn’t call me Huǒ anymore. Just Shuchang will do.”
He’s as lively as ever, I see.
With a sigh, Wu Jian spoke with the man guarding the entrance. He wasn’t wearing his disciple robes right now, but he handed him the emblem of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
“Can you let us through? Oh. And this man is with me.”
“Well… I… yes. Very well. Right this way, young masters and mistresses.”
While the server looked like he had swallowed something foul, he could not deny Wu Jian since he had the status to dine at their restaurant. Zhou Lihua could have also revealed her status as Yun Chi’s disciple. The server would have surely been tripping over himself to accommodate her.
They were soon shown to a private room with a table large enough to fit ten people. Youmei sat on Wu Jian’s left and Zhou Lihua on his right. Zhou Wen, Mei Xilan, and Schushang arranged themselves around the table as they pleased.
“Look at you! I see you’re in the company of some beautiful women! Of course, you always seem to have a new woman with you, so that’s no surprise, you lady killer.”
Wu Jian sighed. “Don’t call me that. I don’t hump everything that moves, unlike you.”
“Ha ha ha! Maybe I should think about being more selective.” Schushang turned to Zhou Lihua. “I am Schushang. Just Schushang. It’s a pleasure and an honor to meet someone so beautiful.”
“You’re a flatterer, I see. I’m sorry to say that flattery doesn’t work on me unless it comes from the right person.” Zhou Lihua briefly glanced at Wu Jian, then turned back to Shuchang. “My name is Zhou Lihua.”
“A member of the Zhou Clan, eh. You really do keep impressive company, Wu.”
“What are you doing here?” asked Wu Jian.
Schushang shrugged. “A little bit of this. A little bit of that. After getting kicked out of the Phoenix Clan, I began wandering the continent. My goal still hasn’t changed, so I need to get stronger.”
“You must have had some very fortunate encounters. You seem much stronger now than you were before.”
“Yeah… it took some time, but I’m finally ready to tackle the Realization Realm.”
“The Realization Realm? I had not realized you’d become so strong,” Mei Xilan said.
Schushang grinned. “It took a lot of work, let me tell you. Cultivating was a little difficult after giving up all my phoenix blood. I suppose I’m lucky that the phoenix and Vermillion bird are closely associated with each other, so I didn’t have to give up my cultivation, but learning a new method was beyond hard. However, I managed to pull through thanks to a few lucky encounters. Now I’m currently looking for the catalyst to help me reach the Realization Realm, but… it doesn’t look like there’s anything on this continent that can help me.”
The Realization Realm was the second most powerful realm in the mortal realms. Cultivators who reached this realm gained a huge leap in perception. It wasn’t just their power that increased, but their awareness of the world and how it worked. That was what Wu Meiying had told him.
“I see. Well, why don’t you join us?” suggested Wu Jian.
“Excuse me?” Mei Xilan looked shocked, and even Zhou Wen appeared befuddled. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”
“Are you kidding me? Overthrowing your country’s government and reinstating the monarchy won’t be easy with just us. You need all the help you can get.”
Mei Xilan went silent. Zhou Wen looked like she had something to say, but she held her tongue. Wu Jian turned to Schushang and held out a hand.
“How about it? Why not join me for another adventure?”
“That does sound fun, and I’m kinda out of ideas on how to increase my strength, so why not?” Schushang reached over the table and clasped Wu Jian’s hand. “It’ll be good to work with you again.”
