Four Outer Disciples of Wanchun Valley, clad in signature green robes with jade pendants swaying at their waists, swept through the bustling Green Grain Market. They passed the reed mat zone where mortals hawked their wares and entered the bamboo shed district reserved for sporadic cultivator trade.

Heads turned as they walked. Secretive glances followed them, thick with envy.

To the mortals who possessed no spiritual roots and the Rogue Cultivators who drifted without a home, these four represented the ultimate dream. They envied the disciples’ path toward immortality. They envied the protection and resources of a great Sect. It was an unbridgeable chasm of status.

Zhong Yue knew this life well. Long ago, she had sat in this very bamboo shed district, selling the Moon Gazing Herbs she had painstakingly grown herself.

As they moved through the crowd, she spotted familiar faces.

“Uncle Zhang!” she called out warmly. “Brother Dong… isn’t sister-in-law with you today?”

Brother Dong’s face crumbled into a mask of grief. “When the Demonic Cultivators raided the market last time… she had no cultivation. She only knew a little mortal martial arts. She couldn’t outrun them. They… they drained her of her essence and blood.”

The smile vanished from Zhong Yue’s face. The memory of the slaughter at the Medicine Garden flashed through her mind, turning her expression grim. She let out a heavy sigh. “Those Demonic Cultivators… their sins are endless.”

The Green Grain Market had been devastated during the raid. Only now was it barely beginning to recover its vitality.

The conversation cast a pall over Zhong Yue’s mood. When they passed the Hundred Herb Pavilion, she took her Spirit Dog, Little White, inside to find some old acquaintances and shake off the gloom.

Han Yu, Sun Kang, and Liu Lan continued onward, passing the Spirit Art Pavilion and the local tavern.

A crowd had gathered outside the tavern, heads close together as they whispered excitedly. Sun Kang and Liu Lan looked up and saw the posting: This Year’s Top Ten Predictions for Inner and Outer Disciples.

Their eyes lit up instantly.

Han Yu saw their eagerness—the itch to join the gossip and excitement—and chuckled. “Go on, take a look. I need to visit the Artifact Pavilion alone. I’ll come find you two when I’m done.”

Sun Kang and Liu Lan didn’t need to be told twice. They immediately dove into the crowd, craning their necks to see who the betting favorites were this year.

Han Yu arrived at the Artifact Pavilion. This shop was the official outlet for Magical Artifacts forged within Wanchun Valley, sold to the public.

He mentally tallied his assets: two Major Merits, five Minor Merits, six hundred jin of Green Grain Spirit Rice, and a handful of Spirit Stones.

Spending merits on standard equipment felt wasteful now. However, ever since the Sect abolished the Exceptional Promotion Order, they had also locked down the internal exchange system—disciples could no longer simply trade Spirit Rice or Spirit Stones for gear inside the Sect.

That was why he had come to the market branch. Here, currency still talked.

Seeing a disciple in green robes adorned with the identity jade, the Laborer Disciple manning the door snapped to attention.

“Senior Brother,” the attendant greeted respectfully. “Are you here to purchase a Magical Artifact?”

“Correct,” Han Yu nodded.

“Outer Disciples receive a discount compared to Rogue Cultivators, but we require identity verification. Would Senior Brother mind meeting the shopkeeper? Once verified, the price will be much lower.”

“Lead the way.”

Han Yu followed the attendant into the back, where he met the shopkeeper—an older Inner Disciple—accompanied by a younger Outer Disciple assistant.

The older Inner Disciple didn’t recognize Han Yu, but his assistant’s eyes widened immediately.

“Han Yu? You’re here to buy an artifact?”

Han Yu recognized him as well. “Wang Teng.”

He looked his old acquaintance over. “You’re working as a Steward here now?”

Wang Teng smiled. “The Sect assigned it as a task. I’m helping Senior Brother Qian manage the pavilion for a year.”

He quickly turned to his superior. “Senior Brother Qian, this is Han Yu. He took first place in the Laborer Disciple Grand Competition back when we joined the Outer Sect together.”

Senior Brother Qian nodded, his expression softening. “That is good to hear.”

He inspected Han Yu’s jade pendant to confirm the claim. “Since you are a brother of the Sect, we will apply the twenty percent discount.”

Han Yu unloaded his six hundred jin of Green Grain Spirit Rice. After some careful browsing and haggling, he exchanged the rice for a flying sword that typically retailed to Rogue Cultivators for one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones.

The blade was four chi long, cold and sharp. When channeled with Spirit Breath, the energy blade could extend to seven chi.

As a flight tool, it would naturally be far faster than his clumsy Plantain Leaf.

But as a weapon… if he imbued it with the Sharp Gold Technique, it would shatter a standard early-stage Qi Refining artifact in a single strike. Even a low-grade mid-stage artifact might not survive the impact.

And if I attach a Foundation Establishment realm Geng Metal Talisman to it…

Han Yu’s eyes narrowed in calculation. Would it be even more devastating?

It was a theory worth testing. Few would expect a Qi Refining artifact to carry the explosive payload of a Foundation Establishment spell.

After bidding farewell to Wang Teng, Han Yu left the Artifact Pavilion. He hadn’t gone far when a woman with a pale, gaunt face rushed toward him, her expression shifting from anxiety to relief.

“Immortal Master Han! I saw you earlier in the reed mat area, but I wasn’t sure if it was you!”

Han Yu stopped, surprised. “Zhu San’s woman? Why are you here?”

Hadn’t that scumbag Zhu San—Pig Third—claimed he sold his wives off?

At the mention of that name, the woman’s jaw tightened, her eyes burning with hate. “Zhu San didn’t care that I was pregnant. He sold us like cattle. Fortunately, the buyer resold us, and the master we serve now treats us as mere servants. He hasn’t been cruel.”

Her voice turned cold. “I got rid of that bastard’s spawn. I’d rather be a servant in peace than raise his bloodline.”

A small mercy in a tragic life, Han Yu thought.

“You sought me out specifically,” Han Yu said, his tone neutral. “What is the matter?”

“Immortal Master Han, my master instructed me to watch for you. He wishes to invite you as a guest.”

Han Yu’s guard went up instantly. This “Master” had bought Zhu San’s wives and was now looking for him? That was too coincidental. Was this a trap?

“Who is your master?”

“I… we don’t know his name. We only know him as the Master,” she stammered.

“What does he want with me?”

“He says he wants to discuss business.”

Han Yu refused flatly. “Unnecessary. I have no intention of doing business with strangers.”

“Immortal Master Han… please,” the woman pleaded, desperation creeping into her voice. “Could you wait just a moment? I will run back and report to him. Perhaps the Master will come to see you himself.”

“See me? Here in the Green Grain Market?” Han Yu raised an eyebrow.

She nodded furiously. “Yes! He lives right here in the market.”

He lives in the market and wants to meet publicly… That lowered the threat level significantly. The market was patrolled and safe.

Still, Han Yu despised unnecessary trouble.

“There is no need,” Han Yu said coldly. “I have nothing to buy or sell.”

The woman looked like she wanted to beg further but held her tongue. She bowed deeply, then turned and hurried away, heading toward the cluster of wooden houses behind the bamboo shed district—the residential zone for long-term Rogue Cultivators.

Han Yu didn’t linger. He collected Sun Kang and Liu Lan from the tavern crowd, met up with Zhong Yue at the Hundred Herb Pavilion, and made to leave the market immediately.

As they walked past the edge of the bamboo shed area, a middle-aged man with a round, jovial face stepped into their path. He was flanked by two women—one of whom was the pale-faced woman from before.

The man smiled broadly. “Fellow Daoist Han, we meet again!”

The four disciples stopped. Zhong Yue, Sun Kang, and Liu Lan looked at Han Yu in confusion. An acquaintance?

Han Yu frowned. He studied the round face, the oily smile. He was absolutely certain he had never seen this man in his life.

“Who are you?” Han Yu asked, his voice dropping a few degrees. “I do not know you.”

“Oh, come now. Last time, Fellow Daoist Han entrusted me to find some spirit fruits,” the round-faced man laughed, acting as if they were old friends. “I couldn’t locate them, so I felt I owed you a response.”

His smile didn’t waver, but his eyes locked onto Han Yu’s.

“Besides… Zhu San and the others plotting against you? That had nothing to do with me. Why must Wanchun Valley issue a warrant for a humble merchant just trying to earn a little hard-earned coin?”

Han Yu’s pupils contracted.

The traveling merchant. The elusive third partner Pig Third had mentioned.

Han Yu didn’t speak. His hands blurred.

Instantly, a Foundation Establishment Talisman appeared in each palm, his spiritual energy priming the paper as he stared the man down, ready to kill.