“Thank you for your patronage, young master. Though there were some problems along the way, I would be happy to serve you again.”
Rong Yu said with a smile, though there was a blood vessel popping on his face.
‘He must’ve really lost something precious to still be mad after days passed by… I wonder what item it is.’
Though he was amused, he refrained from asking Rong Yu.
“I will come if I need you,” Riyue said as he departed, holding a small piece of paper in his hands. It was the place where he would need to go for a new identity.
As he entered Bai Zhu City, he looked around in awe. Although he had been in the Shen Lei Kingdom’s Capital City before, it could not compare to the grandeur of the strongest and richest country in the world. A variety of majestic buildings stood in organized rows, each exuding its own charms and purposes, forming a harmony. Each of the inns looked far more luxurious than the Purple Lotus, their signs adorned with calligraphy of their own names. Riyue could also see shops selling various things, from items for day-to-day life to weapons, clothing, medicinal herbs, and much more.
‘There are also some renowned sects that I recognize… A lot of them. The White Tiger Sect, Azure Dragon Sect, Falling Petals... Amazing.’
Riyue’s nose then twitched at the aroma of roasted ducks and spices as his mouth watered. He wanted to go to any one of the restaurants immediately to try them, but he remembered what he had come here for.
Riyue then walked in the bustling street as he headed to the place Rong Yu had given him. He looked at the small handmade map in his hand. Though he called it a map, it was only some scribbles.
‘Shit, his drawing sucks! Fortunately, there were names of the places listed.’
Riyue found some of the places designated by the map, while for others, he had to ask people for directions. By the time he reached the place, the bustling city was no more. He had entered an area filled with exhausted lower-class citizens walking around to do their jobs, some vagrants looking at him with wary eyes, and worn-down buildings that filled his sight.
‘Why do illegal workers like these kinds of places a lot… Well, at least it wasn’t the slums.’
Though Riyue already knew why that was the case, he still sighed as he looked at the old building in front. Above the door was a slightly cracked and old wooden sign that said Broken Blade Bar.
‘Broken blade… Replace the blade with building, and it would’ve been a perfect match.’
Riyue thought before he went inside. The inside was bustling with life as rough-looking people sat in many seats while drinking cheap liquor. Some of them looked like wandering martial artists, while others resembled vagrants. Riyue walked to the bar counter, bypassing the other empty seats, and sat down in front of the bartender.
The bartender eyed him from head to toe before asking with a smile, “What would you like to drink?”
‘Thought I was a young master disguising myself to drink, huh?’
Riyue chuckled in his mind before putting a piece of folded paper on the table. The bartender looked at the piece of paper, unfolded it, and his eyes turned sharp before he smiled at Riyue.
“What name would you like to have on this ‘drink’?”
Riyue immediately understood the underlying meaning as he smiled and said, “Qing Yuan.”
“I see. The ‘drink’ would take three days to prepare; therefore, please pay an advance payment, and you can pay the rest later after you receive it.”
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“How much is it?”
Riyue then took out another note. This too, was given by Rong Yu. After all, he had already paid for the identity, no way in hell is he paying again.
The Bartender looked at the note, before nodding.
"Please come back again after three days. The 'drink' shall be ready by then."
‘Three days… Before getting my identity to get a two-month lease on a place, let’s rent an inn room somewhere.’
The reason for the two months was because that was the time left until the Jinlong Grand Martial Academy’s entrance exam. Riyue headed towards a cheap inn he had found on the way. It was not luxurious by any means, but at least it was clean, not disgusting, and didn’t require proof of identity. Therefore, Riyue rented three days for an inn room there and immediately lay on his bed.
Name: Zhang Riyue
Age: 20
Constitution: Sun and Moon Qi Attribute
Qi Stage: 1
Qi Purity: 75%
Qi Amount: 887/887 (recovery 3/minute), (Qilin’s Horn +300 Qi), (Next Stage requires 2000).
Martial Arts and Mastery Gauge:
* Mountain Tiger Martial Technique 23%
* Sun and Moon Breathing Method 6%
‘My Qi amount didn’t rise up that much for three days of training, probably because I was focused on purifying it instead of growing it.’
Since he had to purify his Qi, it was inevitable for his growth to stall, as he would have to avoid getting any impure Qi while using the breathing method. He also had to release a certain amount of his current Qi as well.
‘Honestly, compared to the talentless Riyue, my growth has been ridiculously fast after the Body Reformation. However, to get inside the House of Golden Dragon, it is not enough.’
For Riyue to have a chance to get in, he needed to at least become a Stage 2 in two months. That way, he could utilize his unique Attributed Qi and have a chance of getting inside where it would normally not be possible for a mere Stage 2.
‘It sounds like a thoughtless plan that relies on luck but… Honestly, it is quite plausible.’
The reason why it’s plausible is because people with Attributed Qi from birth were extremely rare. Most of them came from major noble families and were a lot stronger than other people due to the fact that they could utilize their own attribute from birth. In the earlier stages, such a thing gave them a very significant advantage, and even after they advanced to the middle stages, where all people with normal Qi could now use their own various attributes based on their own martial arts, the people with Attributed Qi would also have a qualitative change and a major increase in their own attributes.
Of course, there are some disadvantages as well, such as the path of your martial art being set from birth and the fact that it’s not versatile. But the advantages made those disadvantages irrelevant. Besides, the latter reason would only be relevant for martial masters who had lived for centuries or more and learned a variety of martial arts in Stage 9. Below that, Attributed Qi was undeniably cherished.
‘With that said, I still need to get to Stage 2, and to do that fast, I would need to take a Qi Increasing Pill.’
However, there was another problem. Riyue didn’t have enough money to buy a Qi Increasing Pill.
Riyue thought, ‘Gosh, when it rains, it pours. Well, fortunately, I can just make it on my own… It will still be expensive, but it might be doable if I procure the ingredients myself.’
The Original Riyue had a lot of knowledge about pill-making, and since he had given up on getting stronger after despairing over his lack of talent, he didn’t bother consuming any other Qi Pills. So even if Riyue consumed them now, it wouldn’t result in a loss of effectiveness due to consuming them a second time.
‘I guess I could call this fortunate.’
Riyue then thought about which pill he could make, considering his limited amount of money and his current circumstances.
‘The Golden Lotus Pill and the Pure Essence Pill.’
Only those two pills seemed plausible for Riyue to create currently. For the Golden Lotus Pill, the common ingredients used in it could be easily found and bought in various herb stores of the empire, or found in relatively safe places. As for the rarer and main ingredients, which are the Golden Lotus Petals found on the mountain peaks of the Qian Yang Mountain Range, the Ice Spirit Grass found in the Yong Bing Cave, and the Mountain Spring Water which can also be found in various mountains including the Qian Yang Mountain Range, they are all quite doable to get, even if they are a bit dangerous.
As for the Pure Essence Pill, it is a pill that is of the lowest ranking, but in turn, this means that the ingredients are easy to obtain. Riyue could procure them just by gathering some things himself and buying the others he couldn’t get normally.
‘If there is a problem, it would be how to get through the countless beasts of the Qian Yang Mountain Range… Let’s try making a plan that prioritizes safety. For now, I should wait for my identity to be checked, then I will buy some of the other ingredients first before setting off to the Qian Yang Mountains.’
After confirming his plans, Riyue decided to train in the Training Room while researching the variety of monsters that appeared on the mountain for the next three days. When the time came, he returned to the Broken Blade Bar, paid the remaining advance money, and finally obtained his new identity in the Jinlong Empire, as Qing Yuan.