Without money, one could not go any further.

It was not until Lin Xun arrived at Donglin Town did he realize the meaning of these words.

Money was a must for every aspect of life such as clothing, food, accommodation and traveling. Practitioners, particularly, needed it more than common people could expect.

For example, an ordinary being ate whatever he could obtain. However, a practitioner had to eat spiritual grain and spiritual vegetables, as well as the flesh and blood of fierce beasts, to keep the body pure. But spiritual grain and spiritual vegetables were extremely expensive.

Moreover, some rich practitioners exclusively consumed spiritual panacea and elixirs to improve their cultivation, which were way too expensive for common practitioners to afford.

Besides, there were still many other aspects that required a practitioner to invest in large amounts of money, such as clothing, beast ride, fighting equipment, and cultivation manuals.

Why else would people say, "The poor go for civil and the rich seek martial virtues"?

Because only the sons of rich families could focus on martial arts without worrying about money.

As for the sons of poor families, even with excellent aptitude, they were not able to hold on too long in the way of cultivation for lack of resources and supports.

Why would so many young practitioners take part in the annual County Test, and others even consider this as a great chance to succeed?

Because by passing the test, many powerful forces, such as chambers of commerce, clans and aristocratic families, would pay attention to and even recruit them, providing them a myriad of resources and supports.

All were for the cultivation, but without wealth support one could not succeed.

During the seven days in Donglin Town, Lin Xun went out frequently to get familiar with and adapted to the imperial city as quickly as possible.

And throughout the seven days, he deeply realized the great importance of money.

Donglin Town was different from Green-sun Tribe, for it was much more prosperous with unimaginable cultivation resources. However, these resources were extremely difficult for one to obtain.

As for Lin Xun, it was his first time to a populated city. Thus it was even harder for him to survive in such a prosperous place, abundant with mighty practitioners and complicated forces.

Making money was his top priority.

This was all that Lin Xun could think about, as only by making enough money could he and Shia Zhi move to a new living place, acquire more cultivation resources and survive better in Ziyao Empire.

…

In front of the table, Lin Xun suddenly sighed slightly.

Shia Zhi looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lin Xun closed his book and shook his head, "Nothing."

The book he read was Imperial Geographic, which wrote about geography like the mountains and rivers in Ziyao Empire. He had just bought it from Li Kee Bookstore that night.

Lin Xun had intended to look up the mine prison where he had lived in the book, but eventually he found nothing but the position of Three Thousand Mountains. And further south was the Turbulent Wasteland, where Empire of the Dark, mortal enemy of Ziyao Empire, was located.

Lin Xun remembered clearly when he was pushed into a deep tunnel by Master Lu and had lost consciousness afterwards. When he finally awoke, he was already in Three Thousand Mountains.

So, Lin Xun couldn't help thinking that the mine prison where he had lived before was possibly somewhere right in Three Thousand Mountains.

Unfortunately, Three Thousand Mountains was too vast to be specifically described in Imperial Geographic.

Actually, it was a good book. Through it, Lin Xun finally understood that the vast and boundless land where he stood was called continent Cangtu.

As for Ziyao Empire, it was just one of the numerous countries known in the continent.

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"Are you still thinking about moving somewhere else?" Shia Zhi suddenly asked with her eyebrows frowning.

"Yep."

Lin Xun replied randomly and opened another book called Cultivation Basics, which, as its named implied, wrote about basic knowledge on cultivation. It was simple in content, but rigorous in method.

In five separate parts, it described the five realms of cultivation including Martial, Gang Spirit, Sea Spirit, Tao Insight and Reincarnation Developing.

For example, all nine levels of Martial Realm were explained in detail from the first Qi Guiding to the last Spirit Transformation.

However, these were all theoretical knowledge rather than true cultivation experiences. This could only provide readers with basic knowledge of each realm, what change one might meet once reaching it, and the specific criteria and sign for leveling up.

Although the book was shallow in content, Lin Xun was quite interested in reading it. He knew about cultivation, but what he lacked was the mastery of theoretical knowledge.

"No need to move, I like it here." Shia Zhi had also taken a book called Imperial History Official and opened it to read.

Looking up, Lin Xun took a surprised glimpse of Shi Zhi and asked, "You like here?"

Shia Zhi replied without even raising her head, "At least here I can fight whenever I want, and it's amazing. If we moved out, I would have no rival to fight with, which is very boring."

Saying that, she raised her head and looked seriously at Lin Xun, "Do you know what I felt the most during the days in Feiyun Village?"

Lin Xun forced a smile, almost knowing precisely what Shia Zhi was about to say.

As expected, in the next moment Shia Zhi said, "It's boredom. I analyzed my power and confirmed a fact. What I found was my power would weaken gradually without fighting."

Feeling a bit surprised, Lin Xun said with eyes focused, "So, only if you continue fighting will your power stop weakening, right?"

Shia Zhi nodded, "More than that, only continuing to fight can make me stronger. I don't need any cultivation or manuals, all I need is just fighting."

Lin Xun was in a bit of a daze. He suddenly realized that, subconsciously, he had always taken Shia Zhi as a 5- or 6-year old girl and did his best to protect her. Although he knew that Shia Zhi was different from other kids, he never really thought about what Shia Zhi really wanted.

She could easily kill Wu Henshui, who had a cultivation of 8th level of Martial Realm, and had lived in deep forests with fierce beasts at such a young age. And she possessed a fighting capacity so strong that even he himself couldn't compete with it.

So, what on earth did she want?

Lin Xun had never thought about it before. All he knew was that Shia Zhi liked eating and sleeping and lived a simple and carefree life. But now, after hearing what Shia Zhi said, he completely understood that she had her own way of cultivating and thinking, as well as her own desired life.

Lin Xun pondered for quite a while and finally said, "I see." And then he scratched his head and continued, "But, fighting means killing, do you really understand that?"

Shia Zhi nodded, "I only kill the enemies."

Lin Xun said with a forced smile, "But we don't have too many enemies."

Shia Zhi retorted, "Really?"

Musing for a while, Lin Xun went silent, "Do I really have so few enemies?"

Of course not!

The man who dug out his Spiritual Vein, the huge hand that destroyed the mine prison and caused Master Lu to disappear, were all his enemies.

However, at present, it was still too hard for Lin Xun to end these hostilities.

"Your enemy seems to be a Barbarian Hercules." Lin Xun remembered that Shia Zhi was being chased by a Barbarian Hercules when they first met.

"I remember him, I will kill him in person once I am strong enough." Shia Zhi said calmly, as if it was a doomed thing.

"Fighting…fighting…" Lin Xun hesitated. Shia Zhi wanted fighting, but he himself couldn't help her at all right now.

"Don't worry. I like fighting, but it doesn't mean that I cannot survive without fighting." Shia Zhi said earnestly.

Lin Xun let out a sigh of relief and smiled, "That's good."

Shia Zhi took up her book, pointed at a passage in the last page and said, "I fight to be stronger, but he was born to fight. This is the difference."

Lin Xun was curious and took the book to have a look. It said, "I was born with great talent and fortune, yet I belong to the battlefield. I will make myself known by the blood of my enemies. If I should die, I will take the ground of the battlefield as my grave and the bones of my enemies as my coffin. I will rest my head on the corpses of those who fought against me and lie in a sea made up of their blood. To be of heaven and earth, I will feel no regret." - By Ning Bugui, Blood King of Ziyao Empire.

Impassioned by these words, Lin Xun couldn't help but feel a strong impulse to fight in battle and exclaim in admiration, "The Blood King possesses such a bold vision that it eclipses the sun and surpasses the mighty of all ages."

Saying that, he looked at Shia Zhi, who was sitting there quietly, and said thoughtfully, "You are different indeed." A faint smile crept over the corners of Shi Zhi's mouth, exhibiting a dazzling beauty that brought the house alive.

Fortunately, this smile disappeared soon after.

But Lin Xun still reminded, "Shia Zhi, don't show your face in public."

Although she was only the age of 5 or 6, Shi Zhi possessed such a striking beauty that if noticed by others it could possibly result in unexpected trouble.

Shia Zhi raised her little face and sincerely promised.

Lin Xun smiled and said no more. Turning around, he sat in front of the table, took out an inscribing pen, a swallow-wing knife and a dish of finished spiritual ink.

The inscribing pen was made from a leg bone of the iron beak pheasant, slim and straight with a light glow of dark purple. Its body was simple and unadorned, with its tip thin and sharp as the blade edge, glaring with cold light.

Lin Xun named it as Purple Pheasant.

Lin Xun had bought the swallow-wing knife from a weapon store that night. It was made of a spiritual material called Rosy Clouds Steel. However, without a spiritual tattoo, it was only an ordinary weapon.

The Scarlet Spiritual Ink he bought was one of the commonest inks in market, which could be used to carve more than ten kinds of basic spiritual tattoos attributed to fire.

What Lin Xun wanted to do right now was to carve an Explosive-flame Spiritual Tattoo on the Swallow-wing Knife to make it a spiritual weapon.

This was also the most effective way of making money that Lin Xun could think of right now.