"Zhao Min, where are you? Come out!"

Called out the head of Zhao family, looking for his grandson.

"Have you not heard the announcement of the city lord?"

He was referring to Ding Shuren's announcement just now.

"Calm down grandpa. I heard it the first time. I'm here already."

Came the reply from the young man as he walked down the stairs. He raised his arms as he lazily stretched, yawning in the meanwhile.

"Of course, I heard it, how could I not wake up when city lord shouts in my mind? I was sleeping so well though. What a pity. Such a splendid dream, I was a white crane soaring above mountains and rivers. I was chasing... something. Ah, I seem to have forgotten the details already."

Zhao Min said this as he scratched his disheveled hair.

"Such disrespect for his seniors, the young master should be beaten!"

Snorted the head of servants, voicing his displeasure.

"Haha, Zhao Er is aloof as usual. Come before grandpa!"

Zhao Min presented himself with a slight bow and cupped fists:

"Zhao Min greets patriarch."

"The awakening ceremony's date has been brought forward this year-"

"I know, I know. I heard it already. Grandfather can be at ease, this genius will uphold our family's name. No need to remind me, I know Patriarch has his expectations. How could I, the great Zhao Min disappoint? The awakening ceremony is a trivial matter, no need to be so tense."

The patriarch thought to himself:

"Don't interrupt me, I haven't finished speaking!"

Even though he could not add anything to the subject matter.

"Go then!" - He grunted.

"As you wish patriarch. Expect the good news, I will be back shortly. Please prepare my room for when I come back, oh and also I'd like to-"

"Go already!" - Flared up the patriarch, veins bulging on his head.

"As you wish, as you wish."

Zhao Min bowed again and left the hall in a leisurely manner.

"Your clothes! Are you going to represent our family in your sleep attire?"

Shouted the patriarch at the leaving figure. Zhao Min replied over his shoulder:

"My bad, I thought grandfather has already dismissed me. I still wanted to change. Don't be angry at me now."

One could hear the patriarch's teeth grinding as he watched his grandson leave nonchalantly.

"This spoiled brat! If he comes back with anything less than an A-grade aptitude, I'll skin him!"

He was blaming himself now internally, he shouldn't have doted on his grandson so much. He has spoiled him. But Zhao Min was the young genius of the family. Did he not deserve special treatment? He wondered.

* * * * *

"Your names?" - Asked the gu master standing guard at the city gate.

"Bao Zhi and Jin Ju."

"Bao? What noble blood we have here. Haha." - Sneered the guard as he mocked Bao Zhi. The guard noted down the two names as he looked over the wanted posters next to the city gate. He confirmed they weren't among them.

If this guard knew that he hit the nail on the head as the young man in front of him, in fact, was the original owner of this whole small world, senior even to the high and mighty immortals he only heard about, who knew how he would feel after mocking him.

"Purpose of your visit?"

"We are humble traveling merchants. We came to trade and sell our wares." - Replied Bao Zhi with a calm expression.

"Trading? Hehe... What's in your cart?" - He motioned at the cart behind them. Jin Ju produced a list of wares they carried and passed it to the guard.

"Hmm, this qualifies you as a medium-sized merchant. The tax will be a one-time fee of one hundred primeval stones."

"Lord officer please reconsider, this is the list we departed with. We encountered many troubles and lost half of our wares on the way. Lord can check them if you don't believe my words."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Pleaded Bao Zhi as he bowed towards the officer and sneakily passed a pouch of primeval stones. He had an earnest smile as he gazed at the guard.

"Oh, why didn't you say this sooner? Then that means you only have to pay fifteen primeval stones as a small-scale merchant."

The guard felt the contents of the pouch, it was about twenty primeval stones. It went straight into his pocket. He had a better mood immediately.

Next Bao Zhi openly took out fifteen primeval stones as payment for their entrance.

Jin Ju quietly observed the procedure, it wasn't the first time he witnessed such actions.

"Here are your merchant tokens, keep them well."

"Thank you, lord officer."

After finishing the paperwork they parted their ways and went inside. Sun Lotus city was bustling, even more so than usual.

"What a lively city!" - Exclaimed Bao Zhi. He could not only see the commotion of people but feel the vigorous human vein the city had.

"It wasn't like this the last time." - Remarked Jin Ju.

"No matter. With this commotion, our wares will be flying off the shelves in no time! First, we should head towards the marketplace. Let's get going."

They went on the main street towards the inner parts of the city. There were many people coming and going. Stalls lined both sides of the busy street. Vendors selling their street food, and delicacies. They overheard many conversations on their way:

"Ha, this is the chance of a lifetime! I have sent both my son and daughter to the ceremony. Just imagine our good fortune if one of them succeeds!"

"The city lord is truly benevolent, giving this opportunity to us common folks shows he did not forget his roots."

"This isn't goodwill at all! He is getting so old, he clearly wants to find a good inheritor for himself, someone not from the big families."

"I doubt that, why would he do that openly? He can't just blatantly oppose the big families, can he?"

"Haha, that doesn't matter to me. This is like the New Year festive coming early, I'm going to get rich with this windfall of customers. I already made two weeks' worth of profit today!" - Commented one of the sellers.

Most of the people were in high spirits, some were suspicious of this grand event, and some did not care as they weren't affected, but they were in the minority.

...

"We're here, this is the big market."

Bao Zhi looked around and dragged the cart to an open spot among the many sellers. He started peddling their wares.

* * * * *

It was already afternoon, Jin Ju was roaming the streets now by himself. He got a pouch of primeval stones from Bao Zhi. He carefully tucked it away in his clothes not daring to reveal it, fearing he would get mugged or worse.

His fears did not come to pass. He arrived at his target of a district.

"This is the place. Now I should look for a suitable house to rent."

He walked along the row of houses, keeping his eyes peeled, looking for the 'for rent' plaques. Bao Zhi has given him the task of looking for accommodation, while he tries to sell the rest of their inventory.

Jin Ju was deep in thought, he walked absentmindedly, evaluating the different houses by the criteria he was told. He did not notice the person coming his way, he bumped into him by accident.

"You! Look where you are going!" - Came the sobering scolding.

"Ah, sorry! My bad."

He bumped into a rank two gu master by accident. The gu master looked over him, then asked:

"Do you live here? Have you been to the awakening ceremony already?"

"No-no, I'm just looking. I need to find a good house for-"

The gu master did not care for Jin Ju to finish, he grabbed Jin Ju by his arm.

"You come with me then!"

"No. This is a misunderstanding! Please let me go!"

"How could that be? Are you not a youth who hasn't been to the ceremony yet? Follow me if you know what's good for you!"

Jin Ju wasn't clear of the circumstances, but he knew that he could not argue with a gu master, that would only spell him more trouble. He noticed the small group of youngsters behind the gu master. He joined them reluctantly.

"I hope this can be finished quickly. I'll be in trouble if Bao Zhi thinks I left with the money..." - He thought to himself.

The gu master leading them was given the task to round up any young mortals and take them to the awakening ceremony, by force if needed. Jin Ju could only comply, he was powerless in this situation.

He sized up the group he was in now, there were only about a dozen of other youngsters. He concluded they were poor people or maybe orphans based on their clothes.

He listened to the conversations around him:

"We might not have any aptitude at all. Yu'er, don't get your hopes up."

"For all we know, we both might be peerless geniuses, unpolished jades waiting to be discovered. You never know, sister!"

"The best would be if one of us had an aptitude, then she could earn for the family while the other could take care of mother at home."

"Look, another new guy!"

Suddenly, a girl came up to Jin Ju:

"Nice to meet you! I'm Yu Lingxin, but you can just call me Yu'er. I have not seen you around, are you new here?"

She had a rosy face and a lively aura.

"Yu'er! Don't just go talk up random people, have some decency!" - Came another female voice from behind her.

"I'm sorry about my younger sister, please excuse her." - Appeared the older sister.

"No problem, I don't mind honestly. I'm Jin Ju, nice to meet the both of you." - Replied Jin Ju awkwardly after eavesdropping on their dialogue.

"Could you tell me what is going on? Where are they taking us?"

"Do you not know? The city lord has announced this morning that everyone must be tested for their aptitude. Anyone can become a gu master now!" - Replied Yu Lingxin with bright eyes, full of anticipation.

"Haha, I did not know. Thanks for telling me. This is really an opportunity I can't miss!"

"Brother Ju, come join us. It is better to have company. We poor people should stick together and help each other."

Yu Lingxin's older sister furrowed her brows at Yu Lingxin's unrestrained behavior.

"Sure, sure." - Replied Jin Ju with a forced smile.

He didn't want to explain himself more than necessary, not to risk losing this peerless opportunity. If it was found out that he wasn't from Sun Lotus city, would that not disqualify him? He did not know.

* * * * *

Bao Zhi sold a few wares after Jin Ju left to look for an abode. Shortly after that, he started packing up.

"Young man, how much for that gu worm?" - Came a middle-aged customer asking.

"Not selling, I'm closing for today."

"That's not how you do business, young man. If I want it, I'll buy it!"

"Then one hundred thousand primeval stones." - Replied Bao Zhi plainly, quoting a price multiple orders of magnitude higher than the rank one gu worm was worth.

The middle-aged man choked on his words, he would slap himself if he could. He definitely wouldn't pay that outrageous price, but he also wouldn't go back on the words he just spoke.

"Not buying? Then goodbye."

At this moment Bao Zhi has finished packing up and took off with his cart leaving the man dumbfounded.

...

"If I understood correctly, the grotto decided to nurture gu masters en masse. This might be a consequence of the last myriad tribulation. The reason is not important, I need to take advantage of this now."

Bao Zhi has sent Jin Ju to look for a house because he had to maintain his gu master identity in his eyes. Why would a gu master go to the awakening ceremony? Thus they split up.

"If I am like a tiger now, after I awaken my aperture I will be like a tiger with wings, a Biao!"

* * * * *