Chapter 26 – Casual Takeover

  Two days passed in a blink while Diyuan waited for Auntie Mei Yi to call for him. He had received a message from the escort guards that the stutterer Yibei was almost done copying a map for him, so he should expect to see that soon. He hadn’t heard if the stutter ailment itself was cured yet or not, but that was a mere pastime interest.

  In these two days he had checked out several things in the city. For one, he found out that the monthly immortal market was open at the auction house right now; he had thought the next one was during the Golden Auction event, so he had been excited to check it out. However, when he tried to visit the auction house, he was denied entrance without a recommendation letter. He suspected he could get one of those from Auntie Mei Yi before the immortal market closed.

  He passed through one of the several normal markets in the city. He saw how demonic beast parts were crafted into weak armor pieces, which made him feel pain inside for the waste of resources. As free as they were with transforming parts into armor, there didn’t seem to be any talismans at all, which was what those materials should be used for. There wasn’t a single shop that sold any, but maybe some would exist in the immortal market. He still didn’t understand why his own talismans didn’t work.

  He continued to listen in on conversations. Based on context clues, Diyuan had learned more about the naming conventions on this side of the Shroud. Demonic beasts were ranked by titles: Spawn, Brute, Alpha, and Lord. Each title corresponded to a cultivator’s level range.

  A Spawn, like the small Lionsmane Stalkers, were only as strong as level 3 Foundation at most.

  A Brute ranged between level 3 to level 5 Foundation. Diyuan almost felt embarrassed that he had once compared that Greater Lionsmane Stalker to the Giant Poison Toad from the Carcass Grotto.

  An Alpha demonic beast had a fully formed core, placing it within the early Spiritweave great realm levels.

  And lastly, for the Lord rank, they were considered high rank threats, which Diyuan assumed meant equal to level 4 or level 5 Spiritweave. He believed this was what the Giant Poison Toad was at, considering how many armor breaking talismans he needed to burn through just to pierce it.

  There were probably titles for demonic beasts at the Dharma realm, though no one ever mentioned them when he was listening.

  But just comparing demonic beasts power one-to-one with a cultivator’s level didn’t do it justice. A demonic beast at a certain level typically meant that several cultivators of that level was needed to team up and do battle against it. He had heard that the Giant Poison Toad would need either one Dharma cultivator or several Spiritweave cultivators to take down comfortably; hence why he thought the Lord rank was appropriate for it.

  Something interesting about demonic beasts that he didn’t know was how they cultivated. In order for a demonic beast to break through to the next rank, they needed to consume another demonic beast of their own rank or greater.

  People who were accused as “demonic cultivators,” then, did something similar. They were people who apparently “consumed” the cultivation of another person to advance. How they did that he didn’t know; this style of cultivation didn’t exist in the Shroud. Demonic cultivators could also use demonic beasts as a source, and demonic beasts could use them as a source. And apparently, a demonic cultivator was very tasty to the demonic beasts.

  Which was why, whenever a new demonic beast wave threatened to start, people might start asking if there was a demonic cultivator in the area.

  And anyone who was a foreigner to the city, they might get ganged up on by others using that as an excuse.

  “We already know you’re a demonic cultivator, no need to pretend anymore,” one of the six men said. “We heard all about it.”

  Diyuan was in an alley with these six men. If they had any wits about them, they would know that Diyuan had sensed them following and had purposely gone into the alley to get them to appear. It was broad daylight; rather bold for robbers. But their seventh man should be coming soon.

  “And what did you hear?” Diyuan asked.

  He was surrounded. Three on each side. Their leader, someone they called Little Boss Li, was level 3 Foundation. They called him Little Boss, but he older than Diyuan. If fact, all of them were older than Diyuan. The rest of the henchmen were level 2 Foundation. Part of him felt like he was bullying little children with the massive power difference.

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe how you could make items appear out of nowhere?” Little Boss Li eyed the ring on Diyuan’s hand greedily. “Or how you practically danced with some Spawns—even howled like them.”

  “Fascinating,” Diyuan said. The fact that they were looking at his storage ring meant that information had leaked from one of the escort guards. If it was intentional, Diyuan would probably consider killing that guard. “And this accusation that I’m a demonic cultivator, what happens to those who are accused?”

  Little Boss Li didn’t have a chance to answer since a seventh enemy stepped into the alley. This one was a much older man, with gray patches on his otherwise black hair and beard.

  “Naturally, to be safe, all demonic cultivators must be executed,” said the new person.

  “Iron Palm,” Little Boss Li said to the older man with a confident smile. The other weak cultivators saluted. They all grinned with some sort of satisfaction and victory. A bunch of thugs, they were. This “Iron Palm” was indeed powerful. A full level 4 Foundation cultivator! His palms looked normal, though; no iron there.

  Diyuan had to remind himself that the people on this side of the Shroud weren’t able to sense someone’s cultivation properly for whatever reason. Otherwise, this small detour likely wouldn’t have happened.

  Iron Palm eyed Diyuan’s storage ring as well. “It is important that we keep the city of Fengpo safe, especially when lives are being threatened during an incoming demonic beast wave. For the sake of everyone, sacrifices must be made.”

  “You would kill someone without evidence? Is that something that happens even if they weren’t wearing something that shines?” Diyuan held up his hand to show the storage ring.

  “The people are frightened,” Iron Palm said, shrugging. “It is the job of my Black Brigade to keep everyone safe. They pay us to do just that, after all.”

  Diyuan scratched his ear lazily. “You should know, I have a belief that people who come after my life should suffer the consequences appropriately.”

  Iron Palm chuckled. “You don’t need to pretend to be someone important. We already know that Madam Mei Yi was the one who brought you in, and we know you’re both demonic cultivators. We will offer your ring to the Niu family as evidence of your demonic activity. How else can a mortal have a storage ring?”

  They were robbing him and weren’t even going to use the storage ring for themselves? How improper.

  “And if I just gave up the storage ring to you? Will you let me go?” Diyuan asked.

  “You can only blame your bad fate on yourself. An innocent man gets into trouble because of his treasure. Tsk tsk. Can’t have demonic cultivators run around—”

  His words were interrupted by a squelch sound. The six others had seen Diyuan’s hand blur in a swift movement, but their eyes couldn’t keep up. They slowly looked at Iron Palm to see why he had stopped talking. They saw a dagger wedged into his skull.

  Before anyone could move, they were all hit with a stun arte. Diyuan made his black cold steel sword appear in his hand and unceremoniously killed each one in turn, leaving Little Boss Li alone for now. When limitless Stunlock Bind wore off, five bodies fell to the ground. Only the Little Boss was left.

  “Y-you wouldn’t dare! My father is the boss of the Black Brigade! He knows I’m here, so if anything happens to me, you’ll die for it! H-he’s at the Perfect Harmony Stage, and all the other elders are at the Great Tempering Stage. Even the Right Guardian would have to think twice before doing anything to us!”

  He was out of breath when he was done. Diyuan simply watched. With another flick of the wrist, his sword cut at the older man’s neck. Diyuan turned and took out the normal dagger he had thrown at Iron Palm, hearing a thump hit the ground behind him.

  He walked out the alley without a concern. Everyone walked in the street, continuing with their normal activities. Diyuan didn’t know how long it would take for someone to stumbled upon the corpses. Perhaps they would recognize them. Perhaps someone would send a message to these bandit leaders. Not that it mattered. Since his storage ring was discovered, he only had one option now.

  Today would be the last day of the Black Brigade.

  ***

  Feng Xueying was both nervous and bored. As the head guard of the Black Brigade, it was her duty to keep things organized, despite not being taken seriously at times. The only reason they listened to her when it mattered was the fact that her cultivation level tended to be higher than the rest: she was at the Core Creation Stage.

  Right now, Xueying was within the Black Brigade’s front courtyard. A rather messy courtyard at that, seeing the weeds grow in clumps all around. The front gates were closed, with around thirty people standing in proper order. They would lazily doze off or sit after some more time had passed. Undisciplined. They were supposed to be on high alert since Iron Palm delivered harsh instructions before he left a bit ago.

  There were men and women guards both. Young and old. Most of these people only joined because it was the best chance they had to breakthrough to the Spirit Sensing Stage. Especially in this era where spiritual energy was as thick as it was in the air. The difference in treatment someone had when they couldn’t sense spirit energy and when they could was vast.

  The women here were, like her, scarred. In a city that held the beauty of women to high standards, a woman who had scars was an undesirable. No one asked how they got their scars, but Xueying knew. Each and every one of them was like Xueying herself: they cut themselves. That was how they avoided marriage, and a woman who couldn’t marry had no place in the family.

  Unfortunately, unlike her, the other women didn’t have the talent or drive to learn martial arts as much as she did. They would have no place anywhere if they didn’t change their attitude.

  Xueying, distracted as she touched the two scars on each cheek that she gave herself, was startled when Manager Fanjian approached her. Manager Fanjian had helped with the administrative work for the Black Brigade before it became a bandit house. She didn’t know why he stayed here. He wasn’t like her or some of the lowlifes here; he could choose to join a respectable house.

  “There might be a bigger problem this time,” Manager Fanjian said to her quietly. No one else was nearby to hear. “A very desirable item is being sought out by the Little Boss Li and Iron Palm. The person in question is thought to be connected to Madam Mei Yi in some way.”

  “You’re saying there’s a chance some of her people might come attacking in revenge?” Xueying gripped the hilt of her thin sword on her hip.

  “Possibly even the Right Guardian. Drunks were heard calling the target as Madam Mei Yi’s ‘nephew.’ But…if this does go well, the boss and other elders would be in a very good mood. It might be your chance to get some more pills to help breakthrough to the Great Tempering Stage.” Manager Fanjian paused for a moment. “Which you should do, instead of sharing your wages with the other women. The stronger you are, the more you can help them.”

  She knew that, of course. But how could she just leave the women alone when they reminded her of herself? In fact, some of them walked this path because they had heard of her doing the same. She felt a sense of responsibility. One she would rather be free of.

  After that, Manager Fanjian turned and left to the main building. The boss and the Black Brigade leaders were having an off-schedule meeting, which she now knew was a partial celebration based on the drinks they had out.

  What great item could they possibly go after where they would risk offending Madam Mei Yi and the Right Guardian? Well, better him than the Left Guardian. The Right Guardian was righteous and would at least spare them if he attacked. The Left Guardian would smash them first, then ask around to see who was still alive.

  Minutes passed. Her guards were already out of position and started chatting and wandering off. Would they be so relaxed if they knew that the Right Guardian might come stomping in at any moment?

  Boom!

  The front gate exploded.

  It shattered inward. The wood splintered and rained down on them. A few people got hit by the bigger pieces and fell backwards. A large chunk of the door flew up high, slamming into the ground like thunder.

  “Positions!” Xueying shouted.

  She stepped forward with her guards behind her. They saw a man step into the Black Bridge’s property with casual ease. He wore a black multi-layered robe. He had no sword or any weapon visible. There was no armor that she could see, though it could be hidden under the robes.

  He appeared to be young, younger than her, even. But she knew that was never an indication of skill. Regardless of his age, though, he had kicked the door apart. He might be one of Madam Mei Yi’s people.

  She gripped her sword at her side, ready to pull it out. The man looked around, apparently unconcerned with the amount of people who were ready to do battle. The leaders inside would have heard the commotion, but they might not act until they got a sense of who was attacking. That would be her job to figure it out.

  “Halt!” Xueying ordered. “You’ve entered the property of—”

  When this man looked at her, a strange sensation hit her. Not a weapon. In fact, not even anything in reality. She felt the air suck out of her. It was like a pressure had hit her on all sides. It reminded her of when an immortal would use their pressure ability to force mortals to kneel. She had felt that before whenever some immortals walked the street and felt people didn’t pay their respects fast enough.

  But this wasn’t that.

  What she was feeling now was…a new dimension. It was the color black. A rope around her neck. It was like her body’s instincts were all screaming at her one piece of news: she was going to die.

  This sensation of an alternate reality was about to merge into actual reality, and when that happened, her death would be complete. It didn’t matter what she did to prevent that future; she could draw her sword, but then the merge would happen even faster. She could tell her people what strategy to use to fight against him, but the color black was upon them all like a curtain. None could escape it. She sensed that her death could happen in any number of ways, but it wouldn’t happen until this alternate reality merged.

  Xueying’s only goal in life now was to stop that merge from happening. She didn’t understand what she was experiencing, but she knew death was coming. The master of that pending reality was the man before her—it was his choice to merge them or not.

  She threw away all pride and quickly dropped the sword and sheath to the side. She knelt and slammed her forehead to the ground.

  With all the might she had, Xueying forced air to come together so she could speak. “Please, spare my life!”

  The feeling of black vanished instantly. The feeling of death disappeared. The dimension that had formed to claim her life was gone, as if it never existed in the first place. The man didn’t move or say anything. She was afraid that if she did something wrong, he would call forth that death world again.

  The guards behind her were confused. “Feng Xueying?”

  Do they not fear death!? Don’t they know how close they are to dying?

  “Kneel if you want to live!” Xueying shouted, her forehead still against the ground.

  The women behind her were the first to obey. They always listened to her when it came to surviving. Slowly, the men joined her as well, dropping their weapons to the side and kneeled with their head against the ground. They knew she was the highest cultivator out of all of them, so they must have thought she sensed something they didn’t. But such a strong claim of death—how could they not feel it?

  She waited for the man of death to react.

  “How strange,” he said.

  He sounded confused and curious, but not lustful for blood.

  Despite feeling that this death world was already gone, she remained still as stone. She heard and saw his footsteps walk past her, allowing her to live. She didn’t understand it herself. Whatever he had done, it was not something she had felt from any immortal. And he wasn’t an immortal himself, she knew; anyone who was an immortal had a special energy they could sense and she didn’t feel that with him. Yet, he was more dangerous than any immortal she had encountered.

  Xueying heard him walk up the steps to enter the main building. Her thoughts broke when she remembered that there were servant girls and Manager Fanjian in there. If this man went in there to execute a death sentence, everyone would die. She doubted he cared if they were man or woman, strong or weak. Death would come for all.

  She summoned forth all the courage she had. It might result in her own death, but she had to at least see if she could make a difference. With the strength she had, she lifted her head and turned to him.

  “Please, spare the manager and the servant girls!” Xueying slammed her head into the ground again.

  The man’s footsteps paused for a moment. Silence. Then he continued walking again. She didn’t know if she made a difference, but now she could only wait.

  Shatter!

  The doors to the main building broke open with a kick, in the same manner as the main gate. Xueying looked up again, some blood trickling down her forehead from the force she used to hit her head. The other guards were already peeking up, confused at the entire sequence of events.

  Xueying watched as this man stepped inside to confront the three Great Tempering elders and the Perfect Harmony boss of the Black Brigade. The leaders were sitting in their chairs, wine cups in hand and servant girls to their side, holding the wine jugs. It seemed like they had continued to sit and drink despite hearing the original commotion. But they couldn’t ignore the threat anymore.

  “Who are you to break into here!” Boss stood and pointed.

  “I am Yuhan Diyuan,” the man said. “You must be the father of Little Boss Li. You look about the same.”

  “You know my son? Where is he?”

  Yuhan Diyuan eyed the servant girls and Manager Fanjian before responding to Boss. “I killed him. Along with Iron Palm and whoever else tried to rob and murder me. I have come to kill you all as well. Feel free to come all at once.”

  There was a momentary stunned silence. Even Xueying and her guards were couldn’t believe their ears. Someone had just admitted to killing the son of the boss of the Black Brigade—straight to his face!

  “Courting death!” Boss yelled. He grabbed the axe next to him and wielded it with both hands. “Great Storm Cyclone!”

  Boss spun with his axe held out. The Great Storm Cycle was an arte that had an extreme amount of power that built up the longer it lasted. Since Boss was at the Perfect Harmony Stage, it was unlikely anyone could escape the technique unscathed.

  Yuhan Diyuan didn’t try to dodge or flee at all. He stayed still as the spinning whirl of Boss and his axe came closer. Xueying watched attentively, wanting to see what the man who represented death itself would do.

  Just as the axe was about to close in and cleave Yuhan Diyuan in half across his chest, he held up his hand with a relaxed posture.

  The axe hit.

  Xueying expected to hear screaming, see blood, or maybe witness some magic artifact that made Yuhan Diyuan so confident. But instead, he took hold of the axe in his bare hand and stopped the spin dead in its tracks. He didn’t budge even an inch.

  Boss’ arte was forced to stop, causing him to cough up blood due to the backlash. He released his weapon as the rebound must have crashed and done internal damage inside. Xueying paid close attention to Yuhan Diyuan’s hand.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Not even a scratch!?

  “An axe?” Yuhan Diyuan held up the weapon by the sharp end. “Not even the Honglie clan used such a barbaric tool. But then again, you guys also use umbrellas, so what do I know?”

  He tossed up the axe in a spin, catching it by the handle, before throwing it at the coughing Boss. Xueying couldn’t see exactly what happened due to Yuhan Diyuan’s body blocking the angle, but she did see the blood splatter into the air, along with the body hitting the ground.

  The other three elders charged in.

  Elder Swift Axe shouted his arte. “Torrential Cleaving Summit!” His body flew into the air as he gripped his axe above his head. He swung down, expecting a great force of power that could shatter armor.

  Again, Yuhan Diyuan held up a hand and caught it with his bare flesh—without gaining a single scratch. Another elder came from behind, with his sword. Yuhan Diyuan took the arm of Elder Swift Axe and threw him into the path of the incoming threat, causing the elder to wound his comrade. In another fluid motion, Yuhan Diyuan made a black sword appear out of nothing, and stabbed both elders through. The final elder charged in, but was dead with a quick blurred motion.

  When the leaders’ bodies hit the ground, no one spoke. Yuhan Diyuan made his black sword disappear. It was only then did Xueying understand; it was a storage ring! That was the treasure that they were eager to get. They paid for their greed with their lives.

  Yuhan Diyuan looked around. The servant girls shrank back, whimpering. Manager Fanjian had eyes wide and a terrified look on his face. Xueying didn’t feel that death sensation that she had before, so she knew she was safe, even as the man in black turned and looked at her. He saw her with curiosity, as if trying to understand something. It wasn’t disgust that other men had when they saw her scarred cheeks. Nor was it lust, like some drunken men had when their lowered their standards. Xueying wasn’t sure what to think of it.

  “Manager, get these bodies cleaned up,” Yuhan Diyuan ordered. “And you,” he pointed to her, “gather everyone and bring them into this hall. We will have a meeting to discuss what happens next.”

  Xueying stood up and saluted as she watched Yuhan Diyuan make his way to Boss’ seat. Her eyes looked at his undamaged hands and at the bodies that Manager Fanjian was now ordering people to help move. Xueying turned to her guards and started giving orders, and threatening them that trying to run away now probably wasn’t a good idea.

  What she didn’t do was tell them what was going through her mind this instant. The combat capabilities that Yuhan Diyuan revealed wasn’t something she had seen anyone do. That man wasn’t an immortal, but he treated a Perfect Harmony cultivator like he was facing against a child. Such a difference in power could only mean one thing:

  The new boss of the Black Brigade was probably a demonic cultivator.

  ***

  Diyuan sat in what could only be the patriarch’s seat of whoever previously owned this building before its ownership transferred to the bandit gang. The bandit leaders’ bodies were all removed, though some blood remained here and there. The guards were gathering the people, such as the cooks and other servants. He watched as they formed into a crowd before him, while the manager stood off a bit to the side, ready to obey his orders when he gave them.

  This wasn’t his original plan. He intended to wipe out the Black Brigade and be done with it. It would probably cause a sensation in the city that one of the powers disappeared in a single day, but he wasn’t afraid of that. However, one person changed his mind on what to do.

  Diyuan watched as the two-cheek scarred woman brought in the last of the people. Unlike the other women, she didn’t dress in a provocative way to draw leering eyes. In fact, it seemed like she went out of her to way to look as uninteresting as possible, with her outfit having muted colors and little design. She was only level 3 Foundation, which was the same level as the bandit boss’ son; but that was still the highest level here, as everyone else was either level 1 or 2 Foundation at best. This was another pathetically weak group. Though, the leaders themselves were relatively powerful, at least compared to Fengpo city. Having multiple elders at level 4 Foundation, and the leader be level 5 Foundation, meant their footing in the city had been secured a good bit.

  Diyuan continued to watch this two-cheek scarred woman, who was not special at all. Her stance showed that she had openings that could be exploited and her breath revealed that her power was unstable. She was unremarkable in every way.

  And yet, she was the first person to have accurately judged his true power.

  Diyuan didn’t know how she did it. While the ability to sense someone’s cultivation should be common, no one in Fengpo city could seem to do it. But even if they could, the highest they could sense someone for the Foundation realm would be level 5, even if they were higher. At best, people might view to be equal to the Black Brigade’s boss.

  But twice she had accurately judged his true strength. The first time was when he stepped into their courtyard. He saw thirty guards and intended to kill everyone who attacked him. But she immediately surrendered, which was odd. However, his interest in her spiked immeasurably when she asked him to spare the servants and the manager. She must have known that the people inside were level 4 and level 5 Foundation, and yet she was completely certain that he was strong enough to kill them? How did she know that? Even if she sensed that he himself was level 5 Foundation, who would assume that he would win against so many opponents?

  The crowd finished gathering. Everyone was silent. As he was considering what to say, the two-cheek scarred woman saluted.

  “We greet our new boss!” she shouted.

  Everyone mimicked her example. The manager and servants as well.

  “Do not call me Boss,” Diyuan said. “I am Yuhan Diyuan.”

  “…Then, Leader Yuhan Diyuan?” She asked.

  Leader? That wasn’t his intention. Though…

  “Just Leader Diyuan. What are the names of the officers here?” Diyuan asked.

  The manager was the one to respond. “I am Fanjian, the manager and administrator of all things related to the Black Brigade. The only other officer title person here…who is still alive, would be Feng Xueying, the Head Guard.”

  The two-cheek scarred woman saluted again when she heard her name.

  Diyuan tapped the chair with his finger. Now that it had come to this, what was he going to do with these weak people? In about a month’s time, all the foreign cultivators would arrive for the Golden Auction and he’d likely leave the city around then. But to leave and do nothing when non-cultivators in this city were being oppressed bothered him. It was not the Zhengyi way.

  He wanted to experiment with something during this one-month period.

  While he was thinking, the manager motioned to a servant girl holding a wine jug and she went to fill the cup that rested on the table next to him. Her clothing was far more revealing than the others out in the city. Her thighs were always visible and her top revealed more of her belly and cleavage than what was probably appropriate. Unlike the female guards, the servant women had no scars on their face.

  He may as well just spout what he thinks.

  “The Black Brigade is a garbage place,” Diyuan said, flicking the filled cup, which flew to the wall and shattered, spilling the wine everywhere. The servant woman flinched as if she was about to receive a beating. “You all oppress the weak and rob them of their coin without any etiquette. Even non-cultivators were targets. Your leaders have tried to rob and murder me, thinking I was weak, so I killed them all. If anyone has any complaints about that, speak up so we can settle this grudge.”

  Silence.

  “Good. Next, anyone who was forced to stay here is free to go. Anyone who was forced to dress a certain way…” Diyuan motioned to the frightened servant girl next to him, “…is free to dress however they want. I have no interest in your bodies. Any woman who is required to scar their face, that behavior stops now.”

  The reaction was a mix of confusion and a strange hope. Quiet murmurs were shared between the people. Whatever they were expecting of him, it was not this.

  Feng Xueying stepped forward. “Leader Diyuan, these scars are not a requirement for the Black Brigade, but something we do to escape our household. Since we are now disfigured, we cannot marry and there is no place for us in the city except here. The Black Brigade is the only place where we could join as guards.”

  Diyuan looked into the crowd and identified the scarred women. With the exception of Feng Xueying, the others were all level 1 Foundation. Their scars weren’t as bold, either. It was like they wanted to disfigure their face, but did it in a way where it could still be hidden with face cosmetics. Their outfits were more feminine, at least compared to Feng Xueying. He got the sense that they were not as committed.

  “Each person can only rely on their own strength in the end. If you want to cultivate, you should do it properly rather than the half-hearted measure I’m seeing now. If you women want to actually cultivate and become strong, then step forward before everyone,” Diyuan said. “If you would rather chase beauty, then do not step forward. I will require nothing. But do know I will not always be here and the next strong man might have different rules for you.”

  There were six women in the crowd who had the scarred faces. They looked at each other, and they must have communicated something with just their eyes, because each of them stepped forward and did a lotus salute, lowering their heads deeply. Feng Xueying watched from the side with a nod.

  “From this point forward, you are cultivators first, women second,” Diyuan said. “If you fail to advance and strengthen properly, I will remove you from the Black Brigade. Whatever happens to you after you are thrown out is not my problem. I will aid anyone who wishes to become stronger, but I will not help those who are not committed. I do not care how you dress up, but I will care if you spend more time dressing up than you do meditating. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, Leader Diyuan!” They each said in unison.

  Having a fire lit under their foot should help motivate them. But in the end, they needed to find their own conviction.

  “As for this Black Brigade name, I do not wish to be associated with banditry. Any ideas for a new name?”

  Manager Fanjian spoke up. “Leader Diyuan, if I may, the Black Brigade was once a name associated with noble honor. We have formed this union of power for the sake of protecting people from the lands outside. However, our former leaders perished against an Alpha demonic beast and the brother of our former leader became the boss. If possible, I would like for us to keep the name and restore its honor.”

  “Then it will be as you say.”

  He didn’t care either way.

  “Feng Xueying, give me your wrist,” Diyuan commanded.

  She walked up and held out her hand. Compared to her fearful behavior before, she was much calmer now. He would have expected her to retain at least some of that prior terror. He placed two fingers on the bottom of her wrist and sent in a bit of spirit energy. His goal was to diagnose why her power was imbalanced. Since she was the highest-level cultivator here, he would need to set her straight before everyone else was straightened out.

  He was able to sense a problem with her Foundation core. It had been cracked in several places, but it wasn’t just that. The core itself felt rather…shallow and weak, like she hadn’t completed her level 2 Foundation work properly. He could probably fix the cracks by using limitless Benediction Balm, but that wouldn’t fix the problem of her low-quality core; it was unlikely that she could reach level 5 Foundation in the next few decades.

  “Sit down and meditate your energy,” Diyuan said.

  She did so while everyone else waited patiently, watching the interaction. Diyuan sat behind and placed both hands on her back. He felt her circulation. Diyuan’s knowledge when it came to energy circulation was greater than most. He had done the full exercise both at level 2 Foundation and again at level 5 Foundation when his shattered core was restored by the Limitless Elixir. The big difference was that he had one of the greatest healers to aid him in his re-training. And, on top of that, he also experienced more corrections—both in the Promise Land within the Reflections Pagoda and from his father’s very loving beatdown.

  That’s why he could identify Feng Xueying’s failure points rather easily. Not only that, he also recognized how the thinner spiritual energy in the air hindered the flow. To grow up in such a spiritually thin environment could cripple someone’s cultivation. There were corrections that would need to be made to account for the thinner energy, but that required dropping certain benefits, such as the ones that would automatically strengthen the body with each breakthrough.

  Ah!

  Diyuan just realized something. Many of the obsolete tier one pill recipes back in the Tribulation Shroud wouldn’t be obsolete here. Pills that strengthened the body? Pills that helped create the Foundation core? Perhaps even a pill to help breakthrough to the Spiritweave great realm? These were all things that Diyuan had dismissed as spirit stone sinks, but that wouldn’t be the case here.

  Just to be sure, he decided to check the circulation of several more people. Each circulation was wrong in different ways, but wrong all the same. Ironically, it was a good thing their levels were low.

  “This is good news,” Diyuan said as he went back to the patriarch’s chair. “The fact that everyone here is incredibly weak means that we can fix your circulation before your form your Foundation core.”

  Several quiet murmurs broke out. One of the male guards raised his hand.

  “Leader Diyuan, are you saying we have the talent to reach the Core Creation Stage?”

  “Talent? This isn’t a matter of talent. Everyone’s breathing and circulation is horrible, otherwise you all would have already advanced and then some. But it can be fixed. However, for you, Feng Xueying, a bit more work will be needed.”

  “You mean because of my cracked core?” Feng Xueying asked.

  When she said that, almost every woman, the scarred and unscarred, gained a look of indignation. They were angry about something.

  Feng Xueying noticed him looking at them and decided to provide context. “When I refused to marry, the heavens determined that my core should be shattered. My older brother did his duty and tried to shatter it as compensation to the offended family. He hoped I would give up on cultivating and would instead focus on marriage. But I still stand, walking my own path.”

  She didn’t look angry or upset. To her, it seemed to just be a matter of life. It was a moment in her life that she had survived. The other women, both scarred and not, looked to her and stood straighter themselves.

  Diyuan knew the family names of the city, but the surname Feng was not among them. She must be from another area. “The heavens have laws, but that is not one of them. What will you do to your older brother once your strength surpasses him?”

  “Nothing.” Feng Xueying’s face was bold and full of confidence, but Diyuan didn’t miss how she gripped her sleeves tightly. “Our ties are broken. I have nothing more to do with them.”

  Whether she sought revenge or not was her own path. Diyuan wouldn’t interfere.

  A commotion began outside. The small crowd before him parted to show that some people were entering into the front courtyard. Common people had gathered on the street and came to see what was going on. They peeked through the broken doors.

  If Diyuan knew he was going to take command of the Black Brigade, he wouldn’t have been so quick to destroy the property.

  Rushing into the main building with two spears on his back was the Right Guardian of Auntie Mei Yi. He had a troop of several soldiers with him. Guardian Zhai Tielong stepped inside, quickly scanning all the people standing before him. He paused and blinked a few times when he saw Diyuan sitting on the patriarch’s chair.

  Almost in unison, the Black Brigade’s people saluted the Right Guardian. Diyuan didn’t salute and remained seated in his chair.

  “What…? Junior Diyuan, are you safe?” Guardian Zhai Tielong asked. He was rather jumbled by what he was seeing.

  But Diyuan didn’t answer right away. Instead, he focused on his subordinates. “Black Brigade, look at me.” They did so. “From now on, do not salute anyone I have not saluted while I am in your presence. Do not kneel if I do not kneel. Is that understood?”

  They all saluted Diyuan and shouted in unison, “Yes, Leader Diyuan!”

  When they were done, Diyuan stood and saluted the Right Guardian, which made everyone gain a confused expression as they saluted the man once more. But there was nothing confusing about it. They simply needed to know the proper etiquette when it came to authority. “Guardian Zhai Tielong, it seems like you’ve caught wind that the Black Brigade sought me out. It’s not a problem. I’ve killed their leadership and taken over.”

  “You’ve killed them?” Guardian Zhai Tielong looked skeptical, but then his eyes went alert. “You should know that they were allied with the Niu family. I’m not sure how they would respond once word gets out. Speaking of which, Madam Mei Yi has requested your presence. She will be interested in this situation.”

  Diyuan nodded. “I will meet with Auntie in a little bit. I need to do a few things with my new unexpected territory.”

  The Right Guardian looked around and nodded himself. He gave his own salute before ordering his men to leave. The nosy onlookers remained on the street, looking in.

  Diyuan sat back down. “Except for Fanjian and Feng Xueying, the rest of you are dismissed. Guards, you can clear out the mess I’ve made when I broke the doors. Once that is done, you are free to go for the day. Anyone that wants to remain in the Black Brigade can come back here tomorrow. I will have new instructions for everyone that stays. If you do not want to stay, I am fine with that. However, you are not allowed to leave until the mess is cleaned, even if you do not intend to stay.”

  They went into a frenzy of motion, cleaning up the yard or half-threatening the people on the street to get them to stop staring inside. The servant girls all left together to their rooms, discussing amongst themselves what they should do next. Soon after, everyone but the two officers and Diyuan remained.

  “We will need to repair the doors. How much will that cost us?” Diyuan asked.

  “Roughly 10 silver coins,” Manager Fanjian said.

  Right, they’ve been using coins rather than spirit stones. Diyuan had learned that the currency in Fengpo was divided between copper, bronze, silver, and gold, and that it took 100 coins to equal 1 of the next tier. What he didn’t know was how spirit stones played in that equation, if at all.

  Manager Fanjian continued. “But I’m afraid we don’t have that coin.”

  “No? How come?”

  “All the savings that were stored from the glory days have been spent on…unnecessary luxuries. To pay tribute to Niu family and for unneeded banquets,” Manager Fanjian said.

  Diyuan asked a couple of questions regarding how to make coin. Previously, the Black Brigade would go out hunting demonic beasts and sold their parts for coin. However, they stopped doing that with the new leadership and instead paid for everything on the tributes they gained from the people in their territory. Tributes here meaning the theft he had witnessed on prior nights.

  “Hm. And how does a spirit stone value when it comes to coins?”

  “An immortal spirit stone is equal to two coins,” Manager Fanjian said.

  Two coins? Copper, he assumed. He knew gold coins were rare and that it would take years of saving for certain businesses to even get one. Considering that one million copper coins equaled one gold coin, it would make sense that his spirit stones were equal to copper. Even the non-cultivators used spirit stones as currency back home, and getting a million was not something many people achieved.

  “How will you carry all the needed spirit stones?” Diyuan asked. “I can pay in spirit stones, but seeing as how storage rings are rare around here, it would be cumbersome to carry it all.”

  Manager Fanjian and Feng Xueying exchanged looks with each other.

  “Er, Leader Diyuan,” Manager Fanjian said slowly. “One spirit stone is equal to two silver coins, to be exchanged at the auction house.”

  “Oh.”

  Right, I should just assume everything is poorer in quality here. Diyuan made five spirit stones appear in his hand and gave it to the manager, who would be able to enter the Infinite Wealth Auction House with a prior recommendation that he had received years ago. Unfortunately, Manager Fanjian couldn’t recommend him, so Diyuan would still need to get his own recommendation from Auntie Mei Yi.

  But it made him slowly realize exactly how much wealth he had. If a single spirit stone was equal to a couple of silver coins, and gold was rare enough that common businesses would need to save for years to get even one, then Diyuan’s four million spirit stones would probably make him one of the richest people in the world…in terms of mortal standards, anyway. Those that called themselves immortal probably had their own standards, where spirit stones might be the currency rather than coins.

  “Since Guardian Zhai Tielong mentioned potential problems with the Niu family, I guess I should figure out the different levels of strength. How strong is their strongest cultivator?” Diyuan asked.

  It was Feng Xueying who was the expert in this field. “That would be their patriarch, Niu Bolin, who is at the Martial Grandmaster Stage.”

  That wasn’t a stage Diyuan was familiar with. He heard that title mentioned in taverns at night, but he just assumed they were referring to their skill level, rather than an actual cultivation stage.

  “Let’s assign a level number to it. If we assume level 3 is Core Creation Stage and level 5 is Perfect Harmony, what level is Martial Grandmaster?” Diyuan asked.

  “It would be level 7,” she said. To her credit, she kept a blank face, not revealing any surprise or confusion to his question.

  “What do you call level 6, 8, and 9?”

  “After the Perfect Harmony Stage, it goes to Martial Master and then Martial Grandmaster. There is nothing after Martial Grandmaster,” Feng Xueying explained.

  Well, now he knew all the new naming conventions on this side of the Shroud.

  Level 1 Foundation would start with Spirit Sensing Stage. It would then go to Flow Shaping, Core Creation, Great Tempering, Perfect Harmony, Martial Master, and finally level 7 Foundation would be Martial Grandmaster.

  The “martial” stages made sense to him, funny enough. Since those two stages belonged to the prestige levels, it took an incredible amount of time to reach without spirit stones. If a cultivator didn’t breakthrough to the Spiritweave great realm, what else could they do other than practice their martial skills?

  Diyuan continued to ask about the different factions and their strengths. Right Guardian Zhai Tielong was level 6 Foundation and was considered an expert with dual wielding spears. Diyuan was curious on how his own martial skills measured up to the big man.

  The level 7 Foundation patriarch of the Niu family had broken through just the past year. That was what had triggered the city feud with Auntie Mei Yi’s faction and others, since there was no other faction that had a Foundation cultivator that high.

  Among the bigger households in the city, there were no Spiritweave cultivators.

  While these factions continued to expand their influence, the Infinite Wealth Auction House remained neutral and was the gathering place for immortal activity, so no one messed with them. They had several Spiritweave cultivators.

  The Black Brigade had bent the knee and gave tribute to the Niu family, so it was likely that the Niu family would expect to continue receiving tribute despite the leadership change.

  Diyuan had no intention of doing that.

  He tried to learn more about the strength of the Virtuous Wind Sect, but the two officers had no real information about that. They didn’t even know about the different cultivation levels of immortals, only that they were different from mortals and that Spiritweave was what came next if someone had the talent.

  With the Black Brigade being his now, he also learned about their territory. Inside the walls, there were some residential buildings, a training ground back behind the main hall, and some other small off buildings. Outside the walls, their territory consisted of some market areas, taverns, and a few streets. Nothing too dramatically big. Even the Yuhan branch families had bigger territories.

  “By the way,” Diyuan started, “how did you know I would win against your former leaders?”

  Feng Xueying looked a little uncomfortable. She thought to herself for a moment before finally responding. “I thought you were an immortal, since you exuded a similar pressure to them.”

  “Pressure?” This was news to him. He was still in the Foundation realm and shouldn’t be able to apply any gravity pressure on someone.

  “Yes, but it was a little different…I wasn’t forced to kneel, but felt like I would be in trouble if I didn’t.”

  How strange. It was interesting, but no more than that. It wasn’t like he could use that information in any way since he didn’t do anything different from normal.

  When he learned what he wanted, he figured he would leave the Black Brigade house for now and meet up with Auntie Mei Yi.

  “I will come back tomorrow,” Diyuan said. “Feng Xueying, I will see what I can do about fixing your core then.” If he just wanted to fix her core, that wasn’t a problem with his limitless Benediction Balm, but it wouldn’t fix how weak the core was in general. He needed to correct her circulation and maybe do something to strengthen her core. “It’ll take some alchemy to make it happen, but it’s doable.”

  “Oh, I have a recipe to fix it,” Feng Xueying said. “I was given it by the Holy Daughter candidate several years ago. I just didn’t have the coin to pay an alchemist for the ingredients or the labor.”

  Holy Daughter candidate? Another title he hadn’t heard before.

  Manager Fanjian, who was listening off to the side, frowned at that. “Yes, if you stopped giving away your wages, you would have had enough already.”

  She gave a playful shrug that showed she regretted nothing.

  Diyuan stood. “Bring that recipe with you tomorrow and we’ll take care of it.”

  When he finished saying that, he left them as he made his way to visit Auntie. A moment later, the two officers remained alone.

  ***

  Xueying and Manager Fanjian stayed; they didn’t say a word for several minutes. Once they felt that Leader Diyuan was out of earshot, they whispered quietly to one another.

  “Did you hear how he asked what the name was for level 8?” Xueying asked. There had never been a level 8. No one could live that long. People either became immortal or they died at the Martial Grandmaster Stage at the highest.

  “Did you hear how he assumed spirit stones were less than silver coins?” Manager Fanjian asked. “Did he think it was worth bronze? Or even copper? How rich do you think he is? Where does he come from to not even know these things?”

  “An immortal family, maybe? Banished or exiled? Or just sightseeing?”

  “With enough spirit stones to draw in trouble from everyone? With a storage ring?”

  They stood silently for a moment, but then Xueying spoke so quietly that she barely heard herself talk. “Do you think he’s a demonic cultivator?”

  Manager Fanjian contemplated. “Things start to make sense if you make that connection. Perhaps he killed immortals with his unnatural strength. But don’t they say demonic cultivators have a strange energy when they reveal their strength?”

  Xueying wanted to bring up the sense of death that had come over her when Leader Diyuan first showed up. She had told Leader Diyuan that it was an immortal-pressure like feeling, but she had left out how oppressive it really was and how it felt like death had come for her. His strength defied belief as well. But if Leader Diyuan really was a demonic cultivator, why was he reprehending them for their oppressive actions against the weak? Was he really a demonic cultivator or was he something else that they just didn’t understand?

  Her thoughts were broken when Manager Fanjian realized something.

  “It doesn’t matter if he is or isn’t,” he said. “Everyone will think he is now that he killed the Black Brigade leadership. The Niu family had already started the rumor against Madam Mei Yi, so this will just be an extension of that. But unlike with Madam Mei Yi, Leader Diyuan truly killed many great cultivators at once. All will point and claim Leader Diyuan killed them to increase his own cultivation. Even if the claims don’t make sense.”

  Yes, that was what everyone would come to believe. And everyone who stayed with the Black Brigade would be associated with such accusations. Word would spread throughout the city even before night came. She suspected that many people would not come back and would instead join other factions that had a brighter future.

  But in a world where she was forced to disfigure her face to walk her own path, just how evil was the person who told them that they were free to go if they wished to, or dress how they wanted to? How evil was the person who would get angry if they oppressed the weak?

  She decided that she would come again tomorrow, regardless if he was a real demonic cultivator or not.