The pair of maidservants behind Attendant Hua started whispering among themselves as they stared intently at Ning Xiaochuan. The maidservant with delicate and fair skin whispered, “Refining five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb in four hours can only be done by a Mid-level Heart-nourishing Master. Can he really do it?”

“Even the best Junior Heart-nourishing Master needs two hours to refine a single stalk of the herb so it’s definitely impossible to refine five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb in four hours.”

Before an hour had passed, Ning Xiaochuan grabbed the second stalk of Heart-nourishing Herb in his hand and immediately turned it into medicinal Qi, which went into his Heart-nourishing Cauldron to be refined.

The pair of maidservants stopped speaking out of disbelief.

Not long after that, Ning Xiaochuan had the third Heart-nourishing Herb stalk grasped tightly in his hands.

This time, even Attendant Hua’s expression was shifting. He tugged at his fingers as an expression of pure shock dawned on his face.

When Ning Xiaochuan grabbed the fourth stalk of Heart-nourishing Herb into his hands, Attendant Hua stood up abruptly. He held his breath and his eyes seemed to bulge out of his face.

Once Ning Xiaochuan had the last stalk of Heart-nourishing Herb in his hands, Attendant Hua and the pair of maidservants were completely stunned. There was only pure shock in their expressions and in their hearts.

It was not just the matter of refining five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb, it was also the birth of a peerless genius. Although he was currently unknown, news of him would, without a doubt, spread like wildfire in the future.

“I’m done, that’s five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb all refined. The lady in the green clothes, please get a jade bottle to collect all these drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid.” Ning Xiaochuan opened his eyes and not a single trace of fatigue was reflected in them. Instead, his eyes seemed to glow with energy as Combat Qi circulated within his veins.

Once a person had refined Heart-nourishing Herbs, they would always feel tired and exhausted, yet he seemed to be even more energetic instead.

Attendant Hua was amazed. Fortunately, he was able to control the excitement in his heart as he was familiar with the world’s sights. If it were a younger attendant, they would be hiding under the table out of pure shock.

Ning Xiaochuan cleaned his hands as his blood circulated within him. A thin layer of pale red Qi appeared from the palm of his hand and drops of green liquid with a sweet fragrance dripped from his fingertips.

“Drip! Drip!”

At the sixteenth drop of Heart-nourishing Liquid, Attendant Hua’s eyelids twitched.

According to the information he had in his hands, Ning Xiaochuan was able to produce three drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid from one stalk of Heart-nourishing Herb, which made him extremely talented. However, this was the sixteenth drop of Heart-nourishing Liquid Ning Xiaochuan had produced from five stalks of Heart-nourishing Herb.

What happened next surprised Attendant Hua once again. He had witnessed more shocking events today than he had in the past few decades.

The seventeenth drop fell.

Then, the eighteenth.

The nineteenth.

Finally, the twentieth.

Attendant Hua had witnessed the production of twenty drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid.

‘My word! On average, four drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid were cultivated from each stalk of Heart-nourishing Herb. This is a standard that could only be achieved by a Mid-level Heart-nourishing Master!’ Attendant Hua stared at Ning Xiaochuan intently, his eyes seeming to burn with bright flames.

He had a genius before him, a treasure! A great treasure! Ning Xiaochuan was definitely going to become a Mid-level Heart-nourishing Master in the future, he had a gem in his grasp! Haha!

Ning Xiaochuan stared into Attendant Hua’s gaze and his heart skipped a beat; was Attendant Hua going to pounce on him?

Ning Xiaochuan took a few steps back. He merely wanted to sell his Heart-nourishing Liquid before he left, he did not want to be pounced on by a man. He quickly said, “A total of fifty-seven drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid, give me your price, Attendant Hua!”

Fifty-seven drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid would definitely be sold at a premium price. He would be earning five hundred and seventy thousand copper coins, which could be converted into five silver plates and seven hundred pieces of silver coins.

One silver plate could be exchanged for one thousand silver coins.

In the Yulan Empire, gold coins were usually used by Nobles, which made it a rare commodity, so silver coins were the main currency.

Ning Xioachuan started roughly calculating One silver plate weighed about five pounds, so five silver plates would be around twenty-seven pounds. Adding that onto the seven hundred pieces of silver coins, he would be carrying a weight of fifty-five pounds!

His pack would be extremely heavy!

Ning Xiaochuan was a Stage Six Qi martial artist and the strength of a single punch from him was about forty-four pounds, so carrying fifty-five pounds was a piece of cake to him. However, if a regular person were to carry such a heavyweight back home, they would definitely be robbed of it halfway through their journey.

After all, it would be too obvious and anyone would be able to tell they were carrying a lot of money. Why would nobody rob them?

Ning Xiaochuan said, “Sir Attendant, does Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall have silver banknotes?”

Attendant Hua paused for a moment before muttering, “Silver…banknotes…”

“Very well! Just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Ning Xiaochuan’s eyebrows furrowed. He knew that this world would not have paper currency such as silver banknotes so he said, “I’m curious about one thing! Let’s say I have ninety million… If I have ninety million copper coins and exchange them all into silver plates, I’ll be carrying four hundred and five jin worth of money. How will I bring all that money back home and not have to worry about being robbed?”

Attendant Hua twisted his mustache with a smile and said, “Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall would, of course, provide you with guards to help you transport all that money back to your residence. You don’t need to worry about that, Mister Ning. Not many in this Imperial City, or even in the entire Yulan Empire, would dare to lust after money belonging to Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall, so you can be at ease.”

It was obvious Attendant Hua had not truly understood what Ning Xiaochuan meant!

Ning Xiaochuan continued patiently, “What I mean is, isn’t there a lighter way? For example, I want to carry millions in money with me when I travel but I don’t want anyone finding out about that either.”

Attendant Hua finally understood what Ning Xiaochuan meant.

“We do have treasures like that, but… Hehe, Mister Ning, come with me!”

Attendant Hua kept Ning Xiaochuan guessing as he led the teenager to a glorious and splendid hall. This hall was situated in the center of Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall so guests rarely came here, which made it seem quite deserted.

Eight martial arts masters dressed head to toe in iron-scale armor stood guard outside the hall.

Many rare treasures were on display within the splendid hall, their prices displayed next to them.

“Grade Two Mystical Equipment, Sword of Heavenly Punishment. Price—five hundred gold coins.”

“Grade Four Mystical Equipment, Ancient Lizard Armor. Price—eight thousand gold coins.”

…

All the treasures here were priced in gold coins, so their high value was obvious.

Attendant Hua said with a smile, “Although Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall’s mainly deals in Mystical Medicine, we also dabble in the field of Mystical Equipment. We’re currently in the Mystical Equipment Hall. There’s a piece of Mystical Equipment called the Heaven and Earth Pouch which is miraculous beyond compare. Though it may seem like a small sack, it can hold as many things like a house.”

No matter how beautiful, how sharp, or how detailed an ordinary utensil was, it could only be regarded as a common tool.

Only extraordinary utensils or utensils with special abilities could be called Mystical Equipment.

Every piece of Mystical Equipment carried great value, but they could only be encountered if one were lucky. Only in a place like Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall could one see so many pieces of Mystical Equipment gathered in a single place.

“Heaven and Earth Pouch!”

Ning Xiaochuan had never heard of such an extraordinary thing before. There were seven Heaven and Earth Pouches in the Mystical Equipment Hall, but even the cheapest and most worn-out one there was worth seventy thousand pieces of gold coins!

That was equivalent to seventy million copper coins which were an astronomical amount to Ning Xiaochuan!

It was no wonder Attendant Hua seemed to hesitate when he was speaking just now as the Heaven and Earth Pouch was so expensive. There might only be a few Nobles’ descendants that would be able to afford it. Only powerful martial arts masters and true Nobles were worthy of carrying such a miraculous piece of Mystical Equipment.

The Heaven and Earth Pouch was a rare treasure. It was not an item Ning Xiaochuan could afford right now. Although he desired it greatly, he could only reluctantly leave the Mystical Equipment Hall without it.

In fact, with Ning Xiaochuan’s current financial capability, buying any of the other pieces of Mystical Equipment was just as impossible as buying the Heaven and Earth Pouch.

The price of a Grade One Mystical Equipment would be at least one million copper coins.

Of course, the main purpose of Ning Xiaochuan’s visit to Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall today was not to get his hand on the Heaven and Earth Pouch, but to buy some Magnetite and to understand why his Cultivation had suddenly advanced to Stage Six Qi. This might even be an opportunity for him to find a faster way to improve his Cultivation.

In this world, strength ruled all. If he was not strong enough, the people in Marquis Jiange’s Residence that coveted being a Noble’s descendant would definitely devour him alive.

Under Attendant Hua’s guidance, Ning Xiaochuan spent one hundred thousand copper coins to purchase a piece of low-grade Magnetite of high purity that was about the size of a fist.

Ning Xiaochuan had spent twenty thousand copper coins on a low-grade Magnetite the last time and it had only been as big as a black peach. On the other hand, this piece of Magnetite was complete and the Heaven and Earth Qi it contained was five to six times that of the last one.

Ning Xiaochuan contemplated it for a while before spending another two hundred thousand copper coins on two more pieces of low-grade Magnetite, which meant he had three pieces of it now.

Magnetite was a necessity to all Heart-nourishing Masters that they carried with them everywhere. Having extra on hand was better than having to run to Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall every other time.

Shortly after that, Ning Xiaochuan also purchased ten stalks of Grade Two Blood-increasing Herbs. Since refining one stalk of Grade One Blood-increasing Herb was enough to trigger the activation of his Seven-orifices Devil Heart and cause him to advance to Stage Six Qi, then refining Grade Two Blood-increasing Herb should produce even better results!

Of course, he also bought ten stalks of Grade Two Heart-nourishing Herbs since Grade Two Heart-nourishing Liquid was a few times more expensive than Grade One Heart-nourishing Liquid, which made it all the more valuable.

‘I’ve bought three pieces of low-grade Magnetite, ten stalks of Grade Two Blood-increasing Herb, and ten stalks of Grade Two Heart-nourishing Herb, which means I’ve used up four hundred thousand copper coins and I have one hundred and seventy thousand copper coins left. This is going to burn a hole in my pocket!’ thought Ning Xiaochuan bitterly to himself, his expression turning sour.

Why did he always not have enough money?

…

In the near distance, two teenagers in scarlet embroidered clothes walked over.

One of the teenagers seemed to be about sixteen or seventeen years old while the other was much taller and seemed at least two years older. Both teenagers were quite handsome, so the maidservants of Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall stole glances at them as they walked past.

The younger teenager was Wang Yunchong, a Good-for-nothing Descendant from Marquis Tianxiang’s Residence, and he said, “Third Brother, you’re a young powerhouse of Stage Nine Qi so passing the assessment to enter the Heavenly Emperor Academy should be no problem with your Cultivation. Why are you here to buy mid-grade Pills to advance into the Divine Body Realm?”

“What do you know? The Heavenly Emperor Academy is the top academy in the entire Yulan Empire. It’s called the Son of Heaven Academy and Imperial Combat Palace for a reason. It’s the place where masters in both political and military achievements are born. Only a truly peerless genius can enter the Heavenly Emperor Academy and devote themselves completely to studying. If I want to become a Marquis in the future, if I want to bring honor to my ancestors, if I want my name to shake the world, I must first become a disciple of the Heavenly Emperor Academy!”

The teenager regarded as Third Brother by Wang Yunchong was Wang Shi, who was only eighteen but already one of Marquis Tianxiang’s Residence most outstanding disciples.

Wang Shi clenched his fists and faint wisps of green Qi could be seen flowing about in his sharp eyes. He said, “I’m sure you know the youngest master in the Yulan Empire today!”

Wang Yunchong’s gaze gleamed with adoration as he said, “Yue Wuyang, became an Earthly Supreme at twenty-six before being awarded the title Cloud Marquis at thirty-two. He’s currently the youngest non-hereditary Marquis in the history of the Yulan Empire.”

“That’s right! Yue Wuyang was a disciple of the Heavenly Emperor Academy. When he was still in the academy, he crossed the seventeen-floor Celestial Bridge, and it shook the entire Heavenly Emperor Academy to its core. I wonder how many genius women were won over by his heroism. Later, he earned many great achievements in war and was awarded the title of Marquis, making him the envy of countless people.

“So, I must enter the Heavenly Emperor Academy. I’ll have complete confidence once I achieve the Divine Body Realm. Otherwise, even if I have Stage Nine Qi, I still may be eliminated because of the other geniuses there. The competition in the Heavenly Emperor Academy’s assessment is very great!” exclaimed Wang Shi.

Wang Yunchong sighed and replied, “Seems like I won’t stand a chance then. Only those with at least Stage Seven Qi qualify for the entrance assessments to the Heavenly Emperor Academy. I’m only at Stage Four Qi now, which means I’ll be thirty when I achieve Stage Seven Qi. By then, I’ll be too old for admission into the Heavenly Emperor Academy.”

The realm above the Qi Realm was the Divine Body Realm.

Those that have advanced into Stage Nine Qi will be able to cultivate the Divine Martial Body, thus making them powerhouses of the Divine Body Realm.

In the Yulan Empire, although those that practiced martial arts were the cream of the crop, there was still quite a significant number of them due to the large population.

However, the vast majority of these people remained at Stage Nine Qi. Martial artists of Promoted Nobles could not access high-level cultivation methods or Mystical Medicine, which meant even achieving Stage Four Qi was difficult for them.

Even if one were a descendant of Nobles and had access to not only cultivation methods and Mystical Medicine, but also had martial artists as instructors, only the cream of the crop of the most outstanding people could achieve Stage Seven Qi before they turned eighteen. These people were regarded as geniuses!

Therefore, Wang Shi, a teenager who had achieved Stage Nine Qi at eighteen, was practically gifted with extreme talent. However, even he only had a seventy percent chance of successfully entering the Heavenly Emperor Academy.

Only those that had achieved the Divine Body Realm had a hundred percent chance of entering Heavenly Emperor Academy.

Martial artists that had advanced to the Divine Body Realm were true powerhouses that could be completely independent. These people possessed various mystical abilities—some could raise dozens of fierce Mystical Beasts within their blood, some could turn their bodies into heavenly swords, some could create clones with a single strand of hair, and some could even summon a dragon to aid them in battle.

The stronger their body was, the more powerful their ability would be!

Therefore, each and every martial artist wanted to achieve the Divine Body Realm.

Wang Yunchong stared ahead and exclaimed, “Huh! That’s Ning Xiaochuan of Marquis Jiange’s Residence. Why is that sick man here at Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall? Sicken Ning! Sicken Ning!”

Ning Xiaochuan was just about to leave Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall in the company of Attendant Hua. He never expected the pair of teenagers in scarlet clothes would stop him in his tracks.