Library of Heaven’s Path

Ying Fei quickly found a place to hide in the vicinity.

Not too long later, a black shadow walked up to the entrance of the residence and passed a name scroll over to the guards.

Jiya!

A few moments later, the gates to the residence creaked open.

Judging from the silhouette of the black shadow, Ying Fei judged the person seemed to be a lady with a particularly alluring figure. He nimbly climbed up a tree, and behind the cover of the leaves, he peeked at the courtyard of the residence.

“It’s the boss of the underground black market, Qi Ling-er!” Ying Fei gasped in shock.

As the aide and confidant of the city lord, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize Qi Ling-er.

Wasn’t she still selling the Beauty Pill at the Twilight Market a moment ago? Why would she suddenly appear here? Sensing that something was up, Ying Fei pricked his ears up so as to ensure that he wouldn’t miss any vital information. “Qi Ling-er pays respect to Butler Sun!” Qi Ling-er clasped her fist and bowed with a surprisingly respectful attitude. “Un. May I know the reason behind your visit?” Sun Qiang asked.

Despite his calm exterior, he was starting to feel a little overwhelmed inside.

It was just a day after they arrived, but an old man had already come knocking a moment ago demanding for the sale of what Beauty Pill. Yet, barely after the old man left, another person came knocking on the doors of their residence…

Just what in the world had the Young Master been doing last night after parting with them?!

The Beauty Pill is a joint venture between me and Young Master Zhang Xuan. Under the agreement we have come to previously, we were going to split the profits equally. However, after contemplating over it once more, we decided to offer Young Master Zhang Xuan 90% of the profits instead as a symbol of our sincerity. Not only so, we’ll also absorb the cost of production as well!”

With an earnest smile, Qi Ling-er took out a card and a storage ring and entrusted them respectfully into Sun Qiang’s hands, “Stored in the card is the profit we have earned from the earlier sales. All in all, there should be 28,000 Divine Coins inside. Also, we have managed to procure the medicinal herb that Young Master Zhang Xuan requires, and it is currently in the storage ring. May I know where is Young Master Zhang Xuan at? It would be my honor to pay my respects to him…”

“My apologies, but our Young Master isn’t around,” Sun Qiang replied.

“Ah, it seems like I have come at a bad timing. Alright then, I won’t impose on you any longer…” Qi Ling-er clasped her fist once more before backing out of the residence.

“They are going by a 9:1 split in profit? Furthermore, it’s Zhang Xuan who is receiving the 90%?”

Taking everything in sight, Ying Fei’s teeth clattered against one another.

Having kept tabs on Qi Ling-er for many years, he was certain that he had gained a good grasp over the latter’s personality. She was extremely sharp-witted, and she had no qualms with exploiting others for her own profit. Furthermore, as a descendant of the Royal City’s Qi Clan, she didn’t fear any powers within Twilight City at all.

In fact, she didn’t have much respect for the city lord either.

If not for that, she wouldn’t have dared to open an underground black market here and trade all sorts of prohibited goods.

Yet, someone as domineering as her was actually acting like an obedient child. She willingly gave away 90% of the profits and bore the cost of production!

He would never fathomed that there would actually be a person in Twilight City who could curb Qi Ling-er like that!

It seems like Qi Ling-er knows of Zhang Xuan’s true identity or strength… Otherwise, there’s no way she would have acted in such a manner, Ying Fei thought.

Once again, he was gladdened by the fact that he managed to keep his impulse in check earlier.

If he had really made a move on Butler Sun, he would have been kicked right through the gates of the netherworld.

“I have to report this news to the city lord…”

Knowing how important and urgent this matter was, Ying Fei sprinted all the way to the City Lord Manor.

You said that Zhang Xuan has tamed the Phosphor Armored Beast, and Qi Ling-er paid her respects to his butler and even willingly gave away 90% of the profits from selling the Beauty Pills to him?” Wu Fangqing could hardly believe what he was hearing.

He was still thinking a moment ago that no matter how impressive a figure Zhang Xuan might be, he would be able to curb the young man through his authority as the city lord. But as it turned out, he might have been underestimating the young man’s capabilities!

“There’s no doubt about it, I saw it with my own eyes!” Ying Fei nodded vehemently, as if fearing that the city lord would doubt his words.

“The Phosphor Armored Beast is rumored to possess invincible defense. Even though its cultivation is at high-tier God realm at the moment, its true fighting prowess wouldn’t pale too much in comparison to me. I have already offered it the most valuable things I am able bring out, but instead of submitting to me, it actually chose that young lad instead!

“And just as you have said, Qi Ling-er’s bizarre attitude toward him is also highly suspicious as well. We’ll really have to look deeper into the young man’s background…” Wu Fangqing said solemnly.

Twilight City had never been lacking in talented individuals, but this was the first time he was encountering such a peculiar case!

“Look into Qi Ling-er’s movements after she met Zhang Xuan back at the underground black market. She must have stumbled upon some crucial information regarding him for her to suddenly change the allocation of profits!” Wu Fangqing instructed.

“I understand!” Ying Fei nodded before leaving the room.

Around an hour later, Ying Fei returned back to the room and reported, “City Lord Wu, I have managed to compile a detailed report on Qi Ling-er’s movements. Right after meeting Zhang Xuan, she headed straight to the Netherworld Pool of the Netherworld Palace!”

“The Netherworld Pool… Was she trying to test Zhang Xuan’s bloodline?” Wu Fangqing frowned.

The greatest use of the Netherworld Pool was its ability to test the prowess of one’s bloodline. There was a good chance that she might have stumbled on a great secret after visiting the Netherworld Pool, leading to the change in her attitude.

Ying Fei nodded in agreement, “I believe so too. It’s just that… I don’t have the clearance to look deeper into the matter.”

“It’s fine, I’ll head there personally to take a look,” Wu Fangqing replied.

He swiftly rushed over to the hall where the Netherworld Pool was, and with a wave of his hand, a crystal-like recording device flew into his hands.

He channeled his divine energy into it, and Qi Ling-er silhouette slowly swirled into appearance.

“Celestial God Wu Jiang submitted to him?”

“God King of Transcendent Flames has bowed down to him as well…”

“Isn’t that Conferred God King Nangong Ping? He’s actually paying respects to Zhang Xuan too?”

Wu Fangqing was absolutely flabbergasted. He didn’t even notice that he had bit on his own tongue.

The bloodline test of the Netherworld Pool was famed for its impeccable accuracy, and the fact that a Conferred God King had submitted could only mean that…

Zhang Xuan possessed the bloodline of a God Monarch!

One must know that there were only ten God Monarchs in the entire Firmament, and one of them had only appeared recently…

Wu Fangqing could hardly fathom just how high Zhang Xuan’s standing would be if he was really the descendant of a God Monarch!

Could it be possible that the young man was currently traveling under another alias in order to train himself?

“Hurry up and prepare a gift! I must visit Young Master Zhang Xuan right now!”

Walking out of the Netherworld Pool with hastened footsteps, Wu Fangqing passed down an instruction to Ying Fei anxiously.

“Wait a moment. If I recall correctly, Xiaoxiao has offended Young Master Zhang Xuan previously as well. Get her to kneel in front of Young Master Zhang Xuan’s residence to seek his forgiveness!”

“Yes, I’ll have it done right now!” Ying Fei replied as he rushed all the way back to the City Lord Manor.

“You should be quite familiar with the city lord since he has tried to tame you many times. How is he as a person, and exactly how powerful is he?”

As the majestic buildings of Twilight City appeared in the horizon, Zhang Xuan turned to the young man beside him and asked.

No matter what, it was a fact that he was residing in Twilight City at the moment. It would be best for him to take precautions for all possibilities, or else no one would be there to save them if any mishaps were to occur.

“That fellow’s cultivation is a low-tier Celestial God, and he’s pretty powerful. I could barely withstand his attacks before my breakthrough, and retaliation is out of question. The only reason why I could stand my ground against him thus far is because he hasn’t had any intention of killing me so far. Otherwise, I would have been a goner by now!” Zhang Jia, the Phosphor Armored Beast, pondered for a moment before replying,

Its ‘unparalleled defense* was only applicable against fellow high-tier Gods. Against a low-tier Celestial God, a higher existence than it, it was inevitable that its defense would prove to be lacking.

“What about now?”

“In a fair battle, now that I’m a Celestial God as well, I can probably send that fellow flying with a kick on his ass. However, I suspect that he has a low-tier Celestial God artifact with him. If he were to use a weapon, it won’t be that easy for me to defeat him. But of course, there’s only so much that he can do about me too. I would say that the chances of winning are about 50:50,” Zhang Jia replied.

In the Firmament, artifacts could be divided into God artifacts, Celestial God artifacts, God King artifacts and God Monarch artifacts, and every single tier could be further subdivided into low-tier, middle-tier, high-tier, and pinnacle.

The prowess of a low-tier Celestial God was not to be underestimated. Even with the Phosphor Armored Beast’s superior defenses, it would still be difficult for it to deal against a low-tier Celestial God wielding a low-tier Celestial God artifact.

Zhang Xuan nodded in comprehension.

The greatest strength of the human cultivators lay in their ability to use their body and weapons effectively. While divine beasts possessed naturally powerful bodies, they often tended to lack skills.

“As for how that fellow is as a person, he is a cold-hearted and deeply self-centered individual. Years of being in authority has bred his desire to control everything around him. If he were to find out that you have tamed me, it’s very likely that he’ll come at you one way or another,” Zhang Jia said worriedly.

The city lord was the typical ‘come under me or die’ type of villain. It was likely that Zhang Xuan’s act of taming the Phosphor Armored Beast ahead of him would breed much hostility in him.

“He’ll come at me?”

“Yeap. Magnanimity is one thing that he doesn’t have. Two years ago, an outsider accidentally touched his daughter, and that fellow severed his hands without any hesitation before tossing him into prison. No one has heard of that outsider ever since, and there are rumors going around that he might already have been killed…” Zhang Jia shook his head.

Narrow-minded individuals were particularly hard to deal with because they had the tendency to overreact over the slightest matter.

“I will be careful,” Zhang Xuan replied.

In any case, he was planning to leave Twilight City after Zhao Ya and the others reached godhood. He wanted to start looking for Luo Ruoxin and Kong shi, so it wasn’t likely that he would get too involved with the city lord.

After chatting a while later, Zhang Xuan glanced below and smiled, “We have arrived. My residence is right below.”

Hearing those words, Zhang Jia looked down as well and saw a decently-sized residence below.

“Oh? Why are there two people kneeling in front of your residence?” Zhang Jia asked curiously..

Bewildered, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze over and saw a young lady and an old man kneeling right in front of his main entrance. A fatty was gazing down at them coldly with his hands behind his back, as if berating them.

Aside from them, there was also a middle-aged man nodding respectfully with a humble smile on his face.

“Just because our Young Master is kind and magnanimous doesn’t mean that I’ll forgive you easily for affronting him! The least you can do is to kneel till daylight as a show of sincerity!” the fatty harrumphed with astounding authority in his voice.

“What the hell is Sun Qiang up to?”

Seeing how his butler’s ‘delusion of grandeur’ was acting up again, Zhang Xuan quickly urged his divine beast to land. Then, he turned his gaze behind to explain things to Zhang Jia, only to see the latter trembling uncontrollably, as if he had just seen something out of the world.

“What’s wrong?” Zhang Xuan was bewildered to see this fearless divine beast acting in such a way.

With a trembling voice, Zhang Jia said, “The ones who are kneeling on the floor are the city lord’s daughter and an expert from the City Lord Manor, and the middle-aged man apologizing over there is no other than City Lord Wu Fangqing!”

It was just a moment ago that it said that the city lord was narrow-minded and could very well make things difficult for Zhang Xuan, but in the blink of an eye, his daughter and subordinate actually came all the way here to kneel on the floor and apologize…

Holy heavens! Can anyone tell me what’s going on here?

Zhang Jia felt like he was losing touch with reality.