Sovereign of the Three Realms

“You worthless scoundrel! You’ll be the death of me one day!” The vice city lord was incredibly infuriated by his fop of a son.

His henchmen immediately ran up to hold him back. “City lord! Stop! Stop!”

“He might die if you go on!”

Held back by his henchmen, the city lord slumped into his chair and panted angrily. “You bastard! What on earth did you receive from Dong Shen for the incident at Prancing Horse Inn?!” He yelled with his eyes as wide as a bell.

“I… father… I had nothing to do with the incident in Prancing Horse Inn.” The good-for-nothing continued to deny his involvement.

“Still trying to weasel your way out of this?” The vice city lord lifted his leg and was about to kick his son. His good-for-nothing son would likely be bedridden for three months if his henchmen hadn’t stopped him in time. “Bastard! The crown prince will deal with you if you don’t cough up the truth! You’ll land me in trouble too! Nobody can save you then!”

The good-for-nothing was shocked by the vice city lord’s attitude. “T-t-the incident at the Prancing Horse has alarmed the crown prince?” He stammered.

“Do I seem like I’m in the mood for jokes? How dare you put your hands on one of the crown prince’s men! Your bastard! You’ve given me nothing but trouble!”

“Wu Niuhua… h-he’s one of the crown prince’s men?” The good-for-nothing seemed confused. “That’s impossible! How could he be exploited by Dong Shen if he’s the prince’s man?”

“Exploited? Do you really think he was being exploited by Dong Shen?” The vice city lord’s voice sounded extremely cold. “What does a jackass like Dong Shen know? He’s done for! You shall sink in the same ship as him if you remain this ignorant!”

The good-for-nothing realized that this was no longer a laughing matter after seeing how serious his father was being. His face turned deathly white as he muttered. “I’m innocent! I’ve received nothing from Dong Shen! I was only trying to be a good brother by backing him up a little! How could I have known that Niu Wuhua had direct relations to the crown prince?”

“I don’t bloody care about your history with him! From now onwards, you must make a clear divide between you and him! Report every single untoward act he’s done. If you don’t rat on him now, don’t blame me if this backfires.” The vice city lord sounded sinister.

The good-for-nothing trembled when he was asked to betray his brother. He seemed hesitant.

“What’s wrong? Can’t bear to do it? He’s nothing but a fairweather friend good for drinking and eating together. How deep can your friendship be?” The vice city lord laughed. “Don’t say that I didn’t warn you. You shall join him in deep waters if you don’t grab this opportunity to rat on him.”

Dong Shen never imagined that things would turn sour so quickly. He was detained by the authorities of Goldtower City on the same afternoon. People were reporting him nonstop for his misdeeds and acts of debauchery. The entire House Dong was also detained.

Niu Wuhua however, was receiving one good news after another. Dong Shen was detained, Dong Shen’s residence was raided, House Dong was in total shambles...

Three days later, all of Dong Shen’s businesses were transferred to Niu Wuhua. The latter was almost in disbelief by how little price he had to pay for so much to happen. The fighters that Dong Shen had assigned to Prancing Horse Inn had also abandoned the sinking ship. Some were detained, some left for a different opportunity, and others ran away. Dong Shen’s brother-in-law was also thrown into prison.

The great turnaround at Prancing Horse Inn left the citizens at Goldtower City speechless. Everyone was certain that Dong Shen would end up winning the dispute. Suddenly, there were all kinds of speculations about Niu Wuhua. Various types of rumors were being spread around the streets and back alleys of Goldtower City.

Some speculated that Niu Wuhua was directly connected to the throne and had close relations with the crown prince. There were even rumors that Niu Wuhua wasn’t just closely related to the crown prince, but also with a great emperor realm faction from Veluriyam Capital.

Niu Wuhua, a second-rate character in Goldtower City, was suddenly catapulted to the top of the hierarchy. Never in his mind did he expect this to happen. He knew that he had young master Ji San to thank for all of this. However, he didn’t expect that Ji San was such an influential person. He was overwhelmed by emotions. The turnaround was so surreal that it felt like a dream. The amount of fortune required for this to happen was uncanny.

The perpetrator behind all of his good fortune was already a few thousand miles away from Bluesky Nation. What happened at Goldtower City was Jiang Chen’s way of repaying a favor. The information that Niu Wuhua had given him was of incredible significance. To him, repaying the favor was as simple as lifting a finger, but it was absolutely life changing for Niu Wuhua.

Of course, Jiang Chen had other reasons for doing this too. As young lord of Sacred Peafowl Mountain, he would eventually have to rule over the entire Veluriyam Capital. These nations and cities under the capital’s rule had to roped in appropriately. It was also the reason why he’d invited the crown prince to Taiyuan Tower. Bluesky Nation was one of the most outstanding nations under the capital’s rule. It was only natural to treat them well and take proper care of them.

One had to traverse at least half of the Upper Eight Regions to reach Pillfire City from Veluriyam Capital. Fortunately, Jiang Chen had cultivated all kinds of travel arts, especially Kunpeng Meteoric Escape. It was capable of both short distance burst of speed and long distance traveling. He didn’t cause any trouble during his journey and kept a low profile throughout every land he traversed. He managed to keep his rage in check even when he traveled across Eternal Celestial Capital’s territory. He currently only had two targets. One was Pillfire City, and the other, Tilted Moon Region.

Pillfire City and the Star Harvesters… He continued to make haste and eventually arrived at Pillfire City a few months later.

Pillfire City was situated in the northern region of the Upper Eight Regions. Its territory spanned for miles and miles and wasn’t less than Veluriyam Capital’s at all. In fact, they might be a little larger. The land under Pillfire City’s jurisdiction was also much more fertile than Veluriyam Capital. Their soil had a lot more spirit energy by comparison. They were the foremost pill maker in the human domain mainly because of their geographical advantage and pill making pedigree.

Upon entering the city, Jiang Chen immediately noticed how adept they were at the refinement of spirit medicines. Their medicine businesses were also flourishing and incredibly successful. As expected, they have a very deep roots in the art of pill making. The pill industry plays an integral part in every piece of land under Pillfire City’s jurisdiction.

Jiang Chen was in awe. He’d seen many things when he traversed through the Upper Eight Regions to arrive at Pillfire City. Veluriyam Capital was no match for Pillfire City in terms of pill dao throughout the Upper Eight Regions and maybe even the entire human domain. Veluriyam Capital held less than twenty percent of the market, while Pillfire City held at least seventy percent of the market. It was an incredible disparity.

The dependence on Pillfire City’s pills grew increasingly apparent as one moved closer to the city. Pillfire City didn’t become one of the strongest factions in the Upper Eight Regions without reason. Their influence in pill making alone would solidify their position in the region. Every other faction somewhat depended on Pillfire City for their pills. This meant that they could never afford to become enemies with the city. They had to show great reverence and respect to the city, which only further intensified the power the city held.

It was an endless feedback loop. Unless Pillfire City burned itself to ground, there was no way any other faction could possibly replace or take over the power they held over the entire human domain. Not even Veluriyam Capital. Of course, that was assuming that Jiang Chen wasn’t factored into the equation. Nothing was impossible when a monster like him was around.

The capital here was extremely prosperous and on par with the capital city of Veluriyam Capital. The three pagodas were the landmarks of Veluriyam Capital, while the landmark for Pillfire City was the Pill Emperor Mountain. The Pill Emperor Mountain was situated in the middle of Pillfire City. The entire city itself was built around the mountain and expanded outwards from there.

There were statues of various pill emperors on the peak of the mountain. These statues were so tall and mighty that they seemed to tower beyond the clouds. Each statue represented a period of prosperity and excellence throughout the city’s history. Each pill emperor was at the forefront of their own respective era of pill dao. They were the pride of Pillfire City and also represented the heritage of the city. There were nine pill emperor statues erected on Pill Emperor Mountain. This meant that throughout the history of Pillfire City, there were at last nine great emperor realm pill experts worthy of being written into the history texts. They bore the fate of the city upon their backs and contributed greatly to the land.

Jiang Chen immediately realized that these towering statues were the totem buildings that represented the pride of the city. The city had very rigorous security checks. Fortunately, Jiang Chen had been traveling under the guise of a wandering cultivator. The checks failed notice anything amiss. He could immediately feel the prosperity when he set foot into the city.

Pillfire City had an atmosphere that couldn’t be seen in Veluriyam Capital. It was an atmosphere unique to only Pillfire City. However, he was in no mood to enjoy the prosperity of Pillfire City. He immediately tried to contact Lin Yanyu using a secret method they’d agreed on beforehand. It didn’t take long before he located him.

Lin Yanyu was no match for Jiang Chen in speed after all. He’d left months before Jiang Chen did, but he arrived only two weeks earlier than him.

“Young lord, I’ve made inquiries and confirmed that the Star Harvesters have purchased a slave with an innate wood constitution of high order. They seem to view the slave with high regard. Many nobles and factions in Pillfire City have tried to purchase the slave, but the Star Harvesters rejected every single one of them. It’s the current hot topic in Pillfire City. It didn’t even take that much effort to gather this much information.