Invincible Soul Emperor

Ye Qingchen pondered for a moment and finally nodded in agreement.

This location wasn’t far from Northern Barrier City. With the caravan parading such a magnificent Gold Star Lion King into the city, it was far too eye-catching, and trouble would be hard to avoid.

Although Ye Qingchen was not an overly sentimental person, Liu Wan’er had, after all, saved his life. Since they were heading the same way, he was more than willing to help her out.

Furthermore, the Liu Family Commerce Guild has been conducting business around Northern Barrier City for many years. Perhaps I can leverage their connections to gather some news about the Saint Heir.

When Liu Wan’er saw that Ye Qingchen had agreed, she was overjoyed. After ordering her guards to clean up the aftermath, the caravan set off once more.

Along the way, Liu Wan’er rode side by side with Ye Qingchen. The usually aloof Liu Wan’er was now like a little fangirl, bombarding Ye Qingchen with questions, much to the displeasure of Wang Tianlin, who trailed behind them.

Not only did Wang Tianlin covet Wan’er’s beauty, but he also wanted to use her status to skyrocket his own career. However, Wan’er had always been distant, and with her strength and status far surpassing his, he never had a chance. But since Wan’er was cold to everyone, it gave Wang Tianlin some peace of mind. He believed that as long as he persisted, sooner or later, she would see his shining qualities and fall for him.

Yet, the emergence of Ye Qingchen, and Wan’er’s greatly changed attitude toward him, filled Wang Tianlin with a deep sense of defeat.

Ye Qingchen is young and handsome, and his strength has reached the Martial King Realm. From every aspect, he is far superior to me.

The more he thought about it, the deeper Wang Tianlin’s jealousy grew. The sight of Ye Qingchen’s back became increasingly unbearable to him.

”Young Master Ye, I haven’t asked you yet, what’s the purpose of your trip to Northern Barrier City?”

As she spoke, Liu Wan’er flashed a crescent-moon-like smile, her voice so tender and soft it would give anyone who heard it a pleasant shiver.

Ye Qingchen smiled faintly and replied, ”Wan’er, since your Liu Family Commerce Guild runs its business in Northern Barrier City all year round, you must have heard of someone named Xia Chengkai, the Pill King. My visit to Northern Barrier City is to meet this Pill King Xia.”

Liu Wan’er looked at Ye Qingchen in surprise and said, ”You’re going to meet Pill King Xia too? What a coincidence, our transaction this time is actually with Pill King Xia.”

Ye Qingchen also smiled slightly. Since Liu Wan’er and her group are also going to see Xia Chengkai, I can save myself the trouble of asking for directions. That’ll save quite a bit of time.

Seeing their intimate interaction, Wang Tianlin could no longer hold back and interjected, ”You’ve got some nerve saying that! Pill King Xia has a noble status. Do you think you can meet him just because you want to? He’s not only the top Pill King of Northern Barrier City but also the Deputy City Lord. Forget a nobody like you, even our Liu Family Commerce Guild can’t just get an audience whenever we please, despite dealing with him for so many years.”

Ye Qingchen heard the hostility in Wang Tianlin’s words and, beyond that, a strong hint of jealousy. He gave a wry smile and shook his head. I have no romantic interest in Liu Wan’er whatsoever; I’m just doing my duty as a friend. If Wang Tianlin is going to get jealous over this, there’s nothing I can do about it. Of course, I couldn’t care less what he thinks anyway.

With this in mind, Ye Qingchen saw even less reason to bother with Wang Tianlin. He simply smiled, shook his head, and ignored him.

But Wang Tianlin, seeing Ye Qingchen’s silence, felt even more smug. He assumed that Ye Qingchen was infuriated and ashamed after being exposed, which was why he dared not speak.

Only Liu Wan’er turned her head and glared fiercely at Wang Tianlin, frightening him so much that he flinched. This, however, only made his jealousy toward Ye Qingchen grow even stronger.

They traveled the rest of the way in silence. Although they encountered several more groups of bandits, Ye Qingchen was eager to press on, so he struck like lightning each time to subdue them swiftly. This allowed the caravan’s pace to remain almost unaffected. Each time Ye Qingchen took action, Liu Wan’er would gaze at him with stars in her eyes. Watching him fight was a true pleasure, free of any wasted movements—only a clean, swift resolution.

After several days of travel, the caravan finally arrived before the gates of Northern Barrier City.

It would be more accurate to call it a small country rather than a mere city. Located at the critical crossroads between the Northern and Central Territories, the strategic position of Northern Barrier City was of considerable importance. The daily flow of people here numbered in the hundreds of millions. To accommodate such a vast volume, the city had to be built on a grand scale.

Ye Qingchen looked up to see the city walls stretching dozens of meters high. Standing beneath them instilled a sense of insignificance and powerlessness. The city spanned roughly one hundred thousand meters from east to west, with its north-south length being two to three times that. Even such a vast city still felt crowded.

Ye Qingchen understood. To enter the Central Territories, one must pass through Northern Barrier City. Many people choose to stop in this city to regroup their parties and purchase supplies for the road ahead. This demand leads to countless commerce guilds establishing a presence, which in turn spawns all sorts of other industries. That’s what created this prosperous scene. But behind this prosperity, there must be chaos born from the mix of saints and sinners. It’s just that under the bright light of day, these darker aspects aren’t on display.

The massive carcass of the Gold Star Lion King caused a sensation the moment it entered the city, but it was forgotten by the crowd just as quickly.

Liu Wan’er instructed the guards to first transport the Liu Family Commerce Guild’s goods and the Gold Star Lion King’s carcass to their inn. Then, she led Ye Qingchen and Wang Tianlin toward the Deputy City Lord’s residence to pay a visit to Xia Chengkai. She did this because she knew of Xia Chengkai’s esteemed status and feared that Ye Qingchen wouldn’t get a chance to meet him on his own. Since young men cared about face, Ye Qingchen would certainly not admit this himself, which was why Liu Wan’er had repeatedly invited him to join her.

Ye Qingchen didn’t think much of it. After all, with Liu Wan’er leading the way in this colossal Northern Barrier City, I’ll save myself a great deal of trouble. He thanked her and followed her toward the Deputy City Lord’s residence.

Seeing Ye Qingchen agree so readily, Wang Tianlin became even more convinced. He definitely doesn’t have the ability to meet Pill King Xia on his own. That’s why he’s so comfortable mooching off her. What use is brute strength? In Northern Barrier City, what really matters is knowing how to navigate the world of connections and social etiquette!