Chen Yi sets sail and is about to depart, when suddenly he hears the sound of playing and singing on the shore

On the way, Chen Yi chatted with the young man and was surprised to learn that his name was Li Chengqian.

"What's your name?"

"Li Chengqian. My father is the Prince of Qianzhou, belonging to the 'Ji' generation of the royal family, while I am of the 'Cheng' generation.

When I was just born, my martial arts master discovered that I had Heaven-tier bone structure. My father was thrilled and immediately named me the heir apparent.

He named me Li Chengqian, which means I am to inherit his royal title in the future."

"Oh... so it's that 'Qian'. I thought... well, that's indeed impossible."

The state title of the Great Qian Dynasty could not be used in names, even by members of the royal family. It was a strict naming taboo.

"Young man, then I have to criticize you a bit. You're already the heir apparent and possess such excellent aptitude. Why aren't you cultivating properly instead of sneaking out to play?

At your age, it's the most critical time for cultivation. Cultivation is like rowing a boat upstream..."

Halfway through his sentence, Chen Yi realized something was wrong and quickly shut his mouth.

Damn that Ten Thousand Souls Banner!

Li Chengqian gave a bitter smile.

"I stopped being the heir apparent when I was twelve. Now, the heir to the princely estate is my eldest brother."

"So you're a deposed heir."

Chen Yi wanted to say that it was the bad homophony of his name to blame.

It wasn't surprising that Li Chengqian was deposed, as he had been playful since childhood.

He slacked off in his literary studies and was lazy every day in his martial arts training, even angering several masters into leaving.

The Prince of Qianzhou was utterly disappointed in him, which was why he deposed him.

"Little brother, seeing how you treat others and handle matters, you don't seem like a hedonistic silk-pants, nor are you unreasonable. Why were you so lazy and playful?"

Li Chengqian's gaze inadvertently revealed a trace of maturity that didn't belong to his age.

"If I hadn't let myself go to waste, I'm afraid I wouldn't have lived to see today."

Chen Yi instantly understood.

The struggle for the position of heir had always been like this!

"Understood."

After entering the city, Li Chengqian was quite generous with his spending.

Mostly, he relied on his face.

First, he took Chen Yi to the docks outside the city and bought him a new boat to facilitate his return journey.

Next, he went to the bank, withdrew a thick stack of banknotes, and gave them all to Chen Yi.

The first pot of gold Chen Yi had obtained from the Black Stone Gang was ultimately limited.

With Li Chengqian's gift, Chen Yi essentially achieved financial freedom in terms of silver.

Finally, Li Chengqian brought Chen Yi to the martial artist market in White Horse City.

Spirit artifacts, medicinal pills, formation arrays, cultivation methods, and various other resources—whenever he saw something, he bought a set.

Transactions in the market were settled using crystal stones.

Li Chengqian didn't have many crystal stones in his storage ring.

Therefore, when it was time to pay, he simply flashed the princely estate's waist tag, indicating that the bill should be charged to the Prince of Qianzhou's estate.

The various cultivation resources Li Chengqian gifted had turned into heavy bundles, hanging all over Black Wind's back.

Even Chen Yi's hands were full of large and small bags; there was simply no room to carry anything more.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian directly took off the storage ring from his own finger.

"Benefactor, take this."

In this world, storage spirit artifacts, even the lowest-grade storage bags, were extremely precious and rarely seen on ordinary martial artists.

For a rogue cultivator, owning a storage spirit artifact made them stand head and shoulders above their peers.

A storage ring was even more high-end.

"Young Master Li, how could I possibly accept your storage ring?"

"Benefactor, you must take it. The grace of saving my life should be repaid with a gushing spring. What do these worldly possessions count for?"

"No, no, it's far too precious."

Chen Yi reached his hand out, waving it repeatedly in refusal.

Taking advantage of the motion, Li Chengqian slipped the ring onto his finger.

Chen Yi took a look and said, "The size is actually quite fitting?"

Li Chengqian smiled. "It's self-adjusting."

"High-class!

However, Young Master Li, these resources aren't actually that important to me.

What I want most right now is an artifact refinement master, preferably one who can forge Earth-tier spirit artifacts."

Chen Yi wanted to get a better vessel for the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

A Heaven-tier one would naturally be better.

But such an artifact refinement master would definitely be in the Divine Weapon Prefecture area.

That place was quite far from Qingzhou, and presumably, the influence of the Prince of Qianzhou couldn't reach that far.

"That can be done. The Hundred Forges Sect in White Horse City is an artifact refinement sect. All the weapons and spirit artifacts for our princely estate's guards are forged by them.

Their sect master is an Earth-tier artifact refinement master capable of forging Earth-tier spirit artifacts!"

Li Chengqian didn't ask any unnecessary questions. Chen Yi only needed to make a request, and he would directly go and handle it for him, relying on his face that looked eighty percent like the Prince of Qianzhou and that jade waist tag.

Soon, Chen Yi met the sect master of the Hundred Forges Sect, Zhou Wuliang, in White Horse City.

He was a middle-aged man with a head as smooth as a mirror. He had a burly build and a large skeletal frame, though he wasn't very tall.

"Young Master Chengqian has arrived! What a rare guest!"

The story of Li Chengqian, the deposed heir, was widely known in the Qianzhou area, if not a household tale.

Not to mention the Hundred Forges Sect, an organization that deeply cooperated with the princely estate.

Others might mock Li Chengqian for falling out of favor and not cherishing the position of heir.

But Zhou Wuliang couldn't.

He had to treat Li Chengqian like a highly-valued client.

Hearing that Li Chengqian had brought a friend and wanted him to forge an Earth-tier spirit artifact, Zhou Wuliang immediately patted his chest in assurance.

"No problem. Are there any specific requirements?"

"Sect Master Zhou, just put the refinement fee on the princely estate's bill for next month. When you go to the estate to settle the accounts, you can just tally it up together."

"What are you saying, Young Master Chengqian! You are helping a friend, how could I charge a fee? That wouldn't be right. Young Master Chengqian's friend is my friend. It's just a single spirit artifact!"

With that, Zhou Wuliang leaned closer to Li Chengqian and whispered.

"Young Master Chengqian, I am still on your side. Don't give up..."

Seeing that this guy didn't even try to hide his declaration of loyalty from others, Chen Yi knew it was probably more of an act.

Most likely, if Li Chengqian's eldest brother came, Zhou Wuliang would say the exact same thing.

By betting on both sides, he wouldn't lose no matter who won.

What a shrewd fox!

Chen Yi handed over the blueprints.

Reality was different from the simulation, so Chen Yi was more careful.

He had the Ten Thousand Souls Banner provide a blueprint that didn't look like a soul-summoning banner, but rather a large military standard.

This type of spirit artifact was very common in military formations, used to boost morale and lead full-scale charges.

A flag and a banner were relatively similar. Although it was slightly inferior to a true banner, it was the optimal solution for the time being.

Zhou Wuliang took a glance and simply assumed Chen Yi was the leader of some minor faction who needed a military flag spirit artifact for an area-of-effect buff.

"Simple. Give me a month and it will definitely be forged. The Hundred Forges Sect will cover all the raw materials as well. Young Master Chengqian, you can just head back and wait for my good news."

Chen Yi left White Horse City with a bountiful haul.

Li Chengqian escorted him all the way to the docks, more than ten miles outside the city.

"Young Master Li, there's no need to see me off any further. I'm going to board the ship now."

"Take care, Benefactor! I sincerely hope you can visit the Prince of Qianzhou's estate more often in the future. I still owe you a proper banquet to fulfill my duties of hospitality!"

"Young Master Li, you are too polite. Saving you was merely a small effort on my part. You have already fully expressed your gratitude with your sincerity, how could I dare to intrude again?"

"In that case, I shall bid farewell to my Benefactor here... Oh right, Benefactor, once the spirit artifact is forged, how should I deliver it to you?"

"I will come and pick it up myself. There's no need to trouble yourself."

Chen Yi led Black Wind onto the boat.

On the shore, Li Chengqian pulled out a pipa from who knows where, sat down on the ground, and began to play and sing.

The song was a slightly sorrowful melody of farewell.

Chen Yi, about to depart by boat, suddenly heard the sound of music and singing from the shore. Though the Green River flows for three thousand miles, its waters run not so deep as Cheng Qian's feelings seeing me off.