The entire pawnshop hall fell into silence.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the table covered in spirit cores.
The dazzling, multicolored cores piled on the table reflected a radiant glow.
Tier-four spirit cores!
All of them were tier-four!
Just how much money was this worth?!
"Sir... y-you mean to exchange all of these?" The shopkeeper stammered, his mind completely overwhelmed, his tongue tied.
Genuine tier-four spirit cores!
An Yi glanced at them briefly before nodding. "Yes, all of them."
These were from the hundred or so tier-four demonic beasts he had hunted over the past few days.
After setting aside five each night for Long Niu’s watch, he still had a large pile left.
And this was only part of it.
"One, two... fifteen!"
The shopkeeper’s face flushed with excitement as he counted.
This was a fortune!
"Sir, these cores vary in quality—some higher, some lower. I’ll calculate them all at three hundred taels of silver each. But you must tell me where you obtained them. Does that sound fair?" The shopkeeper asked with a grin.
Truthfully, these cores weren’t cheap to begin with.
Spending a few hundred extra taels to buy the secret of their source wasn’t a bad deal.
An Yi glanced at Wei Xiang, the local from the immortal sect.
Wei Xiang nodded slightly—the price was reasonable, not a rip-off.
"Deal." An Yi smiled and agreed.
The shopkeeper was overjoyed. "We don’t have enough silver in the shop right now. Please wait a moment—I’ll be back soon!"
With that, he dashed off to gather the funds.
Before long, he returned carrying a large chest, its surface still smeared with fresh dirt, as if it had just been dug up from somewhere.
"Four thousand five hundred taels of silver—that’s four hundred fifty taels of gold. It’s all here. Please count it." The shopkeeper grinned.
The atmosphere in the hall shifted noticeably.
Men would die for wealth, as birds would for food.
This much gold was enough to make them risk their lives.
Besides, these two young men didn’t seem particularly formidable—just a pair of greenhorns fresh to the martial world.
An Yi gave the chest a cursory glance, confirmed the amount was roughly correct, and stored it away in his spatial pouch. "Alright. May your business prosper."
The shopkeeper’s eyes widened as the chest vanished into thin air. Then, rubbing his hands eagerly, he asked, "So... about that source?"
An Yi beckoned him closer. The shopkeeper leaned in eagerly, straining his ears.
Others nearby also stretched their necks, hoping to catch even a whisper.
"I hunted all these tier-four demonic beasts myself," An Yi said softly.
The shopkeeper: "..."
Bullshit!
Instantly furious, the shopkeeper snapped, "Sir, that’s hardly honorable!"
"It’s true!" An Yi chuckled.
Then, he no longer suppressed his aura, unleashing his full power.
In an instant—
The entire hall froze.
Peak Void Realm!
What kind of twenty-year-old had strength like this?!
Those who had been eyeing An Yi for robbery immediately backed off.
Peak Void Realm—no wonder he had fifteen tier-four spirit cores.
Generally speaking, the Void Realm was the pinnacle of this world’s martial hierarchy.
In the immortal sects, warriors of this level held esteemed status.
They could have countless wives, indulge in wine and pleasure, living as decadently as they pleased.
For someone of this strength to still be selling spirit cores was... unusual.
"Let’s go, Xiangzi. Time to find a place to stay." An Yi waved dismissively.
"Right away, Yi-ye!" Wei Xiang replied cheerfully, his previous arrogance as an inner disciple of the Tianxuan Sect completely gone—now, he was the perfect lackey.
As the two walked away, the shopkeeper sighed, tossing a spirit stone in his hand.
Oh well. He’d just have to settle for a smaller profit.
Tier-four spirit cores were rare. With some maneuvering in the black market, he could still squeeze out an extra few dozen taels of gold.
By the time An Yi and Wei Xiang left the Yongle Pawnshop, night had fallen.
This place was nothing like the mortal world.
There were no neon lights burning through the night, no men and women lingering in nightclubs.
The streets were desolate, with barely a soul in sight.
"Here’s fine."
An Yi stopped in front of a courier station, checking the location.
Wei Xiang was baffled.
Hadn’t they agreed on somewhere more luxurious?
This station was way too plain—even worse than that Yue Lai Inn!
He had been hoping for the Yi Hong Lou, where they could stay in style, with lovely ladies to drink, play games, and even tuck them in at night.
Tch!
And here he’d been calling him "Yi-ye" all this way.
An Yi had his reasons.
This station was at the foot of the Tianxuan Sect, right along the path the wedding procession would take—strategic positioning at its finest.
Of course, that was all nonsense.
The real reason? Spending his own money hurt.
Wei Xiang’s recommended Yi Hong Lou cost one tael of gold per night—for two people!
What kind of robbery was that?!
Might as well be sleeping with the courtesan queen herself.
Once settled in, An Yi fetched a basin of water, took out his toothbrush, cup, and facial cleanser, and began his nightly routine.
Then, he flopped onto the bed.
After so many days on the road, he’d almost forgotten what a bed felt like.
...Damn, this thing was hard!
The pillow was just as stiff.
An Yi shifted uncomfortably before finally giving up and pulling out his inflatable mattress, spreading it on the floor.
Now this was comfort.
Soon, he drifted into a drowsy slumber.
A silver light flickered.
Long Aoxue appeared, completely naked, rubbing her eyes. "Why haven’t you called for me these past few days?"
She loved sleeping.
Half a month to her was just a nap.
Back in the forest, An Yi had always summoned her to keep him company at night.
But ever since leaving, he hadn’t called once.
She glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings, slightly dazed.
They weren’t in the forest anymore.
But that didn’t matter—she still had spirit cores to earn.
With that thought, she lay down beside An Yi, curling up slightly as she closed her eyes, ready to sleep.
But then—
An Yi’s arm draped over her bare waist.
Long Aoxue opened her eyes and pushed his hand away.
The sensation made her uneasy.
She hadn’t been in human form for long.
Her first transformation had been that night at An Yi’s villa, after he rescued her from the Nie family.
Though centuries old, she knew little about human relationships.
The moment she removed his hand—
It slid right back.
This time, even bolder, hooking around her waist and pulling her firmly against him.
Long Aoxue frowned, trying to break free.
But even in sleep, An Yi’s grip was strong.
Eventually, she gave up, closing her eyes and nestling into his embrace.
In his dreams, An Yi murmured, "Mu Xuan... I miss you."
Long Aoxue’s violet eyes opened.
She didn’t understand human emotions, but she could sense the longing in his voice.
This "Mu Xuan" must be someone he yearned for day and night.
Gazing at his handsome profile under the moonlight, her expression softened.
Then, An Yi mumbled again.
"Ruo Xi..."
"Yaoyao..."
"Qing Lan..."
"Qian Qian..."
"Yan Zhi..."
Long Aoxue: "..."
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
