"Hooo." Tang Peng exhaled from his mouth. He nursed the injuries he had received, as the sounds of horses trotting echoed throughout the carriage. Earlier in the morning. Liu Sheng has roused him from his sleep, and had immediately torn apart the contract to show his loyalty to Tang Peng.
They had headed onto a luxurious carriage that had been prepared by Liu Sheng beforehand. Apparently, all of these people knew about Liu Sheng's identity as a martial artist, so they didn't dare to delay his request. Soon, they were on the road to the Impenetrable Sword. Along the way, Liu Sheng has explained the politics of the Five Star Continent.
"You see, Qin Empire is not one of the five empires. Instead, it's actually part of the Quanli Empire." Liu Sheng had explained that Quanli Empire was vastly different from the other empires. There were four empires that made up Quanli Empire in total, with the Qin Empire being one of them.
"Why? Of course, it is passed down by ancestral law that the emperor must have only four children. It is believed to be a prosperous number, since it means death for the enemies. Not only that, these small empires act as the battleground for the children of the emperor. Once one child emerges as the champion, they become the prime inheritor to the throne."
"Wow. It seems complicated. What if there are disruptions to the process?" Tang Peng pointed out the loopholes in the law, but Liu Sheng shook his head.
"How stupid do you think this Quanli Empire is? If the current Emperor or Empress die, they will just get replaced by another capable descendant. If all of them are dead, secret descendants then emerge. They can adapt as well as they can fight."
Liu Sheng shook his head at Tang Peng's naivety. However, he was not the one who had been acknowledged by a Prime Grandmaster, so he could only bow to Tang Peng at the moment.
"As for the factions we can seek out, we could directly sell it to the emperor. There would be confirmed payments and security, but the thing is that they would probably take a larger cut than most other organisation. They would buy it for 70% of its original value." Tang Peng furrowed his eyebrows. That was a bit too much for him to handle.
"Are there any other reliable organisations?" Tang Peng needed to consider all the options. He wanted to prioritise safety above all, but he knew that he could not let organisations cheat him out of earning these "spirit stones".
Speaking of which, he seemed to not know what this currency was. However, it probably was a secret currency martial artists used.
"We could also side with one of the various children of the emperor now. After all, this is the Battleground Period. They would surely pay us way more than the market value, but I'm sure they won't have enough money to pay us at all, unless they become the emperor." Tang Peng could hear the greediness inside Liu Sheng's voice. However, he did not fault him, since he was also slightly tempted to.
"Another problem is that the other children would target us then. Let's talk about the third parties inside the empires. Mainly, Bloody Hands, and Immortal Wind. They are probably the only ones that can afford our terms." Upon saying the name Bloody Hands, Tang Peng could feel Liu Sheng hesitating you speak further. However, he had urged Liu Sheng to continue.
"Bloody Hands is a mercenary organisation I was once part of. They are rotten to the core, doing anything to get money and increase their strength. Immortal Winds are made up of righteous bounty hunters and the victims of Bloody Hands, and ruthlessly hunt down members of Bloody Hands." Tang Peng took out a pill from the ring and played with it in his hands. He was getting bored by this information dumping that was going on.
"Honestly, I could not care less. Just find me the place that sells high and promises safety. That's all I need." Tang Peng stated his direct demands to Liu Sheng, who rolled his eyes. Suddenly, flames appeared on his hand, which thrusted towards Tang Peng!
Tang Peng first reaction was to jump out of the carriage and screaming bloody murder. He landed awkwardly, causing his whole body to bruise all over. Meanwhile, Liu Sheng told the carriage driver to stop, as he jumped off the carriage to talk to Tang Peng.
"What the hell... I can't believe... you would betray me!" Tang Peng accused Liu Sheng of backstabbing him, but Liu Sheng shook his head.
"You know why I'm doing this? Take it as a favour for working with me. In this martial world, it is not money nor power that matters. The most important thing are connections. You have heavenly treasures, but it will all go to waste if you don't understand this important point." With a stern expression in his eyes, Liu Sheng warned Tang Peng. Even though Tang Peng still felt his anger simmer, he eventually calmed down.
"You're right. Since I'm already in the martial world now, I shouldn't act so childish." At that moment, the pain had allowed Tang Peng's rationality to rise up, and suppress the emotions that he had once harboured. If he wanted to achieve more, he needed to be in a better state of mind.
Standing up from where he had fallen, Tang Peng's body emitted a natural domineering aura that was suffused with killing intent. He withdrew it immediately, but Liu Sheng has already seen it. He finally understood why that Prime Grandmaster has acknowledged the boy. The potential contained within was unfathomable, even for him.
"So then, let's set off." Tang Peng's demeanour had changed entirely. Before, he was acting like an arrogant young master, but now, he only meditated in a corner.
In reality, Tang Peng had transported his soul to the ruby ring, where he was reading up on the techniques the old man had developed for the Yin Gathering Art. As he flipped through the pages, he began to revere the knowledge that these pages had. The power they spoke of held something vicious, but incredible if harnessed properly.
"The most powerful technique I've invented, the Ghost Refining Underworld! To think that I could complete such an elaborate skill! Turning the body into a vessel of ghosts, in order to turn them into puppets and use them as spiritual soil, how overpowered is this?" The old cultivator had never-ending praises for the skill, and Tang Peng could not agree more.
Still, there were some restrictions. The ghosts captured could not exceed one realm above the cultivator, or else there would be consequences. Ghosts must be used up or turned into ghost puppets within a time limit, or they would break out of the Ghost Refining Underworld. Not only that, they had to be fed to maintain their powers.
"With my Soul Parasite technique, I can turn a normal cultivator's Qi into Yin Qi! Absorb the Qi and corrupt it, the principle behind the technique! With this formula, I should be able to craft them and hide them in my Ghost Refining Underworld. If I can totally corrupt someone's Qi, could I possibly manipulate the person?" The note from the cultivator ended abruptly just like that, but this technique seemed to be a good way to absorb more Yin Qi for cultivation.
The Soul Parasite technique relied on an artificial life form created through a recipe of 3 Death Bloom Flowers, 5 drops of Yin World Potion, and a living Gluttonous Leech. It was unavailable to Tang Peng for now, but he would acquire the materials later.
Back to the current time, Tang Peng was practicing the Yin Gathering Art. He had felt something change within him, like his soul had been repaired forcibly all of a sudden. Of course, he did not go to investigate the red barrier, on which was filled with tiny cracks.
"Gentlemen! We will doing a stop in Razing Town for tonight!" Tang Peng could hear the carriage driver shouting. As he peeked outside of the carriage, he noticed that the sun was setting, while Liu Sheng has a puzzling expression on his face.
"Somehow, I feel like we shouldn't stay in this Razing town..." Liu Sheng began to express his opinion.