"Those people were so rude! Don't they know who we are?!"
"Lou Ning, we already made the agreement that we wouldn't use our identity or background to oppress others. We are here to gain experience."
"I know Lou Lan, but still! They kept us from meeting with Uncle Zhao for so long, it's annoying."
The one called Lou Lan shrugged as the two of them stepped toward the front door.
The two of them were members of the immortal Lou clan, a powerful group similar to the Xue Family.
Like the Xue family, the Lou clan was a unique existence as while most of their blood members were unable to cultivate, they had the backing of a powerful sect behind them.
As such they could stand on equal footing with the Xue family who had many cultivators who married into them, along with being one of the richest groups around.
As the two of them were chatting softly about this, the door to the mansion in front of them began to slide open.
And there standing in the doorway was a handsome man wearing a beautiful set of silk robes.
His face was clean shaven while his grey eyes contrasted perfectly with his jet black hair.
Although he was clearly quite old, he gave off a youthful disposition and moved without any of the stiffness old people should've had.
When the two young kids saw this man, they immediately clasped their hands together and lowered their heads toward him.
"Lou Lan greets Uncle Zhao Wei!"
"Lou Ning greets Uncle Zhao Wei!"
The man before them was Zhao Wei, the legendary protector of Water Cloud City.
He casually looked down at the two kids before giving off a wide grin as he said, "No need for such formalities. My Xue Family is sworn friends with your Lou Clan. Plus I already received the letter written by your parents a few hours ago, and I don't think helping the next generation is troublesome at all. Come, let's go inside and continue this talk over some good food!"
Bringing the kids into his home, Zhao Wei met with his wife setting their table with an assortment of food.
The two kids looked at Xue Mei and bowed toward her accordingly. Of course they recognized her as well.
Lou Ning looked over Xue Mei with a furrow between her brow before it turned into a brilliant smile. She quickly skipped over to where Zhao Wei's wife stood and took both of her hands into her own.
"Congratulations!"
The two women both merrily chattered with each other on the side before finally it was time to eat.
Duck, pork, fish, all types of morsels were set down for them to eat.
Lou Ning couldn't help but cover her stomach as a low growl escaped from it.
With an embarrassed look on her face, she shyly looked up to Zhao Wei and said, "Sorry, I haven't eaten all day..."
Zhao Wei just smiled as he walked to the head of the table and took his seat.
Motioning toward the other chairs, he welcomed them to sit down and eat.
The two kids looked at each other for a second before quickly stepping toward the seats. Lou Ning sat beside Xue Mei who was directly to the left of Zhao Wei, meanwhile Lou Lan chose the seat to the right of him.
But before Lou Lan could even take a seat, Zhao Wei stuck his arm out and stopped him for a second.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I do hope you can take the seat next to that one. This place is reserved for my son."
Lou Lan was startled by Zhao Wei's strange actions at first, but then an understanding expression overtook his face as he nodded in response.
While he didn't say anything about this, his eyes contained a trace of pity within them.
The four of them ate happily together, while having idle chatter.
"I'm actually curious about something, the entire time I have yet to see Uncle Wu Jie. What might he be doing?"
Lou Lan noticed that he had yet to see the famous physician Wu Jie around.
"He's attempting to break through to the ninth level. He won't be coming out for a while."
Although Zhao Wei said this in the most casual tone, his words shook up Lou Lan a little.
Zhao Wei himself was already at the ninth level, showing that his talents in cultivation was not something to scoff at. Especially as he was a loose cultivator.
But his best friend was also making a break through to that level!
If given the right chances, these two might be able to make a breakthrough to the tenth level in their lifetimes!
But despite seeing how incredibly talented these two people were, Lou Lan didn't dare to even think about whether or not they could reach foundation establishment.
Foundation establishment was completely different from Qi refinement.
It was like the difference between heaven and earth.
While Qi refinement gave one powers beyond what normal humans should've been capable of, foundation establishment not only increased one's prowess far beyond that, but their longevity also increased to two hundred years!
That was completely beyond anything mortals were capable of. And that was only from the first level of foundation establishment.
Anyone with enough resources and talent could reach the tenth level of Qi refinement. But to go beyond that required luck. That was why sects were such a big deal.
Sects usually had legacies that went hundreds of years back. Possibly even thousands.
With that came all of the experience of their past breakthroughs which provided the future generation with materials to study from in order to prepare themselves for foundation establishment.
Joining a sect was a huge deal, and it was the main goal of Lou Lan himself.
He dreamed of reaching foundation establishment and being able to high in the sky. Unfettered from the problems below.
He wanted to experience the world and leave all of his worries. But his expectations for himself weren't so great. He could dream of foundation establishment, but reaching it was a whole different matter.
"Well I hope you can congratulate him for me. After all I'm sure that he'll get through without a hitch."
"I'll be sure to relay your message. Now let's get on to a more serious topic. What exactly is it that you need here?"
Zhao Wei was a very amiable guy, but he was no fool.
Considering the letter he received recently and the big news that popped up, he had an idea on what they were here for.
"News travels fast Uncle. Especially when that news is about something as big as condensed earth fire..."
When he said this, Lou Lan pulled out pure white jade statue that was shaped like eagle.
While the statue itself didn't look strange, it gave off a special sensation that brought peace to the mind.
"I want to use this to trade for some of it."
Zhao Wei looked down at the eagle and gave off a low whistle, "Moonlit jade. That can be used to increase one's chance of breaking through to the tenth level by ten percent. You sure you want to trade something as valuable as that just for the earth fire?"
"I'm positive uncle. While there is nothing wrong with being a neutral cultivator, I am an ambitious child and wish to practice elemental cultivation.
Lou Lan had a determined look on his face as he said this. He was very nervous, after all the price of condensed earth fire wasn't simple. He wasn't sure if the jade could truly be used to trade for a lot of it. But he was willing to try.
"Does this have something to do with Dragonfish Ascension?"
Dragonfish Ascension was a unique cultivation method. It was practiced only by people with unique constitutions. And the only place that had details regarding the technique itself was the sect that the Lou Clan was backed up by.
It was said that if the technique was practiced to perfection, not only would one get immunity to fire and ice, but their longevity would be doubled that of normal cultivators.
It was quite a wondrous skill. But as far as Zhao Wei knew, no one has succeeded in practicing this art in many decades.
"Yes, it was discovered that my body is actually well suited for the technique. But it needs a large amount of Yang Qi in order to be used."
"Yang Qi... the power of the purest flames. I see now, no wonder."
But in the end Zhao Wei could only shake his head.
Seeing this Lou Lan couldn't control himself as he stood up suddenly and slammed his hand onto the table.
"But why! Is the jade not good enough, what else must I pay, I'll go collect it immediately!" With Lou Lan's outburst, Lou Ning quickly stood up and took ahold of his sleeve.
Lou Lan needed this desperately. Both him and Lou Ning were the first people in their entire family bloodline to actually show talent in cultivation. They were both at the first level of Qi refinement!
No other member of the Lou Clan was able to do this other than them, it was a heaven sent.
The clan supported these two kids completely as they believed they were the only hope the clan had to rise even further than they currently were.
It was hard though, as Lou Lan himself wasn't a real member of the family. His father had visited a whore house in a drunken stupor years ago and eventually he was born as the illegitimate child of the women.
If it wasn't for the fact that his bloodline proved his identity, as well as his talent in cultivation, he would've been abandoned by his own family long ago.
After all how could they possibly allow a bastard child to be one of them.
As such he worked harder than anyone else to advance himself. If not then the fear of abandonment would overtake him again.
And thinking back to the hellish life he faced under his mother, he couldn't help but shiver slightly at the thought.
Although he was a cultivator now, the traumatic memories of the past were not easy to erase.
"It's not that I don't want to give you the earth fire Lou Lan, it's just that I'm unable to. That resource has fallen into the hands of the hunter's guild and it is their choice to decide what to do with it. Not mine."
"But don't you hold a lot of power over this city? Can't you just tell them to sell you some?"
Once again Zhao Wei shook his head, but this time it was in disappointment, "I am this city's uncrowned protector. Not it's uncrowned tyrant. While my words hold a lot of sway over everything that happens here, I don't plan to rule over them like a king. I just want a simple life, and you should know this."
After hearing his calm words, Lou Lan began to calm his breathing as he asked, "Then what can I do?"
"I know the guild well. It isn't easy to get them to sell you things. Especially as while that jade of yours is quite the rare treasure, there are undoubtedly many other places who will pay a lot more for a lot less. After all earth fire is wanted by everyone. As such even if you sold everything you had on you right now, you probably wouldn't get much."
With that, Lou Lan collapsed back into his chair with a downcast look on his face, "So there is no hope for me."
"Well I wouldn't say that. I heard an interesting rumor recently after all. Supposedly the guild master of the guild branch in this city is very partial toward a certain hunter. I heard that one of the rewards he received from saving several hunters from death was free usage over the condensed earth fire. He should have at least two or three weeks before the guild officially takes over the lake and use it for their own needs. You can try to buy some from him if you want. After all, he probably comes into contact with it more than anyone else, and I wouldn't be surprised if he took some of it with him after every trip."
Finally seeing a light at the end of the dark tunnel, Lou Lan gave Zhao Wei a pleading look as he begged, "Please uncle, tell me who this hunter is and where does he live?!"
"While I'm not exactly sure who he is, where he came from, or even where he lives, I do remember his name...
...I believe it was Yong Heng."