From the information on the map, Yun Lintian's understanding of the power ranking of the Heavenly Fortune Capital City increased drastically. There were six major clans dominating the capital city: Li, Hua, Luo, Yang, Chen, and the Qi royal clan. Each of them controlled their own territory and engaged in various businesses throughout the city.
On the surface, they appeared to be harmonious and harmless towards each other. However, even a fool could see a fierce struggle between them behind the scenes. Yun Lintian wasn't surprised about it at all. Whether it was Earth or Azure World, fighting for resources was a common occurrence. Those who had greater power in their hands naturally desired to acquire more. The nature of humans was such a thing.
Among the six clans, Yun Lintian had an impression of the Luo and Hua clans. One was famous for the earlier rushing carriage, while another was renowned for the accommodation business. As for the other clans, he could only investigate slowly.
Strolling around the street for a while, Yun Lintian arrived at an ordinary-looking restaurant with a large golden sign that read 'Smoky Fragrance'. He gazed into the building and saw that the dining hall was crowded with people. Many of them seemed to be ordinary practitioners, as they dressed coarsely and had low-level profound strength.
Yun Lintian decided to make this place his first destination. In a world without the internet and broadcasting, gathering information was a hard job. Unless Yun Lintian could establish his own intelligence network, he had no other option but to resort to this simple method to obtain a piece of information.
"Hello, Sir. Are you alone?" As Yun Lintian stepped into the hall, a young female receptionist approached him with an enthusiastic smile.
Yun Lintian replied, "Yes, I am alone."
"Please come with me, Sir. I'll reserve a table for you." The receptionist replied and led Yun Lintian to a vacant table near the window.
Yun Lintian looked at the menu and ordered four simple dishes. When the receptionist left, Yun Lintian began to explore the hall. At the same time, his ears concentrated on various discussions among the crowd.
"I heard that Hua Wanru Fairy is about to marry Luo Kun later this year. Is it true?" A young man with a machete strapped to his back approached another young man wearing blue robes across from him.
The young man in the blue robe responded, "Yes, it's true. They should announce it soon."
The young man with a machete sighed, "Poor Yang Chen. First, his Profound Vein was destroyed by Luo Kun, and now his fiancé has been taken away as well."
The blue robbed young man only gave a chuckle in reply, unwilling to express his opinion on this matter.
Yun Lintian didn't know who were Hua Wanru, Luo Kun, or Yang Chen, but he was pretty sure they should be a member of the six major clans. Otherwise, these people won't pay attention to them in the first place.
This Yang Chen is probably defeated by that Luo Kun guy and got his Profound Vein crippled along the way. Since he became a waste, his fiancé, Hua Wanru, probably has no choice but to choose Luo Kun. Tsk, tsk, tsk, what a cliché drama! And this Yang Chen's name is very protagonist-like, similar to a novel I had read before. Is he going to make a counterattack later after encountering a peerless treasure? Yun Lintian was amused by his own thoughts. There were numerous dramas in the novel he had read previously.
Unbeknownst to Yun Lintian, all the dishes had been served while he continued to listen to the discussion. He was aware that relying on these people alone, he had a slim chance of obtaining the news about Heavenly Yin Iron. After all, the Heavenly Yin Iron was considered a scarce material in a small place like Heavenly Fortune Nation.
However, Yun Lintian didn't mind it. After listening for an hour, he had gathered a lot of news and rumors, greatly enhancing his understanding of the overall situation in the capital city. For example, the third prince, Qi Feng, had been crippled since birth. Heavenly Fortune Academy was the gathering place for geniuses from all over the city, and the Yang clan operated the most renowned treasure store.
Yun Lintian remembered all of this information and went to settle the bill before heading towards the direction of the Yang clan's territory. A new plan formed in Yun Lintian's mind after he heard about Yang Chen's incident. Coupled with the possibility that the Yang clan might possess the Heavenly Yin Iron, Yun Lintian saw an opportunity to make them indebted to him. He could then ask for the Heavenly Yin Iron as a favor in return.
Did Yun Lintian have a method to repair a damaged Profound Vein? The answer was yes. For over ten years of experience in the medical profound art, Yun Lintian's attainment was remarkable — repairing a damaged Profound Vein was not that hard for him. However, he had to see Yang Chen's current condition first before he could judge anything.
Of course, he definitely won't approach Yang Chen blindly. No one would believe a no-name Essence Profound Realm's practitioner like him, and his safety might be at risk. Thus, he came up with an idea to build his reputation and wait for Yang Chen to take a bait.
Fortunately, the Yang clan was conveniently located on the eastern side of the city. Yun Lintian walked for an hour until he arrived in front of the Yang Trading Hall. He pondered for a while before he made the decision to investigate it.
"Welcome, esteemed customer. May I know what you are looking for?" As soon as Yun Lintian stepped into the hall, a young female clerk greeted him warmly with a sweet smile.
Yun Lintian took out a list from his sleeve and handed it to the clerk, saying, "I want everything on this list."
The clerk carefully read everything on the list and gave Yun Lintian a professional smile. "Please wait for a moment. I'll go fetch your items." Following that, she disappeared into the door behind the counter.
Yun Lintian was slightly surprised. He didn't expect everything to be smooth sailing like this. After all, the items on his list were not inexpensive, and some of them were quite scarce.
Yun Lintian took the time to look around the trading hall and noticed several customers walking around the area. According to the information, this place should be the most famous trading hall in the city. It should be crowded with customers. However, the current situation didn't seem to match the reputation, causing Yun Lintian to ponder deeply.
"Here are the items you need. A total of seven million and thirty thousand gold coins. We can offer you a ten percent discount. May I know how the esteemed customer would like to settle the bill? The clerk came back with a large leather bag and put it on the counter.
Yun Lintian checked the items and quickly paid directly with several gold notes before he asked, "Do you have Heavenly Yin Iron here?"
The clerk was surprised when she saw Yun Lintian casually paid with several gold notes without hesitation. When she heard his question, she quickly replied, "Dear Esteemed Customer, I'm sorry, we are currently don't have it here. However, if you really want it, you can check this out." She then handed Yun Lintian a piece of paper.
On the paper, it was the announcement from the Yang clan, saying they were currently looking for someone to treat the current patriarch from a dreadful disease. The rewards were ten kilograms of Heavenly Yin Iron, along with other valuable treasures.
Yun Lintian chuckled inwardly, as everything seemed to effortlessly obstruct his path. However, he won't jump directly into the muddy water. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known how he had died. Who knows how many enemies did the Yang clan have? This Yang patriarch definitely suffered from someone's scheme. He didn't want to get into other people's trouble.
Yun Lintian retrieved the leather bag and politely said, "Thank you for telling me this." Then he walked out of the hall under the clerk's scrutinized gaze.
***
"What are you going to do next?" Yun Meilan asked. After Yun Lintian leaving the Yang Trading Hall, he found a random inn to stay.
"I plan to set up a stall to treat people for free and wait." Yun Lintian replied casually.
"Why are you so sure that they won't be able to trace back to you?" Yun Meilan understood his plan, but she couldn't comprehend where his confidence originated.
Yun Lintian chuckled and said, "I don't expect to conceal everything. All we need is to delay them. When they found out it was me, I would be long gone by then."
Yun Meilan nodded her head and looked at Yun Lintian weirdly. As she watched him growing up, Yun Lintian rarely stepped out of the sect. She didn't expect him to be so meticulous and seemingly highly experienced. Thinking about this, her mind drifted to the memory of Yun Lintian's arrival at the Sect for the first time.
"I'm going to rest now, Aunt Meilan. You should rest too." Yun Lintian yawned, as he didn't notice the change in her mood.
Yun Meilan nodded her head and vanished from the room, leaving Yun Lintian to scratch his head and wondered where did she go. He sat cross-legged on the bed and began to absorb profound energy.
In the Azure world, Profound Strength was divided into nine realms — Foundation, Essence, and Spirit Profound Realm were regarded as an early entrance of all practitioners, following with Origin, Earth, and Heaven Profound Realm as a true profound practitioner. As for the last three realms, they were Ruler, Saint, and Monarch Profound Realm. Each one of them consisted of ten small levels.
Yun Qianxue, Yun Meilan, Four Hall Masters, and Twelve Elders of the Misty Cloud sect all had the strength at the Heaven Profound Realm, which could be considered one of the strongest forces in Heavenly Fortune Nation. The most fearsome was naturally the current ruler of the nation, Qi Qianxing. Rumor had it that he possessed Profound Strength at the third level of the Ruler Profound Realm.
Normally, the mediocre one would be stuck at the tenth level of the Foundation Profound Realm, and the promising genius would reach the sixth or seventh level of Essence Profound Realm by the age of sixteen. Thanks to the resources that Yun Qianxue had piled up for him — allowing a slightly above average talented like Yun Lintian managed to reach the third level of Essence Profound Realm before sixteen.
A moment later, Yun Lintian exhaled a long breath in disappointment. He had tried every possible means to strengthen himself since the first day he came to this world. However, he failed in the end and could only accept this fact. Therefore, the only way he could preserve his life was to stick with the Misty Cloud Sect. This was the biggest thighs for him to grab a hold on to, and it was also the reason why he had worked so hard to study the profound formation and advanced medical arts. As long as the sect was safe and sound, his life would be preserved.
Yun Lintian shook his head, getting rid of the sour mood, and habitually touched the silver necklace on his neck. This necklace had accompanied him through two lifetimes. Undoubtedly, there was a secret behind it. However, no matter how he racked his brains, he couldn't get anything from it.