Chapter 127: Fang Xu's schemes, putting on airs!

Lao Yuan's words made Fang Xu feel as if he had opened the door to a new world.

Exactly!

How did I overlook this?

Energy leaving the body, put simply, is just long-range attack.

I possess strength far beyond ordinary martial artists; if used properly, I can also have long-range attack methods.

Simply put, place several hundred giant crossbow bolts in a Cosmic Bag; take them out during battle and throw them like javelins, absolutely not inferior to a martial artist's energy-leaving-body attack.

"Yuan Bo, let's go quickly!"

Thinking of this, Fang Xu could not hide his excitement, he fiercely patted the horse's back and galloped forward.

In the early morning, the light of the rising sun spilled across the desolate Gobi beach; facing the morning sun, two figures gazed into the distance at a huge city lying between heaven and earth.

"Liangzhou City, we have finally arrived."

"I will leave after resting a few days." Lao Yuan spoke slowly.

Several martial artists were shocked, their attitudes instantly becoming respectful!

"Please, senior!"

"May I ask, sir, does everyone entering the city have to pay money?"

Fang Xu was hesitating when Lao Yuan grabbed a nearby martial artist preparing to line up and asked.

A human city—I finally have the chance to witness it.

The martial artist originally did not want to respond, but the faint Martial Venerable aura emanating from Lao Yuan made his heart tremble, and he immediately cupped his hands and said:

"Are you a Martial Venerable, senior?"

Before the city gate, several martial artists holding sharp blades saw the two approach, their brows slightly furrowed as they were about to speak, when Lao Yuan's aura suddenly erupted.

Beside him, Lao Yuan's monkey face hidden under the bamboo hat also flashed a hint of hard-to-conceal excitement.

The two lightly shook the reins, and the horse beneath them, dragging its weary body, slowly headed toward Liangzhou City.

"If you are a Martial Venerable, you don't need to pay money."

Lao Yuan nodded, turned and pulled Fang Xu past the long line ahead, heading straight for the city gate.

"Next!"

"Senior, where are you from..."

Fortunately, I had previously taken a pill, altering my appearance.

"The Blood Wolf Gang is one of Liangzhou City's eight major powers, strong in strength; senior, if you have no urgent matters, could you rest awhile at my Blood Wolf Gang? Our gang leader is very hospitable..."

Gu Jie's face stiffened, then he quickly put on a smile and said: "Senior, if you plan to stay long in Liangzhou City, our Blood Wolf Gang is absolutely the best choice!"

The martial artist nodded, glanced around, lowered his voice and said: "Liangzhou City has four gates; these gates are each guarded by the eight major powers. Martial artists below Martial Venerable who come from outside must pay to enter the city, and also to leave."

Lao Yuan's face under the bamboo hat slightly sank: "I have no sect or power; how could I be barred from entering Liangzhou City?"

Hearing this, Lao Yuan frowned slightly and said: "How so? Must I join a faction to reside long in the city?"

Lao Yuan then transformed into the appearance of an old man with white hair and beard and a ruddy complexion.

Fang Xu transformed into a middle-aged martial artist with dark skin, a terrifying scar on his forehead, and a thick beard covering his jaw; this appearance—let alone others, even Lu Qingluo and Chu Mu would probably not be able to hold back at this moment.

"Next!"

"Those wishing to enter the city, line up; two taels of gold per person, no ink marks!"

"Come in! Come in!"

Lao Yuan took the wooden token, weighed it in his hand, then tossed it to Fang Xu.

Personally leading Lao Yuan and Fang Xu through the city gate, that martial artist enthusiastically introduced himself: "I am Hall Master Gu Jie of the Blood Wolf Gang; welcome, senior, to Liangzhou City."

"Senior, you see..."

Gu Jie, hearing this, felt somewhat helpless; he took out two strange wooden tokens engraved with the character "Lin" from his bosom and handed them to Lao Yuan and Fang Xu: "Senior, keep these two identity tokens; the city's enforcement squad will inspect daily, and any martial artist without a token will be expelled immediately."

As they followed that martial artist past the city gate, Fang Xu happened to catch sight of his own portrait posted on the nearby city wall.

Soon after, the two arrived at the city gate.

Gu Jie nodded: "Liangzhou City's eight major powers have set the rule that non-residents may stay in the city for at most one month; to reside long-term, one must join one of the major powers."

"Do we have to pay to enter the city?"

"Two taels of gold per person!?"

"This is too outrageous!?"

Before reaching the city gate, Fang Xu and Lao Yuan had each swallowed a pill given by Nan Wu; at this point, they had completely changed their appearance.

Hearing that, the martial artist first stared, then a flash of joy crossed his face as he said:

"Hurry up, get lost if you have no money!"

On horseback, Fang Xu gazed at distant Liangzhou City, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"No need, I can just wander around myself." Lao Yuan directly refused.

Looking at the long line queuing at the city gate, Fang Xu furrowed his brow slightly.

Lao Yuan heard this, fell silent for a moment, then said: "Are these money-collecting martial artists the city's powers?"

After Gu Jie left, Fang Xu slowly said: "Although the eight major powers of Liangzhou City appear to be fighting each other, they are likely quite united internally."

Lao Yuan nodded; this point, Liangzhou City is actually similar to the monster horde of Tilan Mountain.

Although the many monster clans deep in Tilan Mountain often fight and plunder each other, once faced with a human invasion, all monster clans will unite in hatred of the enemy.

"Let's go, let's find a blacksmith shop."

Lao Yuan said.

The two walked slowly along the bustling street and soon arrived before a blacksmith shop that looked somewhat aged.

"Sir, what do you need?"

The blacksmith shop's shopkeeper saw the two standing at the door and warmly came over to greet them.

Lao Yuan glanced at Fang Xu and walked straight into the shop.

"Kid, I'll give you a suggestion: heavy-weighted things would probably suit you better."

Fang Xu nodded, his gaze sweeping over the many weapons displayed in the blacksmith shop, then looked at the shopkeeper and said, "Can you make custom weapons here?"

The shopkeeper blinked slightly and said, "We can, we can; our shop can at most craft fourth-grade treasures. If a customer wants to customize, they'd likely have to wait a long time."

"Of course, if the customer can provide the materials themselves, it might be faster."

Forging high-quality treasures requires both materials and a craftsman; neither can be lacking.

This blacksmith shop being able to craft fourth-grade treasures means it must have its own fourth-grade craftsman.

"Please state your requirements first, customer; I'll see if our shop can meet them."

Fang Xu thought for a moment, took a spear about three feet long from the nearby display rack, and said, "I want this kind of spear: ten second-grade, roughly fifty first-grade, and three hundred non-graded. Can you make them?"

Fang Xu voiced his request, and the shopkeeper looked astonished.

Crafting first- and second-grade spears isn't difficult, but the quantity Fang Xu requested…

"What, your shop can't make them?" Fang Xu frowned and said.

"We can! We can, but the quantity is so huge that the customer might need to wait four or five days."

The shopkeeper hurriedly said.

"Four or five days is fine; give me a price."

The pill maintaining this appearance has lasted half a month, and it's only mid-September now, with still some time until the eighteenth of winter month, so he can afford to wait.

Hearing this, the shopkeeper hurriedly counted on his fingers and said, "Customer, including material costs, this batch of treasures requires a total of 8,800 taels of gold. With a discount, how about I charge you 8,500 taels?"

8,500 taels of gold—if it were the former Fang Xu, he'd probably have been scared off already.

But now he has a cosmic sack filled with the relics of over a thousand martial artists; though the cash and valuables aren't many, they definitely exceed 8,500 taels of gold.

"Done!"

"I'll pay a deposit of 1,000 taels first, and settle the rest when I come to pick them up."

He pulled out a deposit note for 1,000 taels of gold from his pocket, and Fang Xu said.

The shopkeeper took the deposit note, examined it carefully, quickly wrote up a receipt detailing everything, and handed it to Fang Xu, saying, "Customer, come pick it up in five days."

He glanced at the receipt, slipped it into his pocket, and left the blacksmith shop together with Lao Yuan.

Inside the blacksmith shop, seeing the two depart, the shopkeeper's expression shifted slightly; he immediately hurried back inside.

"'Kid, what are you scheming?' On the street, Lao Yuan curiously looked at Fang Xu and asked."

Fang Xu gave a faint smile: "Old Monkey, what do you mean by that?"

Lao Yuan grew somewhat angry: "Although I'm setting foot in the human world for the first time, I still know the principle of not flaunting wealth."

"'Liangzhou City is in utter chaos; you kid are acting so high-profile, you must have some other motive!'"

Hearing this, Fang Xu laughed and scratched his head: "You've figured me out?"

Lao Yuan snorted triumphantly: "I've been enlightened for a hundred years; you kid really think I'm a fool?"

"Come on, spit it out!"

Fang Xu glanced around, saw a sneaky figure appear behind him, and said with a smile: "Old Monkey, when we just entered the city, did you notice my portrait posted on the city wall?"

Lao Yuan nodded: "I saw it. What about it?"

Fang Xu's face grew solemn: "In Liangzhou City, the eight major powers check each other; that Blood Wolf Gang's Gu Jie was very courteous to us just now."

"From this we can see that, in order to rope in strong individuals, these eight powers don't want to offend people and thus avoid probing our identities."

"But Central Prefecture is different."

"The various factions of Great Yu must be frantically searching for me right now; if they can't find me despite spending such a cost, they will inevitably set up layer after layer of checkpoints throughout Central Prefecture to scrutinize everyone entering."

"With our new faces, we two couldn't withstand such scrutiny."

After hearing that, Lao Yuan seemed to understand Fang Xu's plan.

"'So you want to cause a big scene in Liangzhou to make this face known?'"

Fang Xu nodded.

"The appearance we and Lao Yuan have altered with pills is completely new; for a first-rank martial technique, the various forces of Great Yu will definitely stop and thoroughly inspect any unfamiliar faces."

Lao Yuan's current strength is considerable, but if he were to fight the Martial Sovereign experts of the various powers, he would have to burn what little life force he has left.

Forcing this route would surely not work.

If we don't want to force our way through, we can only give ourselves an identity.

To be precise, it's to give this face of ours an identity.

【99】 "'But have you considered that if this gets too big, the eight major powers of Liangzhou City aren't pushovers?' Lao Yuan said with a grave expression."

"But, have you ever thought that if this matter gets too big, the eight major powers of Liangzhou City aren't vegetarians?" Old Monkey said with a solemn face.

The eight major powers inside Liangzhou City surely each have a Martial Sovereign in charge, and not just one.

If the two cause a ruckus in Liangzhou City, the Martial Sovereigns of the eight powers will certainly not let it slide; if their identities were exposed, their chances of reaching Central Prefecture would likely be nil.

"'Old Monkey, rest assured, I have a plan.' Fang Xu said confidently."

Seeing him strategize, Lao Yuan didn't say much more and then asked:

"'What are your plans next?'"

The custom order of treasures will still take a few days, so the two need to stay in Liangzhou City for a few days.

"'Spend money, enjoy.'"

Fang Xu laughed and said.

The friend list currently has only Li Xun; there are no other friends left.

In the coming time, he needs to figure out how to fill the friend list, then reap a wave of inheritances.

Bringing Lao Yuan, Fang Xu picked a tavern that looked decent and walked inside.

Waiter!

Entering the inn, Fang Xu immediately shouted: "Give me a sample of your best food and drink!"

His shout instantly drew the attention of the other martial artists in the inn.

Guest...

The inn's waiter hurried over, eyeing Fang Xu and Lao Yuan dubiously, and said: "Guest, are you sure you want a serving of all the food and drink?"

Seeing his attitude, Fang Xu immediately slapped him!

You dog, do you want me to repeat it again?!

The waiter was sent flying by the slap, his body slamming hard into the nearby table and chair, struggling a few times but unable to get up.

Hearing the commotion, the innkeeper hurried out from behind the counter.

Do you intend to cause trouble in my Tranquil Abode?

A Martial Master Seventh Level aura slowly spread, and the innkeeper asked in a cold voice:

Fang Xu glanced at him contemptuously and said:

"Tch, what's so great about being a Martial Master?!"

Yuan Bo!

With his shout, Lao Yuan stepped forward, and a Martial Master Great Perfection aura burst forth from his body!

The terrifying aura locked onto the innkeeper, turning his face pale instantly.

"Senior... senior, please calm down!"

The innkeeper struggled, clasping his hands in plea.

Lao Yuan said coldly: "My young master never repeats himself; hurry up and bring out your best food and drink!"

After saying that, he directly pulled out a deposit certificate for one hundred taels of gold from his bosom and flung it at the innkeeper's face.

"Is that enough?"

The innkeeper took the deposit certificate, glanced at it, and hurriedly clasped his hands: "Enough! Enough!"

"Senior, this sir, please go upstairs!"

Personally leading the two to the upstairs private room, the innkeeper cautiously withdrew.

Inside the private room, Lao Yuan smiled faintly and said: "Kid, how does it feel to act like a spoiled aristocrat?"

Fang Xu chuckled: "Very refreshing!"

"No wonder those guys love to flaunt their might like this."

After saying that, he glanced through the private room's window at the diners downstairs and saw several martial artists glancing furtively toward his room.

Fang Xu suddenly hatched a plan; a flash of light in his hand, and in the blink of an eye he had a wineskin filled with kumis.

"Yuan Bo, wait here; I'll go down for a bit."

Leaving the private room, Fang Xu strode straight to the four martial artists ranging from Third to Sixth Level who were dining.

After glancing at them, he casually picked up a nearby wine jug, opened the lid, sniffed it, then disdainfully tossed it to the ground.

"You!"

One of the martial artists, seeing this, grew somewhat angry and rose to teach him a lesson, but his companion tugged his sleeve, signaling toward Lao Yuan upstairs.

That martial artist glanced at Lao Yuan, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes.

They were Martial Master Great Perfection cultivators, and they did not want to provoke him.

"How so, does this low-quality liquor pain you few?" Fang Xu sneered, lifting his wineskin: "The liquor in my hand is a fine vintage!"

Saying that, he pulled the stopper from the wineskin and poured a cup for each of them.

"Young master is happy today; let you have a taste."

The four martial artists saw the kumis in the cups before them, and their faces instantly changed.

Kumis, uniquely produced on the western grasslands, is a drink particular to nomadic peoples.

The western grasslands are vast; there is not just one Mu Yun State, Liangzhou borders the grasslands, and they have all seen other strong ones from the grasslands.

The reason their faces changed at the sight of kumis is that many martial artists hailing from the grasslands mainly practice the mysterious and unfathomable Gu arts.

Gu, such a thing, is extremely eerie; most martial artists turn pale at the mere mention of it.

At this moment, the four dared not drink the kumis that Fang Xu had poured for them.

"Your good intentions are appreciated, but we are not accustomed to drinking kumis."

Not daring to offend, nor to drink, the four exchanged glances and immediately rose to leave.

Seeing this, Fang Xu slammed his palm on the table before him and shouted sternly:

"How so, refusing to give the young master face?!"

"Do you look down on the young master?!"

The four stared at each other, for a moment not knowing what to say.

Yuan Bo!

Fang Xu, seeing this, directly shouted.

Upstairs, Lao Yuan merely thought Fang Xu wanted to stir up trouble, to cause a ruckus in Liangzhou City, and had no idea what this cup of wine signified.

In a flash, he leapt down from the second floor, blocking the four in front of him.

"My young master invites you few to drink; are you unwilling to give face?!"

A Martial Master Great Perfection aura slowly emanated, and Lao Yuan stared fixedly at the four.

"This..."

The four were frightened, their faces turning deathly pale for a moment.

Seeing this, Fang Xu directly pulled the stopper from the wineskin, gulped two mouthfuls, and said: "No poison, drink up."

Seeing this, the four stared at the cup before them, hesitating repeatedly; ultimately, under pressure, they still shakily lifted the cup and downed the horse milk wine in one gulp.

At the same time, the four names slowly appeared in the friend list deep in the sea of consciousness.

Looking at their life values, ranging from 10% to 15% after their names, Fang Xu smiled happily.

That smile fell in their eyes, indescribably strange; the four's faces changed drastically, and they hurriedly circulated their qi to examine the horse milk wine they had drunk.

Yet they found nothing abnormal.

"Cheng Hui, one cup of alcohol for one tael of gold."

After successfully forcing a friendship, Fang Xu had no intention of letting the four go, and slowly reached out his hand toward them.

"Don't go too far!"

"We are members of the Heavenly Star Pavilion!"

Seeing Fang Xu so overbearing, the four finally could not help but bring out the power behind them.

"Heavenly Star Pavilion?" Fang Xu glanced at Old Monkey and asked, "Have you heard of it?"

Old Monkey cooperated fully and shook his head.

In fact, he really hadn't heard of it.

Fang Xu stared at the four with a smirk and said, "Is the Heavenly Star Pavilion strong?"

The Martial Master Fifth Stage warrior among the four immediately said, "The Heavenly Star Pavilion is a subordinate force of the Blood Wolf Gang among the eight major powers."

"Don't be so excessive!"

"Martial Apprentice Great Perfection is strong, but the Blood Wolf Gang has a Martial Venerable sitting..."

Pa!

Before he could finish speaking, Fang Xu immediately swung a slap at him!

"What's up with the Blood Wolf Gang? I'm doing honest business here—you drank my wine, so you have to pay!"

"If you don't want to pay, then leave your hand behind."

"Yuan Bo!"

Old Monkey was speechless, but still cooperated with Fang Xu's act, grabbing the warrior's arm and exerting slight force, as if he were about to tear the arm off at any moment.

"Ah!"

"Let… let go!"

"I'll pay! I'll pay!"

Faced with the formidable Old Monkey, the warrior ultimately gave in.

Each of the four produced one tael of gold and placed it before Fang Xu, some reluctantly saying, "Can we leave now?"

After collecting the gold, Fang Xu waved his hand, then turned to look at the other tables' patrons.

Two… four… three… Huh!

This table has five—it's your turn!

Spotting a table of exactly five in the corner, Fang Xu immediately grabbed the horse milk wine and walked over.

What had happened here had already been seen by the five; upon seeing Fang Xu approach with the wine sack, their faces slightly changed.

One of them was about to rise when his companion grabbed his sleeve, then produced five taels of gold from his bosom and said to Fang Xu, "This is ours, five of us; please take it."

Looking at the gold on the table, Fang Xu furrowed his brow:

"What do you lot take me for?"

"I'm an honest businessman!"

His words made the five's eyes twitch uncontrollably.

Looking at the horse milk wine Fang Xu poured, the five hesitated a moment, then all lifted their cups and drank it down.

"Are you satisfied?"

Realizing the friend list in the sea of consciousness was now full, Fang Xu curled his lips and, with a look begging for a beating, said, "What a bunch of clueless fools—I'm selling such fine horse milk wine for one tael of gold per cup, yet you all feel like you've suffered a huge loss."

Hearing his muttering, one of the five warriors almost crushed his chopsticks in his hand.

Fang Xu ignored him, went straight to the middle of the hall on the first floor, raised the horse milk wine in his hand and shouted, "Who else wants to try my horse milk wine? Clear pricing—one tael of gold per cup, fair to all."

His shout directly terrified the other tables' patrons in the wine house, their faces turning pale as they threw down money for food and drink and fled the establishment.

Behind the counter, the shopkeeper saw his customers all scared away, his face grim as he said, "Are you deliberately coming to Tranquil Leisure Inn to cause trouble?"

"Do you really think a Martial Master Great Perfection warrior can just push around Tranquil Leisure Inn?"

Hearing the shopkeeper's words, Fang Xu curled a faint smile and said, "How so? Did you take our deposit and now refuse to serve the dishes?"

"Come take a look, a black shop!"

"Black shop! You took our money for food and drink, yet now you won't serve us anything to eat!"

The wine house shopkeeper stared in shock at Fang Xu, who stood at the doorway shouting loudly; his face instantly turned livid with rage.

"Quickly inform the family head—someone's causing trouble!"

After telling the assistant to summon help, the wine house shopkeeper immediately signaled the two Martial Master Sixth Stage guards inside to first drag Fang Xu back and then talk.

Letting him shout at the door would ruin Tranquil Leisure Inn's reputation.

The two Martial Masters stepped forward, and as soon as they grabbed Fang Xu's clothes, he immediately shouted:

"Yuan Bo!"

"The black shop is beating people!"

The two Martial Master Sixth Stage warriors, seeing this, were stunned and about to explain when Old Monkey suddenly rushed forward from behind!

"Don't hurt my young master!"

Bang!

Bang!

Two punches directly sent two martial artists flying, and Lao Yuan immediately stepped in front of Fang Xu to protect him.

Seeing this, the tavern shopkeeper also had no time for anything else, immediately rushed forward, helped up the two martial artists who had been knocked away, and the three of them faced off against Fang Xu and Lao Yuan.

The commotion here instantly drew the attention of passing passersby.

Behind Tranquil Leisure Residence lies the Du Clan, one of the Eight Major Powers of Cool Prefecture; Fang Xu and Lao Yuan were openly causing trouble at Tranquil Leisure Residence, and many believed that someone from the other houses of the Eight Major Powers was moving against the Du Clan, deliberately provoking them.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

After a brief standoff, the crowd of onlookers was roughly pushed aside.

Numerous Du Clan martial artists surrounded an old man whose strength had reached the Martial Venerable Fourth Realm as they appeared at the entrance of Tranquil Leisure Residence.

"Patriarch, it's these two." Seeing the Du Clan Patriarch arrive, the shopkeeper hurried forward, clasped his hands, and briefly recounted what Fang Xu and Lao Yuan had done.

The Du Clan Patriarch's face grew solemn as he glanced at Fang Xu and Lao Yuan and said, "Speak, who ordered you two?"

The aura unique to the Martial Venerable Fourth Realm tightly locked onto Lao Yuan and Fang Xu; the Du Clan Patriarch had already decided that, regardless of who had ordered them, he would slay both of them on the spot today!

He wanted everyone to witness that the Du Clan's authority could not be challenged!

(End of Chapter)