t's was unexpected. The sect acquired yet another talent. True brother Fung Lie is indeed great at scouting talents." Xiang Tianku said gloomily after Xuanyuan and Bai left. "Looks like we'll be surpassed very soon."
"Brother Xiang, don't be disheartened. We are all best of the best. Brother Xuanyuan is indeed talented, but it'll still take some time before he can catch up. Meanwhile, we should all work hard." Xiaotian smiled mildly.
"Brother Xiaotian is very kind. We've all just lost a large sum of money. I'll have to go back to the sect, or I'll starve." Biyue said with dismay and glanced at Kuiya, who was still sulking after his defeat.
"Xuanyuan, now that you're in the City of Fighting Dragons, you'll soon meet your death." He whispered.
"Brothers and sisters, I'll head back now." Xiaotian gestured his farewell, then flew away.
"I won't stay here for long. Sister Biyue, Brother Kuiya, head back to the sect as soon as possible." After that Xiang Tianku left as well.
"Sister Biyue, I'll go too. Don't worry, I'll take care of Xuanyuan." There was still a hand print left on Kuiya's left cheek. A few teeth on the left side of his mouth were missing.
"Xuanyuan went to the Taibai Trading Centre, don't do anything rash. Wait until he leaves there, then..." Biyue ran her finger across her neck.
"Xiaotian and Xiang Tianku are both unhappy with Xuanyuan. Even if Kuiya fails to kill him, the two of them will surely have their own plans. Xuanyuan, you shouldn't have been so quick to make us all look bad with your ability. Now everyone hates you. I don't think you will make it to the sect alive." She thought. She also headed towards the Taibai Trading Centre, she was not going to miss such a great show.
Xuanyuan and Bai walked side by side. The square was crowded, with thousands of people exiting from hundreds of different portals. This place seemed to be the main connection square, it had hundreds of portals connecting to multiple locations. Moonsky City was only one of the portal locations. It was an enormous square that was accommodating such a large number of people without getting cramped.
Xuanyuan had never felt as insignificant as he did now. Almost everyone there was a practitioner. Many of them were wild realm fighters, some were king realm fighters. He was sure that he even spotted a few grandmaster fighters, but there was no way to tell. The City of Fighting Dragons deserved its mighty name.
He would be totally lost in the streets, if not for Bai leading the way. She knew the city like the back of her hand.
"Lady Bai, you're a important member of Taibai, right? Then why did you go to the Full Moon Trading Centre and act as a servant girl? Wasn't that degrading for you?" Xuanyuan asked.
"That was a test for Huayu from the Taibai Trading Centre. The Full Moon Trading Centre is a very small branch of Taibai. The relationship is like the one between the Sect of Fighting Dragons and the Cave of Full Moon. I'm the examiner and I gave a tiny bit of help to Huayu." Bai spoke in a soft and tender voice. "When I arrived at the Full Moon Trading Centre, Fangyue took out some instruments from the Yin Family of the Eastern Dynasty. He said that you sold him those. I was the one who sold those instruments to the Yin Family a long time ago. I was curious to see them again. I was interested to see who you were so I made the arrangements to accompany you."
Xuanyuan finally understood what happened. He didn't think that selling Wu Ming's instruments would lead to this.
"Aha, I see." He laughed dryly.
"Tell me honestly, how did you obtain the Yin Family's instruments? Those weapons are incredibly valuable. With your current strength, it's impossible for you to kill the owners and take their weapons." Bai smiled, but her eyes were clear and calculating.
Xuanyuan considered for a moment and looked back. "If I tell you how I did it, you have to answer a few of my questions. Deal?"
"Sure. As long as it's something I know." Bai said sincerely.
"I killed them and then took their instruments. There are many different ways to kill someone." Xuanyuan replied. He opened his fighting ring and took out a crossbow of explosion. "This is one of those ways."
She suddenly relaxed. A strike from the crossbow could definitely take down a king realm fighter.
"Alright. I will keep this our little secret." She smiled. "What do you want to know? Ask me whatever."
"Lady Bai, I know that the Taibai Trading Centre had a lot of information about the Eastern Dynasty. You probably know a lot about some of the most powerful factions there, right?" Xuanyuan was testing the water.
"Of course, what do you want to know about?" She looked at Xuanyuan curiously while leading him to the Taibai building. They were almost there.
"I'd like to know the strength of the Yin Family and Hai Family from the Eastern Dynasty." He got straight to the point.
"The Yin Family controls the entire military of the East. The Hai Family is trusted by the Eastern Royals and controls their intelligence network across the entire Land of the East." Bai also gave him a straight-forward answer. He finally realized the immense strength of his opponents.
"Then do you know Yin Zhenluo?" Xuanyuan continued.
Bai was surprised at the question, "Yin Zhenluo ventured into the territory under the Sect of Fighting Dragons a while ago. Do you know her?"
Xuanyuan's heart skipped a beat. Taibai deserved its name as the largest trading hub in the East, the intelligence network they controlled was no less than that of the Hai Family. They even knew the movements of Yin Zhenluo.
"Sort of. Can you tell me why the Yin Family wants Yin Zhenluo to marry the Young Master Hai?" Xuanyuan didn't trust gossip, he wanted the confirmation from Bai.
"Well, I don't know all the details. The only thing I'm sure of is that the Master of the Yin Family was sick for a few years. No one knew what the illness was. When you're someone as strong as the Master of the Yin Family, you'd have a higher chance of dying during a battle than getting sick. So it was quite serious when he fell ill. The Hai Family seemed to know how to treat the illness and was willing to help, but they wanted the Young Lady Zhenluo to marry their Young Master. Only the most powerful people in the Eastern Dynasty know about this." Bai didn't leave out any information. She told Xuanyuan everything she knew.
Xuanyuan was shocked to hear the reason. He had to become much stronger, that was the only way to stop the marriage.
"Is this Young Master of the Hai Family very strong? Stronger than Brother Fung Lie?" The Young Master Hai could be his future competitor, he needed to know everything about him.
"Of course. He's the expert using water. He's experienced with using "The Heart of Sea", which ranks thirty-second on the list of fighting water." Bai explained.
"The list of fighting water! The Heart of Sea! Isn't it even stronger than The Fire of Sura?" Xuanyuan cried out in surprise. He remembered the Fire of Sura used by the Princess of Mo.
"That's right. Unless Fung Lie learns to use the wind that ranks thirty-second on the list of fighting wind, he won't stand a chance of defeating Young Master Hai."
Xuanyuan's heart dropped. This was the man that was going to marry his Master Zhenluo. Could he really defeat him?
"How about Yin Zhenluo? Is she strong?" Xuanyuan continued.
"She's the ‘Xian of the Heavenly Dragon’. A rare genius. You don't see someone like her very often. She can control the "The Gold of Heaven", it ranks nineteenth on the list of fighting gold. Not even an imperial fighter can defeat her."
Xuanyuan was hit by another stroke of bad news. The difference between himself and master Zhenluo was enormous. It seemed impossible to reach her level.
"Young Master Xuanyuan. We've arrived at Taibai. Let's go get some instruments for you." Said Bai. She remembered back in the Full Moon Trading Centre, Xuanyuan had a shocking reaction upon hearing the betrothal between the Yin Family and the Hai Family and could guess what he was thinking.
"Thank you for leading the way, Lady Bai." He took a deep breath. He learnt alot today. In his heart of hearts, he made a promise. "I'll fight for what I want but don't yet have. One day, I'll once again stand beside you, Master Zhenluo!"