As the morning light brightened, Ye Ling, dressed in tight-fitting green cloth robes and carrying her pack, stepped into the Ye Family Merchant Association on the street side.
The shop assistant looked up and greeted her with a warm smile.
“Miss Ling, you're back from your training? Please, come inside.”
Ye Ling nodded. “I brought some demon beast materials and herbs to sell.”
“Right away!” The assistant led her to the counter. “It’s been raining heavily in the mountains lately, so good goods are hard to come by. Please show me what you have, Miss.”
Ye Ling took out her items one by one.
A single Black-Haired Bear hide, completely intact. Six Giant-Tusked Boar tusks, and three boar hides.
One Swift Thunder Leopard pelt in perfect condition. Four leopard claws. Seven stalks of Condensing Emerald Grass, and two Tempering Flowers.
The assistant smiled as he began counting, but when he saw the Swift Thunder Leopard pelt, his eyes widened in surprise.
“My goodness, a late-stage Tier One Swift Thunder Leopard? The pelt is completely undamaged, and the quality is top-notch!”
He examined it over and over, muttering in disbelief.
“The bear hide and tusks are also cleaned immaculately, without a single blemish.”
“For you to hunt in the mountains alone and even take down a Swift Thunder Leopard, Miss, your strength is truly becoming formidable.”
Ye Ling's expression remained calm. “Just calculate the price according to the market rate.”
The assistant quickly did the math and called out the total.
“Twenty taels of gold for the Black-Haired Bear hide.”
“Three hundred taels for the six Giant-Tusked Boar tusks, and one hundred and fifty taels for the three hides.”
“Five hundred taels for the Swift Thunder Leopard pelt, and four hundred taels for the four leopard claws.”
“Twenty-eight taels for the seven stalks of Condensing Emerald Grass, and twenty taels for the two Tempering Flowers.”
“The total comes to one thousand three hundred and ninety-eight taels. Let's round it up to one thousand four hundred taels. Does that sound fair, Miss?”
Ye Ling nodded.
The assistant took out fourteen gold bills and handed them over, his tone filled with admiration.
“You are so young yet already so strong, Miss. You are truly the pride of our Ye family. If you harvest anything else in the future, please bring it here.”
Ye Ling took the gold bills and flipped through them; the denominations were correct.
Fourteen bills, totaling one thousand four hundred taels. It was slightly higher than she had anticipated.
She pocketed the gold bills, thanked the assistant, and turned to leave the merchant association.
The money earned from a single month of training was more than ten years of her monthly allowance.
It seemed that cultivating behind closed doors was not enough; venturing out for real-world experience was the proper path to quickly grow stronger and accumulate resources.
Then again, this harvest had not been handed to her; it was entirely backed by her own strength.
If it had been any ordinary disciple of the clan, let alone earning money, whether they could even return alive would be up in the air.
After leaving the merchant association, she did not rush out of the city. Instead, she visited the medicinal pill shop run by her clan.
Stepping into the shop, the rich aroma of herbs filled the air, and various medicinal pills were displayed on the shelves.
Seeing her enter, the manager quickly came over to attend to her.
Ye Ling selected several types of pills suitable for her current realm.
Ten bottles of Qi Gathering Pills. These were translucent white pellets with mild medicinal properties that could accelerate the absorption of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
They were the daily cultivation pills for martial artists in the Houtian Realm, offering excellent value.
Ten bottles of Yuan-Solidifying Pills. Pale yellow in color, they were used to stabilize one's cultivation and relieve the soreness in meridians caused by prolonged training.
Five bottles of Healing Pills. Used for recovery, they were effective for both external cuts and internal injuries sustained in combat—an absolute necessity when adventuring.
She also bought a few bundles of Mind-Concentrating Incense. Lighting them during meditation or when refining spiritual herbs could calm the mind and greatly increase efficiency.
After her shopping spree, she had spent nearly half of her gold bills.
Packing her purchases away, she turned and left the city, heading once more toward the Baiyun Mountain Range to continue her training.
On her way back to the Water Curtain Cave, she heard the distant clashing of weapons, mingled with shouting and heavy panting.
Ye Ling paused. Instantly softening her movements, she spread out her Divine Sense.
The situation in the clearing ahead immediately became clear to her.
Without hesitation, she tapped her toes against the ground and executed the Flowing Cloud Movement Technique. Gliding like a gust of wind, she landed on a large tree branch over a hundred feet away. Hidden behind the leaves, she looked down.
In the clearing below, four fiercely-faced rogue cultivators in mismatched attire had surrounded a young man in fine silk robes embroidered with the Wang family crest.
This Wang family disciple was at the Houtian Sixth Layer. He brandished his longsword with all his might, creating a fierce wind, but he was hopelessly outnumbered.
His robes were slashed in several places, blood dripping from his shoulders and forearms. His face was pale, and his steps had already begun to falter.
The spiritual energy within his body was heavily depleted, its circulation growing sluggish. He retreated step after step, his eyes filled with resentment and terror.
Among the four rogue cultivators, the leader—a burly, bearded man—had the highest cultivation at the Houtian Seventh Layer.
His broad-backed saber whistled through the air with every slash, forcing the Wang family youth backward at every turn.
The other three were all at the Houtian Sixth Layer, their mix of short and long weapons coordinating well to deny their opponent any room to breathe.
The bearded leader grinned, revealing a mouth of yellow teeth.
“Kid, stop struggling. Hand over all your money and pills, and we'll leave you with an intact corpse.”
The Wang family youth gritted his teeth and held on. “You outlaws dare commit murder in the territory of Baiyun City? My Wang family will never let you off!”
A sharp-faced man beside him sneered. “Don't try to scare us with the Wang family. In the middle of these desolate mountains, who's going to know we killed you?”
“Stubborn even at death's door.”
Another Houtian Sixth Layer rogue cultivator sneered, the greed in his eyes intensifying.
The bearded leader's eyes turned cold, and his saber strikes suddenly accelerated. “Cut the chatter. Let's finish him off together.”
The four of them struck simultaneously, aiming for vital spots with every blow.
Ye Ling's expression remained indifferent; she had no intention of stepping in to help.
She did not know this Wang family youth.
Furthermore, the four major families of Baiyun City had never gotten along, and the Ye and Wang families had plenty of friction, both open and hidden. She was under no obligation to save him.
But watching these rogue cultivators commit murder and robbery, she did not plan to let them go either.
An idea formed in her mind. She would wait until the rogue cultivators killed the youth and were focused on looting his belongings before she struck.
This way, she wouldn't get entangled in the Wang family's affairs, and she could eliminate these villains while technically avenging the deceased. It killed two birds with one stone.
She did not have to wait long. The Wang family youth ran out of spiritual energy and was cut down by the bearded leader's saber.
The four rogue cultivators looked smug as they gathered around the corpse to search for valuables, completely lowering their guard.
The bearded leader was the most pleased. With his thick neck exposed, he bent down to rip open the clothes on the corpse.
Ye Ling moved.
She lunged down from the tree, her sword flashing.
The bearded leader's head flew off, rolling onto the ground.
The head rolled several feet before coming to a stop. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared at his own headless body, which was still spraying blood. His mouth twitched.
“Am I... dead?”
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