*Note: there will be slight changes to the countries' names*

Zheng-Fu was actually heading to the east of the country, not the west. The following are the names of the countries on the continent…

1. Blue Land

2. Green Land

3. Wild Land

4. Artsy Water Land

5. Foggy Cloud Land

6. Ancient Winter Land

7. Birdy Holy Fiery Heaven Country

…………….

"Thank you for helping us escape safely."

Ji-Qi-Bin paid gratitude from the bottom of his heart to Zheng-Fu because he did not think that he could help his men make it back home by himself. The owner of the city would send the soldiers to hunt them down. Zheng-Fu was the reason that did not happen, so it was his and his men's luck to have him on the journey home. More than that, Zheng-Fu gave him five higher-level Qi energy stones too.

He could make a lot of money selling them…

"Don't worry about it. I hope to see you again. You and your men should be careful because I think they're going to come after you. It might not be today, but you guys should leave the city as soon as possible," Zheng-Fu replied with a smile. He also suggested that Ji-Qi-Bin and his men leave the city for safety…

"I've thought about that. Thank you very much for the suggestion, though."

"Hmm…"

After the farewell had been bid, Zheng-Fu disappeared from the scene so quickly that no one saw where he was headed. The group knew that Zheng-Fu did not use his real speed on the way back home because he had to beware of the soldiers for them. And now they all got to witness his true speed. It was the speed that prevented them from seeing after him…

"The Tian-Tang clan? Very interesting! Never thought that a young, courageous genius would come from a province that's so far away like that," Ji-Qi-Bin said, looking in the direction where Zheng-Fu disappeared. When he could not see Zheng-Fu any longer, he led his men into the city right away…

At the grand hall of the Tian-Tang clan…

"Respecting the Clan's Head. We're experiencing a shortage of energy cultivation resources, sir. We had recruited a lot of warriors, and the Cave of the Immortals was almost out of production." One of the Elders that took care of the provision of the energy cultivation resources said stressfully because the Qi energy stones that the clan robbed from the bandits were about to be gone.

They got a lot from the robbery, but they had to allocate a lot of it to the new warriors…

"That's right. Not only that, but our trade has also been sluggish because a number of merchants that had been trading with us suddenly stopped trading with us. We don't even know why they did not continue doing business with us. As a result, our financial situation is really bad. I don't think it will be good for us if this continues."

This clan meeting was conducted in a serious manner because they were discussing the clan's significant matters. If they could not find any more resources, then they had to let go of the new warriors. They might have to sell some of the clan's assets to survive…

"Please don't panic. First, we have to find out why those merchants stopped trading with us. For the resources, I already asked Tong-Kuang to check out the mysterious cave in the Black Pine Forest. If the rumor about the mysterious Cave of the Immortals in the forest is true, we'll get more resources from there." Mo-Zi, the Clan's Head, said while waving his hand to calm everyone down…

"I agree with the Clan's Head. We should discuss the reasons why those merchants stopped doing trade with us first." Kong-Shi, who was the Great Elder of the clan, cut in to express his opinion that he agreed with Mo-Zi…

"And what should we do with Lao-Chu? We've been putting him in prison for many months now." Hai-Gu, the Elder of Rules Supervision, asked about Lao-Chu, who was captured for betraying the clan…

"We're going to keep him in prison because we might want to use him as a hostage when his son comes here with the people from the Cult of Heaven Fiery Bird next time." Tong-Tieng, who was on the other side of the table, gave his opinion about Lao-Chu's issue. Everyone nodded in agreement with him…

The meeting continued for a while before everyone separated to do their duties as usual. The clan held meetings more often because the problems they had been facing got more severe after Ma-Lei's troop was chased away…

At the Blossom Meadow…

The Blossom Meadow was in the western part of Blue Land. The meadow was as big as a thousand kilometers. The inhabitants of the meadow included humans and monsters. In the center of the meadow sat a city…

The city was called 'Blossom Meadow City.' It was directly protected by the King. The road in the meadow was part of the country's highway. The land was deemed to be significant for agriculture and livestock farming. That was the reason it was established as a city, so the authorities could take care of the activities there easily…

"I guess I'll have to stop and rest in the next city." Zheng-Fu entered Blossom Meadow City after a non-stop journey for two days. He felt a little exhausted, so he thought about resting in the city…

Zheng-Fu also wanted to explore the place to learn about the things that he had never seen before in the city. As he was thinking about what he planned to do in the city, he heard someone yell at him from behind. The man came with a carriage and a big caravan that was heading his way…

"Hey! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

A man with long hair, who looked arrogant, on an unusually big horse, shouted at Zheng-Fu, who was in his way…

"Huh?"

Zheng-Fu looked at the man for a bit and stepped away from the man's way without saying anything. He did it because he did not want to have any problems, not out of fear. When Zheng-Fu stepped out of the way, the man with long hair looked at him in a demeaning way while he was riding the horse away…

"Tsk… Poor people." The man with long hair mumbled before looking away from Zheng-Fu…

The caravan in front of Zheng-Fu consisted of both women and men. There were more than a hundred of them together. There were also three carriages in the middle of the caravan. The caravan was surrounded by many men on horses. They had a flag with huge letters on it. When Zheng-Fu took a good look at them, he saw that they said…

"Blossom Swords Sect"

"Blossom Swords Sect?" Zheng-Fu mumbled the name on the flag while rubbing his nose…

After the caravan of the Blossom Swords Sect passed through Zheng-Fu for a while, the villagers started to appear on the road…

"Sigh! They're getting bigger and bigger. They don't care about anyone."

"Yeah. Ever since they established their sect in the city ten years ago, things in the city have changed. Even the authorities are powerless to intervene."

"I heard that they are sponsored by the Cult of Birdy Holy Fiery Heaven."

"Hey, be careful! If they hear you, you'll be dead without a grave. Come on! Let's get to the city. It's almost dark. And I don't like being outside for a long time…"

The villagers and the people who reappeared on the road chatted about the Blossom Swords Sect in many ways. Zheng-Fu had a feeling that the sect must be something that people disliked…

After half an hour, Zheng-Fu arrived at the entrance of the city. And as usual, everyone needed to do their registration before entering the city. Zheng-Fu got in line to receive the tag to pass through the city gate. The Blossom Swords Sect had passed through the city gate for a while before Zheng-Fu. They did not have to wait for the tag because they were very privileged…

Ten minutes had passed…

"Tell me the reason you came to this city," the soldier at the gate asked Zheng-Fu…

"I would like to look for a tavern to get some rest before traveling home, sir," Zheng-Fu answered the truth because he wanted to take a rest and leave…

"Then give me twenty monster crystal coins." The soldier told Zheng-Fu the fee amount to enter the city…

"Tsk! Yes, sir!" Zheng-Fu seemed to want to say something but decided to stay quiet. He did not want to cause any scenes…

Zheng-Fu entered the city the minute he paid the fee and received the tag. His first goal was to find a tavern. Since he had asked about the direction to the tavern from the soldier, he rushed directly in that direction…

"This city is quite modern. Even though it's a far-away city like In-See City and Sai-Tarn City, it is much bigger by many folds. But why do they ask people to pay the fee to enter the city?"

Tons of questions happened in Zheng-Fu's mind. As far as he knew, every city usually did some checking at the city gate but never needed anyone to pay for the entrance fee, not even at the front cities. A city that was overseen by authorities like this should not have asked for an entrance fee. It even made it stranger. Maybe something wrong happened, Zheng-Fu thought…

However, whatever happened in the city and its rules had nothing to do with Zheng-Fu because he stopped by just to look for a place to take a rest. He would leave by tomorrow. It did not take long for Zheng-Fu to find the tavern. In front of him was a four-story building. It looked like a compact shopping mall to him…

Rustle!

"Welcome, customer!"

As soon as Zheng-Fu opened the door to the tavern, the worker immediately welcomed him. When Zheng-Fu looked at the worker, he was startled to see that he was dressed exceptionally. He was especially impressed by the tiny pin on the collar of the worker's outfit because it was a figure of a golden bird that curled itself neatly on the pin…

*I see… It's the tavern too. I can see why things are horrible like the villagers said.* Zheng-Fu had a realization about the place. It was clear that the Cult of Birdy Holy Fiery Heaven had already sent people to infiltrate the places in the city. It was possible that the Blossom Swords Sect belonged to the Cult of Birdy Holy Fiery Heaven…

The worker, who was next to Zheng-Fu, saw that Zheng-Fu was standing with his mind somewhere else, so he asked again, "Would you like to dine or have a room, sir?"

"Oh…! I want both of them." Zheng-Fu rushed to reply to the worker when he got back to himself. Then he walked to one of the available tables and ordered a big set of food because he was extremely hungry…

"I think I have to get out of the city as soon as I get a full rest. I have to get back to the clan as soon as possible," Zheng-Fu mumbled with the thought of missing home…

Rustle!

"Your hotpot is here, sir! The set includes a wide variety of monster meats, sir. I'm sure the dip would impress you tremendously too. And here is our special-made rice whiskey, sir." The worker put down the food and explained how special their food and drink were…

"Thank you so much."

After the worker walked away from the table, Zheng-Fu looked at the food in front of him. The hotpot and meats were arranged beautifully and smelt wonderful. It could actually make anyone drool. However, Zheng-Fu did not feel the same way because he smelt something unusual in the hotpot and the meats…

"Did they put the Seductive Powder and Addictive Powder in the food and drink too?" Zheng-Fu thought while crinkling his eyebrows. Because the two powders made people addicted to the food and drink at the tavern, they came back for more. That was why they were called by these names…

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