Chapter 196: Chapter 54: Fragments of the Heavens Second Realm
The duel ended in a draw, some were joyous while others mourned. Zhang Xuan, with the assistance of several subordinates from the black market, returned to his room.
“How is Elder Ling?”
Fu Yingying looked over anxiously.
A master who had grasped the second realm of Heavenly Mandate Vitality was of great help to her. Once she formed an alliance with him, helping him return to his sect was not out of the question.
“I am fine… Miss Fu, I also wish to purchase more Destiny Plates. How many does the black market have?” Zhang Xuan asked.
Fu Yingying, without refusal, said, “Although the number in the black market is not exceedingly large, after accumulating for so many years, we can provide nearly as much as you require.”
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xuan said, “Then let’s start with 100 pieces!”
The fat man was indeed Sun Qiang, who had specially arranged the duel to end in a draw!
Now, with Fu Yingying offering a low price, 100 Destiny Plates were but two billion Origin Currency. The earnings from one duel were overflowing, fully covering the cost.
“100 pieces?”
Her pupils contracted, Fu Yingying, full of embarrassment, said, “Our black market can’t produce so many at once, but give me three months, and I should be able to…”
She assumed he wanted the usual one or twenty pieces at most, but his request overwhelmed her…
Who would buy twenty pieces and then suddenly demand 100!
The Heavenly Mandate Vitality within the Destiny Plates, being purified Yuan Power, greatly aids a Fate Master, but one can’t exactly live off it. Buying too many would be of little use.
“Three months? That’s too long!”
Unaware of her thoughts, Zhang Xuan shook his head, “Then how many can you produce now?”
Fu Yingying thought for a moment, then said, “At most 50 pieces!”
“Alright, bring me fifty pieces. If you trust me, I’ll have someone bring over one billion Origin Currency shortly…” Zhang Xuan stated.
Fu Yingying smiled, “With Elder Ling’s strength, becoming a Vice Hall Master is a certainty, I naturally trust you!”
One billion Origin Currency was a vast sum, but for a future Vice Hall Master of Heaven Mandate Hall, there was always an opportunity to earn it back; it wasn’t too troublesome.
Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, “Much appreciated…”
Ever since achieving Mo Dao Destiny, the consumption of Heavenly Mandate Vitality had been tremendously high. Fifty Destiny Plates, 500,000 strands of Heavenly Mandate Vitality, though they seemed ample, would be consumed quickly in actual use.
It wasn’t even enough for Mo Dao Destiny to advance to the third level.
Indeed, it was just now, from what Fu Yingying had mentioned, he learned about the so-called cultivation realms.
Only by a deeper understanding of Heaven Mandate Hall and stepping into higher realms could one break the shackles of cultivation and become a higher-class Fate Master.
For instance, Elder Bai Ye of Mo Blade Sect wanted to become a 3-star Fate Master. To do so, an understanding of fate that reached the third level, or the Fate Understanding Realm, was necessary.
The first three levels of destiny: Seeking Fate, Resignation, Knowing One’s Fate.
Upon understanding these realms, Zhang Xuan speculated about the Mo Blade Water Flow within the Library of Heaven’s Path.
The formation of 50,000 strands of Heavenly Mandate Vitality was what they called the Seeking Fate Realm, finding one’s own destiny and controlling it, similar to someone like Yu Qingyu.
After absorbing another 50,000 strands, the Seeking Fate Realm was completely stabilized, somewhat akin to Ling Buyang.
After absorbing 100,000 strands, he directly broke through this realm, reaching the Recognize Destiny Realm. This realm gained the acknowledgment of fate, assigning ownership of fate, and whether in terms of strength or control over destiny, advanced further.
Once one reached this realm, breaking through Ninefold Source Pool to higher realms, there were no more shackles; success was just a matter of time and sufficient accumulation.
In other’s eyes, Zhang Xuan was now a master who had surpassed the Ninefold Source Pool and deserved ample respect.
After waiting a while, the other party indeed delivered 50 Destiny Plates, and Zhang Xuan satisfyingly stored them all in the New World.
Just after storing the Destiny Plates, a subordinate entered the room and came up to Fu Yingying, lowering his voice, “Miss, the fat man has left the black market… Currently, seven groups of people have quietly followed him!”
“Good, continue to track him, and report any news at any time…” Fu Yingying nodded.
“Yes!” The subordinate turned and left.
Having achieved his objective, Zhang Xuan saw no further need to stay. Struggling to stand up, he bowed with his hands clasped, “Miss Fu, I shall take my leave today. If anyone else is willing to duel, please arrange it for me in advance…”
Fu Yingying’s mouth twitched.
Arranging it once had nearly bankrupted the black market, arranging it again might leave her penniless.
With an awkward smile, not dwelling on this issue, she looked over flirtatiously, “Elder Ling, your injuries are not light. Why not stay here for the night… It would also allow me to serve you well…”
“No need…” Zhang Xuan shook his head, declining the offer.
“Then I will have someone escort you…”
Fu Yingying waved her hand, and Elder Chen approached, “Elder Ling, this way, please…”
Zhang Xuan didn’t say anything more and followed the man out.
Before long, a puzzled Elder Chen returned to the room.
Fu Yingying, displeased, said, “Didn’t I ask you to escort Elder Ling? Why did you come back?”
Elder Chen replied, “Reporting to Miss, I did escort him out. Just as we stepped outside, he mentioned he urgently needed to use the restroom, and then… after waiting a while and realizing he wasn’t coming out, I discovered he had vanished!”
“Is he afraid I would take advantage of his weakness and send people to hunt him down?”
Fu Yingying appeared slightly depressed.
She kindly sent people to escort him because she feared he might get injured or that someone might plot against him, but the guy didn’t appreciate the gesture and sneaked away…
“It shouldn’t be…” Elder Chen shook his head.
Fu Yingying looked over, “Why do you say that?”
Elder Chen said, “Just now, that fat man, before he left, left an envelope, telling me to open it personally. After Lord Ling left, I got the letter, and when I opened it just now, it contained exactly one hundred million Origin Currency!”
“The fat man? One hundred million Origin Currency?”
Stunned for a moment, Fu Yingying then realized, “Are you saying that the fat man is one of Elder Ling’s people? Could it be that horse?”
A flood of memories rushed to her mind.
After leaving Li Yue’an’s courtyard, that Elder Ling had called over a horse and entrusted it with many tasks. At the time, she didn’t care much and didn’t listen carefully. Now it seemed that it was probably to notify this fat man to come and place his bets.
Not only had the horse called the man over, but it also relayed the messages flawlessly… Could that be true?
“It looks like he really is one of Elder Ling’s people. I just don’t understand why this person could be one hundred percent certain that it would end in a draw…” Elder Chen was still perplexed.
Fu Yingying gave a wry smile, “Isn’t that simple? Who wins, who loses, or even a so-called draw, is all controlled by Ling Buyang…”
Elder Chen was startled, “He controlled it? Could he really also control Han Qianye’s breakthrough, as well as his own?”
Fu Yingying shook her head, “Controlling Lord Han’s breakthrough might not be possible, but what can be confirmed is that the strength Ling Buyang displayed is far from his true capabilities. His own so-called breakthrough might just have been a pretense!”
“This…”
Elder Chen’s pupils suddenly constricted.
If just pretending to reach the second realm of the Heavenly Mandate, what must his true strength be?
On a small boat far from the black market, Sun Lianxiang, seeing her husband injured but without life-threatening wounds, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, “It’s lucky that Elder Ling has just broken through and can’t yet control his strength. Otherwise, Lord Han could have been left with injuries that might have been irrecoverable…”
Hearing this, Han Qianchou scoffed from the bow of the boat, “Do you really think that Ling Buyang couldn’t kill Qianye?”
“Isn’t that so?” Sun Lianxiang was stunned.
“Of course not!”
Han Qianye struggled to sit up, his expression serious as he shook his head, “If he had wanted to kill me, I would have been dead by now. The reason it ended in a draw was because he intentionally allowed it, and my breakthrough was also with his assistance…”
“This…” Sun Lianxiang was filled with disbelief.
To assist an opponent during a fight and only injure without killing… How strong must this Elder Ling be?
“If he’s truly that powerful, he could have won easily. There’s no need for mutual destruction, ending in a draw, right?”
If he’s truly strong, incapacitating Lord Han without allowing him any opportunity to resist wouldn’t be a problem at all, so why bother creating such an unprecedented draw that seemed flawless to others?
Han Qianchou smiled, “You guessed right. The fat man who was selling intelligence is one of his subordinates. According to the information I received, this person bet 30 million Origin Currency on the draw.”
“Betting on a draw in advance, being absolutely certain of the outcome before the contest…”
Sun Lianxiang’s pupils constricted.
How much confidence and strength would that require?
“This Ling Buyang’s cultivation surpasses our expectations, but that might not necessarily be a good thing. Killing Feng Zhaoting and then advancing to the second realm of the Heavenly Mandate without a breakthrough in cultivation means there won’t be a few who want him dead, just wait and see!”
Waving his hand, Han Qianchou spoke no further.
Leaping from the boat, Sun Qiang reached the shoreline, mounted a swift horse, and sped ahead.
He seemed to know he was being followed and dared not hesitate.
The horse was extremely fast, and in just a tea’s time, it had covered several miles. Just when Sun Qiang thought he could breathe a sigh of relief, suddenly a “bang!” sounded, and an arrow, carrying tremendous strength, appeared before him.
With the arrow bringing immense force, Sun Qiang swiftly activated his Divine Soul Power to block it, only to hear a “thump!” as he was knocked off his feet and tumbled to the ground.
“A Ninefold Source Pool cultivator?”
Sun Qiang looked grim.
“Not too stupid…”
Accompanied by a faint voice, a young scholar-like figure slowly emerged from the end of the road.
Sun Qiang turned to flee, but he found that the path he had just crossed was blocked by an old man with a limp, holding a wine gourd, appearing like a drunken beggar.
Of course, he only appeared so. From the fact that Sun Qiang couldn’t sense his presence, he knew this man was no simple character either.
“Since we’re all here for three hundred million Origin Currency, might as well all come out!”
Seeing that he couldn’t escape, the limping old man took a swig of alcohol, capped the gourd, and said with a smile.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
From both sides of the street, five people also emerged.
A middle-aged Daoist, two masked individuals in black garments, a bald strong man, and an old man with green whiskers.
These five were equally powerful, and unsurprisingly, all were Ninefold Source Pool cultivators.