Supreme Emperor of Mist

"How dare you try to make a move at us! Do you know who we are?" the merchant and the two experts accompanying him yelled at the people that tried to arrest them without trying to clarify the matter first.

But their plight was useless as the number of people was more than they expected. From how it seems, they fell into someone's trap.

"This is your last warning! Surrender yourself and come with us. Or else, don't blame us for taking action!" more torches were lit as the group that came last surrounded the merchant's group.

"Let's follow them for now. I want to see how the supervisor reacts when he knows who we are." one of the two experts said and kept his weapon back into his Qiankun Pouch.

With one person giving up retaliating, the others followed. A while later, they were all escorted back to the capital of Wuyue County.

It was unknown what happened after that, but from the rumors, it was problematic aftermath.

"Milord, we've done what you've asked us to do. Out of the twelve smugglers group, three of them were either captured, disbanded, or handled. Right now, these people are on their way to the Western Blackjade Mountain to work as a miner until their five-year sentence ended." the officer reported.

"Good job. What about the nine remaining smugglers group that unwilling to work with us?" Qin Lan asked.

"They've hidden quite well after knowing what happened to the other three. It would be a waste of time to keep looking at the smugglers right now." the officer added.

"Then, let's move on to another planning. Focus on the cadet's training for the next two months. After that, choose a quarter of them to be recruited into the County's Constable Forces."

"Pass my order to Secretary Qian that the next intake can go ahead as planned. The Shuiyue Military Academy is likely not going to be a problem until next year." Qin Lan ordered. From the look of it, he had quite a lot of plans in his head.

After the officer excused himself, Qin Lan closed the door into his office and touched the Night Glowing Pearl by the side of his bed. After leaving the imprint, he took a few steps over to the Mountain and Sea Sublime Painting and entered the independent subdimension.

"Xi!!!"

The Dragon Moss came to him and started to cuddle around his legs when Qin Lan appeared inside the world within the painting.

"Alright... You can cuddle later. Did you finish what I ordered you to do?" Qin Lan gave the Dragon Moss a pat and followed the creature to somewhere after he speaks.

The Dragon Moss then took Qin Lan over to a place where there was a mountain of Fire Elemental Bloodstone. It seems that Kunlun Hill's Dragon Moss has been working hard in its free time to collect these mineral ores from the thousand mountains nurtured by the Spiritual Qi.

"Good job. Come here, since you're so obedient, I must reward you, correct?" Qin Lan dripped a few drops of his blood on the Dragon Moss. After receiving the blood, it seems much healthier and active.

Taking a few large cauldrons out from his Spatial Jade, Qin Lan started to refine the Fire Elemental Bloodstone into its purest form. Based on how tall is this mountain of ores, he would take at least ten days in real-time, or equivalent to thirty days inside here, to refine the ores into something usable later.

...

"Trash!" the individual wearing gauntlets scolded and threw the wine cup in his hand at the merchant. From the look of it, he was pissed because the merchant has been a disappointment to him.

No longer able to control his temper anymore, the individual made his way forward and reached to the merchant's neck. The merchant was struggling for his life, but his struggles were pointless against an expert of eighth-level in Bone Reconstruction Layer.

His neck was snapped effortlessly by the individual before the dead body was thrown aside to be fed to this individual's tamed Yao Beast.

"Young Master, the second elder has come out from his seclusion. He was asking for you." a servant came into the room and reported.

"Looks like I have to go see my teacher as quickly as possible. I wonder would we be on our way to the Ice Maiden Temple after this." the individual laughed the more he thinks about going to the Ice Maiden Temple.

Changing into the robe of a disciple of Supreme Fist Pavilion, the individual haughtily walked into the building built using some understanding of the mastery of space. It was much spacious compared to how it looked from the outside.

It seems that this powerhouse indeed possessed the qualification based on how deep their foundation here inside Xiancheng Province.

"Disciple Xihou-Ren greets the honorable teacher." he cupped his hands together and greeted the elder after stepping into the room.

"En..." the elder nodded. But his attention was still on the book in his hand. The two remained quiet inside the room for another incense stick of time. He finally talks after he finished with the book.

"What have you been doing recently?" the elder asked.

"This disciple spent most of his time cultivating. From the look of it, I am getting close to advancing into the ninth level," replied Xihou-Ren.

"Humph... At least you still know how to cultivates while I'm not around checking on you. Do you know why your teacher is calling you here?" the elder continued.

"Was it related to this disciple's engagement with the disciple of Ice Maiden Temple called Zhou Mei?" Xihou-Ren guessed. And it seems that his answer was correct based on his teacher's expression.

"Correct. It is due to the engagement. What is your opinion about this engagement? Since this marriage was an arranged one set by the Supreme Fist Pavilion, you have the right to go with it or rejecting it." the elder said.

"Teacher, forgive this disciple for being honest, but who would reject such an offer? This disciple would be either a fool or an impotent man if he rejected this arrangement." Xihou-Ren answered.

"Hahaha... That's my good disciple. It was not a waste for the Supreme Fist Pavilion and Xihou Family to feed you until now. Since you know what the pavilion is planning, I'm sure you know what you need to do?" the elder continued.

"Of course, honorable teacher. To make this marriage turned in our favor, this disciple has been collecting gifts from all over the Country for the Ice Maiden Sect's disciple called Zhou Mei."

"As long teacher able to create the opportunity for the disciple, I will make sure to capture her heart in a flash," Xihou-Ren said.

"Hahaha, what made you so confident about yourself? From what the teacher heard, she's been rejecting this marriage arrangement. It was said that she will not marry anyone else except a brat called Qin Lan from the Country of Wu." the elder added.

"Qin Lan? Even if he survived, he would be at most a cultivator of the Middle-Attainment Layer. As for me, I am getting close to become a peak-level Bone Reconstruction expert. How is he going to fight against me?"

"If he dares to appear when I am laying my hand on this disciple called Zhou Mei, then all I need to do is to get rid of him before I eat her," Xihou-Ren said.

"En... Good disciple. Looks like you understand what the pavilion needs you to do. Then you should go prepare. At the beginning of next year, we will be paying the Ice Maiden Temple a visit using the friendship between the two sects as a pretense."

"At that time, the success or failure will be up to you." the elder said.

"This disciple understands. I will make sure to not disappoint the teacher and the Supreme Fist Pavilion." Xihou-Ren said and cupped his fists together.

"Good. The pavilion will plan for the visit. In the meantime, you should get yourself prepared in case the brat called Qin Lan turned up." the elder tossed the book in his hand to Xihou-Ren. It seems that it was already prepared to be given to him. The conversation was just a facade to see if this disciple was worth their investment.

...

...

...

"Milord, this subordinate has a piece of good news for you!" the Crimson Mist officer knocked on Qin Lan's door thrice before he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

As someone with surprises in his head, he was the one that got surprised instead.

Looking at Qin Lan that meditates on top of his bed, the officer was surprised by his lord's cultivation that advanced faster than he thought.

Bluish Foundation Qi was condensing into droplets around Qin Lan. There were only about ten drops, but each droplet was as intense as Qin Lan's current strength. If he could activate all ten droplets at once, it won't be outrageous to say that Qin Lan would get at least ten times stronger than he is right now.

This means, even if his lord was just a mere third-level Bone Reconstruction Layer Expert, fighting against a peak-level expert is not impossible. Perhaps, he could even win against that opponent if the fight was in his favor!

"Officer, it was quite rude to come into my room without my approval... What kind of surprises you have for me today?" Qin Lan smiled as he absorbed the Foundation Qi Droplets back into his body.

By the time he opened his eyes, it was shining in Azure Color, as if Qin Lan's eye were made from Azure-colored Jewels.