TRWSB – Chapter 221 Trip to Jin State

Xuan Liang cast one last reluctant glance toward the direction of the tomb before ultimately retreating with the others.

Ge Hong said with some resentment, “That guy is way too overbearing! City Lord, who exactly is he?”

Xuan Liang shook his head and said, “I’m not sure either.” The position of the City Lord of Dilan City had changed frequently, and Xuan Liang had only recently assumed the role. All he knew was that long before he took over, that eccentric had already been residing in the Magic Tower for hundreds of years—no one dared provoke him.

There were too many hidden masters in Dilan City—some had lived for over ten thousand years.

When it came to such people, Xuan Liang always preferred not to stir trouble. Though he knew the man was powerful, he didn’t expect him to be that powerful, nor had he imagined he would run into him today and suffer such a big loss so unexpectedly.

“Young Master Zhuang, thank you for your help along the way. If that man hadn’t appeared at the last moment, we probably would’ve gotten a much bigger share,” Xuan Liang said.

Zhuang Hao smiled and replied, “Being able to obtain so many Fire Source Crystals, I’m already more than satisfied.”

Xuan Liang chuckled and said, “You’re already a Saint-level mage at such a young age. Whatever treasures you want in the future will come your way. No need to rush it now.”

After leaving the Fire Demon King’s Tomb, the group parted ways.

“Why couldn’t a Saint-level mage fight back at all?” Qi Shaorong asked, full of confusion.

“Because of Domains,” Zhuang Hao replied.

“Domains?” Qi Shaorong asked, still puzzled.

Zhuang Hao nodded and explained, “The difference between a Level-9 expert and a Saint-level expert lies in the Domain. Once you possess a Domain, your power transforms completely. That mysterious person’s Domain was extremely strong, while City Lord Xuan Liang’s Domain wasn’t fully formed.”

Qi Shaorong froze for a moment and said, “Is that so? That guy looked at me kind of weirdly.”
Could that guy be into him? Didn’t seem like it, though…

“That man is a Dark-element mage, but it seems like there’s a powerful Light-element force inside his body. So, the Light-element magic is likely corroding him. I’d imagine he’s in great discomfort,” Zhuang Hao said.

Qi Shaorong widened his eyes. “You think he’s interested in my physique?”

Zhuang Hao nodded. “Probably. That guy isn’t someone to mess with. Best we stay far away.”

Inside the restaurant.

“Young Master, you’re back already? How did it go?” Bi Liuyun asked curiously.

Qi Shaorong smiled and said, “Pretty well. At least I’ve got something for your and Qi Heng’s wedding gift now.”

As he rubbed his chin, he thought to himself: Selling those Fire Source Crystals in my spatial ring should fetch several billion. Cosmetics may be profitable, but they’re ultimately small business. Boosting strength, reaching Saint-level, and sweeping through enemies—that’s the real way to get rich.

Bi Liuyun smiled and said, “Then I’ll thank you in advance, Young Master.”

Qi Shaorong waved his hand. “No need to be polite with me!”

“Young Master, how much longer are you staying here?” Bi Liuyun asked.

“We’re leaving soon,” Zhuang Hao answered.

Qi Shaorong looked over at him and said, “Leaving so soon? Why? I kind of like this place.”

“That Nether Dragon was giving you a strange look. It’s better if we don’t stay,” Zhuang Hao said.

Qi Shaorong tilted his head. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous of that guy?”

Zhuang Hao shot Qi Shaorong a glance. “I know you like pretty faces. That guy’s downright ugly—you wouldn’t be interested. But the way he looked at you was very off, like he wanted to tear you apart.”

Qi Shaorong shuddered at Zhuang Hao’s words.

“You’re right. And come to think of it, we’ve been here for quite a while now. Maybe it’s time to leave.”

He had already memorized everything in the Magic Tower, even if he hadn’t fully grasped it yet, so leaving wasn’t an issue.

Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao set out from Dilan City, intending to return to Yuan Nation. But on the way, they received news that Qi Heng had been injured, so they detoured to Jin Nation.

The Zuo family in Jin Nation.

“Young Master, I’m fine. Thank you for making the trip. Really, you didn’t have to,” Qi Heng said with a forced smile.

“You always try to tough it out,” Qi Shaorong said helplessly.

Zhuang Hao curled his lip. “What was Zuo Yunfei doing? How could he let you get hurt? Maybe you should just dump that guy.”

Zuo Yunfei happened to be walking to the door just then and heard Zhuang Hao’s comment. His face turned somewhat grim.

Qi Heng glanced at Zuo Yunfei and smiled. “It’s not Yunfei’s fault.”

“So who injured you?” Qi Shaorong asked.

Qi Heng forced another smile and said, “It was Jun Lanyue’s aunt. She was recruited early on by the people from the Jialan Shrine because of her high talent. She picked a fight with me to stand up for Jun Lanyue. But Yunfei already gave her a harsh lesson.”

Qi Shaorong looked at Qi Heng. “Jialan Shrine—what kind of organization is that?”

“It’s a mysterious power with strong influence. They recruit top talents from various countries,” Zuo Yunfei explained.

“I heard Jialan Shrine people are very protective. Jun Lanyue’s aunt was badly injured by Zuo Yunfei, so they might come after him,” Qi Heng said worriedly.

Qi Shaorong said with irritation, “That woman can’t tell right from wrong, and Jialan Shrine still dares to come looking for trouble?”

“Most people in this world care more about kinship than logic,” Qi Heng said.

Qi Shaorong nodded. “That’s true.”

Qi Shaorong took some time to finally understand the situation. Jun Lanyue’s aunt, Jun Xia, had no children of her own, so she treated Jun Lanyue as her own daughter. Not long after Jun Lanyue and Zuo Yunfei got engaged, Jun Xia left.

Back then, Jun Lanyue and Zuo Yunfei were seen as a perfect match. Unaware of what had happened during her absence, Jun Xia returned to find that the marriage between Qi Heng and Zuo Yunfei was the talk of the town. She immediately assumed that Qi Heng had seduced Zuo Yunfei and ruined his relationship with Jun Lanyue.

Zuo Yunfei’s goldmine in the Tianxing Mountains was raking in money daily, which made him quite prominent. When word got out about Qi Heng’s two-billion betrothal gift, it caused a huge stir throughout the capital of Jin Kingdom.

Many people in the Jin Kingdom were envious of Qi Heng’s good fortune, while others were jealous, thinking Zuo Yunfei valued him too highly. To them, Qi Heng was just a servant, and giving such a massive dowry of two billion made Zuo Yunfei look like a fool.

……

Qi Shaorong and Qi Heng were sitting in a restaurant, and Qi Shaorong was frowning deeply.

Qi Heng looked at him, confused. “Young Master, you don’t look well. Is the food not to your liking?”

“It’s not that the food’s bad—I just don’t have any appetite. Ah Heng, people are saying you’re like a toad wanting to eat swan meat. That bastard Zuo Yunfei—how does he even look like a swan? If anyone’s not good enough in this relationship, it’s him, not you,” Qi Shaorong said unhappily.

He rubbed his ear irritably. The downside of having such sharp hearing was picking up too many things he didn’t want to hear.

Qi Heng smiled softly and said, “Young Master, I’m not as great as you think I am.”

Qi Shaorong patted his shoulder. “Ah Heng, you’re excellent. Trust me.”

Zuo Yunfei pushed the door open and entered. “I’ve ordered the food.”

Qi Shaorong smiled. “Much obliged, Young Master Zuo.”

Qi Heng also gave a faint smile. “Young Master, I heard you went to Dilan City. Why are you back so soon?”

“Don’t mention it. There was this expert in Dilan who took a fancy to me. Zhuang Hao freaked out and dragged me out of there,” Qi Shaorong replied with a smile.

Qi Heng glanced at Zhuang Hao. “If someone could make you feel threatened, he must be a real handsome guy?”

Zhuang Hao: “…That’s not it.”

Zhuang Hao briefly explained the situation.

“Youming Dragon?” Zuo Yunfei asked with interest.

Zhuang Hao nodded. “Yeah! Very powerful. Ordinary Saint-level experts wouldn’t stand a chance against him.”

“Sounds like Dilan City is full of surprises. We should visit sometime,” Zuo Yunfei said to Qi Heng.

Qi Heng nodded. “Sure!”

“By the way, Young Master, did you gain anything in Dilan City?” Qi Heng asked.

“Speaking of that, your wedding gift—though there’s still over two months to go—I’ll just give it to you now.” Qi Shaorong tossed a spatial ring to Qi Heng.

Qi Heng looked at the contents and frowned. “Young Master, this is too much…”

The ring was packed with Fire Source Crystals. If sold, they’d be worth several billion.

Qi Shaorong patted Qi Heng’s shoulder. “Just take it. No one under me lives off others. We’re all big spenders. If anyone gives you trouble, just smash them with money.”

Qi Heng: “…”

Zuo Yunfei: “…”

……

As Qi Shaorong and Qi Heng were chatting, the door was suddenly flung open.

Several men in robes decorated with stars stormed in aggressively.

Qi Shaorong looked at them and said, “What’s this? Wrong room?”

“No, they’re from the Jialan Temple,” Qi Heng said, frowning.

Qi Heng took a deep breath. Zuo Yunfei had beaten up Jun Xia to stand up for him. Because of that, many in the Zuo family blamed Qi Heng. Several elders who disliked him believed he was the reason the family offended Jialan Temple. When Zuo Yunfei found out, he beat those elders up too.

Since then, the elders hadn’t said much to his face, but Qi Heng could still sense the weird looks he got from people in the family—like he was a jinx. He never thought he’d one day become someone seen as a source of disaster.

“Which one of you is Qi Heng? Step forward!”

Qi Shaorong raised his hand and said with a cheerful smile, “That’s me. What do you want? Want to treat me to dinner? You’ll have to get in line. A lot of people are waiting to do that.”

Qi Heng: “…”

“Bastard! It’s him. Beat him up!”

Qi Shaorong smiled. “Interesting.”

He exchanged a glance with Zhuang Hao. Zhuang Hao smiled and said, “Got it.”

Zuo Yunfei also smiled. “I heard Young Master Zhuang has reached Saint-level. I’m in for a good show.”

Zhuang Hao shot Zuo Yunfei a glare and nearly coughed up blood. “This idiot just wants to watch the drama!”

The intruders realized they were being toyed with and grew furious.

“This brat’s a Saint-level expert? What a joke,” one of the Jialan Temple men sneered at Zhuang Hao.

Zhuang Hao raised his hand, and magic of seven elements surged forth like a flood, blasting the man away. Since attaining a domain, he could now cast magic by will alone—no need for a staff.

Under the seven-element magic domain, ordinary opponents were no match. One by one, the attackers were sent flying in all directions.