Starblossom City. The Municipal Compound Residential Quarters.
Yue Zhuoran’s fair, slender fingers gently caressed the piece of pale golden leather in his hand, feeling the faint warmth and silky texture brush against his fingertips. An expression of pure enjoyment was written over his handsome face.
As a direct descendant of one of the top-tier great clans in the Xiao Kuang Star Region, Yue Zhuoran had inherited the core legacy of his family. He was widely renowned across the star region as a master of forging and artifact crafting, earning the title Jade-Faced Saint Hand.
Yue Zhuoran had encountered countless rare and valuable forging materials since rising to fame. He had also cultivated a pair of poisonous eyes and a discerning gaze that could instantly appraise the value of any material that passed before them.
From the very moment he had glanced at the piece of pale golden leather now in his hand, Yue Zhuoran had sensed its extraordinary nature. When he reached out and touched it, every cell in his body began to boil and tremble with excitement.
A supreme treasure! It was absolutely a supreme treasure!
He had tried several methods, and only after expending considerable effort and relying on the family’s secret technique, Hundred-Refinement Core Condensation, did he barely manage to cure a small portion of it.
The success had left him overjoyed. What excited him even more was that this piece of leather had clearly been cut from a larger, complete object. In other words, this was only a small part of a whole. There had to be more.
If he could obtain the remaining parts, he would absolutely be able to forge a peerless suit of armor. It could very well rise to become the highest-tier artifact within the family. His title of Jade-Faced Saint Hand would then soar even higher in the industry, becoming the stuff of legend.
The more he thought about it, the more exhilarated he became. A blazing flame of ambition burned fiercely in Yue Zhuoran’s eyes.
"Young Master, they've arrived." A tall, white-robed female sword cultivator stepped into the hall and reported respectfully.
"Oh?" Yue Zhuoran raised both brows and asked, "How many people came?"
The sword cultivator replied concisely, "Two. The officer you deliberately released earlier is accompanied by a young man. He appears to be quite powerful and wealthy. He previously participated in the auction, and purchased the black dog that walked out alive from the forbidden zone."
The Yue Clan’s intelligence network was highly effective. Huang Dinggou’s identity had already been thoroughly investigated. It was known that he was a special ops officer from the Xiao Kuang Legion and was suspected to have returned alive from the Purple Nebula Forbidden Zone. As for Li Xiaofei, much information had already been uncovered about him as well.
Yue Zhuoran’s eyes lit up.
That meant this pale golden hide was likely obtained from within the dead zone. In other words, these people probably ventured deep into the forbidden land and survived. They must have reaped tremendous rewards. So, they might have acquired other treasures as well.
Excellent. A gift from the heavens, if left untaken, would be a crime. These treasures from the forbidden zone were clearly meant to be delivered to me by these low-born individuals. I can't let this opportunity slip by.
“Have Stewardess Wei receive them. Reveal our identity, offer them a fair price, and try to buy all the goods they’re carrying.” Yue Zhuoran had no intention of meeting them in person as he said, “If they don’t know what’s good for them, kill them all and seize the items.”
“Yes,” the white-robed sword cultivator answered and turned to leave.
Yue Zhuoran rose to his feet and entered a quiet chamber beside the hall. The room was protected by a special formation. From within, he could clearly observe the reception hall through the wall. Just then, he saw Li Xiaofei entering the hall, accompanied by Huang Dinggou.
“Please, have a seat.” Stewardess Wei was a graceful, elegant middle-aged beauty. Her charm seemed natural, with every smile and gesture carrying a seductive allure that could easily cause one to lose their composure.
Yet Li Xiaofei’s gaze didn’t linger on her for long. He scanned the room, his eyes instead pausing for a brief but focused moment on the four white-robed female sword cultivators.
Only then did he speak, his tone calm and composed, “Where are my people?”
Stewardess Wei smiled gently and replied, “Please don’t worry, young sir. Your friends are being hosted as guests. Our young master is someone of high status; he would never mistreat a guest.”
“Bring them to see me,” Li Xiaofei said. His tone was light, yet it carried the undeniable force of authority.
The four white-robed sword immortals placed their slender hands on the hilts of their swords.
Yet Stewardess Wei simply smiled, unbothered, and said, “Before you see your friends, there’s a matter of business I’d like to discuss with you.”
“What business?” Li Xiaofei asked.
Stewardess Wei gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile soft and enchanting, like tempered steel wrapped in velvet. “The golden beast hide you brought to be processed... surely that wasn’t the only piece, was it?”
“So what if it wasn’t?” A cold smile tugged at the corner of Li Xiaofei’s lips.
She approached with graceful steps, a delicate fragrance trailing in her wake. “Let’s speak plainly. Our young master is very interested in that golden beast hide and is prepared to offer a generous price to buy more of it. May I ask how much you still possess?”
Li Xiaofei didn’t hesitate and replied, “Not for sale.”
Her expression didn’t change. Her smile remained bright as ever. She said, “There’s no need to reject so hastily. At least hear out my young master’s offer, I’m sure it will be a price beyond your imagination.”
“A sky-high price?” Li Xiaofei burst out laughing and said, “Ha! Don’t make me laugh. That little piece you processed earlier? Even if you sold your young master himself, it wouldn’t be enough to pay for it. I’m not interested in wasting words with you. Return my friends and offer an apology. For the sake of us all being human, I’ll let this slide. Otherwise, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Several sharp and scolding voices rang out in unison. Swords were drawn as a cold, deadly sword light instantly filled the hall. The four white-robed female sword immortals looked furious. Their swords were pointed directly at Li Xiaofei, unleashing a surge of sword qi that filled the room. It seemed they would strike to tear him apart at any moment.
“These are fine swords,” Li Xiaofei said coldly, his eyes flashing with a chilling glint, “but the hands that hold them don’t have the pride worthy of a swordsman if they were willing to serve as slaves... Pathetic.”
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
All four finely forged longswords suddenly slipped free from the women’s hands and floated toward Li Xiaofei. They gently swayed in the air before him, obedient like well-behaved children eager to please.
The female sword cultivators paled in disbelief. They were all disciples of the Jade Glaze Sword Sect, the greatest sword sect in the Xiao Kuang Star Region. Chosen through ruthless selection, they lived by the sword and nurtured their blades with their very lives. They all cultivated the supreme sword technique of their sect, Jade Glaze Peerless Sword Art. They were widely regarded as the most elite sword cultivator group in the entire star domain.
Yet someone had just taken their swords from them without effort.
“Return my sword!” One of the sword cultivators shouted, leaping at him.
Li Xiaofei flicked a finger. This update ıs available on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
A longsword flew backward like lightning, piercing straight through her body and nailing her to the wall of the hall. The scent of blood spread instantly.
Stewardess Wei’s expression changed slightly. She truly hadn’t expected that this young man, who looked neither old nor particularly well-connected, could act so ruthlessly. This was the residential compound of the city’s government, yet he had struck without hesitation or even a word of warning.
“You’ve made a grave mistake,” Stewardess Wei said coldly. “You’ve wounded the sword attendant most beloved by our young master. Even if you were to hand over all the golden beast hides, it would not be enough to redeem yourself... You must die.”
“Hahahaha!” Li Xiaofei burst into laughter, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.