Chapter 17 - Return

"Young Master Lu?" Fang Yan mumbled as his eyes were fixed on the dead body lying on the ground.

His mind was trying to remember if he had offended anyone by this name, but after racking his brain for a while, he couldn't recall anyone named Lu.

"Perhaps he saw the wrong person," he murmured as he shook his head and turned to leave.

But his steps came to a halt when he recalled what that person said, 'Young Master Lu fell off the cliff.'

'Who was this Young Master Lu?' He murmured to himself as he made his way to the tavern.

After a while, Fang Yan entered a tavern, his lips pursed, as the smell of alcohol assaulted his nose, and his ears filled with the murmurs of the densely packed crowd.

His brow furrowed as his eyes searched for an empty seat; after an instant, he spotted a single table by the corner and made his way towards it.

Even though he could feel greedy eyes focusing on the pouch strapped to his waist, his expression was carefree as he sat on the seat.

As he sat, his gaze was drawn to the window, where a child on the street was playing with his father. Memories of the old man flashed through his mind, but then his ears picked up on a conversation from a neighboring seat.

"Did you hear about the sect gathering in the Blue Lord empire?" Someone mentioned.

"Yes, I heard they were going to choose the disciples. Many of the continent's well-known sects have gathered in Floating Valley City," another one said.

"I heard they were gathering for the opening of that realm, which opens once every hundred years," a third-person voice reached his ears.

"Speaking of Floating Valley City, I'll never forget the day that the Lu family's wastrel son came here. He was truly a wastrel, spending his father's money to travel in the Phoenix Pavilion's private transport. At the very least, those women should be relieved that he jumped off the mountain." First-person said,

Fang Yan, on the other hand, shuddered when he heard the name, Lu. He had an uncomfortable feeling about that name, but he quickly dismissed it since not everyone could be lucky as him.

However, the news of the sects' gathering quickly piqued his interest. Even though he received the inheritance, he is still in need of resources, and the meeting would be the best opportunity for him. But when he thought of the sect, the name of the Eternal Palace echoed in his mind, and a flame of hatred ignited in his heart. If it hadn't been for someone from the Eternal Palace, his Old Man and Xiao Ying would not have died.

Fang Yan got up from his seat and walked over to the table next to him. When the people seated at that table noticed a young boy approaching, their hearts began to race, as the boy's deep black eyes warned them not to mess with him.

As he approached, Fang Yan tossed a silver coin to a man at the table and said, "Tell me everything about the gathering."

The man caught the coin, his gaze fixed on the young man in front of him, and soon a smile spread across his face as he began narrating the event.

A few minutes had passed since that young man had left the Tavern. Everyone's gaze was drawn to the door when a man in a luxurious black robe entered the tavern. The big straw hat obscured his face, but the most striking feature of him was his silvery-white waist-length hair. After scanning the tavern for a moment, he walked to the empty table. It just so happened that he spotted the same table on which that young man was sitting.

As he sat at the table, he heard a voice in his head, "So, why are you here? If you wanted to eat something, you could have gone to an good restaurant."

"I could have gone, but this is the type of place where we could get every news," he said to the person in his mind as his eyes scanned the tavern.

"Hmmm, so what's your plan now?" he heard the voice once more.

"If I recall correctly, it should be around the time that realm opens, and all the sects will gather in my hometown. I only need to know the exact time." He mumbled as his gaze was drawn to the table beside him.

While flashing the silver coin to his peers, the man at that table was bragging about his knowledge. The young man could even see envy in everyone else's eyes at the table.

"Got it," the young man mumbled as he stood up and walked over to that table.

Once more, the men at the table noticed a man approaching their table for the second time. Unlike the previous Young Man, they could tell that this man was a Young Master because he was dressed in a lavish robe. As he approached the table, they felt a sense of anticipation in their hearts.

But then they noticed the man pull out a gold coin from nowhere and toss it at the table.

When a gold coin appeared, the entire tavern fell silent and that man's voice rang out throughout the tavern.

"If you tell me about the gathering of the sect, the coin is yours." They heard that man's soft voice, but a chill ran through their hearts as they heard it. They even felt a slight suppression in that voice.

Even though they saw the gold coin on the table, no one rushed to take it, as they were afraid of the man in front of them.

However, after a while, the man flashing the silver coin gathered his courage and pocketed the gold coin with a stiff smile on his face.

"You've come to the right man, Young Master. The Gathering is supposed to take place after forty days. It is also said that a centennial event will take place at the Blue lord empire's Floating Valley city."

The man nodded and walked out the door. No one could see the man's face from the moment he walked into the tavern until he left.

However, as soon as he left, the entire tavern was turned upside down as people began discussing the Young Man. Few even looked greedily at the man who took the gold coin.

However, as soon as the man saw the gazes on him, he announced that all the drinks would be on him, and people began celebrating as soon as they heard him.

But not all of them could control their greed, as one middle-aged man stood up and left the Tavern.

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Young Man's mind was echoed with a man's voice as soon as he left the tavern.

"You could keep it low-key. Many people can't control their greed, and they'll start bothering you. Anyway, what's your plan now?"

"If someone wants to bother me, no matter how low-key or high-key I am, they will eventually come, just like the man following me. Anyway, I have to enter that realm, and in order to do so, I must be selected in one sect." A young man murmured as he walked through a quiet alley.

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As he continued to follow the man in the black robe, the man's heart pounded. He had a foreboding feeling about the whole thing, but he didn't want to miss out on the gold. He had the impression that the man in front of him was a regular mortal, but he remained extra cautious as he followed him.

But his heart leaped with joy when he noticed the man walking through the dark alley.

"You dug your own grave," he murmured as he rushed after that man.

However, his steps came to a halt when he noticed the man in front of him had stopped. His heart pounded in his chest, and his mind screamed to get out of here.

His body was stuck to the spot as if some force had tied him to it, and he could not move away from it.

As he saw the man approaching him, he gulped his saliva nervously. He couldn't see the young man's face the entire time because the hat obscured it. But his heart stopped beating when that man lifted his head and his gaze was drawn to the bright red eyes in front of him. But soon darkness enveloped him as he heard the last words of his life.

"A mere Body Forging ant, want to rob me?"