Chapter 65 – Ten Satellite Cities
Based on the Black Scaled Dragon Horse’s speed, Long Chen would take about ten days to travel from Baiyang Town to Yuanling City.
He packed sufficiently for the trip and spent most of the time on the road, not entering cities and towns along the way.
Eight days later, a gigantic city surrounded by tall, majestic walls appeared before him. Long Chen initially thought that he had arrived at Yuanling City, but when he approached, he realized that it was only one of the ten satellite cities surrounding Yuanling City—Yuanyang City.
As he walked through the streets of Yuanyang City, he admired the vast array of goods sold by the merchants and the various passersby who exuded an air of elegance and sophistication. They were obviously cultivators of great cultivation levels. “Yuanyang City’s a hundred times greater than Baiyang Town both in terms of material resources and military might. And this is only one of Yuanling City’s small satellite cities.”
Long Chen had nothing but praise for this place.
When Ling Xi saw this embarrassing behavior, she huffed, “Hey, you country bumpkin, you haven’t seen the world yet! Once you see the Royal Territory, you’ll know what ‘big’ truly means!”
“What’s the Royal Territory?”
“I’m not telling you!”
There was a magnificent hotel in front, one that was a few times better than Baiyang Town’s most famous Sunset Hotel. Long Chen looked at the tall, beautiful building and kept gawking as he entered. Traveling with him is so embarrassing, thought Ling Xi.
What she didn’t think of was that to an outsider, Long Chen looked like he was walking into the hotel alone. Ling Xi was merely a spirit inside an ear stud.
Very soon, a busboy greeted him. The busboy was extremely judgmental, and he only needed one look at Long Chen’s clothes to know that he was some small-town aristocratic teenager.
While he was considered an aristocrat, his status meant nothing in Yuanyang City. The young man had not even brought a servant with him, which made him look even poorer. The busboy’s bent back straightened and his tone hardened. “Sir, are you here for a meal or to stay?”
Everyone in Baiyang Town always greeted Master Chen with a smile, so this was Long Chen’s first encounter with a busboy like this.
However, he deeply understood his current position and was not demanding for top service. Keeping a low profile was the way to go. Therefore, Long Chen was not going to play into his power games and said directly, “Take my horse to the stables. Use top-grade grain! Then bring me a few dishes. It’s late out, I will be staying for the night.”
When the busboy saw Long Chen’s Black Scaled Dragon Horse, he gasped. This man’s cultivation must be decent for a country bumpkin if he can tame a horse like this. I have a stable job in this place and mustn’t ruin it, so it’ll be best if I serve him well!
Then he put on a smile of flattery and instructed the stableboy to take Long Chen’s Black Scaled Dragon Horse away for feeding. Afterwards, he led Long Chen up to a seat on the first floor by the window.
Long Chen looked out of the window and saw the stable boy tying his horse well and preparing to feed it.
That was a gift from Yang Lingqing.
Every time he looked at the horse, he felt a sense of sweetness in his heart. He also gave a few more reminders to the busboy about how they had to treat the horse well. “Don’t worry, Sir. All our stableboys are cultivators with above-average strength. They also have many years of experience with demonic horses. You’ll find that your horse will be much more muscular tomorrow!”
The busboy went downstairs and soon, the rice and dishes arrived. Various types of local delicacies were arranged on his table, but Long Chen kept the busboy. “Is there anything else, Sir?”
Long Chen asked mildly as he ate, “Are you familiar with Yuanyang City? Do you know of any soul-nourishing herbs in the area?”
The busboy froze, then he said, “I grew up in Yuanyang City, but I don’t know much about soul-nourishing herbs. I’m not the right person to ask, Sir.”
Long Chen furrowed his brows.
Within the Ling Xi Sword, Ling Xi felt a gush of warmth when she saw the teenager worried about her again.
“Where do you think I can find herbs like that?”
The busboy thought for a moment. “There aren’t any large spiritual herb markets in Yuanyang City, but I know that Yuanling City’s Dawn Trading Alliance has everything you can dream of. Combat techniques, spiritual medicines, divine weapons, and all sorts of mysterious artifacts. As long as you have money, you can buy anything. As for soul-nourishing herbs, I guess there should be whatever you want there. Of course ...”
The busboy eyed Long Chen from head to toe and emphasized, “Of course, you first need to have enough money. You won’t be able to buy anything at the Dawn Trading Alliance for less than a few dozen divine jades ...”
It was obvious that the man did not think a person from a small town like Long Chen would have much money. “The Dawn Trading Alliance?”
Long Chen was too lazy to deal with a judgmental person like him and sent him away. “I’m going to Yuanling City anyway. I’ll aim to pay the Dawn Trading Alliance a visit. But I only have one divine jade now. As for spirit jades, Grandfather gave me some, but it’s not much ...”
Ling Xi replied gently, which was rare for her, “Hey, why are you so worried? We’ve got about two months left, remember? I’ve lived in this state for a long time, and I have you now.”
Long Chen broke into a grin. “Xiao Xi, why are you saying such romantic things? Do you have feelings for me? Be honest. Are you swooning over my handsome looks, looking for a chance to get with me?”
“Ew! I would never like an ugly fart like you! That’s disgusting!”
While both of them joked around, a group of people on horses stopped in the main street outside the hotel.
Leading the group was an elegant-looking young man clad in luxurious, brocade robes and tall, black, combat boots.
He looked about twenty, but his expression was icy and his gaze was as sharp as lightning. He had the airs of an aristocrat from head to toe.
The busboy that served Long Chen previously quickly went over to greet them, crouching in reverence as he lathered his greetings with flattery. The young master was rude, but the polite smile on the busboy’s face did not waver. “Busboy, take our horses to the stables. Use the best stableboy you have and the best grains too. Also, bring us the best dishes you have for our young master. If you serve us well, you’ll be rewarded generously!”
Next to the young master in luxurious clothing was a butler-type character with a sharp chin and fat cheeks like a monkey’s. The butler gave everyone instructions, then he led the young master into the hotel. That was when the young master’s eyes lit up and he said mildly, “Busboy, bring me to your stables.”
The busboy froze. He didn’t know what the young master wanted. Although it was sort of against the rules, he didn’t have a good reason to decline. On top of that, he could see that the young master was from a powerful background, so he said hurriedly, “Yes, Sir. I will take you to the stables now!”
The group arrived at the hotel’s stables very quickly, which was not far from the bottom of Long Chen’s window.
The young master immediately took a liking to a tall, handsome, black horse that was covered in scales. It was Long Chen’s horse.
His eyes shone when he saw the Black Scaled Dragon Horse and said, “What a lucky day it is! The heavens have been generous to me, Huang Xiang, today! Old Liu, isn’t this the very rare Category Five Yellow-tier Black Scaled Dragon Horse?”
The butler, Old Liu, also eyed the beast in admiration and said, “Indeed, it is! This horse is especially handsome with a pure-black color and very neat scales. It’s the elite of all Black Scaled Dragon Horses! Congratulations, young master, for getting such a good horse here in Yuanyang City!”
All the other servants started giving praises too.
Huang Xiang was overjoyed. He stepped forward, preparing to tame the horse.
The Black Scaled Dragon Horse was currently upset from being surrounded and watched by this many people. Its gaze swept coldly across the crowd, eyes slowly turning blood-red.
“Shh, be a good horse. Fate has brought us together! If you listen to me, I’ll give you the best food!”
Huang Xiang approached the horse in excitement.
The busboy nearby looked extremely conflicted.
He knew that the horse belonged to Long Chen, but Young Master Huang Xiang’s background was obviously more powerful than Long Chen’s. Huang Xiang was the one who should not be offended here. That was why the busboy quickly came to a decision.
He swayed over to Young Master Huang Xiang and said demurely, “Young master, I can see that you like this horse very much, but this horse belongs to one of our guests. Would you like me to talk him into giving it to you?”
Huang Xiang froze and looked upset. “A horse this good already has an owner? A common peasant will only sully a good horse like this. But my father told me to rein myself in a bit out here, so, Old Liu, give that guy two divine jades.”
When the busboy heard about the two divine jades, his eyes sparkled. Now he was sure that this young master was from a powerful family. He was just giving away two divine jades ...
Old Liu obeyed hurriedly, about to follow the busboy off, but Long Chen had already jumped out of the window. He had witnessed the whole commotion from upstairs.
This Huang Xiang guy is only about my age, but he seems more powerful than Grandfather ...
Although he was privately shocked, Long Chen stood tall fearlessly.
He had lived in a small place like Baiyang Town all his life and never explored the world. After meeting Huang Xiang, he finally understood how much he lacked.
When the busboy saw Long Chen, he quickly ran over, trying to send a message with his eyes as he said demurely, “Sir, Young Master Huang over here wants to buy your horse for two divine jades. You must know that the Black Scaled Dragon Horse is only a Category Five demonic beast, and it’s not even worth half a divine jade. But our Young Master Huang ...”
The busboy was speaking as if Long Chen had clearly gotten a very good deal.
Young Master Huang was still looking at the Black Scaled Dragon Horse with admiration and praise. He did not even look at Long Chen. Old Liu’s eyes darted at Long Chen once, then his face turned stony and he fished out two divine jades from his Universe Pouch. He tossed them at Long Chen.
At the same time, Old Liu said, “Leave quickly after you take the divine jades. Once our young master suddenly recalls how a brat like you got to ride such a nice horse before him, he might break your legs.”
He then never looked at Long Chen again.
Ding! Ding! Two pure-white divine jades fell on the ground. Long Chen did not catch them.
The busboy froze, then he muttered to himself in contempt, “Indeed, he’s not at all impressive. He can’t even catch two divine jades.”
When Old Liu heard the divine jades fall, he turned and regarded Long Chen slowly. He saw Long Chen’s mocking glare and froze, then he laughed. “People who can’t read the room usually get tragic endings ... Do you not understand, brat?”
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