The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

Chapter 277: Chapter 276: Pandemonium

"Sir, this is your Cultivation Room."

A moment later, under Ahong’s guidance, Qin Ya arrived at the thirty-sixth floor of the Heaven-Reaching Tower. There weren’t many Cultivation Rooms on this floor; along the way, Qin Ya had only seen seven, and each one emanated an exceptionally mysterious aura.

These seven Cultivation Rooms were designated Heaven-tier, numbered from one to seven.

Qin Ya’s room was Heaven Three.

"Yes, here are one hundred thousand Primordial Stones. I’ll rent the room for ten days to start."

Qin Ya took out a Storage Ring and offered it to Ahong. To his surprise, she quickly waved her hands and shook her head, her tone a mix of deference and respect. "Sir, you are a distinguished guest of the Worldwide Business Association. You may use this Cultivation Room free of charge."

At that, Qin Ya put away the Primordial Stones. He then asked Ahong, "Who is the Chief of this Heaven-Reaching Tower? Why didn’t I see them earlier?"

’By rights,’ Qin Ya thought, ’someone with a Three-Star VIP Card from the Worldwide Business Association should have at least met the person in charge. Even Steward Liu had been nothing but respectful, so why was the Chief nowhere to be seen?’

"To answer your question, sir, the Tower Master of the Lieyang City Heaven-Reaching Tower is named Lin Liyu. He’s been in seclusion for the past few days, right in the Cultivation Room across from yours." As she spoke, Ahong pointed to the room labeled Heaven One opposite Qin Ya’s.

"Please don’t worry, sir. As soon as the Tower Master comes out of seclusion, we will be sure to inform him of your arrival." Ahong bowed slightly. "If there’s nothing else, I won’t disturb your Cultivation any longer. I’ll take my leave now."

"Alright, you may go."

Qin Ya nodded, then slowly pushed open the doors to the Cultivation Room. With a rumble, the massive stone doors parted, revealing a wide, bright space. The walls were covered in mysterious, profound Runes. In the center of the ceiling hung a huge, translucent Crystal Stone, pulsing with a soft, white light.

The Crystal Stone was about the size of a human head, and the white light it emitted contained a mysterious aura. This energy made Qin Ya’s Divine Thought incredibly active. A peculiar glint appeared in his eyes as he whispered, "A Divine Sea Thought Crystal!"

Divine Sea Thought Crystals are born in the abyssal depths of the sea. They are exceptionally rare treasures that can stimulate the Divine Thought of an Extraordinary Martial Artist, making it more active and smoothing the path to comprehending the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth.

’A Divine Sea Thought Crystal this size can more than triple the efficiency with which an Extraordinary Martial Artist comprehends the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth. Add in the Array in this room... Ten thousand Primordial Stones a day is expensive, but this is definitely worth it.’ Qin Ya walked directly under the Divine Sea Thought Crystal, letting the white light wash over him.

"Let’s begin." Qin Ya took out the Ting Xiao Sword, planting it in the floor before him. He sat down cross-legged and said, "Ting Xiao, don’t hold back."

"Naturally."

As soon as the sword spoke, an endless Cloud Sea of dark thunderheads materialized. Thunder surged, and from within the roiling mist, a Thunder Beast emerged. Its massive body pulsed with lightning as it bared its fangs at Qin Ya.

***

Meanwhile, as Qin Ya began to comprehend the Thunder Mysteries, a commotion erupted across more than half of Lieyang City. Martial Artists from the Shangguan Family were scouring the streets, patrolling and searching.

"Get out of the way! Shangguan Family business! Move it, unless you have a death wish!"

Dozens of Martial Artists stormed into a restaurant, led by a young man in opulent clothes. Tailing the youth was an old man in gray robes.

Seeing the commotion, the patrons didn’t dare linger for a second. They scattered like frightened birds and beasts, clearing out in an instant. After all, this was the Shangguan Family.

Dozens of Martial Artists ran up and down, searching everywhere. Occasionally, gasps and curses could be heard from upstairs, but once they heard it was the Shangguan Family, they immediately went mute.

They didn’t dare utter another word, forced to swallow their fury.

"What in the world is going on?"

"Beats me. Looks like the Shangguan Family is looking for someone, though."

"Who are they looking for that requires such a huge mobilization?"

"Haven’t you heard? It seems a young master of the Shangguan Family got beaten up."

"Gasp! Who’s got the nerve to beat up a young master from the Shangguan Family?"

As the crowd whispered amongst themselves, the expression on the richly-dressed youth’s face grew fouler. Just then, a Martial Artist came downstairs, approached the youth, and reported respectfully, "Third Young Master, we didn’t find the boy here."

Shangguan Lie’s face darkened. "This is the thirty-sixth establishment we’ve checked," he said coldly. "I refuse to believe we can’t find him. Take his portrait and search the streets. Tell the others to keep checking the restaurants, teahouses, and places like them."

"Yes, Young Master."

After they left, the restaurant was in shambles. The owner’s face was a mask of pain, but as angry as he was, he didn’t dare utter a complaint. He could only curse them inwardly, while also offering a few words of silent praise for the person who had beaten up the Shangguan young master.

But then a second thought occurred to him: if not for that person, his restaurant wouldn’t have been wrecked. At this, his anger immediately shifted to the nameless Martial Artist. He cursed, "That damn bastard! Of all the people to pick a fight with, he had to provoke a young master from the Shangguan Family! Now we’re all paying the price! And my poor restaurant..."

Looking at his ravaged restaurant, the owner’s heart ached once more.

The whole of Lieyang City was in an uproar today, all because a young master of the Shangguan Family had been thrashed. After some inquiries, the people found out what had happened at Hai Kou, and they began to gnash their teeth in hatred for the perpetrator.

"Tsk, tsk. To dare strike a young master of the Shangguan Family... that person’s got some serious nerve. Doesn’t everyone know that in Lieyang City, the Shangguan Family calls all the shots?"

"I heard the Martial Artist is quite young, looked to be only sixteen or seventeen. But even two of the Shangguan Family’s retainers couldn’t handle him."

"No way, the Shangguan Family’s retainers are at least in the Sky-Controlling Realm. They couldn’t even handle a single youth? How high must that youth’s Cultivation be?"

"It’s true! One of the retainers had his arm sliced clean off. I was standing right there. I didn’t even see how the boy moved, and the retainer’s arm was just... gone. Good heavens, and the boy only made a single move."

"Those two retainers? They were so scared they ran off on the spot."

The entire city of Lieyang was abuzz with discussion.

「In a grand, magnificent estate in the center of Lieyang City.」

Inside the main hall, the atmosphere was heavy and solemn. Several old men sat quietly. Kneeling below them were two young men: one was the Third Young Master, Shangguan Lie, and the other was the Seventh Young Master, Shangguan Hao.

Shangguan Lie was kneeling on the ground, not saying a word. Beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and from time to time he would glance at the indifferent-looking middle-aged man sitting in the main seat.

This man was none other than Shangguan Lie’s father: Shangguan Bei, Patriarch of the Shangguan Family, a master who had reached the Celestial Human Realm, and one of the acknowledged Overlords of Lieyang City!

"Lie’er, you’ve caused quite a stir these last few days," Shangguan Bei said, taking a sip of tea. His tone was perfectly even, betraying no emotion.

Hearing this, Shangguan Lie shuddered. His eyes darted about before he spoke. "Lie’er has disgraced the Shangguan Family. I await Father’s punishment."

"A trivial matter like this is not enough to tarnish the Shangguan Family’s reputation."

Shangguan Bei set down his teacup. "I am aware of the whole situation," he said coolly. "The one who was assaulted was, after all, a young master of the Shangguan Family. I have already dispatched others to deal with the perpetrator. As for you, you will spend the next few days in the ancestral hall, reflecting on your transgressions."

At his words, Shangguan Lie’s body trembled. Cold sweat poured from his forehead, dripping onto the jade floor tiles. DRIP. DRIP. It was clear he was terrified of the ancestral hall.

"Yes, Father."

"Now, go."