Chapter Fifty-Nine: Tidying Up and Showing Respect

Message after message came through the conversations, and only then did Zhou Changwang gain a rough understanding of the situation outside.

It wasn’t long before a group of market guards clad in regulation robes approached from the distance. Among them, a middle-aged cultivator with a ruddy complexion called out loudly, “Inside and outside the market, everything remains as usual and is still managed by the Bai family. Everyone is free to go out and transact. No matter if your house is inside or outside, if it has been damaged, you may report it at the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall. Arrangements will be made for repairs in due course. Our Bai family’s patriarch is kind-hearted and cannot bear to see you spend too much, so all repair costs will be charged at half price. Furthermore, the Bai family solemnly announces that fighting is strictly forbidden within and outside the market; violators will be executed on the spot…”

After these words, the guards dispersed and began visiting each household to register and verify. Their primary purpose was to confirm whether the owners were still alive, whether anyone was residing there, and to record the number of occupants.

Only after the group moved on did Zhou Changwang truly relax.

It was over.

The chaos had truly ended.

The market had not changed hands; the Bai family was still in power.

For those like him—wandering cultivators at the bottom—this was actually good news. It meant stability. If another battle of this scale broke out, he could not be sure he would be as lucky, or as safe, again.

“As for repairing the house…”

Zhou Changwang glanced at the courtyard he rented. The main gate had been blasted open by an ice arrow the night before; though he had patched it with planks, the protective formation of the house was destroyed.

A broken formation needed to be set up anew. The market rate was ten lower-grade spirit stones; even if the Bai family covered half, it would still cost five—almost two months’ rent.

So greedy, truly greedy.

Shouldn’t the market bear the full cost? They called it a half-subsidy, but in reality, the burden was still on them.

“Move. I must move. I’ll go directly to the inner city. After this chaos, there should be plenty of vacancies inside the market, shouldn’t there?” Zhou Changwang made up his mind quickly.

He could not stay on the outskirts of the market any longer. Not only was the spiritual energy environment poor, but it was also perilous. Not to mention anything else, just the presence of that marauder living next to Qian Xiaoyue was enough to keep him on edge.

Now that the warning formation was gone, he truly feared that man might sneak into his room in the dead of night and attack him.

Afterward, he returned to his own quarters.

That night, Zhou Changwang resumed his usual cultivation routine. He had already mastered Fireball and Metal Finger, and further progress would be difficult in the short term. Those techniques, at such a level, were sufficient for now, so he focused his energy on several newly acquired spells.

Of these, Body Protection, Light Step, and Breath Concealment could each last for a while after casting, so he devoted more time to practicing Derivation and Sword Control.

Derivation had proven invaluable in last night’s melee. As for Sword Control, though he hadn’t had the chance to use it, he knew well it was his main means of attack.

For a low-level cultivator, having a magic weapon was one thing; being able to control it with spells made all the difference.

If he wished to wield a flying sword as freely as a fourth-level cultivator with spiritual sense, he needed to master Sword Control as soon as possible.

Of course, practicing so many spells at once depleted his energy quickly. After just half an hour, he had to stop—either to meditate and restore his strength, or to take out his talisman pen and paper to practice making charms.

The next morning, Zhou Changwang headed out.

The air still carried the faint tang of blood.

Fortunately, the corpses that had littered the streets had been cleared away. Any missed here or there could be ignored if one simply looked away.

Soon, he reached the inner city of the market.

Compared to its former prosperity, the place was now clearly desolate. There were fewer people on the streets, and when eyes met, it was with caution and vigilance.

One night of chaos, and so many had died.

Not only in the outskirts, but in the inner city as well. Back then, countless wandering cultivators had charged into the inner city, looting shops and residents alike…

But when he reached the wandering cultivators’ market, the bustle and clamor made him almost doubt that the previous night’s events had ever happened.

In fact, the trading was even more fervent.

Every stall was piled high with goods—jade slips, talismans, spirit pills, magic weapons—some of which still bore irremovable bloodstains.

Most of these were spoils from last night’s robberies.

Each stall owner shouted themselves hoarse, hawking their wares. Prices were far lower than usual; one magic weapon was offered for as little as 150 lower-grade spirit stones, and even Zhou Changwang found himself tempted.

Plenty of others felt the same, and the item was quickly snapped up by a burly, bearded cultivator.

Zhou Changwang continued to browse and soon spotted Chen Yushu’s stall.

As always, it was piled with spiritual rice of all grades. Yet what truly caught Zhou Changwang’s eye was a patch of leather beside the rice, on which various items were displayed: magic weapons, talismans, spirit pills, jade slips, even incense sticks…

“Elder Chen, what’s the price on spiritual rice these days?” Zhou Changwang greeted him.

“Eleven catties for one lower-grade spirit stone. The autumn harvest is over, so the price has gone up again. But I’ll still give you a little extra, just like before.”

Seeing Zhou Changwang, Chen Yushu was surprised but responded naturally.

“Then I’ll take three lower-grade spirit stones’ worth,” Zhou Changwang said, handing them over. He’d lost all his spiritual rice to theft; he had no choice but to buy more. Then, feigning curiosity, he glanced at the items on the leather and asked, “Elder Chen, these…”

“Last night, a few short-sighted marauders thought they could rob me, so I taught them a lesson. These are their offerings to me. I’ve no use for them, so I’m putting them up for sale—just something convenient to do,” Chen Yushu replied lightly.

Zhou Changwang, however, did not feel at ease. He could clearly see that among those items were three powerful magic weapons—obviously of medium grade.

Only mid-level cultivators at the fourth stage or higher could wield such artifacts.

By “taught them a lesson,” Chen Yushu clearly meant he had killed them.

As for “offerings,” these were, of course, spoils of war.

He had always known Chen Yushu’s cultivation was high—already at the sixth stage of Qi Refining—but to have dispatched at least three cultivators of the same level showed that, though he was a spiritual planter, his combat prowess was anything but ordinary.