As Zong Shou left Xuan Shan City, his entourage had swelled by more than a thousandfold—not just an additional thousand Xuanjia Wind Dragon Riders, but also fifty more Fanyun Wagons.

Forty-five of these were for the provisions of the riders, as well as their arrows, spare armor, and personal effects. These were also dragged by Wind-Winged Dragon Beasts, moving at incredible speed. Naturally, their decoration and comfort level were far inferior to Zong Shou’s carriage; they were simple transport vehicles, costing ten times less to build.

There were five remaining wagons for Zong Shou himself. Only one carried wine; the other four were filled with books.

Xuan Shan City possessed its own library, mostly filled with secret manuals of martial arts and spirit techniques, some of which had vanished in later eras. Zong Shou regarded them as treasures, specifically asking several Spirit Masters to use magic to make rubbings and take them along. In his free time after cultivation, he would take one out for a read.

Most were rather rudimentary martial and spirit arts, yet they could not be underestimated. Each contained some striking points that provided Zong Shou with great inspiration.

Beyond that were Xuan Yuan Tong’s own forces: a full three thousand Xuanjia Knights, accompanied by nearly two hundred Fanyun Wagons.

His father-in-law, though possessing no great ambition himself, was a man of wisdom and decisive action. After only a slight suggestion from Zong Shou, he unhesitatingly ordered the extraction of the majority of Xuan Shan City’s stored Beast Crystals and handed them over to Zong Shou to take.

About thirty li outside the city gates, Hu Zhong Yuan let out another whistle that carried for several li. In moments, another contingent of riders flew toward them swiftly.

They too rode Wind-Winged Dragon Beasts and brought a hundred Fanyun Wagons. There were only about five hundred men, each man powerfully built, all members of the Iron Tiger Clan.

By now, Zong Shou knew the elite troops of Qian Tian Mountain like the back of his hand. He recognized these as the Iron Tiger Great Halberdiers of the Iron Tiger Clan, numbering three thousand. However, they were not mounted knights but heavy infantry, usually riding warhorses but capable of galloping a thousand li day and night. Once they formed a battle array on foot, clad in three layers of heavy armor and wielding great halberds, they were virtually a steel wall equipped with a pulverizer.

Even Xuan Wei Ran’s Black Fox Iron Cavalry would hesitate to charge head-on against three thousand armored soldiers.

Those hundred Fanyun Wagons carried countless sets of Talisman Armor and Modao (Great Sabers) forged from refined steel.

If battle erupted, they could be equipped instantly.

Seeing this group of Iron Tiger Modaoshi, Tan Tao’s expression immediately turned ashen. These men had hidden themselves here silently; it seemed Hu Qian Qiu had mostly prepared defenses against Xuan Shan City. However, there was no point in saying much now.

With several thousand men amassed, the procession advanced like a thunderous torrent. Traveling day and night, they reached the location of Jie Fu City just one day later.

This city’s name contained the character Fu (floating), and it genuinely floated in the air. It had actually been reconstructed from the remains of a massive ship from the Cloud Wasteland era. Spanning over twenty thousand zhang in circumference, it hovered approximately three hundred zhang above the ground.

Zong Shou had never visited this location in the game, but he had seen the ruins of this city in reality. He glanced upward but paid it little heed. Chu Xue, however, was quite astonished; she had never seen such a floating city before.

The Sea of Clouds possessed a magnetic levitation force, so a vessel only needed to have the appropriate Spirit Formations inscribed upon it to float. But for this colossal structure to hang above the Cloud Continent required the skill of those hidden sects.

At this moment, what Zong Shou and Hu Zhong Yuan were more concerned about were the few contingents of troops gathered nearby.

“Two thousand Mad Bear Warriors of the Flame Bear Clan. Two thousand Tiger Leopard Cavalry from Cloud Scar Mountain. Heh heh! It seems the heirs of both Cloud Scar Mountain and Blazing Flame Mountain have arrived?”

Hu Zhong Yuan squinted, a cold glint flashing in his eyes—especially when his gaze swept over the Mad Bear Warriors, his killing intent surging. The Flame Bear clansmen opposite also glared back fiercely.

The Iron Tiger Great Halberdiers and these Mad Bear Warriors were both infantry. Over the past ten years, they had clashed countless times, naturally accumulating deep enmity.

In truth, there were more than just these two units present. There were nearly ten thousand armored soldiers in total, and one could even spot members of the Celestial Fox Clan.

But the most notable were still the top elites from Cloud Scar Mountain and Blazing Flame Mountain!

Jie Fu City was jointly managed by several major hidden sects on the Eastern Lin Cloud Continent. Although Hu Zhong Yuan harbored thoughts of swallowing them whole by leveraging the power of Xuan Shan City, he dared not act presumptuously here. He could only snort coldly, suppressing his murderous intent.

With so many people present, it was impossible for all of them to ascend to Jie Fu City. Only Zong Shou and a few others boarded the floating city using a shuttle vessel.

As soon as they stepped inside, Hu Zhong Yuan laughed heartily, “Feng Yu of Cloud Scar Mountain, Xiong Kui of Blazing Flame Mountain—these two have truly come!”

Zong Shou followed his gaze and saw groups of people standing solemnly on either side of the wooden corridor. The person on the left, lean and sharp, was a member of the royal Wind Leopard Clan from Cloud Scar Mountain; most of that tribe had this physique. This must be Feng Yu of Cloud Scar Mountain. Over near him stood a hulking brute, almost four times his size, surely the heir of Blazing Flame Mountain, Xiong Kui. The latter was observing them with relaxed amusement. The former, however, regarded them with icy eyes, scanning those around Zong Shou. Upon seeing Tan Tao, his brow furrowed slightly, and he was about to turn away.

But then he stopped, his gaze locking onto Zong Yuan, and he let out a cold laugh: “To think you actually broke through to the Martial Ancestor realm. What luck. I thought you’d remain at the peak of Innate stage your entire life.”

Hearing this, Zong Shou felt an immense sense of gratification. For the first time, he wasn't the target of mockery—a rare occurrence indeed.

Zong Yuan’s face instantly turned pale.

“You got lucky last time and managed to escape. I heard you nursed your injuries for several months afterward; I wonder if they’ve fully healed? Heh, on the battlefield next time, you won't have such good fortune. I’ll take your head; my chamber is in need of a new chamber pot. Even if you kneel and beg for mercy like last time, it will be useless.”

After saying this, Feng Yu suddenly seemed contemplative: “I heard that a few days ago, you accompanied your Young Lord in causing quite a ruckus in Xuan Shan City? Does this mean you’ve changed allegiance now? I used to think you weren't very capable, but at least you possessed some intelligence. Now it seems you’re just an idiot. The youngest genius of the Celestial Fox Clan, heh heh…”

With that, he shot a cold, lingering look of malice at Zong Shou before sweeping his sleeve and departing.

Once Feng Yu left, Xiong Kui also smiled at Zong Yuan: “I really didn’t expect you to actually kneel in that fight? I’m not as twisted as Feng Yu. If you were to kneel and beg me for mercy, I might spare your life!”

Zong Shou was even more surprised. Kneel and beg for mercy? What was that all about? He glanced at Hu Zhong Yuan beside him, who immediately understood and whispered an explanation in his ear: “They are old rivals. The three are nearly the same age and rose as geniuses simultaneously. They’ve crossed swords several times on the battlefield and are known as the three rising heroes of the demonic races in the western part of our Cloud Continent. Before the Innate stage, they were always evenly matched. After reaching Innate, Zong Yuan fell behind. In a battle two years ago, Feng Yu defeated Zong Yuan with a great sword, forcing him to his knees, unable to rise. Although he didn't beg for mercy, if the Lord hadn't taken pity and sent someone to rescue him, he would surely be dead by now. Because of this incident, his reputation plummeted, allowing Zong Shi to rise up and take his place…”

Zong Shou murmured an ‘Oh,’ thinking about this history of grudges between the three. No wonder there were so many openings in Zong Yuan’s spear intent.

Though Hu Zhong Yuan’s voice was low, Zong Yuan standing nearby could still hear some of it. His body was already trembling slightly, apparently overcome with rage. Now his face was crimson, bloodshot veins visible in his eyes, his fists clenched tightly. He felt an inexpressible shame, wishing he could draw his spear right then and fight those two fiercely once more.

Suddenly, he felt another gaze upon him from nearby, staring coldly. Zong Yuan immediately arched his eyebrows and looked back. Across the way stood a person who also possessed a pair of Celestial Fox ears, his face agonizingly familiar.

However, in the eyes that should have been warm and gentle, there was now only cold hatred.

Zong Yuan felt a thud in his chest, his heart sinking to the bottom, plunged into icy water, growing utterly cold.

Zong Shou, however, cared little for his mood and proceeded directly to find a branch of the Three Continents Money House within the city.

The so-called Three Continents Money House was also established by hidden sects. It was somewhat related to Lei Dong; the backing of this bank was several sects under the Sword Sect banner, including the Five Absolutes Manor. Since its business was limited to the Central, Eastern Lin, and Southern Wind three continents, it was named the Three Continents Money House.

Only here, where his bloodline was verified and their strength sufficient, could he deposit his vast fortune without being targeted and robbed by covetous eyes. The security measures of this bank were so tight that even if Zong Shou were kidnapped or killed, not a single spirit stone could be retrieved.

Thus, along the journey, no one had dared target this wealth.

And when Zong Shou finally obtained the complete inventory list of all the assets left by Zong Wei Ran, he couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

There were indeed few Beast Crystals and Spirit Stones here—only about ten thousand Third or Fourth-Tier Beast Crystals and Spirit Stones, similar to the amount Yin Yang had reported.

However, this was likely just Zong Wei Ran’s pocket money for him.

The most eye-catching items on the list were the very first line: a full fifty-seven Seventh-Tier Beast Crystals, forty Seventh-Tier Soul Stones, and nineteen Sixth-Tier Spirit Stones!

In addition, there were over twenty Spirit Artifacts, all above Fifth-Tier, along with spirit weapons and armor valued accordingly!

There were also over a hundred bottles of elixirs. But Zong Wei Ran likely hadn't expected him to practice martial arts, so the elixirs left behind were all needed by Spirit Masters—covering everything from the Spirit Nurturing realm up to the Day Roaming stage.

“Damn it! Young Lord, I must be seeing things! Fifty-seven Seventh-Tier Beast Crystals, forty Seventh-Tier Soul Stones—that’s how many times more than what we get? Isn't this several times higher than Qian Tian Mountain’s annual income?”

Hu Zhong Yuan, watching from the side, looked faint-eyed: “I feel dizzy, I can’t take it. How can the Monarch be this wealthy?”

Zong Yuan’s eyes also widened sharply. If he hadn't known for certain that these things wouldn't fall into his hands, and that he was no match for Zong Shou, he would have the urge to murder and seize the treasures right now.

Zong Shou forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, hiding his trembling hands in his sleeves. Then he gave Hu Zhong Yuan a look of disdain; this fellow truly lacked composure. Seeing this much money and making such a fuss—he had no bearing of a true master at all. (To be continued)

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