Song Lao San’s body jolted, a flash of azure light enveloping him before he settled back into silence, his voice raspy. "Your sight is indeed sharp, elder me is impressed. However, I am merely a dying ember, barely scraping by in this place to finish out my meager existence. As for the barkeeper or Tian Xuan, I stopped caring about them long ago."

The black-robed figure spoke faintly, "If one only concentrates on brewing good wine, that is certainly commendable. As for anything else, it is better not to dwell on it."

Song Lao San paused, not turning around, and murmured, "Thank you for the guidance."

Jun Mo Xie smiled slightly. "Old Song, fetch me two jars of your wine too. This young master will make an exception today, and squander some good grain." Song Lao San agreed with a nod and left. In his heart, however, he was secretly startled by the audacity of this strange youth. With the cultivation level of that black-robed man, a mere turn of thought could have ended Jun Mo Xie’s life several times over, yet this boy remained so utterly unrestrained.

"You—you aren't drinking my wine?" Now, it was the black-robed man’s turn to look somewhat astonished.

"I never take advantage of others. If I drank your wine, wouldn't I owe you a favor? Of all worldly debts, the debt of gratitude is the hardest to repay," Jun Mo Xie said with a flourish. "Besides, paying silver for my own drink makes it taste all the more satisfying."

"Makes sense."

The black-robed man spoke the words and then fell silent. He picked up his wine bowl, drained it in one go, and wiped his mouth. "The wine is indeed well-brewed, far better than horse milk wine. Though this beef, perhaps slightly overcooked, is still palatable enough."

Just then, the wine Jun Mo Xie ordered was delivered. Jun Mo Xie showed no ceremony, breaking the mud seal and immediately beginning to drink. His speed was barely slower than that of the black-robed man.

Though seated at the same table, the two men paid each other no mind, instead burying their heads in their respective feasts, each competing silently.

The black-robed man drank very slowly, maintaining a consistent, unhurried pace. Even his movements for drinking and eating beef were neither rushed nor sluggish, possessing an innate natural grace, as if entirely organic. Though sitting here drinking, he seemed enveloped in his own small world, entirely separate from the great expanse of the outside. He even appeared to be excluding everyone and everything around him.

After seven or eight bowls, the black-robed man suddenly stumbled upon a realization—a discovery that instantly elevated his impression of the youth before him by several magnitudes.

He observed that while he himself was drinking in solitude, the expression and movements of the youth opposite him conveyed an even deeper form of desolation. He drank because of loneliness, finding enjoyment within it; but the youth before him seemed not to be drinking wine at all—he was savoring loneliness itself, savoring solitude! It was as if the wine bowls facing this young man contained nothing but solitude and bleakness.

His own level, he realized, only reached the stage of alleviating loneliness; yet this youth was already enjoying it! To endure solitude was already broad-minded; what level of understanding did one need to enjoy it?

Whatever level it required was beside the point, but the latter seemed superior to the former, didn't it?!

Who was this mysterious youth?

These two equally lonely figures, though sharing a table and possessing almost identical auras, repelled one another. While Jun Mo Xie could not integrate into the black-robed man's temporal space, it proved monumentally difficult for the black-robed man to enter Jun Mo Xie's atmosphere!

After a long, long while, the black-robed man suddenly recognized that he was subconsciously drawn to watching the youth, yet the youth paid him no mind whatsoever! It was as if he simply did not exist in the young man’s sight.

The black-robed man’s Xuan Qi cultivation had clearly reached an extremely refined, transcendent realm. Naturally, he could see at a glance that the Xuan Qi within the youth was meager, almost pathetically so. For a boy of his age, such cultivation could only be described as extremely average, perhaps even trash! The man could likely blow him away with a single breath!

But how could such a youth cultivate such a state of mind?

Cultivation was easy enough to acquire. Any scion of a major family, provided they diligently trained their clan’s superior Xuan Qi methods from childhood and received guidance from experts to avoid detours, could attain considerable cultivation at a young age. While rare, it wasn't unheard of.

But state of mind was hard to find. Every deeper advancement for a high-level martial artist required a corresponding state of mind to mesh with it—this could never be achieved by mere expert guidance or solitary meditation! Moreover, he was so young—no, this youth might as well have been a beast born from the turning of the ages.

"Young man, you are very special," the black-robed man finally uttered.

"Then do you perhaps believe I have the standing to sit here now?" Jun Mo Xie didn't turn his head, continuing his display of aloofness.

"For your age, possessing only Fourth Grade Xuan Qi, with your meridians severely damaged—which is unusual—your level among Xuan practitioners is merely ordinary. However, simply by drinking in my presence while maintaining a heart as still as a deep well, I suppose sitting with you is not an insult to this old man."

The black-robed man revealed a rare smile. "And you seem even lonelier than I am. How can a rising star of your age harbor such desolation? You truly are interesting!"

Jun Mo Xie coldly raised his eyes to meet the man’s. "Your special quality is that you see me drinking before you, knowing full well I'm using your solitude to savor a loneliness I couldn't find elsewhere. If your solitude is the dish, then my desolation is the wine. It's a pity; a perfectly good dish has now acquired a spoiled taste."

Jun Mo Xie stood up, tossed a silver ingot onto the table, and said, "Interesting people have uninteresting moments. You really shouldn't have spoken first. There are far too many curious people in this world; why did you have to add yourself to the list?" Without looking back, he strode away, leaving a final parting shot: "You've acknowledged my qualification, but I am the one who chose to stand up. Haha..."

The black-robed man froze, suddenly recalling a line Jun Mo Xie had spoken earlier: "...Whether I am worthy or qualified is defined by your standard, but surely it is the same for me? If you have already proven yourself unfit to drink with me, I will naturally stand up!"

The black-clad man’s expression instantly shifted. So, this brat was now implying he was unqualified?!

I, Ying Bo Kong, have roamed the world my entire life. Since gaining fame, no one has dared to act so presumptuously in front of me. Yet now, this youth openly declared me unqualified, and then mocked me to my face before leaving without a second thought.

This sensation was utterly bizarre.

Recalling his own words, Ying Bo Kong let out a wry laugh: It was true that he had been drawn in by the other's aura and had initiated the conversation first. Moreover, the young man’s entire carefully constructed mood seemed to collapse and vanish the very moment he answered the question. If anyone broke the drinking mood, it could arguably be himself.

Good boy! Even if you didn't know who I am and spoke disrespectfully, I will remember you!

Ying Bo Kong had always been haughty, solitary, and coolly self-possessed. He modeled himself after the lone eagle in the sky, the lone wolf on the vast grasslands. No one had ever warranted his attention before. He was always the one looking down on others, living by his own rules, indifferent to everything and everyone else's opinions. Yet, he never expected that one day he would be the one looked down upon!

To be dismissed by a youth who was decades younger and whose Xuan Qi cultivation was separated by a chasm of difference… And the most frustrating part was that after being dismissed, he was left entirely speechless! Thus, this Grandmaster of the grasslands seethed inwardly.

In three days, I'm coming to find trouble with you, brat! Let’s see how you dare say I'm not qualified then! Ying Bo Kong chewed a piece of beef heavily and then burst into laughter.

When was the last time he had laughed so genuinely from the depths of his heart?!

Jun Mo Xie walked down the road, filled with self-satisfaction.

The Great Assassin Jun truly didn't know who that black-robed man was, nor did he particularly care about the identity of Young Master Jun's counterpart!

In truth, the moment Ying Bo Kong entered the tavern, Jun Mo Xie had instantly perceived his extraordinary nature. When he effortlessly called out Song Lao San's cultivation level, Jun Mo Xie solidified this assessment. With the current level of his Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong, Jun Mo Xie couldn't see through Song Lao San directly, meaning this black-robed man was at least at the Divine Profound (Shen Xuan) tier.

Furthermore, Jun Mo Xie felt a familiar, deep sense of solitude radiating from him. When their eyes met, Jun Mo Xie detected a profound calm and arrogance in the man's gaze.

Therefore, Jun Mo Xie concluded that this person was an unparalleled expert drawn by the rumors of the Xuan Dan, but that expert’s true objective might not be the Xuan Dan! Because Jun Mo Xie saw no sign of greedy desire in his eyes. Usually, someone with such power pursuing a goal would exude an aura of inevitability—the very aura Jun Mo Xie possessed himself. Hence, he judged that this man held little interest in the Xuan Dan. His goal was likely something else entirely!

However, such an entity would certainly know the method for using the Ninth Level Apex Xuan Dan!

So, who he was became secondary, perhaps even unimportant. But Young Master Jun had already locked onto him as the target for obtaining the usage method for the Ninth Level Apex Xuan Dan!

That was why Jun Mo Xie went to such lengths to attract his attention. But merely attracting attention wasn't enough. So, from the moment he sat opposite the man, Jun Mo Xie had been meticulously setting a trap: start by being shunned, then draw notice, then earn admiration, then spark curiosity, prompt the man to speak first, and finally, scorn him...

Extraordinary men have extraordinary methods. That's why one must act in opposition. You're arrogant? I'll be more arrogant! You enjoy your solitude? Can you be lonelier than me? In this whole world, I'm the only one who's crossed over from Earth!

Jun Mo Xie suddenly felt his current actions resembled those of the women who ran 'immortal scams' in his previous life... First, seduction, then coquettish hesitation, playing hard to get, followed by a scream for help at the peak moment of tension, and then someone breaking down the door to catch them mid-act and demand ransom... Cough, excuse me...

As of now, Jun Mo Xie's plan was a resounding success. At the very least, Ying Bo Kong still had no idea he had been unwittingly manipulated...

Therefore, the moment Jun Mo Xie stepped out of Song Lao San’s tavern, he was already enthusiastically planning the events for three days hence...