"The Rising Sun Merchant Guild?" Teng Qingshan was slightly startled. He had expected an army belonging to some great clan, but it turned out to be the army of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild. Though Teng Qingshan had only recently arrived on the Duānmù Continent, he knew quite a bit about the widely renowned 'Rising Sun Merchant Guild,' whose assets included the 'Rising Sun Taverns' spread across all thirty-six principal cities. For such a massive mercantile operation, taverns were merely one branch of business. And the incredibly profitable slave trade? The Rising Sun Merchant Guild certainly dabbled in it; in fact, they were a supreme overlord in the slave trade. At least two-tenths to three-tenths of the entire world’s slave trade was controlled by the Rising Sun Merchant Guild. Two or three-tenths might not sound like much, but considering... the numerous clans vying for supremacy over the continent were themselves involved in the slave trade. To compete with these great clans and seize such a significant share spoke volumes about the Guild's formidable power. Although they hadn't conquered lands through war, the Rising Sun Merchant Guild was undeniably one of the preeminent superpowers on the Duānmù Continent.

"Steward Mu!" Teng Qingshan smiled faintly. "I have matters to attend to!" Mu Wan's expression soured, and the surrounding soldiers fixed their gaze upon Teng Qingshan. Mu Wan spoke coldly, "What, are the men of my Rising Sun Merchant Guild to die for nothing?" Teng Qingshan was indeed in the wrong here. On the Duānmù Continent, slaves were mere commodities! If the merchants killed a slave during transport, it had nothing to do with Teng Qingshan. However... the savage youth had killed three of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild's men and wounded several others. Completely indefensible!

"Steward Mu, suggest a resolution," Teng Qingshan stated calmly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Hmph..." Mu Wan was about to speak. Suddenly— The entire ground began to shake violently. The surrounding slaves and soldiers lost their footing, stumbling, as deep fissures ripped open the earth with a grating sound— "Ka~~" "Earthquake!" "It's an earthquake!" Many soldiers cried out in alarm. The world was centered around Jiuzhou, where disasters were rare, but the Duānmù Continent suffered frequent calamities: volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, raging cold fronts, and so on. "Protect Steward Mu!" many shouted, and Mu Wan himself looked somewhat flustered. "Hmm, strange. Why isn't the ground shaking anywhere else?" Teng Qingshan asked, astonished. The great tremor ceased. "Yes, the shaking was confined only to this area spanning a few dozen feet, cracking the ground." "Bizarre." Many soldiers were perplexed. They noticed that the troops elsewhere remained orderly, but where they stood, tents had collapsed, torches had fallen, and chaos reigned. "Steward Mu, perhaps you should name a figure?" Teng Qingshan looked at Mu Wan with a smile. Mu Wan looked back at Teng Qingshan. Teng Qingshan's eyes, coupled with his previous display, made Mu Wan instantly grasp the reason for the 'false earthquake.' A terrifying wave of shock washed over him: It must have been him just now. This Teng Qingshan managed to cause a massive tremor without anyone noticing! He is definitely a Xiantian expert, definitely a Martial Saint!

"Impressive skill!" Beside Mu Wan, the large man carrying a colossal broadsword, who had remained silent, gazed at Teng Qingshan and spoke. Being stared at by that man felt akin to being scrutinized by an ancient behemoth. "You are also quite capable," Teng Qingshan glanced at the broadsword-bearing man with a smile, then turned back to Mu Wan. "Steward Mu?" Mu Wan glanced at the large man beside him and chuckled faintly, "It seems Mr. Teng and Mr. Fu are friends. Since that is the case, let’s settle this... For the three soldiers who died, compensate us with three thousand silver taels. Accounting for the wounded, make it five thousand silver taels in total." Five thousand silver taels seemed like a substantial sum, yet... Killing three ordinary foot soldiers was a minor matter; the prestige of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild was paramount! Settling for five thousand taels was Mu Wan’s concession, realizing that Teng Qingshan was a Martial Saint expert. This was why he yielded.

"Agreed," Teng Qingshan turned toward the main road and called out loudly, "Old Wang, bring forty taels of gold." "Yes." The coachman, Old Wang, answered loudly from the road, and Li Jun, who had been watching intently through the carriage window, immediately produced forty taels of gold from her bag and handed them to Old Wang outside. While the exchange rate between gold and silver used to be one gold tael to one hundred silver taels during the era of the Thunder Blade Celestial God 'Duānmù Yu,' people on the Duānmù Continent held a profound affinity for gold. Major clans typically hoarded gold as their foundational wealth. This scarcity drove down the circulating supply of gold. Currently, the generally accepted rate was one gold tael exchanging for one hundred and twenty-six silver taels, and in some regions, it could fetch up to one hundred and thirty silver taels!

"Master, forty taels of gold," Old Wang said, holding two large gold bars. Each bar weighed two catties (about 1 kg). "Steward Mu," Teng Qingshan handed over the two gold bars. "Very well, the matter is settled," Mu Wan said, accepting the gold bars, though a thought flickered in his mind: Gold bars weighing two catties each. Such large bars must have been cast and stored by some great family. Just what is this Teng Qingshan’s background? Let alone two-catties bars, in that chest of gold Teng Qingshan possessed, there were even larger gold bricks! Their weight was even greater! That was the gold the Liu Family of Black Iron River had intended to use for their resurgence.

"Since the matter is concluded, I will not impose further," Teng Qingshan said with a smile, then grasped the savage youth and walked out. The savage youth was utterly incapable of resisting Teng Qingshan, but he still twisted his head to glare at Steward Mu. Although the youth’s intelligence was low, the fundamental rules of the wild were clear to him... that old man among the slave-escorting army was clearly a person of high standing.

"Teng Qingshan, wait a moment," a gruff voice called out—it was the large man bearing the giant broadsword, his eyes gleaming with intense interest. "Mr. Fu," Mu Wan interjected, "We haven't finished discussing our matter!" He was well aware of the temperament of this Martial Saint, Mr. Fu; whenever he encountered a formidable expert, he would inevitably issue a challenge! Mr. Fu hesitated, watching Teng Qingshan board the carriage. He mused, He is heading toward South Mountain City. The carriage won't be fast; I should catch up later. "Steward Mu, let's retire to the main tent to continue our discussion." ...

The sky had completely darkened. Over twenty li from where the Rising Sun Merchant Guild’s army had camped, Teng Qingshan and his party stopped to rest. "A’Shou, don't cause trouble again," Xiao Ping handed the savage youth a roasted lamb leg. "It’s fortunate that the Merchant Guild steward respected the Master’s strength. Otherwise, the Rising Sun Merchant Guild wouldn't have let this go so easily," Old Wang chuckled. Despite his missing eye, he looked quite kind when he smiled. Teng Qingshan frowned, gazing back down the main road, "Someone is coming!" Li Jun and the others turned to look. The Gale Eagle, perched atop the carriage roof, also turned its gaze southward. Da! Da! Da! The sound of urgent hoofbeats echoed as a figure sped toward them atop a single-horned War Maned Beast.

"Brother Teng!" The figure leaped down from the War Maned Beast. "It's you?" Teng Qingshan looked at the newcomer. "Hoo-hoo~~" The savage youth stared at the person, his eyes flashing with predatory light. The youth remembered clearly... the old leader in the army had shown extreme deference to the broadsword-bearing man. In the savage youth's estimation— This large man must hold a position higher than the old man in that military contingent!

"Mr. Fu?" Teng Qingshan smiled faintly. "Mr. Fu honoring me with a visit, may I ask the purpose?" "Brother Teng, I am Fu Dao!" the disheveled man, whose gaze was as sharp as lightning, boomed. "Just now, Brother Teng caused a hundred-foot area of earth to tremble and crack without apparent effort. If I have guessed correctly... Brother Teng is at least a Xiantian Core Formation expert, perhaps even Xiantian Golden Core! I, Fu Dao, travel the world, and what I love most is sparring with the strong. I wonder if Brother Teng would honor me with a fight?" Teng Qingshan glanced over at Li Jun beside him. At this stage, Teng Qingshan held little regard for Xiantian experts; he was currently focused on his arduous cultivation toward the Void Realm!

"Fu Dao!" Old Wang exclaimed beside him, "Are you the Thunder Blade Martial Saint 'Fu Dao'?" "Thunder Blade Martial Saint?" Teng Qingshan looked at Old Wang, who immediately explained: "Master, there are several Martial Saint experts in this world, though their renown varies. This Mr. Fu Dao practices the lineage of the former Thunder Blade Celestial God and is revered as the Thunder Blade Martial Saint. He is definitively a Xiantian Golden Core level expert, held in high esteem by all factions across the continent." Teng Qingshan smiled. Xiantian Golden Core? That made sense. The entire Duānmù Continent held only two to three hundred million people, roughly equivalent to one province in Jiuzhou. There were likely fewer than ten Xiantian Golden Core experts. Any single Xiantian Golden Core expert was a figure significant enough to shake the Duānmù Continent. What Teng Qingshan didn't realize was that heaven was fair; in exchange for the frequent disasters, the Duānmù Continent also received certain blessings. Possessing the two supreme experts, Great Yu and Duānmù Yu, meant this continent was far from as simple as he perceived.

"You want to fight me?" Teng Qingshan looked at him. "Yes," Fu Dao met Teng Qingshan's gaze. "Come then, quickly," Teng Qingshan picked up the Samsara Spear beside him and walked to an open space on the left, saying casually. He felt no excitement whatsoever about fighting a Xiantian Golden Core expert. Fu Dao frowned slightly. He felt this man seemed overly arrogant.

"Be careful," Fu Dao warned with a low shout. "Clang!" In the eyes of Old Wang and Li Jun watching nearby, a streak of azure lightning shot out from the scabbard behind Fu Dao’s back. Immediately, Fu Dao’s entire figure blurred, and a bolt of azure lightning shot directly toward Teng Qingshan. Wherever it passed, the earth was instantly vaporized into nothingness. Subtle sounds of thunder seemed to resonate between heaven and earth.

"Fine sword skill!" A loud voice rang out. "Clang!" A sharp sound. Fu Dao was sent reeling back over ten steps, his face flushed, and a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. He stared at Teng Qingshan in terror. He looked down at himself; the skin on his right palm was completely torn open by the impact. "How is this possible? One move, just one move?" Fu Dao recalled the moment just passed, unable to believe it, but in the next instant, a brilliant spark ignited in Fu Dao’s eyes, and a look of wild ecstasy crossed his face. "I see now, I see now!" Immediately, Fu Dao executed a deep bow, as if a disciple were paying respects to a master: "Thank you for the guidance, Sir!" "If you can comprehend it, that is due to your own understanding; there is no need to thank me," Teng Qingshan waved his hand dismissively and walked toward Li Jun, Old Wang, and the others. Then, Teng Qingshan suddenly looked toward the savage youth with surprise.