From the fake emperor to the concubine

The waiter hesitated for a moment, then said, "Please wait a moment, sir, while I go and inform him."

He turned and left, but returned shortly after, followed by a burly man dressed in coarse cloth.

The burly man was about fifty years old, with a robust build and dark skin, clearly someone who worked as a blacksmith year-round. His eyes were sharp and piercing as he sized Zheng Yi up, seemingly assessing his identity.

"So you're the one who wants me to refine weapons?" the burly man asked, his voice booming like a bell.

“Indeed,” Zheng Yi said, cupping his hands in greeting. “I have long admired Master Tie’s name and have come to pay him a visit today.”

"Hmph, I've heard so much about you?" Tie Wushuang sneered. "Many people come to me for weapon forging, and they all say they've heard so much about me. But very few of them actually have good materials."

“Master Tie will definitely be interested in my materials,” Zheng Yi said.

"Really?" Tie Wushuang raised an eyebrow. "Then let me see what good stuff you have."

Zheng Yi took out the Xuan Tian Mo Yu from his pocket and handed it to Tie Wushuang.

Tie Wushuang took the black jade, glanced at it, and his expression changed.

"This...this is Xuan Tian Mo Yu?" he exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with surprise and greed.

"Master Tie has a good eye," Zheng Yi nodded.

Tie Wushuang examined the piece of black jade closely, becoming more and more shocked the more he looked at it.

"This piece of black jade is of exceptional quality, at least top-grade," he murmured. "Using it to refine spatial magical artifacts could reach the level of high-grade spiritual artifacts, and might even break through to the level of magical treasures."

He raised his head and looked at Zheng Yi, his eyes burning even more intensely.

"Where did you get this piece of black jade?" he asked.

"I bought it at the auction at Tianbao Pavilion yesterday," Zheng Yi said truthfully.

"So it was you!" Tie Wushuang exclaimed in realization. "I heard that someone spent five million spirit stones to buy a piece of Xuan Tian Mo Yu at yesterday's auction. It was you."

"Master Tie is very well-informed," Zheng Yi said with a slight smile.

"Hmph, there's nothing I don't know about the weapon-refining business in Tianyuan City," Tie Wushuang said smugly.

He looked down at the black jade in his hand again, as if making a decision.

“Alright, I agree to help you refine it,” he finally said.

Zheng Yi's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Master Tie."

"Don't thank me yet," Tie Wushuang waved his hand. "I have a few conditions."

"Please speak, Master Tie."

"First, crafting spatial magical artifacts requires a large amount of auxiliary materials, which you will need to provide yourself," Tie Wushuang said. "Second, the crafting process may take a long time, ranging from one to three months; you'll need patience. Third, the crafting fee is one million spirit stones, and there's no room for negotiation."

“No problem,” Zheng Yi said without hesitation. “I agree to all of Master Tie’s conditions. But I have one request.”

"What are the requirements?"

"I need a storage-type spatial artifact," Zheng Yi said. "The larger the capacity, the better; it should be able to hold at least a small mountain."

Tie Wushuang frowned. "A small mountain? That's a bit difficult. But with the quality of this piece of black jade, it should be achievable."

He thought for a moment, then said, "How about this, you prepare the supporting materials first and send them to me. After I review the materials, I'll give you a definite answer."

"Okay." Zheng Yi nodded. "What supplementary materials do you need?"

Tie Wushuang took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Zheng Yi.

"This is a list of auxiliary materials needed to refine spatial magical artifacts," he said. "The materials on this list are not difficult to find; they should all be available at the material shops in Tianyuan City."

Zheng Yi took the list and glanced at it.

The list contained more than a dozen materials, some of which he recognized, and some he didn't. But they didn't seem to be anything particularly rare, and shouldn't be difficult to buy.

"Thank you very much, Master Tie." He carefully put away the list. "I'll prepare the materials as soon as possible and deliver them to Master Tie."

"Okay." Tie Wushuang nodded. "I'll wait for your news."

Zheng Yi bid farewell and left Bailianfang, then proceeded to purchase materials from various shops in Tianyuan City according to the list.

He spent most of the day finally buying all the materials on the list. These materials cost him about 500,000 spirit stones, plus Tie Wushuang's refining cost of 1 million spirit stones, for a total of 1.5 million spirit stones.

"The money's gone fast," Zheng Yi thought to himself. "The auction cost six million, materials another five hundred thousand, and the refining fee is another million. Twenty-five million spirit stones gone in a flash, seven and a half million gone."

However, he wasn't bothered by the expense. As long as he could craft a good spatial artifact, the money would be well spent.

After purchasing the materials, Zheng Yi delivered them to the Hundred Refinements Workshop and handed them over to Tie Wushuang.

Tie Wushuang inspected the materials and nodded. "The materials are fine. Come back in a month to pick up the artifact."

"Thank you, Master Tie." Zheng Yi paid the refining fee of one million spirit stones, then took his leave.

As evening fell, Zheng Yi returned to his residence.

Everyone was waiting for him in the courtyard.

"Master, you're back." Zheng Bowen greeted him. "How was your trip today?"

"Things went fairly smoothly," Zheng Yi said. "I found a weapon refiner and asked him to forge a spatial magic artifact for me. I should be able to receive it in a month."

“That’s great!” Zheng Bowen said happily.

"However, we encountered a little trouble today," Zheng Yi continued.

"What trouble?" Su Wanqing asked.

"Han Feiyang sent people to cause me trouble," Zheng Yi said. "Five assassins at the Nascent Soul stage ambushed me on the street."

"What?" everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"Master, are you alright?" Zheng Bowen asked anxiously.

"What could possibly happen to me?" Zheng Yi smiled. "Those five people were too weak; I took them all down in one move."

Everyone was relieved.

"That Han Feiyang is really persistent," Xiao Tianxing said angrily. "Patriarch, should we go and teach him a lesson?"

"No need," Zheng Yi shook his head. "We shouldn't clash with the Han family for now. The Han family is one of the nine great families, with immense power; they're not someone we can afford to offend right now."

"What if Han Feiyang continues to cause us trouble?" Zheng Bowen asked.

"If he causes trouble again, I'll just fight back," Zheng Yi said calmly. "But I believe he's learned his lesson well enough today. He shouldn't dare to act rashly again."

Everyone nodded, agreeing that Zheng Yi's words made sense.

At this moment, Su Wanqing suddenly spoke up: "Patriarch, there's something I'd like to tell you."

"What's wrong?" Zheng Yi looked at her. "While I was cultivating today, I felt something unusual about the spiritual energy within my body," Su Wanqing said. "The Heavenly Fire Token seems to be forming some kind of connection with me, making my cultivation speed much faster."

"The Heavenly Fire Token?" Zheng Yi frowned.

Su Wanqing nodded and took out the fiery red token from her bosom.

“Look,” she said, handing the token to Zheng Yi, “this token is brighter than before.”

Zheng Yi took the token and examined it carefully.

Sure enough, the token was brighter than it had been yesterday, and the heat it emitted was much stronger, as if something inside was awakening.

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Su Wanqing asked worriedly.

Zheng Yi pondered for a moment, "It should be a good thing. Since the Heavenly Fire Token is a family heirloom of the Su family, it shouldn't harm you. The fact that it has formed a connection with you means it's recognizing you as its master."

"Recognize a master?" Su Wanqing was taken aback.

“That’s right,” Zheng Yi nodded. “Many ancient relics have the habit of recognizing their owners. Once they successfully recognize their owner, they will only obey the owner’s commands and cannot be taken away by others. The Heavenly Fire Token chose you, which means you are destined to have it.”

After listening, a complex expression flashed in Su Wanqing's eyes.

"If the Heavenly Fire Token successfully recognizes its master, will the Han family be even less likely to let me go?" she asked.

"Perhaps," Zheng Yi said, "but you don't need to worry. With me here, the Han family won't be able to harm you."

Looking into Zheng Yi's determined eyes, Su Wanqing felt a surge of warmth in her heart.

“Thank you, patriarch,” she said softly.

Zheng Yi waved his hand, "Alright, everyone go and rest. We'll continue cultivating tomorrow."

Everyone nodded in agreement and went back to their rooms.

Zheng Yi returned to his room, sat on the bed, and pondered the events of the day.

Han Feiyang sending people to cause trouble shows he's not giving up. Although he was taught a lesson today, given Han Feiyang's personality, he probably won't let it go easily.

"It seems I must speed up my cultivation," Zheng Yi thought to himself. "The Han family is one of the nine great families, with a profound foundation and countless experts. If I can't improve my strength quickly, I'm afraid I'll be at a great disadvantage when facing the Han family's retaliation in the future."

He closed his eyes, began circulating his internal energy, and entered a meditative state.

In the dead of night, Tianyuan City was shrouded in darkness.

The Han family mansion in the east of the city was brightly lit.

Han Feiyang sat in the study, his face terribly gloomy.

On the table in front of him lay a letter he had just written. The letter was addressed to the head of the Han family, complaining to him and requesting that he send someone to deal with the mysterious middle-aged man.

“Third Young Master,” Uncle Zhang said cautiously, standing to the side, “are you really going to tell the head of the family about this?”

"Why not?" Han Feiyang said coldly, "That man injured my subordinate and threatened me. This is a provocation against the Han family, and the patriarch will definitely stand up for me."

“But…” Uncle Zhang hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"But what?" Han Feiyang asked impatiently.

“However, if the head of the family knew that the Third Young Master had gotten into this trouble because of jealousy at the auction, he would probably blame him,” Uncle Zhang said.

Han Feiyang's face stiffened.

Uncle Zhang is right. Yesterday at the auction, he bid against that person purely because he didn't like the other person and wanted to intimidate them. As a result, the price kept going up, and he bought several items at high prices, actually losing money.

If the head of the family finds out about this, he will not only not help him, but will also blame him for his poor performance and waste of the family's resources.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Han Feiyang said angrily. "Are we just going to let it go like this? Let that person trample on my head?"

“Third Young Master, please calm down,” said Uncle Zhang. “This old servant believes that the most important thing now is to find out who that person is. Once we know who he is, we can develop a corresponding strategy to exploit his weaknesses.”

"Check his identity?" Han Feiyang frowned. "How can we check? That person always wears a mask; we don't even know his real face."

“That’s not difficult,” Uncle Zhang said. “Tianyuan City is within the Han family’s sphere of influence. Finding out someone’s identity is just a matter of time. As long as he’s active in Tianyuan City, he’ll definitely leave clues. We can send in informants to find out his whereabouts and residence. Once we find his residence, we can follow the clues and find out his true identity.”

Han Feiyang thought about it and felt that this method was feasible.

“Alright, we’ll do it your way,” he said. “Use all your informants to find out everything about that man. I want to see who he is, daring to oppose me, Han Feiyang, like this.”

"Yes, Third Young Master." Uncle Zhang accepted the order and left.

Han Feiyang sat in his study, looking at the letter on the table that had not yet been mailed, his expression shifting between light and dark.

He picked up the letter, tore it into pieces, and threw it into the brazier next to him.

"I, Han Feiyang, will avenge myself," he said coldly. "Once I find out your identity, let's see how long you can remain arrogant."

The firelight illuminated his face, making his expression appear particularly sinister and terrifying.

Meanwhile, Zheng Yi was cultivating in his room in the courtyard.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, his spiritual energy surging like a mighty river. Every pore greedily absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy, transforming it into his own cultivation.

He is currently at the mid-stage of the Mahayana Realm, still some distance from the late stage. But with his talent and cultivation speed, breaking through is only a matter of time.

"The Han family. One of the nine great families," he murmured to himself.

This behemoth is something we'll have to face sooner or later.

All he could do was improve his strength as much as possible before that day came.

Three days later, Tianyuan City was greeted by a spring rain.

The fine, dense rain fell from the gray sky, pattering against the eaves and splashing up droplets. Pedestrians on the street hurried along, opening their oil-paper umbrellas. The air was filled with the scent of earth and grass, bringing a refreshing feeling.

Zheng Yi stood under the eaves of the courtyard, looking at the rain scene outside, feeling exceptionally calm.

He has been in seclusion for the past few days, rarely leaving his home. Han Feiyang hasn't sent anyone to harass him either, seemingly frightened by the previous lesson.

"Master, someone requests an audience." Zheng Bowen walked in from outside, holding an oil-paper umbrella, his clothes mostly soaked by the rain.

"Who?" Zheng Yi asked.

“It’s Wang Tianhai, the city lord of Qingyun City,” Zheng Bowen said. “He said he has something important to discuss with you.”

"Wang Tianhai?" Zheng Yi frowned slightly.

He hadn't expected Wang Tianhai to come to Tianyuan City to find him in person. Logically speaking, Wang Tianhai had just regained his position as city lord and should be busy handling various affairs, so how could he have time to come here?
“Let him in,” Zheng Yi said.

"Yes." Zheng Bowen turned and went out, and soon returned with an old man in a white robe.

It was Wang Tianhai. (End of Chapter)