Breaking the Masked Man

He's probably a member of a prominent family in the Gama Empire.

Cai Die picked up a gold bracelet from a stall, examined it for a moment, and then put it on her wrist. As she swayed it, she looked at Yao Yan beside her with a smile in her eyes and asked, "Young master, does it look good?"

A delicate gold bracelet lightly wraps around the wrist, highlighting the fair skin.

"It's beautiful, and it suits you perfectly."

Yao Yan offered a compliment, then looked at the shop owner and asked, "Boss, how much?"

The stall owner, a female mercenary, gleamed with a glint of light in her eyes upon hearing this, and said with a smile, "Five hundred gold coins will suffice, young master."

"Fifty."

Yao Yan smiled and calmly bargained.

He wasn't short of gold coins, but he also didn't want to be a sucker. A gold chain without even a magic core was being offered for 500 gold coins. It has to be said that these mercenaries knew how to judge people and raise prices accordingly.

The female mercenary's face stiffened upon hearing this, and she said with difficulty, "Young master, this bracelet was found by my husband in a cave ruin during his adventure in the Monster Mountain Range. It is definitely a rare treasure..."

Upon hearing this, Cai Die was taken aback and looked at the other party with some strangeness. There was no bracelet in the cave ruins she had found before, and in order to find that cave, the Amethyst Winged Lion King had his flying magical beasts turn the northwest of the Magical Beast Mountain Range upside down.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be that many cave ruins in the northwest of the Monster Mountain Range.

Yao Yan interrupted the other party and said, "One hundred gold coins to complete the transaction, or we'll leave."

Because of the mask, the female mercenary couldn't see Yao Yan's expression and naturally didn't dare to judge his thoughts. She could only nod to indicate her agreement, after all, a hundred gold coins was a huge profit for her.

Butterfly didn't say a word the whole time. Watching Yao Yan haggle, she realized that the human woman in front of her was lying, just like the young master had lied to her before. She always spoke in a serious tone, as if she were stating a fact, making it difficult for her to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

In terms of cunning, Queen Medusa, who spent most of her time in the palace of the snake people, was clearly no match for humans.

In a sense, the two Medusa sisters had similar personalities, both being a bit dim-witted... the kind that clearly indicates a good chance of conceiving.

With the money and goods settled, Yao Yan led Cai Die toward a restaurant in the distance. He decided to stay there for the night and head to the capital of the Jia Ma Empire, Jia Ma Holy City, the next day.

As he had guessed, the Xiao family had not yet moved to Wutan City.

Currently, Wutan City is controlled by two major families: the Jialie family and the Aoba family. The strongest member of each family is Dou Ling, who controls most of the markets in Wutan City and can be considered two local tyrants. As for the City Lord's Mansion, it seems that the Jiama Empire has not set up a City Lord's Mansion in Wutan City, which may be related to its geographical location.

Utan City is located in a remote area, and if it weren't for its proximity to the Monster Mountain Range, it would have almost no value.

With no mineral veins and no major transportation routes, it couldn't attract the attention of any powerful figures.

Cai Die followed closely beside Yao Yan, her hands elegantly folded over her lower abdomen, her eyes clear and bright, her red lips slightly parted, and her voice soft: "Young Master, do all of you humans enjoy lying?"

"It depends on the situation. For example, when I lie to you, I'm mostly just teasing you. But when they lie to you, it's mostly for survival. They don't have much talent for cultivation, powerful fighting techniques, famous teachers, or cultivation resources. Just surviving is enough for them. A few lies are just to make their gains greater and their lives better."

Yao Yan pondered for a moment, then sighed softly.

He suddenly thought of a question: if he were born into an ordinary family, how far would he have grown at this age?

It's likely to be terrible. The saying goes, "The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts." Without enough cultivation resources, cultivating battle qi is a joke. No matter how talented you are, what good is your talent when you can't even get enough to eat? Only when you can survive can you even think about becoming stronger.

This is perhaps the norm for most people.

Cai Die nodded upon hearing this, looking at Yao Yan with a slight smile and a hint of admiration: "Young Master, you are clearly young, yet you know so much~"

There was a pause.

Her tone suddenly changed, and she said angrily, "But, do you think it's fun to lie to me, young master?"

Her beautiful and refined face turned serious as she stared at Yao Yan with feigned fierceness, seemingly a little angry.

Yao Yan thought about it seriously for a moment, and then, under the watchful eye of Cai Die, he said in a serious tone, "It's not all for fun. I lied to you to raise your guard. There are many bad people in this world. When others lie to you, they definitely want to get something from you. Unlike me, I lie to you just to help you grow."

"Really?"

Butterfly felt something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Silly..." Yao Yan smiled to herself, and continued calmly, "Let's go back and think about it slowly."

After saying that, he walked forward.

Cai Die stared at Yao Yan's back for a while, then crouched forward, her movements somewhat like a cobra. She tilted her head slightly and stared at Yao Yan suspiciously, asking, "Did you lie to me again, young master?"

"You've grown up. When you finally understand what I was lying to you about, you'll have truly grown up."

Yao Yan exchanged a glance with her, calmly nodded, and said softly.

"...I'm all grown up now."

Butterfly couldn't understand, but that didn't stop her from being stubborn.

"It's definitely not small..." Yao Yan glanced at the impressive curves and commented in her mind.

From the perspective of his grandmother in his previous life, Cai Die's figure is very suitable for having a son. So the question is, can the Medusa Queen's family have sons?

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 75 Hai Bodong's Answer

The news of Nalan Jie and Xiao Lin's deaths was not kept secret for long. On the very night that Jia Xingtian returned to the palace, the news ignited the entire Jia Ma Holy City. Countless forces turned their attention to the Nalan and Xiao families. The former might be better off, after all, it was one of the three old and powerful families of the Jia Ma Empire with a deep foundation. Nalan Jie was once the Lionheart Marshal in the army, and many Dou Wangs were on good terms with him.

As for the Xiao family, their current situation is somewhat awkward.

The Xiao family has been quite arrogant in recent years, expanding its power rapidly, even claiming to become the fourth largest family in the Jia Ma Empire. As a result, they have offended many forces. In the past, due to Xiao Lin's strength and his friendship with Nalan Jie, no one dared to openly target the Xiao family. Now that Xiao Lin is dead, the situation is naturally different.

In the Dou Qi Continent, the strong are respected. To enjoy the corresponding cultivation resources, one must have the corresponding strength. The three Dou Ling members remaining in the Xiao family are clearly not enough to protect such a large family business.

This has caused undercurrents throughout the entire Gama Holy City. If it weren't for Emperor Jia Xingtian keeping things under control, the Xiao family would probably have already been divided up by now.

……

Not long after returning to the capital, Jia Xingtian visited the Mittel family to see the Ice Emperor Hai Bodong. He had always wanted to recruit the Ice Emperor, who was always a loner, but the other party simply wouldn't listen to him. Coercion and bribery were both useless. In the end, the other party even joined the Mittel family, which left Jia Xingtian quite helpless.

Led by Mittel Tengshan, he soon met Hai Bodong, who was drinking in the backyard. Hai Bodong seemed to be much more dashing than before, with less of the gloom between his brows.

This scene surprised Jia Xingtian quite a bit. Then, as if he had thought of something, he couldn't help but ask, "You've broken through?!"

"Good luck."

Hai Bodong glanced at Jia Xingtian, smiled, and his eyes held a mixture of emotion and relief.

The fifth-grade pill that Yao Yan gave him was extremely effective. On the very night he took it, the bottleneck in his body was completely broken. It took him three days to stabilize his battle qi cultivation at the six-star Dou Huang level. Moreover, his battle qi, which had never increased no matter how he cultivated before, began to increase again.

He felt more refreshed than ever before.

A hint of surprise and envy flashed in Jia Xingtian's eyes as he congratulated him, "No wonder you're in such a good mood, congratulations."

Teng Shan stood to one side, looking at Hai Bodong with a smile in his eyes. The other party and the Mittel family were originally one entity. The higher the other party's strength, the more beneficial it would be to the Mittel family. If the other party were to break through to the Dou Zong realm one day, perhaps the Mittel family could extend its reach to other regions, instead of being limited to the Jia Ma Empire.

"If your concern is about the Snake People and the Gama Empire, there's no need to say more; I won't get involved."

Hai Bodong looked at the gray-haired old man in front of him, his expression becoming slightly more serious. He said in a deep voice that he had already guessed the other party's purpose. He couldn't think of anything else that could make this old man come to him personally.

In the past month, friction between the Gama Empire and the Serpent People has increased. The Medusa Queen who inherited the Serpent People's throne is extremely domineering and her style of doing things is more decisive than any previous Medusa Queen. She seems to intend to invade the Gama Empire in one fell swoop and force the Gama Empire to cede land.

They seemed to have reached their breaking point with the environment of the Tagor Desert.

Thinking of this, Yao Yan and Cai Die involuntarily came to mind. He wondered where the two of them were now, and if they knew about this matter, he wondered if they would get involved.

"So you have indeed dealt with the snake people!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Xingtian's gaze sharpened, and he stared intently at Hai Bodong, speaking in a deep voice.

"I've been staying in the Tagor Desert for the past few years, so I've naturally had dealings with the snake people."

Hai Bodong said calmly, not thinking there was anything wrong with the matter. If he didn't have some relationship with Jia Xingtian, he wouldn't even have answered the question.

Jia Xingtian noticed that Hai Bodong didn't want to talk about this topic, so he frowned and said, "Nalan Jie of the Nalan family and Xiao Lin of the Xiao family are dead. They died in the Monster Mountain Range. Before that, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King of the Monster Mountain Range fought with a snake-man Dou Huang. Coincidentally, a man was leading a snake-man with your token to the Monster Mountain Range."

Some things don't need evidence; a little deduction can reveal the truth.

Reaching the level of a Dou Wang (Battle King) makes death a difficult thing, especially in the Jia Ma Empire, where those who can kill three Dou Wangs simultaneously are extremely rare.

"...It has nothing to do with me, nor with my two friends."

Hai Bodong pondered for a moment, then looked calmly at Jia Xingtian and spoke slowly.

"Is this your attitude?"

Jia Xingtian clenched his fist and frowned as he asked. He hadn't expected Hai Bodong's reaction to be so strong, which was undoubtedly beyond his expectations. If it were just a Dou Huang of unknown strength, he might have investigated further and sought revenge in the future. But if Hai Bodong, the Ice Emperor, was also involved, he had to think twice.

Given Hai Bodong's personality, it's astonishing that he would vouch for those two people like that.

Hai Bodong remained calm, his stern face carrying a hint of composure, and said indifferently, "If you think they did this, you can come to me, and I will take full responsibility for the consequences."

The two stared at each other, and at the same time, their auras as Battle Emperors surged and collided, instantly creating an invisible storm in the quiet courtyard. Cold sweat broke out on Teng Shan's forehead as he looked at the two peak experts of the Jia Ma Empire in fear. If they were to start a war, the entire capital would probably be shaken.

"Kaka~"

A chilling aura began to spread, instantly freezing the surrounding ground. At the same time, an ice spear appeared in Hai Bodong's hand, expressing his stance.

If you want war, then fight there!

Seeing this scene made Jia Xingtian's forehead twitch. He didn't expect Hai Bodong to actually dare to make a move. At the same time, he understood the other party's attitude. The other party really wanted to take the blame for his two friends and bear all the consequences.

He took a deep breath of the crisp night air, remained silent for a long time, and finally gave in: "Fine, let's leave it at that. I will erase all traces. If you see your friends next time, you'd better remind them that this is the Gama Empire, not the Black Corner Region. I'll give you face this time, but there will absolutely be no next time!"

"If that's the case, you'd better agree to the snake people's conditions and give them a piece of land suitable for survival."

Upon hearing this, Hai Bodong chose to return the favor and offered a reminder, while also dispelling the ice spear in his hand.

"reason?"

Jia Xingtian did not find Hai Bodong's words absurd. He asked in a very rational way, based on his understanding of Hai Bodong, since the other party said so, there must be a reason for it.