Immortality begins with exchanging talent attributes.

Jiande Prefecture has a long history, and it is said to have existed before the establishment of the Great Yan Dynasty.

As Zhou Yan and his group entered the city gate, they were instantly stunned by the scene before them.

The wide main street is wide enough to accommodate ten carriages traveling side by side, and the bluestone pavement is smooth and shiny from being worn by the wheels of passing vehicles.

Shops and restaurants lined both sides of the street, bustling with people.

The sounds of carriages, vendors hawking their wares, and haggling mingled together, assaulting the senses.

It's so lively, so incredibly lively!

The excitement was so great that Zhou Yan was momentarily dazed.

If it weren't for the little girl's hand still tightly clutching his clothes in his arms...

He almost thought that the county town that had been swallowed by the crimson light a few days ago was just a nightmare.

The pedestrians around them quickly noticed them.

After all, both Zhou Yan and Zhu Asan's family were somewhat disheveled.

His clothes were tattered and his face was tired; he was clearly a refugee.

Many people cast surprised glances at them.

But once they saw Li Kun beside the carriage ahead, and the black-clad guards with swords at their waists, they all looked away and kept their distance.

  

Zhou Yan saw all of this, but showed no change in expression.

Li Kun, leading the carriage, winked at Zhou Yan, signaling him to follow.

Zhou Yan nodded and followed.

"Brother Zhou, Commander Lu said he'll take you to your lodgings first."

As Li Kun approached, he spoke in a low voice.

"good!"

Zhou Yan replied.

Following the carriage along the main street for a while, Zhou Yan observed his surroundings along the way.

The prefectural city truly lives up to its name.

In his field of vision, although white entries still dominated, he could occasionally spot a few green ones.

Just as Li Kun was driving past a street corner and preparing to turn into a side street, Zhou Yan suddenly stopped.

A young monk emerged from the street corner.

The monk had delicate features and a somewhat thin build, but his monk's robes were clean, neat, and very proper.

He gives off a very comfortable feeling.

Of course, that's not the point.

The key point is...

Immovable Kongo (Blue)

The target state is stable; the exchange requires a lifespan of 123 years.

[Insight from Small Details (Green)]

The target state is stable; the exchange requires a lifespan of 20 years.

One blue and one green, just like Lu Qingshuang!

He doesn't look very old. Could he also be a top expert on the Human Ranking?

Just as Zhou Yan was sizing up the other person, the monk seemed to have noticed his gaze as well.

He turned his head and looked at Zhou Yan.

Their eyes met briefly at the street corner.

The monk smiled slightly, put his hands together, and nodded gently to Zhou Yan.

"Ayan, what are you looking at?"

Zhu Asan nudged him from the side.

Just as Zhou Yan was slightly distracted...

The monk had already disappeared into the crowd.

"It's nothing."

Zhou Yan withdrew his gaze.

"I saw a monk."

Zhu Asan followed his gaze but couldn't see anything.

"What's so interesting about monks?"

"Brother Zhou, hurry up and keep up."

"Li Kun shouted from the front."

"They're here."

I stopped thinking about it. Whether he's on the list of people or not, it has nothing to do with me.

Zhou Yan and Zhu Asan's family followed, but the rest of the Black-Clad Guards greeted Zhou Yan and then continued walking along the main street.

Zhou Yan responded politely to each question.

After everyone had walked away, Li Kun said from the side:

"Brother Zhou, let's go."

Zhou Yan nodded and followed.

After traveling a while longer, the carriage stopped in front of a house.

The area in front of the door was very clean, as if it had just been swept.

Lu Qingshuang lifted the carriage curtain and looked at Zhou Yan:

"You can stay here for now. Tomorrow I'll have Li Kun come and take you to the Xuanyiwei headquarters."

Zhou Yan immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute and replied:

"Thank you, sir."

Li Kun stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a short while, an old voice came from inside.

Who is it?

crunch.

The door was opened a crack, and an old man poked his head out.

He was startled when he suddenly saw the ragged men and women outside.

However, when he saw Lu Qingshuang in the carriage, he immediately recognized her, quickly opened the courtyard gate, and stepped forward to bow:

"Lord Lu, you're back."

Lu Qingshuang nodded, then pointed to Zhou Yan and said:

"Uncle Zheng, this is Zhou Yan. He will be staying here from now on."

He then said to Zhou Yan:

"This is Uncle Zheng. He usually takes care of the yard. You can ask him if you don't understand anything."

An old man named Zheng Bo looked at Zhou Yan and bowed, saying:

"Greetings, Young Master Zhou."

Zhou Yan hurriedly helped the old man up and said:

"Uncle Zheng, there's no need for such formalities. Just call me Ayan from now on. I'm not some young master."

Zheng Bo hurriedly waved his hand and said:

"That won't do, that's against the rules."

Zhou Yan was about to persuade her further when Lu Qingshuang said:

"Alright, I'm leaving now. Get some rest tonight. Li Kun will come to see you tomorrow."

Zhou Yan clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Take care, sir."

Li Kun also said to Zhou Yan:

"Brother Zhou, get some rest."

After saying that, he drove away.

Zhou Yan watched the carriage disappear into the distance, then turned to Zhu Asan and said:

"Third Brother, please stay here with me for now."

But Zhu Asan shook his head and said:

"No, I'll go to my father-in-law's first. I'll come find you later tomorrow."

Zhou Yan frowned.

"It's getting late, we can go tomorrow."

No matter what Zhou Yan said, Zhu Asan insisted on leaving.

Helpless, he could only pat Zhu Zhu's head again and hand her back to Zhu Asan.

As Xiao Zhuzhu was leaving, she waved to him and said:

"Goodbye, Brother Zhou Yan. I'll come over tomorrow night."

"goodbye."

Zhou Yan also waved his hand.

Zhu Asan carried Zhu Zhu and led Zhu Sao, identified the direction, and then slowly walked away along the street.

Zhou Yan stood at the door, watching their backs disappear into the crowd, and sighed softly in his heart.

all gone.

At this moment, Uncle Zheng whispered:

"Young Master Zhou, shall I show you around the yard?"

Zhou Yan snapped out of his daze and nodded, saying:

"it is good."

This is a two-courtyard house.

The front yard has a gatehouse, side rooms, and a storage room, while the back yard has a main house and a converted practice room.

There is a small pond in the backyard, where several carp are kept.

Zheng Bo usually lived in the gatehouse in the front yard.

The house wasn't luxurious, but it was quiet and peaceful.

For Zhou Yan now, that's good enough.

It was almost unrealistically good.

After all, he used to live in the slums of Qingzhou City.

But now, they live in a two-courtyard house in the prefectural city.

The difference was so great that it felt somewhat unreal to him for a moment.

After Uncle Zheng led Zhou Yan around, he bowed and said:

"Young Master Zhou, let me fetch you some water. Please wash up first, and then you can cook."

Before Zhou Yan could even utter a polite word, the old man had already turned and left.

He shook his head.

This damned feudal society!

He sat on a stone chair by the pond in the backyard, watching the carp in the water, and his index finger tapped the surface of the stone table lightly.

Now that we've arrived in the prefectural city, we should be able to settle down for a while, but having left our familiar surroundings, we have to start all over again.

Fortunately, he has a strong thigh, so he can hug it.

Moreover, I have some savings, which should be enough to live on for a while.

Most importantly, Zhou Yan has never forgotten.

strength!

We must improve our strength as soon as possible.

Now I have obtained the complete manual of the Bronze Body Skill, and I have also acquired a new martial art.

Mastering these two martial arts techniques will not only upgrade "Copper Skin and Iron Bones" but also grant you a new attribute.

His strength will definitely be even greater by then.

But that's not enough.

Savings will eventually run out, and martial arts skills will eventually reach their peak.

Therefore, he also needs status and resources.

Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes, and something called ambition was quietly growing within them.

……

Not long after, Uncle Zheng brought hot water.

Zhou Yan quickly washed up and changed out of his dusty clothes.

After a while, Uncle Zheng brought over a plate of food.

It's quite simple: a dish of pickled vegetables and a steamer of buns.

Uncle Zheng said somewhat embarrassedly:

"Young Master Zhou, there's not much food left at home today. Please have something to eat first, and I'll go buy groceries tomorrow morning."

Zhou Yan said indifferently:

"It's alright, Uncle Zheng, I'm not that picky. Anything is fine with me."

After saying that, he seemed to remember something and took out a money pouch from his waist.

Shen Heng and the other two contributed five gold leaves to him, and now his savings have reached a huge sum of 157 taels and 7 mace.

Zhou Yan, who had never been this rich before, was generous this time.

He took out five taels of silver and handed it to Zheng Bodao:

"Take this money and spend it on some food. If you need more, just ask me for it."

Uncle Zheng took the silver and said:

"Yes, Young Master Zhou."

night.

After practicing his boxing twice, he returned to the room that Uncle Zheng had prepared for him and lay down.

Prolonged mental stress had already overloaded his mind.

Lying on the comfortable bed, Zhou Yan closed his eyes.

He didn't bring the meteor hammer from Qingzhou City with him. That thing is too big and heavy, and very inconvenient.

We've run out of medicinal herbs; I wonder if the Black-Clad Guards will distribute some cultivation resources.

I need to visit the blacksmith's shop tomorrow.

With his mind a jumble of thoughts, he drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

......