Chapter 13: Preparations.
"You humans? Don't tell me you aren't human, Master?" At that moment, Mu Chen suddenly recalled the Barbaric Aura the Profound Old Ghost had inadvertently released. He was utterly astonished.
"Heh heh, let's not talk about that. You... have you found your resolve?" the Profound Old Ghost said with a noncommittal, mysterious smile.
Mu Chen was confused, but he knew the Profound Old Ghost would never harm him. 'As long as he's my Master, what does his true identity matter?' The thought of finally being able to step onto the path of a Martial Artist made Mu Chen's closed eyes flicker with anticipation. He asked, "Master, when do we leave?"
"There's no rush. I also heard what your father said that day. The Xuanling Imperial Academy... if nothing unexpected happens, that little girl at your side will definitely be chosen. Don't ask me why; you'll find out for yourself when the time comes. She's much stronger than that so-called number one genius of your Mu Family, that little brat... what's-his-name, Rongxuan. So, we'll leave after your family's competition is over. Before that, you need to prepare a few things."
"What?" Mu Chen's gaze flickered. Mu Bingling's Cultivation was clearly much weaker than Mu Rongxuan's, but if the Profound Old Ghost said so, he must have his reasons. Thinking of this, Mu Chen gritted his teeth and said, "Alright. What do I need to prepare?"
"This is a list of the things you need to prepare. Don't worry, it's all extremely cheap stuff. Alright, your Master is going to rest." After he spoke, a Scroll made of the exact same material as the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique appeared before Mu Chen.
"Wait," Mu Chen called out hastily. "Will my Nine Attributes Dantian be discovered by others?"
The Profound Old Ghost praised him, "Not bad, you're already learning to hide your strengths. Don't worry, no one can sense a Nine Attributes Dantian. From the outside, it feels exactly the same as an attributeless Dantian. Besides, with me here, others won't even be able to tell your Dantian has recovered."
Hearing this, Mu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. The Profound Old Ghost fell silent after saying this. Mu Chen shook his head, unrolled the list the Profound Old Ghost had given him, and scanned it, feeling thoroughly puzzled.
One bell; ten feet of Black Iron Lock Chain; one Black Iron Block for each of the following weights: twenty-five, fifty, one hundred, five hundred, and a thousand pounds; several sets of clothes; various spices; and one Storage Ring.
These were indeed all inexpensive items. Aside from the slightly more expensive Storage Ring, the rest were made of the cheapest materials and wouldn't even add up to one hundred Elemental Stones. A Storage Ring could be a bit pricier, costing between five hundred and a thousand Elemental Stones—the cheapest ones, of course. A one-cubic-meter Storage Ring cost only five hundred Elemental Stones. (The currency exchange rate on the Extreme Martial Continent: 1 Purple Elemental Crystal = 100 Elemental Crystals = 10,000 Elemental Stones.)
Mu Chen thought for a moment. Although he hadn't asked the family for money over the years, the family elders would give the children some gift money every New Year. Over twelve years, Mu Chen had saved up nearly three thousand Elemental Stones, which was equivalent to thirty Elemental Crystals. It was more than enough to buy everything on the list.
He looked at the sky; it was already bright. Mu Chen gently tore the Scroll in his hands. A moment later, the Scroll dissolved into tiny fragments and vanished into the air.
'Time to head back...'
Treading on the morning dew, Mu Chen quickly made his way from the back mountain to the front courtyard. The Mu Family's training grounds were located there. Though his eyes were closed, the surrounding scene was still perfectly reflected in his mind's eye. The training grounds were filled with Mu Family disciples, all sweating profusely. Some let out explosive shouts, their Fist Techniques creating gusts of wind. Others used simple equipment to train their bodies. But they all shared one thing in common: no matter what training they were doing, they all faced west.
In the western part of the training grounds was a beautiful sight, for that was where all the women of the Mu Family did their Body Forging. At the center of that area, a young woman in a white dress danced gracefully, like a beautiful Spirit Butterfly.
Seeing this young woman, the corners of Mu Chen's mouth lifted into a slight smile. A spring breeze blew past, rustling his hair.
A disciple who was training turned around to take a break and was startled to see a white-robed young man at the edge of the training grounds. He said in surprise, "Huh? Isn't that the Fourth Young Master?"
The young man's voice wasn't loud, but it still drew the attention of the surrounding disciples. Sure enough, when they saw Mu Chen, their faces showed surprise, but that surprise quickly morphed into faint disdain.
In an instant, like a pebble dropped into a still pond, the Mu Family disciples who were training all gathered around him. Mu Chen's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't say anything, merely taking a few steps to the side. However, someone was not pleased by this.
"Heh heh, I say, my esteemed Fourth Young Master, this is no place for you. What if a strong gust of wind blows you over and you get sick? Someone might think we beat you up."
No one but Mu Hu could so easily utter such harsh words. Mu Chen felt a deep disgust for the guy, so he didn't say a word and simply walked toward his own small courtyard.
Watching Mu Chen walk away, a few Mu Family disciples laughed wantonly. "If I ended up like him, I'd have killed myself long ago."
Another disciple chuckled and asked, "Brother Hu, you've already reached the Sixth-Ring Martial Disciple realm, right?"
The others all chimed in with questions. Mu Hu clearly enjoyed the attention, glancing contemptuously at Mu Chen's retreating back. "Yeah, I just broke through yesterday," he said. "I'm still a long way off from Brother Rongxuan. I heard he already reached Eighth-Ring Martial Disciple a month ago. He must have improved a lot since then."
"That's for sure! The family competition is the day after tomorrow. I'm sure our Mu Family will shine this time."
"Yeah, we will."
...
After leaving the training grounds, Mu Chen headed straight for his room. In a hidden compartment of a cabinet, he quickly found a small red box. With a slight smile, Mu Chen gently opened it. Inside, thirty white, transparent crystals lay quietly. These irregularly shaped crystals were Elemental Crystals.
Besides being used as currency to buy things, Elemental Crystals had the same function as a Magical Beast's Demon Crystal: they could be used by Martial Artists to absorb the Primordial Qi contained within. Of course, Purple Elemental Crystals had the highest concentration of Primordial Qi. The amount in regular Elemental Crystals was quite ordinary; sometimes, they were less effective than directly absorbing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. As for Elemental Stones, the Primordial Qi they contained was almost negligible.
He took the thirty Elemental Crystals and tucked them inside his robes. After putting the box away, Mu Chen strode out of his small courtyard. He was now going to gather all the things the Profound Old Ghost had told him to prepare.
His path was completely unobstructed, not because the Mu Family guards respected him, but because everyone in the family, from top to bottom, knew that Mu Chen was the family's "trash." So, they simply ignored him, not even bothering to greet him. Mu Chen, however, was happy for the peace and quiet. He wasn't a very talkative person to begin with.
Leaving the Mu Family compound, he arrived at the market square. Loud cries from vendors filled the air, though most of the shops were selling Demon Beast Meat, Demon Crystals, and various medicinal herbs. Mu Chen first wandered around the market a couple of times without buying anything. He did this partly because he hadn't been out in a long time, and partly because he was looking for a blacksmith's shop. All the items the Profound Old Ghost had listed could be found at a Blacksmith's.
The streets were bustling with pedestrians. Whenever people saw Mu Chen's empty left sleeve and closed eyes, they would stop to stare for a moment, either muttering to themselves or making comments. None of them were kind. Mu Chen was already used to this sort of thing back home; he saw no need to take the words of strangers to heart.
After walking for an hour, Mu Chen finally found a blacksmith's shop called "Sky-Brand Smithy." Looking in from the outside, there didn't seem to be any customers. It was still morning, and most people chose to do their morning training, following the principle of "the early bird catches the worm." Only servants and the like would be out shopping this early.
Mu Chen glanced around, and seeing no one he knew, he walked inside. As soon as he entered, a wave of heat washed over him, accompanied by the CLANG-CLANG-CLANG of a hammer striking metal.
It only took a moment for Mu Chen to adjust to the environment. Before him was a bare-chested middle-aged man with bronze-colored muscles. Aside from this man, there was no one else in the smithy. He was presumably the owner.
The Blacksmith noticed someone had entered but didn't look up, continuing to hammer at the piece of iron. He said with a laugh, "What do you need? Feel free to look around."
The Blacksmith had a steady temperament, and his tone was calm. Mu Chen smiled slightly. "Shopkeeper, I need to have some things forged."
Hearing his voice, the Blacksmith stopped what he was doing and looked up. He didn't say anything upon seeing it was a young man in a white robe, but when he noticed the boy's missing left hand and closed eyes, he was momentarily taken aback. He secretly shook his head, his expression quickly returning to normal. "So, what do you need forged?"
Mu Chen didn't speak. He took a piece of white paper from his robes and handed it to the Blacksmith. Written on the paper was the list of items the Profound Old Ghost had instructed him to get.
The Blacksmith glanced at the list, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, then chuckled. "Young man, are you sure you need these things?"
Mu Chen returned the smile. "Of course. Why else would I be here?"
The Blacksmith laughed. "Alright. We don't sell Storage Rings here, but I personally own a three-cubic-meter one that I'm not using. See if you want it."
Mu Chen was naturally happy to be able to buy one directly, so he asked, "What's the price?"
"Heh heh, since I have no use for it, you can have it for 1,200 Elemental Stones."
"Alright, I'll take it." Mu Chen knew in his heart that a three-cubic-meter Storage Ring would cost at least 1,500 Elemental Stones in a proper shop. Buying it from the Blacksmith was definitely a bargain.
"Good. Wait a moment." The Blacksmith set the list aside and went into the back room. A moment later, he came out holding a plain-looking ring. "Here. The total comes to 1,300 Elemental Stones. The materials for the other things you want are all very cheap."
Mu Chen took the ring from the Blacksmith, pulled thirteen Elemental Crystals from his robes, and placed them in the Blacksmith's hand. He then tucked the ring into his own robes; now wasn't the right time for him to be wearing such a thing. He then asked, "When can I come pick up the items?"
The Blacksmith calculated for a moment. "Three days at the most."
Mu Chen nodded. "Alright, I'll come pick them up at this same time in three days."
After setting the time with the Blacksmith, Mu Chen left the shop...
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