Chapter 040: Martial Dao City

After another two days of travel, Yang Tian's pace gradually slowed. He had now crossed the mountain range, and travelers were frequently encountered on the road.

"Martial Dao City, finally here." Yang Tian's swift steps abruptly halted. His gaze swept into the distance, and when he noticed the scene before him, his usually calm eyes suddenly lit up.

What met his eyes was a hundred-zhang-high city wall, densely packed with heads on top, giving an imposing and majestic feeling. Looking from afar, divine rainbows soared above the city. Even standing at a distance, Yang Tian felt a trace of pressure. This city was like a sleeping lion, towering and majestic.

In front of the city, several giant mountain ranges stood tall, their peaks lost in the sea of clouds. Within the clouds, faint figures moved, strange beasts crossed, and the cries of celestial birds reached the ears!

What astonished Yang Tian was that, though he was thirty li from the mountain peak, a faint will descended upon him—a trace of martial will, emanating from the central peak.

"I heard there's a rare treasure on Martial Dao Mountain. That martial will must be emitted by that treasure, right?" His gaze swept over the mountain peak, a fervent heat surging in Yang Tian's eyes. Training one's will with martial will every day—it would be hard not to become a strong person.

Usually, the elders of large families use their own martial will to train the younger generation. Although it consumes a great deal of energy, the results are evident. This is also why large families stand unshaken.

Yang Tian lingered here for a moment, then wrapped himself in a black robe, hiding Little White inside, and dashed toward Martial Dao City.

Now was the opening day of Martial Dao Mountain. Many disciples of large families were waiting for this day, suppressing their cultivation. This was a gathering place for geniuses—either remain unknown or astonish the world. It was said that Martial Dao Mountain was a fragment of an ancient space, containing the inheritances of ancient powerhouses, coveted even by ancient aristocratic families.

On this trip, the ancient Li family would certainly not let him off. Therefore, he had to avoid revealing his identity as much as possible, or great disaster would befall him.

Martial Dao Mountain did not belong to any single force; it was controlled in turn by the top powers of the Eastern Continent.

"Truly a gathering place for geniuses—even the city guards are at the martial artist realm, and the leader is even stronger." His gaze swept over several guards ahead, especially the burly man leading them, whose strength should exceed the martial artist realm.

Wearing a black robe, Yang Tian walked toward one of the guards. Seeing the guard's wary expression, Yang Tian pulled out a jade slip and handed it to him.

"Welcome, sir." The guard quickly nodded. Those who could produce an invitation to Martial Dao Mountain were either geniuses of the younger generation from major powers or individuals of extraordinary talent.

Although he was at the martial artist realm, he dared not offend these immensely powerful figures.

"Eh?" Rubbing the jade slip, the guard noticed the characters "Qingyang" engraved on the edge. Startled, he continued scanning.

"Good heavens, it's the emblem of the Great Prince." Then he noticed a five-clawed golden dragon embroidered below the characters "Qingyang." The guard's expression instantly froze. He quickly cupped his hands and said respectfully, "So you are from the Qingyang Empire, sir. This one is called Mu Shan. If you have any orders, please command."

"Eh?" Seeing the guard's reaction, Yang Tian was slightly taken aback, then murmured inwardly, "It seems the jade slip the Great Prince gave me is no ordinary item... Otherwise..."

Mu Shan's behavior drew the attention of the surrounding guards. Their gazes fell on the man in the black robe. Every day they greeted passing geniuses and had seen many great figures. For Mu Shan to act like this, the man's power must be immense.

"No need to be polite. Just take me to the residence." Glancing at the bowing guard, Yang Tian waved his hand and said indifferently.

"Yes, sir. Please come in." Mu Shan nodded, then led the way into the city.

Looking at the guard's respectful demeanor, Yang Tian couldn't help but laugh inwardly. If he knew that Yang Tian was just a person from a small martial arts hall, what would he think?

He couldn't help but sigh at the benefits of high status.

The interior of Martial Dao City was a hundred times larger than Kuangyun City. The main stone road was nearly a hundred zhang wide, with shops lining both sides. Judging by the buildings, it was a very prosperous place in the cultivation world.

Every holder of a jade slip had a courtyard in Martial Dao City. Under the guard's guidance, Yang Tian arrived at a courtyard covering a hundred zhang. The interior was extremely luxurious, and the essence of heaven and earth was several times richer than outside.

"Truly a gathering place for geniuses—even the residence has a branch of a spirit spring." Looking around the room, Yang Tian couldn't help but admire.

Yang Tian turned around and sat down on a chair inlaid with gold threads. Beside him, a censer emitted curling blue smoke. Inhaling the fragrance, Yang Tian felt refreshed and invigorated.

Sitting on the chair, Yang Tian toyed with the jade slip in his hand. Mu Shan had just told him that there would be an auction in two days, which had been prepared for a long time and attracted many strong cultivators.

"Martial Dao Mountain opens once every thirty years. This auction should be extraordinarily spectacular, right?" Licking his lips, a smile spread across Yang Tian's face. After a moment's thought, he shook his head with a bitter smile. Although his blood stones made him among the top rich in Kuangyun City, they were nothing in Martial Dao City.

High-end treasures in the cultivation world cost tens of thousands of blood stones, or even mid-grade ones. Yang Tian's wealth was far from enough.

In Martial Dao City, the streets were bustling with people, most of whom were powerful. Wearing a black robe, Yang Tian had already encountered several terrifying old men on the street.

"Such a terrifying youth." He glanced at a young man passing by, about the same age as him, but with an exceptionally strong vitality that was almost forming an anomaly.

Divine rainbows streaked across the sky, strange beasts galloped from afar—a very grand spectacle. Various forces kept appearing, and even ancient aristocratic families frequently showed up for this grand event.

People in the city kept turning their heads, and even Yang Tian's gaze constantly swept across the sky. These people were too formidable; each was a great enemy. Yang Tian was not sure he could handle them.

Along the way, Yang Tian wandered around the market for half a day. His gaze swept over the items on display, and his eager look gradually faded. Although these items were precious, few were useful to him.

At that moment, Yang Tian's steps halted. Little White suddenly poked its head out from his robe, staring at a stall displaying inner cores, its face full of craving.

"Greedy little thing." Patting Little White's head, Yang Tian felt quite helpless. The inner cores stored in his void ring had been eaten clean by Little White. With such an appetite, Yang Tian wondered if he could afford to keep it.

He walked straight to a nearby stall run by a red-faced man, which displayed first-tier beast inner cores.

A man in a black robe suddenly came to the stall. The red-faced man looked up, and when he noticed Little White shaking its head and wagging its tail, he immediately dropped any casual thoughts. A spirit beast with such intelligence was no ordinary pet.

He enthusiastically introduced: "Friend, take your pick of whatever catches your eye. This stall is honest, genuine goods, and second to none in Martial Dao City..."

The red-faced man seemed to open a floodgate, talking endlessly as if his words were blooming lotuses. Yang Tian, greatly troubled, didn't say much and simply picked up ten inner cores from the stall.

"How much?"

"Sir has excellent taste. These inner cores are rare treasures. Altogether, they cost two hundred and thirty blood stones." Seeing Yang Tian buy so many inner cores at once, the red-faced man beamed.

"Here." Yang Tian, having some wealth, didn't haggle. He tossed a small pouch of blood stones. Just as he was about to leave, a coquettish voice suddenly rang out.

"Young master, what an adorable little beast. Your servant wants it~~"