Chapter 362: Don't Flaunt Your Wealth

"So there's that much to it!" Ye Yuan looked as if he had been taught a lesson.

"Haha, young man, you've just entered the martial world. Though your strength is decent, there's still much you need to learn! Otherwise, you might be sold and still count the money for them!" The middle-aged martial artist laughed heartily.

Ye Yuan smiled and agreed, too lazy to argue. He had obtained all the information he wanted and gained a preliminary understanding of the power divisions in the royal city.

It seemed that first-class aristocratic families were the top powers in the royal city. As for a family like the Xiao family, they were probably a step below.

As for the martial arts contest for a bride, Ye Yuan naturally had no intention of participating. He didn't want to marry a woman he didn't know.

Though he knew that if he went, he would definitely take first place.

Martial artists under thirty years old in the Gale Realm were at most at the first layer of the Sea of Transformation. With his current strength, Ye Yuan could easily defeat a first-layer Sea of Transformation cultivator.

Leaving the restaurant, Ye Yuan decided not to linger in Fengyang City. He went straight out of the city and headed toward the royal city.

However, before he had gone far, three martial artists blocked his path.

"Heh heh, kid, didn't expect to see us again so soon, did you?" It was the middle-aged martial artist who had taken Ye Yuan's medium-grade primal crystals.

All three were Sea of Transformation martial artists. Seeing Ye Yuan alone, they had evil intentions.

Ye Yuan naturally didn't take these three seriously. He said calmly, "Oh? Brother, are you blocking my way here to invite me for a drink?"

"Hahaha, what did he say? He said I'm inviting him for a drink? Kid, are you really that stupid or just pretending? Hand over your primal crystals and treasures, and I'll give you a whole corpse!" The middle-aged martial artist said harshly.

Ye Yuan smiled. "Whether I hand them over or not, you're going to kill me. So why should I give them to you?"

The middle-aged martial artist was taken aback. Thinking about it, that threat did sound pretty stupid.

"Heh heh, fine. Today your Lord Hao will be merciful and let you off. Hurry up and hand over all your primal crystals!" As he spoke, he extended his palm, demanding them.

"Heh, that's more like it!" Ye Yuan said, reaching for his storage ring as if he really intended to hand them over.

The middle-aged martial artist said smugly, "Kid, next time you go out, remember the principle of not flaunting your wealth, got it? I told you at the restaurant, there's still a lot for you to learn!"

Ye Yuan smiled. "Brother, you're joking. If I learned from you, wouldn't I just get dumber?"

"Huh?"

The middle-aged martial artist was about to flare up when a fierce figure appeared before his eyes—it was Lan Feng.

Seeing Lan Feng appear, all three changed expression.

Three first-layer Sea of Transformation cultivators against a third-layer one—they had no chance of winning!

The middle-aged martial artist's face was a picture of misery. He said tearfully, "L-Little brother, we failed to recognize a worthy person. We were wrong! W-We'll get out of here right now!"

Lan Feng moved, blocking their path.

Ye Yuan said slowly, "Who said you could leave? You're stupid, but don't think I'm as stupid as you, okay? If you leave and spread the news that I have a spatial artifact, won't I be hunted down by everyone?"

"W-What do you want?" The middle-aged martial artist stammered.

Ye Yuan smiled. "Nothing much. You've done plenty of murder and robbery, haven't you? Today, just accept your fate."

The middle-aged martial artist's face twisted. "Hmph, I don't believe he can keep all three of us! Brothers, split up! Whoever escapes, escapes! If I die, go to the royal city and find my brother to avenge me!"

With that, the three fled in different directions. But Lan Feng was much faster. He struck and took down the other two, leaving only the middle-aged martial artist to escape.

Seeing this, the middle-aged martial artist was overjoyed and quickened his pace to flee.

But just then, a warning flashed in his mind!

His vision blurred, and Ye Yuan had somehow gotten ahead of him!

"Y-You... how did you catch up?" The middle-aged martial artist looked as if he had seen a ghost.

How could a second-layer Crystal Condensation cultivator be so fast?

"I just caught up like this," Ye Yuan said with a smile.

The middle-aged martial artist gritted his teeth. "You're asking for death!"

With that, he struck a palm at Ye Yuan.

But Ye Yuan simply vanished before his eyes.

"Wind-Fire Blazing Dragon!"

The middle-aged martial artist only heard a soft shout behind him, and then he knew nothing more.

Ye Yuan had controlled his strength well and didn't kill him.

He went to the middle-aged martial artist, released his divine sense, and forcibly probed the other's sea of consciousness.

The middle-aged martial artist groaned but offered no resistance as Ye Yuan performed soul search.

Soul search was even more domineering than planting a slave mark. After soul search, the martial artist's soul would be torn apart, leaving him an idiot.

But Ye Yuan showed no mercy. Judging by the middle-aged martial artist's behavior, he had probably committed plenty of robbery and murder. Dying was no great loss.

Sure enough, from the man's memories, Ye Yuan saw that he had done many evil deeds, enough to die ten times over.

"Hmm? His brother is looking for alchemists? The Xiao family is recruiting alchemists? Well, that's my old trade. I can give it a try. This guy delivered himself to me, saving me some trouble," Ye Yuan mused.

From the middle-aged martial artist's memories, Ye Yuan roughly understood the power distribution in the Central Royal City. Though the man's status meant he didn't know many details, it gave Ye Yuan some grounding.

The Central Royal City's powers were complex, but broadly divided into first-class, second-class, and third-class aristocratic families, along with some insignificant minor families.

Besides these, there were major powers no weaker than first-class families, such as the great merchant house Jubaolou.

Of course, the most formidable force was the military!

Under the Wind Emperor were three elite guards: the Wind Swift Guard, the Shadow Wind Guard, and the most mysterious, the Dark Wind Guard.

However, these three elite guards rarely interfered in city affairs, mostly devoting themselves to cultivation.

Such a vast structure was truly formidable.

Ye Yuan couldn't help but sigh—how would the Boundless Realm resist when the Gale Realm's iron cavalry invaded?

Of course, Ye Yuan didn't know much about the Boundless Realm either. Perhaps the Northern Domain also had powerful forces.

Anyway, when the sky falls, there will be tall people to hold it up. He just needed to rescue his fellow disciples and bring them back to the Boundless Realm.

As for what came after, he would deal with it later.

By the time Ye Yuan finished dealing with the middle-aged martial artist, Lan Feng had just finished off the other two.

Ye Yuan naturally had no intention of leaving them alive. He set a fire and burned all three to nothing.

A day later, Ye Yuan, alone, finally arrived at the Central Royal City!