"Brother Mo, what you're considering is only the financial side. To be honest, what I value about the rogue cultivator world isn't their financial resources at all — it's their manpower. Today's affair may look like I've taken a financial hit. But the sensation these past few days will, over the coming months, inevitably be carried by these rogue cultivators' mouths to every corner of the human domains. What I lack isn't money — it's reputation. Imagine: once more and more people in the rogue cultivator world spread your name, once more and more rogue cultivators champion your cause — when that day comes, what will Dan Fire City matter?"
When it came to financial concessions, Jiang Chen had indeed made significant ones. He had offered full prices for all those treasures.
And as for the auction commission, he had not taken a single coin.
If you tallied it all up, the Ling Shi he had lost amounted to no fewer than one and a half billion.
But Jiang Chen was not remotely short of that sum. If he wanted to make money, he knew at least several dozen ways to earn one and a half billion with ease!
After the auction concluded and Jiang Chen received that payment of Ling Shi from Grandmaster Dongye, his reserves swelled once more.
Back at the Young Lord's manor, Jiang Chen did not rest. Instead, he immediately set about preparing for his alchemy lecture.
After an entire night of labor, he had finally sorted through all the threads. This lecture on the Dao of Alchemy was primarily aimed at rogue cultivators.
So the content he planned to cover was highly targeted, summarizing the issues that rogue cultivators were most concerned about.
Essentially, it was tantamount to compiling a small handbook — content along the lines of "What Rogue Cultivators Need to Know About Medicines."
The scarcity of medicines among rogue cultivators — Jiang Chen had gained some understanding of that through various channels.
"Pill King Bu, Pill King Lü Feng, Lin Yanyu, Mu Gaoqi — the four of you, for the three days of lectures, you will attend at my side."
"Yes."
All four were overjoyed to hear that Jiang Chen would keep them nearby. They knew that following him during the lectures meant yet another opportunity to learn.
A new day arrived. The moment Jiang Chen appeared, cheers erupted on the spot. Countless rogue cultivators from every direction burst into applause and shouted acclaim.
"Young Lord Zhen! Young Lord Zhen..."
"Young Lord Zhen! Young Lord Zhen..."
Their voices shook the sky as they chanted his name in unison — a testament to the anticipation everyone felt, their eagerness for the day's lecture content.
The roar surged like wave after wave of heat across Glazed Royal City, spreading outward for dozens, even hundreds of miles, as though the frenzied sounds and feverish atmosphere could be felt from every distance.
...
Meanwhile, deep within a bamboo grove behind Peacock Sacred Mountain, a bamboo door creaked open, and the morning sunlight spilled into the thatched cottage, gentle beyond measure.
A graceful silhouette appeared at the doorway. Her features were refined and elegant, delicate and charming. She stood tall and poised, like a secluded orchid from a deep valley suddenly blooming into sight.
"Miss, you... you've emerged from seclusion?" Beside the bamboo grove, a maid dressed in simple clothes had evidently been washing garments by the stream nearby. Hearing the commotion, she came running over barefoot.
"Cuier, what's all that noise outside? It's so loud." The young woman's complexion was refined and luminous, though it appeared somewhat pale — no doubt from prolonged absence of sunlight.
"Miss..." The maid Cuier's eyes reddened, and tears tumbled from her eyes. The girl sobbed as though she bore some tremendous grievance. "Miss, once you entered seclusion, it was five years, and nothing could bring you out. Cuier was so worried... so terribly worried about you."
This young miss was none other than Lady Dan'er, whom the Great Emperor Peacock had once brought back from the Myriad Phenomena Region. Some years ago, unable to endure the harassment of the various young wastrels of Glazed Royal City, she had declared a closed-door seclusion of three years.
Yet what had begun as three years had stretched to five before she finally emerged.
The maid Cuier was her personal attendant, fiercely loyal, and had remained faithfully at her post these years without ever once leaving.
Now, seeing her miss finally emerge, Cuier was still a young girl at heart — how could she hold back? Her emotions erupted in an instant.
After crying for a good while, Cuier finally wiped her eyes. "Miss, it's good that you're out. Let Cuier look at you — Miss, you've grown even thinner."
The little maid's heart ached with concern.
Lady Dan'er gently stroked Cuier's head. "Cuier, you've grown up too — you're a proper young woman now. It's my fault. All these years, I never properly settled your affairs. I'm afraid I've held you back."
Cuier hastened to reply, "Miss, whatever are you saying? Cuier's whole life is devoted to serving you. Never mind waiting five years — even if it were fifty, even if I had to wait until I was old, it would still be Cuier's duty."
Seeing the girl's devotion, Dan'er let out a soft sigh. Then she furrowed her brow slightly and asked again, "Cuier, you still haven't told me — what's all the commotion outside?"
Cuier pouted. "I've heard that these past days, Glazed Royal City has been hosting some kind of Dragon-Tiger Gathering. It seems rogue cultivators from all over the world have come to participate. And... it seems guests have arrived from all the great sects of the human domains, even the first-rank sects. They're all giving it tremendous support."
"Oh? Was it the Emperor who organized it?" Lady Dan'er was slightly startled. "The Emperor has always preferred tranquility — why would he host a rogue cultivator gathering like this?"
At the word "Emperor," Cuier's eyes reddened once more. Her lips trembled, and she looked as though she might burst into tears again.