“Return it to him?”

The middle-aged man looked at the purple-robed old man. He seemed to be a little surprised as he waved his hand and said, “It is indeed a good intention, but this is inappropriate. A young hero like him is not unwilling to part with the 9,000 Thousand Spirit Stones. Instead, he feels that he should have better treatment.”

Speaking of this, the middle-aged man paused for a moment and continued to say, “Just like that Baili Xiaohualuo, he has always enjoyed the highest treatment in Yan Prefecture City. And this person is the same as Baili Xiaohualuo. He is not lacking of money. So if we send the money back so abruptly, I am afraid that we will offend him. It’s not appropriate.” In the end, he kept shaking his head.

The purple-robed old man nodded and said, “You’re right, City Master Jiang. I was not thoughtful enough.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “According to the City Master’s opinion, if this person is not a member of Desolate Seas, why would he come to Yan Prefecture City?”

“Could it be… that he’s here for Wastelands Sword Tryout?” The middle-aged man thought for a moment, then he raised his head and said.

…

The sun was setting. Xiao Chen and the others found an inn and lived in an isolated courtyard. The water in the courtyard was shallow and the scent of incense was faint. The environment was not bad. However, the cost of this day was not small. Even if the nine of them did nothing every day, they had spent about 1,000 Spirit Stones.

This was the case in the Wastelands. The more barren the land was, the lower the consumption was. The more prosperous the land was, the higher the consumption was. It could even be more than ten times higher than the prosperous area of the Five Continents. That was why the gap between the rich and the poor in the Wastelands was so large.

Xiao Chen could not help but be a little worried. Now he still had more than 10,000 Spirit Stones on him. Originally, he thought that Monster Pill could be sold for a lot of money. However, because of the Annihilation Times, the Monster Pills that was supposed to be popular was now inundation at Wastelands. As a result, the Monster Pills that he had worked so hard for a few days ago could only be sold at most 5,000 or 6,000 Spirit Stones.

He sighed deeply. Right now, he was really short of money. If he could not even guarantee his living standards, how could he draw forces over to his side? How could he talk about cultivation? Did it not cost him money to cultivate? He was not in the Violet Manor, where he had friends everywhere to help him.

At the thought of this, Xiao Chen was worried. Yesterday, he heard Yang Qing said that there were mercenaries in many places in Wastelands. Some of them worked for money. Some of them were outlaws, and some of them were retired from some major forces. The fighting capacity of these people was very high. As long as they could afford the money, they would be absolutely loyal. If they wanted to build their own forces, there would be a need to use these mercenaries in the early stage.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Chen paced back and forth in the yard. In the past, he never worried about money, but now he was in Wastelands and became desperate for it. “No, I have to find a way to make money!”

“Brother Xiao?” Just as Xiao Chen was feeling melancholic, Yang Qing stood at the gate of the courtyard. Xiao Chen turned around and asked, “What can I do for you, Brother Yang?”

“We’ve arranged food outside. Brother Xiao, are you going now?”

“Well, let’s go.”

Xiao Chen temporarily put away his lack-of-money mood and went to the restaurant outside the yard. This restaurant was with the inn, and it was full of people, causing the whole restaurant to be noisy.

Up to the second floor, Xiao Chen sat in the window seat arranged by Yang Qing. Under the twilight, the pedestrians on the street kept coming and going. It seemed that there were more people than when they just came in.

In a while, several waiters in the restaurant brought up the hot dishes. They saw that the table was full of all kinds of delicacies. Xiao Chen could not help but frown. There was not much money left. The price of the food in the Yan Prefecture City was so high, so it was a splurge to be spending at least a few hundred Spirit Stones on these two tables. But on second thought, it was no big deal to have a good meal since they had just arrived at Wastelands.

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen began to eat. On one side, Chu Qi sat upright. Even when eating, she was still very well-behaved. She held the bowl with her left hand and picked up the chopsticks with her right hand. She picked up some food and chewed slowly. She did not pick the dishes like Ziyun’er, who flipped the dishes here and there and ate while biting the chopsticks and commenting on which dish was not delicious.

Chu Qi was always silent.

By the time they were halfway through their meal, the second floor was almost full. The entire restaurant had become even noisier. Suddenly, the floorboards creaked as if a few more people were coming upstairs.

“I heard that the winner of Wastelands Sword Tryout will be able to get a million Spirit Stones?”

“Yes, but what’s more important is that there are three places in the Yan Prefecture to go to the Cloud Mist Academy, which is one more place than in previous years. Therefore, who will come to Yan Prefecture City to participate in the Sword Tryout for that million Spirit Stones, of course, they are here for the Cloud Mist Academy.”

Xiao Chen was full of worry while eating. When he suddenly heard the conversation of these people, he almost spat out the rice in his mouth. One, one million Spirit Stones? He had been in Violet Manor for so long, but he had never seen what it looked like when one million Spirit Stones piled up together.

If he got the reward, he would not have to worry about money when the time came. Thinking of this, Xiao Chen asked Yang Qing excitedly, “Brother Yang, is what they said true?”

Yang Qing glanced at the people who had just come up and whispered, “I know about Wastelands Sword Tryout. Every few years, it will be held. It’s mainly for selecting the admission spots of the Cloud Mist Academy. Only the winner of every place is qualified to get a spot. As for the Cloud Mist Academy…”

Before he could finish, Xiao Chen interrupted and said, “Let’s not talk about this first. Is the reward of the million Spirit Stones real or not?”

“This…” After a moment of silence, Yang Qing said, “Since they said so, then it should be true.”

“Okay!” Xiao Chen suddenly put down his chopsticks. He decided to participate in the Wastelands Sword Tryout and win that one million Spirit Stones!

“That…” Yang Qing saw his expression at this time and asked, “Is Brother Xiao going to participate in Wastelands Sword Tryout?”

“Of course. Don’t you want a million Spirit Stones?”

“Well, in fact, I just want to say, Cloud Mist…”

Xiao Chen stretched out his hand. “You don’t have to say anything. Let’s talk about it when I win a million Spirit Stones. Haha!” It seemed that he was quite happy at this time. He did not have to worry about money anymore.

“Well, okay…” Yang Qing turned his head and looked out of the window. He wanted to say, “The person who has built Desolate Seas, one of the major forces in Wastelands, seems… It seems that he has graduated from the Cloud Mist Academy.”

After dinner, they went back to the courtyard. On the way, Xiao Chen was in a good mood. It seemed that many people had come to the Yan Prefecture City recently to participate in Wastelands Sword Tryout.

Wastelands Sword Tryout was something very simple. It was not like Wuyue Sword Conversation of Mount Wuyue. It was also different from the Immortal’s Sword Assembly of the Daoist League of the Five Continents. To put it bluntly, Wastelands Sword Tryout was a preliminary to select people who were qualified to enter the Cloud Mist Academy for further study.

Among the four minor realms of the Wastelands, the Wastelands Sword Tryout in every place was set up at the same time. The location was naturally in the main city of the province, and the Yan Prefecture City was the main city of Yan Prefecture. However, there were three places in Yan Prefecture to enter Cloud Mist Academy for further study. The winner was naturally one, and the other two were chosen.

It was the beginning of September. The new moon was curved like an eyebrow and the autumn wind was cool. Xiao Chen stood at the edge of the pool and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. Next, he was going to participate in Wastelands Sword Tryout. It seemed that the registration fee was not cheap.

The next day, Yang Qing and others went to sell the Monster Pill and exchanged it for more than 5,000 Spirit Stones. At the same time, in the City Master’s Manor in Yan Prefecture City, the City Master Jiang Bietian and Perfected Immortal Zixuan of the Pure Mind Sect stood in the room again this time.

When he heard someone said that Xiao Chen and the others went to the trading company and exchanged Monster Pill for money, Perfected Immortal Zixuan immediately showed a very surprised look on his face. “The last time they fought for Monster Pill with my disciples in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, did they… just want to sell them for money?”

To him, Xiao Chen and his team could never be short of money. It must be of great use to snatch the Monster Pill. But now, what he saw was them selling it for money?

Jiang Bietian also looked a little surprised. A man in his twenties who had reached the Nirvana Realm must have a strong background. How could he be short of money?

He frowned and said in a low voice, “Perfected Immortal Zixuan, do you think they have found out that they are being spied on? They’re doing this just to deceive us and confuse us?”

Perfected Immortal Zixuan narrowed his eyes. He nodded solemnly and said, “We can’t exclude such a possibility. It seems that these people are really careful.”

As they were talking, a sudden noise came from outside. “Alas, Miss, you can’t go in. Old Master is in a meeting with Perfected Immortal Zixuan, and no one is allowed to disturb…” Before they could finish their words, they heard two “bang” sounds, followed by a scream.

Jiang Bietian’s face changed. “Why did Qianqian come back? Isn’t she…” Before he could finish his words, he heard a loud bang, and the door was kicked open.

At the door, a woman in a light cyan dress suddenly appeared. The woman was in her twenties, with her hair as black as ink and neatly tied behind her back. Her shoulders were as thin as blades, and her skin was as white as snow. She wore an aquamarine hairpin on her head and a long aquamarine sword hanging on her waist. At this moment, her eyes looked as if she was going to kill.

Jiang Bietian saw her furious face and said with a wry smile, “Well, Qianqian, why did you come home instead of staying in the sect?”

The woman was still angry, the movement of her chest was visible. She suddenly shouted, “Jiang! Bie! Tian!”

Jiang Bietian’s whole body shook, and his face suddenly became stern. At this moment, the majesty of the City Master was revealed, and he snapped, “How dare you! I am your father! How dare you call me by my full…”

“I don’t care who you are! If you don’t make it clear today, I won’t forgive you!” the woman said and rushed over angrily.

Jiang Bietian saw her approaching him with a murderous look, and the dignity of the City Master suddenly disappeared. He quickly retreated and said, “Perfected Immortal Zixuan, hurry… discipline your disciple.”

The woman walked to the side of Perfected Immortal Zixuan and looked at him. Immediately, a chilling smile appeared on her face. “Master, so you’re here.”

“Ahem, ahem.” Perfected Immortal Zixuan stroked his white beard and said, “Well, I have something to do. Qianqian, remember to come back earlier.” After saying that, he slipped out of the room. Then, he pinched his fingers and immediately turned into a purple light and flew toward the direction of the Pure Mind Sect.

Seeing Perfected Immortal Zixuan had left, Jiang Bietian hurriedly shook his hand with a wry smile and said, “Well, Qianqian, let’s talk nicely this time. Let’s not be physical. This time, who is the one who makes my Qianqian angry? Tell me now, and I’ll ask someone to teach him a lesson!”

Jiang Qianqian was still angry. She grabbed his collar and shouted, “That Baili Xiaohualuo, what’s going on!”