Some people, like Pan Qiaochun, maliciously speculated about the "truth" of the matter.

...

"BANG!"

As fireworks burst into the sky at Midnight, New Year’s Eve drew to a close.

However, the discussions surrounding Xiao Chen only grew more intense, even spreading rapidly to other places.

Inside the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers, Master Yaohua, seated in the seat of honor, listened to her subordinate’s report. A hint of surprise flashed in her beautiful eyes. "It was him?"

She had heard the name before. If she recalled correctly, he was a Golden Core Immortal Seedling from the Li Huo Sect.

Daoist Yao Qin, who was reclining nearby, heard this and asked curiously, "Sister, do you know this Xiao Chen?"

Master Yaohua explained, "Have you forgotten? The last time I went to the Thousand Bamboo Tower, an auction was being held."

"It was that very Xiao Chen who spent one hundred and ten thousand Spirit Stones that day to buy a set of Wind and Thunder Dual Swords."

Daoist Yao Qin understood at once. She had heard this story before, but at the time, her focus had been on the alliance with the Thousand Bamboo True Man, so she hadn’t paid much attention to the other details.

Recalling the event now, she immediately asked with concern, "Sister, in that case, who do you think is stronger? Xiao Chen or our Li Xue?"

Master Yaohua laughed in spite of herself. "Junior Sister, I know you dote on your precious disciple, but there’s no need to worry about something like this."

"Our Xue’Er is so outstanding and hardworking, and on top of that, she has the aptitude of a Celestial Spirit Root."

"In this generation, besides Shao Mingyou from the Cyan Cloud Sect, comparing her to anyone else would just be bullying them, wouldn’t it?"

The Xue’Er she mentioned was Daoist Yao Qin’s only current Direct Disciple—Zhong Lixue.

She was also the Golden Core Immortal Seedling that the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers was grooming with all its resources for this generation.

Zhong Lixue, who was nearby, heard their exchange and curiously glanced at the report they were discussing, her eyes landing on the score after Xiao Chen’s name. She silently committed the number—three hundred and eighty—to memory.

The Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers had reviewed the Lingyuan Sect’s monthly reports several times before, mainly to gauge the strength of the sect’s new generation.

Zhong Lixue had never paid much attention to these things before.

She had been told since childhood that, aside from Shao Mingyou, no one else was considered her rival.

She was born with a talent seen in one in ten thousand, shouldering the mission to reach the Golden Core realm and revitalize the sect. She was not like these other people.

This was the first time her master had ever compared her to someone on the monthly report.

’But come to think of it, I don’t recall seeing a score of nearly four hundred points in any of the past reports.’

Having been under Daoist Yao Qin’s strict tutelage, Zhong Lixue naturally possessed a competitive spirit.

She decided she would go back and find out exactly what that score signified.

.

Perhaps they too wanted to celebrate the new year properly, or maybe they just wanted a period of rest, or perhaps they were biding their time to gather their strength.

In any case, for the last two days, the Divine Fire Sect had uncharacteristically refrained from attacking and had even voluntarily retreated some distance.

Because of this, the cultivators stationed at the front lines were granted an extra day of leave and could depart in rotating shifts.

The local Hezhou cultivators finally had a chance to return home, while the cultivators who had traveled from Li State could take the opportunity to sightsee nearby.

During this brief truce, a joyous atmosphere spread throughout Hezhou.

Xiao Chen also received a message: the Qingyang Spirit Ore mine was shutting down for a two-day break.

So, he dismissed the Qi Refining cultivators under his command and rode his sword to the nearest marketplace—Xianghe Market.

Xianghe Market was located less than five hundred li southwest of Qingyang Mountain.

Within the Lingyuan Sect’s territory, it was the second-largest marketplace, surpassed only by Lingyuan Market.

It ranked among the top five in all of Hezhou. Back when he was still in Li State, Xiao Chen had read about Xianghe Market in the *Hezhou Travelogue*.

It was said that a great river, fifty feet wide, encircled the outskirts of the marketplace.

Upstream from this great river was Xiangye Mountain. Every autumn, vast quantities of fragrant leaves would fall into the water from the mountain, carried downstream by the current and imbuing the entire river with their scent. Thus, it earned the name Xianghe, the Fragrant River.

From high atop his flying sword, Xiao Chen spotted the legendary Xianghe River from a great distance.

Unfortunately, it was already the first month of the lunar year, so he wouldn’t get to witness the magnificent spectacle of a river filled with fragrant leaves.

Perhaps due to the truce, Xianghe Market was already a veritable sea of people, even though it was only the sixth day of the new year.

An especially large number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators were present. Streaks of sword light crisscrossed the sky, almost without pause.

Since Lingyuan Market was too far away, nearly all the cultivators from Li State looking for some recreation had come here.

Xiao Chen spotted several familiar faces with just a single sweep of his eyes.

Strolling through the marketplace, Xiao Chen could clearly feel that the atmosphere in Xianghe Market was entirely different from Li Huo Market.

First of all, there were far fewer of the ubiquitous street stalls, replaced instead by one specialized shop after another.

For example, Li Huo Market also had shops that sold Magical Artifacts.

But aside from a few shops specializing in Flying Swords, most stores tended to sell several different types of Magical Artifacts.

In Xianghe Market, however, Xiao Chen had already encountered two shops that sold nothing but Magic Robes in just a short amount of time.

He also found a shop that sold only Protective Jade Pendants, named—the Jade Carving Studio.

According to the shop’s host, each type of Protective Jade Pendant they sold was permanently enchanted with three different Defense Magic spells.

A cultivator could freely activate any of the three spells with their Divine Sense, depending on their needs.

Their effect was nearly identical to that of a Defense Talisman, but with the added advantage of being reusable.

Moreover, the pendants were exquisitely designed; all of the inscriptions were hidden within them using special Artifact Refining techniques.

They were so beautiful that they would be worth buying simply as a decorative accessory.

Xiao Chen had only intended to browse, but he was surprised to find that the shop even carried jade pendants enchanted with Tier Two Defense Magic.