It was a huge blow to Yun Fei that he had no meridians and it had made him somewhat depressed.

He heaved a big sigh as he thought,’This isn’t the end of the road by far, I can still brute force it like I have been doing till now. However, if I could use this method, it would have been a tremendous help. Like a tiger being given wings.

Being depressed won't help me in any way. Since I've come to a big city for the first time in my life, let's just tour the city, maybe it’ll help in settling my mental state.'

Yun Fei stepped out of his room, went down the stairs and exited the inn, still somewhat gloomy.

Just as Yun Fei was moving towards one of the markets he saw on the way to the inn yesterday, he heard an immature voice behind him.

"Mister, if you are new to the city. I can take you around. For just 3 gold coins I can show you around the whole city and take you to the places that you would like to go."

As Yun Fei turned around, he saw a 13 or 14 year old boy. He was wearing dirty clothes and had a very wide smile on his face.

'I have around 1000 gold coins after robbing that moron who stumbled into me yesterday. Since I am new in the city, it would be more efficient to hire a native to move around the city.'

"I have been living on the streets of this city for more than 6 years, nobody knows about all the corners of this city better than me.

With me around, it would be hard for the shop owners to scam you because you’re from the outside."

The boy once again advertised himself.

Smiling, Yun Fei tossed 3 gold coins to the boy. He asked,"What are you called?”

The boy smiled even wider as he caught the three gold coins and then said,

"Master, I am called Devanshu, I hail from the wandering tribes. Where would you like me to take you first?"

‘Devanshu?, what a strange name. I suppose his tribe must have completely different customs. Big cities really have diverse populations.'

"Just show me to a market, I want to look at the shops selling goods for cultivators."

"That's it? If so, then please follow me."

As they were moving through the streets, the boy suddenly said.

"Master, I saw your altercation yesterday. You were very cool, most newcomers to the city are apprehensive in moving against these local conmen and frequently get conned by them.

I thought you would willingly pay the compensation he asked for too, but it was a nice change to see that bastard get insulted like that. He always bullies me."

'This kid talks too much.' thought Yun Fei. Thinking of it as a nice change of pace, He didn't intend to interfere.

"This market sells the best goods at the cheapest price in the whole city.

As there are also independent stalls set up by cultivators on the street, you can sometimes find good things for cheap."

There was a wide open area in front of them, packed with stalls and people.

There were also large shops that bordered the square with grand plaques that carried their names.

"Master, It would be better if you first look around the stalls for things you might like.

If you still aren't satisfied, you can then look into the large shops to purchase what you need.

The quality may be lacking but the stalls usually offer a better price and the margin for bargaining depends on the single owner.

The stores will usually carry most of the things they specialise in, since the quality is guaranteed, the price will also be higher, many of them also refuse to bargain as they have a stable business.

Yun Fei nodded as he heard the explanation of the boy and looked at the rows and rows of dingy stalls lined in front of him.

There were people hawking weapons and weapon shards, Yun Fei saw a man selling his body as a sturdy living furnace. There were stables filled with strange beasts and even human slaves.

A particular stall caught his wandering eye, it was manned by a scholarly fellow who made no effort to promote his wares. Regardless of his apparent disinterest, the stall boasted an enormous crowd.

The reason for this was that the man was selling talismans. Talismans were simply mini arrays that brought a great advantage to the holder.

Talismans didn’t need Qi to activate and carried multiple functions depending on the skill of the formation master who created them.

If one held a defensive talisman at an appropriate level, they could even defend against a move of someone with a higher cultivation than their own.

In the perilous cultivation world, this was equal to another life.

A talisman with the offensive power beyond one's level could actually let a cultivator use a move that was higher than their own cultivation level.

It meant certain death for a cultivator who encountered an additional move with a higher power level, when both the cultivators were evenly matched.

From this, it was easy to imagine the value of well crafted talismans and also the exponential increase in value when made by a higher level formation master. This information was from one of the manuals Yun Fei had gained from Song Shifang

Since he knew that there was no way he could afford the displayed talismans, he forced his greedy gaze off from the stall.

As Yun Fei was scanning the nearby stalls, He suddenly saw something which shocked him. Not displaying anything on his face, Yun Fei moved towards a stall.

"Fellow cultivator, may I ask what are these things that you are selling here?"

Yun Fei asked the old stall owner who suddenly stood up, his eyes glinting up with a little excitement.

"Master, you shouldn't mess with this weird old man. He has been selling these replica things for a very long time.

He won't stop telling the story passed by his ancestors, so nobody talks to him anymore. People just buy these carvings because they look good."

"It's alright, let me hear his story."

The old man suddenly started explaining with an excited tone, very happy that someone was willing to listen to him.

"Eons ago, when cultivators were as numerous as flies and the golden age of the Skyrend continent was in full blossom, there was an unrivalled sovereign that held dominion over the whole Skyrend continent.

This invincible master was known only by his moniker, THE FOREST KING.

A thoroughly mysterious personage, the forest king stayed in seclusion in his legendary city of thorns, based deep in the forests of the then heavily wooded continent, that city’s location is now lost to the annals of history.

As the years passed, he disappeared from the eyes of the people. Until one day, the earth trembled and the skies sundered as a heavy baritone resonated across the continent

My time in this world has now been cut short. The King must pass on without a successor, what can be more indignant.

The fated shall appear, if not today then tomorrow. To him, the fated, I say bring thine head, bring mine crown install you I shall on the mound of my grave on the dust that is my bones, accept my inheritance and carry forth my legacy.

Hearing these words it is said that even the rock hearted let loose tears, the pain in the voice, the strength and the immovable resolve shook the hearts of old monsters worldwide.

His pain was apparent but the tone brooked no pity, asking no quarter of destiny. The cultivation behemoth left behind these words along with an image of a wooden crown.

This crown was carved by my ancestors after observing the image that stayed in the sky for 10 days after the announcement.

It is rumored that the inheritance is still overseen by the remnants of the forest king's followers.

Young man, you should buy it. Maybe you'll need it one day when you encounter the real crown to compare it with."

"Hahahaha, even I would become a con artist like you if such bullshit actually worked on people." ridiculed Devanshu.

"What's the price? I'll buy it." said Yun Fei.

He almost couldn't believe the story of the old man, but he wanted to. As the crown that he had snatched from a monkey in the forest looked exactly the same as the carvings. However, it seemed much more real.

Yun Fei held very little hope for it being real. However, if it turned out to be real, he would've gained a massive profit.

'Maybe I can look for that tomb one day, and obtain whatever was left behind by this Forest King,' thought Yun Fei.

Looking at Yun Fei purchasing the wooden carving of a crown, the kid had his jaw dropped as he really considered running a similar con to the old man.

Yun Fei paid 10 gold coins for a crown and kept it inside his space pouch, right beside the one he already had. So he could compare them later.

Yun Fei's mood improved a little after buying the manuals he wanted and the wooden crown.

"Take me to a good restaurant. Let's eat something."

Chattering more than ever Devanshu led the way to a small but clean establishment.

His mood alleviating a lot after his gains, Yun Fei made conversation with Devanshu. Who, on hearing that the food was “Generous Master’s” treat stuffed his face with a refreshing if not disgusting gusto.

They ordered the best wine in the house, and like many young men drinking for the first time Yun Fei gulped down jar after jar of strong wine without considering any consequences, losing himself in the calm of the truly drunk.

As a cultivator, he could easily galvanise his body and neutralize the alcohol, but he chose not to. Drinking himself into a stupor, Yun Fei slapped a large amount of gold coins on the wooden table.

Clapping the still eating Devanshu on the shoulder he said,

"I'll meet you sometime later kid. Keep the change."

Smiling at Devanshu’s greetings, spluttered between mouthfuls of food, Yun Fei left the restaurant walking the dark streets of the city.

He was intoxicated for the first time in his life, he felt very weird and his mind was drawn away from the issues plaguing him.

The only thing left inside Yun Fei was a sense of estrangement that he felt, the loneliness of someone without any shackles.

No matter how much he drew away from the issues, he was never able to erase this bitterness which had settled inside him from the moment he had found that he didn't have meridians required for practicing human cultivation.

It was the final nail, making painfully obvious his origins or the apparent lack of them.

Tasting this feeling, Yun Fei kept walking forwards in the dark city, slowly moving towards the general direction where he might be able to see the stars a little better.

These stars were something that had always fascinated him. Yun Fei had a very strong attraction to the night sky ever since he was a kid.

He used to just watch the moon and stars in the sky for hours on end to calm himself down from events that had unsettled or hurt him.

Even in the forest that Yun Fei had spent two years in without the companionship of any spiritual being, he had climbed the trees to stare at the night sky.

Watching the gentle twinkling of the stars and the cold glow of the moon always had the miraculous effect of healing Yun Fei's mind and improving his mood.

Reaching a rather open area in a part of the city, Yun Fei set his back against a rock as he gazed upwards towards the sky.

'I am alone, not lonely. What people consider loneliness is simply the lack of approval, a lack of confirmation from their peers.

The king has no peer, so the king is always alone but never lonely, for he needs no affirmation. When your word is the law and the heavens bend over for you that's when you become a sovereign.'

"I just can't do it." A loud shout broke the serene mood of the situation as Yun Fei noticed that he had parked hinself near a thatched hut which still had an oil lamp burning inside it.

In no mood to get up and move away from his chosen place, Yun Fei didn't budge an inch as he watched the sky.

"But why? Why can't you do it?" An old voice questioned the owner of the brash voice which had sounded out just a moment ago.

"There is no way for me to, the land has no path leading to it because of the landslide last week.

If I have no path to reach the land, how can I farm it? I must take up a new job till the road is cleared somehow."

"You don't know anything other than to farm, you can't survive without any skills in an already saturated market. The competition is harsh in the city.

Son, you must not forget that we farmers cultivate the land to give birth to crops that are used to feed the people.

If farmers refuse to cultivate the crops, how will the world function?

You must not forget that land is not tillable from the start. A farmer must use his hoe to pave his own way and then cultivate his fields.

Rather than relying on some mysterious circumstances that might clear the path to our field for us, We must take our hoes in hand and carve a path out for ourselves."

The son of the farmer fell into contemplation as he repeated his father's words again.

"We must take our hoes in hand and carve a path out for ourselves……"

After a moment or two his voice once again sounded out, this time filled with some enthusiasm and determination.

"That's right, if we have no way we will carve one out ourselves.

How could I not think of something so obvious?"

"You don't need to blame yourself for that. In his life, A man might not be able to complete a task simply beacuse he believes it to be impossible.

If you yourself believe that you can't achieve something, you definitely won't be able to do it.

However, if you believe that you are capable of it, although there's still a chance of failure, there's also a chance for success.

It is why I admire cultivators so much they are much like us farmers we cultivate the earth to yield its energy and they cultivate the heavens to steal its energy, for them the impossible is simply a matter of time and determination."

As Yun Fei heard this conversation between an old father and his young son, his eyes slowly lit up with a demonic light.

Yun Fei suddenly stood up as he started laughing his lungs out to the air, he suddenly said with an excited and knowing tone.

"So that's how it was. If you believe that you don't have a chance, you erase whatever chances you might have had.

But, with a belief of success comes the chance of success that you always had but could never see.

Carving a path for myself, Hahahahahaha. I still have that chance remaining."

Yun Fei's wild laughter and proclamation startled the old man and his son.

They hurriedly opened the door to see who it was, who was quietly listening to their conversation. But all they could witness in the dark of the night was a fast moving shadow, hurrying towards the more prosperous part of the city.