Silent Rain City. Public training ground.

Yan Wei spent the better part of a day navigating the streets of the city by remaining invisible to his surroundings and following the general crowd from location to location.

Using this method, he was able to find a store that sold spiritual resources, an establishment that supposedly had the best clothing in the city, and another pill shop that was of a much lower caliber than his.

It was clear to Yan Wei that all of these places weren’t doing well financially, and that he and the Pill Master were fortunate to not be just like them, if not worse.

Then there was his final stop, a large training ground where hundreds of people gathered and exchanged pointers. Most people in Silent Rain City were either unfriendly or bloodthirsty, and this training ground was comprised of the latter.

He was just about to sink back into the crowd after looking around when he suddenly heard an energetic voice call out.

“Could be talking to anyone,” Yan Wei thought, preparing to disappear.

However, he heard the same voice call out again. “You, with the mask!”

“... Or not.” Yan Wei sighed and turned around.

He looked through the rows of taciturn people in front of practice dummies for the person who called him, only to find that there was a group of young men standing in the far corner of the training ground, each holding a pair of arm-length wooden rods.

The assumed leader of the group, a young adult with clean stubble and a crude smile on his face, held his hand up in the air and shouted, “Do you practice swordplay?”

“No,” Yan Wei shouted back. “I barely even practice writing.”

The group of young men laughed uproariously, then the man shouted once more. “In that case, why don’t you join us? It wouldn’t hurt to pick up a skill or two while you’re still young.”

Yan Wei was prepared to decline; all he was looking for was a blacksmith, after all.

But in the long term, increasing his strength in every way possible, not just through cultivation, was exactly what Yan Wei wanted. As for swordplay, it was something that would most likely come in handy in the future.

Therefore, after a moment of reserve, he replied, “I’m looking for something at the moment, but I’ll be sure to come back soon. Keep an open spot for me.”

They had a good impression of him already, so they all voiced their agreement and bid him farewell, one after another.

However, before everyone could get a chance, the world around them suddenly felt odd. They saw him walk away, but his movements followed an otherworldly rhythm that seemed to slow everything around him to a crawl, as if his existence transcended the mundane.

In a way that was neither fast nor slow, he vanished from their line of sight without leaving a trace. Their heartbeats raced, and in that moment of amazement, they had already forgotten what they were doing.

Even Yan Wei himself didn’t realize he was doing something so strange, he just knew he was in a bit of a rush and wanted to find a blacksmith before businesses started closing for the day.

While the others continued training with confounded expressions, the older youth had a serious expression on his face.

“That wasn’t just a kid…” he said, trembling where he stood. “No one in Source Realm, especially a child, has that level of spatial awareness. It’s not possible. Even if he really was who he appeared to be, that means he was definitely concealing his cultivation, and most definitely wasn’t from Silent Rain City.

“... I’m thinking about it too much. If he truly does return, I’ll find out what his intentions are in this place.”

Since it was earlier on in the evening, naturally there were still a few people wandering about. Catching snowflakes on his fingertips, Yan Wei’s movements had already returned to normal as he strolled down an open road that appeared to be a dead end up ahead.

This wasn’t unusual, as a lot of roads in the city were like this. In fact, if one were to get a bird’s eye view of Silent Rain City, they would find that the main roads all meandered out from a central point like the spiral arms of a galaxy. From here, they branched off into many connecting side streets and alleyways.

Bandits and generally bad people were what made up Silent Rain City, thus, none of the roads could be considered safe. What made Yan Wei curious about this road in particular was that it had a beacon of sorts.

Fair-sized cottages decorated the roadsides, and at the very end of the cul-de-sac, there was a two-story structure with three chimneys, each fuming with a different hue of colorful smoke.

Drunkards were stumbling out of the door in single file, and new ones replaced them shortly after.

On the porch of a certain cottage, Chen Yifeng was removing leather from a tanning rack when he saw Yan Wei’s outline, veiled by snowfall. Only when Yan Wei was passing by did he manage to see who it was.

Elated, Chen Yifeng dropped what he was doing and turned to greet him. “Big brother?”

“Chen Yifeng? Don’t tell me you live all the way out here,” Yan Wei said, stepping onto the torchlit porch that shielded them from the snow.

“Yeah, I do,” Chen Yifeng replied. “How come you’re so far away from the pill shop?”

“I’m looking for a blacksmith,” Yan Wei answered. “Do you know of one?”

Chen Yifeng shrugged. “I don’t think there are any around here, but I wouldn’t know. Why did you need to find one?”

“I need a nearly impenetrable material for a piece of equipment I’m working on, and tempered steel would have done just fine.”

“Impenetrable...” Chen Yifeng muttered. “I might be able to help, come with me!” He grabbed Yan Wei by his sleeve and dragged him inside the cottage.

“Father!” Chen Yifeng shouted as he ran into the adjacent room.

Yan Wei stood there patiently with his hands resting behind his back, looking around at the strange room.

There were gorgeous animal hides hung up on the walls, and ruined pieces of leather scattered across the floor, seemingly torn through by a sharp edge of some sort.

A few moments later, Chen Yifeng returned with a middle-aged man by his side. He wore simple clothes that signified his wealth, and the dark bags under his eyes were proof of his tiring labor.

Even so, his entire person radiated intelligence. From the exterior, one could tell he was most likely a scholar that never quite made his aspirations into a reality.

“A guest at this hour is unusual,” he said. “Who might you be?”

Yan Wei clasped his hands and bowed deeply. “My name is Yan Wei. Chen Yifeng has helped out at my workplace before, so I’m more or less acquainted with him.”

“Are you the one who bestowed Immortal medicine to Yifeng?” he asked in a strange voice.

“I am,” Yan Wei nodded. “I promised him the pill in return for his assistance, and I keep my word.”

A smile broke out on the man’s face. “Then you are always welcome here in the home of Chen Zhe. What brought you here so late in the day?”

“I’m not so sure either,” Yan Wei said as he looked over at Chen Yifeng. “I was originally looking for a material to use that can’t be pierced easily, and could sustain considerable damage from blunt force. However, with the way things are, it looks like that won’t happen today.”

“Father, we can help him, right?” Chen Yifeng gave his father a knowing look.

“Indeed, we can,” Chen Zhe said as he pondered for a moment. “Wait right here.” He hurried back into the next room over, an elated grin on his face.