The group got up early the next morning and went into the parlor for breakfast. Perhaps because she knew who Zhou Lihua was, the person serving them was the inn’s proprietress.

She was an older woman who looked to be between middle and old age. Her graying hair was tied into a neat bun and a few strands framed her face. She wore makeup to cover the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. It was clear from her appearance that she wasn’t a cultivator, since people who cultivate usually looked a lot younger than they appeared.

The proprietress came out of the kitchen alongside a pair of servants and presented them all with that morning’s breakfast—a literal smorgasbord of food. There was congee, of course, a traditional breakfast food, but there was also steamed buns, dumplings, noodles cooked in sesame oil, and jian bing (breakfast crepes filled with eggs, scallions, and soybean paste).

They were also served tea.

“Thank you for the meal,” Zhou Lihua said to the proprietress with a polite bow of her head.

“Not at all! I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for gracing our establishment with your presence, most esteemed guests,” the proprietress said with an even more pronounced bow.

Everyone began eating as the proprietress and her servants left their table. Wu Jian decided to try a bit of everything and found the jian bing to be his favorite. The crepes were soft and had a nice texture, while the filling of eggs, scallions, and soybean paste enhanced the flavor. He wished the Wu Clan would serve this instead of congee every morning.

“Jian, you should eat some of these vegetables,” Wu Meiying held up her chopsticks, which had freshly steamed veggies on them.

Wu Jian looked away. “… I don’t need them. I already ate some vegetables.”

“You had one bite of broccoli. That’s not nearly enough. You’re a growing boy, so eat your veggies.”

“I… I don’t… want to…”

Wu Jian would not call himself a picky eater. He ate his vegetables at dinner, but that was when they were drenched in various sauces and seasonings. These veggies were just steamed. They hadn’t even been flavored with salt. How could Wu Meiying expect him to eat those?

“Please, Jian? Do it for me?”

“Ugh… okay! Fine! Fine! Just stop looking at me like that!”

Wu Meiying’s large eyes that all but begged him to do as she asked disappeared and a smile replaced her pleading expression as she held out the chopsticks to him.

“Thank you, Jian. Now, say ‘aaah.’”

“Aaaah.”

Wu Jian grimaced, but he opened his mouth and let her place the food inside. They didn’t have much flavor. The veggies had been steamed and were soft, but texture was the only claim to fame these things had.

“Oh, my. Wu Meiying has a really good handle on Wu Jian, doesn’t she?” asked Zhou Lihua.

Hou Jingshu sighed. “Yeah… she seems to know exactly what to do to make Wu Jian do whatever she wants.”

I can hear you two, you know. Don’t make it sound like I’m her loyal puppy.

Though he couldn’t deny the two of them were correct. Had he ever been able to deny Wu Meiying anything when she really wanted something from him? Not that he could recall.

Once they finished eating, the group left, their destination Wong Jiu’s home. As they walked, Wu Jian noticed the bags under Hou Jingshu’s eyes.

“Are you okay?”

She glared at him. “Do I look okay?”

“You look tired,” he said.

“And who’s fault do you think that is?” She sighed irritably. “Between Zhou Lihua flirting with you and Wu Meiying trying to slip into your bed when I wasn’t looking, I am thoroughly exhausted. I barely slept at all.”

“That’s not my fault,” Wu Meiying said.

“Yes, it is!” Hou Jingshu snapped. “You kept trying to sneak into Jian’s bed when you thought I was asleep!”

Wu Meiying shrugged. “You could have just let me sleep with Jian.”

“That wouldn’t be appropriate!”

If there was one thing Wu Jian had learned from his time with Hou Jingshu, it was that she was a very proper girl. Barring that one night they had fallen asleep together in his bed, she always maintained a respectful distance between them, which honestly bothered him a bit. He would have liked it if she was more forward like Wu Meiying.

Wu Jian sometimes wondered if he should push her, but he also didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Besides, she already had to deal with Wu Meiying’s constant teasing and boundary pushing. The last thing he wanted to do was add to her woes.

“You three are very fun to watch,” Zhou Lihua said with a smile.

“Don’t you start in on this too,” Hou Jingshu said with an unladylike grunt.

They soon arrived at Wong Jiu’s home. Zhou Lihua’s bodyguards positioned themselves around the entrance as he, Wu Meiying, Hou Jingshu, and Zhou Lihua went up to the door and knocked. Only one knock was required before the door opened and the man they had come to see greeted them.

Unlike last him, his expression this time was filled with determination. It also looked like he had cleaned himself. His beard was trimmed, his hair was combed, and he wore the robes of a Fourth-tier Alchemist.

“Greetings, esteemed alchemist Wong Jiu.” Zhou Lihua cupped her hands and bowed, low and respectful. Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu copied her actions. As she rose, Zhou Lihua smiled up at him. “Can I take your current appearance to mean you have accepted my offer?”

Wong Jiu closed his eyes. “I don’t want you to think I am doing this because I want to. My only concern is trying to set my wayward student on the right path. Nothing else matters to me.”

“That is fine.” Zhou Lihua held out her hand. “I hope we can both accomplish our goals.”

Wong Jiu looked at the hand she offered, then hesitantly reached out and grasped it with his own, sealing the deal between him and the Zhou Clan. As they shook, he looked at the young lady with open curiosity.

“I have a question for you,” he said.

Zhou Lihua tilted her head. “What is it?”

“What would you have done if I had refused to work with you?”

“That’s simple. I would have remained in Dahua City and continued to visit you every day, wearing down your defenses until you agreed to my proposal.” She flashed him a brilliant smile and fluttered her eyelashes.

Wong Jiu snorted as he let go of her hand. “I guess I saved myself a lot of headaches then.”

“You did indeed,” Zhou Lihua agreed.

Because they had not been sure Wong Jiu would immediately agree to join them, they had not prepared to leave. It would take most of the day to get ready.

“Master Jiu, since this is my friends’ first time visiting Dahua City, I would like to let them visit the Arena. Would you like to go back with my servants to the inn we are staying at and wait there while theyy get everything ready, or would you prefer to come with us?” asked Zhou Lihua.

Wong Jiu crossed his arms, then said, “I will travel with you for now.”

“Very well. Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, Hou Jingshu, follow me, please. I shall take you to the arena as I promised,” Zhou Lihua told them.

Their group traveled through the streets. Maybe he was just imagining it, but it seemed like they had attracted even more people’s eyes than usual.

“It’s not just you,” Wu Meiying said as if she could read his mind. “Remember what Lihua said? Wong Jiu is a very prominent alchemist. I imagine everyone in Dahua City knows of him. They are probably shocked to see him out and about.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Wu Jian nodded.

According to what Zhou Lihua had told them the other day, Wong Jiu was not only a well-known alchemist, he was also well-known for being a crotchety old coot who never left his home. Men and women all over the Shang Kingdom came to ask for an apprenticeship under him, but he turned all of them down. He was known for saying some very harsh words too.

“I wonder what the arena is like,” Hou Jingshu said.

“It’s probably bigger than the one in Zahn City,” said Wu Jian.

She nodded. “But I doubt it's as big as the one in the capital.”

“It’s a shame we can’t participate in any tournaments there. I would love to test my strength.”

“Me too!”

Hou Jingshu showed no interest in alchemy and only seemed to care about increasing her strength and combat abilities. Of course, since her dream was to become a powerful cultivator, her focus would naturally be on the aspects of cultivation she could do right now.

As a fellow cultivation enthusiast, Wu Jian understood her desire better than anyone.

The Arena was much larger than Wu Jian first assumed. It looked like a gigantic oval with several layers. Aesthetically appealing archways and surrounded it on all sides and several columns thick enough that he, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu could link their arms and still not be able to encircle them stood beneath each layer, which reminded him of a cake.

It was just as large inside as it was outside. They walked past hundreds of people dressed in a variety of clothing. A reception desk stood near several doors.

“I would like five tickets for the tier one fights, please,” said Zhou Lihua.

“That’ll be fifteen silver coins,” said the receptionist, a young woman with a polite smile.

Zhou Lihua paid the woman, received the tickets, and led everyone through one of the doors. She explained how the Arena worked as they walked.

“The Arena is composed of three levels, or tiers. Tier One is for combatants who have reached the Hunger Realm, Tier Two is for Anima Realm Cultivators, and Tier Three is where Asura Realm Cultivators fight.”

“Why does it only go up to three tiers?” asked Wu Jian.

“Because no one in Dahua City has reached the Human Limit Realm, and no Human Limit Realm cultivator would bother coming to such a small city,” said Wong Jiu, finally deigning to speak.

Hou Jingshu picked up where he left off. “The Human Limit Realm is the pinnacle of cultivation here in the Shang Kingdom. I can count the number of cultivators in the Shang Kingdom who have reached this realm on one hand.”

“With so few Human Limit Realm Cultivators, there’s simply no point in having a fourth tier. Of course, that goes double for any realm beyond that,” Zhou Lihua ended the conversation.

They soon reached Tier One, which looked like a typical arena. The five of them took their seats just as another battle was about to happen.

Wu Jian had never seen a battle between real cultivators before. He leaned forward and watched with excitement as the pair traded techniques.

One of them launched fire from their fists. Another threw a kick that unleashed a crescent of pure chi to annihilate the fire. It soon became clear that they were evenly matched, so they closed the distance and began duking it out.

Their clash produced sparks and explosions that echoed around the Arena. Watching them use their chi like that was exhilarating.

“That was amazing!” Wu Jian exclaimed as they left the Arena.

“Right?! Right?! I loved seeing how they use their chi to create all those techniques! They were so cool!” Hou Jingshu enthusiastically agreed. She nodded and smiled along with him.

“Che. That fight was pathetic. You can tell those two weren’t very versed in using chi. Their techniques were wasting a ton of energy and their control was lacking. They used up so much that they ran out of chi toward the end,” Wong Jiu said.

Hou Jingshu and Wu Jian glared at the old man, who paid them no mind. Wu Meiying and Zhou Lihua shared a smile between each other.

They traveled back to the inn. Everyone else had already prepared all of their stuff to leave. Wu Jian was sad to know his luggage already boarded up on the carriage. None of them had known how long this trip would be, but they had planned for at least six days, and he would have liked to stay for all of them.

They met up with Zhou Lihua’s attendants outside and traveled with them to the stables, where everyone else was waiting for them.

“Are we ready?” asked Wong Jiu.

“We are,” Zhou Lihua said.

“Good. Let’s get going. I want to reach Zahn City quickly.”

He might look the part of an alchemist, but I guess he’s still a crotchety old man, Wu Jian thought with a wry smile.

While Zhou Chao, Zhou Kang, and the last bodyguard mounted their horses, Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, Hou Jingshu, Zhou Lihua, Zhou Lin, Zhou Lan, and now Wong Jiu boarded the carriage.

It was fortunately spacious enough to seat seven people and still have plenty of breathing room. Wu Jian once again sat between Hou Jingshu and Wu Meiying. Wong Jiu sat next to Zhou Lan.

The sounds of the reins cracking preceded the carriage moving. Wu Jian looked out the window as buildings passed by, deep in thought.

We managed to accomplish our goal and have an alchemist who can compete with Tian Hao, but I wonder if this will solve all our problems? I suppose only time will tell.