After searching across his department for a few minutes, Xan managed to gather some valuable items.

He had a coat crafted by using the fur of a magical elk beast that his mother used in some of his expeditions. Even though it didn't have any special quality, it was very resistant and could protect from extreme cold.

He also found a water bottle with a water-energy-infused stone on the bottom. As he wasn't a cultivator, he couldn't use it, but injecting some energy into the rock would create water to refill the bottle.

Besides that, he also had twelve energy coins that his mother managed to save from the payment of the expeditions. It wasn't much, but it could be helpful while negotiating for techniques.

He was far from having a fortune, but it should still be enough to buy a cultivation technique if he could choose the right person.

And that would be his next step: finding someone that accepts a reasonable price for a technique.

After some wondering, Xan decided to ask a member of one of the subordinate families. Obviously, there was a reason for this.

After his mother's death and his father's abandonment, he was alone. Very few people had offered to help him, with some being members of the second area, but there was also a member of the subordinate families.

During his time as an explorer, his mother became friends with many people. One of those people was the Irongrain Family's last daughter, who had also participated in a few expeditions.

And when his mother passed away, she told him that she would lend him a hand when he needed it if it was possible.

Because of that, Xan believed that if he asked her for some cultivation technique, she wouldn't take advantage of him. But meeting her wouldn't be so easy.

As she couldn't simply enter the subordinate families area, she would need to either ask for access or to ask someone with permission to tell her mother's friend that he wanted to talk with her.

As managing to get permission without revealing his intentions would be almost impossible, he decided to go with the second idea. He left his department stealthily and began walking towards the third area as quickly as possible.

Five parts composed the third area of the fortress, one for each subordinate family. Because of this, each of them had one entrance, so he went to the Irongrain Family's area and knocked on the door.

One of the servants didn't take long to open the door. It was a man with white hair, and as soon as he saw Xan, his smile turned into a face of disgust.

"What are you doing here? Are you lost or what?" the man asked while frowning.

"I would like to talk with Freya Irongrain. Could you tell her that Shanya's son is here?" Xan asked while slightly trembling before half smiling." Please?"

"I will see what I can do, but I promise nothing." The man said while signing before closing the door.

For the next few minutes, Xan waited patiently in front of the door until the man returned.

"You are lucky. She decided to talk with you." the man said apathetically as he opened the door wider.

Making a sign for Xan to follow him, the door began to walk through various corridors before they arrived at a door. Carefully, the man opened the door before talking.

"Lady Freya, the boy is here." the man said while bowing slightly."I will leave if you don't need me for anything else."

Inside the room, a woman around thirty years old was sitting on a couch. As soon as she saw Xan, she smiled widely before standing up and running toward him to hug him.

"Long time without seeing you, little man. How is everything? Do you need anything?" she asked while squeezing Xan between her arms.

"I'm... I'm fine. I wanted to ask you for a favor." he said.

"A favor? And what is it?" she asked while releasing him.

"You see, I've been thinking about starting cultivating, but I don't have any cultivation technique, so I was wondering if you could sell me one at an affordable price," Xan said while scratching his neck.

After hearing Xan's words, the woman's expression turned into one of surprise.

"Oh, so you want to become a cultivator," she said while scratching her chin." You should know that obtaining a cultivation technique is usually very difficult if you aren't a cultivator. But because you are Shanya's son, I will give you the best price possible."

After that, Xan explained to her what valuable objects he had, but she wasn't interested in any of them. Even when he mentioned the energy coins, it wasn't enough.

"You have to understand that those are items that any commoner could get by saving some money. Their value isn't comparable to that of a cultivation technique," she said while patting Xan's back.

"Well, I don't have anything else, so I guess there isn't much we can do about it. Thanks for everything anyway. I will try and ask a few more people if anyone is interested in what I have, " he said before walking toward the door.

As he was about to leave the room, Freya called for him.

"Wait a second." he said while extending her hand toward him." Do you still have your mother's maps? I always loved them, so we could make this trade work if you are willing to lose them."