It took two full days of work to harvest everything from the Hell Ape. Every part of the corpse was valuable in some way. The organs could be either cooked or used in medicine, the hide and bones made extremely durable armor and clothing, and of course, the spirit core was the most valuable item of all.

Spirit cores could either be used in alchemy or as the base for a profound spirit weapon and armor. The type of spirit core used in the creation of armor and weapons created specific effects. Wu Jian didn’t know what kind of effect this spirit core would create, but he imagined it might boost a person’s physical abilities since that was the Hell Ape’s main strength.

“What do you think you’ll do with the spirit core?” asked Yu Qiang as they left.

“I don’t know. I suppose it will depend on what it can do,” said Wu Jian.

They were on their way out of the forest. The test had already ended, according to Yu Qiang. They had remained several extra days to harvest the Hell Ape. Everyone else had already exited the forest and made their way back to the Shang Kingdom Imperial Academy. They would have taken the airship that brought them here, so Wu Jian and Yu Qiang were forced to travel across the country themselves.

“You should take it to an appraiser,” suggested Yu Qiang.

“I suppose I’ll do that.”

Appraisers were people who had practiced the art of appraising items by infusing their chi into said items to discover what sort of abilities they had. It was considered a sacred art that very few could master. Grandpa Son had once talked about appraisers. They spent over a decade to learn the basics of appraising, but they also needed to have a null affinity.

Null affinity was the term used to describe someone who did not have an affinity for any element. Since profound spirit armor and weapons could have an elemental effect, or they could have a non-elemental effect. Having an element would mess with an appraiser’s ability to appraise an element.

They soon emerged from the forest. The sun overhead was so bright after being in the dark forest that Wu Jian needed to squint to see. He looked at the vast plains that stretched out before them with a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun.

“How long will it take to reach Shang Imperial City?” asked Wu Jian.

“If we run there without stopping… maybe two days, but I imagine we’ll want to stop and rest, so four days.”

“Four days on the road, huh.”

“I’m sure that’s nothing for you.”

“It’s not. I’ve spent a lot longer on the road than that. I was just thinking about how much it’s going to suck not being able to sleep with Jingshu for four whole days.”

“Are you trying to make me jealous?”

“Me? Try to make you jealous? No. Of course not.”

“You sure?”

“… Is it working?”

“A little. Anyway, let’s get moving. The sooner we head out, the sooner we can reach home.”

“And the sooner I can have sex.”

“… Okay. Now I know you’re trying to get under my skin.”

“Maybe just a little.”

There were several villages and two cities between Imperial Shang Capital and the forest, which Wu Jian finally learned was called Hei Forest. Hei meant black in the ancient tongue. It had been named such due to how dark it was when you traveled deeper into the forest. The forest’s center was said to be so dark it was black even during the day.

They first journeyed to a small village called Huopo. It was bigger than Zahn City but smaller than Da Hua village. They did not remain there for more than a single night before continuing on, bypassing two more villages before reaching the first city, which was marked by a massive city gate made of red stone pillars.

“This city is called Mencho,” said Yu Qiang. “It’s the fifth largest city in the Shang Kingdom, well-known for its entertainment district.”

Entertainment distinct, otherwise known as the red light district. They were a place where beautiful men and women entertained guests. Their forms of entertainment were often sexual in nature. Wu Jian knew about them, of course, but he had never been to one himself. He had only heard about them from Huǒ Shuchang.

“Are you interested in going to one?” asked Yu Qiang with a knowing smile.

Wu Jian tilted his head. “Why would I be interested in the red light district?”

Yu Qiang hesitated. “Well… there are a lot of beautiful women…”

“None of them will be as beautiful as Jingshu or Lili.”

“Lili?”

“Zhou Lihua.”

“Ah… you even gave her a nickname. Are you two…?”

“We haven’t had sex yet.”

“Oh. Well, that’s a--wait. Yet?”

“Anyway, I don’t need beautiful women, and I’m not interested in having sex with someone I don’t even know. There’s really no point in going to the red light district.”

“Wow. Geeze. Okay. Now I really am jealous.”

“I bask in your jealousy.”

“Ugh. Whatever, let’s just go inside…”

Wu Jian and Yu Qiang walked up to the entrance gate. It was large, painted red and gold, and kinda gaudy. He didn’t say anything as he stood in line, waiting for his turn to enter. There were several people in front of them, everything from merchants traveling alongside a caravan to individuals whose powerful chi made it clear they were cultivators.

“Is this city a popular place among cultivators?” asked Wu Jian.

Yu Qiang chuckled. “This place is popular among everyone, but there is a very famous arena here where cultivators often gather.”

“Do they have tournaments?” asked Wu Jian.

“Not really. But they do a lot of exhibition matches. The arena is owned by the Mun Family. They are a powerful noble family. The family head is Mun Han. He is also the governor of this city and handles all the administrative affairs that keeps it running smoothly,” explained Yu Qiang.

“And what kind of person is Mun Han?” asked Wu Jian.

“I have not met him myself, so all I have is hearsay and rumors, but I’m told he is a rather flamboyant individual. However, he does have a keen sense for business and knows how to run a city. Mencho isn’t the largest city in the Shang Kingdom only because he limits how many people can live there and uses the red light district and arena to attract tourists. There are also gambling parlors, pubs, and many places to get good food.”

Wu Jian nodded. This Mun Han sounded like a pretty interesting individual, but maybe not someone he would care to meet. Huǒ Shuchang was flamboyant enough. He couldn’t imagine someone even worse than that.

They soon reached the gate entrance. Two people stood guard, both men, and both intimidatingly tall. However, their height was the only thing intimidating about them. They were only at the Hunger Realm. Their purpose was likely just to deter normal people from causing trouble. A cultivator would never be scared of them.

“Present your IDs and state your reasons for coming here,” one of them said.

“We’re just passing through,” said Yu Qiang as he gave them his Shang Imperial Academy badge.

“Ah. You’re a Core Disciple of the Shang Imperial Academy! Apologies, My Lord. We had no idea,” said one of them.

Yu Qiang grimaced but somehow maintained his smile as he waved them off. “It’s fine. You couldn’t have known since neither of us are wearing our uniforms. Can we go inside?”

“Of course. Please, enjoy your stay.”

Both guards bowed as they allowed the two of them to enter.

What appeared before Wu Jian’s eyes as he walked through the gates was a sprawling city filled with many different types of architecture. No two buildings looked quite the same. The size, shape, and themes all seemed different. This made for an eye-catching sight, though maybe a bit too gaudy and over the top for his tastes. He much preferred calmer sights, but he couldn’t deny there was appeal in this city.

Aside from the numerous people bustling too and fro, there were many individuals standing on the roadside and trying to entice customers into entering their establishments. Bars, restaurants, casinos, inns… all manner of establishments was present, and dozens of people came and went from each one at any given time.

“Let’s go find an inn--”

“Let’s go to the arena.”

Yu Qiang stopped walking. Wu Jian walked a little further, realized his companion wasn’t following him, and looked back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t you normally find an inn first?” asked Yu Qiang.

“We can do that later. I want to check out the arena.”

“But…”

“I want to check out the arena.”

“… Fine. I didn’t realize you could be so pushy. Are you like this with Her Highness too?”

“Only sometimes. I think she tempers me a bit.”

“So, basically, you hold yourself back because you don’t want to upset her.”

“More or less.”

Wu Jian quickly asked someone for directions, then led the way to the arena, which was located in the northwest corner of the city--the exact opposite direction as the red light district. He supposed that was because people of all ages came to see people fight in the arena.

The arena was not an indoor one like what he had seen in Da Hua City. There was no roof over the oval-shaped building. However, it was several times bigger than Da Hua City’s arena. Demarcating the entrance were sixteen rows of dragon statues in the same red and gold as the gate. The arena building was also painted red and gold.

Wu Jian waited in one of several lines near the entrance. Several pretty young women worked the ticket booths. When it was his turn, he didn’t even give the woman a chance to speak before he asked his question.

“How do I participate in the arena?”

The woman only needed a moment to process his question before smiling. “Participants can sign up here. Before you can sign up, I’ll need to tell you about how the arena works. We do not host tournaments. Battles are fought by random selection. You may fight one battle a day, or you may fight several. You could also fight none. We also allow cultivators to fight by encore. If more people want to see you battle, we will make a special exception and let you remain up until you are defeated. Every victory will earn you a share of the profits made from bets. It’s only 15%, but depending on how many people bet, that can be quite a lot. The more you fight, the more your popularity rises, and the more money people will place on you. More bets means more money.”

Wu Jian nodded as he listened to this woman talk. He didn’t actually care about how all this worked. He just wanted to battle. Once the woman finished explaining everything to him, she had him sign a form, gave him a badge, and told him that he could head into the waiting room.

“Do you really need to fight right now?” asked Yu Qiang after they entered the arena. He heard stomping and cheers from above, so they must have been underneath the seats.

Wu Jian shrugged. “Maybe not, but I reached the ninth subrealm thanks to my battle with the Hell Ape. I haven’t had a chance to stabilize my cultivation base, but I need to do that sooner rather than later.”

“Oh. Hmm. I hadn’t even noticed. Congratulations.” Yu Qiang seemed a tad flustered. “Anyway, I guess I understand why we’re here now. You plan to use combat as a means of stabilizing your cultivation.”

“Yup.”

“Fine. I suppose that is an easier method than meditating right now. We can’t really afford to spend several days away, so this will be much faster. I’ll go and find us an inn to stay at.”

“Actually, there’s something else I want you to do.”

Yu Qiang hesitated. “What is it?”

Wu Jian summoned a large sack that jangled in his hand and passed it to Yu Qiang. The man looked inside, then gawked when he saw all the spirit coins. He looked from the coins to Wu Jian, back to the coins, then to Wu Jian once more.

“Are you… telling me to bet on you?”

“That’s right.”

“You’re that confident in your victory? What if you lose?”

“Do you really think I’d lose?”

The Shang Kingdom did not have many powerful spiritualists. Asura Realm cultivators might have been relatively common in this country, but the number of cultivators above that realm could be counted on one hand and still have fingers left over. Wu Jian was a peak Asura Realm cultivator, and he had enough power to kill a magical beast at the peak of the Human Limit Realm, a creature not even Yu Chenguang could slay.

If there was someone capable of fighting against him in this kingdom, he would love to meet them.

“I… guess not,” Yu Qiang said at last.

“You look like you have something to say.”

“No. Well, not really. I’m just curious about something.”

“What is it?”

“Are you one of those so-called battle maniacs?”

“Not to the best of my knowledge.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

It wasn’t like Wu Jian enjoyed fighting for the sake of fighting. He liked seeing where his limits were and breaking past them, but that wasn’t the same as enjoying combat for the sake of combat. It was just the most convenient way to know where his limits lie. Fighting against a bunch of different opponents was also good training for the future. The more people he fought, the more he learned, and the better he would be at dealing with different kinds of enemies. Since he didn’t know much about his clan’s destroyer, it was best to gather experience from battling as many people as possible.

“Well… okay then. I’ll go bet on you,” said Yu Qiang with a tired sigh.

“Thank you,” said Wu Jian.

Wu Jian and Yu Qiang parted ways, with one going into the waiting room for participants, and the other heading to the betting booths.