003-Qin Xingxuan

The fair was held on the outskirts of Sky Fortune City; this place is where the biggest number of business transactions was conducted. There would be a summit of fairs held every year. In this fair, even martial masters of neighboring kingdoms would come over to find and buy the items that they required.

As Lin Ming arrived at the entrance to the fair, he observed the bustling crowd of people and the high range of goods on display. 'Indeed, seeing is believing.' Looking at all these treasure armor and swords he was once again fascinated by the world of cultivation. This was a place of luxury, a world for nobles and masters. It would not be surprising to see a Pulse Condensation master randomly moving around the crowd of people.

Lin Ming suddenly heard a commotion in the crowd, turning his head he looked on with anticipation knowing who it was. A white luxurious carriage arrived at the entrance drawn by horses arriving at the entrance to the fair. The horses pulling the carriage were all the same precious type: Draconic Snow Horses. These horses possess great speed and endurance. One of them could fetch up to ten thousand gold teals in price.

Lin Xiaodong by his side exclaimed looking at the carriage, "Do you see that crest depicting a knight with a golden spear on the carriage? That is the Marshal Quarters carriage."

"Oh, looks like it is. I wonder who is inside." Lin Ming said while looking at the carriage his voice carrying a fake surprised tone which Lin Xiaodong didn't catch, too busy admiring the beautiful carriage and horses.

Within the military structure of Sky Fortune Kingdom, the position of a captain of ten thousand men is a great accomplishment. Next up would be the position of Major. Above Major is the Colonel; above the Colonel is the General. Finally, above the General is the Marshal. In all of Sky Fortune Kingdom, only one person made it to the position of Marshal during the past eighty years.

A number of citizens of Sky Fortune Kingdom may not know of the current Emperor's name. However, all of them knew the name of the Marshal.

The Kingdom Protector, Grand Marshal Qin Xiao; eighty years ago, Sky Fortune Kingdom suffered from an invasion led by the Eastern Sun Kingdom. Countless lives were lost and the Imperial Family had to take refuge in the South. Qin Xiao was the only one who had stayed behind. Commanding his Qin Army forces, he contributed meritorious deeds in succession, reclaiming lost lands and saving the northern population who were in dire straits. After three years, the Qin Army forces finally managed to defeat the Eastern Sun Kingdom. The capital was relocated and Qin Xiao was granted the title of Marshal in the very same year. At the same time, the veterans of the military were organized to establish the Sky Fortune Martial House.

Due to its limited foundation, the Sky Fortune Martial House is unable to compete with the Seven Profound Martial House which is established by a Grade Three Sect, the Seven Profound Valley. However, Sky Fortune Martial House also serves as the military academy for Sky Fortune Kingdom. Those who enter the military after graduating from Sky Fortune Martial House would certainly be able to attain a good position.

As for Qin Xiao, he is the Honorary Principal of Sky Fortune Martial House. His martial cultivation had reached the middle Houtian stage. For the average martial artist, the Houtian Stage and those beyond the Pulse Condensation Stage are something too far away.

The carriage stopped and the people on the street wondered who was the esteemed individual from the marshal quarters.

The carriage doors opened and everybody including Lin Ming was surprised to see a beautiful young woman alighting from the carriage. Seeing the young woman, Lin Ming felt surprised while Lin Xiaodong's eyes became glued straight at her. Lin Ming was finally able to witness what a country-toppling beauty was.

The young woman was wearing a white dress, her black hair descending down onto her waist, her skin glistening with the luster of beautiful jade, her appearance as mesmerizing as the full moon, her eyes shining like the waters of autumn. She has a fine raised nose, a pointed chin, and a slender jade-like neck. There were simply no flaws that one could see. In addition, she exuded an aura of wisdom and purity, causing an inevitable thought to enter the minds of those who set their eyes on her: A peerless beauty.

The young woman with her bodyguards and maids proceeded to the fair leaving all the amazed onlookers behind. "Alright, Xiaodong. Let's go, we should also see what good things this fair has."

Listening to Lin Ming, Lin Xiaodong came back to his senses, "Ah, brother don't you know who that was?"

"Her? She should be Marshal Qin's granddaughter with the fabled Sixth Grade martial talent." Hearing Lin Ming's lukewarm response Lin Xiaodong was a little stunned. Seeing his little brother's stunned look Lin Ming just turned around with a smile on his face, "Let's go, we have wasted enough time."

Not knowing how to respond Lin Xiaodong just followed after Lin Ming muttering something about not appreciating the beauty and whatnot.

…

After looking around the place for some time Lin Ming separated from Lin Xiaodong. Lin Ming's main objective for coming to the fair was to look for Inscription materials so that he could start his practice as soon as possible. He had already digested all the knowledge, all he needed was lots of practice to make that knowledge into his own skill.

'But first I need to do something about my clothes…' Lin Ming looked at his clothing and he could clearly see that even though his clothes looked decent if one were to look closely they would easily be able to tell it was old and slightly faded in some places. 'Haah, I still don't get what goes through the heads of these protagonists…' Not wanting to dwell on the subject Lin Ming first headed to a good clothing shop and bought two sets of new clothes.

Looking at himself in the mirror Lin Ming nodded with a smile, after a round of impurities cleansing Lin Ming indeed looked more handsome than before. 'With a handsome face and beautiful clothes, things will become a lot easier.' Lin Ming himself was never a vain person but he knew how society worked, even in his previous life, often times people judge a book by its cover and a good first impression makes a world of difference.

Leaving the clothing shop he headed for the shop that sold Inscription engraving materials, reading the novel he already knew that; he might only be able to buy a few materials listed. 'Doesn't matter, what I need right now is practice, lots and lots of practice.' Sky Wind Grass juice, rank three desolate beasts' blood, long-tailed cicadas' molt, ice-bound shrimp… Ling Ming purchased these materials in a frenzy.

Lin Ming had decided to not use true essence stones for the time being, even the lowest grade stone he had was at least worth 1000 teals of gold. If he were to exchange more than one, with his background it would be highly suspicious, so before he had gotten himself an influential and powerful backer he would not be exposing his wealth moreover exchanging true essence stones for money seemed like a really idiotic decision to Lin Ming, even though he has a virtually infinite amount of it.

After purchasing all the ingredients he headed to the appointed inn that he and Xiaodong had decided before separating. Entering the room Lin Ming saw his little brother lazing on the chair and admiring the sword he had gotten from Wang Yigao. Hearing the sound of the door opening Lin Xiaodong turned around to see Lin Ming, before he could greet him his eyes widened a little after seeing Lin Ming's new attire, "Whoa, brother Ming did you buy new clothes, you look like a noble young master and what's in the bag."

"Hmm, my previous clothes were getting a little old. This is some materials I bought for Inscription engraving."

"What!? Brother Ming, you want to become an Inscription master!? Where did you get the idea to become an inscription master? Did you really spend all your money on the materials?" Lin Xiaodong sounded agitated, his eyes wide as saucers as he looked at Lin Ming carrying a big bag full of ingredients.

Seeing the expected reaction Lin Ming started to laugh a little, "Why are laughing, have you lost your mind?" "Hahaha, okay; okay. Calm down first, let's sit down and talk." Setting all the materials on the table Lin Ming sat on the opposite chair, seeing his brother Ming so calm and collected Lin Xiaodong also calmed down a little and decided to hear him out.

"Xiaodong, my circumstances right now are a little dangerous, the only thing I can do right now is to increase my strength and possibly find a powerful backer. Learning the Inscription technique is the only thing I can think about right now to increase my strength quickly and I already have a teacher so you don't have to worry too much."

"What!? Really? You already have a teacher?" Hearing Lin Xiodong's surprised and suspicious tone Lin Ming just smiled and didn't elaborate further, instead, he handed him a jade box and a white jade bottle.

"Here, this is for you. Open it." Taking the items, Lin Xiaodong opened the box full of curiosity. What greeted him was a warm light glowing from crystal clear pure stones. Looking at the twenty crystal clear pure stones Lin Xiaodong looked at Lin Ming flabbergasted.

"B-b-brother Ming, th-this. What is this?" Not able to believe his eyes Lin Xiaodong questioned Lin Ming despite knowing the answer.

Lin Ming lightly chuckled at his silly expression, "Hehehe, didn't I just tell you, I already have a teacher? This is something he gave me for cultivation; I have hundreds of true essence stones on me so you can use these freely. The jade bottle has precious elixir for cleansing morrow and removing impurities you should use it as soon as possible. If you run out of true essence stones, you can ask me for more, just keep it to yourself."

Hearing Lin Ming Lin Xiaodong started laughing happily and kept the jade box safely inside his pouch. "To encounter such a wealthy master, Brother Ming your luck and fortune is really unmatched."

"Alright alright, no need for such superfluous words between us. All you have to do now is cultivate and try to enter the Seven Profound Martial House, forget everything else. I know you have little ambition in a martial way but with the resources I will be giving you it's not impossible to reach Pulse Condensation."

Hearing Lin Ming's sincere tone Lin Xiaodong became a little embarrassed, "I understand! I will work hard!"