The Truth of Three Years Ago

"Great! It's indeed swordsmanship of the Low Class of Spiritual. Furthermore, it has sword movement graphics drawn by a predecessor from the Heaven Realm!"

With a smile on his face, Lin Fengxian put the code and the graphics of the Sacred Sword Skill away immediately.

It was terrific!

The Lin family's foundation would become much stronger with this sword technique of the Low-Class of Spiritual added to its collection.

The Superior Deacon walked over to Zhang Ruochen and said, "Master, the Sacred Sword Skill was sold for 1,240,000 silver coins at auction. Minus the 12,000 silver coins paid to the auction, you will receive 1,228,000 million silver coins in the end. Would you prefer to exchange them for Spiritual Crystals, or Blood Pills, or deposit them in the Martial Market Bank?"

When ordinary people traded, they usually used copper, silver, or gold coins. However, when warriors traded with each other, they generally used Blood Pills or Spiritual Crystals.

Zhang Ruochen said, "Deposit 1,200,000 silver coins in the Martial Market Bank, and exchange 20,000 silver coins for Spiritual Crystals, then give the remaining 8,000 silver coins to me."

An hour later, the Superior Deacon gave a card made from a yellow spinel to Zhang Ruochen and said, "Master, this is the Three-star VIP Card of the Martial Market Bank. The 1,200,000 silver coins have been deposited in it."

A "VIP Card" was a symbol of identity, and few people in the Yunwu Commandery had the Three-star VIP Card.

Owning a Three-star VIP Card meant that your wealth was above 1,000,000 silver coins.

Then, the Superior Deacon gave a package containing 20 Spiritual Crystals and 8,000 silver coins to Zhang Ruochen.

Zhang Ruochen picked up the package and walked out of the Central Auction without saying a word.

"This guy's back looks so familiar!"

Lin Ningshan stared at that dark shadow walking away and had a familiar feeling in her heart.

Lin Fengxian said, "I felt that familiar feeling a bit, too. Maybe I've seen him in the palace. This is not an ordinary guy. Maybe his true identity is a little scary."

Lin Ningshan asked curiously, "Why do you say that, daddy?"

Lin Fengxian said seriously, "The ink of the Sacred Sword Skill is still wet, which means that the graphics were drawn today, but anyone who could draw the Sacred Sword Skill must be a superior of the Heaven Realm."

"That means that this guy is either the superior of the Heaven Realm or has a connection to a superior of the Heaven Realm. Either way, we can't afford to offend him."

"A superior of the Heaven Realm..." Lin Ningshan was shocked, and she said, "It seems that even grandpa has not yet reached the Heaven Realm."

Lin Fengxian nodded, with some longing in his eyes.

There were four realms in Martial Arts: the Yellow Realm, the Black Realm, the Earth Realm, and the Heaven Realm.

"The Heaven Realm" referred to the acme realm of Martial Arts, full of Martial Arts legends. A man from the Realm of Heaven could confront an army of 100,000 alone. They were the truly superiors.

When someone surpassed the Heaven Realm, they no longer belonged to Martial Arts, or even to the mortal body. Their capabilities were beyond normal warriors' imaginations.

Lin Ningshan said, "There shouldn't be many superiors of the Heaven Realm in the palace. Maybe if we tried to, we could find out who he was."

Lin Fengxian's face became austere and he said, "Don't do such a foolish thing. The Lins will pay a heavy price if we offend a superior of the Heaven Realm."

With sparkling wisdom in her eyes, Lin Ningshan said, "I have a question, daddy! Since he is someone important in the palace, he wouldn't have run short of silver coins. So, why did he sell a Spiritual Stage sword technique at auction?"

Lin Fengxian thought carefully for a while and said, "There are eight Martial Arts of the Royal Family, which are all famous, but the Sacred Sword Skill wasn't one of them. We'd better not investigate it. The Lin family can't afford to offend a superior of the Heaven Realm."

"Shan, you have the Sacred Mark of sword technique, thus, you are the best candidate to practice this Sacred Sword Skill. You will definitely shine among the young nobles in the Year-end Assessment if you can practice the first art of sword techniques successfully within three months."

...

Zhang Ruochen walked out of the Martial Market after leaving the Central Auction. He made a detour in Yunwu City and found a hidden spot to take off his black cloak and kylin gold-gilded boots. He put them into the Time and Space Spinel, then put on a pair of ordinary cloth shoes.

He looked just like an ordinary young warrior in this garb.

"Now, no one will recognize that I was the mystery man who just sold the Sacred Sword Skill at auction."

Zhang Ruochen walked into the Martial Market again to purchase the items that he needed, holding the parcel with Spiritual Crystals and silver coins in it.

First of all, he spent 4,000 silver coins on 20 potions of Marrow-washing Liquid.

Then, he spent another 1,000 silver coins to buy 200 pellets of Blood Pills. According to his current cultivation, First-Class Blood Pills were quite sufficient. 200 First-Class Blood Pills could support him for half a year.

Later, he bought the other two medicines that could increase his cultivation, "Refining Powder" and "Energy Pills".

Both of them were very expensive, even the genius disciple of the great families could not afford such treasures when they were at the Initial Stage of the Yellow Realm.

But for a wealthy man like Zhang Ruochen, as long as it could increase his cultivation quickly, he would be willing to spending as many silver coins as he had.

Finally, he spent five Spiritual Crystals on five doses of Refining Powder.

Another 10 Spiritual Crystals on 10 Energy Pills.

He also bought Muscles and Bones Regenerating ointment for Yun for 500 silver coins. Apart from the 1,200,000 silver coins that he kept in the Martial Market Bank, he had five Spiritual Crystals and 2,500 silver coins with him.

Zhang Ruochen returned to the palace again after he stored all the Pills he just bought into the Time and Space Spinel.

"Sister Yun, this is the Muscles and Bones Regenerating ointment that I bought for you. It will help your arm heal quicker." Zhang Ruochen took out an elegant ebony box and gave it to Yun.

Yun seemed a little shocked for a moment. Then a bit nervously, she took the ebony box and opened it.

It immediately exuded a fragrance of the medicine that was inside.

She felt grateful and surprised at the same time and asked, "Ninth Prince, where... where did you get the silver coins for the Muscles and Bones Regenerating ointment?"

It was common knowledge that the Muscles and Bones Regenerating ointment of the lowest quality cost 200 silver coins. The better one even cost 500 silver coins.

Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Sister Yun, I have some secrets that I can't tell you right now. I hope that you can keep a secret for me."

Yun stared at Zhang Ruochen deeply and nodded. She whispered, "May I tell Concubine Lin?"

"Not now," Zhang Ruochen said.

"Well, you have my word." Yun held the ebony box in her hand tightly and felt relieved inside. Since the Ninth Prince could spend hundreds of silver coins to buy her Muscles and Bones Regenerating ointment, he certainly had great opportunities.

Maybe the Ninth Prince would become a superior of Martial Arts in the future.

Zhang Ruochen asked, "There is one thing that I can't understand, and I hope Sister Yun can tell me the truth. My mother is the sister of the Head of the Lins. Why did she break off all relations with the Lin's? What happened three years ago?"

Yun sighed and said, "Since you are always sick and weak, and couldn't stand the shock, it was kept a secret. But you have opened the Sacred Mark now, so I'll tell you."

"You should remember Lin Chenyu, the top genius of the Lin family. He is your cousin, and also the eldest son of the Head of the Lins. He practiced to the Completion of the Yellow Realm when he was just 17."

"But three years ago, Lin Chenyu offended another genius, a greater genius than himself. His legs were broken by that genius, and he was sent to the Celestial Prison."

"How did that happen?" Zhang Ruochen asked. "The Lin family counts as one of the top great families in the Yunwu Commandery. Who would dare to send the top genius of the Lin family to the Celestial Prison? Could it be that the genius offended by Lin Chenyu had an extraordinary background?"

Yun nodded and said, "Yes. Lin Chenyu offended the Seventh Prince, the most shining star in the Yunwu Commandery. Compared to the Seventh Prince, all other geniuses mean nothing."

"I see." Zhang Ruochen nodded. He finally understood.

Yun continued, "The Head of the Lins came into the palace at once to beg Concubine Lin after Lin Chenyu was sent to the Celestial Prison. He had hoped that Concubine Lin could ask the Commandery Prince for a favor. He would pay any price if only he would spare Lin Chenyu's life.

"Naturally, Concubine Lin went immediately and asked to meet the Commandery Prince, but she was blocked by the queen. They had an argument about it. In a fit of rage, the Queen sentenced Concubine Lin to be flogged 30 times as punishment. Concubine Lin was covered in blood and nearly died when the punishment was over."

"Bang!"

Zhang Ruochen smacked the pillar with his palm, biting his teeth, and said, "Did the Yunwu Commandery Prince just let it go without even caring?"

Yun said, "You should understand that the Seventh Prince was the most talented of the Commandery Prince's nine sons. The Commandery Prince loved him deeply and had great expectations for him. Commandery Prince did a thorough investigation and found out it was totally Lin Chenyu's fault, who nearly killed the Seventh Prince."

"The Yunwu Commandery Prince flew into a rage because of this. He thought that Concubine Lin was unreasonable to even think of asking a favor for Lin Chenyu, a man who had made such a huge mistake."

"The Yunwu Commandery Prince used to love Concubine Lin very much, but after that, he treated her more coldly."

Yun continued, "The Lins didn't understand the suffering that Concubine Lin had undergone. They didn't dare to blame the queen or the Seventh Prince, so they blamed Concubine Lin for all of it. In their opinion, they lost a top genius just because Concubine Lin didn't ask the Commandery Prince for a favor. The Lins cast Concubine Lin out, and have dissociated with her completely since then."

Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath. He felt bitter about the unfair treatment Concubine Lin had suffered. He clenched his fist and hit the pillar again. With a deep voice, he said, "Power! Without great power, you can't survive in this world. You can't get fair treatment!"