Chapter 2197: Deliberately causing difficulties Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations There were a few disciples of Saintly Origin Academy that were incredibly outstanding, and had become world-renowned in a short 20-plus years’ time. Ji Wuming, Shi Chanzi, Hong Huang, and Jia Lan were the four most famous of them. It was said that they all had overwhelming battle prowess, and even the elites of the older generation were incredibly wary of them. Ling Han was not surprised that Ji Wuming could stand out among the rest, and become the most outstanding disciple of Saintly Origin Academy, but rather because this guy killed people like he was cutting grass, and innumerable prodigies had died in his hands, so how could he possibly be so successful in such a grandiose manner in the Saintly Origin Academy? “However, these Shi Chanzi, Hong Huang, and Jia Lan could be mentioned on equal terms with Ji Wuming, which means that their strength is definitely in no way inferior to Ji Wuming’s. This is very frightening!” Ling Han mumbled. Freaks like himself and Ji Wuming should only rarely appear in epochs—one had obtained the precious treasure of a Heavenly Venerate, while the other was a reincarnated Ninth Heaven Celestial King. This was too unique. But upon further thought, wasn’t the Rain Emperor also very freakish? The Rain Emperor could form nine divided souls, so why couldn’t there be others that could do the same? Ling Han’s fighting spirit involuntarily blazed. He had always considered Ji Wuming as his only rival, but now there were another three heaven-defying freaks, and he very much longed to have a battle with these people. Ling Han had not wasted his time in these 20-plus years. He had practically spent all of it cultivating inside the Black Tower, tempering the Dividing Soul Tier to an incredibly sturdy extent before he would attempt to break through to the Immortal Palace Tier. If he wanted to become the strongest, his foundations definitely had to be very firm and stable. He definitely could not act with undue haste. 20-odd years wasn’t much. Ling Han surmised that he would probably need another 100 years to be able to polish Dividing Soul Tier to a faultless extent, and this naturally was in real time. Put in the Black Tower, this period of time would be astonishingly long. He had not made any breakthrough in cultivation, but in alchemy, Ling Han saw some hope. He was only a step away from Seventh Refinement. “In 10 years, at most, I will definitely achieve Seventh Refinement,” he said with a nod. Mainly, it was because he had too few celestial medicines, and you couldn’t make bricks without straws. It could not be helped. Celestial medicines were celestial medicines; even if they weren’t very old, they were still extremely rare to come by. “I’ll find Second Brother first, then head to the Saintly Origin Academy. With so many Ninth Heaven Celestial Kings working together, their goal probably isn’t just to nurture a few more Ninth Heaven Celestial Kings, but rather Heavenly Venerable Tiers,” Ling Han mumbled to himself. “It can be imagined just how astonishing the cultivation resources of the Saintly Origin Academy would be, and even celestial medicines would be freely given,” the Empress said. “Niu wants to eat!” Hu Niu shouted loudly. Ling Han laughed. “All right, let’s set out then!” The majority had entered into the Black Tower, continuing to work hard on cultivation. Their cultivation levels were too low, and on long-distance journeys, they would greatly influence their speed. Thus, it was just Ling Han, the Empress, and Hu Niu that were traveling together. Spending another three years’ time, they finally arrived at the Twin Horses Heavenly Realm. After entering into the Twin Horses Heavenly Realm, it was much faster for them to arrive at Lishui City. They only spent half a month’s time, and they already reached Lishui City. As per usual, entering the city required payment of entrance fees, and for Ling Han, this was naturally not a big deal. Though the Empress and Hu Niu were both astoundingly beautiful, their presence was too strong, intimidating those guards to the point that they did not dare to say much, nor did they encounter any profligate young masters, so it was natural that they did not face much trouble. Thus, they eagerly entered into the city, and began asking around about the whereabouts of the Rain Emperor. Since they had separated, 30 years had already passed. Ling Han was sure that the Rain Emperor had long since broken through to the Heaven Soul, and had come to wait in this city. Ling Han felt that as long as the Rain Emperor had arrived first, this second brother of his would definitely find a way that he could use to find him. Why? The Rain Emperor was a man who had once been an emperor, and he had been a wise emperor at that. How could he possibly be incapable of accomplishing such a small task? Indeed, Ling Han only needed to make some queries, and discovered that two alchemical pill pharmacies had been newly opened in the city. One was called the Rain Imperial Pavilion, while the other was named Han Lin Pavilion. These two stores had to have been opened by the Rain Emperor, whose goal was to lure Ling Han over. As expected, the Rain Emperor had his ways. Ling Han made some queries. Because the Rain Imperial Pavilion was nearer, he naturally headed there. He went by himself, while Hu Niu and the Empress brought the other women shopping. The cities of the Celestial Realm were all like this. Though they were called cities, they were as large as planets, so even though the Rain Imperial Pavilion was nearer to Ling Han, it was still tens of thousands of km away. Thankfully, this was only the matter of a short while to the present Ling Han. Very soon, he arrived at a great city. In truth, this could only be called a town. No matter how big it was, it was still a town. There naturally couldn’t be a city within another city. He entered the town, and soon arrived at the Rain Imperial Pavilion. However, as his eyes swept over, he couldn’t help but frown. The store was in a complete mess, tables and chairs collapsed. Many workers were either seated or lying down, all of them bearing traces of blood and bruised all over. Some had even broken limbs. Had someone just wreaked havoc here? Ling Han walked over, and asked, “Where is your boss?” “Apologies, our store needs to rest and reorganize for a while, so please go elsewhere, honored customer.” A middle-aged man approached him, and he was actually a Severing Mundane Tier. However, there was a shocking black eye around his left eye. Clearly, he had been beaten by someone. Originally, he had quite a refined manner, but now he appeared extremely battered. Ling Han chuckled. “I am a friend of your boss.” The middle-aged man glanced at Ling Han, and then an expression of dawning realization appeared on his face. “Dear customer, is your surname Ling?” “Ling Han.” Ling Han nodded. “Please wait a moment.” The middle-aged man immediately looked respectful. “My master has already received the news, and will be arriving soon. Please enter the store and have some tea first, honored guest.” “All right,” Ling Han agreed. He was just about to ascend to the second floor when over a dozen people suddenly burst in, all of them bearing expressions of malice. “Why are you back again?” the middle-aged man asked shakily, a clear expression of fear on his face. From the word “again,” it was clear that it was these people that had caused mass damage in the store previously, and had heavily beaten the staff as well. Ling Han’s feet suddenly paused, and he turned to look at these people. These people were not weak, either. Seven of them had reached the Severing Mundane Tier, while the others were Genesis Tiers. In a One-star City, this was already enough to establish a noble clan. “Naturally here to collect money.” A Severing Mundane Tier sat down on the only chair that was still intact. “Haven’t we just paid?” The middle-aged man appeared slightly angered. These people were without conscience. They had already collected their protection fees, yet still gave them a beating, destroying a great many items in the shop as well. The Severing Mundane Tier that was seated was a large bearded man. Crossing his legs, he had the air of a ruffian. “What we previously collected was the protection fees for you opening a pharmacy. However, I heard that your place also conducts prostitution, so we have to collect another sum for that.” Prostitution? The middle-aged man’s mouth gaped. ‘This is a pharmacy, so how could it possibly be related to prostitution?’ This was practically lying through his teeth, and deliberately bullying them. Ling Han turned around and descended the stairs, asking, “You are under someone’s command, right? Come, tell me, who commanded you to do such a thing?” Small gangs collected protection fees, and Ling Han understood that, but something like this was already within the category of purposely causing trouble, and making things difficult. The bearded man stared blankly, and asked, “What nonsense are you spouting? Furthermore, who do you think you are?” Ling Han stretched out a hand, and everyone only felt their vision blur before the bearded man had fallen into Ling Han’s hands.. He smilingly asked, “You can choose either to talk or not to talk, but I have a fondness, and that is to tear people into pieces. Are you interested in giving it a try?”