The Western Region was a dilapidated area, belonging to one of the lowest cultivation tiers on Blue Star. Even the 8th-tier sects that reigned supreme here were not as powerful as 8th-tier sects from other regions.
In the bustling streets of Solar City, the capital of the Great Solaris Kingdom—the only kingdom in the entire Western Region—life moved at a frantic pace. This kingdom occupied around 50 to 80 cities in total, but Solar City was its heart, where the influence of the Royal Family was strongest.
On a busy road, a gentle boy walked with a calm demeanor. He wore a white sect uniform with a Xuan-grade sword hanging from his waist; a sharp aura occasionally lingered around him. His eyes were piercing, yet his handsome face remained gentle. This was Lin Feng, the Senior Brother of the Eternal Sect. He was currently on a journey for experience, following the orders of his Sect Leader—his brother, Huai.
Lin Feng was only two years younger than Huai. He joined the sect during the recruitment ceremony two years ago.
He hailed from a poor family in Iron Hoof City. One day, while he was outside fetching toys for his ten-year-old sister, he returned to find his entire world destroyed. His family had been brutally murdered. He later learned his father had made an enemy of a powerhouse who massacred his kin. However, he never found his sister's corpse, and to this day, he held onto the hope that she was still alive.
Two years ago, when he went to the sect for registration, he hadn't actually passed the exam. However, Huai had suggested to Han Mujie—Lin Feng's master—to take him under his wing. Master Han always respected Huai as a composed child, so he took Lin Feng as a personal disciple. From that day on, Lin Feng found a new family. He became the little brother who admired Huai from the bottom of his heart. Huai had taken care of him over those two years, despite being unable to cultivate himself back then. Thus, Lin Feng became the Senior Brother of the sect, holding the highest cultivation level among all the disciples.
The sect had not only given him a family; it was also where he had lost his heart to someone special. No one knew who this person was except for Huai. How Huai found out was a different story entirely—he had once caught Lin Feng admiring the person from a distance with shining eyes. Though Lin Feng had denied the accusations when Huai teased him, the truth remained.
Because of these feelings, Lin Feng occasionally sent small gifts to that special someone, though he never mentioned his name, unable to express his feelings directly. Lin Feng was handsome, slender, and strong; anyone would be captivated by him at a single glance. During his two years at the sect, he had rejected many juniors and broken many hearts, leading others to believe he was a cold, ruthless sword fanatic. No one knew his heart already belonged to another.
Lin Feng now stood before a massive three-story building: The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Radiance. It was a famous shop selling various cultivation resources and trinkets. Previously, poverty would have prevented him from buying a good gift, but after Huai provided the treasure trove, Lin Feng had more money than most. Huai had even given him and Ling'er extra spirit stones before they left.
As Lin Feng entered the hall, thousands of people were browsing. A salesperson around 20 years old approached him politely. "Welcome, Young Master! Please tell me what you are looking for; I can introduce our items to you."
This branch was just a small part of the Pavilion's true power. The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Radiance was a 1st-tier powerhouse of the Human Federation, with its main headquarters located on one of the thirteen main planets in the Central Star Field. It was a world-renowned force for selling goods, pills, and weapons.
Lin Feng nodded and said calmly, "Do you have any silver jewelry? Specifically, something enchanted with a protection charm?"
"Yes, Young Master! Come with me; the jewelry section is on the third floor."
Lin Feng followed him upstairs. The third floor was much quieter, with only a few staff and elite customers. The boy led him to a section where jewelry made of gold, silver, platinum, and mithril was showcased in glass boxes. In this world, only the poorest people used jewelry without enchantments; everything here was magically enhanced.
Lin Feng's eyes searched until they landed on a piece he truly liked: a beautiful silver chain with a simple silver butterfly pendant, with three small chains hanging from it as ornaments. It was enchanted with one of the best charms he had ever seen—it could withstand three attacks from a Void Refinement cultivator.
Lin Feng looked at the salesperson. "I want this one. How much does it cost?"
The boy smiled widely. "Young Master, your choice is excellent! This piece arrived just yesterday from the Central Region. It costs 2,500 low-grade spirit stones."
"Okay, I'll take it. Please pack it for me," Lin Feng said.
"I want that piece of jewelry!" an arrogant voice barked from behind.
A boy around 16 or 17 years old in a green dress appeared, accompanied by a beautiful girl in red and a middle-aged staff member. The haughty youth repeated, "I want that jewelry. Pack it for me."
Lin Feng's salesperson stuttered, "Um, this Young Master already selected this necklace..."
The middle-aged man attending the newcomer cut him off arrogantly. "It's not paid for yet, so pack it for this Young Master instead."
"But that is wrong," the boy beside Lin Feng protested. "My customer selected it first."
The middle-aged man sneered, "It's not about who came first; it's about money. You should know this is the only son of the head of the Zhao Family—a 9th-tier high-level family."
A commotion broke out among the onlookers. The Zhao Family was a major power under the Great Solaris Kingdom. Lin Feng remained indifferent. Even if the Kingdom itself came, he would not be afraid; his sect was stronger now. He looked at his salesperson. "Didn't I tell you to pack it for me?"
The crowd grew interested. This boy was giving no "face" to the Zhao Family. The green-clad youth, Zhao Yan, turned dark with rage. "Boy, do you refuse to show your face even to me?"
Lin Feng replied indifferently, "Who are you that I need to show you face?"
The words shocked everyone, including the staff and the girl in red, who now looked at Lin Feng with genuine interest.
"Good! Good!" Zhao Yan hissed. "Let me see this arrogance later. I'll give 5,000 low-grade spirit stones!"
The middle-aged attendant was thrilled; his commission would be huge. But Lin Feng's gentle voice interrupted: "10,000 low-grade spirit stones."
Zhao Yan's eyes turned red. "You want to compete with my Zhao Family using stones? 20,000!"
"50,000," Lin Feng said instantly.
The crowd gasped. Zhao Yan, feeling the eyes of the beautiful girl on him, screamed in anger, "100,000!"
Lin Feng looked at him indifferently. "200,000 low-grade spirit stones. Any more?"
Zhao Yan gritted his teeth. He only had 100,000 on him. He had lost by a massive margin. "Boy, be careful on the road," he threatened, knowing he couldn't attack inside the shop. He stormed out with the girl and the attendant. The girl in red took one last lingering look at Lin Feng before following.
The middle-aged attendant's heart ached—he had missed out on a fortune. Meanwhile, Lin Feng's salesperson was overjoyed.
"Congratulations, Young Master! But please, be careful of the Zhao Family; they are not good people."
After the payment was settled, the salesperson handed Lin Feng a Silver VIP Card. "This is for those who spend over 100,000 stones. It grants you a 10% discount at any branch in the federation."
Lin Feng nodded and headed toward the exit. Before leaving, he handed a spirit pouch to the 20-year-old salesperson.
"Young Master, I cannot take this! I already made a fortune from the commission," the boy protested.
Lin Feng didn't say a word; he simply shoved the pouch into the boy's hands and vanished into the crowd. When the boy opened the pouch, he was stunned. Inside were 10,000 low-grade spirit stones. He immediately bowed toward the door, overflowing with gratitude for the mysterious Young Master.
Leaving the pavilion with the silver butterfly pendant safely tucked away, Lin Feng continued his stroll through the vibrant markets of Solar City, his attention seemingly captured by the colorful arrays of spirit-fruit stalls and weapon-testing booths. He moved with a relaxed grace, stopping at various vendors to pick up unique trinkets—a set of jade hairpins for the junior sisters and some high-grade whetstones for the disciples of the Sword Peak—acting every bit the part of a wealthy traveler enjoying a carefree day.
However, high above on the sun-baked rooftops and tucked behind the crimson pillars of the surrounding tea houses, several silhouettes moved in perfect synchronization with his steps.
These were the Zhao family's "Shadow Hounds," elite spies trained to blend into the city's chaotic energy, their eyes fixed intently on the white-robed youth. They maintained a precise distance, communicating through silent hand signals as they waited for him to exit the crowded main thoroughfare, completely unaware that while Lin Feng appeared distracted by the market's glitter, his hand remained resting lightly on the hilt of his Xuan-grade sword.
As Lin Feng stepped into the narrow, shadow-drenched alleyway, the bustling noise of the Solar City market abruptly vanished, replaced by the chilling scrap of metal against stone. The thirty members of the Zhao family's "Shadow Hounds" descended from the rooftops like predatory birds, their auras flaring at the Foundation Establishment Peak.
To the common citizens of the Western Region, a squad of thirty such cultivators was an unstoppable force capable of toppling minor sects, but to Lin Feng, they were nothing more than dust in the wind. He didn't even draw his Xuan-grade sword from its sheath; instead, he stood calmly in the center of the damp passage, his white sect uniform untouched by the grime, looking at the masked men with a gaze that held the weight of an ancient mountain.
The leader of the squad sneered, mocking Lin Feng's silence as he signaled for a synchronized strike, thirty blades glowing with toxic green Qi whistling toward the youth's vital points. In that split second, Lin Feng activated the Eternity Divine Technique, not for its raw power, but to channel the pure, unyielding Sword Intent he had refined under Huai's guidance.
The air in the alley didn't just turn cold; it seemed to freeze in time as an invisible ripple of sharp, crystalline energy erupted from Lin Feng's body. This wasn't the explosive force of a typical fire cultivator, but the silent, absolute authority of a Nascent Soul Level 4 expert who had touched the essence of the void.
Before the assassins' blades could even graze his robes, the invisible sword intent expanded like a blooming lotus of steel. The "Shadow Hounds" gasped as they felt their own life-force being sliced apart at the molecular level; the sheer pressure of Lin Feng's intent crushed their internal meridians before they could even scream.
Bodies began to fall in eerie silence, their armor intact but their souls severed by the intangible edge of the Eternity Divine Technique. It was a massacre of absolute precision—no blood splattered the walls, and no structural damage was done to the alley, yet thirty elite Foundation Establishment cultivators lay dead at his feet in the span of a single heartbeat.
Lin Feng exhaled a thin trail of white mist, the sharp aura around him receding as quickly as it had appeared. He glanced down at the fallen squad with a flicker of pity, realizing just how vast the gap had become between the disciples of the Eternal Sect and the "powers" of the Western Region. Without sparing a second look at the corpses, he adjusted the gift pouch hanging from his belt ensuring the silver pendant was there.