After wandering around the market for over two hours, Ian Song and Wendy Lin made their way up to a tavern.
New to the capital, Ian was basically flying blind. But taverns were chaotic places, perfect for picking up information.
They picked a window seat, ordered some food and wine, and quietly started eating and drinking.
Half an hour passed in a flash. Ian overheard plenty of rumors, but none were what he was looking for.
Just as he was about to pay and leave, a conversation suddenly caught his attention.
"Sigh, our Saint Son and Saintess were supposed to be a perfect pair. Now the Saint Son has just died, and the Saintess is actually going to marry the Sixth Prince!"
"Watch your mouth! If this gets back to the Church, you'll be in big trouble. The Saintess isn't someone we can just gossip about."
"I'm just saying I feel bad for the Saint Son!" The speaker looked a bit frustrated.
Another person fell silent, downed a bowl of wine in one gulp, and said, "Yeah, everyone in the Church knows how devoted the Saint Son was to the Saintess. The Sixth Prince is fine, but how could he compare to our Saint Son?"
"Alright, that's enough. Let's drink, let's drink!"
After that, the two didn't mention the topic again, but Ian's face looked a bit grim.
Lila Li was actually going to marry someone else. That made him seriously uncomfortable. Sure, what happened between them wasn't exactly voluntary, but the fact remained—they'd crossed that line, and Ian had started to think of Lila as one of his women.
But now, his woman was about to marry someone else. How could he possibly accept that?
"Brother Song, what's wrong?" Wendy Lin noticed Ian's expression change and couldn't help but ask with concern.
Ian shook his head and forced a smile. "It's nothing. Let's go."
After leaving the tavern, Ian planned to head into the inner city. The Prime One Church's main altar was there, and only by entering could he dig up more information about Lila Li.
But just as he stepped out of the tavern, the sound-transmission talisman he carried suddenly lit up.
Ian took out the talisman, and a voice rang out: "Young master, do you have a moment? There's progress on the forging matter. I'm waiting for you at the Eastsun Pavilion outside the market to discuss the details!"
Putting away the talisman, Ian immediately changed course and headed for the Eastsun Pavilion.
As soon as he arrived, Ian saw Yuna Zhou waiting for them at the entrance.
"Please, come in, sir. Miss, this way!" Yuna Zhou greeted them warmly.
With Yuna leading the way, Ian and Wendy followed her up to a private room on the third floor.
Yuna poured tea for both of them and asked, "May I ask how I should address you two?"
"I'm Ian Song, and she's Wendy Lin."
"So it's Young Master Song and Miss Lin. I'm Yuna Zhou."
After a bit of small talk, Yuna got straight to business: "Young Master Song, could you show me the flying sword you want reforged?"
"Of course."
Ian nodded, flipped his palm, and the Dragonspine Sword appeared in his hand.
The moment Yuna saw the Dragonspine Sword, her eyes lit up and locked onto it, unable to look away. Then her brows furrowed. "The material is top-tier, but the forging technique is honestly terrible."
"Exactly. That's why I want it reforged," Ian nodded.
Yuna fell silent for a while before continuing, "Young Master Song, if this sword had been forged by a master in the first place, it could've easily reached fifth-grade spirit weapon, maybe even sixth-grade. But now, with reforging, fifth-grade is the best it can be."
As she spoke, Yuna glanced at Ian and noticed his expression was still perfectly calm. She thought to herself that his background must be extraordinary. That made her hesitate about taking the job—her master used to be famous, and if Ian recognized the forging technique, it could reveal her teacher's identity.
If word got out, it would be a huge hassle.
But her master's health was getting worse by the day, and if she couldn't buy the needed spirit medicines, things would only go downhill. The problem was, those two rare medicines were insanely expensive—just running a stall, she couldn't hope to save up enough spirit crystals even after three or five years.
Thinking of this, Yuna gritted her teeth and said, "Young Master Song, we can take this commission—but I have one request."
"Go ahead," Ian replied.
"If anyone asks, you absolutely can't tell them who forged your magic weapon!"
"No problem!" Ian nodded.
"Thank you for understanding, Young Master Song. Then please swear on Heavenly Tribulation."
"Alright!"
Ian nodded again and swore a Heavenly Tribulation oath, promising not to reveal who helped him with the forging.
Seeing Ian make the oath, Yuna smiled again. "Thank you so much, Young Master Song. Normally, reforging your Dragonspine Sword would cost six hundred spirit crystals, but since you're keeping things secret for us, I'll only charge you five hundred mid-grade spirit crystals."
"No need. Let's make it six hundred. I don't need to save a few spirit crystals!"
Ian waved it off. He could tell Yuna's background wasn't simple—if her identity got exposed, it could bring disaster. Yet she still took the job, so she must really need the spirit crystals.
Spirit crystals were precious to any cultivator, but Ian had an entire world backing him. As long as his empire inside the Divine Temple stayed safe, he could keep collecting spirit crystals endlessly.
Yuna was stunned that Ian refused the discount. She felt a little moved, and realized this young master was seriously loaded.
"Then please, Young Master Song, Miss Lin, come with me!"
Led by Yuna, the two entered a small, low courtyard.
"Sorry it's so humble—please don't mind!" Yuna said with a light laugh, then brought out tea and snacks for them.
Soon after, Yuna brought out two contracts for Ian to sign.
After signing, each took a copy. Yuna said, "Young Master Song, please hand over the Dragonspine Sword now. It'll be ready in at most ten days. Of course, there are spare rooms here if you want to stay!"
"Alright!"
Ian nodded and, with a casual wave, produced six high-grade spirit crystals. "Here's the forging fee—take it first."
"Thank you for your trust, Young Master Song!"
Yuna was moved again. Normally, people only paid a third upfront, but Ian settled everything at once. After seeing so much scheming, it felt special to be trusted like this.
"Cough, cough!"
With a bout of coughing, an elderly, thin, and withered man stepped out of the house. "Yuna, is everything settled?"
Yuna put away the six high-grade spirit crystals, went over to support the old man, and said, "Master, everything's sorted. By the way, this is Young Master Song and Miss Lin. Young Master Song, Miss Lin, this is my master."
"Greetings, sir."
Ian stood up and bowed. He could sense that the old man was actually a late Out-of-Body cultivator, but his injuries were severe and a faint death qi clung to him. In his current state, he might not even be able to beat an early Out-of-Body opponent.