"But people from Medicine King Valley always pay back every slight. You just embarrassed that guy Zane Zhen in front of everyone—when you meet him on stage later, he’ll probably try to kill you for real."
Shawn Shi looked worried as he said this, but then he sounded a bit relieved: "If you hadn’t backed us up, that jerk would still be strutting around."
"Where is Medicine King Valley located?"
Evan Lin glanced at them. He’d heard of Medicine King Valley before—it sounded like it had deep roots.
Back then, even Damon Wang went there looking for medicine, but when he couldn’t get what he wanted, he blew the place up with explosives.
Right now, what Evan Lin needed most were pills strong enough to remodel his meridians and marrow.
With his current cultivation, Evan could easily overpower most people, but since he hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment yet, he couldn’t absorb or refine spiritual qi, so he couldn’t use most Dao arts.
Besides, even if Evan was strong, his body still couldn’t tank bullets or sniper fire—if someone really targeted him, it’d be a pain.
"Medicine King Valley’s location is always a secret. They say unless someone from the Valley guides you, even if you find it, you still can’t get inside—you’ll just end up lost, wandering around until you come back out."
At this point, Shawn looked a little embarrassed.
"I tried to find it once myself, but I ended up wandering around and came out without even realizing it."
The best prize ever was a five-hundred-year-old Panacea Fruit—a legendary medicine said to bring the dead back to life. Medicine King Valley sent someone to win it.
He figured that place must be protected by some kind of mechanism or small array that confuses outsiders.
Looks like I’ll have to ask Doctor Wu the Miracle Healer or Damon Wang about it sometime.
Evan Lin pondered for a moment.
He was definitely going to Medicine King Valley someday—there might be a lot to gain there.
But if he really went, it’d have to wait until he reached Foundation Establishment.
For now, his main goal was to explore the ancient tomb in Thornridge Mountain. The fragment of divine sense he’d sensed in the withered spirit herb probably pointed to clues left by a once-powerful beast.
But inside the herb’s hidden space, it was all endless darkness, which meant that divine sense was incomplete—a totally broken remnant.
"There’s still a while before the Leighton City Underground Boxing Championship. Do you have any plans before then?"
Shawn rubbed his hands and looked at Evan Lin, practically bowing and scraping.
With his talent, he wasn’t qualified to compete. He’d hoped to become a Valley Guardian for Medicine King Valley someday, but that was probably just a pipe dream.
Right now, Shawn was just hoping to get on Evan Lin’s good side. In his eyes, this unbelievably strong teenager probably had some hidden family backing him.
Otherwise, how could someone so young have that calm, collected vibe and such insane strength?
"I don’t really have any plans, but is there anywhere nearby to buy rare medicinal herbs? The older, the better."
As he said this, Evan Lin’s gaze stayed cool as he glanced at Shawn.
Shawn thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I do know a place. They always have lots of herbs there, but…"
Seeing Shawn hesitate, Evan Lin frowned. "Spit it out."
"Yes, sir!"
Shawn jumped, then hurriedly explained, "That place is a Beast Arena set up just for martial artists. Every month they update the points rewards. If you want points, you have to exchange money for them."
"Inside the Beast Arena, you can bet using points, but the prices are sky-high. I went once a few years back and lost a million yuan in less than an hour..."
Shawn still sounded bitter: "I should’ve won that round! But someone cheated!"
"Where is this place?"
Evan Lin was genuinely interested.
Aside from the money he’d sent his mom, Evan still had over fourteen million yuan left in his account.
Back at the Jared Qian Auction, Evan planned to spend it on a few herbs, but after Medicine King Valley made their big move, he just teamed up with Drake Huang and snatched them all—didn’t spend a cent.
"It’s in Riversedge County, under Leighton City. It’s not far from here."
Shawn checked out Evan Lin’s clothes, scratched his head, and looked embarrassed: "Uh, sir, I didn’t bring much cash. Mind if you give me a little time to go round up some money?"
"Because just getting into the Beast Arena costs a lot."
Even though Shawn guessed Evan might be from some hidden world, he couldn’t tell Evan’s background just from his clothes.
So he figured he’d better mention it.
After all, if you didn’t have money, you couldn’t even get through the door at the Beast Arena.
Shawn already had it all planned out: once he rounded up some cash, he’d stick to Evan Lin like glue.
No matter what, he was determined to cling to this golden ticket.
"Don’t worry about it."
Evan Lin said coolly, "Just lead the way. No point waiting—let’s go now."
Seeing how confident Evan was, Shawn didn’t hesitate anymore.
They all headed to the Leighton City bus station and bought tickets to Riversedge County.
"Riversedge County is way out on the edge of Leighton City. The whole county’s economy sucks, and the security’s even worse."
"Almost nobody goes there, but the Beast Arena always draws a ton of martial artists."
Some people just want to make money, but others care more about the prizes the Beast Arena updates every month.
The best prize ever was a five-hundred-year-old Panacea Fruit—a legendary medicine said to bring the dead back to life. Medicine King Valley sent someone to win it.
Shawn still looked wistful as he spoke.
"Back then, I was lucky enough to catch a whiff of it from afar—the scent alone made me feel refreshed and clear-headed!"
While Shawn rambled on, Evan Lin just stared out the window.
The bus pulled out of Leighton City, leaving the city behind. The buildings faded away, replaced by wheat fields and roadside woods.
Seeing Evan Lin wasn’t all that interested, Shawn said a couple more things, then finally shut his mouth.
There weren’t many people on the bus.
Up front sat a man and a woman.
The man looked to be about forty, with a proud, arrogant air—he seemed to carry a sense of superiority over the world.
The girl was only in her teens, sucking on a lollipop, her hair in a single ponytail. She glanced out the window from time to time: "Uncle Gu, I heard there’s a two-hundred-year-old Drunken Mountain Plum this time—is it real or not?"