Grandpa Blind didn’t quite know how to explain to Quinn, so he just chuckled awkwardly and said, “This city is also called Dragoncrest, the City That Never Sleeps. At night, it’s still ablaze with lights, and villages from thousands of li around gather here to trade. Quinn, Granny Sue, I won’t be going in with you two. Granny Sue, do you have any spare change?”
He leaned on his bamboo cane, beaming, and held out a hand.
Granny Sue pretended not to see him.
Grandpa Blind reached for the beast pelts on the wagon, grinning, "Quinn, lend me two pelts. When I win at the gambling house, I'll pay you back double!"
Quinn laughed, "Take them, Grandpa Blind, no need to pay me back."
"Don’t give him any!"
Granny Sue fumed, "That old fool loses every coin at the gambling house every time we come here! Two exotic beast pelts could buy us plenty of oil, salt, and sauce—much better than throwing them in the river! At least if you toss them in the water, you get two splashes!"
Grandpa Blind quickly draped the pelts over his shoulders, dashed off, and vanished into the crowd.
Granny Sue stamped her foot in frustration. Quinn was puzzled, "Granny Sue, what’s a gambling house?"
Granny Sue was furious, "First you want to play with fallen girls, now you’re off to the gambling house. Quinn, you’re picking up all the bad habits!"
Quinn was baffled. "Don’t be mad, Granny Sue. I won’t play with them. Oh, Granny Sue, is there a Velvet Hall in this city? Madam of Velvet Hall, Serena Vale, said I could find her wherever there’s a brothel."
Granny Sue glared at him and sneered, "Now you want to go prowling brothels? That Serena Vale, that sly fox—you’d better keep your distance from her."
Quinn was confused. He was just planning to find someone at Velvet Hall—how did it turn into prowling brothels? And what exactly was a brothel, anyway?
"So many rules in the city. This isn’t allowed, that isn’t allowed." The boy grumbled to himself.
The old woman and the boy drove the ox cart into the market, where it was even livelier. Goods of every kind dazzled the eyes, and people of different races in strange costumes made Quinn dizzy with wonder.
Soon, Granny Sue sold off the ironwork and pelts from the cart, trading them for oil, salt, and sauce. The merchant was clearly from outside, with a distinct accent, and claimed to be from the Yan Kang Kingdom.
Granny Sue was generous but not good at bargaining, so she sold the Mute Smith’s ironwork cheaply, and the exotic beast pelts didn’t fetch much either. The merchant, feeling he’d gotten the better deal, gave them a small pouch of Dragoncrest coins—about a hundred or so—as a gesture of goodwill.
Dragoncrest coins are the currency of Dragoncrest City, each stamped with a dragon-pillar design like the city’s four gilded columns. Quinn sensed a unique formation embedded in the coins, probably forged with a secret technique to prevent counterfeiting.
They sold off the cows and sheep too. The animals seemed to sense their fate and couldn’t help but cry, biting Quinn’s clothes and refusing to let go.
Quinn hesitated. Granny Sue whispered, "They’re all bad people."
Quinn jumped in shock—these cows and sheep really were people! Granny Sue had used the Heavenly Demon Creation Art to turn them into livestock.
"They’re a gang of bandits."
Granny Sue’s voice was barely a whisper: "Do you remember when you were little, and I took you to a neighboring village to deliver a baby? When we arrived, everyone in the village was dead. I’ve spent years tracking these bandits, but until recently, I found nothing. Just a few days ago, I finally caught them."
Quinn was shaken to the core. He let go of his shirt and watched as the merchant led the cows and sheep away. Whether they’d be slaughtered or put to work, he felt uneasy about it, but couldn’t say Granny Sue was wrong.
That’s just how the Great Ruins is—a brutal place where the strong prey on the weak. Granny Sue’s way of seeking justice might be extreme, but it’s better than having none at all.
He even felt a little moved. That event had left a deep mark on him, and he hadn’t expected Granny Sue to remember it after all these years, still determined to avenge the villagers who died unjustly.
They bought some cloth and wine, then brought it back to their inn. Suddenly, Granny Sue stopped in front of a cosmetics stall, unable to tear herself away.
"Such fine powder—only something this delicate is worthy of my peerless beauty!" The old woman was overjoyed, her eyes sparkling and her words leaking through her toothless grin, making a group of young girls giggle uncontrollably.
Granny Sue ignored them, bought a pile of cosmetics, and nearly spent all their remaining money. Seeing Quinn standing off to the side with boxes of powder, she felt a bit guilty, rummaged through her purse for a while, and finally pressed the last Dragoncrest coin into his pocket. Softly, she said, "Quinn, treat yourself a little. But first, help me carry the powder back to the inn."
Quinn delivered the cosmetics to the inn, where the innkeeper greeted them respectfully and said their room was already prepared.
Quinn eyed the innkeeper suspiciously, a faint tremor in his heart. The innkeeper winked at him and whispered, "Your humble servant greets the Young Cult Master."
The Cult of the Heavenly Demon’s three hundred and sixty halls dabble in every trade—even running an inn in Dragoncrest City.
Quinn steadied himself and entered the room, but Granny Sue immediately urged him out. "You rarely get to travel—make sure you have some fun! And don’t spend that Dragoncrest coin all at once."
Quinn pocketed the Dragoncrest coin and stepped outside. At night, Dragoncrest City was even more enchanting—lanterns blazed, vendors and villagers from all over filled the streets, selling all sorts of strange wares. The crowds surged like waves, sleeves fluttering like clouds.
"I am a father from Niujia Village, passing through your fine city. I seek neither fame nor fortune—only a husband for my daughter, who has come of age but remains unbetrothed. Thus, we hold a martial contest for marriage, hoping to find a hero of peerless skill..."
Hearing this, Quinn paused and looked toward the stage, both amused and helpless. The place was packed, shoulder to shoulder.
"That father and daughter from Niujia Village are holding another martial contest for marriage. Didn’t they do this three years ago at Grandma Temple? Has it really been three years and they still haven’t found a son-in-law?"
"What can you buy with a single Dragoncrest coin?"
Just as Quinn wondered, a hawker shouted, "A priceless treasure—only three coppers!"
He followed the voice and saw a busy alley lined with odd stalls, most selling broken bricks and shattered tiles.
"Are these broken bricks and tiles really priceless treasures? Why are priceless treasures so cheap?"
Quinn was surprised. He quietly activated his Divine Firmament Heaven Eye and scrutinized the wares, shaking his head—these were all just broken bricks and tiles, most scavenged from ruins in the Great Ruins. Not a trace of spiritual energy; they weren’t worth a copper, let alone three, and certainly couldn’t compare to true spiritual weapons.
Still, plenty of martial artists browsed the stalls, picking through the junk, hoping to find some hidden treasure.
Quinn checked stall after stall, and finally spotted something good—some had fragments of weapons that glimmered faintly. To his eyes, these were shards of spiritual weapons, and they actually held some value.
He asked about the price and was taken aback—the spiritual weapon fragments cost dozens of Dragoncrest coins each!
"That’s a scam, isn’t it?"
Quinn kept looking and saw a stall where a sheepskin displayed a dozen clay jars, most of them chipped or missing lids.
But when he viewed them with his Divine Firmament Heaven Eye, the glow from these jars was intense—far brighter than the weapon shards, and even stronger than the spiritual weapons he’d sold!
"How much for the jars?" Quinn asked, stepping forward.
"Three coppers apiece," replied the stall owner.
Quinn took out his Dragoncrest coin, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I only have one Dragoncrest coin—can I buy them all?"
The stall owner was both shocked and delighted, snatched up the coin, bundled the broken jars in the sheepskin, and shoved them into Quinn’s hands. "They’re all yours!" he laughed.
"What a fool..."
Nearby stall owners snickered, "A single Dragoncrest coin is worth a thousand copper cash—and he doesn’t even know that."
The stall owner clutched the coin tightly. "Young man, you can’t go back on the deal now!"
Only now did Quinn realize the true value of the Dragoncrest coin. He laughed cheerfully, "A deal’s a deal—I won’t back out. For all these jars, one Dragoncrest coin is a fair price."
The stall owner breathed a sigh of relief and started to leave, but just then a clear voice called out, "Wait! How much for those jars, young man?"
Quinn looked up to see several richly dressed young men escorting a boy in even finer clothes. The boy had delicate features, rosy lips, and baby-fat cheeks—much more refined than Quinn. He eyed the sheepskin in Quinn’s hands with great interest.
"A sorcerer?" one of the vendors exclaimed in surprise.
Quinn blurted out, "You’re the chubby Seventh Young Master from the Everpeace Empire’s riverboat!"
"The chubby Seventh Young Master?"
The boy froze, then recognized Quinn. Flushing with embarrassment, he gritted his teeth, "Who are you calling chubby?"
Quinn wasn’t much interested in the Seventh Young Master. Instead, he glanced at the men behind the boy—they were imposing, with yuanqi swirling visibly around them. One had an azure dragon coiled about him, its head rising above his own, eyes sharp and vigilant as it scanned the crowd.
That man was clearly an Azure Dragon Spirit Body, someone who had opened the Six Directions Treasury—a true sorcerer whose yuanqi manifested at all times!
Quinn’s own yuanqi was thick enough to become visible, but only during fierce combat, when it mingled with his blood and surged out.
But sorcerers were different. They could reveal their yuanqi at any moment, and could conceal a spell within it—ready to unleash it instantly if attacked.
Granny Sue had once explained: the Spirit Embryo Treasury is just the martial artist’s realm. Only upon reaching the Five Elements Realm does one become a master, mastering the five transformations and evolving martial skills into true spells.
But breaking through the Six Directions Treasury—that’s when one becomes a true sorcerer, able to wield spells at will.
Dragoncrest City was big, and there were plenty of sorcerers—but to have sorcerers trailing after you, that was something rare.
"Of course these jars are for sale."
Quinn thought for a moment. "A hundred Dragoncrest coins each."
He’d meant to drive a hard bargain, but the Seventh Young Master just smiled warmly and nodded. "Cheap. Deal. You’ve got thirty-six jars, so that’s three thousand six hundred Dragoncrest coins. Ding Qianhu, settle up with him."
One of the men behind him bowed. "Yes, sir." He stepped forward to handle the payment.
Everyone in the alley—vendors and passersby alike—stood stunned, barely able to breathe. The man who’d sold the jars to Quinn was so shocked his eye twitched and his head spun. He stared at the jars, desperate to snatch them back, but didn’t dare.