Sensing the envy in the other's eyes, Ray Sun said, "Brother Lin, let me give you a word of advice—if you want to break through to Grandmaster, just buy a second-grade Breakthrough Pill from Pill Pavilion and take it!"
Brother Lin's eyes immediately lit up. "Thanks for the tip, Ray! I'll go right now!"
With a perfunctory clasp of his fists, Brother Lin quickened his pace and rushed into Pill Pavilion.
Ray Sun's breakthrough turned him into a living advertisement for Pill Pavilion.
He also felt that his breakthrough owed much to the protection of Pill Pavilion's martial experts, so he deliberately spread the word, and business at Pill Pavilion went absolutely wild.
Soon, several more ninth-layer Qi-Refining cultivators broke through under the guardianship of Pill Pavilion's Grandmasters.
For a while, the shop's door threshold was nearly worn down by the crowds.
That day, every second-grade Breakthrough Pill sold out, earning the Alliance Chamber of Commerce a mountain of silver and Spirit Medicines.
Of the profits, Ian Song took seventy percent since he supplied all the pills; the remaining thirty percent was split among the sects of the South Domain Martial Alliance.
Even just thirty percent was enough to make the coffers of the Alliance's thirty-plus sects bulge.
Ian Song stayed in Spirit-Sky City for three days.
Even after the discount period ended, Pill Pavilion's business remained booming.
Especially those who broke through to Grandmaster thanks to the second-grade Breakthrough Pills—most of them felt a real sense of gratitude toward Pill Pavilion.
As a result, the Alliance's reputation spread quickly as the Alliance Chamber of Commerce expanded its territory.
The Alliance Army and Chamber of Commerce were just Ian Song's first moves.
Once the Alliance's strength and fame reached a certain level, he'd launch his second move.
A few days passed in a flash.
On this day, Zane Zong arrived at Pristine Way Sect, handing over the Absolute Sun Sword Canon to reclaim his personal spirit sword.
As the sun set, a streak of golden light slanted across the courtyard, shining on Ian Song.
At that moment, he was quietly lying on a recliner, flipping through a book—the cover read: Absolute Sun Sword Canon.
Zane Zong hadn't tampered with the sword canon; with his cultivation, he couldn't have anyway. This technique is just too advanced—like a grade-schooler trying to edit a high-school textbook.
Ian Song's swordsmanship was already at a highly refined level. Just flipping through the Absolute Sun Sword Canon—even without practicing—gave him huge insights and further improved his sword-dao.
This Absolute Sun Sword Canon contains only three moves.
Absolute Heaven, Absolute Earth, Absolute Man!
But each move was profound and vast—even with his cultivation, mastering them wouldn't be easy.
Still, he didn't plan to cultivate this sword art. It was too ruthless—if he practiced it, he might turn himself into an emotionless block of wood.
That was also why Zane Zong was willing to hand over the sword canon.
Maybe the guy was trying to use this sword canon to set him up.
Even though the canon was a bit extreme, it had plenty worth learning. Ian planned to extract its essence and fuse it into his own style to boost his sword-dao.
"Brother Huang, I made this tonic soup for you. Try it and see how it tastes?"
Lynn Ning came over holding a bowl of aromatic soup that looked just like plain water.
"Thanks for the trouble, Ling'er." Ian took it, had a sip, and nodded. "Your cooking just keeps getting better."
"Really?" Hearing Ian's praise, Lynn Ning was overjoyed.
"Of course!" Ian nodded firmly and took another big gulp of soup, secretly sighing that Lynn Ning was actually a very easily satisfied girl. Earlier, he'd noticed her gaze had changed, so he deliberately avoided her for a few days. But when he came back, her eyes were even more intense than before.
It gave him quite a headache.
Because this was a doomed relationship—he'd killed her brother, after all.
Time is the most precious thing, but also the least valuable.
A few days later.
Ian Song split into two—Huang Yan became his avatar to handle Pristine Way Sect and Alliance affairs, while his true body went into seclusion to refine pills.
The Alliance still relied on pills to expand its influence, so Ian had to spend massive time refining Profound Pills and Breakthrough Pills.
The Human Territories are split into nine domains.
The South Domain is the smallest and weakest overall.
The Central Domain is the strongest—it's home to the Human Holy City, Martial Soul Hall, and the Military Council.
Another month slipped by.
Fiona Li suddenly came to Pristine Way Sect to see Ian Song.
Ian finally emerged from his pill-refining seclusion, looking a bit haggard.
He personally received Fiona Li, but saw worry written on her face.
"Brother Li, what's the matter? Just say it!"
Fiona took a sip of wine and said gravely, "Prince Darius Ironhorn, Ninth Prince of the Strongarm Bull Devils, has returned in force. He's joined with two other princes, and they've formed a two-million-strong coalition army marching for the Blood River Battlefield!"
"How is the commander responding?"
Ian Song frowned slightly.
Fiona said, "He's already reported this to the Military Council. The Council replied that they'll send twelve Martial Saints to help, plus a million reinforcements. But it'll take at least ten days for the army to fully assemble at Blood River, while the Strongarm Bull Devils can finish gathering in just three days!"
"So you're here to invite me to the battlefield?" Ian asked.
Fiona nodded heavily. "That's right. If you could come and do another assassination like last time..."
Before Fiona could finish, Ian waved his hand and cut her off. "It won't work this time!"
"Why not?" Fiona sounded a bit annoyed.
"Don't get mad—hear me out." Ian glanced at Fiona, then continued, "Last time, we succeeded because we used a hit-and-run strategy, taking out isolated camps one by one. Now the Strongarm Bull Devils have already massed their army. Even if I bring twenty Martial Saints for a raid, we'd be surrounded by millions and wouldn't get far. Besides, after what happened last time, Prince Darius Ironhorn will definitely be on guard against another assassination."
Fiona's annoyance vanished instantly—she agreed with Ian's analysis.
"Second, the military is sending twelve Martial Saints, but I've seriously offended the Council. If they take the chance to move against me, I won't escape. And if I stay away from them, the ten-plus Human Saints at Blood River aren't enough for a surprise raid to work!"
Fiona nodded grimly. Given the Council's nature, they really might try to kill Ian.
"So there's no solution?" Fiona asked, not daring to hope.
"There is!"
Ian replied.
"What is it?" Fiona asked excitedly.
"Encircle Wei to save Zhao!"
"What does that mean?" Fiona looked completely confused.
Ian didn't bother explaining the idiom, but instead laid out his concrete plan for Fiona.
After hearing Ian's plan, Fiona clapped her hands in excitement. "This strategy will work!"
She drained her glass, stood up, and said, "I have to report your plan to the commander—I'll head out now!"