At this, Lydia Zhu’s eyes brightened, then she looked pleading. "Fanner, can’t you reconsider for your mother’s sake...?"
Ian Song’s face turned cold. "Princess Consort, let me make this clear. Yes, you gave birth to me, but you never treated me as your son, and I have no intention of accepting you as my mother. So, from now on, stop calling yourself my mother and stop calling me Fanner. You may call me Young Master Chu or Chu Fan."
Lydia Zhu’s expression changed slightly. "What does Young Master Chu want? Speak frankly."
"I need an Emperor-Grade Technique!" Ian Song said, staring at her.
Hearing Ian Song’s demand, Lydia Zhu was furious. Emperor-Grade Techniques were priceless, yet this unfilial son dared ask for one—he wasn’t afraid to bite his own tongue.
She replied, "Young Master Chu, your request is something the Prince will likely find impossible to fulfill."
"No problem. If it can’t be done, forget it. Well, it’s getting late—I should take my leave."
Ian Song waved dismissively, then stood and walked out of the pavilion.
"Young Master Chu, please wait!"
"Does the Princess Consort have anything else?" Ian Song asked.
"Prince Jin’s Manor can offer two hundred thousand taels of gold per pill. What do you think?" Lydia Zhu said.
"No bargaining!"
With those words, Ian Song left in a swirl. Watching his departing figure, Lydia Zhu’s face turned cold. "That little bastard is truly hateful!"
Several days passed in a flash.
The Marrow-Cleansing Pill’s reputation in Dragonfang City grew even louder. Even martial clans from surrounding regions sent people to contact Sherry Summers, hoping to buy some pills from her.
Meanwhile, in Sunnyvale City—one of the ten great cities of the Mystic Sun Domain—the Daxia Merchant Guild’s auction house sold ten Marrow-Cleansing Pills at a price of two hundred thousand taels each during a single auction.
Soon after, auction houses in several other famous cities also began to offer Marrow-Cleansing Pills.
Prices kept rising, with one pill even selling for an astonishing five hundred thousand taels.
In the Sky-Sun Region, inside a major city’s Daxia Merchant Guild headquarters—
Summer Snow, the Summers Family’s fifteenth Miss and true power behind Daxia operations in the Sky-Sun Region, received news from the Mystic Sun Domain that left her in a foul mood, her face turning dark.
She hadn’t expected that Sherry Summers, that low-status girl, would manage to break through in the Mystic Sun Domain with just a single pill.
Although the Daxia Merchant Guild was powerful, it always followed one rule: profit above all.
So even if Sherry Summers had low status, as long as she achieved outstanding results, she qualified to compete for the position of family head. Only a year remained until the selection, and her main competitors were the first, sixth, fifteenth, twenty-second, and twenty-fifth siblings.
If Sherry Summers kept advancing in the Mystic Sun Domain, another competitor would be added—which Summer Snow refused to allow. She had to eliminate Sherry before she truly rose.
Now, thanks to the Marrow-Cleansing Pill, Sherry Summers was the hottest commodity in the Mystic Sun Domain, with countless powers eager to win her favor.
But all of this depended on her continued supply of Marrow-Cleansing Pills. If her supply was cut off, would those powers still treat her so well?
"Attendants!"
At Summer Snow’s call, two young women appeared before her.
These two were her trusted twin attendants: Yuri White and Mia White.
Not only were they twins, but both were stunning and had striking figures.
"You two, go to Dragonfang City. Find out who’s supplying Sherry Summers with Marrow-Cleansing Pills. If you can recruit him, do so. If not—" Summer Snow’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. "Just kill him!"
"Yes, ma’am!"
The twins answered in unison.
Summer Snow considered. "You may take four Profound Guards with you."
............
That day—
A shocking report spread through Dragonfang City, causing an uproar.
The Insect Horde had broken through the border, capturing nine cities in just one month and turning nearly a hundred million humans into food.
Though the Horde was still tens of thousands of li from Dragonfang City and posed no immediate threat, the news filled people with worry and anger.
Summer Tower, a private room on the top floor.
Victor Wang took a sip of wine and said gravely, "The Insect Horde is humanity’s great scourge. Tomorrow, I plan to go to the front lines to support the border army. Are you willing to join me?"
The Insect Horde’s numbers were massive and their types diverse; no one knew what strange powers they possessed. Even Sun-Soul warriors dared not enter their territory lightly.
On top of that, the Horde feared neither life nor death and always appeared in overwhelming numbers, never giving anyone a chance for one-on-one duels. Fighting them was extremely dangerous.
Even these young elites had their reservations.