Xia Lan and the Golden Chamber of Commerce

Han Feng sped up towards the city gates. There were two guards standing on each side of the gates. They looked burly, wearing bulky black armors and carried a silver spear. They held the spear, which was shining with metallic luster with one hand, keeping it perpendicular to the ground, with its sharp spear point thrusting directly towards the heavens. They looked heroic but didn't move an inch.

The city guards were under the jurisdiction of the City Lord. The name of the City Lord was Wu Yong. The position of City Lord was elected through a martial arts competition which was held every 4 years. It was obviously was won by the strongest in the whole city. But there were some other rules regarding the selection of City Lord.

City Lord Wu Yong didn't belong to any of the prestigious clans. Thus, he is very much admired by the people of the whole city.

"First of all, let's get rid of Python. I hope it sells for a good amount of spirit stones." Han Feng muttered as he entered the city gates and quickly made his way towards the eastern part of the city.

His destination was the Golden Chamber of Commerce. It belonged to the Xia Clan. The major dealings inside and outside the city were conducted at this place. It had a very good reputation among all the cultivators.

Xia clan was one of the three strongest clans alongside Jiang and Duàn. There was almost no difference between the strengths of these three. For the past 10 years or so, they have maintained peace and there has never been any major clash besides some small friction now and then.

Han Feng quickly reached the destination and entered the Golden Chamber of Commerce. When he reached the counter he saw a beautiful girl sitting behind the counter, wearing a long white robe with a pink cloud pattern, complementing her figure perfectly. She had white smooth skin, shoulder-length brown hair which were tied in a ponytail, and had dark blue eyes, shining with extreme curiosity. She looked like a little fairy.

Her name was Xia Lan. She was a childhood friend of Han Feng, and the only one too.

"Yo! Isn't this the famous scholar Han?! How come you are making frequent trips to this place. Don't get me wrong but as you know, you seldom visit this place." Xia Lan giggled as she saw Han Feng making his way towards her. She was the one to handle his affairs last time when he bought traps and space rings so she was curious about what did he need this time.

"Lan... Don't make fun of me. This time I didn't come to buy something, but to sell this." Han Feng smiled at Xia Lan's question and immediately took out the body of Python stored inside the space ring.

"Black Scaled Python. Level-1 peak. Hmm. How did you kill It? Killing It is clearly far beyond your capability." She easily identified the carapace of the dead Python. Her eyes shined and she looked curiously towards Han Feng. Looking him up and down trying to figure out how he killed it.

Hearing what she said, Han Feng was feeling a little depressed. Although he wasn't remotely capable of killing a peak Level-1 Magical Beast which was equivalent to 9th Layer Body Refining cultivator. But hearing it from someone else felt bitter. Especially a beautiful woman like Xia Lan.

"Ha ha ha. I got lucky." He gave a hollow laugh and roughly explained what happened.

"Good for you that the Silver Scaled Hound was injured and ran away without taking his complete spoil of war." Xia Lan smirked at his luck and then continued.

"It can get you 800 spirit stones. If the head wasn't missing which contained the magical core, It would fetch you around 2000 spirit stones." After thinking for a moment she told him the exact price.

Han Feng was a little disappointed but it wasn't as if he had to hunt the Python. He got these spirit stones without much effort so his mood instantly became better.

"Deal!" Han Feng said quickly as he knew it was the best deal he could get in the whole city. If not for his friendship with Xia Lan, he might get even fewer spirit stones.

"Okay." She waved her hand and the Python disappeared. The next moment, exactly 800 spirit stones appeared in front of him.

Han Feng nodded and put only 200 spirit stones inside his space ring.

"I want to purchase a weapon. The best I can get for 500 spirit stones." Han Feng said after thinking for a while. He knew that a weapon was a basic necessity while hunting for magical beasts. But last time he spent most of his wealth on space ring and could not buy a good weapon.

"500 huh. Barely enough for a low-level Grade-1 weapon. Okay, come with me, I will help you get a good one. At least I can do that much for the sake of our friendship." Xia Lan winked and walked towards the stairs leading to the second floor.

Han Feng followed her and soon they both reached the second floor.

The whole floor was a big hall, filled with weapons of various kinds, lined in rows inside big shelves. The floor was made of a very smooth material. There were all kinds of weapons there, from swords to hammers and even shields. There were at least hundreds of weapons in the room.

Xia Lan took him to a comparatively small shelf in a corner. Inside the shelf were a yellow sword, a purple spear, and a black stick. These three weapons were placed on the racks of the shelf, arranged in 3 rows.

"These three are barely good. Go ahead and choose any one of them. I recommend the sword though. It is refined with Yellowstone and a very small amount of Obsidian ore. It's pretty good." Xia Lan patiently explained.

Since the moment he saw the sword his eyes were glued to it. He always had an attachment to swords. So as soon as she finished explaining he immediately nodded, not bothering to know about other weapons.

"Good. Then I want this sword." Han Feng said while smiling. He knew that a grade one weapon was worth at least 1000 spirit stones. She deliberately cut the price in half.

He agreed because he really needed a good weapon to hunt and kill a magical beast and he also liked this sword. He silently noted in his heart to pay her back in the future and on the other hand,

"I knew you would choose it, as you have always liked swords. I still remember the time when we used to play with wooden swords as kids. You would swing It day and night." Xia Lan laughed while reminiscing the old days when they played together. She took down the sword and handed it to Han Feng while showing a beautiful smile.

Han Feng also smiled and took the sword. He waved it a few times. He was extremely satisfied while holding it. The sword wasn't heavy on the contrary it was very light. The edge gave off a faint black gleam. Its length was about Two and a half feet. The blade was a 2-inch wide and pale yellow in color. It was a typical one-handed long sword.

After giving it a few more swings he was satisfied and put it into the space ring.

"Thank you, Lan. I will treat you to dinner sometime." Han Feng smiled and thanked Xia Lan.

"Great! Just remember this promise. The food that you cook is simply amazing... How about tonight? Okay. It's settled then. I will find you tonight." Xia Lan almost jumped and clapped upon the mention of food. She was extremely delighted with his invitation as she loved Han Feng's cooking. So she set the meeting quickly as she feared he would renege on the promise.

"Okay. I will go and prepare the ingredients... What would you like to eat?" Han Feng asked with a faint smile on his lips. He knew she was a foodie and expected such a kind of response.

"Roasted Flaming Rabbit." Xia Lan replied without thinking as she knew what dish he cooked best.

"Sure. I will await your arrival, Lady Xia." Han Feng said with a serious expression and bowed his head little in ceremony and left towards the exit.

"Hahahaha. Okay, see you later." Xia Lan waved her hand and laughed at his joke. Her laughter echoed throughout the hallway.

At this time an old man walked from the room behind the counter hearing her laughter.

"Lan Lan, what has made you so happy today?" He smiled and asked Xia Lan kindly while soothing his long-white beard with one hand.