Exit

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. Three youths called Yan Lenglei, Mo Jidong, and Long He Yu stepped outside from the Mini World known as the Flame Marquess' Grotto. There, they saw a few people who managed to survive within the Mini World and left before it closed.

There weren't many, being only ten people at most. When the three of them left the Mini World, those from the various sects had their eyes on them but didn't act. With this, the trip to the Flame Marquess' Grotto that only opened up once every century was complete.

Yan Lenglei's group left the area and continued their journey forth.

******

Inside a fairly large town, there existed a huge mansion that belonged to a family known by the surname of Yan. Inside the mansion, not a single person was seen. Instead, if one were to pay attention and look into the sky above the mansion, they would be able to see a few figures floating in the sky.

The figures were all dressed in luxurious clothing, but one couldn't tell exactly since they weren't actually there. It was only a projection, or a will left behind by the real group of people. If Yan Lenglei was still here, he would recognize those figures. After all, they were his family!

The projections left behind using Spiritual Qi all turned into the distance. A male figure slowly spoke, "Lenglei, I hope you live the life you want, without being restrained by your family. I believe that your name will be spread throughout the three thousand worlds. By then, if you still want to find us, it won't be too late."

By his side, a woman grabbed the male's hands, "Lei, your mother wishes that you find someone who will love you, and someone who you love, taking care of each other for life, like your father and I."

Behind them were Yan Lenglei's grandfather and uncles. "From now on, the Yan family of Blackcloud city no longer exists." Yan Tianfu said, as the entire family all looked into the distance and slowly dissolved into the air.

******

Far into the distance, Yan Lenglei felt something, as he turned around for a brief moment, in the same direction as his home. After a moment, he closed his eyes and turned around to continue forward.

It seemed as though he received the message his family left behind for him, but nobody but himself will ever know. Currently, it has been half a month since they left the Flame Marquess' Grotto.

By now, they had gotten pretty far, closer to arriving upon the capital city. The Blackcloud city in which the three of them had come from was a fairly large town within a small state.

The state was a subsidiary state to one of the five states within the Great Solar Empire. The five states were the Northern State, Southern State, Eastern State, Western State, and Central State. The palace in which the emperor of the Great Solar Empire was naturally located in the Central State where powerhouses were as vast as the clouds.

Blackcloud city was located in the Eastern State, under its subordinate state known as the Eastern Cloud State. Amongst the Eastern State, there were also the Eastern Night State, the Eastern Day State, and the Eastern Fog State.

Each of the five major states had four subordinate states within, each starting with the direction in which they were located. The Eastern State was the weakest state of the five but also had the largest population.

There were many Grade Six and above sects in each of the five states, but there was only two Grade Six sects in the entirety of the Eastern State. The Great Solar Empire wasn't the only kingdom on this vast continent.

There were also the Great Astral Kingdom, the Great Lunar Dynasty, the Great Zodiac Empire, the Great Lunar Empire, the Great Empyreal Dynasty, and the Great Stellar Empire.

The continent was made up of seven extremely vast kingdoms. One would think that the world was extremely big with so many kingdoms and states. Unfortunately, they are wrong. The continent itself is only a part of the Great Three Thousand Worlds. There were still more than two thousand other worlds above, where experts and powerhouses were as common as the stars.

Even those at the Viscount Realm would struggle to survive and would be considered ants within the Great Three Thousand Worlds. Of course, this didn't have anything to do with Yan Lenglei's group for now. Since they were only just beginning their journey and in the Awakening Realm, venturing out there was still too far off for them.

Currently, they were on the way to the capital city of the Eastern Cloud State, known as the Eastern Cloud City. There, some Grade Seven sects were erected outside the city and recruited disciples every few years.

There were also major stores and large auction houses that sold from things such as Spiritual Tools, to Spiritual Beast parts and Alchemy related items. So far, Yan Lenglei, Mo Jidong and Long He Yu were still far from the Easter Cloud City.

They had arrived in a town called the Whitecloud City, which was almost twice as big as Blackcloud City. From what they knew, the Whitecloud City was home to no sects, but it was ruled by a City Lord of the Viscount Realm.

A powerful expert at the Viscount Realm was actually as strong or even stronger than some Grade Nine and Eight Sect Masters, which meant that Mo Jidong's adoptive father was just as strong as a Sect Master!

In fact, the City Lord was at the very peak of the Viscount Realm, very close to breaking through and reaching the Earl Realm, while there were also two other beings at the Viscount Realm.

They were respectively an Alchemist who lived within the City Lord's mansion, while the third being was the owner of the Whitecloud City branch's Great Solar Auction House.

Even though it was named after the empire, the Great Solar Auction House was a separate business that was privately owned. It was the largest and most famous Auction House within the entire kingdom, where many rare Spiritual Tools and other items could be found, if not anywhere else.

After two hours of traveling by foot, Yan Lenglei's group finally arrived at the Whitecloud City's gate. There, soldiers were stationed on the two sides of the door. They were standing there inspecting those that came through the gate, before allowing them in.

Passing through the inspection, Yan Lenglei flicked a silver tael into one of the guard's pockets without him realizing. As soon as they stepped through the gate, the very city itself could be seen more clearly.

The streets were filled with people, as well as food stalls and various other kinds of stalls. People and children filled the roads, while large buildings stood erect on the sides.

Just by looking from outside, it was easy to tell how large the town itself was. Entering through the gate, Yan Lenglai's group walked through the streets and passed by the busy road.

Soon, they found a large inn that was open for customers. Seeing that it wasn��t too full, Yan Lenglei, Mo Jidong, and Long He Yu entered the inn and found a table. Ordering their food, they ate for a while, before heading outside to explore the city.

Their journey was just beginning, and they had many years ahead. Since this was the case, they could take their time and look around the city. There, the three of them split off and went around on their own.

Yan Lenglei walked straight forward, as he listened to the nearby conversations. Many of the conversations were trivial everyday things such as who was getting married or talking about their families and children.

As he walked and listened, he noticed a crowd gathering around a bulletin board. Standing in the crowd, Yan Lenglei managed to read the notice that was posted on the board using red paper and golden ink.

He found the handwriting to be beautiful and noticed right away that a man around his fifties should have written it. 'The City Lord mansion is looking for a son-in-law for the eldest daughter.���, those were the only words written on the notice. Looking at the handwriting, it was likely that the City Lord himself had written this notice.

The only problem was why he was looking to marry off his daughter in such a way, it was most likely that she had an unlikeable personality, making him want to marry her off quickly before she became unmarriageable.

Many people were gathered around the notice, catching their interests. The notice only had an age limit of up to thirty years old, in which there were easily many men who would want to test their luck and marry into the City Lord's mansion to live an easy life.

Yan Lenglei wasn't interested, but since he had time, he may as well join in the fun by watching in the crowd. After the crowd dispersed, he followed a group of people to the City Lord's mansion.

The mansion was large, as expected from the City Lord. It was quite a bit larger than the Yan Family estate, but overall it was the same. The front gate was open, allowing many people to get in and participate or watch the event. Since Yan Lenglei was the latter, he found himself a place to stand within the crowd and looked up the stage.

The stage wasn't anything fancy, being made entirely of wood. On the stage, a handsome middle-aged man with a small beard and mustache was standing on the stage with his long robe.

"Greetings, City Lord." the many people greeted him. "No need, I'm glad you are all here to watch today, you are all guests, please."

"Welcome everyone, as you could tell from the notice, I am looking for a son-in-law for my eldest daughter Lingxin, for those who are participating today, there will be many tests which involve literacy, music, and martial talent. Alas, if my daughter has a liking for anyone, they will be considered as well even if they do not win." the City Lord announced.

"I see. So it's all a trick for him to show off his son-in-law to the public." Yan Lenglei thought. Such an obvious ploy wouldn��t work on him, but it may for those who were blinded by money and other desires.

Despite knowing this, he still chose to stay and watch the event. Soon, the City Lord introduced his eldest daughter, as she came up the stage from the back. On the stage, a beautiful young woman was wearing a veil over her face, but one could still make out the outline of her face underneath.

She was of average height, being neither short nor tall as she dressed in red from head to toe and stood next to the City Lord. When she came out, those watching cheered at the sight of her.

Soon, the first test was announced to start, as over thirty men below thirty took the test. The first test was a literature test in which participants would write a poem on paper, then take turns reading it out loud for the entire crowd to hear.

Those who weren't well versed in literature rubbed their heads and frowned. Despite being so, they didn't leave it blank and wrote something on their paper. Standing in the crowd, Yan Lenglei noticed that there was a young man in his mid-twenties who didn't write anything on his page.

This young man was neither ugly nor handsome, being quite average. His muscles and stature were also average, but he seemed to have a slightly different temperament compared to the other participants.

"It must be him." Yan Lenglei thought. Soon, time was up as every participant put down their brushes and stood up to take their turn presenting their poems. First, was a man who read a poem about love and the moon, which the crowd applauded him for.

The second person went up, reading a poem that was also about love, but this one was much more emotional. The third person didn't seem like a scholar type, he read out a poem that was quite rough and hard to listen to, with no artistic value.

After a while, only the young man who Yan Lenglei had noticed was different, was the last person to read his poem. The young man stood in front of the City Lord, as well as his eldest daughter, seemingly different from the rest.

There, he turned his paper to show the crowd, which was completely blank. "I am no scholarly person, and grew up from humble beginnings, I feel like it would be best if I didn't show my crude work, and leaving it blank would be better." he said.

Even though he said this, the crowd seemed to be alright with it, while his competitors sneered at him. Even so, the young man ignored them and prepared to take part in the next test.

This second test was a musical test. Everyone could choose to play an instrument they are familiar with, and enabled the crowd to enjoy their skill with said instrument. Moving to the inner part of the City Lord's mansion, everyone was relocated to a larger area in which a stage, as well as various instruments, were already prepared.

As soon as the test began, the participants could take arms and play for the crowd to enjoy.