Chapter 5

For an ordinary person, thirty thousand small coins are naturally a considerable amount of wealth, but for the extravagant offspring of the Marquis of Jian Pavilion, it's just the money for a few rounds of drinking and pleasure.

Every member of the Marquis of Jian Pavilion's household receives a monthly allowance, which varies according to their status and cultivation level.

For example, Ning Han, who has average talent but is a direct descendant of the Marquis of Jian Pavilion, receives a monthly allowance of one hundred thousand coins.

Ning Xiner's monthly allowance is naturally even higher, at five hundred thousand coins. However, her expenses are also significant, all used for cultivation, to purchase Heart Nourishing Liquid, Blood Essence, Qi Condensing Powder, and so on.

These are all essential treasures for cultivation, refined by Heart Nourishing Masters, and their prices are exorbitant. Although the Marquis of Jian Pavilion provides some of these treasures every month, the quantities are limited, and more need to be purchased.

Despite this, Ning Xiner has saved a considerable amount of money, and it's not difficult for her to come up with thirty thousand small coins. What she is concerned about is what her brother intends to do with so much money?

Ning Xiaochuan originally had a monthly allowance, but because he could not cultivate martial arts, his allowance was very small. The savings from his monthly allowance were all spent in the brothel last time, so he had to swallow his pride and ask Ning Xiner for a loan.

"I want to go out for a walk and buy some things. A man feels insecure if he doesn't carry money when he goes out." Ning Xiaochuan did not yet intend to tell her about his desire to become a Heart Nourishing Master. He thought it would be better to tell her after he truly became one.

Ning Xiner gently bit her lower lip and stared at Ning Xiaochuan with a strange look. "Brother, are you going to the brothel again?"

"Ah! I..." Ning Xiaochuan's face turned awkward, not knowing how to explain.

Ning Xiner's eyes showed a hint of disappointment, but she still went back to fetch three hundred large coins, carefully placed them in a bag, and handed them to Ning Xiaochuan, saying, "You are my brother, no matter what path you choose for your future, I will not look down on you."

"Thank you. In a few days, I might be able to pay you back."

Ning Xiaochuan took the three hundred large coins, feeling the weight of the bag, and his heart felt more secure. He quickly left the Marquis of Jian Pavilion, planning to first buy the precious herbs and essences needed to refine the Heart Nourishing Cauldron.

Ning Xiner watched Ning Xiaochuan leave in a hurry, standing in the courtyard, tightly pursing her lips, and tears welled up in her large, black eyes. "Father, Mother, I don't know if this is right, but I know that only by doing this will my brother be happier. In the Marquis of Jian Pavilion, everyone looks down on him, and he can't possibly gain respect there. Perhaps he can buy back some dignity with money!"

The coins in the Yulan Kingdom are made of precious metals. Small coins are made of red copper, and large coins are made of silver. Therefore, small coins are also called "copper coins," and large coins are called "silver coins."

As for blue gold, it is even more precious and rarely appears on the market. Only the descendants of kings and marquises occasionally use it to show their status.

Ning Xiaochuan now carried three hundred silver coins as he walked out of the Marquis of Jian Pavilion, without any maids or servants. In fact, few of the Marquis of Jian Pavilion's maids and servants were willing to follow him, as there was no reward, and they were also easily bullied by others.

The Yulan Kingdom is a fifth-grade empire on the Tianxu Continent, having been established for over eight hundred years. It has vast territory, stretching nine thousand four hundred miles from north to south and eight thousand miles from east to west, with a population exceeding one billion. It is a vast and prosperous empire.

Surrounding the Yulan Kingdom are many fourth-grade kingdoms, third-grade principalities, second-grade federations, and first-grade remote tribes.

These tribes, federations, principalities, and kingdoms all pay tribute to the Yulan Kingdom, offering countless tributes, coins, and beauties every year.

Moreover, the powerful martial artists from these nations often choose to cultivate in the Yulan Kingdom, some joining the mansions of kings and marquises, and others joining martial sects.

This is because the martial arts level in the Yulan Kingdom far exceeds that of the fourth-grade kingdoms and third-grade principalities. Only in the Yulan Kingdom can one become a stronger martial artist!

Walking through the capital of the Yulan Kingdom, one can see blue-haired beauties from the Northern Ice Kingdom, slaves from the Southern Wasteland Tribes, and the daughters of nobility riding in carriages pulled by blue deer, as well as martial artists carrying swords and leading red lions, their auras making people shiver.

Martial artists carry swords, and beauties ride in fragrant carriages!

"What a vast city, it seems to stretch endlessly."

Ning Xiaochuan walked down the street, finding everything in the capital fascinating, but after a full half-hour, he realized he had only walked through one street.

"Hey! That looks like a descendant of the Marquis of Jian Pavilion." Ning Xiaochuan stared at a small alley where two servants of the Marquis of Jian Pavilion dragged a rather beautiful woman out. The woman was crying and struggling, but it was useless. The two servants were cultivators who had refined martial arts essence, and their strength was immense, dragging her into a dark green carriage.

Ning Han stood nearby, a cold and cruel smile on his face, looking around and ordering, "Put this wench in a rhinoceros skin bag."

Many people saw this scene, but no one dared to intervene. Who would dare to provoke the Marquis of Jian Pavilion? It was extremely normal for the descendants of kings and marquises to kill people on the street, let alone kidnapping a woman.

Ning Han also got into the blue deer carriage, which then sped away.

Ning Xiaochuan, with a modern mindset, could not accept such behavior and felt furious that Ning Han would kidnap someone in broad daylight, acting without any regard for the law.

If others dared not intervene, he would.

Previously, he had only felt some aversion to Ning Han, thinking he was too arrogant and disrespectful. Now, he considered Ning Han a complete scoundrel.

Ning Xiaochuan rented a blue deer carriage, whipped the reins, and chased after them, all the way out of the inner city to a rather desolate area of the outer city.

The capital of the Yulan Kingdom is divided into the inner city, outer city, and border towns. The inner city is naturally the most prosperous place, where various nobles, martial arts experts, and wealthy merchants gather. The inner city covers only one-thirtieth of the capital's area but houses four-tenths of its population, making it a place of great value.

The outer city is still prosperous, but it has both bustling and desolate areas.

Ning Han's blue deer carriage stopped in a desolate area, where a swift river flowed, with willows planted on both banks and dense vegetation.

Ning Xiaochuan jumped off the blue deer carriage and followed, seeing from a distance that the two servants were tying stones to a rhinoceros skin bag.

The bag was moving, and muffled sounds came from inside.

"This girl is a silver-ranked courtesan from the Jade Viewing Tower. It's a pity to just throw her into the river," one of the servants sneered.

Ning Han stood by the river, a cold smile on his face, and said, "Do you not have enough women to play with? This woman must die, and there must be no mistakes. Follow me, and you won't lack for women."

"The young master is right. With just a word from the young master, whether it's a virtuous woman or a noble's daughter, they can be easily captured. Hehe!"

The other servant said, "It's tied. Should we throw it into the river now?"

The woman inside the rhinoceros skin bag was crying and struggling.

Ning Han sneered, "It's your own fault for knowing too much. Throw her into the river!"

The two servants were about to lift the bag when a loud voice came from behind, "What are you doing? In broad daylight, are you going to kill and dispose of a body?"

Ning Xiaochuan stepped forward, his anger reaching its peak. These people treated human life as if it were worthless, tying a living person into a bag and throwing them into the river. How much fear must the person in the bag be experiencing?

Is this what humans do?

The two servants were also startled, putting the bag back on the ground and turning to look. They were stunned to see this waste of a person.

Ning Xiaochuan quickly walked forward, untied the rhinoceros skin bag, and rescued a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old.

The girl had fair skin, bright eyes, and long, curly lashes, and was quite beautiful, but at the moment, her face was pale, and her small body was trembling.

"Master Ning, why is it you? Don't get involved, run away! They will kill you!" Yu Yan had seen Ning Xiaochuan beaten to death in a brothel a few days ago. Although she didn't know how he had survived, she was still worried about him because she knew how ruthless Ning Han was.

Ning Han was initially slightly surprised, but when he saw Ning Xiaochuan step forward, his surprise turned into a mocking smile, "Ning Xiaochuan, I didn't expect you to show up here. Ha! You have a road to heaven but don't take it, and you have no door to hell but you walk in. Ning Hai, go and kill him for me. Today, we will completely eliminate this trouble."

The servant named Ning Hai hesitated. Although Ning Xiaochuan was a sickly person, he was still a direct descendant of the Marquis of Jian Pavilion, a true descendant of a king or marquis!

"What are you afraid of? I and the Fourth Master will take responsibility for this," Ning Han said.

The servant named Ning Hai, who had reached the fourth level of essence cultivation, felt reassured after hearing Ning Han's words. His eyes glinted with a fierce light, and he grinned, "Ning Xiaochuan, you actually want to be a hero, but you are not a hero. Today, you will only be a coward. You never imagined that today would be your death day, did you? Ha!"

Ning Hai's foot stomped on the ground, and his body shot forward, punching Ning Xiaochuan with a fist that emitted a faint red glow, tearing the air with a "snap."

Reaching the fourth level of essence cultivation, one can release essence externally, using it to injure others, with a punch force of two thousand pounds. With the destructive power of essence, a punch can kill an iron-skinned ox.

Ning Xiaochuan, although at the third level of essence cultivation, was far from the fourth level. He dared to step forward to accuse Ning Han and the others, thinking that Ning Han wouldn't dare to kill him.

Today, he truly understood what it meant for human life to be as cheap as grass. In this world, if one's strength is not strong enough, one can only wait to die.

Ning Han seemed to already see Ning Xiaochuan's head being smashed, a cruel smile on his face.

Yu Yan tightly closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight of such a cruel scene.

Ning Xiaochuan watched the huge fist approach, took a