Chapter 727 - 509: Toppling the Martial Emperor Family
Holy City, ever since the news of a Great Saint powerhouse’s fall in Shuiyun City spread, everyone thought that the Great Saint who went to kill Wei Fan was killed by Wei Fan. But shortly after, the news of Wei Fan’s disappearance broke out.
Shuiyun City was attacked by the Demon Fiends, but Wei Fan, the Town Territory Envoy who went to guard Shuiyun City, neither appeared nor reported back to the Demon Hunter Organization.
Some people believe that Wei Fan has already been killed, while others think Wei Fan hid a long time ago. The fall of a Great Saint powerhouse has nothing to do with Wei Fan, after all, the Martial Emperor Family wants to kill Wei Fan now, and the Demon Fiends also want the Human Race to hand over Wei Fan. In such a situation, hiding is the best option.
"It seems the battle is intense!"
Wei Fan stepped into the gates of the Holy City and immediately noticed that there were significantly fewer people here; apparently, many had gone to the front lines to fight. The Demon Hunter Organization not only has Town Territory Envoys but also Territory Guardian War Generals and ordinary Demon Hunters, among others.
Around one-third of the entire Holy City should belong to the Demon Hunter Organization. Of course, most of them are members like ordinary Demon Hunters who work based on bounties.
As he walked along, Wei Fan overheard many reports of the fall of powerful Human Race individuals. Within just a few days, two or three Saint Realm powerhouses had fallen, including one Town Territory Envoy of the Dharma Realm.
He knew this person; it was the Dharma Realm Town Territory Envoy who stayed with Wei Ying in Jinzhou, named Meng Jie.
Hearing about Meng Jie’s death in battle, Wei Fan couldn’t help but stop, a rugged face appearing in his mind.
Back then, when Wei Ying wanted someone to stay in Jinzhou, it was Meng Jie who boldly volunteered to stay, letting Tang Jun and Chang Sheng return to the Holy City while he stayed with Wei Ying. Who would have thought he would remain in Jinzhou forever?
"The battle in Jinzhou was the most intense. It is said that Wei Fan killed a Heaven-Shaking Saint Ape of the Dharma Realm in the heart of Jinzhou. That tribe gathered a large number of Ape Demons to attack madly, threatening that if the Human Race did not hand over Wei Fan, the Heaven-Shaking Saint Ape tribe would flatten Jinzhou.
Town Territory Envoy Meng Jie was brutally torn apart by a savage Heaven-Shaking Saint Ape, dying a very tragic death."
"I heard that out of the eight Grand Commanders of the Demon Hunter Town Hall, three have already rushed to Jinzhou, and there are fights day and night."
"The casualties among Jinzhou’s soldiers are heavy!"
...
This was a roadside stall, where several Martial Kings were discussing the situation in Jinzhou.
Wei Fan halted his steps to listen for a while, his expression extremely grim. Though he didn’t interact much with Meng Jie, he knew that Meng Jie was a hearty man, and in some ways, he was implicated by Wei Fan.
Although Demon Hunters act without concern for the consequences, it feels bad to truly drag others down.
It was reported that two or three of the fallen Martial Saints had already reached the Holy City, and this might not be all.
So many Martial Saints had fallen; who knows how many below the Saint Realm had died. Killing intent surged in Wei Fan’s heart, yet he knew he was powerless to change anything at the moment.
Even though the Ten Thousand Dao Bell rivals an Emperor’s Soldier, it’s impossible to sweep away the world’s Demon Fiends. Xuanyuan Peak cultivated for two thousand years, and now they are still forced to hide; there must be a supreme powerhouse among the Demon Race, so he must endure.
"If a strong one from the Human Race falls, the Demon Fiends won’t feel good either. Ever since the Three Emperors, the Human Race is no longer their food."
"Exactly, many from the Demon Race have died too, even more severely than we have. It was said that yesterday in Shuiyun City, a mysterious powerhouse named Wei Ran appeared unexpectedly. This person was unparalleled and slayed three Demon Saints in an overbearing manner, two of whom were Great Saint-level Demon Fiends, and even captured a Dharma Realm Celestial Horned Elephant alive.
In that battle, more than twenty thousand Demon Army forces were annihilated, and blood flowed like a river outside Shuiyun City."
"Is there truly such uplifting news? We should drink to this."
"Who is so formidable, to slay so many Demon Saints, including two Great Saints? Could it be an Emperor of our Human Race?"
"It’s said to not be a Martial Emperor, and no one knows the origin, but it’s rumored to possibly be an heir from a Martial Emperor’s Influence."
"A descendant from a Martial Emperor’s Influence is this terrifying?"
...
Wei Fan did not continue listening and stepped onward towards Wanxiang Commerce Association. Within a day, the events in Shuiyun City had already reached the Holy City.
"Heaven-Shaking Saint Ape!"
There was a fierce light in his eyes. While he couldn’t cleanse the world of Demon Fiends, he could certainly kill a few more Heaven-Shaking Saint Apes.
Jinzhou was not far from Xining Continent; as he passed by, he could conveniently slay a few Heaven-Shaking Saint Apes.
After walking a while, Wei Fan arrived at Wanxiang Commerce Association.
There were not many customers here. Lu Shun’an was supervising his subordinates in inventorying a large amount of goods, looking as if they were about to move; no one even noticed when he came in.
"It’s me!"
Wei Fan walked over and transmitted his voice to Lu Shun’an.
"Honored guest, please come with me!"
Lu Shun’an instantly realized it was Wei Fan and calmly invited Wei Fan into a VIP room that could isolate everything.
His muscles twitched, and Wei Fan returned to his original appearance, saying, "Is Wanxiang Commerce Association about to move?"
Lu Shun’an poured him a cup of Spirit Tea, shook his head, and said, "How could we move? The Demon Fiends are launching a significant offensive against the Human Race. My Wanxiang Commerce Association’s people are inclined to fight demons, but most of them only know business. We plan to donate a batch of resources to the Demon Hunter Organization to reward those soldiers fighting on the front lines."
Wei Fan nodded. The Demon Hunter Organization had been able to lead the Human Race in resisting the Demon Fiends for so many years largely due to the support of many human forces.
Once a great war erupts, those who have strength will contribute it, while those without will donate resources to attract more powerful individuals to join the battle.
"Here! These are all the records I could gather on the strong members of the Wang Family, as well as their various industries in Xining."
Lu Shun’an flipped his wrist and handed a thick book to Wei Fan: "But our Wanxiang Commerce Association isn’t in the business of intelligence trading, so a lot of things may not be accurate. Be careful, the depth of a Martial Emperor Family is unknown to all."
Wei Fan nodded: "I understand!"
The Martial Emperor Clan certainly has secrets; there’s no doubt about that. These powerful entities have survived so long because their true assets are never easily known, not even by most of their family members.
Wei Fan didn’t rush to read but instead took out the gains from this period and handed them to Lu Shun’an: "Check how much they’re worth. I currently need a Fist Technique, a Body Technique, a Saber Technique, and a cultivation technique to alter one’s aura. Provide me the top-tier ones from your Wanxiang Commerce Association. If what I have isn’t enough to cover it, I’ll owe you, and pay you back next time."
The items he looted he had sold to the Wanxiang Commerce Association last time. Recently, he took only from the Purple-Bearded Golden Flood Dragon, the Golden-winged Sparrow Mother, Wang Tai, the Iron-Eating Beast Demon Saint, and the Celestial Horned Elephant—not plentiful, but not scarce either.
Looking at what he needed, if the Wanxiang Commerce Association didn’t have martial emperor-level items, this would surely be enough to pay for them.
However, with the scale of Wanxiang Commerce Association’s business, it was very likely they had Martial Emperor Techniques available for sale.
He intended to craft a completely new identity to avoid the eyes of the world, aiming to use as little of his old belongings as possible.
"There’s no need, it’s just a matter of making a copy. I’ll decide to give it to you." Lu Shun’an declined, not wanting Wei Fan’s things.
Wei Fan shook his head: "Let’s keep things separate. I won’t pay you for the intelligence gathering, but for this, we should stick to the rules since you’re not yet running the Wanxiang Commerce Association.
Besides, once I’ve toppled the Wang Family, these things shouldn’t be lacking."
Upon hearing this, Lu Shun’an was moved, and the confidence on Wei Fan’s face clearly wasn’t without foundation, but was well-prepared.
"Wei Fan is about to topple a Martial Emperor Family!"
His heart couldn’t help but stir, pulsating with excitement, wanting to go with Wei Fan to challenge the Wang Family, but he knew with his level of cultivation, following Wei Fan would only be a burden.
"Wait for me a moment!"
Lu Shun’an left and after a while, returned with several books made from Demon King’s Hide, and a jade token inscribed with Dao Patterns.
"Our Wanxiang Commerce Association’s aura-concealing technique is only at the Saint Level. If someone truly goes all out, it may not escape a Great Saint Powerhouse’s detection, as there are secret techniques in the world designed specifically to trace origins.
This is a Divine Jade refined using Taiyin Divine Jade, inscribed with Dao Rune for aura concealment. Unless it’s a Martial Emperor Powerhouse, they won’t distinguish your Origin aura."
He was very considerate in directly helping Wei Fan acquire a Secret Artifact that could conceal his aura.
This Secret Artifact made from Taiyin Divine Jade not only could change the Origin aura but also could obscure even specialized tracking Divine Techniques. Even if the other party has your Soul Token, they couldn’t track you unless within a certain distance, making it a Treasure worth cities.
"Excellent item!"
Wei Fan couldn’t help but brighten up; the Zilan Sect had previously obtained his aura, and it was uncertain whether it had been given to the Zhou Family. This item perfectly solved that issue.
After storing the items, Wei Fan discovered he was still short of a Saber Technique, and looked at Lu Shun’an in surprise.
"These are all just Saint-level Techniques, freely replicable. The Saber Technique from Wanxiang Commerce Association was created by a Martial Emperor, and no one at the association can replicate it; you have to comprehend it yourself."
"Lead the way quickly!"
The Wanxiang Commerce Association indeed had Martial Emperor-level martial arts, and it was the emperor-level Blade Dao Martial Technique he hadn’t yet acquired. Had he known earlier, he’d have visited the Wanxiang Commerce Association sooner.
Reverting to his Wei Ran appearance, Wei Fan followed Lu Shun’an out of the VIP room: "My name is Wei Ran now."
Wei Fan informed Lu Shun’an of the name.
"The incident at Shuiyun City was actually done by Brother Wei!"
Lu Shun’an’s eyes nearly popped out, as the Wanxiang Commerce Association, with such a massive presence, had a branch in Shuiyun City and naturally knew what had happened there.
No one had expected the one reputed outside as possibly from a Martial Emperor’s influence, having defeated a Great Saint Powerhouse, Wei Ran, was actually Wei Fan.
Wei Fan nodded with a smile.
"With Brother Wei’s abilities, it’s no wonder there’s confidence to topple a Martial Emperor Family. Next, we await the news spreading that you’ve toppled a Martial Emperor Family."
He couldn’t help but be excited, and Wei Fan’s methods were far more impressive than rumors suggested. Vaguely, Wei Fan was already showing the potential to contend with a Martial Emperor Family.
"The Martial Emperor martial arts have been kept in the Saint City main store. Brother Wei, please follow me there."
The Holy City was the largest city in the Eastern Domain, and an establishment as large as the Wanxiang Commerce Association couldn’t only have one branch; this place was merely a branch under Lu Shun’an’s management.
He led Wei Fan out the door, and they quickly disappeared from the scene.