Chapter 145: Slip Away

　　Yunxiao’s voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone. That put a shocked look on every face. Many could not believe that such a young man actually had the cultivation base of a five-stars Martial Master, and were awed by the mysteriousness that shrouded him.

　　“Who is this lad? Could he be the City Lord?”

　　“He can’t be the City Lord, can he? He looks so young!”

　　“I think it’s quite possible. Didn’t you hear that Martial Lord said his son is the City Lord? This lad is young enough to be his son.”

　　“This…He’s such a young boy! What nonsense is this!”

　　“Why bother with the City Lord’s age? If he is willing to pay us, just take it!”

　　He was right, so the crowd fell silent after a moment of noisy chatter. After all, they were all here for the lucrative remuneration. A Great Martial Master was eager to try, and he walked up and said, “I want to join you!”

　　Yunxiao glanced at him, then smiled and said, “A peak three-stars Great Martial Master…Not bad! Go there and register yourself.”

　　The man was startled. He could not understand how Yunxiao found out his cultivation base. Puzzled, he walked to Meng Wu and wrote down his name ‘Liu Ke’ on a paper, following which, he was given a storage bag.

　　In front of the crowd, he opened the bag and gave the contents a look. His eyes lit up in an instant, and he hurriedly put the bag into his ring. His face was excited.

　　Meng Wu waved a hand, signaling the man to move away, and shouted in a clear voice, “Next!”

　　Liu Ke froze a moment, then he asked, “What am I supposed to do now?”

　　Meng Wu chuckled. “You can do whatever you like after you’ve signed up, but you must not leave Yanwu for a month without Young Master Yun’s orders, or you will be killed! For the time being, find yourself a place to stay in the city. When the time comes, Young Master Yun will construct a training field for you all to cultivate in.”

　　A look of surprise flashed across Liu Ke’s face, and he murmured under his breath, “Is he not worried that I’ll run away after taking the things?”

　　The people behind him were talking as well.

　　“So, this is how they recruit talents? Are they fools or what? With so many people joining them, how would they know if someone took the things and ran away?”

　　Yunxiao heard all the chatter, but he just smiled faintly and paid them no mind. After asking Li Changfeng to maintain the order, he went back to his room to continue his meditation.

　　He never worried about those who would try to cheat. Yanwu was large, but it was completely under his divine sense. If someone took the things and slipped away, he would not mind making an example for the others.

　　At the end of the first day, over three hundred people signed up, and among them were two Martial Lords. That night, Meng Wu told him that all the medicinal pills and mystic weapons were depleted, and they had nothing to give to those who would sign up the next day.

　　Yunxiao thought for a moment, then wrote two letters and asked Meng Wu and Meng Bai to send them to Myriad Treasures Store and Tianyuan Trading Company immediately. He planned to buy a large batch of first and second-tier mystic weapons and medicinal pills urgently at a high price.

　　When Ding Ling’er read the letter, she smiled and asked Yu Rong to deliver what Yunxiao needed from their inventory to Yanwu as quickly as possible.

　　Yu Rong was a little worried. “My lady, I’m really afraid that these investments will yield us nothing.”

　　Ding Ling’er chuckled. A cool air came over her face as she said, “What are these when we’ve already agreed to give him one hundred fourth-tier items? Besides, he is buying them at a high price, so we suffer no losses at all. If we don’t help him now, all our investments will be gone when he is wiped out by others. I have great hopes for him now.”

　　Yu Rong glanced around warily while frowning and said in a low voice, “Are you referring to the Zhou family, my lady?”

　　A strange look flashed in Ding Ling’er’s eyes as she nodded lightly and said, “Although what happened to the men of Zhou family has yet to be sent back to Firecrow Empire, those who are still in Yanwu have received the news. It’s just that no one knows who did it. I don’t know either, but my intuition tells me that it is related to Li Yunxiao!”

　　Yu Rong was taken aback, and then he said in disbelief, “Hmph! We all know how much strength that lad has. Don’t you think you are flattering him, my lady?”

　　Ding Ling’er just smiled and made no further comment about that. “Ask our men to send all the goods we brought here for the trade fair to the City Lord Mansion, and deliver our inventory of the first and second-tier mystic weapons and medicinal pills from Firecrow Empire here!”

　　Although the trade fair was over, the people of Myriad Treasures Store had not all left. As Xu Zizhuo had left Yanwu after getting the recipe of Shaoyang pill, it was Yin Zhaoyang and Gan Deming in charge now. When Yin Zhaoyang received the letter, he immediately ordered all the first and second-tier goods Myriad Treasures Store had in Yanwu to be gathered. After putting them all in his ring, he rushed to the City Lord Mansion at once.

　　“Since you are already here, Elder Yin, why don’t you just come in?” Yunxiao’s voice rang out of his room. Yin Zhaoyang, who was hesitating to knock on the door, was startled. With a wry smile, he shook his head and pushed open the door before stepping inside.

　　“You are always full of surprises, Young Master Yun. I think even Xiao Qingwang has not discovered my arrival.”

　　As soon as he stepped into the room and looked up, his pupils constricted and he cried out in horror, “The Cauldron of Five Elements! You…Young Master Yun, you…I knew it…”

　　He was so shocked that he could hardly speak. When he heard about what happened to the people of the Zhou family, he immediately thought of Yunxiao, who said he wanted to borrow the cauldron from them. But then he quickly gave up the thought. After all, the Zhou family was an existence no ordinary people could afford to offend, and he did not think Yanwu had the strength to defeat two Martial Kings. But now…

　　Yunxiao did nothing to hide that, and he was cultivating while being surrounded by the power of five elements. He smiled and said, “What made you look so surprised, Elder Yin?”

　　Yin Zhaoyang could only smile wryly as he said, “You’re dragging me into this, Young Master Yun!”

　　By purposely showing him the Cauldron of Five Elements, Yunxiao was telling him that he had robbed and killed the people of the Zhou family. Now, if he provided a large number of resources to Yanwu, he would virtually take Yunxiao’s side and completely offend the Zhou family.

　　A faint smile brushed Yunxiao’s lips. “Myriad Treasures Store is the leader of the Commerce Alliance, one of the superpowers on Heavenly Martial Continent. How can you be afraid of a mere Zhou family of Firecrow Empire?”

　　Full of bitterness and unable to vent, Yin Zhaoyang could only say sulkily, “Myriad Treasures Store is not afraid of the Zhou family, but I’m only in charge of the Firecrow branch, which is not strong enough to stand up against them. How would I explain to my superior if the branch is wiped out by the Zhou family?”

　　Yunxiao laughed. “You can go to Yuwen Bo. Just tell him that the branch was wiped out because of me. He will not blame you, and perhaps he might even promote you.”

　　At the mention of Yuwen Bo, Yin Zhaoyang seemed to brighten up. He took out a storage bag and handed it to Yunxiao. “I’ve brought you virtually all of Myriad Treasures Store’s resources in Yanwu. Inside the bag are over seven hundred first and second-tier medicinal pills and about one hundred mystic weapons. Young Master Yun, if you continue to recruit like this, without including the high-end fighting strength, just the low-end ones will be enough to put you as one of the top few strongest powers in Firecrow Empire.”

　　Yunxiao put away the bag and said, “Thanks for the help, Elder Yin. I’ll remember the favor you’ve done me. In the future, if someone bullies me in Firecrow Empire, please do help me as well.”

　　“Even with all the old bones in me, I don’t have much influence in Firecrow,” said Yin Zhaoyang with a wry smile. “Just don’t bully others, Young Master Yun! By the way, aren’t you afraid some people will take the things you gave them and slip away?”

　　Yunxiao turned his eyes and said, “Of course, I’m afraid! Elder Yin, are you interested in going out with me now?”

　　Yin Zhaoyang frowned, but before he could answer, he was dragged out of the mansion by Yunxiao.

　　Outside the city, under the shade of the night, dozens of figures were looking around carefully. Clearly, they were going to slip away by night, and they were all warriors who had signed up during the day.

　　The city gates were guarded by ordinary soldiers who could not discover them. After climbing over the wall, everyone showed a happy look.

　　One of them could not help but whisper, “This is an easy escape and easy money!”

　　“You bet! I’ve got a second-tier mystic weapon, ten third-tier medicinal pills, and one hundred superior-grade Primordial Stones! Heaven! This is just unbelievable!”

　　“Could the City Lord of Yanwu be an idiot?”

　　“I don’t know if he is an idiot or not, but I’m sure he is an upstart! I’ll disguise a little bit and come back tomorrow to get more things.”

　　“Great idea! We will be rich this time!”

　　Suddenly, a cold voice rang out, “What’s the point of getting rich when you have no life to spend the money?”

　　Shocked, everyone hurriedly turned and looked ahead. Not far away, Yunxiao was standing under the moonlight with a cool and murderous look on his face.

　　“Hmph! You are just alone. Are you trying to stop all forty of us? Get out of the way now if you don’t want to get hurt!” said one of the men. Among them was a Martial Lord, so if Yunxiao did not pursue them with all his forces, no one could stop them from running away.

　　“Get out of the way?” Yunxiao sneered. “You’ve taken so many benefits from me, and now you are leaving without telling me? What’s the difference between you and robbers?”

　　“I took your things because you are an idiot! You are just a mere Martial Master, so stop dreaming that I will work for you because you are rich. If you don’t get out of the way, don’t blame us for being cruel to you!”

　　Several men had decided to kill him, and they rushed forward together in the blink of an eye, thrusting their weapons at him.

　　Suddenly, Yunxiao’s face was full of horror as he screamed, “Help me, Elder Yin!”

　　Yin Zhaoyang, who was hiding in the dark, was taken aback, and then his face grew dark. He immediately understood the reason Yunxiao brought him here. It turned out that the lad was using him as a hatchet man! Although unhappy, he could not let them kill Yunxiao, so he forced himself to walk over and lightly threw out a few slaps, which instantly killed the few warriors.

　　“He’s not alone! Who goes there?”

　　Everyone’s face turned extremely unsightly as they saw Yin Zhaoyang, who slowly walked out of the darkness. They could not sense any aura from this man at all. Although he was standing there in front of them, it was as if he did not exist at all.

　　Each man sucked in a cold breath. What did that mean? It meant the man was far stronger than all of them!