Chapter 207: Space Power
Zhang Ruochen put away the healing pills and sat down across from her, staring at the proud yet genuine Commandery Princess Huang Yanchen.
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Ruochen said, "I have indeed had some encounters and obtained some treasures and cultivation manuals. I have no other identity, nor did I deliberately approach you. I am just the Ninth Prince of Yunwu Commandery. Even if you investigate, you will only find this identity."
In Zhang Ruochen's view, his identity as the son of the Ming Emperor belonged to a past life.
Huang Yanchen looked at Zhang Ruochen's calm and composed demeanor from start to finish, gradually calming down. She rolled her eyes and said, "Just how many secrets are you still hiding?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "Everyone has secrets they don't want to reveal, including you. Don't you have secrets you've never told me? Since I haven't asked you, why do you have to ask me?"
Huang Yanchen pursed her lips, still unwilling to give up. "Did you cultivate a martial technique that can control space?"
"No comment," Zhang Ruochen said.
Zhang Ruochen had been forced to use the power of his Space Domain; otherwise, with his current cultivation, he would never have been able to escape from Hua Qingshan's hands.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen was wearing a mask at the time, so Hua Qingshan didn't know who he was.
Now, the only person who knew he could control space was Huang Yanchen.
Huang Yanchen glared coldly at Zhang Ruochen, grinding her teeth. "Why are you so stingy? It's not like I'm asking you to teach me."
"Even if I taught you, you wouldn't be able to learn."
Zhang Ruochen stopped paying attention to Huang Yanchen and began arranging the neatly lined-up pill bottles on the ground. There were twelve bottles in total, all containing pills refined by Xiao Hei, stored in the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal.
Zhang Ruochen opened the lid of one bottle, and a burst of icy cold air emanated from it. In an instant, a thin layer of frost formed on the ground around the bottle.
"Ice Vein Pill!"
Zhang Ruochen put the lid back on and opened the other bottles one by one to inspect them.
Among the twelve bottles, six contained Ice Vein Pills, two contained Wind Vein Pills, three contained Fire Vein Pills, and one contained Lightning Vein Pills.
Each bottle held eight pills.
Zhang Ruochen picked up the bottle containing the Lightning Vein Pills. Even without opening the lid, he could faintly hear the sound of thunder and lightning coming from inside.
"I didn't expect Xiao Hei to actually succeed in refining Lightning Vein Pills. I really underestimated him before," Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
But where did he get the materials for refining them?
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen thought of Duanmu Xingling.
Since Duanmu Xingling knew that Xiao Hei could refine Ice Vein Pills, she would certainly support him heavily. It was only natural for her to buy the refining materials for him.
"You mean all these pills were refined by that cat?" Huang Yanchen asked in surprise, clearly skeptical.
Zhang Ruochen didn't hide it from her. "That's right."
Then, Zhang Ruochen took out the healing pill and handed it to Huang Yanchen. This time, she didn't refuse. She took the pill and found it to be only a third-rank healing pill, which made her frown slightly.
If her storage bracelet were still with her, she would have several fourth-rank healing pills inside. Why would she settle for a third-rank one?
After being captured, her storage bracelet had naturally been taken away. Even though she looked down on the third-rank healing pill, she had no choice but to take it for now.
Thinking about that storage bracelet, Huang Yanchen felt a pang of heartache. The cultivation resources inside were worth millions of silver coins. Moreover, the storage bracelet itself was a priceless treasure.
With her current injuries, if she took a fourth-rank healing pill, she could recover in half a day.
But with a third-rank healing pill, it would take at least three days to recover.
After taking the healing pill, Huang Yanchen began circulating her true qi to refine the pill and heal her injuries.
Zhang Ruochen had also sustained some minor injuries, but they weren't serious. He didn't need to take any healing pills; his own true qi could heal them.
The Poison Spider Merchant Guild was surely searching everywhere for the two of them. Hiding in the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal was the safest option. If they went out, they might be discovered by the Poison Spider Merchant Guild. After all, Dihuo City was under the control of the Black Market.
"With such a major incident, experts from the Martial Market Academy and Qianshui Commandery should soon arrive in Dihuo City. Even Yunwu Commandery will likely send strong warriors to deal with the Poison Spider Merchant Guild. After all, Senior Sister Huang is now my fiancée, and this concerns the friendly relations between Yunwu Commandery and Qianshui Commandery. If Senior Sister Huang gets into trouble in Yunwu Commandery, how could the Qianshui Commandery King not hold the Yunwu Commandery King accountable?"
"If Senior Sister Huang were still imprisoned by the Poison Spider Merchant Guild, perhaps the various forces wouldn't dare act rashly. But now that I've rescued her, the Poison Spider Merchant Guild has lost its leverage. Can they still withstand the siege of experts from all sides?"
So now, Zhang Ruochen didn't need to do anything. He just had to wait patiently. Someone would eventually come to deal with the Poison Spider Merchant Guild.
"This is the perfect time to improve my cultivation."
Zhang Ruochen was well aware that his biggest weakness right now was his martial cultivation.
At the Earth Extreme Realm Initial Stage, his cultivation was indeed impressive compared to other young martial artists. But compared to the Ten Talents of the Heavenly Demon and the Seven Young Masters of the Black Market, there was still a significant gap.
Holding the bottle of Lightning Vein Pills in one hand and the bottle of Fire Vein Pills in the other, Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment, then put down the Lightning Vein Pills and opened the bottle of Fire Vein Pills.
As the lid opened, wisps of crimson flames escaped from the bottle.
"Chi!"
He poured out a Fire Vein Pill into his palm. A scorching heat radiated from the pill, and flames burned on its surface.
Just one Fire Vein Pill required two hundred merit points to exchange at the Inner Palace Academy.
If sold outside, its value would double, costing at least four hundred thousand silver coins. Even ordinary princes and commandery princesses couldn't afford to buy them in large quantities.
Zhang Ruochen chose the Fire Vein Pill over the Lightning Vein Pill because he was currently cultivating the third layer of the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, the "Taiqing Spirit Fire Heaven."
The Fire Vein Pill could help him improve his cultivation faster.
After swallowing the Fire Vein Pill, it felt like a ball of fire entering his body. Zhang Ruochen's skin turned completely crimson, as if he had been burned red like a piece of iron.
...
At the Poison Spider Merchant Guild in Dihuo City.
Hua Minggong was furious when he learned that Huang Yanchen had been rescued. He wished he could slap Hua Qingshan to death.
"Boom!"
Hua Minggong punched the air, shattering a ten-meter-tall rockery into pieces of rubble. His hair stood on end as he roared, "If you weren't my only son, I would cripple you right now. I warned you long ago not to touch the Yanchen Commandery Princess, but you didn't listen. This time, you've caused a disaster. Even I might not be able to protect you."
The Poison Spider Merchant Guild's influence spanned the thirty-six commanderies of the Demon Ridge. Internally, the guild had thirty-six regional leaders, and Hua Minggong was merely the leader for Yunwu Commandery.
Originally, capturing the Yanchen Commandery Princess would have earned Hua Minggong a great merit for the Poison Spider Merchant Guild. This opportunity could have allowed the guild to negotiate with the Qianshui Commandery King and open up the Black Market in Qianshui Commandery.
But now, everything had fallen apart, leaving the Poison Spider Merchant Guild in a completely passive position.
News of the Yanchen Commandery Princess's rescue had already spread. It was foreseeable that the Martial Market Academy, Qianshui Commandery, and Yunwu Commandery would retaliate against the Poison Spider Merchant Guild with thunderous force.
Hua Qingshan remained relaxed, unafraid of his father, because he knew his father would never harm him.
Hua Qingshan said, "I didn't expect a mysterious young expert who can control space to suddenly appear."
Hua Minggong gradually calmed down. "Are you sure he can control space?"
"Absolutely certain," Hua Qingshan said.
Hua Minggong frowned, still somewhat skeptical. Could anyone truly control the power of space? "Space power has always been just a legend. Even in history, only two or three extraordinary individuals have been able to harness the power of space. Those two or three were figures of unparalleled brilliance, revered even by great saints."
Hua Qingshan smiled slightly and took out a jade bracelet, handing it to Hua Minggong. "Father, if you don't believe me, take a look at this bracelet."
Hua Minggong's expression shifted. He took the jade bracelet and infused it with true qi, immediately discovering the inner space within the bracelet.
"This is... a space treasure..." Hua Minggong was shocked, even though he was a Heaven Extreme Realm expert.
Hua Qingshan said, "This bracelet was taken from the Yanchen Commandery Princess. Now, Father, do you believe that young man can control space?"
Hua Minggong's eyes lit up. "If we report this to the Guild Master, we can certainly make up for our mistake. The value of a prodigy who can control space is far greater than that of the Yanchen Commandery Princess."
Hua Qingshan revealed a mocking smile and said in a low voice, "Father, why must we report this to the Guild Master?"
"What do you mean?" Hua Minggong asked.
Hua Qingshan stood up. "That young man who can control space has a relatively low cultivation, at most at the Earth Extreme Realm Small Extreme Position. If we can capture him and force him to reveal the secrets of space power, then we too can control space. Why should we continue to serve that Guild Master? Why not become the Guild Master ourselves?"
Hua Minggong was also tempted. "But we don't know the true identity of that mysterious young man. Finding him won't be easy."
"It's not hard to find out," Hua Qingshan said with a smile, staring at the space bracelet. "Since that mysterious young man gave such a precious space bracelet to the Yanchen Commandery Princess, his relationship with her must be extraordinary. He might even be a student of the Martial Market Academy."
"Among the Inner Palace Academy students of the Martial Market Academy, there are very few who can fight me. Most of them can be ruled out."
"There are also few students who have a close relationship with the Yanchen Commandery Princess, which eliminates more people. Add to that the fact that he is no older than twenty. There are very few Earth Extreme Realm martial artists under twenty. With these three conditions, finding him will be as easy as flipping over my hand."