Chapter 153: The Three Young Masters

Ye Cheng’s calm words echoed clearly through the entire street, leaving countless people in utter astonishment. They never expected that the ferocious Genesis Realm expert, Wild Wolf, would actually be threatened by a youth who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. It struck them as quite unbelievable.

Meanwhile, on the second floor of a teahouse less than two hundred meters away from the Zhaobin Inn, a woman with a fresh, ethereal beauty and a hint of enchanting allure was sipping tea from a red-lipped cup. Her beautiful eyes gazed at Ye Cheng with a trace of shock, having naturally witnessed the youth's previous display of action.

"Who on earth is this fellow? Such formidable strength!" The woman blinked her mesmerizing eyes and muttered to herself, looking somewhat mischievous.

Wild Wolf glared at Ye Cheng with a vicious expression, wanting to retort, but after a few twitches at the corner of his mouth, no words came out. Feeling that he could not save face after being threatened so blatantly by a youth, he could only hurl a harsh parting threat: "You little bastard, just you wait!" With that, he fled in disarray, dragging his brothers along with him.

Watching the retreating figures of Wild Wolf and his men, Ye Cheng glanced around at the surrounding crowd of onlookers without a word. He turned back to see the old beggar cowering on the ground, whose thin, withered elbows had scraped open and bled while crawling earlier.

Moved by a sense of unbearable pity, Ye Cheng walked over to him, retrieved a bottle of wound-healing powder from his spatial ring, and had the old beggar consume it directly. Within a few breaths, aided by Ye Cheng’s support, the old beggar slowly managed to stand up.

While the healing powder had a negligible medicinal effect on a Blood Energy Realm expert like Ye Cheng, it possessed quite a potent bone-mending and blood-clotting efficacy for an ordinary person like the old beggar.

After finishing all this, Ye Cheng quietly slipped over several dozens of silver coins and spoke softly, "Old man, leave this place quickly."

The Poison Dragon Town was simply too chaotic; ordinary people like him had no guarantee of life here. It would be far better for him to seek safety elsewhere.

He dared not give too much. For an ordinary elderly man like him, an excessive amount of wealth would only bring danger instead of security.

"Thank you, young master!" Tears streamed down the old beggar's weathered face as he wept and expressed his profuse gratitude, snot and tears mingling together. He then scurried into the crowd and quietly slipped away.

Ye Cheng smiled faintly before turning around to enter the Zhaobin Inn. He directly requested a private room, which the innkeeper readily and cheerfully agreed to. Evidently, the innkeeper harbored no fear of losing business due to Ye Cheng having offended Wild Wolf earlier.

In Poison Dragon Town, anyone daring to run a business along streets like this possessed some backing; otherwise, with troublemakers making scenes day in and day out, no one would dare to keep such a business afloat.

...

Seated within the reserved room of the inn, Ye Cheng watched the attendant bring in a tray of tea, his mind deep in thought. "The Three Prominent Youths of Poison Dragon Town... Interesting. I truly wonder what kind of figures they turn out to be!"

Just as the attendant finished setting down the tea and turned to leave, Ye Cheng called out to him, "Wait!"

"Do you have any further instructions, sir?" the attendant hurriedly asked respectfully, not daring to show the slightest negligence. He had seen the events unfolding at the inn entrance crystal clear.

Although the black-robed youth before him looked young, his strength was unfathomable. He likely hailed from some major, powerful family from elsewhere, the attendant thought to himself inwardly.

"I want to ask you a few things!" Ye Cheng said as he handed over a piece of silver. Such worldly possessions still proved useful at times, making the attendant before him more willing to speak the whole truth.

"Ask away, sir, ask away! This humble one will tell you everything he knows without reservation." The attendant accepted the silver, his face beaming with broad smiles.

"Are there any mercenary groups or other teams recently planning to cross the northern desert lands and head toward the prefecture city of Nanyang?" Ye Cheng asked.

"The northern desert lands?" The attendant pondered for a moment before speaking in succession, "There are. Three streets to the north from here, there is the Iron Blood Mercenary Corps, and they seem to be recruiting men recently. It appears they are escorting some kind of treasure to the Nanyang Prefecture City. With them leading the way, sir, you can rest assured. The Iron Blood Mercenary Corps has operated in the desert lands for many years, crossing it several times a year."

"Oh? The Iron Blood Mercenary Corps? How is their strength?" Ye Cheng instantly grew interested.

"This Iron Blood Mercenary Corps is a renowned mercenary group in Poison Dragon Town, anchored by two experts at the Minor Accomplishment Genesis Realm. Over the years, we've never heard of any mishaps befalling them."

"Besides, given your strength, sir, joining the Iron Blood Mercenary Corps should be a breeze," the attendant said, having witnessed firsthand just how formidable the young man before him was.

"Alright!" Ye Cheng nodded, already making up his mind in his heart to visit the Iron Blood Mercenary Corps shortly and find out whether they were indeed heading to Nanyang Prefecture City. If that proved to be the case, he could hitch a ride with them.

"Right, attendant, when I was walking over just now, I heard mention of some title called the 'Three Prominent Youths' of Poison Dragon Town. Could you enlighten me with the details?" Ye Cheng suddenly asked.

He held a fair bit of curiosity regarding these three youths. Judging by the tone of the people earlier, these three figures seemed to be quite young yet possessed exceptional talent.

"Ah, the sir is speaking of the Three Prominent Youths. They are indeed some of the most renowned and gifted figures in our Poison Dragon Town," the attendant replied with a smile.

"Oh? Tell me in detail!"

"The First Prominent Youth, Shang An, is the young master of the Shang family in the town. He is twenty-one years old this year, and by the age of eighteen, his cultivation had already reached the peak of the Blood Energy Realm, breaking through to the Genesis Realm just a short while ago. The Second Prominent Youth, Ming Fei, is merely a rogue cultivator, yet he reached the peak of the Blood Energy Realm at the tender age of nineteen. And even more extraordinary is the Third Prominent Youth, Hai Chao. He reached the peak of the Blood Energy Realm at the mere age of seventeen, and that was already half a year ago. Now that half a year has passed, even if this Hai Chao hasn't broken through to the Genesis Realm, he is practically right on the verge of it. His talent far surpasses that of the first two prominent youths, and he is a gifted genius of the town's Hai family."

"Hai Chao? This fellow is actually one of the Three Prominent Youths?"

Hearing the attendant mention Hai Chao's name, a wave of profound astonishment washed over Ye Cheng. He was naturally well aware of the former; half a year ago during the trial for the Heavenly Selection slots in Yongle City, Hai Chao had been invited by the Blood Fiend Gang to assist them. He should have guessed long ago that anyone capable of breaking through to the peak of the Blood Energy Realm at the age of seventeen would be considered a genius anywhere.

Even in a major city like Yongle City, those who could break through to the peak of the Blood Energy Realm by seventeen numbered no more than two: Nangong Xue and Tie Muqing.

"What, does the young master know Hai Chao?" the attendant asked with a smile.

"Oh, not really, I've just heard of him," Ye Cheng casually replied, then handed another piece of silver to the attendant.

"Very well, I'm not familiar with this place. Guide me to the Iron Blood Mercenary Corps right now."

"Ah, absolutely!" A brilliant, beaming smile spread across the attendant's face. The silver Ye Cheng had given him amounted to several months' worth of wages working at this inn, so he was naturally more than willing.

He was not a martial artist, merely an ordinary person forced by circumstance to make a living in Poison Dragon Town. Fortunately, this inn provided protection; as long as he did not commit any offenses, nothing untoward would happen to him.

"Please follow this humble one, young master." The attendant led the way, guiding Ye Cheng straight toward the northern street.