Xiao Ning was guided to a huge wooden counter, which was in a corner of the shed and extended from one wall to the other. In the back, it was possible to see several Herbs being displayed, exposed on onyx shelves, and there were also some glass containers holding things like hearts, eyes, livers, among others, submerged in a viscous greenish liquid.

  "Please place what you wish to sell on the counter, and if it's too big, you can just leave it on the floor," said the attendant.

  And, as told, Xiao Ning placed the jar containing the Herbs on the counter. Then, he took out the Red-Haired Boar's hide and spread it over the wood. Finally, it was the tusks' turn.

  First, the attendant picked up the boar's hide and raised it. He pulled it here, stretched it there, and caressed it with his fingers, brought it very close to his nose, and smelled it.

  "Good Red-Haired Boar hide," he praised. "There are no visible lacerations. The skinning was done with precision, and there are no parts with much fur missing that draw attention. Very well preserved," he nodded, looking somewhat impressed. "You don't see many like this in such good condition. Even more so considering the Boar was already at the 5th Layer."

  "How much is it worth?" questioned Xiao Ning, who was more interested in how much he would earn.

  "Since it's in such good condition, it's worth at least twenty bronze coins."

  When he heard the price, Xiao Ning couldn't help but exclaim out loud:

  "That's it!"

  Throughout the Central Continent, the three coins used were bronze, silver, and gold. One silver was equivalent to a hundred bronzes, one gold was the same as a hundred silvers.

  With those measly twenty bronze coins, he didn't even have half of a single silver coin, and according to what he had predicted, a Normal Type Enchanted Cauldron of low quality would be worth at least five, maybe seven silver coins. Receiving so little, he would need to kill many boars to be able to buy it.

  "Somewhere else, this hide might even be worth more, but here, in Chaos Border City, the trade of monsters and Herbs is large." The seller gestured with his hand, showing Xiao Ning the large number of people who were there to do exactly the same. And indeed, there were dozens of cultivators selling their merchandise. "Normally, this type of product would only be worth fifteen bronze coins. I'm only offering twenty because of the great quality."

  "Well, if that's how it is, alright!" Xiao Ning gave up, shrugging his shoulders. "And the tusks, how much are they worth?"

  "Hm..." The attendant took a brief look. "I can offer seven bronze coins for the pair."

  Seven! Another low price. Xiao Ning was getting more and more discouraged. If he continued this way, he would have to put in a lot of effort to get a new cauldron. But at least he still had the Herbs.

  "Are there any poisonous plants?" he questioned, as he put on a pair of gloves.

  "No," answered Xiao Ning, while spreading the Herbs across the counter.

  With the gloves already on, the attendant began to evaluate:

  "Three Merciful Ladies, a Thief Mushroom, and a Fake Silver." Finishing counting, he took off his gloves and communicated. "I can offer twenty-four bronze coins for the Merciful Ladies, two for the thief mushroom, and five for the Fake Silver."

  "So, counting the hide and the tusks, that's fifty-eight bronze coins," he calculated in his head, with a discouraged expression. He had earned much less than he had thought.

  However, since this was the only place he knew where he could sell these things, Xiao Ning, who wasn't a good negotiator, didn't try to bargain or anything of the sort, he simply sold them. And so, his fortune increased from zero to fifty-eight bronze coins.

  Seeing the boy's discouraged countenance, the attendant, in an attempt to console him, said:

  "If you're trying to gather money quickly, why don't you hunt more Demonic Beasts?"

  "I tried, but I didn't find any on the Jade Ancestral Mountain," he answered, dropping his shoulders.

  "In that case, go to the Forest of a Thousand Dooms. You just need to ask permission from the Zhan Family or the Qin Family," he informed.

  "Why do I need to ask permission?" Xiao Ning was uninformed regarding things involving the four Families. Other than the fact that he belonged to the Xiaos and his ex-fiancée to the Xus, he didn't know anything else.

  "Why, the young man doesn't know? Well then, let me explain. You are probably from the Xiao or Xu Family, right?" asked the attendant. And Xiao Ning nodded, confirming it. "As you must know, these two Families are responsible for the Jade Ancestral Mountain, while the Zhans and the Qins take care of the Forest of a Thousand Dooms. Members of any of the Families are not forbidden to go to these places, but it's a matter of courtesy to notify them in advance."

  "So, if I want to go to the Forest of a Thousand Dooms, I have to ask the Zhan or Qin Family in advance?" he confirmed, just to be sure.

  Xiao Ning was interested in the attendant's proposal. The Forest of a Thousand Dooms was a place known for its incredible number of monsters. If he went hunting there, he would definitely earn good money. And more importantly, he would improve his Essence Flames.

  "Exactly!" affirmed the attendant. "If you know someone from one of these Families, it will be much easier."

  "I see," murmured Xiao Ning. He didn't know anyone from either of them, and to be honest, he didn't care about the courtesy, but before going, he would at least notify Uncle Chang.

  Feeling grateful for the tips, Xiao Ning thanked him. And he was about to leave, now with the cloth bag and the empty jar, when he remembered:

  "Do you know any place where I can find an Enchanted Cauldron?" He was far from getting the necessary money for a new artifact, but he wanted to get an idea of the price so he could plan better.

  However, this, which was so simple, seemed to be an extremely difficult question, as the attendant thought for a long time, drumming his fingers on his chin, shaking his head from side to side, until he finally answered:

  "I'm not sure, but if there's a place where you might find one, it's at: Enchanted Articles and Ancient Runes."

  "And where is that?" inquired Xiao Ning, who had never heard of such a place.

  "Ah, but that is very simple," he replied, with a smile on his face. "You just have to go straight ahead, on Disorder Street, then..."

  After leaving the Chaos Warehouse, Xiao Ning wandered around the city looking for the shop that might sell Enchanted Cauldrons, "Enchanted Articles and Ancient Runes". Thanks to the information given by the attendant, who had to explain more than once and without using the street names, he had a slight notion of which way to go.

  After walking for a while, he found himself on an avenue different from all the ones he had been on so far. The ground was covered by perfectly rectangular tiles of two different colors, brown and gray, which were very well organized, forming a smooth and flashy carpet. There were no stalls on the corners, nor merchants yelling at the top of their lungs. The few shops in the vicinity, as big as mansions, had discreet signs, with nothing more than the name written. And some, the most modern ones, displayed their products through a transparent glass panel.

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  Unlike other parts of the city, on this street in particular, there were no crowds squeezing to walk. The few people who were there wore elegant and flashy clothes. That, without a shadow of a doubt, was the noble area, reserved for the richest.

  Xiao Ning, with his dirty clothes and few bronze coins, crossed Order Street dragging the cloth sack on the ground, looking both at ease and discouraged. Despite being a cultivator, capable of running five kilometers without stopping, he was already tired of walking around these messy streets with strange names.

  While passing through Order Street, from time to time he would stop in front of a window that caught his attention. Even if the prices were absurd, surpassing twenty gold coins, looking was free.

  It was when he stopped in front of one of these shops to admire a claw that was claimed to be a Qilin's, that she appeared.

  Wearing a long green dress, elegant and sophisticated, woven in silk, a beautiful girl, with golden hair and light green eyes, paraded with elegance, sliding across the tiled floor, almost as if she were floating. By her side, equally refined, a young man, who seemed to be the same age or slightly older, wearing a flashy golden cloak, tried to entertain her, making hand gestures and giving warm smiles, but the girl maintained her apathetic expression and turned-up nose.

  Xiao Ning, when he saw her, recognized her right away. That was his ex-fiancée, Xu Xia. It hadn't been long since the Xu Family had broken the marriage agreement, proposed long ago by his late father.

  Generally, in this type of situation, other people would grimace and walk away. The humiliation of being dumped by your own fiancée was already too great to bear, without needing to find her parading with another man.

  However, Xiao Ning was shameless and didn't care in the least about the broken engagement. So, putting a relaxed smile on his face and assuming a shameless attitude, he walked toward her, dragging his feet on the ground in his laziest possible way.

  When she noticed her ex-fiancé approaching, Xu Xia's arrogant countenance transformed into a gloomy expression. It was her displeasure to find such a subject in this place.

  Noticing the dark expression on his companion's face, the boy in the golden cloak asked:

  "What is it, Miss Xia, did something happen?"

  But she didn't answer him.

  At that moment, Xiao Ning, dragging the cloth sack on the ground, stopped in front of the two and joked:

  "Little Xia, you look beautiful as always," he praised, giving a somewhat provocative smile. He then scratched his chin and continued. "Except you'd look even better if you smiled a little. That scowl doesn't suit you at all, you know? You look like you always have a stomachache. Ahahaha!" he joked.

  Hearing such insults, Xu Xia's expression twisted even more. Since when did this bum have such intimacy to speak to her like that?

  The boy standing beside her also made an ugly face. He took a step forward and was ready to question the meddler, when...

  "I already told you not to call me Little Xia," hissed Xu Xia, with harshness. Suddenly, an oppressive Energy emanated from her body and hit Xiao Ning. She wanted to force him to apologize for his words.

  "Oh, you've already reached the Awakening Realm?" exclaimed Xiao Ning, who wasn't affected by the Spiritual Energy in the least. On the contrary, it only helped him realize that she was already at the 1st Layer of the Awakening Realm. A recent evolution, it seemed. "Impressive! I hadn't noticed last time."

  In Chaos Border City, it was common, regardless of which Family they belonged to, for youths between fifteen and seventeen years old to be at the 5th or 6th Layer of the Mundane Realm. However, those who reached the 7th at the same age were called geniuses. And those who entered the Awakening Realm before they were eighteen were geniuses among geniuses.

  Therefore, someone like Xu Xia, who was only sixteen years old and had successfully managed to reach the Awakening Realm, was considered a true genius. Realizing this, Xiao Ning finally understood why the Xu Family was willing to dishonor a marriage agreement. It wasn't about him being a failed bum, but about her being too precious to be handed over to just anyone.

  Realizing that the impudent ex-fiancé was not being affected by her Spiritual Energy, Xu Xia let out a look of surprise. He was only a 4th Layer of the Mundane Realm, so how could he resist?

  That was when the boy in the golden cloak, wanting to understand what was happening, manifested himself:

  "I don't know who you are, but you are bothering Miss Xia. Could you do us a favor and get out of the way? We don't have time to waste with someone..." he paused, and without any subtlety, looked up and down Xiao Ning's clothes, "...like you," he said, in a tone of revulsion.

  Xiao Ning looked at the young man in the golden cloak for a while and then turned to Xu Xia:

  "Who's the pompous guy? Your boyfriend?" he asked, pointing a finger.

  Hearing his question, Xu Xia turned her head, trying to hide the aversion on her face.

  "You dirty inferior!" The boy in the golden cloak exploded. "Know that I am Zhan Hao! And an offense to me is an offense to my Family. Keep in mind that killing you or letting you live, a nobody like you, for disrespecting Miss Xia, is merely my choice!" he shouted, full of pride and anger.

  Although Zhan Hao said he could kill Ning whenever he wanted, that wasn't quite true, because there were strict rules prohibiting conflict between Families inside the city. And the punishment for breaking such rules was severe.

  "Zhan Hao..." he scratched his head in a lazy way. "Never heard of him. Besides, I am not a nobody, I am Xiao Ning, her ex-fiancé," he pointed to Xu Xia.

  When Ning said he had never heard of him, Zhan Hao expressed an ugly grimace. Who in Chaos Border City didn't know him? But as soon as he heard him introduce himself as Xu Xia's ex-fiancé, his face twisted into a profound and pungent contempt.

  "Humph! Indeed, a nobody," he snorted with disdain. "No. It would be more appropriate to call you an honorless bum." His angry tone of voice transformed into disregard and mockery as he continued. "They say the Xu Family dumped you for being stuck at the 2nd Layer of the Mundane Realm since you were thirteen. I'm impressed you have the courage to leave the house after receiving such humiliation. Being rejected by the Xu Family, even though your father had made an agreement... Ha! Ha! Ha! What a shame. If it were me, I would have killed myself."

  "Well, I'm not as weak as you," said Xiao Ning, shrugging. And Zhan Hao clenched his fists in anger. "Besides, you shouldn't talk like that. It makes it sound like the breakup was exclusively the Xu Family's decision and Little Xia had no choice but to accept. But know, she is free to do whatever she wants."

  When she heard Xiao Ning say this, the same thing he said before, Xu Xia, for a moment, looked at him with some interest and a hidden intrigue. But suddenly she realized:

  "I already told you not to call me little!" she protested, enraged.

  "Ahaha! Don't mind the little things." Xiao Ning gave a carefree smile.

  "Tsk!" Zhan Hao clicked his tongue, annoyed. "How long do you intend to stay in our way? Don't you realize that Miss Xia and I are trying to have a pleasant stroll? Or rather, what is a failure like you doing in a place like this? I doubt you even have a single miserable gold coin," he mocked.

  No matter how much Zhan Hao mocked him, Xiao Ning didn't get angry. He just gave a relaxed smile and played along.

  "True, all I have are these little bronze coins." While shaking the cloth sack, making a sound of metal clashing against glass clinking, he shook his head and let out a sorrowful sigh. He was very poor.

  "Here..." Zhan Hao took a small pouch, which jingled with metal noises, from his waist. He took out two silver coins and dropped them on the ground. "Take it and get out of my sight!"

  The smile on Xiao Ning's face disappeared. He looked at the money on the ground and then at Zhan Hao. And then, without saying a single word, he bent down and started picking up the coins. With a quick calculation he realized, if he was right about the price, now he only needed three or four more silver coins to be able to buy a new cauldron.

  "Ha! He really is a failure. Picking up others' leftovers. Ha! Ha! Ha!" Looking down at Ning, Zhan Hao mocked and laughed out loud, making a point of letting his voice echo down the avenue. "He has no pride whatsoever! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

  Xu Xia also looked at him with a strange expression, but said nothing.

  However, disregarding the mockery, Xiao Ning just picked up the little coins. And still crouching, he stared at Zhan Hao and countered:

  "Is it me who has no pride or you who are an idiot for throwing money away? If you want to throw more, I accept. Throw some gold ones there, because I'm in need." Hearing this, Zhan Hao thought about saying something, but Xiao Ning continued. "Not to mention, my pride is not that small to be hurt by something like this... Ah, speaking of money..." Changing the subject mid-sentence, he turned his gaze to his ex-fiancée.

  "What do you want with me?" she said harshly.

  "That Enchanted Cauldron the Xu Family sent me was crap."

  "Ha! Trash like you trying to do Alchemy?" Zhan Hao sneered, but was ignored.

  "Humph! That was enough for someone like you!" snorted Xu Xia, coldly.

  "Even if you say that, that cauldron exploded the first time I tried to make an Alchemical Composition." Xiao Ning waved his arms, trying to play the victim and continued. "I almost died, you know?" he dramatized.

  "Just tell me what you want!" rumbled Xu Xia, who was already losing her patience.

  "Couldn't you lend me some money? You are rich, aren't you? I promise I'll give it back one day," asked Xiao Ning, giving a shameless smile.

  Whether it was a lack of shame or dignity, it wasn't known, however, when it came to Alchemy, he was willing to do anything, even ask the woman who kicked him for money. Anyone who sees it might even say he is an idiotic man without any pride. But to those, Xiao Ning would just smile and say, "my pride is not that small".

  "You already got your two coins," scolded Xu Xia, with her usual cold expression and turned-up nose, then she walked around her ex-fiancé and left.

  And despite wanting to give that failure a good beating, Zhan Hao accompanied her, looking back with a countenance full of anger and contempt.

  Seeing her walk away, Xiao Ning let out an amused smile. What was going on in her head was a mystery. However, he had the impression that Xu Xia wasn't a simple snob. Be that as it may, at least he was two silver coins closer to getting a new cauldron.