“I’ll have to trouble Miss Qingyu to introduce the local chambers of commerce as well, so I can see what good things are on offer.” Ye Liuyun spoke with genuine courtesy; there was none of the hauteur typical of a rich young master.

Qingyu answered at once, “Young Master Li is too polite—this is exactly what us guides are here for! Please follow me; I’ll take you to buy a map first

If you’re choosing a place to stay, though, I recommend our own guild hall. We run inns and restaurants as well, and our location is practically the heart of the royal city—convenient to everywhere. You’ll see once you look at the map.”

“Fine, let me check the map first.” Ye Liuyun didn’t care where he lodged; if this place was convenient, he couldn’t be bothered to wander farther.

Without asking the price, he ordered the most detailed map available and paid on the spot.

The moment Qingyu handed it over, he used his crimson-pupil illusion to nudge her into speaking the truth. Under its influence she began explaining the city’s layout right on the map.

The chart was meticulous, and Qingyu clearly knew every district well. In no time Ye Liuyun had a solid grasp of the entire capital.

Qingyu hadn’t exaggerated; the location really was convenient to everything. He decided on the spot to stay at the Holy Flame Guild hall and had Qingyu reserve a detached courtyard for him, then led him there.

The instant they entered the residence, he sent out his soul and used the crimson pupils again—this time to make Qingyu believe she was merely briefing him on the guild’s affairs. In reality, he slipped his soul directly into her sea of consciousness to rummage for information.

To his surprise, a confidentiality pact tied to the guild floated inside her mind; much of what she knew was sealed from disclosure.

“Even the chamber of commerce is guarded this tightly!”

Ye Liuyun was speechless. The Fire-Seal Dynasty was proving tougher than he’d expected.

Forced to skirt the edges of the pact, he sifted for other scraps. What he found astonished him: Qingyu’s knowledge of the capital far exceeded that of an ordinary citizen.

Which scions of which powers frequented which establishments, their habits, who dined where, the shifting alliances between factions—details so minute she might as well have been a spy.

“This woman is just a shopping guide? With her as my guide, snagging a few informants around the city will be child’s play.”

Startled but quick-witted, Ye Liuyun began plotting how best to use her.

He withdrew his soul, dispelled the illusion, and produced a wisp of primal origin energy for her. From the soul-search he already knew that these guides earned astronomical sums; ordinary spirit crystals wouldn’t impress them.

Qingyu stared at the gift, astonished by his generosity and wary of hidden demands.

Ye Liuyun explained, “Miss Qingyu, your introduction has been excellent. I’ll be in the capital for about a month, waiting for a friend. Since you know the city so well, I’d like to hire you as my personal guide. This origin energy is compensation for the earnings you’ll miss—would that suit you?”

“Just as a guide?” Qingyu asked, wanting confirmation.

“Exactly. Accompany me when I go out; when I don’t, you’re free to attend to your own affairs.”

“Then it’s settled. Many thanks, young master!” She accepted with undisguised delight.

Yet after pocketing the origin energy, she hesitated. “Do... do I need to stay here?”

Afraid she might misunderstand, Ye Liuyun answered at once, “Only wait here during the day; you’re free to leave at night. And I only need this one room—the rest are yours to choose from.”

The courtyard he’d rented had five separate chambers; even if she stayed, she wouldn’t have to share a room with him.

Reassured, Qingyu picked a room for herself and set exact times for arriving each morning and leaving each evening.

Only after every detail was settled did Ye Liuyun have her lead him to the slave market.

A signature feature of the Holy Flame Pavilion guild was its slave market—something none of the other guilds in the Fire-Seal star system possessed.

The slaves were captives brought back by the dynasty’s expeditionary forces from distant galaxies, and, according to Qingyu, cultivators of every rank could be found among them.

Ye Liuyun intended to question those captives about their home galaxies and gauge the might of the Fire-Seal armies. If he could also pick out some suitable martial artists for himself, so much the better.

The entire slave market was divided into five zones by cultivation level. The Unity Realm—spanning three stages—was split into three sections; the Sovereign Realm had its own zone, and everything below Sovereign occupied a final zone.

Ye Liuyun wanted each zone’s steward to give him a thorough introduction, one by one, but he had no idea how much to tip. He simply handed Qingyu a Interspatial Ring stuffed with divine crystals and left all such arrangements to her from then on.

Qingyu knew the routine by heart. She started with the highest-level zone and fetched a steward to explain the slaves’ origins and identities in detail. Every steward knew exactly which star system each captive came from.

Ye Liuyun also learned that Crown Prince Jiang Yuntian had attacked the Feihong Star System, Third Prince Jiang Yunyang had struck the Shengjin Star System, Fourth Prince Jiang Yunmu had moved against the Shiyuan Star System, and Sixth Prince Jiang Yunfei had besieged the Yuhuang Star System.

In the late-Unity zone, the stock was small and mostly elderly. None of them had reached the ninth tier; most were only at the seventh or eighth. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The steward explained, “Nearly all of them were elders of major clans in those star systems. The stronger and slightly younger ones were snapped up the moment they arrived

Those star systems aren’t very powerful; Unity Ninth-Tier cultivators are mostly old men like these. Still, the great clans buy them as stewards or outer-court managers—useful enough.”

Ye Liuyun swept his golden pupils over the group and saw no bargains to be had. He picked four elders whose bearing he liked, each hailing from a different star system.

The steward asked him to sign new master–servant contracts. Instead, Ye Liuyun planted slave seals directly. Each time, his soul flashed in and out of the victim’s sea of consciousness with spatial force so quickly that no outsider saw it.

Both steward and Qingyu stared in astonishment; they hadn’t sensed his soul entering yet the slaves were already under control. Once the seals were set, the previous master–servant contracts with the trading house dissolved on their own.

They asked no questions, assuming he cultivated some unique technique.

Next, Ye Liuyun moved to the mid-Unity zone. Many of the slaves here still wore vambraces or other pieces of armor—clearly captured soldiers.

With a sweep of his golden eyes he spotted several solid fighters, all at the fifth or sixth tier of Unity.