Strictly speaking, Conferred God Kings were considered God Kings as well.
The difference between the two lay in their conferment. Conferred God Kings were bestowed with the powers of the heavens and the God Monarchs, granting them far greater powers than ordinary God Kings.
The difference was such that even if a Conferred God King remained completely still, a God King still would not be able to kill him.
This was the absolute difference in powers between the two of them.
For this reason, only powers that had a Conferred God King were considered lasting, top-notch powers and could remain prosperous for millenniums.
The only people who could make Conferred God Kings generate Anima of Yearning for them could only be experts of the same caliber or God Monarchs!
It was unbelievable that this young man actually received Anima of Yearning from three God Kings and a Conferred God King. Was it possible that he was not an ordinary Celestial God but actually a hidden powerhouse of the Firmament?
“No matter who he is, he isn’t a person we can simply afford to gossip about!” The first guard could barely say those words through his clattering teeth.
It was just a moment ago that he thought the young man was cowardly and looked down on him for that. However, it was clear now that he was jumping too quickly to assumptions. There were simply too many things in this world that were beyond his understanding.
“What is he called?” the second guard asked.
The first guard was stumped by the question. He racked his brain for a moment, but he found that he actually did not remember the young man’s name at all.
“I don’t know either!”
He assumed that the other party was just a rich young master from some affluent clan, so he did not bother asking for the other party’s identity. He had thought that the other party’s apparition would simply vanish soon enough, so it was inconsequential to remember the other party’s name.
He had never thought that the young man would be such a great figure!
“We should pretend that we didn’t see anything for today. Otherwise, we might risk offending someone if we run our mouth recklessly…” the second guard said.
“Yes, we should do that…” The first guard nodded in agreement.
If they were to say something that they should not, they would simply be bringing trouble to themselves. Their heads might even roll due to it.
…
As soon as he left the Netherworld Palace, Zhang Xuan immediately felt himself receiving a surge of Anima of Yearning, allowing his soul cultivation to grow quite a bit. His thought process became a little faster, and his low-tier Celestial God soul cultivation showed hints of making a breakthrough.
“It’s indeed effective!” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in delight.
If he had chosen to cultivate normally, it would take several years of effort in order for him to raise his soul cultivation to middle-tier Celestial God. However, even at the current rate it was growing, it would only take him several months!
In other words, just by leaving his Soul Imprint in the Netherworld Pool, he was able to increase the rate of his soul cultivation by tenfold!
Once he carried out what he was planning, he should be able to raise his soul cultivation to the God King realm fast enough.
It was no wonder Zhuo Feng had recommended this method. The effects were far better than expected.
Furthermore, he did not have to do anything much. He had already tossed the bulk of the work over to others, so all he really had to do was wait for a huge gush of Anima of Yearning to come rolling in!
So, he was able to pass his days leisurely in the time to come.
Other than working on his soul cultivation, he would visit the Master Teacher Pavilion to conduct some lessons and impart knowledge to them.
He won himself some diehard fans among the students through his lessons, but he did not manage to earn any golden pages.
Just as he had thought before, as the culture of master teachers was not as deeply ingrained in the Firmament, there was a lack of respect and recognition toward teachers.
What had happened with Zhuo Yan and Zhuo Feng was more of an exception due to their peculiar circumstances.
Given so, it seemed like it would be much more difficult for him to earn golden pages there.
That being said, even though he did not manage to earn any golden page, he did manage to bulk up his reputation quite a bit. As the number of people who were grateful to him increased, the rate at which his soul cultivation grew increased as well.
On the fifth day, his soul cultivation finally rose from low-tier Celestial God to middle-tier Celestial God.
He immediately had Qi Ling-er get him some high-tier God Essence Pills, and soon enough, his zhenqi cultivation rose to middle-tier Celestial God as well.
High-tier God Essence Pills were resources that were mainly exclusive for the usage of God Kings, making it impossible for ordinary cultivators to lay their hands on it. However, having received the ‘go ahead’ from the head and the old ancestor of the Qi Clan, Qi Ling-er managed to procure this hard to acquire cultivation resource with ease, and at a relatively inexpensive price at that.
Seven days passed in a flash.
“Of the ten thousand Beauty Pills, the Qi Clan has taken in one thousand of them, and I have managed to sell another six thousand. However, I reckon that the market in Drifting Specter Royal City has already reached saturation at this point. It’ll be hard to sell any more here,” Qi Ling-er reported to Zhang Xuan.
Due to the exorbitant price of the Beauty Pill, despite its miraculous effects in terms of aesthetics and cultivation, the number of people who could afford it was severely limited.
“That’s already better than I thought,” Zhang Xuan replied.
He was very satisfied with Qi Ling-er’s work. She had managed to push out the Beauty Pills into the market faster than expected, and she even managed to sell so many of them within such a short period of time.
At the price of 1,500 Divine Coins each, seven thousand Beauty Pills would equate to a jaw-dropping sum of 10,500,000 Divine Coins!
There were probably fewer than twenty powers in Drifting Specter Royal City whose total fortune had reached that level.
In other words, within just seven days, he had transformed from a penniless outsider into one of the twenty wealthiest individuals within Drifting Specter Royal City!
Not even the Qi Clan had the capacity to earn so much money within such a short period of time!
Not only so, the name ‘Zhang Xuan’ had spread far and wide within Drifting Specter Royal City within those seven days. He had gained lots of admirers and supporters, and his name would always come up whenever cultivators were gathered together.
That was probably what people meant by becoming a ‘household name’.
“I have also sent out the invitations for the event that will be held later.” Qi Ling-er continued her report. “Based on the replies I have received so far, there will be distinguished figures from both within Royal City and the other Skies joining us. In view of the large crowd that will be joining us, I have booked the largest square in Royal City.”
Just thinking about the huge commotion that they had stirred up in Royal City over the past few days left Qi Ling-er feeling a little overwhelmed. She could not believe that she was actually part of something so massive.
Even the old ancestor of the Qi Clan did not have the ability to rally so many experts and distinguished figures, but the young man standing before her had managed to do it!
The main reason for that was not really because of the young man himself but the widespread popularity of the Beauty Pill throughout the Firmament, which had grown tremendously over the past few days.
Ladies would be able to preserve their youth by consuming it, and men could heal their internal traumas, enhance their talent, and advance their cultivation…
The effects were nothing short of miraculous! It was for this reason that no one held any grudges against Zhang Xuan despite the exorbitant price of the pills.
Of course, the positive reviews for the Beauty Pill were mostly due to Qi Ling-er’s effort. She had really gone all out, tapping into all the connections the Qi Clan had in order to ensure everything worked smoothly.
On top of that, an incident that happened four days ago also played a crucial role in forging the reputation of the Beauty Pill.
An affluent merchant of Royal City was reaching the limits of his lifespan, and just as everyone was making preparations for his impending passing, a junior of the family suddenly presented a Beauty Pill before him.
And right after consuming the Beauty Pill, the bedridden merchant regained his vitality, leaped right up to his feet, and began running all around the residence to exert his overflowing energy.
While no one knew how much longer his lifespan had been extended, judging from his newfound vigor, it was unlikely that he would pass away anytime soon.
As soon as this news started spreading, many cultivators realized that the hype behind the Beauty Pill was not just for show, and the demand for the pill grew explosively.
It was amazing that a pill could beautify a person, repair their internal traumas, and raise their talent. However, as most of those who were currently in power had already passed their prime, those benefits meant little to them. The only thing that really attracted them was the ability to extend their lifespan, and that was precisely what the Beauty Pill did too.
It was due to this that the sales of the Beauty Pill exceeded Qi Ling-er’s initial expectations by two thousand.
However, what drew so many powerhouses and distinguished figures to gather together in Drifting Specter Royal City was not just the allure of the Beauty Pill. More importantly, it had something to do with the news that Zhang Xuan had tasked Qi Ling-er with releasing to the public.
On the day of the event, the creator of the Beauty Pill would be releasing an inexpensive spiritual energy recovery pill with superior effects to what was available in the market, as well as the Breakthrough Pill aimed specifically at cultivators!
The Breakthrough Pill was effective on all cultivators regardless of their cultivation realm. Be it a God or a Celestial God, as long as they had reached the peak of their current cultivation realm, consuming it would increase their chances of making a breakthrough by fifty percent.
Even the most potent Breakthrough Pill on the market at the moment could only increase the chances of making a breakthrough by twenty percent, and despite that, it was enough to make all cultivators go crazy over it.
It was a known fact that it was a huge hurdle for a God to become a Celestial God, and those who managed to overcome the hurdle would not only become much stronger, their lifespan would also increase by tenfold.
Most importantly of all, it was said to have no side effects. In other words, it would not hinder one’s cultivation in the future.
With that alone, it was not too hard to imagine just how valuable the pill would be. All high-tier Gods would probably be dying to lay their hands on it!
As such, the news caused an even greater uproar than when people realized that the Beauty Pill had the ability to extend one’s lifespan!
If not for the precedence with the Beauty Pill, most people would probably have thought that it was all a hoax. Of course, there were still many people who doubted the matter, given how unbelievable it sounded, but nevertheless, most people were still hopeful.
This was also the real reason that they were able to draw in such a huge crowd within such a short period of time.
“That’s good!”
Zhang Xuan had been paying close attention on this matter over the last few days, and he knew that Qi Ling-er had done a good job carrying out the task that he had entrusted to her.
With a nod of approval, he turned his gaze to Sun Qiang and asked, “How are things going on your side?”
“Young Master, the renovation of all one hundred stores has been completed. General Zhuo Feng has also passed the God Essence Tablets to me, and there are over 3,000,000 of them at the moment. The jade bottles you requested are also ready,” Sun Qiang reported proudly.
He had slept less than four hours over the past seven days, but even though it was exhausting, he was extremely satisfied with what he had accomplished.
As Qi Ling-er had been constantly selling Beauty Pills, he did not face any difficulties in financing. This made it much easier for him to acquire the stores that he wanted. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to prepare ten stores, let alone a hundred of them.
He respectfully presented a storage ring containing the pills and the jade bottles over to Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan quickly took a look at the contents in the storage ring before nodding in approval.
He was aiming to tackle all segments of the market at once.
The Breakthrough Pill was aimed at high-end customers whereas the Beauty Pill was aimed at middle-class customers. Last but not least, the God Essence Tablets that he had prepared were for the low-end customers, the ordinary cultivators of the Firmament.
These cultivators consisted of ordinary Gods and Semi-Divinities, so the amount of Anima of Yearning each of them generated was severely limited. However, what made them significant was the sheer number of them around.
As long as he could open up this market and let everyone know of his name, he was certain that he would receive an endless influx of Anima of Yearning, allowing him to swiftly raise his soul cultivation to high-tier Celestial God and beyond!
He reckoned that Kong shi had probably used such a method to become the Heaven Subjugation Monarch, the tenth God Monarch of the Firmament.
Zhang Xuan continued asking a few questions, but it seemed like the two of them were extremely meticulous in their work, resolving all possible problems without a hitch. With a satisfied nod, he said, “Let’s head to the square.”
Getting on top of an aerial celestial beast, the crowd swiftly made their way over to the square where the event was to be held.
They had managed to gather the crowd they wanted, and everything was prepared and ready to go. So, all that was left was for Zhang Xuan to show them his true skills!
As long as he could put on a good show…
Pui!
How could he call this a show? He was a master teacher, and all of this was real!
Anyway, as long as he performed well, he was certain that the name ‘Zhang Xuan’ would be remembered by everyone in the Sky of Drifting Specter. As time passed, it would slowly spread to every nook and cranny of the Firmament, thus allowing him to achieve his goals!
Ruoxin, since I am unable to find you, I will become the brightest star in the Firmament so that you can find me instead!