Chapter 22: I need Knowledge.
The next morning, John awoke before dawn.
The early sunlight bled softly into his room through the edges of the window shutters.
After a brief cultivation session to circulate his Qi, he pulled on his robe and hood, adjusted his aura with the Double Face Lizard Technique, and stepped out onto the streets of Nine Sky Clan.
The eastern market buzzed to life as he arrived, narrow alleys lined with potion stalls, cultivation scroll vendors, street food carts, and a few rogue cultivators whispering behind curtains.
The smell of grilled meat and incense mixed in the air.
There was chatter everywhere, voices full of tension, curiosity, and rumor.
John moved quietly among the crowd, his senses sharpened, his Spatial Awareness expanded to catch stray murmurs and veiled conversations.
After an hour of casual wandering and listening, he found himself seated in a modest restaurant on the second floor, overlooking the street below.
He sipped a bowl of broth, ears perked as nearby cultivators whispered with excited voices.
"They still haven’t found him, have they?" a man at the next table asked in a low voice.
"No. The Blue Sapphire Clan is furious. That bastard didn’t just kill a few guards—he killed Fatmaster, and Giant Sorrow too!"
"Now they’re saying it’s more than just revenge," another added. "There’s word that he’s got a terrifying cultivation level... Spirit Seed Realm, at the very least."