Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

At the instant Santiago let his guard down, Yang Ling had killed him with one strike using his Earth Evasion Technique!

Before the duel had started, Yang Ling had emphasized that he was a Summoner, deliberately getting the other party to undervalue his close combat capabilities. He had intentionally displayed his weakness when the battle started, running around on his Unicorn and wearing down Santiago’s patience. In the end, he used the massive army of Horned Bee Beasts and Vampire Bats as a cover to attract his opponent’s attention. The result of that was the perfect success of his surprise attack.

He had killed Santiago in just one hit!

The crowd could not react even after Yang Ling had recalled his many Magical Beasts and wiped down his knife. No single witness had expected that outcome on either side of the bet.

The people had thought that Yang Ling would be humiliated, or even killed by Santiago should the opportunity arise. But no one could have expected the duel to have ended so quickly, nor did they expect the casualty to be the Sword Saint Santiago.

The Livenza Alliance had many Spellcasters. There were a few Magical Tutors with vast amounts of Magical Energy even in Montson. But they did not have many Sword Saints. In terms of close combat abilities, Grichie’s personal guard Santiago was the best in all of Montson. But such an exceptional Sword Saint had died at the hands of Yang Ling, who was a Summoner!

“Fast, he was too fast, my god, I have never seen such a high speed!” cried one bystander.

“Could it be that Yang Ling already trained the Sword Saint’s Wind Step to level nine?” asked another.

The crowd finally broke their silence and descended into babbling. If they had not personally witnessed Yang Ling summon Magical Beasts to do battle, no one would have thought that he was a Summoner, and would have assumed that he was a high level Sword Saint.

For a junior from the family who had come out to train to be this powerful, which family was backing Yang Ling, and how powerful were they?

After calming down, the people started whispering amongst themselves, each hazarding a guess at the family behind Yang Ling. None of them suspected Yang Ling’s words might be a lie. After all, without the focused nurturing of a family, no one on the continent would possess such terrifying abilities at such a young age.

Massive amounts of Magical Beasts, powerful close combat abilities, mysterious speed… Could Yang Ling really have come from a family of Ancient Summoners?

Looking at the composed Yang Ling, the Emperor of Kaliya’s expression did not change on the surface, but waves of shock rippled through his heart. As the Emperor, the person with absolute authority in the Livenza Alliance, he had long known of information pertaining to Yang Ling through various sources. All he did not know was which family Yang Ling had been born to.

There were not many people on the continent who had brown skin, black eyes and black hair, but it was not to say that there were none. It was rumored that in ancient times, people with black eyes and hair were powerful figures with exceptional abilities. Even though they did not know why these people suddenly vanished thousands of years before, many of the ancient families had records pertaining to them. In fact, some of the ancestors of these great families were said to be people who looked like Yang Ling.

After the saga of the duel blew over, the crowd gradually returned to the hall, continuing to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday. With the minister hosting the event, many beautiful ladies from varying tribes got onto the stage, performing a variety of unique dances and songs. At the end, the palace maids took out trays upon trays of rare delicacies and filled the guests’ cups with premium wine exclusively found in the palace, showing Yang Ling what a royal banquet really was.

“Thank you all for joining the celebrations today, especially Yang Ling, who came from the faraway Magical Beast Territory, and gave Empress Nina and I the greatest blessings. I hope that I will be able to visit the beautiful Magical Beast Territory to escape the heat come spring next year, and hunt in the vast Terras Forest!”

After about four hours, the minister finally announced the end of the banquet. Before he left, the Emperor gifted Yang Ling with lavish presents, leaving with the Empress after speaking meaningfully with Yang Ling for a short while.

The merchants and nobles understood the meaning behind the Emperor’s words. Coupled with the lavish gifts he gave Yang Ling before he left, it was obvious that the Emperor had clearly expressed his attitude. Harribell and the Nicholas family were visibly elated, while the expressions of the foreign minister Grichie and his faction were steely green. They left quickly, grumbling angrily on the way.

Under the protection of a large group of palace guards, Yang Ling returned satisfied. He had given away a premium Crystal Diamond, but he had obtained much more in value, successfully accomplishing his goal for the trip. The Five-colored Crystal Vein harbored many crystals, and he could excavate more Crystal Diamonds if he needed to. But without the support of the Livenza Alliance, the development of his territory would meet many hurdles.

He had just returned to the rented villa when someone arrived for a visit. Arismede of the Aragon Merchant Team had brought an elder dressed in Chinese robes, and behind them stood a group of servants carrying a large number of gifts.

The elder in Chinese robes was no stranger to Yang Ling, as he had seen him in the palace. It was this elder that had first asked Yang Ling about his family.

After a few formalities, Yang Ling understood that this elder was the owner of the Aragon Merchant Team, and was called Kalimantan. The latter expressed his intentions for this trip very clearly. He hoped to be able to establish a large scale partnership with Yang Ling and partake in the development of his territory in every aspect.

“Sir Yang Ling, I heard that you have a large exposed sulfur mine in your territory. Are you willing to sell it?”

Kalimantan stared intently at Yang Ling. After understanding the intentions of the Emperor, he knew that the Magical Beast Territory would undergo rapid development. The faster a merchant team entered the Magical Beast Territory, the larger the benefits they would be able to obtain.

Sulfur ores were a necessary ingredient to alchemists. As one of the few large merchant associations on the Tailun Continent, the Aragon Merchant Team had a monopoly on sulfur. After learning that the Magical Beast Territory possessed a large exposed sulfur mine, Kalimantan would not miss such an opportunity.

“This… I am sorry, you came late!” Thinking about the Wissen Merchant Team that he had set up not long ago, Yang Ling shook his head regretfully, “The Wissen Merchant Team in my territory made a similar request a long time ago, and they obtained the rights to harvest and possess the sulfur mine!”

Yang Ling would not easily decline the offer if the Aragon Merchant Team wanted to purchase any other resource, but he would not sell the sulfur mine that was so close to the Five-colored Crystal Vein.

Even though he was unable to do a large scale excavation of the Five-colored Crystal Vein at the moment, the vein that harbored the Crystal Marrow was the greatest secret his territory possessed. Before he was strong enough, there was a need to seal off all news of the Five-colored Crystal Vein and prevent any outsiders from entering the area.

The entry of many merchant teams would bring about rapid development, but if he was not careful, the entire economic lifeblood of the territory would fall in the hands of the merchant teams. The best way to solve this problem was to expand the Wissen Merchant Team to become the Wissen Merchant Association, giving him a secure control over resources of strategic importance.

After meeting eyes with his tactician Arismede, Kalimantan blinked in confusion. As the master behind the operations of the Aragon Merchant Team, he had a wide network of intelligence, but he had never heard of the Wissen Merchant Team.

“The Wissen Merchant Team is a team that I set up with a few of my friends not long ago. My friends are responsible for supplying capital, while I am in charge of the overall operations. Perhaps our merchant teams can work together in many aspects. The Wissen Merchant Team could be responsible for excavating sulfur, while your Aragon Merchant Team would be tasked with the shipping and sale. Would you be interested in that?”

The Aragon Merchant Team had businesses all over the Tailun Continent. Cooperating with them would undoubtedly bring benefits to the development of the Wissen Merchant Team. Before this, he had wanted to discuss how they should excavate and sell the sulfur on a large scale with Harribell. Since the Aragon Merchant Team had such an interest in the sulfur, he might as well go with the flow.

They came to an agreement easily after that.

Even though it was regrettable that they could not get the rights to the sulfur mine, Kalimantan was very satisfied to obtain the right to sell the sulfur. Sulfur mines were very rare on the continent, and large exposed sulfur mines were even more rare. Since that was the case, if he worked with Yang Ling and the Wissen Merchant Team that he guided, the Aragon Merchant Team would be able to continue monopolizing most of the sales of sulfur in the continent. It was a win-win situation.

Elated, Kalimantan discussed a partnership in the other aspects of the territory’s development with Yang Ling. He was interested in building a harbor at Black Water City, as well as developing arable land. He wanted to set up a branch at Wissen Town, and hoped to purchase Magical Beast Essence Crystals in bulk, and forging a partnership with Yang Ling in all aspects.

After developing to a preliminary plan, Kalimantan bid farewell and left, heading off to begin his preparations for the merchant association’s entry to the Magical Beast Territory. He had just left when the managers of the other merchant associations came to visit.

Some of them were interested in the premium woods in Terras Forest, hoping that Yang Ling would agree to them harvesting wood and transporting it by sea for sale at Bavaria. Others were interested in the Flower Rocks unique to Wissen Town, hoping that they could set up a stone factory there. Some claimed that they had much experience when it came to cultivating fish, and hoped that they could set up a fishery at Black Water Lake.

After understanding the Emperor’s attitude toward the Magical Beast Territory, merchant associations of various scales all understood that the new territory was full of business opportunities. None of them could bear to miss the opportunity. In the end, Yang Ling worked all the way until daybreak before sending off his last guest.

Each merchant team had brought with them lavish gifts. Some sent him able craftsmen, some sent rare antiques, and some chose to leave behind piles of crystal coins. Orlando, who was responsible for sorting the gifts, was tired.

Looking at the gifts piled up in the villa, and the busy servants, Yang Ling knew that he had achieved an overwhelming success on this trip. With the support of the Livenza Alliance, and this many merchant teams entering the territory, with the massive flow of traffic, the rapid development of the territory was guaranteed.