Four decades are enough to transform a baby into a robust, well-built man. Yet for an ancient city with a heritage spanning over a million years, this span is but an instant—like the flick of a finger. Yuyang City is one of the earliest ancient cities established when the Three Realms were first founded, among the first to rise within the Tianyuan Realm. Though it is only a medium-sized city and its successive city rulers have never planned any expansion, it has remained remarkably stable through all the successive booms of the beast surges—never even facing a significant threat. This unusual resilience stems from the fact that Yuyang is one of the cities with the highest concentration of physical cultivators among ordinary human settlements, and it is particularly renowned throughout the entire Tianyuan Mirror. Indeed, the current Tianyuan Emperor once perfected the art of physical cultivation here in Yuyang, establishing an outstanding reputation before departing. The city boasts numerous physical cultivation sects and schools, and it regularly hosts high-level physical cultivators—something rare elsewhere. In the city center, there stands a special "Saint Tower" dedicated to preserving various body cultivation techniques and insights. Its collection is both vast and rich, ranking among the top in the Tianyuan Mirror. Drawn by such attractions, countless mid- and lower-tier body cultivators annually flock to this city. With such strength, even ordinary beast surges pose no real threat. Moreover, Yu Yang is renowned within Tianyuan City as a leading hub for spiritual artifacts manufacturing. Each year, large numbers of such artifacts are produced and purchased by local cultivators and merchant houses. Among the several auction houses specializing in rare spiritual artifacts, some flourish financially due to steady revenue. Naturally, these auction houses maintain a few exceptional spiritual artifact artisans—much like alchemists or array masters among cultivators—who are specifically devoted to crafting such artifacts. These individuals are particularly special—they must first have mastered a certain body-refining technique, possess some expertise in array arts, and naturally have a strong, innate spiritual awareness. Only when all three qualities are present can one become a spiritual artifact master. To emerge as a leading figure among such masters, one naturally needs extensive practice and genuine talent. The spiritual artifact masters held by these auction houses are precisely the outstanding ones among this group. Their artifacts not only exhibit extraordinary power but also possess astonishing auxiliary abilities. Of course, these artifacts are carefully crafted and typically take several months to a few months to produce one, yet each one invariably shines at the auctions, selling for record-breaking prices. Longxing Auction House is one of the largest auction houses in Yuyang City, having risen relatively recently, yet it has achieved a reputation no less distinguished than that of the more historically established, older houses. As a result, its house owner has naturally become a person of considerable standing in the city. But that day, in one of the halls of Longxing Auction House, a plump man dressed in a sumptuous robe was pacing back and forth. His eyes frequently scanned the entrance, his face filled with anxiety. "Feng Er! Go check again at the door—see if Master Han has arrived." A few moments later, the man stopped in his tracks and shouted loudly toward the outside. "Yes, sir!" A young man's voice promptly responded, followed immediately by the sound of hurried footsteps, which gradually faded into the distance. As the plump man continued pacing, he seemed to grow increasingly parched. He finally sat down heavily into a wooden chair, emitting a series of dreadful "creaking" sounds. Unconcerned about whether his substantial weight might collapse the chair, he simply reached for a teapot beside the table and gulped down several large sips of tea, showing no sense of grace at all. "Is it true, Fan Brother, that you're so agitated? Could it be that you're unwell?" A clear voice came from outside the door, and then a man stepped in. "Han brother, you've finally arrived! Feng Er—how come he didn't give us a word of notice?" The plump man, who had been sitting quietly, leaped up instantly, rushing over with such enthusiasm that his fatty jaw trembled. "Feng Er, you don't need to blame him. I asked him to stay outside." This was a middle-aged man with ordinary features, slightly wrinkled forehead and three long black whiskers at his chin, yet he held a long bundle in his arms, gazing at the approaching plump man with a smile that was half-serious, half-pleasant. From the tone, it was clear that the two had known each other for a long time. "Ha ha! Though I know Han brother has never missed a single appointment, this matter is truly significant—it concerns my decades of hard work and steady progress in Yuyang City. Naturally, I'm a bit anxious. This is the very thing Han brother personally crafted, isn't it?" The plump man swept his eyes over the long bundle in the middle-aged man's hands, his face bright with excitement. "Exactly. Fan brother, please take a look The middle-aged man smiled gently, handing his long satchel to the plump man at the same time, then settled himself calmly into a chair nearby. The范-fat man didn't hesitate, placing the satchel on the table and quickly unpacking it, revealing a three-foot-long sword with a golden hilt and a sheath—clearly no ordinary item, a remarkable spiritual artifact. Upon seeing the sword, the fat man became more careful, holding the hilt with one hand and slowly drawing the blade out. A clear, dragon-like cry rang out, and a golden glow formed in his eyes, soon taking shape as a golden little dragon swaying about before him. The fat man's eyes sparkled; he shook the hilt, and the golden serpentine light condensed into a bright, golden dragon-patterned long sword, now firmly in his hands. "Marvelous! Marvelous! This is truly the only top-tier spiritual artifact to have emerged in Yuyang City in the past century—remarkably, it has achieved the extraordinary ability to transform into a tangible form." Ha! With this sword, how can Zhu Dou and his crew possibly compete with me? Brother Han, you've truly done me a great favor this time!" After sheathing the sword once more, the stout man suddenly embraced it tightly, bursting into broad, joyful laughter, his face glowing with contentment. "Not much—this spiritual artifact was only possible because of the excellent materials you provided. Otherwise, no matter how skilled I am, I wouldn't have been able to craft a top-tier spiritual item." The middle-aged man, however, didn't seem overly delighted. After sipping his tea, he said. "Heh, that's true—had it been those mere nameless figures, they wouldn't have had such capability." The stout man chuckled happily. "You don't need to flatter me. This sword is my final spiritual artifact crafted especially for you. Shortly, I'm leaving Yuyang City. I don't think I'll be coming back." The middle-aged man smiled, but suddenly uttered a statement that left the stout man utterly stunned. "Brother Han, what did you just say? You're leaving Yuyang City? Why?" It's rare that the servants I sent to attend to you have done their duty. Should you say so, I'll dispatch someone to break their legs right away and immediately replace them with a fresh batch. As soon as I regained consciousness, I became extremely anxious. "Back then, when I was refining my cultivation, I made a critical error. Had it not been for my younger brother, Fan, who happened to pass by and offered crucial assistance, I never would have managed to break through that bottleneck. Therefore, over these past decades, I've entrusted you with the auction of all the spiritual artifacts I've crafted, and I've quietly stepped back from public view, never revealing my true identity—this is my way of repaying your kindness. Now, Longxing Auction House has become one of the largest in the city. After presenting this sword to the city magistrate, it will surely rise to become the leading house. The apprentices you've entrusted to me will never master my full techniques in spiritual artifact crafting, but they'll certainly learn enough—perhaps five or six out of ten—to handle your future auctions. You must understand, what truly matters to me is the cultivation of the physical body. The crafting of spiritual artifacts is merely a matter of occasional interest. "And now, with no further gains, I remain here." The middle-aged man spoke slowly. "Could it be that Brother Han has once again encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation?" The fat man was startled upon hearing the final sentence. Yet the middle-aged man only smiled, remained silent. The fat man stood still, stunned. Others might not know the strength of this man, but he did—he knew it clearly. Ten years ago, when he had been in peril, it was precisely this friend who had suddenly stepped in, defeating more than a dozen mid-tier physical cultivators who had invaded his estate with a single breath of power, demonstrating a cultivation level that surpassed even the senior physical cultivators in the city. Now, with a bottleneck, it meant that once he broke through, his cultivation would advance significantly. Then, what would his cultivation level become—impossible to imagine. "All that's needed is for Young Fan to know of this matter. By the way, I must thank you for your steadfast silence these years—never letting my presence or my cultivation progress be revealed, and for gathering for me so many valuable prescriptions and formulas that aid in advancing physical cultivation." "However, our fate has now run its course. I must now bid you good day!" After uttering the final words, the middle-aged man rose gracefully, bowed slightly, and then turned without a backward glance, heading straight for the hall door. The stout man hesitated, his lips moving twice, but ultimately managed to say nothing to dissuade him. Only after the middle-aged man had truly disappeared at the doorway did a faint shade of sadness appear on his broad face. At the time, rescuing him had probably been the most right decision of his life. The other person, relying solely on his own strength, had transformed him—a once-unknown merchant—into a prominent figure in Yu Yang City. Yet, because of that, the other now felt the debt fully repaid and departed without hesitation. He could do nothing more to keep him. Outside the Long family auction house, the middle-aged man stepped out of the gate, mounted a war beast that resembled a deer, and headed directly toward the nearest city gate. Several hours later, a middle-aged man appeared on a hillock several miles outside Yu Yang City. He gazed at the massive city walls in the distance and then leapt off his war beast. Suddenly, he waved his sleeve sharply over his face.