Supreme Emperor of Mist

"Good morning, young master Qin Lan,"

"Good morning, third young master,"

"Third little lord,"

Qin Lan randomly bought some groceries to show his support to their local businesses and returned to their Qin Family Manor.

"Xiao Ke, bring the fish and chicken back to the kitchen and tell them to prepare a pot of herbal soup for grandfather when he comes back. I'll return to our own courtyard for now." the fifteen years old youth instructed his attendant as he made his way somewhere else.

Qin Lan walked across the hallway leading to a specific private courtyard, with a facial expression and attitude of an educated scholar. On his left chest hides a folded paper fan, and on his waistbelt, a pouch and an heirloom dagger.

He had a somewhat unexplained obsession in clothing with Sky-blue color, hence the three-colored blue attire. The sleeves on both sides had a hidden pocket within, allowing him to brings out random stuff at casual times.

"Father, Lan-Er is back," Qin Lan cupped his hands together and greeted the stone forest in the middle of the private courtyard. He did not continue, but instead, left after he's done paying his respect.

Close to half an hour after Qin Lan's departure, a head peeked out of the stone forest, staring at where Qin Lan stood earlier.

"En," the mysterious individual Qin Lan called as the father humph and gone.

...

...

Back to his own room, Qin Lan seated cross-legged on a meditation mat as he takes a Flesh Foundation Pill to kickstart his cultivation process.

With both of his hands placed adjacent to one another, the natural spiritual energy around him was aroused. It was like how atmospheric moisture was condensed into droplets of dew on a misty morning.

This is also the first step for a mortal to train and become a cultivator.

There are three Layers altogether in the Precelestial Realm, starting with Flesh Refining Layer. It was followed with the Bone Reconstruction Layer next and peaked at the Spiritual Root Creation Layer.

There were 9 levels in each layer, starting from the first to the ninth.

An obstacle is often met during the introduction, middle, and late-stage. Hence, a rank title is often used on a cultivator to describe their overall achievement.

A half-Step is used on cultivators that are yet to enter the minimal threshold of the specific realm. And for those remained in between, they're known as Lower-Layer or Upper-Layer cultivator. Lower-Layer stands for those between level 2 till 4, and for the upper layer, 6 to 8.

The 5th level, or the Middle-Attaintment rank, is where most of the cultivators assembled. Above the Middle-Attaintment rank is the Full-Completion, where one is ready to tackle the wall separating between the lower and upper layers.

But the path of cultivation does not stop here.

It was believed that there was an entirely new realm after the Precelestial Realm, known as Pericelestial out there.

...

...

A single Flesh Foundation Pill is sufficient only for an hour worth of cultivation. Although the price for a pill like this wasn't astronomical, they're still counted as precious resources that only the wealthy could afford.

But even the best resources does not guarantee their efficiency when used.

Qin Lan's absorption rate can be said to be lower even when compared to the average non-cultivator. Even after the application of the Flesh Foundation Pill, he's barely able to achieve what a commoner achieved without using one.

Unwilling to give up, Qin Lan took the second Flesh Foundation Pill and continued.

The struggle only ended after he exhausted his pouch of five Flesh Foundation Pills. The sky was darkened when Qin Lan stepped out of his room.

Not far from his place, Xiao-Ke is asleep on the guest pavilion. If the front of the servant is a wooden tray with food that's no longer piping hot.

But to Qin Lan, it wasn't something new. He haughtily sits across the sleeping Xiao-Ke and grabbed one hardened bun. Putting in more force onto his jaw, he forcefully pulled a bitesize apart and soften it with a sip of water before continuing to munch the food.

The chopsticks went over to the cold dishes and served inside Qin Lan's mouth. And in less than an incense worth of time, the young master finished his meal and returned to his room.

"Third Young Master!" Xiao-Ke knocked at the door after a while. He seems very apologetic for sleeping throughout his master's eating time. Worst of all, the food has already cold to the point they're hard and tough to chew when his young master is eating it.

"Xiao-Ke, make me a pot of tea, would you?" Qin Lan smiled. The hint of grease that still remained by the side of his lips made Qin Lan look fun and approachable.

"Immediately!" Xiao-Ke went out and return with a pot of hot water, which he poured into a teapot. A cup of tea is quickly served to Qin Lan without any trouble in between.

"Third young master, old master handed me this pouch a little while ago." Xiao-Ke pulled a medicinal pouch out from his inner pocket and handed it to his master.

There wasn't much inside the pouch, except for a few Flesh Foundation Pills and some coins used for day to day transaction. It wasn't significant, but the money within is enough for him to purchase a few more Flesh Foundation Pills if he needs them.

"Old master mentioned that there will be a batch of new medicinal herbs coming into our Qin Family Pharmacy tonight. There might be some good herbs in them?" Xiao-Ke said.

"If that's the case, let us go to the pharmacy now. They must be moving the goods right now." Qin Lan left his seat and allowed Xiao-Ke to put on a much thicker jacket over him. They left the manor without further ado.

The street is no longer that busy compared to when it was in the morning.

Except for a few food stalls selling noodles and some elders practicing a martial art, there are not many people loitering along the street. It takes them a while to reach the pharmacy. But the moment they arrive, both of them were shocked by what's happening here.

Two of the servants from the Qin Family lies on the ground with a pool of blood. Ringing sound from swords clashing can be heard further inside the Qin Family Pharmacy.

"Ma - Ma - Master! Are we getting robbed?" Xiao-Ke stuttered. Although he cultivates, his achievement in both martial arts and cultivation is far below Qin Lan.

"Might be. Quickly go back to the manor and bring some help here. I'll go inside and check what exactly is happening." Qin Lan pushed Xiao-Ke back into the alley they just came from and extends his hand to the sword on the ground.

"Old Meng, Old Tian, sorry for not being able to come here on time." Qin Lan gently shuts the eyes of the two dead servants and sneaked inside the Qin Family Pharmacy.

"Third Young Master, please be careful!" Xiao-Ke whispered and turned around. He started to run like he's escaping for his life back to the Qin Family Manor.

"Weird... If they're thieves, why is the pharmacy so clean? Shouldn't it be ransacked for precious herbs?" Qin Lan made his way further into the pharmacy. The condition of the pharmacy is just too weird in his view.

First of all, this is a pharmacy and not a jewelry store.

Secondly, there's no reason for Old Meng and Old Tian to stand outside and tried to confront their enemy with swords in hand. They're both doctors and not fighters.

Entering further inside the store, Qin Lan came into a small courtyard where the servants of their Qin Family lives. Two factions of people are fighting against one another and can be said to be in a stalemate.

"Old Han! I'll protect you! Bring Xiao Yun with you and return to the Qin Family Manor for help!" the pharmacy's head of security braved himself and decided to break out of this unexpected situation. If they continue to fight like this, they'll be decimated even before their help arrives.

"I understand!" Old Han answered. He grabbed the hand of the girl named Xiao Yun and quickly made their way to where Qin Lan just came in.

"Leave the key to the storeroom here!" the leader of the other faction shouted. A hint of Spiritual energy became visible on his body as he attacked.

"Rainbow Palm! You're Kun Ning, the follower of the Jiao Family third master!" the head of security immediately recognized the identity of their enemies from a single move of his.

His claim made other assailants stopped fighting. They're looking at each other, afraid to continue.

"What are all of you worried about? As long we killed all of them, nobody will know that the Jiao Family is behind all this!" Kun Ning pulled the black piece of clothing away and revealed his ugly face. The wound from having his mouth slit opened is evident in his hardly attractive appearance.

The two factions of people came together with their own people and prepared to fight to their death. Old Han, who stands close to the exit of the courtyard, quickly escaped and left the building without bringing Xiao Yun along.

From how fast is his legs, you can hardly believe that he's elderly in his middle sixties.

But a screamed can be heard not long after Old Han left. The scream indirectly tells them that there's no way out unless a miracle happened.

The facial expression of those servants from the Qin Family gets bitter as time passed. Except for the head of security, not a single one of them are a cultivator. Even more unfortunate for them is he's a mere first level Flesh Refining Layer cultivator.

And across them, Kun Ning is a Flesh Refining Cultivator in the second level. Although it was just a level of difference, the gap was as wide as a hill.

"Everyone, if we survived this, I'll call all of you brothers for life. Now let us fight and repay our master's kindness and care for these years!" the security leader said.

"Go and look for the little girl. The key is in her hand." Kun Ning pointed at one of his accomplices and had him search for Xiao Yun. The guy smirked because this is the opportunity he's waiting for.

But before his mind managed to wander further away from how he's going to strip Xiao Yun naked, a blade stabs through his heart.

Qin Lan made his grand entrance confidently without a drop of blood smeared on his sky-blue scholarly attire.

"I would like to see what kind of confidence Jiao Family just ate to attack our Qin Family Pharmacy." Qin Lan said.