Reversing the Milky Way

After saying goodbye to his boss, Bai Cheng left the herb shop. As he walked, a wave of hunger washed over him; it seemed it was time to find a place to eat. With that thought, Bai Cheng wandered around for a bit, finally stopping in front of a restaurant and going inside.

This was Bai Cheng's first time eating at a restaurant since arriving in this world. He was mainly concerned because the prices at the previous shops he'd visited were outrageous, and he wasn't sure if the thirty coins Yue Ling had given him would be enough. So, after entering the restaurant, he looked around and soon spotted a menu hanging on the wall. He hadn't seen any of the dishes before, but that didn't matter. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the prices. Most of the dishes were around ten coins, with a few costing twenty. Bai Cheng was finally at ease.

At this moment, the waiter also noticed Bai Cheng and immediately went up to him, "This guest, what would you like to eat?"

Bai Cheng glanced at the menu and ordered "Stir-fried Duck" and "Stir-fried Spicy Vegetables." He hadn't seen them before, so he just randomly picked two.

He then found a seat by the window, and there he heard someone eating next to him say, "Have you heard? In three months, Wuling Academy has announced that it will take all three of the top spots in the town's martial arts competition."

Bystander #2: "Isn't that a bit too much of a boast? Are they really that confident?"

Bystander #1: "I heard that Xue Min, the eldest son of the Xue family, has already reached the late stage of the Body Refinement Realm. He even spread rumors that he could reach the Great Perfection of the Body Refinement Realm before the competition. I don't know if it's true or not."

Bystander #2: "That's quite possible. After all, his father is on good terms with Immortal Liu in this town. He's a genuine late-stage Qi Condensation Realm cultivator. He was appointed and sent here by the Imperial Capital's 'Heavenly Fire Academy,' which is an academy specifically for cultivation. In this town, the Xue family is the only powerful family. Who would dare to mess with them?"

Bystander #1: "That makes sense. After all, the Xue family has the largest herbal medicine shop in this town, and they are basically the only ones who sell pills. Even if you pile up pills, you could probably reach the Great Perfection of the Body Refinement Realm. How can ordinary people afford pills?"

Bai Cheng, listening from the side, couldn't help but ponder. Could the herbal medicine pavilion they were talking about, which was controlled by the Xue family, be the one he had just visited? If that was the so-called Xue family herbal medicine pavilion, then Xue Min could indeed have reached the late stage of Body Refinement, since his family sold pills.

At this moment, the waiter brought over two dishes and said, "Please enjoy your meal, sir."

Bai Cheng carefully examined the two dishes in front of him. One dish contained bright red shredded meat, which looked tender and white. This must be stir-fried duck, and it looked very appetizing. The other dish was a vibrant green vegetable. Bai Cheng picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. It was crisp and slightly spicy. This was green pepper.

Bai Cheng quickly began eating. Just then, a very young woman dressed elegantly entered, followed by two guards. The waiter rushed forward to greet her, saying, "Sir, I'm very sorry, our restaurant is currently full."

At this moment, one of the guards spoke up: "Miss, why do you come to eat in such a low-class place?"

"The Wuling Town Grand Competition is about to begin. We're here to watch the competition, so let's not cause any trouble."

After saying that, she looked around and saw Bai Cheng enjoying his meal by himself. He was the only one at the large table that was meant for four people, so she said to the waiter, "Aren't there seats over there? We can sit there."

After saying that, he sat down next to Bai Cheng. At this moment, Bai Cheng noticed the person who came and looked up. He saw that the person looked to be about the same age as Bai Cheng, with delicate features, a well-proportioned and slender figure, and a appearance that could be said to be more beautiful than most celebrities on Earth. Bai Cheng was stunned and even stopped eating.

Just then, a guard beside him took out a silver coin from his body, slapped it in front of Bai Cheng with a "snap" and said, "Kid, go eat somewhere else. Consider this money as compensation for you."

At this moment, the woman sitting opposite Bai Cheng raised her hand slightly to indicate that she was not needed. Since we are sitting together, let's eat together.

He then called over the waiter and asked, "Do you have any spirit vegetables here?" The waiter scratched his head and said, "I'm so sorry, sir, we're a small shop, how could we have any spirit vegetables? But if you want to eat spirit vegetables, you can go to the biggest restaurant in town, they have quite a lot there."

After hearing this, the woman said, "No need, just make do here."

After saying that, he ordered a few dishes and then instructed the two guards beside him to sit down. One of them sat next to the woman, and the other sat next to Bai Cheng.

At this moment, Bai Cheng also overheard the conversation between the woman and the waiter. "Spiritual vegetables? What are spiritual vegetables? Sigh, another unfamiliar word. It seems I really need to learn about them. I'll ask Ling'er after school." Just as Bai Cheng was thinking this, the woman sitting opposite him asked, "What is this young master's name?" Her voice was like a gentle breeze, soft and clear. Indeed, beautiful women always have pleasant voices.

Bai Cheng took a sip of water and said, "Just call me Bai Cheng." As soon as he finished speaking, the woman next to him exchanged a glance with the two guards.

Then, with a hint of doubt, he asked, "May I ask where you are from, sir?"

Bai Cheng pondered for a moment upon hearing this. He couldn't very well say that he had traveled from another time, could he? If he said he was from Yu Family Village, his sudden appearance would inevitably arouse suspicion. So he said, "My home is in a place very, very far away from here."

After hearing this, the woman's doubts were dispelled. Just then, the waiter came over to serve the dishes again. Bai Cheng took a look and thought, "Wow... no wonder they're a wealthy family. The dishes on the table are clearly beyond Bai Cheng's means."

Bai Cheng quickly finished eating and got up to leave. At this moment, the woman gestured, and the guard beside her immediately stood up, picked up the silver coins on the table, and called Bai Cheng back.

"Here, this is a reward from the young lady."

After saying that, she placed the silver coin in Bai Cheng's hand. Bai Cheng wondered if she thought he was a beggar, or if this young lady was just kind-hearted. After taking the silver coin, Bai Cheng cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, young lady. May I ask your name?"

The woman said, "No need to thank me. If fate allows, we will meet again in the future."

Bai Cheng understood the meaning after hearing this, so he didn't linger and turned to leave. After Bai Cheng left, the guard next to the woman said, "You scared me. I thought you were one of Old Master Bai's collateral relatives."

The woman said, "No, I checked him just now, he's not even at the Body Refinement Realm." It turned out that this woman was Bai Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Bai family, one of the three major families in Baifeng City. She was already at the mid-stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. The two guards beside her were the brothers Wei Tao and Wei Ran, who were also at the mid-stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

The woman then said, "I wonder where my uncle is now." After saying that, she turned her head and looked out the window, staring blankly at the sky.

Bai Cheng, despite having just received a silver coin as a reward, still felt uneasy. In this world, he couldn't easily flaunt his wealth without the necessary strength, and he also didn't know how safe Wuling Town was.

He continued walking along the road in Wuling Town, when he saw a shop called Baoqi Pavilion. It looked very large, with two floors. "Hmm? I've never seen this before. It seems like this is the only one in the town. It's only just past noon, so I have plenty of time. I might as well go in and see what's going on, so Ling'er won't keep saying she doesn't know anything." After thinking this, Bai Cheng walked into Baoqi Pavilion.

Upon entering the Treasure Pavilion, Bai Cheng found it even more bustling than the outside. The entire first floor was filled with various weapons, covering a vast area of ​​over two thousand square meters, with ceilings reaching a height of about ten meters. It resembled a clubhouse, with numerous stalls of all sizes, each selling different items—some for elixirs, others for weapons, talismans… practically everything imaginable.

Bai Cheng arrived at a weapon stall. There were quite a few people in front of the stall, and the stall owner was introducing his weapon: "Come and take a look. This is a top-quality Cloud Vein Refined Iron Sword from the Treasure Pavilion. It's a low-grade treasure weapon that can cut iron like mud and sever hair with a breath."

After saying that, he raised his sword and slashed at another ordinary sword. Although that sword was an ordinary, common sword, its blade looked smooth and shiny, and the gleam of its edge showed that it was a fine sword. However, when the stall owner's sword struck down, it could be seen that when the two swords met, the seemingly powerful sword was instantly split in two as if it were made of paper.

At this moment, the stall owner showed the fine iron sword in his hand to the onlookers. It was clear that the fine iron sword and the seemingly powerful sword had no damage at the point where their blades met, not even a trace. The people around immediately clapped and cheered, and some of them started discussing it.

Bai Cheng was also surprised after seeing this scene. He walked forward and picked up another sword from the ground to examine it. He saw that this sword was better than the swords made on Blue Star, and the blade was extremely sharp, but it was still not as good as the fine iron sword in the stall owner's hand.

At this moment, Bai Cheng stepped forward and asked, "Is something else added to this sword?"

The stall owner said, "This fine iron sword contains low-grade cloud vein ore. This kind of ore is a rare mineral found only in the Cloudfall Mountains. Unlike iron ore and stone ore, this ore is produced in places with abundant spiritual energy. Although it is not as good as spirit ore, it is still better than ordinary ore. Adding it when forging weapons or armor can increase their toughness significantly."

After listening, Bai Cheng understood. Simply put, other materials were added, which made the sword so hard. It seems that this is the difference between ordinary and precious swords.

Then the stall owner said, "How about it, young man? This low-grade magic weapon only costs 50 silver coins."

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng immediately replied, "No, no, no, I'm just looking and I don't intend to buy anything." At this moment, Bai Cheng was cursing inwardly. He had just visited the herbal medicine shop that morning and thought the prices were already outrageous. He didn't expect the prices here to be even more outrageous. With that thought, Bai Cheng quickly left the crowd and walked out of the stall.

Inside the Treasure Pavilion, a large portion of the people were ordinary citizens who hadn't cultivated. Most were there to buy self-defense items, and many others appeared to be security personnel. According to Bai Cheng's understanding, when a person reaches the Great Perfection of the Body Refinement Realm, ordinary weapons are difficult to harm them. Furthermore, upon reaching the Qi Condensation Realm, one can mobilize their internal spiritual energy to strengthen their physical body, allowing them to crush weapons with their bare hands. Some people were there to buy weapons to hunt spirit beasts. Some spirit beasts have incredibly tough hides, and ordinary weapons can't even penetrate their defenses, so they need a treasure-level weapon.

At this moment, Bai Cheng saw a staircase leading to the second floor and wanted to go up to take a look. However, the guard at the door stopped Bai Cheng and said, "Please show your membership token."

Bai Cheng was also a little confused after hearing this, and then said: "What? Membership token?" The second floor is for auction purposes only, and only members of this pavilion can enter or come to auction items.

Just then, a man and a woman walked past Bai Cheng. The man took out a badge from his waist and showed it to the guard, who immediately signaled for them to pass. Bai Cheng watched the two enter the building and asked, "How can I become a member?"

Guard: "As long as you spend a certain amount of money in our Treasure Pavilion, or sell items in our Treasure Pavilion for a certain amount of money, our Pavilion Master will personally give you a membership token."

After listening to the guard's words, Bai Cheng pondered for a while. "It seems that no matter which world you're in, money is the only constant. He has to make money as soon as possible. It would be such a pity if things were like they were on Blue Star." With that thought in mind, Bai Cheng didn't linger. He wandered around other parts of the first floor of the Treasure Pavilion for a while before leaving.

After leaving the Treasure Pavilion, Bai Cheng squinted at the sun in the sky. Although he didn't know the time, the time in this world was very similar to that on Earth. Although there was no watch-like device, he could judge the time by observing the position of the sun.

"Looks like it's time to pick Ling'er up from school." With that thought, Bai Cheng headed towards Renhui Academy. When he arrived at the academy gate, it was tightly closed, about eight meters apart. No one came out; only two guards stood on either side of the gate.

It seemed that it wasn't time for school to end yet, so Bai Cheng waited outside the school. As far as Bai Cheng knew, the school here generally started classes at nine in the morning. However, because many students came from the villages and the journey was quite long, the start time was set at 9:00 AM to ensure uniformity. The morning hours of Chen and the afternoon hours of Shen were used for traveling.

Before long, Bai Cheng saw the gate slowly open, and a number of people began to walk out of the school, it seemed that school was over.

At this moment, Bai Cheng saw Yue Ling emerge from the crowd. She quickly walked to Bai Cheng's side with her small feet. Seeing this, Bai Cheng thought, "It seems that this girl has not been affected by what happened this morning."

Upon seeing Bai Cheng, Yue Ling said, "Let's go back."

After saying that, Bai Cheng followed behind Yue Ling and slowly left Wuling Town.