Wearing a brand new cannibal suit, Ge Langtai straightened his back, flipping through the classics with a flourish, but his eyes didn't even glance at Tang Dun, putting on an air of disdain.

  A group of young men led by him followed behind, provokingly staring at Downton.

  As the son of the first merchant in Chenyu Town, 17-year-old Xiao Ge Langtai felt superior to others, except for the town mayor's son. Those boys of the same age should wag their tails like a domesticated Siberian hunting dog to please him, but there were always a few who didn't know what was good for them.

  "The Fox of the West? Why not me?" Little Ge Langtai also knew that it was a nickname for Tangdun by the postal workers, but he was jealous and thought that only he deserved such an awesome nickname!

  The white hunting dog, about one meter high and nearly two meters long, sensed its master's anger, lowered its front body, barked wildly, and assumed an attacking posture.

  Several mercenaries retreated, staring at the hunting dog bear, with a hint of greed flashing in their eyes.

  This is a large hunting dog, notorious for its ferocity in the northern border, with a violent and bloodthirsty nature. It's worth at least 10,000 gold Delrans, and if it's pure-blooded, its value is even higher.

  Tang Dun frowned, this guy was like a piece of chewing gum, as long as he saw himself, he would look for trouble. He had thought of leaving, but hadn't seen that book before and wasn't willing to give it up.

  "What's wrong?" Duren and his party saw Xiao Gelangtai appear, fearing that Tang Dun would be at a disadvantage, they walked over.

  "Hah, the bodyguard has arrived!" Ge Langtai teased Du Lun, "I heard you were fired from the post office, how's that? Want to come work at my family's shop? Don't worry, as long as there's food for our 'bone' to eat, yours won't be lacking!"

  The young man burst out laughing. 'Bone' was that hunting dog, and the sarcasm of Little Gourlay was self-evident!

  "Come on, ignore them!" Justin pulled Danton along.

  The postmen were reluctant, but what could they do? If they fought back, they would be the ones to suffer.

  "Run!" Tanton wouldn't fall for it. He knew that Little Glangtai was trying to provoke them, trigger a conflict, so he would have an excuse to beat everyone up.

  "Hiss! The Western Border Fox is a gutless coward!"

  The gang teased Tong Dun and even quickened their pace, pulling and tugging at the postal workers' clothes.

  "Hey, aren't you a bookworm? Don't want this book?" Little Ge Langtai took Tang Dun as his opponent, and naturally looked down on him even more, let alone he had an enviable younger sister.

  Tang Dun seemed to have not heard, his head didn't even turn back, he certainly wanted it, but if he showed it, with Xiao Ge Langtai's vicious character, he would definitely buy it to strike himself.

  "Haha, aren't you the Fox of the West? If you have the ability to snatch this book from my hands, I'll give you double the amount of gold coins!" Little Ge Langtai took out a pouch of money and tossed it onto the blanket, knocking over a beast tooth pendant. He was deliberately provoking Tang Don, and if he could beat him up in the tavern, he would definitely make him suffer.

  "Hmph, you'd better put down the classics within three seconds!" Tang Dun muttered to himself, his footsteps steady as he silently counted down the time.

  The postmen glanced at Downton, unsure why he was so certain.

  "You good-for-nothing, what a waste of money on such a useless book! You want to drive me mad!" Old Grandet snatched the purse back with a burning face, jumped up like a rubber ball and slapped his son's head.

  "Old man!" Little Ge Langtai sounded depressed, feeling that he had lost face. In front of so many mercenaries, he actually didn't want to talk to his old man.

  Compared to Little Glangtai's gorgeous leather armor, Glangtai wore a linen robe worth only fifty copper coins, the buttocks area was worn white, it was simply miserably poor.

  Judging by his attire, who would have guessed that he is the richest man in Chen Yu Town? This guy's stinginess is number one in the Western Region.

  "Not a hint of magic, this is definitely not magical equipment, it's not even worth a single copper coin." Ge Lang slapped his son's wrist, spitting out stars, "Still not putting it down? Get back to meditation for me. If you can't reach Soul Stage Three in half a month, I'll break your legs."

  "Old man!" Xia Ge Langtai wanted to say more, but was kicked in the thigh and scared into not daring to speak again, quickly leaving.

  "Hey, thirty silver Delrans! If you don't speak up, I'll take it as agreement!" Ge Langtai tossed down thirty silver coins and didn't wait for the traveling merchant to respond. Like a rabbit shot with an arrow, he grabbed the wooden carving of Tuten and ran away.

  As for commoner Tong Don, in Ge Langtai's eyes, he was like an ant, not even worth a glance.

  Tang Dun turned around and quickly walked up to the stall, picking up the book.

  The yellowed sheepskin pages are written with black characters, flying dragons and dancing phoenixes, clouds rolling and unfolding, full of implicit beauty, like elegant and luxurious fourteen-line poems, making people's emotions flow uncontrollably. It is also like the master's knife carving eternal sculptures, each character seemingly containing a thousand years of classical atmosphere.

  "It should be the code of some country." Justin glanced at it and saw some legal articles, "Not very useful, this kind of book is common in libraries."

  "What if it's bought by Mr. Grantham?" The postal workers were uninterested in the books, but curious about Downton's judgment.

  "You think Mr. Grandet's reputation as a miser is undeserved? He's the kind of man who would go to Paris without taking a carriage just to save a copper penny, and he'd allow his son to be extravagant in front of him?" Lord Downton explained casually, flipping through the pages with growing satisfaction.

  The postal workers were suddenly enlightened and envied him even more. They also wanted this reasoning ability!

  "How much?" Tong Dun showed no enthusiasm, his expression was flat, ready to haggle.

  "One hundred gold coins!" A hoarse voice came from under the cloak, like iron being scraped with sandpaper, almost piercing the eardrum.

  "Why don't you just rob him? You're not some legendary mysterious traveling merchant, a tattered old book, and he actually dares to ask for so much money, it's enough for me to live on for half a year! Justin clicked his tongue, advising Tanton, "What's the point of buying this thing, it's not like you can eat it!"

  "Ten golden ducats will do?" Looking at the travel merchant's tattered long gown, Tong Dun suddenly lost his haggling spirit and quoted his highest sincerity!

  After spending ten gold coins, Tang Dun could only eat cheap black bread and drink water. As for the remaining gold coins, they were his sister's tuition fees, which he would not use no matter what.

  "Not worth it!" Durren advised his good friend, knowing that Tandon's sympathies were overflowing again.

  There are five great mysterious legends in the Western Continent. Apart from the traveling merchant dressed in black, the most famous ones are the Headless Knight and Mailman Marlone. There are countless versions of stories about them, all used by parents to coax their children to sleep.

  This guy in front of me is obviously a swindler disguised as a traveling merchant.

  "Ten gold coins, no more!" Tandon quoted again. If the other party refused, he would give up. After all, the value of this book was only around seven gold Delands.

  The traveling merchant slightly raised his head and met Downton's gaze.

  Boom, Tongdon only felt a headache, as if he had been stuffed into a meat grinder, all memories were sucked away, but the next moment, his body was not uncomfortable at all, as if it was just an instant illusion.

  "Am I too tired lately?" Tang Dun wondered.

  "Deal!" The traveling merchant bowed his head again.

  Tang Dun ran back home and soon brought ten gold coins to buy the book of law.

  "Alright, let's go get a drink." Justin dragged Danton to a seat, snapped his fingers and called the waiter.

  "Duren, what's your consideration?" A young man sat down at the table with a familiar air and greeted everyone.

  The postmen looked a bit awkward, the one in front of them was Robinson, a celebrity in town, who started as an apprentice at the age of six, went out on his own at twelve, and with three silver dollars, became a wealthy merchant worth two hundred thousand in eight years.

  "Fifty gold coins and I'm in!" Duren took a swig of ale, clearly uneasy about this decision.

  "Can!" Robinson looked at the dancing girl on the high platform, took a sip of red wine, and showed no hesitation, displaying his generosity.

  "Big brother, is there any chance of getting rich? Take care of your little brother, okay?" Justin's eyes lit up, his tone slightly flattering and pleading, "I'm a first-tier soul mage!"

  "I hired them to pick mandrake at Crow's Peak cemetery. Are you sure you want to go?" Robinson asked back.

  "No way!" Justin refused bluntly. "I've heard that there are ghouls lurking around, I don't want to be eaten!"

  Robinson pretended to be regretful and shrugged his shoulders, but in fact he didn't want to hire too many people. The fewer people who knew about this expedition, the better.

  "Dundun, are you going?" Duren still didn't feel at ease and thought that with Dundun accompanying him, the safety factor would be a bit higher.

  "Him? No way!" Robinson saw Downton's intention and firmly denied it.

  "Why?"

  The postal workers were stunned, as it seemed to them that Tangdon was obviously more reliable than Duren.

  "I don't sense any magical fluctuations from you, haven't even condensed a Soul Seed or unlocked your talent yet?" Robinson's own strength was nothing to scoff at, and the excuse he found was one that left no room for rebuttal.

  "Dundon's sister Irene is a student at St. George Magic Academy, he would have entered the Soul Stage and become a mage a year ago if he had used all the tuition fees and living expenses saved for his sister to buy magic stones and elixirs to refine his body." Duren spoke up for his good friend.

  In the mystical continent of Xitu, there exist various types of magical energies, such as Arcane Energy, Elemental Energy, Natural Energy, Holy Energy and so on, collectively known as Magic Energy.

  Their existence allows any life's potential to be elevated to varying degrees through cultivation, and those true powerhouses can even move mountains and fill seas with a wave of their hand, plucking stars and embracing the moon.

  The path of cultivation begins with tempering the body and sharpening one's will. As strength increases, so does one's resolve. Through meditation, one can gradually sense the fluctuations of magical energy in the air. Next comes the effort to absorb this energy, accumulating it until a critical point is reached, at which time the energy coalesces into a spiritual embryo within the body, simultaneously unlocking innate talents.

  Talent is a gift from God to his people, a kind of magical power.

  Promoted to the Soul Stage, one is qualified to be called a Magician, because only after condensing the Soul Seed can one choose a suitable magical profession for further study based on their innate talent and aptitude.

  After passing the Soul Stage, it is the War Stage. At this time, the soul seeds in the body sprout and gradually grow into towering lush soul trees, then enter the Judgment Stage, blooming in profusion.

  At this stage, any mage can recruit a magic servant, and the innate first evolution, so the decisive stage is also a stage where strength produces a watershed.

  Further back, it's the Dragon Slayer Stage. However, in the entire Western Border, such strong individuals can be counted on one hand. Of course, there are even higher and more profound realms afterwards. Unfortunately, for ordinary civilians, they haven't even heard of them, let alone seen them.

  "Alright, thirty gold coins, be prepared, gather at South Town Entrance at dawn!" Robinson changed his mind, this kid seems to be a potential stock, as a merchant, he naturally wants to observe and see if he's worth grasping in hand.

  .........

  The formal rush to the list has begun, and we want good results, which cannot be achieved without everyone's strong support!

  So, gentlemen, go all out and cast your recommendation votes generously!