After Steward Duli left to attend to her duties, Yue Yang wandered Silver Maple City on his own.

The city was divided into four distinct zones.

The commoner district, the residential district, the commercial district, and beyond the city walls, the impoverished district — a sprawling mess of ramshackle shanties. The destitute had no right to enter the city at all. Whether reincarnated challenger or native inhabitant, those at the lowest level of society could only earn entry by acquiring enough to purchase housing within the city walls, thereby shedding their impoverished status and rising to commoner. Nobility, on the other hand, was a matter of birth — native inhabitants understood this implicitly, and for challengers, it had been determined the very instant of reincarnation.

In other words, no matter how hard a beggar or commoner worked, no matter how many Heaven Crystals they accumulated or how much wealth they amassed, they could never be elevated to noble status.

Even a commoner who built an enormous trading empire, monopolizing an entire industry and commanding a commercial force of staggering scale, still had no path to true nobility.

They could only attach themselves to nobles.

Serving an estate like Yue Yang’s Star Diamond Castle, commoners had a chance to become town mayors — that was actually the ceiling of what a commoner could achieve. Most commoners settled for enough to get by.

In Human Valley, even a commoner who somehow managed to enter noble social circles was regarded by those nobles as nothing more than a nouveau riche upstart.

Take today, for instance — if Yue Yang had been warm and agreeable toward the mayors and garrison captains, they would have privately looked down on him for it, feeling he didn’t carry himself like a true lord of the nobility. What was the defining quality of a noble? Arrogance.

The more arrogant the noble, the more exalted the bloodline they implied.

The gulf between lives of different standing.

The difference in trajectories from birth.

This was the brutal fate the reincarnation of Human Valley imposed. Reincarnated challengers needed not only strength, but connections — backing, family power, support from behind the scenes — to claim a high-born status and a brilliant future. Commoners had their own way of living, nobles had theirs, each with its advantages and its limitations, but however you measured it, starting as a noble put you a hundred times higher than starting as a commoner.

Someone like Hauge, reincarnated as a commoner, could work as hard as he liked for the rest of his Human Valley life — he’d never catch up to Yue Yang.

Because it had been decided the moment of reincarnation.

“Young master, might you be interested in a flying broomstick?” As Yue Yang passed a curiosity shop, a rather slimy-sounding voice appeared at his ear.

“……” Yue Yang spared the source approximately one-eighth of his attention.

“Please, allow yourself to consider what a flying broomstick represents. The finest aerial conveyance in the world! That’s right — you’re thinking exactly what I’m thinking! This is without question the instrument of flight most beloved by witches, offering not only powerful friction but the exhilarating sensation of high-altitude speed. One ride astride it, soaring over the city, and you possess the combined vitality of every man in town — long-lasting, never flagging, ready to deliver complete satisfaction at any moment. Out with cucumbers and eggplants! Can any mere vegetable compare to a flying broomstick? Young master, I know you would not personally use it, but consider it a lifestyle accessory — is there any finer tool of discipline in all the world? Setting aside the flying — that is merely the basic function, hardly worth elaborating — I speak only of the supplementary applications…”

“No need to smell it — you can already know the scent! The fragrance of a virgin witch, a hundred percent authentic essence, still lingering from the finest beauty’s touch!”

“Plus a witch’s blessing — any female attendant who mounts it will experience an unceasing tide of sensation, wave upon wave!”

“It is the treasure that drives women to ecstasy, young master. You deserve to own it.”

“The most prized item in our shop — ridden by the most beautiful witch in Silver Maple City, the Lady Brielle herself, carrying the finest possible personal fragrance — yours for merely fifteen Heaven Crystals. Buy now and we’ll include a bottle of Lady Brielle’s personal essence and one slave chain crafted by her own hand. My dear young master, with benefits this generous, resistance becomes simply impossible… Oh, and in celebration of the Flying Commerce Society’s ten thousand and seventy-sixth anniversary, every purchase over ten crystals receives a deluxe gift package!”

“Say the word and everything will be yours!”

“Young master, how could you possibly refuse this heaven-sent gift?”

“Grant small people just a small nod of your distinguished chin — even just one centimeter — and you shall walk away with today’s finest acquisition…”

Yue Yang hadn’t managed to get a single word in edgewise.

This creature in front of him just kept talking, an endless torrent, flowing like the Yangtze with no source or end, unstoppable as the Yellow River in flood.

In any normal setting, Yue Yang would have slapped this creature into the wall, or grabbed it by the throat and squeezed until its intestines flew out, looped them around its neck, tied a knot, given a firm tug to extend the tongue fully, and finished the job cleanly — restoring peace and quiet to the world.

Unfortunately, combat was prohibited in Human Valley.

This was the first time Yue Yang felt genuine inconvenience in Human Valley, particularly as someone who defaulted to violence as a problem-solving tool.

The noisy creature showed absolutely no awareness of how unwelcome it was.

It continued to spray spittle enthusiastically.

“High-born young master, one look at you and I know — you are the finest sort of person, a true noble, a genuine lord of authentic breeding, incomparable to those fraudulent hangers-on milling about outside. Wait — you’re actually a reincarnated challenger?” The nonstop creature came into focus at last — a gnome in blue clothing. Its original power outside was anyone’s guess, though it was clearly no ordinary challenger. The thing had enormous curved ears, a hooked nose, a mouth that looked like it had swallowed two sausages whole, sharp teeth, a long tongue that could easily reach its own nose-tip, and eyes so large they seemed capable of emitting golden light — all of it layered over a thoroughly wrinkled face. Taken individually each feature might have been tolerable, but combined into one face the result was thoroughly difficult to look at.

“Mm.” Yue Yang upgraded his attention to approximately one-quarter.

“I’m completely in awe of you, truly. If you were a native-born young master, that would be one thing — but you’re a reincarnated challenger who nonetheless achieved noble status? Good heavens, I don’t even know how to begin expressing how I feel about you. There is nothing for it but worship — nothing else could capture my excitement at this moment. A young master of your caliber must surely be descended from one of the great families of the Upper Heavenly Realm. Of course — who else could possibly qualify as a noble challenger in Human Valley?” The gnome in blue lunged forward and wrapped itself around Yue Yang’s knee, furiously polishing his boots with its sleeve, as though a single speck of dust on Yue Yang’s footwear constituted the gravest sin of its entire existence.

“You want me to buy a flying broomstick, don’t you.” Yue Yang said flatly. This kind of sales tactic had been old before he’d crossed over. Did this creature take him for an idiot?

“A noble young master like yourself, buying a broken broomstick? Impossible!” A gnome in white clothing came bursting through and delivered a kick that sent the blue gnome flying.

It bowed respectfully toward Yue Yang, doing its utmost to project civilized manners.

Its tone toward Yue Yang was humbler than a junior civil servant encountering their city commissioner, while its dismissal of its companion was laced with thorough contempt. “Don’t mention broomsticks — broomsticks are servants’ tools. Mentioning a broomstick in the young master’s presence is sacrilege, criminal, an insult to his dignity. If I could raise a hand in this place, I would strangle ‘Blue Cap’ with a rope for this offense. What is a flying broomstick anyway? And witch essence and body fragrance — all of it garbage! In the first place, flight instability alone is a fatal flaw, and load-bearing capacity is a massive issue. Can a single-person broomstick really carry both the young master and a female attendant at the same time? Of course not — to say nothing of doing so while also enjoying oneself. The overloading danger, the inadequate flight capability, would place the young master’s life at risk and damage his personal reputation. Step back ten thousand paces and even if it could handle the weight, the difficulty of advanced positions is beside the point — the behavior alone would be an affront to public decency, a catastrophic blow to the young master’s name. And don’t say ‘do it when there’s nobody around at night’ — that doesn’t work either, because the bone-chilling night winds would damage the young master’s health.”

“White Cap, are you trying to get yourself killed? All that chatter — could it possibly be that you’re trying to sell the young master an ‘Energized Flying Carpet’? What’s so great about an Energized Flying Carpet? The price is atrocious — cheapest one runs twenty crystals. What do you take the young master for, some customer you can casually swindle? He is my VIP!” The blue-clad gnome Blue Cap stormed back and grappled with its companion White Cap.

“My flying carpet solves the load-bearing problem entirely. Two people on board, any position, no difficulty whatsoever — if the young master is interested, bringing three or four female attendants along for a group outing poses absolutely no challenge. Can your broomstick do that? Cheap goods are cheap goods — you really think the young master has any interest in rubbish? My carpet doesn’t just solve load-bearing — it’s also extraordinarily smooth, any altitude feels like level ground, and it keeps you warm during rest periods, unlike sitting on a ridiculous broomstick shivering in bone-chilling winds.” White Cap declared that the Energized Flying Carpet’s functions were so numerous that carrying a full-grown elephant would pose no problem, to say nothing of a few attendants.

“Is there nothing better than that?” Yue Yang didn’t even bother raising an eyebrow, already halfway to falling asleep.

“Certainly — we carry options at any price point.” Both gnomes answered in perfect unison.

They realized they’d spoken simultaneously.

Both fell silent immediately, exchanged a perfectly coordinated “peh!” at each other, turned their heads in opposite directions and fixed their eyes away from each other, each resolving to have absolutely nothing to do with this despicable creature opposite them.

Perhaps afraid Yue Yang would lose patience and leave, Blue Cap reacted first and launched straight into a new pitch. “White Cap’s flying carpet is complete rubbish. If you want genuine enjoyment of the high altitude, I must recommend a flying carriage — drawn by two winged horses, the cabin is exceptionally spacious, fitted with every luxury amenity: fine food, fine wine, temperature controlled to a perfect spring day year-round. Usable any time, endlessly convenient, and fully befitting of noble status. If the young master wishes for a flying mount, I strongly recommend the flying carriage — this is the ultimate vehicle for premium travel!”

Yue Yang arranged his face into a considering expression.

White Cap, terrified that Yue Yang might actually be tempted, rushed to head it off. “Peh peh peh, what is a flying carriage? Pure garbage. No matter how you dress up a carriage, it’s still a carriage — cramped and confined by nature.”

“You think there’s something better than a flying carriage?” Blue Cap sneered.

“Obviously. In our main shop, we have a luxury airship. That is essentially half an estate. Not only could you bring several attendants for an outing, you could hold a salon ball on board. Can a carriage have a swimming pool? Can a carriage accommodate a couples’ bath? Can a carriage let you lie on the deck sunbathing or stargazing with beautiful company? No! But a luxury airship can manage all of that, and if the young master wishes, we can even arrange special custom designs. A treasure at this level of magnificence — the highest-priced model still runs no more than one thousand Heaven Crystals — is surely pocket change for the young master.” White Cap immediately launched a counterattack laced with flattery toward Yue Yang.

Fortunately, Yue Yang’s head remained perfectly clear. Flattery had zero effect.

A thousand Heaven Crystals?

The total annual income of the entire Star Diamond Castle estate came to one thousand Heaven Crystals. Did this creature take him for a sex-obsessed fool with his brain completely switched off?

Without any visible change in expression, Yue Yang considered matters at length. Eventually he followed the two gnomes into their shop to examine the catalog — then indicated he wasn’t particularly satisfied with any of the three available models, sat down with a writing instrument, and in five minutes sketched out an entirely new luxury airship design.

Under the stunned, disbelieving stares of both gnomes, Yue Yang straightened his collar with perfect composure and said, with the easy confidence of someone discussing the weather, “Thank you both for your very enthusiastic recommendations. Take this design to your main shop — if they can build an airship to this specification and keep the price below one thousand five hundred Heaven Crystals, I’ll place an order.”

Yue Yang departed with unhurried grace.

After a long moment, Blue Cap finally came back to himself and murmured, “Aren’t the rich second-generation types supposed to throw money around like it’s nothing? This one doesn’t quite seem like that.”

“He doesn’t seem like it because he isn’t.” White Cap felt its earlier performance had been entirely wasted.

“What kind of exceptional reincarnated challenger comes to Silver Maple City like this? Could he actually be a child of one of the four great families from the Upper Heavenly Realm?” Blue Cap’s suspicion was mounting.

“Wherever he came from, I’ve got a bad feeling about him. I have this sense that he played us just now, though I hope I’m wrong. Hey, White Cap — do you think a luxury airship to that design could actually be kept under one thousand five hundred crystals? I’ve never seen a design like that. Could it actually fly?” Blue Cap turned it over with increasing uncertainty.

“Stop guessing and just send the design to the master craftsman at the main shop — that’ll tell us everything. As for whether he played us, I can’t say for certain, but I have a feeling we’ll see him again. Trust me — my instincts are always right. Well, except for that time they were wrong and your nose got broken — that was a minor miscalculation…”

“Don’t you dare mention your useless instincts in front of me ever again!”

“I have no desire to argue with you!”

“Then what was that kick earlier? If you don’t want to argue, you’re feeling guilty — it’s written all over you…”

“That was a performance! It was coordination with your performance! And you bit me — bit me, and it actually hurt, you absolute scoundrel, how dare you, I’m not finished with you…”

Against the backdrop of this escalating bickering inside the shop, Yue Yang walked away, a little further with each step.

A faint, mysterious smile had settled at the corner of his lips.

In Human Valley.

He had already noticed something interesting — something that, if he could grasp it properly, might make everything ahead go much more smoothly.

Ji Wuri. The Heavens-Splitting Demon Lord. And many potential opponents besides.

You may not have noticed yet.

But I’m already here.

He found himself genuinely looking forward to what came next.

(End of Chapter)