And for such a grand occasion of welcoming guests, many good-looking house slaves were needed to participate. Evelyn Benson, at fifteen years old, with delicate and handsome features, was only chosen temporarily due to a shortage of guest-welcoming servants.

Holding the new clothes given by the kitchen firekeeper, Evelyn Benson couldn’t help but let a bitter smile appear at the corner of his mouth. “It’s been so many years since I last changed into new clothes, let alone silk garments like these—I’ve never worn anything like this in my life…”

The Duan family’s bronze gate, eighty feet high and sixty feet wide, was completely open. In front of it, two hundred well-dressed Duan family servants stood in two rows, and a large red carpet woven from the hide of a “golden-maned one-horned rhinoceros” stretched out more than thirty feet before the gate.

“Guests have arrived…”

A clear herald’s voice rang out as a luxurious carriage drawn by eight horses slowly approached the gate.

This was the grandest scene Evelyn Benson had ever witnessed in his life. Standing at the front of the welcoming line, his gaze was fixed on the luxurious carriage rolling onto the red carpet. The entire carriage was cast from refined bronze, engraved with hundreds of dazzling patterns, and at the very center of the carriage’s front, a large character “陆” caught his eye.

“The Lu family of Qingzhou, together with the Duan and Zhu families, are known as the three great clans of Qingzhou, and are also old friends of the Duan family. The two families have been intermarrying for three generations…”

As this memory surfaced in his mind, Evelyn Benson couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion, for all this knowledge had been taught to him by his father, who had passed away seven years ago. In Evelyn Benson’s memory, his father was an extraordinary man, knowledgeable in many things, and had imparted much that he still benefited from to this day.

If not for that battle over the mine seven years ago, perhaps, under his father’s tireless efforts, he would already be a free man.

Chapter Three: Treasure Falls from the Sky

As his memory touched upon seven years ago, Evelyn Benson felt a pang in his heart. He reached into his chest and grasped the “Transforming Rain Grass,” a plant worth a fortune on the market—the only relic left by his father. His thoughts drifted back to the past.

As early as eleven years ago, Evelyn Benson’s father, William Benson, had resolutely set foot on the Duan family’s mine—a hellish place where the annual death rate of miners exceeded twenty percent—shedding blood and sweat in exchange for the family’s emancipation from slavery after five years.

At that time, his father could only return once every seven days, and each time he came back, he was utterly exhausted. Although Evelyn Benson was still young, his exceptional memory allowed him to recall those scenes from back then with perfect clarity.

Just one more year—if only one more year had passed, William Benson would have completed his five-year term. Not only would the whole family have been freed from slavery, but they would also have received a generous severance payment, allowing him to take Evelyn Benson and his elder brother Henry Benson away from the Duan family to live a free and carefree life.

But a great battle for control of the mine shattered all those beautiful prospects, and Evelyn Benson lost the only person in the world who could protect him.

From that day on, the two Duan brothers swore that they would break free from slavery in their lifetime. Evelyn Benson’s elder brother, Henry Benson, was six years older than him. Five years ago, he was selected for the Duan family’s martial training camp, and four years ago, he reached the fourth level of martial cultivation.

At that time, the Da De Dynasty, where the Duan family resided, was at war with the neighboring barbarians, and the whole country was conscripting soldiers. As soon as Henry Benson left the martial training camp, he was sent by the Duan family into the army, and has not been heard from since.

Biting his lip and collecting his emotions, Evelyn Benson put on a formulaic smile and gazed into the distance again. As far as his eyes could see, a towering, cloud-piercing sacred peak faintly appeared.

“One of the nine great spiritual veins—the Xuanlong Mountain Range, the sect grounds of the Supreme Qingxuan Sect, the guardian sect of the Da De Dynasty. This is the goal I pursue…”

“Nine realms of martial cultivation, to reign supreme among mortals; six glimpses of alchemy, to be the greatest in the world; three mysteries of immortal cultivation, to be revered by all things…”

“One day, I will not only break free from slavery, but also set foot in the cultivation world above the mortal realm, and even the supreme realm of true immortals…”

All these things, which ordinary house slaves could never know or even imagine, were taught to him by his father while he was alive.

In addition, William Benson left behind a damaged medical book. Over the years, Evelyn Benson’s growth was inseparable from this book, for to cultivate martial arts and temper the body, sufficient medicinal support was absolutely essential.

Although it all seemed like an unattainable fantasy now, Evelyn Benson always regarded it as a driving force. In his own words, “If I don’t even have this bit of ambition, how can I call myself William Benson’s son?”

In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed. The procession of carriages arriving to offer birthday congratulations was endless. Although the Duan family of Qingzhou could not compare to the four great clans of the Da De Dynasty, it was still one of the leading families among the eighteen prefectures of the nine provinces. On the grand occasion of Duan Shanhe’s hundredth birthday, naturally, there were many guests, all of considerable status.

Today truly broadened Evelyn Benson’s horizons. He felt the poise and presence of the powerful as they stepped onto the red carpet, and his inner desire to become stronger grew ever more intense.

To become one above others, the only way is to become strong. This is a world where the strong are revered, a world where power speaks.

“Guests have arrived…”

Another herald’s voice rang out, but to the surprise of all the welcoming servants present, no grand carriage appeared. Instead, a gigantic black eagle, its wings like iron and its body over thirty feet long, descended from the sky.