Ji Wuchang couldn't help but feel amused upon hearing the burly man's words. He deliberately pretended to ponder for a moment before speaking, "Six hundred low-grade spirit stones, no more!" The burly man quickly nodded, feeling that Ji Wuchang was a decent person, and then handed over the box.

Ji Wuchang promptly paid the six hundred low-grade spirit stones, took the box from the burly man, and turned to leave. For Ji Wuchang, six hundred low-grade spirit stones were just a drop in the bucket.

As he walked towards the city lord's mansion, he overheard people discussing the queen's oral decree and was momentarily stunned. He realized that he would have to take action again, but he wasn't sure how Zhou Guangrong would arrange things.

Upon arriving at the city lord's mansion, he noticed people still registering. Ji Wuchang merely glanced at them and ignored them, directly entering the mansion. As soon as he stepped in, he was stopped by the mansion's steward, who informed him that the city lord wished to see him.

Ji Wuchang nodded and followed the steward, soon meeting Zhou Guangrong. He glanced around the hall and noticed Jia Yi was also there, along with three new faces.

Seeing his arrival, Zhou Guangrong smiled and said, "Since everyone is here, there's something I need to ask for your opinions on. You've all seen the queen's oral decree. Our White Sheep City needs to select ten people to participate in the Hundred Cities Battle. The five of you are my chosen ones, so naturally, you will participate. However, according to the queen's decree, the top five families can be awarded official positions of the seventh rank or below. Do you wish to compete for the top five spots? If so, starting tomorrow, you will need to participate in the selection competition, competing fairly with everyone. If someone surpasses you, it simply means they are more skilled. Of course, if you're not interested in competing for the top five, you don't need to participate in the selection and can directly join the Hundred Cities Battle."

Zhou Guangrong had been pondering this matter all afternoon and finally came up with this perfect solution. Ji Wuchang instantly understood the situation. He had already studied the queen's oral decree on his way here and realized that these people were participating for the sake of official positions. He had no interest in this and had already severed ties with his original family, the Ji family.

He stepped forward and said with a smile, "City Lord, I have no interest in rankings. I just want to participate in the Hundred Cities Battle." As soon as he stepped forward, Jia Yi also stepped forward and calmly said, "I have no interest either."

Zhou Guangrong was not surprised by their reactions. Their families were not from the Tianxing Dynasty, so naturally, they had no interest. However, the other three were different; their breathing became heavy with anticipation.

"City Lord, I am willing to participate in the selection competition!" one man stepped forward, his expression serious, revealing the pressure of a sixth-level Six Gods Realm. His gaze swept over Ji Wuchang, showing clear disdain. A mere Soul Division Realm cultivator wanting to participate in the Thousand Cities Battle? He must not know the meaning of death.

The other two also stepped forward, expressing their desire to participate. Zhou Guangrong nodded slightly and said with a smile, "In that case, we will arrange things according to your choices. Jia Yi and Zhou Wudi, you will be ranked ninth and tenth. You two can focus on cultivation and wait for the selection to end. Once everyone is chosen, I will send you to the location of the Hundred Cities Battle."

Ji Wuchang and the others nodded and then left the hall. Returning to his courtyard, Ji Wuchang closed the door and took out the box to study it. The box was small, about the size of two palms, with patterns that exuded a primitive aura.

He first inspected the box inside and out, ensuring there were no hidden layers, and then examined the patterns on the box. After trying various methods for a long time, he still found nothing, which made him shake his head and smile wryly. It seemed he had misjudged; the box was just an ordinary one, albeit an old one.

Just as he was about to put the box away, his Dantian suddenly vibrated, and a surge of terrifying purple energy erupted, pouring out from his palm and enveloping the box. As the purple energy surged, the box began to vibrate, and the patterns on it slowly lit up, startling Ji Wuchang.

After half an incense stick's time, the pattern representing the "Zheng" creature fully lit up, and a stream of light, along with the rolling purple energy, entered Ji Wuchang's Dantian. Ji Wuchang looked at the box in his hand, his expression changing drastically because the pattern representing the Zheng had disappeared.

He quickly checked his Dantian and indeed saw the figure of the Zheng at the foot of the mountain within his Dantian. The Zheng appeared extremely ethereal, like a semi-transparent entity. Strands of purple energy within the Dantian merged into the Zheng's body, making it gradually solidify.

Ji Wuchang was stunned, unsure whether this was good or bad. He hadn't even reacted before his Dantian automatically completed this process. Now, within his Dantian, there were four fierce beasts: the Three-legged Golden Crow perched at the volcano's peak, the Fire Dragon coiled halfway up the mountain, which he had refined from a drop of Fire Dragon's essence...