Chapter 102 - 69 Dragon-Watching Terrace

Chapter 102: Chapter 69 Dragon-Watching TerraceAt Star Night, Ji Xinghuo followed Ren Mian out of the villa’s gate. Ren Mian put on a conical bamboo hat and a scarf to cover her face, and sat in the back row of the bus with Ji Xinghuo. However, they got off the bus a few stops early. "Xinghuo, go rent two mounts," she said. "Okay." Ji Xinghuo entered a nearby horse shop, intending to rent two horned horses, but upon seeing a tall, well-trained wind deer with branching antlers resembling two lofty branches that could accommodate two riders on its back, he changed his mind. Soon, he led out a wind deer that was almost as tall as him from the shop. "Sister Ren, it was the only one left in the shop," Ji Xinghuo said with a smile, gallantly reaching to help her onto the saddle. "Then let’s ride it," Ren Mian saw through his little ruse but didn’t call him out on it. She stepped on Ji Xinghuo’s hand to mount the deer. Ji Xinghuo happily jumped on behind her, and even though he tried to maintain a fist’s distance, a special peach blossom fragrance filled his nose, bringing them into close contact. The well-trained wind deer moved lightly and swiftly. A few strands of lustrous hair fluttered from beneath the conical hat, unsettling Ji Xinghuo. As the deer’s pace quickened and the swaying increased, Ji Xinghuo bravely placed his hand on her waist and said, "Sister Ren, it’s shaking too much. Can we slow down?" Ren Mian, who was controlling the wind deer, was slightly taken aback and turned to give Ji Xinghuo an annoyed look. "Keep your hand steady, or I’ll kick you off." With a laugh, Ji Xinghuo replied, "With this speed, I’m going to fall off without a kick." Ren Mian reluctantly slowed the wind deer down a bit, but Ji Xinghuo’s hand remained in place, still not moving erratically. Changing the subject, he asked, "Where are we going?" "You’ll know when we get there," she replied. Ignoring Ji Xinghuo further, seeing that he didn’t try to take further liberties with her back, Ren Mian sped up the mount again. A moment later. The wind deer trotted across half the East Xia District and stopped at a horse shop near Star Gate Square. Sёarᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "We’ve arrived so soon." Ji Xinghuo thought to himself that the longer the road, the better. It was a rare opportunity to ride with Sister Ren, and it ended in less than twenty minutes. "Let’s get down." Ren Mian hopped off the wind deer and waited on the street side. Ji Xinghuo returned the mount to the shop. When he came out, Ren Mian was already walking ahead, so he hurried to catch up with her. He was about to apologize when he saw a hint of amusement in her eyes—she wasn’t really angry. Ren Mian suddenly asked, "How long before you can advance to Intermediate level?" "Er..." Ji Xinghuo scratched his head and discreetly opened the Wanxiang Star Pupil interface to take a look. The Super Master he had killed a few days ago had given him 22 points of Spiritual Origin Ability, and he had also hunted a few creatures on the way back to Olympia, investing all the Spiritual Origin Ability into Ether Affinity. Now the progress for Ether Affinity is (Third Level 166/1439), and the cultivation speed had increased by nearly half compared to before the hunting trip. His current Star Power is 218, and he’s about 40 points shy of the next evolution. "If I focus on cultivation, probably around two Star Realm months," Ji Xinghuo made a rather conservative estimate. Ren Mian showed a trace of surprise and nodded, "That’s much faster than I expected." "Why did you suddenly ask this?" Ji Xinghuo inquired. "I have an important hunting plan, which I started preparing last year, and you are a key part of it. If you can advance to an Intermediate Ranger, increase your strength a bit more, our chances will be greater," Ren Mian replied softly. Ji Xinghuo nodded, "Then I need to work even harder." "Hmm." Ren Mian said no more and stopped in front of a shop. This street was very close to Star Gate Square and was bustling with people. On the sides of the street were various shops and exchanges for weapon equipment and Alien Species, very lively. Ji Xinghuo glanced at the shop. It looked ordinary from the outside, had three stories, and was quite spacious. There seemed to be even more space behind the store. Hanging by the door was a sign that didn’t stand out much, with three characters written in bold cursive. "Dragon Watch Pavilion," he read out softly. What a domineering name! Ji Xinghuo had never heard of it before, but he knew that in the Star Realm there really were dragons, all of them extremely powerful and one of the dominant races of the Star Realm. Of the more than forty Professional Templates on Earth, two were related to dragons. One was Dragon Warrior, and the other was Dragon Lord. These two Professional Templates were outrageously strong. Dragon Warriors specifically fuse with dragon-related Alien Species to wield the power of dragons, even transforming into dragons; while Dragon Lords, similar to Masters, specialize in taming dragons, hence they are also called Dragon Masters. In terms of flamboyance and allure, Dragon Lords were not too far behind Superconductor Mages. However, while a Mutant might strive and attempt to become a Superconductor Mage, aspiring to become a Dragon Lord was almost purely a matter of luck. Most people didn’t even dare to dream of it. "Dragon Watch Pavilion deals in everything. They sell weapon equipment and will also take in items of dubious origin," Ren Mian said softly: "Alien Species, Strange treasures, anything of sufficient value can be sold at Dragon Watch Pavilion. They also trade in confidential information." Ji Xinghuo was astonished, knowing that those who dealt in information and dared to traffic in illicit goods must have very formidable backing. "Who founded the Dragon Watch Pavilion?" "It’s not one person, but a group of them," Ren Mian said. "Wanxiang Star Pupil is a trading platform jointly established by over a dozen unofficial Legendary Mutants, and it’s dominated by a Legendary Dragon Lord." Legendary Mutants! And over a dozen of them... Ji Xinghuo was startled. Any Legendary Mutant was a major figure known to all, a legendary existence to the average person, whether they had official backing or not. He couldn’t help but look at Ren Mian. Just an Advanced Mutant, how did Sister Ren join such a high-end organization? "I was brought in by an elder." Ren Mian saw the doubt in Ji Xinghuo’s eyes, "Nowadays, there are quite a few Mutants who know about Wanxiang Star Pupil, even the officials have their moles inside. The upper echelons of Wanxiang Star Pupil turn a blind eye, as long as it doesn’t affect the transactions." "Let’s go, we’ll go inside." Following her into Wanxiang Star Pupil, the foyer looked similar to an ordinary shop, displaying many Weapon Equipment and Alien Species, with several sales assistants accompanying customers. Ren Mian walked straight through the foyer into a hallway, at the end of which was a room marked "No Admittance to Customers." She knocked on the door, and a crack opened in it, allowing someone to see out. "I’m a member." As Ren Mian spoke, she took out a dragon-shaped metal badge and displayed it in front of the crack in the door. The door was opened from the inside. "Please come in." The two entered the room and Ji Xinghuo realized the doorkeeper was a Super Mutant, a man in his thirties. The humidity of the air rose noticeably as they approached him, and Ji Xinghuo guessed his profession must be "Water Master." "Is Selena here?" Ren Mian asked. The man nodded silently. "I’ll go find her." Ren Mian was very familiar with the place and went out from another side of the room, entering a deserted indoor mall with only a few dozen customers. The enclosed mall was split into two levels, divided into hundreds of rooms. Ji Xinghuo had already activated his magnetic field sensing, most of these rooms were for categorized transactions, and the categorization was very detailed. Weapon was divided into long spear, sword, blade, dagger, weird-shaped weapons, etc., archery had its own category, and Alien Species were separated into different Levels, as well as all sorts of Treasures, nothing but valuable. Some rooms were empty but had visitors who were clearly not staff, displaying some items for others to view. Passersby would stop occasionally, and if interested, would ask a few questions. "Stall setting?" Ji Xinghuo was quite curious, as someone who had grown up in the world of the internet, he had rarely seen such a simple form of trade. By the looks of it, it seemed anyone could set up a stall, and Wanxiang Star Pupil provided the space. Ren Mian and he went upstairs and entered one of the rooms, where a woman in her forties was sitting. She had red hair, a high nose, deep eyes, and retained a charming look, seeming to hold a high position. From the strength of the magnetic field and Etheric Fluctuations, Ji Xinghuo inferred she was a Super Mutant. "Ms. Ren." The woman stood up, speaking in the standard language of the Asian Community, showing a respectful smile, "It has been a long time since you visited Wanxiang Star Pupil, welcome back." Ren Mian nodded slightly, "Mrs. Selena." "What good stuff has Ms. Ren brought tonight? Or are you interested in the products of Wanxiang Star Pupil?" Selena asked enthusiastically. "Both." "Then I’m really looking forward to it," Selena invited them to sit down. Ji Xinghuo placed the bag containing Alien Species on the table, and Ren Mian said, "Please assess these Alien Species and give us an estimate." "Please wait a moment." Selena had a sharp eye; the first Alien Species she picked up was a Basalt Body, admiring it, "It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Basalt Body. From the form of the Alien Species, it should come from Peak Valley’s Stone Scythe Giant Demon; it evolved into a Superior monster not too long ago." Ji Xinghuo couldn’t help but regard her with new respect; with just one glance, she had surmised so much information. "The defense of a Basalt Body is very strong, but it hinders speed and agility; the market is limited, and it can only be sold at a good price to an Earthwalker, which might take a while," Selena said. "Wanxiang Star Pupil can make a purchase." After some thought, Selena gave her estimate cautiously, "This Basalt Body is priced at 14 million, does Ms. Ren find this acceptable?" As she inquired, her gaze swept across Ji Xinghuo unintentionally. Before coming, Ren Mian had already mentioned that she would take charge of everything at Wanxiang Star Pupil. "That’s fine," Ren Mian agreed immediately, "It’s a fair price." Subsequently, Selena assessed the rest of the Alien Species and gave purchase prices based on their quality. There were too many with Rock Skin, and the average price was lower than expected, but added to the few high-quality and Superior Mutants, the final total price was still over four million. Selena had people take away the Alien Species and asked, "Ms. Ren, would you like to settle the payment now, or would you like to purchase something else?" "Bring me 30 days’ worth of Blood Marrow Solution, the highest quality, Class A," Ren Mian said. Selena looked somewhat troubled, "The supply of Class A Blood Marrow Solution has always been limited, Wanxiang Star Pupil only sells it to regular customers, and it is in high demand; I can only give you a 20 days’ supply at most." "Then 20 days it is," Ren Mian did not insist, "And supplement it with 10 days of Class B." Ji Xinghuo did not know what Blood Marrow Solution was, but seeing how seriously the two traded, he guessed it must be very valuable. Soon, Selena handed a box over to Ren Mian. She opened it and glanced inside; there were vials of liquid sealed in closed glass bottles, crimson like blood, each containing only about two milliliters. Among them, 20 vials had a darker hue, and the remaining 10 were lighter, showing a clear distinction. Ren Mian handed the Blood Marrow Solution to Ji Xinghuo for safekeeping. "Selena, have there been any Alien Coexistence Alien Species recently?" As Ren Mian spoke, Ji Xinghuo’s spirits lifted.