"Welco to the Dinsional Ranch. The nu is on the holographic display. Tell when you’ve decided to stop staring."
As Advisor Xu stepped into the shop, a cheerful, slightly mischievous voice rang out.
An adorable little girl in a floral dress was leaning over the counter, staring at him while blinking her large eyes.
"The precious granddaughter of General Ouyang?" Advisor Xu raised his perfectly grood eyebrows, genuinely surprised.
Even though the intelligence reports from the Shadow Guards had explicitly ntioned Ouyang Xiaoyi’s presence, he was still amazed when he actually saw her holding a feather duster.
"Why would the pampered princess of the Ouyang military clan dean herself by becoming a cleaning girl in this remote alleyway? Did her grandfather finally lose his mind and kick her out?"
At the entrance to the back room, a slim, tall young man wearing casual grey loungewear slowly stood up from a recliner. He cracked his neck, let out a long yawn, and lazily walked toward the counter.
"That’s the owner of this miraculous store? His cultivation level is pathetically low... How is it possible that he’s only at Stage 3 Qi Condensation? To be able to command a golem that crippled four elite assassins, he should at least be a Core Formation master in disguise."
Advisor Xu thought to himself as he stroked his beautiful, long beard, staring at Ren’s back in profound astonishnt.
"Hey, old man! Are you going to buy a sli or what?!" Xiaoyi unhappily asked, puffing out her cheeks. She was annoyed that this distinguished-looking fellow was completely ignoring her adorable charm and was intensely staring at the slly boss instead.
Advisor Xu awkwardly smiled, quickly turning his attention back to her and looking toward the glowing holographic nu on the wall.
With just one look at the numbers, his pupils violently constricted.
"The rumors were actually downplaying it. The ’Black-Hearted Sli Shop’ is indeed true to its na..."
Advisor Xu sucked in a sharp breath of cold air and muttered under his breath.
Even though he was following the Crown Prince’s direct orders to investigate this place, he was still bewildered when he saw the astronomical prices hovering in the air.
"I’ll have... a Basic Hydro Sli." Advisor Xu was not soone who lacked funding; he was spending the Crown’s money, after all.
He glanced through the nu and selected the cheapest beast, hoping to analyze its properties.
"Please wait a mont." The little girl snorted and turned away. She did not like this old fellow.
Advisor Xu found a wooden stool and sat down.
The shop was not big. It was incredibly clean, the air slled faintly of ozone and spring water, and the strange tallic decorations gave it an otherworldly vibe.
The overall feeling was actually quite pleasant.
A series of heavy footsteps ca from outside the alleyway.
Several people approached from the main street and stepped into the store, shaking off their wet cloaks.
"Hmm? Advisor Xu?" a voice lightly exclaid.
Advisor Xu was puzzled. He turned toward the entrance and saw a middle-aged man with a sharp, hawkish face.
"Minister Zhao, I didn’t expect to see you here," Advisor Xu stood up in surprise and did a polite fist-and-palm salute. The man in front of him was the Minister of Revenue from the Imperial Court. Advisor Xu was shocked that such a high-ranking official would personally co to this little shop in the rain.
Since Advisor Xu and Minister Zhao belonged to different political factions, they took separate seats after exchanging brief, guarded greetings.
Minister Zhao imdiately ordered a Mutated Hydro Sli, clearly wanting to see the beast that had humiliated his son.
Ren was already busy in the Breeding Zone.
"It seems that there are a lot of new VIP custors today. What’s going on? Did the assassination attempt double as a marketing campaign?"
Even though Ren was puzzled, his hands didn’t stop. He expertly calibrated the stasis fields and prepared the containers.
While he was preparing the orders, the Dinsional Ranch suddenly beca packed with people.
"I’ll have the Fuzzball!"
"Give a Hydro Sli! And hurry up, I have a patrol!"
"I want to see the new item! The Searing Mana Cube!"
Watching as the wealthy custors squeezed into the tiny shop, Xiaoyi was slightly dumbfounded.
"When did our little store... beco so popular?"
She counted at least a dozen people, all wearing silk robes and carrying expensive swords.
"Oh my heavens! Is this really the sa store that was completely deserted just last week?!"
"Everyone, calm down! There are too many people, so queue up in a straight line!" Xiaoyi loudly commanded, putting her hands on her hips.
There was nothing else she could do. Since it was really inconvenient for the noblen to squeeze together, she had to enforce order.
"Queue up? Little girl, do you know who I am? I am the head steward of the Duke of Mu! How dare you make stand in line like a commoner! Hurry up and tell your master to serve first!" a middle-aged man wearing a flashy purple silk robe unhappily scolded Xiaoyi.
"So what if you’re the steward of the Duke of Mu! Little girl, do you know who I am? I am the primary enforcer for the Board of Rites!"
"Is an enforcer for the Board of Rites supposed to be impressive? I am the personal bodyguard of King Yan!"
Xiaoyi expressionlessly looked on as the group of wealthy custors endlessly quarreled. Every single one of them had a self-important, arrogant expression on their face.
Even though the little girl was amazed that the subordinates of the capital’s bigwigs had all co to an alleyway shop, she was very upset about how pompous they were acting.
Advisor Xu lightly shook his head as he listened to the argunt behind him, thinking that it was quite ridiculous.
He clearly understood the reason why this group of people was here; they all had the sa objective as him.
It was highly laughable that the snobby crowd actually did not recognize the identity of the little ’cleaning girl’ and wanted to jump the queue by loudly announcing their backgrounds.
Among all these people, the waitress with the feather duster was the one with the scariest military backing. However, Advisor Xu couldn’t be bothered to point it out to them.
Just then, a rich, elental fragrance drifted out of the Breeding Zone.
The crisp sll of pure water mixed with the sharp scent of ozone was like a refreshing breeze brushing across their faces.
Everyone within the lobby went into a daze as they subconsciously breathed in the pure Qi.
The eyes of both Minister Zhao and Advisor Xu lit up.
The energy density was... incredible! There was a very good reason why the price was so high.
Ren was carrying a tray of slis out of the back room when he saw the chaotic, crowded situation in the lobby.
He was stunned for a mont and was slightly annoyed that his quiet morning was ruined.
However, he remained completely calm, and the astonishnt only lasted for a microsecond before his face settled back into its usual, lazy deadpan.
"Everyone has to queue up accordingly. Each custor can only buy one high-tier beast per month. Cutting in line is strictly forbidden. Anyone who violates the rules will be permanently blacklisted, and service will no longer be provided to them," Ren simply said. His voice was not loud, but it sohow managed to cut through the noisy bickering.
Then, within an instant, the entire store erupted into an uproar.
These people were sent by their powerful masters to investigate and potentially buy out the store. They were used to lording their status over rchants outside, so how could they tolerate so many strict rules from a tiny, twenty-square-ter shack? They instantly started to clamor and curse.
Ren expressionlessly placed the Mutated Hydro Sli in front of Minister Zhao.
"Here’s your Mutated Sli. Please don’t feed it spicy food," Ren said.
Minister Zhao’s sight was already completely captivated by the swirling water Qi inside the container. He nodded absently and no longer paid any attention to Ren or the crowd.
"Be quiet. Stop making such a racket in my shop," Ren coldly stated, finally frowning.
"Fuck you! You arrogant brat, don’t push your luck! I am giving you face by even stepping foot in this hovel! I am the steward of the Duke of Mu! I am not soone a lowly rchant like you can afford to offend!" The purple-robed steward angrily scolded, pointing a fat, jewel-encrusted finger right at Ren’s nose.
The other bodyguards and enforcers were also pointing at Ren, indignantly swearing and flexing their cultivation auras to intimidate him.
The store, which had been peaceful just a mont ago, beca dangerously volatile.
Xiaoyi rolled her eyes. When she saw the irritable twitch in Boss Ren’s eyebrow, she suddenly decided to take a few steps back and silently observe these idiots.
Of all the places in the capital they could act conceited in, they had to co to the Dinsional Ranch...
With a heavy hiss of pneumatic pistons, Unit 01’s gigantic brass figure stepped out from the shadows behind Ren, its chanical optical sensors flashing a dangerous crimson.
"Oh my! Do you think you’re invincible just because you bought a clunky iron puppet? Is this where your arrogant confidence is coming from?!"
When the steward of the Duke saw Unit 01, he laughed out loud.
He had seen plenty of Artificer golems before, and he knew they were usually slow, clumsy chunks of junk.
Ren slowly narrowed his eyes, reaching up to gently push the steward’s fat finger away from his face.
"Unit 01," Ren said softly, pointing toward the loud-mouthed steward.
"Strip him, and throw him in a puddle."
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