Evan didn’t hear what the manager said—it was clearly shielded by some sound-blocking technique. That alone proved the manager’s strength was unfathomable, and that Fragrant Grace Hall definitely had big problems—serious ones.
Evan only saw a flash of surprise on the woman’s face before she returned to normal. "I understand. Go handle your business," she said coolly.
Then her eyes locked straight onto Evan, as if trying to see through his soul. Evan knew she was waiting for his answer, so he said, "My cultivation is too low to truly see through someone whose realm far surpasses mine. But when I first saw you, I had an instinctive feeling—Miss, you’re a formidable expert."
Once I realized that, other questions naturally came to mind. With your looks and strength, there’s no way you’re here just running a small shop. The only explanation is you’re carrying out some important mission, or you’re deliberately undercover here."
"If that’s how you think, you’re totally mistaken. I’m really just an ordinary merchant. All-Stars City is only a second-tier city—if I were really as high-level as you say, wouldn’t that be a total waste of talent? Of course, if you want to suspect me, there’s nothing I can do. You can ask around: Fragrant Grace Hall has never done anything excessive, nor made contact with strangers.
The elemental crystals you want are indeed rare items, and plenty of people want to buy them. The best is a fire elemental crystal, ranked fourth grade. The earth elemental crystal is also quite good—fifth grade. The rest are slightly lower. If you want truly high-grade crystals, you’ll only find them in first-tier cities or at the Treasure Consortium." The woman smiled faintly.
Her denial didn’t mean much to Evan. Once he’d judged there was a problem, there definitely was. No need to expose it now—better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Evan understood that much.
"May I ask how much the fire elemental crystal costs? And the earth elemental crystal? If the price is right, maybe we’ll buy them. After all, elemental crystals are hard to come by." Evan said calmly.
At this moment, the woman was full of questions herself. She also had a gut feeling that Evan wasn’t ordinary. Even though he stood behind the Punishment Hall Master, she believed his status was higher—maybe a young master from some powerful faction.
"The fire elemental crystal costs three thousand upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals. The earth elemental crystal costs one thousand. The price is high because these items are so hard to get. I’m sure you understand that, young master," she said.
At this, Elder Lee glanced at Evan. "That’s a bit expensive. What do you think?"
"Hall Master, if you want to buy it, go ahead. I have no objections. But upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals are pretty rare in All-Stars City. Is it possible to pay with something else, like mid-grade or lower-grade Violet Cloud Crystals, or even God Stones?" Evan suggested.
"Anything is fine, as long as the exchange value matches. May I ask what you plan to use for payment, young master?" The woman had always assumed Evan was the one buying the crystals, so she spoke directly to him.
Evan didn’t answer—he couldn’t afford to reveal too much here. Elder Lee spoke up instead: "I’ve got a few God Stones left. Let’s use those for the exchange. What do you think, shopkeeper?"
"Are you buying both elemental crystals, or just the earth elemental one? If you buy both, I’ll give you a small discount—two hundred upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals off," the woman said with a smile.
"Hall Master, Violet Cloud Crystals and God Stones are really scarce now—we can’t spend them carelessly, or we won’t be able to bid for what we want at future auctions. Better to just buy the earth elemental crystal, since that’s what you need," Evan advised.
The young woman walked over to a cabinet, pulled out a gray box from a drawer, and said, "This box contains the fifth-grade earth elemental crystal. Hall Master, please pay at the counter."
As Elder Lee and Evan were about to leave the room, the woman suddenly called out, "Young master, please wait. I have something I’d like to ask you, if you’re willing. If you can resolve my doubts, I’ll give you the fire elemental crystal for free."
Evan exchanged a glance with Elder Lee and said, "Go ahead. I’ll be fine." Then he turned and walked over to the woman. "May I ask what you want to know, Miss?"
"Please, have a seat!" the woman said with a smile. With a wave of her hand, a delicate table and several stools appeared in front of Evan, as if out of nowhere. The sudden appearance was strangely unsettling.
Soon, wine and dishes appeared on the table. "Please don’t misunderstand, young master—I bear you no ill will. My name is Lena Zhong, and I’m from Stormtower. Does that ease your concerns about me?"
"Stormtower? One of the God Realm’s ten apex powers? That’s honestly a surprise—I didn’t expect Miss Zhong’s status to be so high. Well, just say what you want to say," Evan replied, genuinely startled by Lena Zhong’s identity.
According to Elder Lee, Stormtower specializes in assassins and intelligence. Its status in the God Realm is extremely high. For Lena Zhong to reveal her identity so openly, Evan had no idea what her intentions were.
"Your name is Evan Lin, right? Two years ago, you were taken into the City Lord’s Mansion and then disappeared. It’s said you’ve been cultivating in Mine Tunnel No. 19 ever since. When you were first taken, your realm was only early-stage Heavenly God. But now, after two years, you’re late-stage Heavenly God.
That kind of cultivation speed is unheard of. You’re a brilliant talent, so Stormtower wants you to join. Don’t worry—if you join us, you’ll get full support. Whatever you want, we’ll do our best to provide. It’s an opportunity—a smart person should seize it.
Also, for talents like you, if we can’t have you, we don’t want other factions to get you either. I think you know exactly what I mean—I just want to hear your thoughts," Lena Zhong said.
Evan felt like he was in a fog—Stormtower’s intelligence network was terrifying. He’d only spent a short time in the City Lord’s Mansion, and his cultivation in Mine Tunnel No. 19 was extremely secretive. Yet Stormtower had managed to plant powerful spies there, tracking his every move.
"Miss Zhong, your offer is a bit sudden—I haven’t had any time to prepare. Isn’t it a bit rash to answer you so quickly? I need to think it over. Also, I’ll be entering closed-door cultivation for a while. When I come out, I’ll give you my answer.
You don’t think I’ll run, do you? With Stormtower’s intelligence, even if I fled to the ends of the earth, you’d still find me. So you don’t need to worry about that. My retreat will be in Mine Tunnel No. 19—is that satisfactory, Miss Zhong?" Evan said with a smile…