"Let me give you some bad news: you really picked the wrong target to rob this time. To be honest, I've only got a little over a thousand Netherstones on me. I left in a hurry and forgot to bring more. Since you came looking for trouble, I have no choice but to take the Netherstones you two have." Ethan Fenn—the Soaring Feather Young Lord—said.
"Big brother, even if you take all our Netherstones, it's still not enough for the registration fee. I think we might as well hit a few more marks—maybe we'll get lucky and score big. Then you can smoothly become an Outer Sect Disciple, and my brother and I can join the Black Lotus Guard. Honestly, it should be pretty easy!" one of them said.
Ethan glanced at the two and realized they had a point. If you want more Netherstones, there really isn't any option but this shady route. He'd never done anything like this before, but now that he was stuck in the Netherworld, he didn't have much choice—some things you just have to get your hands dirty.
"I think I'll pass. You two have been searching for targets for a while now, right? And you still haven't found anything. I bet even if you keep at it, you'll get the same result. Honestly, you don't seem like hopeless cases. Since I'm in a good mood today, I'll let you off. But if you keep pestering me, I'll definitely kill you both." Ethan said.
"Big brother, you're way stronger than us. If we team up, we'll definitely succeed. Honestly, this is the first time we've ever done something like this, but sometimes you just have to do things that go against your conscience. Come on, say yes—we'll follow your lead!"
After thinking for a moment, Ethan said, "How many days are left until registration? If there's not enough time, forget it. There are a lot of experts around Shadowgrove City, and with my strength, I can only handle regular Black Lotus Guards. We need to pick targets that aren't too tough."
"We know, big brother! Don't worry—just leave it to us!" one of them said.
"Worry? You two are exactly why I can't relax. Otherwise, why would you be thinking about robbing me?" Ethan said.
"It was just a fluke, big brother—your ability to hide your strength is insane. Now my brother and I are both injured, so we'll need a day to recover. Oh, right, I'm Gavin Xiao and he's my little brother Liam Xiao! From now on, just call us Xiao Rain and Xiao Cloud!" Gavin said.
"Xiao Rain and Xiao Cloud? What, am I supposed to call you Stormy Rain and Big Cloud next? Whatever, just stay here and heal up. If we're lucky, we might run into a couple of easy marks." Ethan said.
Gavin Xiao and Liam Xiao didn’t say much more. They took out some healing pills from their storage rings, swallowed them, and sat down to recover. Meanwhile, Ethan was racking his brain for a way to get enough Netherstones...
At the same time, Ryan Ouyang—who had split off from Evan—was pretty lucky. He was closest to Beast King City and reached it in about an hour. Beast King City was guarded by soldiers, but as long as you paid the Netherstone fee, anyone could enter, no matter who you were.
Inside Beast King City, Netherbeasts made up the majority, but plenty of people from the other four races were around too. Maybe Beast King City was the most complicated of the Five Netherworld Cities, but since Netherbeasts dominated here—and the Beast King himself was so powerful—no one dared to make trouble.
Ryan Ouyang covered his face with black gauze and wandered slowly through the city. He had no idea where to go, so he figured he might as well settle down first. He was a total stranger here and felt a bit lost for the moment.
The streets of Beast King City were packed and lively. People from all five races hawked goods up and down the avenues. Some spots were especially crowded, and Ryan Ouyang squeezed in to see what the fuss was about.
An old human was running a street stall, with just three items on display, each marked with a price. The first was a porcelain bottle called the Crimson Jade White Emperor Flask, priced at fifty thousand Netherstones. The second was an iron sword named Jade Toad Frostblade, going for a hundred thousand Netherstones. The last was a red, peach-like fruit that gave off a faint fragrance and strange energy fluctuations—just smelling it from afar made you feel refreshed and clear-headed.
The fruit was labeled Blood King Peach, with a jaw-dropping price of three hundred thousand Netherstones. The crowd buzzed, everyone talking about how outrageous the prices were for these three items.
Ryan Ouyang glanced at the old man and sensed an immortal-like aura from him—his strength was completely unfathomable. When Ryan looked at him, the old man looked right back, momentarily surprised before regaining his calm. Ryan didn’t notice this detail at all.
Just then, a middle-aged man who looked like he was from the Ghost Clan asked, "Old man, why is that fruit priced so high? What does it actually do? Sure, it looks impressive, but what if I buy it and it turns out to be useless? Why don't you explain it to us?"
The old man glanced at the crowd, seeing their confusion, and smiled. "This fruit is called the Blood King Peach. It comes from a ten-thousand-year-old peach tree that absorbs the blood-soul qi of heaven and earth. Each fruit takes a thousand years to mature and is packed with terrifying energy. For Ghost Clan and Shade Clan cultivators, it's the ultimate tonic—it massively strengthens the soul. Even an ordinary ghost soldier could eat one and break straight through to the ghost officer or even ghost general realm..."
The old man paused here, because the crowd was already getting restless—especially the Ghost Clan and Shade Clan folks, who were visibly excited. Some were even ready to buy on the spot.
Everyone wants to get stronger, no matter their race. With something this heaven-defying up for grabs, of course people were interested. Just then, a middle-aged man wrapped head-to-toe in black gauze and robes stepped up to the old man and said, "I'll buy your Blood King Peach. I don't have enough Netherstones right now, but I can trade you some items instead. How about it?"
The old man glanced at the middle-aged man and replied, "I don't need anything else—just Netherstones. If you've got enough, buy it. If not, move aside and let the other customers through."
His tone was perfectly even, which made the Ghost Clan man a little angry. "I'll trade you Netherghost Violet Orchids—three of them, plus a hundred thousand Netherstones. How about that?"
"No deal. Like I said, come back when you have three hundred thousand Netherstones. Now move along!" the old man replied, just as calmly.
That was too much for the middle-aged man—he snapped, "Old fool, don't push your luck! If you piss me off, you'll never leave Beast King City alive!"
The old man just smiled. "Heh, young man, this is Beast King City. Nobody from any race dares make trouble here. So what if you're a Ghost Clan ghost general? I don't care!" He spoke without the slightest hint of fear.
"You old bastard, you're asking for it!" the middle-aged man roared, and with a flash, his bony fist shot out at the old man—so fast that most of the crowd didn't even have time to react.