âTake whatever catches your eye, itâs on me.â Lu Yun grinned broadly after taking a look at Li Zhenâs expression. He wouldnât treat his little fan any less.
âNo need, just the ghost-headed blade is enough.â Li Zhen shook his head and caressed his weapon.
âCan I, can I choose a few items?â sounded a bashful voice by Lu Yunâs ears. A blushing Qing Ting appeared next to him, rather embarrassed by her request.
Lu Yun blinked, unable to reconcile the young girl in front of him with the one whoâd ferociously faced down the ghost king outside the city.
âOf course!â Lu Yun nodded. âAnd Li Zhen, go find yourself a set of king grade armor. Sooner or later, your way of fighting like a madman is going to get you killed.â
âMy master says that we cultivators should forge bravely forward and be straightforward without compromise. We should not leave any avenue of retreat for ourselvesââ
Lu Yun kicked him away before he could finish.
âYour masterâs dead, isnât he?â He rolled his eyes.
âYes.â Li Zhenâs expression dimmed. If his master still walked the world, Li Quan wouldâve never dared openly take his blade.
âWhatâs the use of forging bravely forward when youâre dead? Things matter only when youâre alive. Eh forget it, whatâs the point of saying all this to you? Youâre not my son.â Lu Yun casually stuffed another king grade Detonation Talisman into his bag.
The talisman was valued at three hundred thousand premium purple crystalsânot a high price since it was a consumable. In the Immortal Pagoda, this kind of talisman was priced at six hundred thousand crystals.
Out of all supplemental items, the great formations were the most expensive. When it came to king grade formations, their prices were listed in terms of crystal veins.
Qing Ting cheered happily and started rifling through the wares. The Azureclad Duke brooded when he saw his sisterâs reaction. He asked with a blank look, âDid I commit a mistake in telling my sister to keep an eye on that Champion Duke?â
âTell Qing Ting to come back, Iâll keep him under surveillance,â giggled the Crimsonclad Duke. âThe Champion Duke is young, rich, and generous. Heâs all that I could wish for.â
âForget it, let it be. The lass can do whatever she wants,â Azureclad responded dejectedly. âIs the Immortal King a fool? Didnât the Trueriver Sect just lose one of their territories? He compensated them with nine thousand premium crystal veins. Itâs like heâs afraid the realm doesnât know he has money.â
âThe Immortal King isnât a fool, but the Haotian Tower is. Everyone knows that itâs the Supplemental Dao Alliance behind them. With the relaxation of the monopoly over supplemental dao, everyone floods into Haotian Tower for bargains. However, credit for the situation is attributed to the Immortal Pagoda,â Crimsonclad sighed with emotion. âWithout the Immortal Pagoda or the Immortal King, those greedy supplemental kings of the alliance would never give up their monopoly. The Immortal King truly is a great strategist who doesnât bother with trivial matters.â
âI will meet him one day and see if heâs really got three heads and six arms,â Azureclad harrumphed.
âYou?â Crimsonclad burst out laughing. âWith his emotion formation, you wonât even get close to him. Youâll have to reach the heights of Hua Fengwen from a hundred thousand years ago if you want to challenge himâascend to titled kinghood as a sixth step king.
âBut, thereâs already two sixth step kings hanging outside the pagoda doors.â
âHmph!â snorted Azureclad. âThey say that the Immortal King has some connection with the Ten Valleys of Evil. I wonder if thatâs true.â
âThe ten valleys? Thatâs not something the likes of you and I can touch. That includes the legendary Immortal Region, ancestral dragon nest at Dragonhollow Mountain, and the internal affairs of the Enforcer Alliance.â Crimsonclad shook her head, after which a bit of hope flashed across her stunning features. âIf we become seventh step kings when we ascend to kinghood, we might catch their eye and be invited to join them.â
âJoin them? That means youâll have to bend your knee to another.â Azureclad curled his lip.
âHolding strong to that pride will mean youâll never see the true Hongmeng. You can make titled kinghood now, but continue to accumulate your strength. Donât you do so out of similar ambitions to see the real world?â Confidence gleamed in Crimsoncladâs eyes. âHua Fengwen? He is indeed a genius, but I believe I can surpass him.â
She looked at Lu Yun. If she could obtain that sword and strengthen her foundation, it would increase her chances of ascending as a high level king.
âThat sword is mine,â snorted Azureclad.
âYou better watch your sister instead. She might run off with the Champion Duke,â Crimsonclad grinned merrily.
âMy sister is no fool.â However, Azurecladâs jaw dropped when he looked at Qing Ting again.
A dazzling array of items hung on her body, an exquisite visual feast of a dozen pieces of jewelry, hairpins, jade pendants, and other strange oddities. With his level of strength, he could naturally tell that these items were all king grade defensive treasures!
Their total sum easily exceeded a few billion purple crystals!
Qing Ting had also changed out of her long azure robes at some point and put on a king grade silk dress. Just that dress alone was worth more than ten billion premium purple crystalsâone tenth of a purple crystal vein!
âUh, if this continues⌠Iâd be too embarrassed to take his swordâŚâ Azureclad gaped.
âFlashy new money!â Crimsonclad identified woodenly. âI definitely canât keep him under watch! Iâd be too embarrassed to rob him if he buys me so many treasures as well⌠but I really want to go!â
Though she was an important figure, she was unwilling to spend ten billion crystals to purchase a beautiful king grade dress.
Indeed, beautiful! As strong as the defensive treasure was, its beautiful lines were what mattered most to female cultivators.
Though Crimsonclad and Azureclad coveted Lu Yunâs Stellar Sword, they were people of principle. It wouldnât be right to attack Lu Yun after receiving presents from him.
At least, their dao hearts wouldnât be able to stand up to it.
âNo matter, no matter, thatâs my sister and not me! Itâs my sister whoâs accepted his gifts, not me. Not me!â Azureclad recited in monotone. âWait a second, Qing Ting, what are you doing?!â
He jumped straight up when he saw the evil Champion Duke pick up a king grade flying swordâone of the highest in its categoryâand shove it into Qing Tingâs arms.
Grinning delightedly, she immediately refined it with her nascent spirit. That sword was worth at least twenty billion purple crystals!
Azureclad felt the world spin around him.
âEh? Brother, what are you doing here?â Happily refining her new sword, Qing Ting quickly shoved it behind her when she noticed the dukeâs arrival. The items she was wearing, however, werenât so easily concealed.
Azureclad glowered ominously.
âChampion Duke, I want to duel you!â he roared at Lu Yun, feeling like his sister might truly run off with this kid.