A Town Bustling with Formidable Individuals
Ao Tian entered the store and stood beside Xiao Wu.
The shop assistant, a sweet-looking girl in her twenties, cast her eyes on Ao Tian and her gaze brightened.
Although Ao Tian had toned down his appearance and demeanor compared to before, he still stood out.
After looking for a while, Xiao Wu finally settled on a pair of bracelets, one large and one small.
"How much are these two?" Xiao Wu asked.
The shop assistant smiled and replied, "Young lady, this smaller one is two hundred gold soul coins, and the larger one is three hundred and ten gold soul coins. If you buy both, we can offer you a five percent discount, making it a total of four hundred and seventy-five gold soul coins."
She didn't underestimate Xiao Wu and Ao Tian in the slightest and maintained a warm attitude.
Working here, she was a Spirit Master herself, though her level wasn't high. However, she could sense a faint soul power fluctuation from Xiao Wu.
"This is so expensive..." Xiao Wu hesitated. She was nearly broke, a classic case of living from paycheck to paycheck. She had just received her stipend, and it had barely lasted a few days.
Close to five hundred gold soul coins was a considerable sum. Could Ao Tian even afford it? Xiao Wu couldn't help but turn her head to look at Ao Tian.
She knew that Ao Tian was wealthy and had seen him produce a pile of gold soul coins. However, four hundred and seventy-five gold soul coins was a substantial amount.
These soul devices were all excavated from ancient relics, and with the current state of soul technology, they couldn't be manufactured anew, which made them expensive.
"Hey, Ao Tian..." Xiao Wu called out.
"Do you have any money? I'll definitely pay you back."
Seeing Xiao Wu about to pout and make a scene, Ao Tian had to agree. He couldn't stand the sight of a cute little girl pouting.
"Excuse me, do you want to pay with gold soul coins or silver notes?" The shop assistant's face lit up with excitement.
This was a big sale, and she would earn a hefty commission.
"Gold soul coins," Ao Tian replied. He had few silver notes; gold soul coins were more abundant.
"Alright," the shop assistant said, taking out a tray.
Ao Tian piled up a large number of gold soul coins, exactly the right amount.
After counting carefully, the shop assistant wrapped the two bracelets and handed them to Xiao Wu.
"Young lady, please be careful. There may be some bad people keeping an eye on you," the shop assistant kindly reminded her.
"I know," Ao Tian nodded.
Concealing one's wealth was essential. Ao Tian couldn't help but notice the greedy gazes around him.
Xiao Wu also heard the warning and immediately looked around vigilantly.
Unfortunately, with her current level of experience, she couldn't detect the hidden threats.
Seeing Xiao Wu's vulnerable appearance, Ao Tian couldn't help but smile and said, "You're not afraid someone will know you're carrying something valuable?"
Xiao Wu was momentarily stunned and suddenly felt embarrassed.
"Aren't these too precious?" she mumbled, gradually relaxing and no longer glancing around nervously.
"Is there really someone targeting us?" she asked Ao Tian.
"Yes, quite a few people are following us," Ao Tian replied with a smile.
"And you're still smiling? Aren't you afraid of being robbed?" Xiao Wu said, annoyed.
"Have you forgotten about my brother?"
Xiao Wu slapped her forehead, her worries dispelled.
"Let's find a place to stay first," Ao Tian suggested, leading Xiao Wu towards the most luxurious hotel in the small town. He had stayed there during his previous visit, and it was decent.
Suddenly, his brows furrowed as he sensed something amiss. There were far too many high-level Spirit Masters in this small town.
His divine sense spread out, and he even detected the presence of several Titled Douluos.
Could something have happened?
Ao Tian concentrated and listened intently. The countless conversations in the small town entered his ears, and he swiftly extracted useful information.
It turned out that someone had found a transformed Spirit Beast inside the Star Dou Forest, which had been injured and possessed strength roughly at the Spirit Emperor level.
Over the past two days, the news had spread, attracting many high-level Spirit Masters who rushed to the scene.
However, no one dared to enter easily because the transformed Spirit Beast was being guarded by the forest's overlord, the Titan Giant Ape.
The group of adventurous Spirit Masters who had found the transformed Spirit Beast had been killed by the Titan Giant Ape, with only a few lucky survivors escaping with the news.
Now, more and more powerful individuals were gathering in the small town, and even a few Titled Douluos had arrived.
Those Titled Douluos were planning to set off early the next morning to hunt down the transformed 100,000-Year Spirit beast within the Star Dou Forest.
In the past, not even Titled Douluos dared to easily challenge the Titan Giant Ape's authority.
However, now that a transformed Spirit Beast at the Spirit Emperor level had appeared, the situation was different.
They didn't need to confront the Titan Giant Ape head-on. They just needed to restrain it and find an opportunity to kill the weaker 100,000-Year Spirit beast.
For Titled Doulos, dealing with a 100,000-year Spirit beast at the Spirit Emperor level was as easy as lifting a finger.
This had attracted a large number of Spirit Masters.
Once the 100,000-Year Spirit beast was killed, some Spirit Masters at the rank of eighty-nine would be able to absorb its 100,000-Year Soul Rings and advance to become Titled Douluos.
Of course, there were very few Spirit Masters who remained at exactly level eighty-nine.
What interested most Spirit Masters was the Spirit Bone on the transformed Spirit Beast's body.
As long as they could snatch a piece of the Spirit Bone, even if they didn't use it themselves, it would still be a tremendous fortune.
Killing a 100,000-Year Spirit beast at the Spirit Emperor level was something many Spirit Masters could achieve.
It wasn't about strength; in the chaos of the situation, anyone could have an opportunity.
This was the thought process of most Spirit Masters.
"It should be Xiao Wu's mother, right?" Ao Tian thought to himself.
He glanced at Xiao Wu, who was excitedly looking around, and couldn't help but sigh. This little girl had quite the luck.
If he hadn't accompanied her, she might have really lost her mother.
After walking for more than ten minutes, the two arrived at the most luxurious hotel in town.
As soon as they entered the gate, they heard a waiter shouting, "The last room, ten gold soul coins."
"Ten gold soul coins? Why don't you just rob us?" someone exclaimed angrily.
"Isn't this too expensive? You guys have raised the price several times what it used to be," another person complained.
"... "
The waiter smiled and said, "I'm sorry, everyone. Our hotel is the best in town. If you find it too expensive, you can turn left at the door, and there are cheaper options there."
"What bad luck!"
The group of people cursed and left.
Ao Tian walked up to the counter and threw ten gold soul coins on it. He said, "I'll take that room."