Chapter 37. The Palace of Heavenly Beasts. Part 1.

The "Heavenly Beasts" menagerie was located at the end of the street, and at first glance, it was clear that it did not resemble any ordinary shop or stall in the city. It looked more like a small tent market with one large building at the center, which the locals called the "Palace of Heavenly Beasts."

The menagerie was surrounded by a wide, high wall, with a formation inside it that alerted the guards to any attempt to climb over or fly past the wall. Beyond this barrier, one could see a sea of tents and pavilions of various sizes and colors, each housing several vendors surrounded by various exotic and common animals. Most of these were just small cubs, but occasionally, one could spot large adult specimens among the crowd of young ones.

The most dangerous and untamed of the cubs were kept in metal cages that occasionally flashed with light, while the calmer and friendlier ones were simply chained to deep-set posts in the ground. The rare adult animals were almost all either caged or wearing unusual collars. Unlike their ferocious counterparts in cages, these collared beasts sat or lay peacefully next to fearless vendors.

Entry to this tented animal market was not free; the menagerie's guards charged one spirit stone per person. However, members of the Fire Dragon Sect, which essentially controlled the city, were an exception to this rule and did not need to pay anything. Thus, Rand was able to pass through the entrance guard unimpeded. Upon seeing the colors of his clothing, the guards, instead of demanding payment, wished him a good day and good shopping.

Occasionally, some people try to counterfeit the sect's attire to gain the numerous advantages it provides, but the sect strictly monitors this, quickly catching all such "imitators," who then find themselves working in the mines till their death.

Entering the market and passing by various animals, Rand had to endure the sales pitches of vendors trying to sell their "unique" wares, all while attempting to outshout their competitors:

"Young master, how do you like my Golden Armored Scorpion? Isn't he magnificent? He has unrivaled armor, and his sting..."

"Young sir, just for you, for five hundred spirit stones, take this winged wonder-beast, a nameless species. Don't go away, please. Don't be fooled by its simple appearance resembling a crow. It's just a disguise; its father was a beast at the Core Formation stage. Don't you believe me? I swear by my..."

"Respected novice, take a look at this Fierce Fire Cat cub... It's already perfectly trained and will make an excellent companion for you. Just a mere thousand spirit stones..."

"Don't listen to him, honored novice, that cat is real trash, unable to surpass the fifth level of Qi Condensation in its lifetime. You're destined for greatness, so my Purple-eyed Eagle suits you much better. If you feed it well, you could even fly on it in the future..."

"Even after a hundred years of cultivation, your chicken might not lift even a child, but my Cthulu will..."

No matter how much they tried to engage Rand or convince him to buy something, he did not respond, paying no attention to their pitches, and simply walked past. Although he had come to find a worthy and powerful beast, all the animals in this tent market were truly worthless. Most were merely younglings of small, weak beasts that, even if provided with expensive resources for their entire lives, would never be able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage unless a miracle happened. This was why they were so cheap. These weak creatures might be useful to a wealthy city dweller for home protection or make a worthy companion for an ordinary hunter, but for Rand and his plans, they were completely useless.

Because of this, Rand kept moving forward without stopping, gradually approaching the center of this makeshift market, where a massive, over-a-hundred-meter-high domed building, the Palace of Heavenly Beasts, was located. If the rumors were true, the quality of the beasts there was drastically different from those sold in the surrounding market. The best and strongest beasts caught in the surrounding mountains and forests were brought there.

After passing through many rows of tents, Rand reached his destination. On either side of the entrance to the "Palace," the former prince saw two remarkable-looking twin girls in colorful emerald dresses. They were probably placed there to attract potential buyers with their beauty. However, it seemed they didn't let just anyone inside, only those they deemed worthy of entering the central part of the menagerie. At that moment, they were refusing entry to a young man dressed in richly decorated but still ordinary fabric clothes. This young man was clearly angry at being denied entry.

"I apologize, but you are not a worthy resident of this city, nor do you belong to any sect, clan, or knight order. Unfortunately, our 'Palace of Heavenly Beasts' caters only to affluent clients. So, unless you have a recommendation from an esteemed cultivator at the Core Formation stage or above, we must ask you to present proof of having a hundred thousand low-quality spirit stones or their equivalent in other quality stones. If you have neither, we cannot let you inside. Those are the rules," the girls at the entrance announced in unison.

"Even if I'm not a sect member, you still have to let me in. Do you even know who I am and who my father is? I see you don't, otherwise, you wouldn't dare speak to me this way and refuse me entry to your 'establishment.' My father, Artrey, is the strongest at the Foundation Establishment stage in the city of Irkus. Do you understand now who you're dealing with? I hope you'll let me in right now and apologize, and… it would be nice if you joined me for "a walk", or else I..." The young man started angrily but calmed down somewhat midway and even almost openly invited the girls to "join him", not forgetting at the same time, add an unspoken threat at the end in case of refusal.

"Unfortunately, such a recommendation is insufficient. Do you perhaps have the hundred thousand spirit stones with you?" The girls listened and replied calmly, paying no attention to his "invitation" directed at them.

"What do you mean insufficient? Is my father not enough? And who even carries that much money with them? And why would they?"

"One hundred thousand is the price for the cheapest Foundation Establishment stage beast we have. So if you come to buy rather than just look, that's the minimum amount you would need to do so," one sister responded.

"What? A hundred thousand for some lousy beast? My father can take on a dozen Foundation Establishment stage beasts alone, and he wouldn't ask for a hundred thousand spirit stones, even though his prices are quite high. Where did you even get such a price? No beast in the surrounding market costs more than fifteen thousand..."

"We are not interested in your deep analysis of our pricing policy, nor in your father's achievements. You can't provide what we ask, correct? Then please leave immediately and stop blocking the way. We do not let in ordinary onlookers who have no intention or ability to buy anything and only want to gawk at our magnificent animals. Such behavior upsets our beasts and makes them unwell," the other sister spoke.

At that moment, just as the young man, burning with indignation, was about to say something else to the girls, Rand approached.

The young beauties immediately shifted their attention from the annoyed young man to Rand. Seeing his truly rich, artifact-laden clothing, they smiled broadly.

"Welcome, novice of the Fire Dragon Sect. Please come in; our attendant inside will accompany you during your time in our 'Palace of Heavenly Beasts.' We hope you enjoy your visit and find it beneficial."

The disgruntled young man`s face redden at such neglect and disrespect towards him and turned to look at the rich sect member calmly approaching the entrance, ignoring the girls' greetings. Despite this, the sisters continued to smile widely at the sect member and let him through, while they hadn't even cracked a smile during their conversation with him. This difference in treatment made the young man tremble with rage. No one dared treat him this way in his hometown.

Suddenly, the young man had what he thought was a brilliant idea and decided to put it into action immediately.

"Brainless girls, I'll get into your lousy menagerie anyway, and if you try to stop me, you'll face my father's wrath," he declared, striding confidently past the gatekeeper girls. In a moment of "enlightenment", the young man realized that he had no chance with these arrogant twins, for the sake of getting to know whom he actually wanted to visit this worthless "Palace". Now understanding he would get nothing from them, he decided to take revenge for their disrespect and refusal. After all, if he entered without permission, their master would surely punish them for breaking the rules. Perhaps, if he saw their master, he could even complain about them. He smiled at the thought of their punishment. And even in the worst-case scenario, if nothing happened, he would just be asked to leave.

When the girls saw the boy slip past them, their eyes widened in amazement, and they wanted to say something to the rapidly moving young man, but he moved so quickly that they didn't have time before he reached the inner hall.

As soon as the young man crossed the invisible line separating the building's interior from the outer space, something small flew out of the building at an incredible speed. Before anyone could understand what it was, it had already returned inside just as quickly. For a moment, it seemed to everyone that the flying thing did nothing, but suddenly, the young man froze, and then his head slowly slid off and fell almost silently to the ground, while his body continued standing for a few seconds before collapsing nearly as silently. Amazingly, not a drop of blood flowed from either the body or the head, as if the young man was not a living being of flesh and blood but merely a puppet with its head removed. A second later, a bright light flashed on his chest from a protective amulet that once hung around his neck. But immediately after the flash, the amulet crumbled to dust. The strike was so fast that the artifact had no time to react and protect its owner, but apparently the attack had some additional effect, which was enough to destroy the amulet.

It seemed a scene of such brutality should have shocked those who saw it, but neither Rand nor the girls reacted, viewing it as something that happened almost daily, with only a hint of pity for the dead fool in the girls' eyes. One sister approached the corpse, took out a box, which was a spatial artifact, and placed the young man's remains in it. The other approached Rand, who was about to continue on his way, and apologized.

"We apologize for making you witness such an event at the doorstep of our 'Palace of Heavenly Beasts,' dear guest. This person insulted us and broke the rules agreed with the great sect, so our master's companion punished him. We are ready to offer you a five percent discount for having to witness this, esteemed novice."

"For me, it is of no importance. I hope to see your praised beasts as soon as possible and not waste my time on explaining this incident to the guards."

"Of course, esteemed novice, nothing of the sort will be required of you. Please proceed; you are already awaited inside."

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