Bab 58: Myriad Treasure Star House
Sheng Tian returned to his room. He confirmed the one thing he wanted.
Devils were humans before. That means as long as the method to convert into devils is present, there would definitely be a day where devils emerge even if all the current ones are destroyed.
This gave him a headache. It means if he wanted to end this plague, he has to cut the source. But the problem? He didn't even know its branches!
'Aah, Leave it. The heroes are reborn, let them do their chores. It's not like I am obliged to do that nor am I someone who fights for world peace.' Sheng Tian let the devil's matter slip out of his head.
He summoned the letter Meng Xin left him. 'What could it be? A Love Letter? Surely, this girl wouldn't be so bold, right? But maybe my handsomeness was a bit too much for her.' he thought honestly.
"Sheng Tian,
The next time we meet, I hope you would be as strong if not stronger than me. I will be participating in the Dragon Prodigy Championship.
And the 'devils' might come for revenge. You better change your appearance and leave the city as soon as possible.
Take care."
'Is this even a letter?' was the first thought in his mind looking at the four lines.
He was expecting something like:
'I'm going to miss you every night when I sleep. Feeling the coldness of the night, missing the warmth of your embrace, I shall wait for our reunion. I am gone, but my heart is still with you.....'
This girl didn't even write a single romantic thing. Sheng Tian sighed. It seems like she is really a noob to love letters. Of course, he knew that with the kind of person she is, it is already extremely great that she even took the time to write this letter instead of cultivating.
She was someone who followed her goals and convictions very strongly.
Pushing the thoughts aside and clearing his mind, Sheng Tian called out to Xiao Lian "Xiao Xiao, can you detect cultivation bases?"
Xiao Lian humphed and replied, annoyed "Don't call me that. I'm not small anywhere! And yes, I can detect cultivation bases just by looking at the cultivators in this world because their cultivations are too weak."
Sheng Tian smiled brightly and said "Now, Now, Don't mind the details. I think we will have a good use for your detection ability."
Xiao Lian was skeptical, but thinking of his antics, she suddenly became a little excited and asked: "Are we going to steal again?"
"Ugh" his words were caught in the throat. She, ...sigh, really likes to have fun and mess around. But how can he, a man of righteousness allow 'stealing'? He immediately spoke in a firm tone "Xiao Lian, how can you encourage me to commit a crime?" his tone was as if he was a justice hero defending virtue.
Xiao Lian instantly replied: "what are you talking about? It was just a misusage of words from my part.
Stealing? We don't commit such crimes. We are just taking what nature gave us. Everything comes from nature, it is not anyone's property. So what's wrong with taking back nature's properties that humans shamelessly monopolised?"
Sheng Tian was dumbfounded. He started to question who is becoming more shameless. Surely, he seems to met his match. He could only forcefully nod to her words.
He now had three things to do. First, Slip out of here. Second, Somehow join Mystic Ice Sect. Third, Celestial Body Tome. And the added bonus? Get some money— sell something precious but useless.
He also had another worry. If devils were to knew that their plan failed, then he would face trouble. It's not hard to see it coming. Meng Xin also warned him about this. Thinking of the concern she showed, he felt a little happy. He too wanted to just slip out.
However, he could guess even by closing his eyes that there were already spies keeping an eye on them. It would be troublesome to move under their eyes. And if his disguise matter was exposed, then he would be chased for the profound art by humans themselves.
But who can truly restrain him? It was night now, he had no thoughts of escaping now. He sat down and started cultivating.
Gather Profound Energy, Circulate Heavenly Sword Arts, Cultivate.
... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The morning ray's shone as Sheng Tian woke up from cultivation. His cultivation was slowly nearing the eight level of Nascent Soul. But he seemed to be still far away from it.
Along with the sun that rose from the horizon, Sheng Tian rose from his bed and freshened up. He quickly headed out.
In Qin Capital, the city is divided into four districts—North, South, East and West districts.
North district is for the commoners and paupers. South district is for rich and influential people. West District is the hub of all business in the capital. Every single shop of the Qin City is present in the West district. Trade is not allowed on the streets anywhere else. Finally, the Eastern District is for the families and Qin clan along with the top influential organisations.
The City, in basic structure, could be seen to be divided into the four squares with each square being a district. At the center of the city was a huge tower. The tower was the tallest structure in the city. The largest being the Qin Palace.
It was said to be a symbol of peace and called "The tower of Protection".
On top of the tower is a magnificent ancient shield dyed with blood. It is said to be the weapon of a hero who fought the baddies in the Great War 5,000 years ago.
Sheng Tian laughed in amusement thinking that it probably was one of Ling Chen's buddies.
Then he headed towards West of the city as a magnificent building could be seen closer and closer with each step he took. When he looked up, Sheng Tian saw the Name "Myriad Treasure Star House". It seems like they had some affinity.
Sheng Tian looked at the guards in front of the Pavilion building and composed himself. He didn't want to be too excited to start robbing left and right!
When he entered inside, he could only sigh in marvel. The treasure house building is multi-storeyed, multi-layered in protection and decoration.
The entire floor is layered with white marble. The walls are magnificently painted. The ceiling had glittering chandeliers. There were many exotic flowers and fruits giving one a feeling of euphoria.
He made his way to the Pavilion manager's room and saw a fatty sitting on a chair with his legs on the table in front. His ass is in full view which definitely was not a sight to behold. Cursing his luck for getting to see such thing early in the morning, Sheng Tian coughed lightly and released his 'noble' and 'overbearing' aura.
The fatty sensed the aura and immediately classified him as someone from a powerful background. He smiled amiably as the fat covered his face while his eyes narrowed to thin saucers and said enthusiastically "To what favour do we owe the young master a visit?"
Sheng Tian only hummed and sat on the sofa directly. He spoke neither fast nor slow, with just the right speed and rhythm "I wonder you dare to auction some trash I have? Oh and don't bother about its value, If I throw it at the entrance of the Pavilion, a blood bath will start immediately."
"This..." The fatty manager was at a loss.
He was someone from a Noble family and also the manager of the treasure pavilion. So it is not an understatement to say that he saw some of the most expensive things in the capital. Yet, this youngster was giving out such claims. He was really curious.
"Distinguished Guest, I will immediately call the Pavilion's best appraiser. Please have some fruits." he instantly changed the form of address and ordered a plate of fruits as he left to call the appraiser.
Xiao Lian's voice sounded "Does this Royal Family have a thing for fatties? Every one of their managers I saw was a fatty. It's funny." she laughed lightly.
Sheng Tian smiled in response. Soon, a seventy-year-old man came with the fatty manager.
The Old Man didn't speak as he sat before Sheng Tian. The fatty too sat down and introduced "Distinguished Guest, This is Elder Con Man. Please show the item you want to auction."
Sheng Tian's lips twitched when he heard "Con Man".
What was that for? Surely, he won't be conned, right? Still, he took out an ancient looking book from the Snow Glazing Lotus.
He spoke in a carefree tone "This is the trash I want to use to get some pocket change. Hurry up and sell this out."
Elder Con Man looked at the book as he held it carefully after he opened the ancient manual.
After he read the first page, his eyes started trembling as his lips quivered. He hungrily looked at all the pages. Sheng Tian sat there with his on leg on the other as he lazily glanced at the Con Man, his attitude resembling that of an arrogant prick.
Finally, Elder Con Man said with a trembling tone "Exalted Guest, this.... are you sure you want to auction this item?"
"Yeah, you don't want me to?" he glared.
"No, no, no. We would be honoured to auction this Cultivation Manual. Just give us 5 days, we would spread the news. Please spare 5 days." he almost begged.
Because this is no ordinary manual. Once this is auctioned, the Myriad Treasure Star House branch in Qin Capital would become the focus of the entire continent itself. The staff would be praised by the superiors and they might receive precious rewards if not promotions. It is akin to reaching heaven in a single step.
Sheng Tian took his sweet time before saying "Fine, But don't take a single day more. I will send someone else to receive the money."
The fatty manager understood his intention and gave him a purple card saying "Exalted Guest, this is a VIP card. Whoever shows this card can have the best our Treasure House could offer. This is not only applicable to this branch of the Myriad Treasure Star House but across the continent. You would get a private room for the auction with assured privacy."
Sheng Tian nodded without enthusiasm indicating that he was the least bothered. Then he got up and picked the purple card. Stretching his waist lazily, he spoke carefreely "Oh and I heard that you have private exits which ensure safety and privacy?"
Catching the meaning behind his words, the Fatty Manager gave Sheng Tian a smile as he said "Yes, Exalted Guest. We would wish you to try it out. Oh, and this is the identification token for the treasure you are auctioning." He took out a token and touched it to the Manual, the token shone upon contact, which was then given to Sheng Tian.
Sheng Tian smiled lightly and took it. His face showed little satisfaction. He followed the Manager who led him to a door in a secret room. Then, he flatteringly smiled and spoke showing pride on his face "Exalted Guest, this is the secret exit. We hope you visit us again."
Sheng Tian didn't nod or shake as he left without a word. The door is connected to a passage and it had many branched passages at fixed distances. They led to different locations of the Capital.
For example, one route led to the West district's famous restaurant's backyard. Other led to the North district's slum area. Another one leading to a public area of the South District.
For the privacy of the guests, Myriad Treasure Star House doesn't follow them from the entrance nor check at the exit.
Sheng Tian removed his disguise as he changed into his original self. He wore a silver mask with blue outlines which only showed his eyes and lips, matching his hair and pupils.
Sheng Tian chose the passage to the outskirts of the Qin Capital and safely exited the Capital.
After coming out from the underground tunnel, he saw that the exit door closed by itself. He knew an interesting thing about the exit— Once the exit door is closed, even an OverLord may not be able to open it. And if they succeed in opening it, the breaking of the entrance would trigger an alarm in the Pavilion and they would be alerted.
Simply said, it is a one-way route. You can come out but can't go in the same way. But Sheng Tian was not having any qualms about that. Rather, he smiled complacently.
His silver mask covered his face but that smile of his could still be seen which was like a bright sun.
He hit three birds with one stone. One—escape the Surveillance he was under, by both Qin Clan and Devils.
The ones who were spying on him were at the Sky Realm as they took into consideration his strength reaching the peak of Earth Realm. The ones from Qin Clan were happy with the new clan leader but that didn't let them leave this matter. So, he was under watch just like everyone else.
Two—get some money. He had only a few of them left thanks to his lavish spendings.
Three—he evaded the future trouble of the devils who might come to investigate and inflict harm.
Sheng Tian looked at the wild trees in his vicinity as he spoke in his mind " How is it?"
Xiao Lian snorted cutely as she replied "The fatty's cultivation is at the peak of Sky Realm. The Con Man is at Emperor Level. And there are more than three OverLords in the building. One was watching your every move."
Sheng Tian chuckled "It is to be expected. They act weak only to satisfy the superiority complex of the guest and in turn let their guard down. Seeing how shocked the fatty is acting, a typical young master would try to show off and auction his best stuff. Or he might be easily affected by the fatty's tricky words and buy expensive things. It's a good business tactic.
Fatties are seen as relatively amiable people by society and would often be made fun of. So, there would not be strong mental defenses against a fatty which easily lets him build a good relationship with the customers and promote business."
Xiao Lian laughed lightly hearing his analysis.
A good business uses the quality of its products to blossom, a great business uses the psychology and needs of the customers to flourish.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
_Transcendent
_Transcendent “There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it."
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
—Simon Sinek
(two/two of bonus chapters)
-- Hadiah diterima