“Spirit Euphoria? The Spirit Emporium has acknowledged him as its master?”
“What in the world happened?”
“How did that fellow do it?”
…
The crowd trapped in the room were shocked speechless.
At this moment, they finally realized the queerness of the young man before them. With just a few pats here and there, all of the artifacts acknowledged him as their master. With just a few steps, even the Spirit Emporium submitted to him…
Was there anything in the world he couldn’t tame?
It was no wonder the boss of the Spirit Emporium was so furious! If they were to see their own possessions being claimed by others in such a manner, they would have gone on a rampage as well!
“Young Master…” Sun Qiang’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
He’d thought that when the young master said that he would cause trouble, he would only force the other party to compensate for the assault. But from the looks of it, that wasn’t just it.
He was planning to overturn the other party’s entirety!
This was too vicious!
Even though the old master was also rather extreme as well, he would at least hold back considering his position as a master teacher. On the other hand, it was as if the young master was completely out of control!
However… no matter what, the other party was a Saint! He might be able to hold back for a moment in consideration of the young master’s standing as a master teacher, but under such relentless provocation, his tolerance would swiftly wear thin…
By then, there would be no one but the old master who could save them.
“I want you dead!”
As if Sun Qiang’s worst fears had come to be, the boss of the Spirit Emporium roared furiously, and raising his palm, the formidable might of a Saint realm expert came crashing toward his young master.
“Young Master…”
Alarmed, Sun Qiang was just about to rush up to take the blow for the young master when the latter abruptly raised his palm.
“Barrier!”
With those words, dozens of artifacts flew up and stood in front of Zhang Xuan, protecting him from the blow. At the same time, the ground rumbled as the whirring of mechanisms echoed in the air. Several towering walls rose from the ground, sealing both Zhang Xuan and the boss within it.
“Young Master…”
Seeing that Zhang Xuan was locked together with a rampaging Saint realm expert in a narrow space, Sun Qiang immediately rushed forward anxiously. To his shock, however, he realized that the walls blocking him were made of an incredibly resilient material which he couldn’t break with his current strength.
“How could I have allowed this happen? If a mishap befalls the young master, how can I ever face the old master?” Sun Qiang cried as he punched the walls desperately.
Before meeting the old master, he had been nothing more than a humble merchant, destined to spend his entire life in a daze in Tianxuan Kingdom, never venturing out to see the wider world beyond.
It was the old master who brought him out from the well he was in, granting his great responsibility despite his humble birth, and helped to raise his cultivation…
The old master had entrusted the young master to his care. If something were to happen to the young master, he would be a sinner!
“Young Master, nothing can happen to you…”
With a trembling body, Sun Qiang fumbled around the wall, attempting to find any point of weaknesses on the wall which he could exploit. However, the wall was built of materials far beyond his current strength. No matter how hard he tried, he was powerless before it.
Peng peng peng peng!
At that moment, the sound of fists and legs sinking into flesh echoed from within the walls.
“The young master is getting beaten up…” Those sounds sent Sun Qiang into utter panic.
His eyes reddened in anxiety, and his heart pounded in apprehension.
“No, I must save the young master, even at the cost of my life…”
He didn’t know what else he could at the moment, so he could only try ramming at the wall with his body. However, at that moment, a scream of agony sounded.
“AHHHH! Stop hitting me!
“I admit that I’m at fault; I beg you to let me off!”
Hearing that voice, the fidgety Sun Qiang suddenly froze on the spot.
That voice didn’t come from the young master but… the boss of the Spirit Emporium!
The boss was begging for mercy?
Could it be that… the young master was pummeling the Saint realm boss within the walls?
Flabbergasted, Sun Qiang stared at the walls before him with his mouth agape.
…
Returning back to the time when the boss of the Spirit Emporium made a move on Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan knew that even with the artifacts protecting him, he wouldn’t last long against the boss. Thus, he immediately activated the mechanism of the Spirit Emporium and summoned the walls beneath the ground to seclude themselves from the world outside.
This way, he would be able to do anything he wished without worrying about prying eyes.
Hu hu hu!
As soon as those walls were in place, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and whipped out a book and twenty Otherworldly Demon puppets.
“Get him!” Zhang Xuan ordered.
With the experience from pummeling the Byzantium Helios Beast, those puppets rushed at the boss and began beating him viciously from head to toe.
All along, the boss had thought that he was only dealing with a Cosmos Bridge realm lad, so there was nothing for him to worry about. Who would have thought the other party would suddenly summon so many Saint realm experts?
Before he could even process what was going on, heavy blows were raining down him, leaving him with heavy bruises and swelling everywhere.
After enduring the heavy beatings for a few moments, he finally found an opening for him to escape. But just as he was about to move, an overwhelming killing intent crushed down on him, rendering him immobile. As such, he could only continue to suffer the beating.
His current cultivation was only at Saint realm primary stage, a far way off from matching up to the Byzantium Helios Beast. Given how even the latter was done in, how could he possibly withstand the onslaught of the Otherworldly Demon puppets? In just a few moments, he was already utterly subdued.
While the Spirit Emporium was important, how could it compare to his life?
Considering that the other party could retain his composure before his wrath, it was likely that he wasn’t some kind soul either. If he didn’t beg for mercy, chances were that the other party might just watch nonchalantly as he was beaten to death.
Left with no choice, he could only plead for his life.
“You want me to spare you? Offer your soul to me and acknowledge me as your master!” Zhang Xuan replied indifferently to his pleading.
Zhang Xuan did consider whether he should just kill the boss of the Spirit Emporium, but the death of a Saint would likely result in a huge storm in the city. That could mean a great deal of trouble for him. However, he couldn’t simply let the other party off either, especially after all that had happened. Thus, after some contemplation, he’d decided to force the other party into submission instead.
As long as he could hold the other party’s soul captive, he wouldn’t need to worry about the other party divulging his secret. At the same time, he would gain a Saint realm lackey as well, which would give him more room to deal with matters without resorting to the Otherworldly Demon puppets.
The Otherworldly Demon puppets were his trump card, but they were a double-edged sword as well.
Anything related to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was sensitive, and he might be branded as a traitor of humanity if he were to be spotted with the puppets. Thus, it would be best for him to limit his usage of them.
“You want me to offer my soul to you?” The boss was taken aback.
In a sense, this was similar to the contract between a beast tamer and their tamed beast.
However, establishing a contract between humans wasn’t as simple a procedure. One had to have a profound understanding of souls in order to do so. Of all the occupations, the only one known to be capable of such a feat was the soul oracle.
If that fellow was asking this of him, did it mean that he was a soul oracle?
But hadn’t that occupation gone extinct yet?
Seeing the hesitation in the boss’s eyes, Zhang Xuan impatiently commanded, “Continue beating him, do not stop until he’s dead…”
“Wait a moment!” The boss of the Spirit Emporium waved his hands in a fluster as the puppets in the area marched ferociously toward him once more.
As long as he could continue living, he wouldn’t hesitate to acknowledge another man as his master.
He had once committed banditry, and ironically, the experience ended up teaching him how valuable life was. Before it, dignity and pride were mere transient qualities.
“I’ll… acknowledge you as my master!” the boss said, knowing that it was either this or death.
He severed a portion of his soul, and a powerful force abruptly pulled it into the glabella of the young man before him.
As a Saint realm expert, he had already gained a certain degree of control over his soul, allowing him to sever a portion of it easily.
“Formidable…” As soon as that fragment of his soul seeped into the other party’s glabella, he saw an immense soul reminiscent of a giant towering before it.
The boss’s face paled in fright.
He was a Saint realm expert, but the other party’s soul was innumerable times larger and stronger than his.
In terms of the strength of their souls, he was no match for the young man before him at all. It was as if pitting an undeveloped child against a behemoth!
Could it be that… he is really a soul oracle? But even soul oracles wouldn’t have such a powerful soul…
The boss’s body trembled in astonishment.
Even though he had never met a soul oracle before, he had once read a few records on them. While soul oracles did specialize in soul cultivation, it wasn’t to such an exaggerated extent. The soul he was seeing before him shattered what he had thought to be possible for a soul… Just how in the world did the other party cultivate his soul?
And where did this freak come from?
Hu!
While the boss was immersed in his shock, the fragment of his soul was fused into the other party’s soul. With this, as long as the young man before him willed it, he would die instantaneously. Not daring to show the slightest disrespect for the young man, he hurriedly clasped his fist and bowed respectfully. “Master!”
“Good, call me Young Master!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
After the affair with Mo Hunsheng, Zhang Xuan had some experience with establishing a contract with other humans, so it went much smoother this time.
“Yes, Young Master!” the boss replied politely.
Knowing that the other party was no longer able to stand against him, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. He returned Vicious and the other Otherworldly Demon puppets into his ring before turning to the boss and asking, “What is your name?”
Since the other party was his subordinate now, he should at least know the other party’s name. After all, he couldn’t possibly keep addressing the other party as ‘boss’!
“I am Wei Changfeng1!” the boss replied.
“Braving through the wind and waves… You have a good name. Alright, I’ll call you Little Feng1 then!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
“Yes!” Wei Changfeng nodded hurriedly.
“Keep everything that has happened in here a secret. Not a soul is to learn of it!” Zhang Xuan instructed.
“Don’t worry, Young Master. I won’t speak a word of it to anyone!” Wei Changfeng replied.
For a Cosmos Bridge realm cultivator to command twenty Saint realm puppets… No one would believe his words even if he were to divulge it!
After ensuring that the other party wouldn’t divulge the matter, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. Following which, he asked, “Do you know why I came to your Spirit Emporium to cause trouble?”
“Forgive me for my ignorance, but I am unaware of the reason!” Wei Changfeng replied with a sliver of doubt in his tone.
“The reason is simple, your Spirit Emporium, out of greed, attempted to lay its hands on my students and butler. These men are your subordinates, right?”
With a casual grasp, the roof of the Spirit Emporium opened up, and the Great Violetwing Beast flew in and tossed four semi-dead fellows in.
Upon seeing the faces of the four men, Wei Changfeng’s face twitched as he replied, “Yes!”
“I’ll leave it to you to deal with them!” Zhang Xuan waved his hands.
“Also, I want you to clear whatever work you have the Spirit Emporium as soon as possible and come work for me. Don’t worry, as long as you do well, I will guide you in your cultivation and bring you to greater heights!”
“Yes!” Wei Changfeng nodded in response.
As a servant, he could only take whatever his master said at face value. He didn’t have the right to refuse the other party.
In truth, he didn’t really believe that Zhang Xuan would be able to raise his cultivation.
After all, as a Cosmos Bridge realm cultivator, how could the other party have the knowledge and experience to guide him, a Saint realm cultivator, in his cultivation? That was a huge joke!
“You don’t believe me?” Seeing through Wei Changfeng’s thoughts, Zhang Xuan smiled.
“I dare not to!” Wei Changfeng swiftly replied.
“If I am not mistaken, the reason you started the Spirit Emporium and stole the artifacts of others is all to save a person, right?” Zhang Xuan asked impassively.
“H-how did you know?”
Wei Changfeng’s eyes widened in astonishment.
