"Another five million gone..." Xi Ye stared at the dwindling balance in his account, feeling increasingly uneasy. He had not even started repaying his first loan yet...
I shouldn't have been ripped off this time... right? Xi Ye glanced at the Panda Man beside him, who was following him around with a foolish grin while munching on Crisp Crystal Bamboo Shoots.
He had not chosen to purchase the starbeast eggs from Wine Immortal. He had looked into the matter, and Wine Immortal Lord's faction specialized in industry. Their reputation in the biological trade seemed rather mediocre. A major scandal had even broken out a thousand years ago. Apparently, a Magic Wolf they had sold had bitten its owner to death.
He actually knew the owner who had been bitten to death. His name was Odin, a model graduate from the previous class of the God System. He was also a lucky big shot who had successfully found a seventh-level life planet while traveling the universe on a shoestring. Xi Ye's mentor had even dragged him over to fill all the juniors' heads with motivational speeches for an entire afternoon.
The man had left a deep impression on him. He was burly and had deliberately dressed himself up as a one-eyed dragon, claiming that it was a mark left by a worthy opponent and a symbol of glory between warriors. Thus, he had never chosen to undergo surgery to restore his eye. His tone had been brimming with the imposing air of a big shot.
Yet Xi Ye had never expected that one day the man would be taken out by a mere wolfdog. What an ugly way to die...
"Are you looking to buy starbeasts?" Just then, Xi Ye wandered into a store specializing in starbeasts. The area outside was packed with starbeast cages, containing all kinds of strange and unusual species. There were popular ones like Star Wolves, Phantom Tail Foxes, Ice Fire Butterflies, and Nebula Eagles, as well as less popular ones like Terror-Type Mother Spiders, Venom-types, and Giant Abyss Jellyfish young. It was clearly a very professional Biological Department faction.
With that thought in mind, Xi Ye asked, "May I ask which lord this store belongs to?"
Tracing a product's source was also one way to guarantee its quality. For the sake of their reputation, Great Lords generally would not tamper with product quality.
After all, market competition was fierce. Once negative news about you came to light, you could easily lose a large number of customers.
The person tending the store was a flower spirit girl. That was also one of the reasons Xi Ye had chosen to ask her. Dealing with elves was far more reassuring than dealing with goblins.
When the flower spirit girl heard his question, her beautiful face blossomed into a heartwarming smile. Xi Ye's mood improved considerably at the sight. After all, he had spent the entire morning looking at goblins' sly grins and Panda Men's foolish smiles. Seeing the smile of a genuine flower spirit instantly made him feel the goodwill of the world.
"Our lord is Aisana Xingyu!"
Xi Ye's expression immediately turned solemn as he rapidly searched his mind for the name.
Generally speaking, when introducing someone, people would say, "His name is so-and-so." But this girl had directly said that their lord was so-and-so. That meant the person had to be an extraordinary big shot.
That was because it meant she was confident that once the name was spoken, nobody could possibly fail to recognize it!
But Xi Ye really did not recognize it...
Even so, he put on an astonished expression and said, "Oh, so it is Senior Aisana. I've long admired you!"
That phrase was a universal all-purpose compliment. Since they were both members of the God System, calling her "Senior" worked anywhere in the universe without any problem.
At the same time, he hurriedly searched the Internet for the name.
After looking it up, he discovered that she really was a big shot: the seventh lord of the Federation's Eastern Star Region, ranked twenty-seventh on the entire Star Ranking, and a Great Lord born of the Xingyu Family!
Most lords capable of entering the top fifty of the Star Ranking were big shots who had survived for millions of eras. Of course... Cang Yue, who had risen instantly after only half an era and killed the Third Lord, was an exception and could not be used for comparison.
A Great Lord like that, especially one born an elf, should have a good reputation for product quality.
Thus, he said, "This lord is currently raising a batch of flower spirits, so I want to buy some starbeast eggs for them to use later. Do you have any recommendations?"
"Raising flower spirits?" The clerk looked at Xi Ye in surprise. Although he was wearing a helmet, she could still tell that he was not a god born of the elven race. She rarely saw outsiders take the initiative to cultivate elven bloodlines.
Regardless of his reasons, someone willing to provide the elven race with a place to survive naturally earned a trace of goodwill from her as an elf. Her smile became even gentler.
She then led Xi Ye into the store, opened an exquisite compressed freezer, and introduced, "New flower spirits are suited to raising starbeasts with gentle temperaments, easy-to-shape personalities, and stable genes. I recommend this Rural Dog. It's a local breed from our Governing Star..."
"Rural Dog?" Xi Ye was stunned. What a knockoff-sounding name. It isn't some mutt, is it?
"How much does it cost?" Xi Ye asked hesitantly.
"Well... one God Coin each. Ours is a high-grade mutt... Ahem, a high-grade local breed. After evolving for several eras, its genes are extremely stable, it is highly obedient, and it isn't picky about food..."
It really is a mutt... Xi Ye thought with a dark expression.
Sigh, it seems all businesses are the same. Even such a cute and beautiful flower spirit has been influenced into spouting such serious nonsense. Society really is complicated...
"This lord is raising high-end flower spirits. Don't bring these knockoff products out to sully my eyes."
The clerk gave an awkward smile. She had originally thought she had encountered a novice and could sell this batch of country dogs to him.
"Ahem... I was only considering your costs, Lord. After all, a new lord has plenty of places to spend money..."
Hmm... she does know how to talk. Put that way, perhaps her actions just now could be interpreted as concern for others. But am I some penniless lord who needs a mere shop clerk to spare my feelings?
With that thought, he waved his hand grandly. "Don't worry about that. This lord came here to buy high-end goods. Bring out whatever you have. As long as a problem can be solved with God Coins, it isn't a problem for this lord!"
"Ah, so you're a big shot! I was rude just now!" The clerk immediately smiled like a flower and hurriedly apologized.
"As it happens, a batch of new eggs has been laid by the Star Devouring Python under Master Kabo, the Dragon-Rank Beast Tamer of our faction. Would you like to consider them, Lord?"
"Star Devouring Python?" What an arrogant name!
Yes, that's more like it. This name suits this lord's imposing style. What about that Rural Dog? Could I really bring it back and show my face? How would the residents in the base view this lord?
"Lord, take a look. This is the parents' pureblood certification, along with a video of them!"
Xi Ye looked up. In the high-definition video, two enormous serpents that blotted out the sky were intertwined head to tail, encircling and enclosing a massive planet like a black disk!
Xi Ye trembled all over as he watched. Their physiques really do live up to their name!
"How many do you have? This lord will take them all!"
"Of course, Lord!" The flower spirit, who usually never showed her teeth when smiling, could not even be bothered to maintain her image now. The flesh of her cheeks piled up high as she grinned foolishly. "We have five hundred in stock, all being sold in different markets. If you want them all, I'll contact them immediately and gather the stock!"
"Mm..." Xi Ye nodded slightly, then casually asked, "By the way, how much is each Star Python egg?"
Clerk: "One hundred million!"
"Oh... This lord thought about what you said just now, and you make a good point. Novice flower spirits are indeed better off trying some stable breeds. Why don't you bring out that batch of Rural Dogs again and let this lord take a look..."
Before you continue