After carefully examining them, the old man quickly quoted a price.
"We can offer four billion Black Dragon Coins."
Jiang Ming was not too surprised by the price. When he had tossed the rings to Luo Feng earlier, he had also intended for Babata to assess the value of the items within.
The three Stellar Warriors Jiang Ming had burned to death had likely been frequent raiders, so their wealth was considerable.
Moreover, Babata had discovered that the three had long been on Qiu Long Star's wanted list. Their bounties were also substantial. After Babata uploaded footage of Jiang Ming killing them through the network, she swiftly collected the reward.
Jiang Ming had actually been curious how wanted criminals like them had evaded Qiu Long Star's pursuit. Only after Babata explained did he understand that these so-called wanted notices and bounties had not been issued by Qiu Long City itself.
They had been posted by the families of the victims.
However, with those bounties on their heads, they had not dared enter Qiu Long City, so most of the treasures they had plundered had remained on them.
When Jiang Ming learned that just these three Stellar-level warriors possessed such wealth, he regretted not keeping the dozen or so soul auras he had sensed at the time.
Raiding was indeed the fastest way to accumulate wealth. A single Stellar-level warrior only needed to raid a hundred or so Planetary-level warriors to amass enormous riches.
To a Stellar-level warrior, Planetary-level fighters were mere ants, easily robbed.
Even if each victim possessed little wealth, killing enough of them would still produce an astonishing sum.
"Let's settle on that price."
Jiang Ming nodded and finalized the deal.
Once the transaction was complete, Jiang Ming's account gained another 7.8 billion Black Dragon Coins.
After leaving the exotic treasure shop, Jiang Ming led the group toward the slave market.
The slave market occupied three hundred kilometers of land in the land-starved Qiu Long City. It was packed with people and was the most prosperous market among the surrounding hundred-plus star systems.
"Discount sale, discount sale! A Taro Clan member of the Apprentice Ninth Order costs only 20 Black Dragon Coins now! Buy ten, get one free; buy a hundred, get fifteen free! The more you buy, the more you get!"
The moment they entered the slave market, they saw crowds outside enormous slave emporiums continuously pulling customers aside to make their pitches.
Luo Feng's heart lurched when he heard that. Apprentice Ninth Order? Wasn't that equivalent to an advanced War God on Earth?
Twenty Black Dragon Coins each, with bulk discounts?
Wouldn't one hundred million Black Dragon Coins be enough to buy several million advanced War Gods?
Just then, a breathtakingly beautiful young woman with cat ears approached Jiang Ming's group.
"My lord, would you like to buy female slaves? Our female slaves are 5,000 Black Dragon Coins each. Every one of them is a top-tier beauty, and they have received special training. We guarantee your satisfaction."
The cat-eared girl had intended to move closer, but Jiang Ming's gaze placed enormous pressure on her. After taking only a few steps, she no longer dared approach and instead called out to him in a coquettish voice.
"Do you have any at the Stellar level?" Jiang Ming asked the cat-eared girl with an indifferent gaze.
The cat-eared girl was immediately delighted upon hearing that. This was a major deal.
"Yes, my lord. Please follow me."
With that, she led the way, taking Jiang Ming's group in a certain direction.
Along the road, Stellar-level slaves of the eighth and ninth orders occasionally displayed their might to draw attention. There were also stunning women dressed in sheer, alluring gauze, performing graceful dances at shop entrances.
Even Jiang Ming found himself frequently glancing over.
"My lord, those are all Apprentice-level slaves. Wouldn't buying them lower your status? Our merchandise will definitely satisfy you."
Seeing Jiang Ming's attention drawn away, the cat-eared girl feared that the deal would fall through and hurriedly tried to recapture his interest.
"If you buy Stellar-level female slaves from us, we can give you a thousand Apprentice-level female slaves for free. They will all definitely be great beauties, with every race available."
Luo Feng, standing nearby, grew curious after hearing the cat-eared girl's words.
"Where do you get all these slaves?"
Seeing Luo Feng ask, the cat-eared girl explained.
"Most of these slaves come from the Masters of slave planets. The populations on those planets reproduce in huge numbers, and after a period of time, they produce large populations.
They sell them by the hundreds of millions. Most of our slaves come from those planets."
When the cat-eared girl spoke of this, there was not the slightest ripple in her tone, as though the hundreds of millions of people she mentioned were not humans, but products rolling off an assembly line.
Luo Feng felt a chill spread through his entire body upon hearing that.
Slave planets? Selling people batch after batch?
Just from the description, Luo Feng could imagine what a hellish sight it must be.
"Those slave planets belong to weak races. Once they reach adulthood, they do not even possess Planetary-level strength, and producing Experts is extremely difficult. So this is their fate."
When the cat-eared girl spoke those last few words, her tone wavered slightly, and a flicker of pain flashed through her eyes.
Only then did Luo Feng notice that there were many slaves within the shops who resembled the cat-eared girl. The women were beautiful, the men handsome, and most of them had reached the Planetary level.
At that thought, Luo Feng's body turned completely cold.
The cruel side of the universe lay naked before him.
Even Planetary-level and Stellar-level humans could still be treated as slaves and sold at will.
Luo Feng felt this way, and so did Hong and Thor.
On their very first day in the stars, this cruel, frigid world had revealed the cold and dark side hidden beneath its prosperity.
Jiang Ming had long known about all this, but it had only been a story to him. He had never experienced it firsthand.
Now, standing within this slave market that spanned three hundred kilometers, Jiang Ming deeply understood that weakness was the original sin.
At that thought, Jiang Ming's thirst for power grew even stronger.
"My lord, we have arrived."
The cat-eared girl led Jiang Ming's group into a reception room, and a Stellar-level manager soon appeared.
"Esteemed guest, these are the slaves available in our store."
After speaking, the manager waved his hand, and one virtual projection after another appeared around Jiang Ming.
A large amount of slave information appeared, including height, appearance, strength, race, and other details.
"It seems that once they reach the Stellar level, the price difference between male and female slaves is not that great."
Jiang Ming looked through the rows of data on the screen and found that these slaves were slightly more expensive than the Stellar-level slaves he had learned about, though the difference was not excessive.
"That makes sense. What can male slaves below the Planetary level do besides mine? That is why the price difference between male and female slaves below the Planetary level is enormous. But the higher their strength, the smaller that difference becomes."
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