When Luo Feng saw Lin Yuan casually sell a single weapon for three hundred billion Black Dragon Coins, his eyelids twitched and the fire in his heart flared to life.
The old man took the weapon. His cloudy but shrewd eyes swept over the Arc Blade Disc, and he tapped its surface lightly with a finger. A crisp ting rang out.
"Hmm... The materials are quite good, and the craftsmanship is fairly mature."
The old man gave a slight nod, then changed his tone, his voice growing much more matter-of-fact.
"But compared to the Arc Wheel your companion just sold, it's far inferior. Both its mental force transmission and the engraving of its core secret runes are only at an entry-level standard."
He held up one finger. "My offer is 18 billion Black Dragon Coins. How does that sound?"
"What?!"
Luo Feng froze, his mouth falling open. He almost thought he'd misheard.
"E-Eighteen billion?"
A crushing sense of disparity washed over him, like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head.
Three hundred billion versus eighteen billion.
Wasn't that gap a little too ridiculous?
Just then, Babata's voice rang out in Luo Feng's mind, full of exasperation. "You idiot, Luo Feng! What are you shouting for? This is perfectly normal!"
"Your Arc Blade Disc and Lin Yuan's Arc Wheel have nothing in common except the word 'Arc' in their names. How could they possibly be the same?"
"That Arc Wheel contains extremely precious memory metal and spatial crystals. It's a top-grade weapon that can be used all the way up to the peak of Star Level, or even Universe Level!"
"Your Arc Blade Disc is just a mass-produced Planetary Level weapon. Its quality and power are worlds apart!"
"His offer of 18 billion is already the absolute limit for an Arc Blade Disc. Just sell it."
Luo Feng's mouth twitched, and the last of his hopeful optimism vanished.
"Fine... Eighteen billion. I'll sell it!"
Luo Feng gritted his teeth, sounding as if he were making a tearful sacrifice.
The transaction was completed quickly.
Nearby, Lin Yuan watched in silence, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips.
He knew perfectly well that, in the original story, this old man from the Rare Treasure Shop was a sly fox who had taken advantage of Luo Feng's inexperience to drive the price way down.
But today, the old man had been all smiles throughout and had made a fair offer without resorting to any tricks.
Probably because Lin Yuan was standing right there.
In a universe where strength reigned supreme, that three-hundred-billion-coin transaction had already proved his wealth and backing.
"Honored guests."
After the transaction, the old man's smile grew even brighter, his wrinkles bunching up like a chrysanthemum.
He personally escorted them to the VIP area of the transaction hall, then presented them with two metallic-looking cards.
"These are our shop's Black Iron Membership Cards. If you need anything in the future, you can use them to receive a two-percent discount on all purchases here."
Luo Feng took the card, but before he could speak, Lin Yuan beside him suddenly said, "As it happens, there are a few things I'd like to buy."
Lin Yuan continued, "I need Void Cloud Iron, Radiant Crystal Marrow, and... Fleeting Time Copper Mother."
At his words, the already bustling transaction area fell noticeably quieter.
Even the well-traveled old man's eyes lit up.
These three materials were anything but ordinary!
B-grade Void Cloud Iron was scrap left over from failed attempts to make Space Rings. It couldn't be formed into a ring, but it contained astonishingly dense fragments of spatial laws, making it an excellent aid for cultivating spatial secret arts.
C2-grade Radiant Crystal Marrow came from the innermost regions of the sun's surface, where solar flares were most violent. It constantly emitted intense heat and light radiation.
Ordinary martial artists would be burned just by approaching it, but for certain Special Lifeforms, it was a sacred treasure that could greatly improve their affinity for the Law of Light.
As for the last one, C8-grade Fleeting Time Copper Mother...
It was a special copper ore formed over countless years on the edges of certain secret realms where the flow of time was extremely chaotic. Every gram carried a faint trace of time's essence.
Space, light, and time.
These were the three types of materials best suited to the Void Behemoth's devouring-based evolution!
The old man took a deep breath and hurriedly pulled up the inventory, quoting prices at once. "You have an excellent eye, sir! We happen to have all of these in stock.
"Void Cloud Iron costs 800 Black Dragon Coins per ton. Radiant Crystal Marrow is rather precious, at 150,000 Black Dragon Coins per ton. As for Fleeting Time Copper Mother..."
The old man paused and held up two fingers. "This material is extremely rare. We only have two tons in stock, at 50 million Black Dragon Coins per ton!"
Hearing the price, Luo Feng clicked his tongue.
Fifty million for a ton of rock? That was practically robbery.
Lin Yuan, however, furrowed his brow slightly.
He did some mental calculations.
The Void Behemoth's devouring-based evolution was a bottomless pit.
Buying too little would only limit his clone's rate of transformation. Since he was already here, he might as well get everything he needed in one go.
"That's not enough," Lin Yuan said, shaking his head.
The old man blinked. "Ah? You mean you think..."
"Give me a hundred thousand tons of Void Cloud Iron."
Lin Yuan raised one finger, speaking as casually as if he were buying a couple of pounds of cabbage at the market. "I want five hundred tons of Radiant Crystal Marrow. And that Fleeting Time Copper Mother—you only have two tons, right? I'll take it all."
As his words fell, the entire transaction area seemed to have been muted.
A deathly silence settled over it.
Then—
"Hiss—!"
Gasps sounded all around them.
The Universe Adventurers who had been browsing the treasures stopped what they were doing and stared at Lin Yuan as if he were a monster.
"A hundred thousand tons of Void Cloud Iron? You've got to be kidding!"
"That's a deal worth tens of millions... No, hundreds of millions!"
"What planet did this rich young master crawl out of? He's absurdly extravagant!"
Exclamations and astonished murmurs rose one after another.
The old man was stunned, then a surge of delight welled up inside him. He grinned so broadly his mouth nearly split, looking ten years younger all at once.
"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Please wait, sir. I'll arrange the shipment right away!"
The old man was so excited that his voice trembled. He turned and hurried toward the storeroom, moving with a vigor that hardly seemed fitting for someone so old and frail.
After quite a while, he returned, holding an old-fashioned ring.
"Sir, because of the sheer volume of your order, our shop is giving you an extra-large-capacity Space Ring. All the materials have already been placed inside."
The old man respectfully handed the ring to Lin Yuan.
"Beep—"
Lin Yuan lightly scanned it with the Optical Computer on his wrist, and the transaction was complete.
His balance instantly dropped by 255 million Black Dragon Coins.
Watching those digits vanish in an instant, Luo Feng felt as if his heart were bleeding.
255 million!
That was more than twice the total he'd just earned from selling the Arc Blade Disc! And Lin Yuan had traded it all for a pile of rocks without batting an eye?
"That's just..." Luo Feng swallowed, his throat dry.
So this was what it meant to be truly rich?
To Lin Yuan, who had three hundred billion in hand, 255 million was a mere drop in the bucket.
Yet that tiny drop could help the Golden Horned Beast clone he'd left on Earth advance rapidly, bringing it to the bottleneck of Star Level in almost no time!
It was an investment that could only pay off.
"Stop staring. Your eyes are about to fall out."
In Luo Feng's mind, Babata couldn't resist teasing him when he saw Luo Feng's envious, jealous, and resentful expression. "Luo Feng, you need to think further ahead!
"What does a little money like this matter? Once you officially reach Star Level, you'll gain access to the first bank account your teacher left you. The assets in there will definitely exceed what Lin Yuan has now!"
"Phew..."
Luo Feng took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
That was right. His teacher's inheritance was something to look forward to, and the confidence he needed to catch up to Lin Yuan!
After steadying himself, Luo Feng didn't hesitate any longer. He turned to the counter. "Sir, I'd like to buy a few things too. Two portions of Azure Wave Marrow, and these metals..."
Though his purchase couldn't compare to Lin Yuan's, Luo Feng followed Babata's advice and bought a batch of materials suited to cultivating the Diamond Body and strengthening his Spiritual Force.
A short while later, the two of them left the Rare Treasure Shop.
The artificial sun above Qiu Long Planet hung overhead, its light not too harsh.
Lin Yuan turned the Space Ring he had just acquired in his hand, then looked at Luo Feng, a profound glint passing through his eyes.
"Let's go. We've got all the materials. Now it's time to take care of business."
Luo Feng paused. "Business?"
Lin Yuan gazed toward the end of the street, where a section of the city was enclosed by towering black walls.
He uttered four words: "We're going to... the slave market." They needed to bolster their current fighting strength, and he also wanted to prepare early for a plan he would carry out soon.
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