Sumeru F4

Tighnari naturally recognized Dori, as the business of this Lady Sangemahabay spanned the entirety of Sumeru.

Nefer was also sizing up Sethos, Tighnari, and Collei.

Nefer already possessed quite a bit of intelligence on them, so she was the first to speak: "Tighnari, Sethos, and Collei, a pleasure to meet you. I am Nefer, owner of the Secret Archive."

"Miss Nefer, and Dori, it is a pleasure to meet you too!"

Sethos offered a greeting, while Tighnari asked directly: "Miss Nefer, Dori, have you also received orders from the Grand Sage?"

Nefer wore a look of helplessness.

"You could say that! He sent us out to earn funds; he truly knows how to 'squeeze every drop of utility' out of people!"

It was clear that Nefer's tone carried a deep dissatisfaction with the Grand Sage.

The speaker may have been careless, but the listener was attentive; the moment Ning Fengzhi heard that the Akademiya was short on funds, he knew his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was certainly not lacking in Gold Soul Coins.

"Miss Nefer, if you do not mind, my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can provide financial support to the Akademiya."

Upon hearing Ning Fengzhi's words, the corners of Nefer's mouth curled into a mocking smile.

As a practitioner of lies, she detested hypocritical people, and in Nefer's eyes, Ning Fengzhi was the quintessential hypocrite.

"You will have to discuss financial support with the Grand Sage; I do not have that authority.

I am only here to open my Secret Archive. I wish to trade a piece of intelligence of equal value for a storefront. Is there anyone interested?"

Nefer's gaze swept past Qian Renxue and then toward Ning Fengzhi.

The value of a single storefront was not great, and through the intelligence conditions proposed by the other party, she could gauge their situation.

"No problem, Miss Nefer. You may have whichever storefront you desire; consider it a welcoming gift from me to you."

Qian Renxue spoke first, but Nefer shook her head.

"Favors are the hardest to repay, and I have no desire to be in debt the moment I arrive."

Ning Fengzhi, having been beaten to the punch by Qian Renxue, was secretly annoyed, only to see Dori rubbing her small hands together, looking at him with a beaming smile.

"This is my business card. If you have any big business, you must think of me! I am the most successful merchant in Sumeru."

Dori's business card read: "Dori Sangemahabay, Master of the Alcazarzaray Palace, the Super Merchant Who Has Everything."

The corners of Ning Fengzhi's mouth twitched; it was his first time seeing such a blunt business card.

Only then did he notice that Dori was standing on a pink bubble, and that pink bubble appeared to be alive.

"Another externalized Martial Soul! Since when have externalized Martial Souls become so common?"

Ning Fengzhi dared not underestimate Dori, and besides, it was more comfortable for a merchant to communicate with another merchant.

If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could reach a business cooperation with Dori, it would count as establishing a connection with the Akademiya.

As Qian Renxue watched Nefer toy with a chess piece, wondering what kind of intelligence exchange would be appropriate, the Sky Screen updated once more.

However, it was not Alhaitham who appeared on the screen, but a handsome man with blonde hair—naturally, this was Kaveh.

"He told you he was a weak scholar? Don't joke around."

Following that, Tighnari appeared as well.

"Why does he put on such a fake, polite act? Is it to conceal his true strength?"

"That must be it. He wants people to overlook his power; he must be very strong."

Cyno's figure appeared as well.

"Oh? Is he stronger than you?"

"That wouldn't be the case."

Cyno crossed his arms over his chest, looking entirely confident.

Tighnari felt a bit awkward seeing the scene on the Sky Screen.

"So, you two are actually that close?"

Sethos asked with interest.

"I suppose so!"

Alhaitham appeared at this moment.

The sight of Tighnari, Alhaitham, Kaveh, and Cyno—four handsome men of different styles—sitting together to chat and bicker, made countless women's eyes sparkle as they watched the Sky Screen in fascination.

As Alhaitham's final words, "Grasp the key, and all troubles are but a monotonous loop," faded away, the scene shifted entirely.

A montage of rapid clashes between Alhaitham and Cyno, battles against the Scarlet King Mechanism in the desert, and skirmishes with mercenaries showcased Alhaitham's formidable strength.

After the combat montage concluded, the scene returned to the tavern, where Alhaitham waved at the camera.

"Boss, the wine is good."

With that, the footage ended completely.

The content displayed on the Sky Screen prompted many to reflect.

In particular, the identities of Kaveh and Cyno, and Cyno's claim that he was stronger than Alhaitham, drew even more attention.

Qian Renxue's eyes darted around as she turned to Nefer and said, "Miss Nefer, why don't you introduce the two new figures appearing on the Sky Screen?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Fine. The one wearing the jackal headdress is the General Mahamatra, Cyno. The Sky Screen will surely introduce him later, so there is no need to go into detail.

The other handsome blond man is named Kaveh. He is an architect with an extreme pursuit of beauty, hailed as the Light of the Kshahrewar.

As for him, Dori knows him quite well; after all, he owes Dori quite a lot of money."

Dori nodded in agreement.

"Kaveh, he's quite unlucky. He designed the Alcazarzaray Palace for me, but halfway through construction, the project was destroyed by a Withering Zone.

I was very angry at the time and told him to withdraw from the project, but he sold off all his possessions and borrowed money to finish the Alcazarzaray Palace.

Although the completion of the Alcazarzaray Palace brought him great fame, he went bankrupt and still owes me a huge sum of money.

I can't really understand it, but I didn't lose out, and I won't be hounding him for repayment, either."

Qian Renxue and Ning Fengzhi both expressed their inability to comprehend this; did such a person truly exist in this world?

"Um, it would be best if everyone didn't bring this matter up in front of Kaveh."

Tighnari spoke up, putting in a word for Kaveh.

"Heh heh, of course, of course."

Ning Fengzhi agreed with a smile.

Just then, She Long whispered a few words into Qian Renxue's ear, causing her brows to furrow.

"Qinghe, has something happened?"

"My imperial uncle is scouting a location for the Akademiya and has set his sights on the land occupied by the Blue Tyrant Academy. It seems he has run into some trouble.

Everyone, why don't we head over to the Blue Tyrant Academy and see if it is truly suitable as a site for the Akademiya?"

"If that land already has an owner, perhaps we should..."

"That is not a problem. As long as it is suitable, our Imperial Family will resolve it."

"Then let's go take a look. It is best to finalize the location quickly; the Grand Sage should be arriving soon as well."

Nefer maintained that dangerous smile on her face. Tighnari and Sethos offered no further objections, and they all set off for the Blue Tyrant Academy together.

Back at the Blue Tyrant Academy, Prince Xue Xing was already growing impatient. He had promised to grant them a much larger plot of land outside Heaven Dou City to rebuild their academy, yet Liu Erlong simply refused to agree.

It was as if she were deliberately opposing him, which left Prince Xue Xing feeling quite incensed.