Sumeru F4

Dori naturally knew Tighnari, after all, this Lord Sangemahabay's business stretched across all of Sumeru.

Nefer also sized up Sethos, Tighnari, and Collei.

Nefer already knew quite a bit about them, so she spoke first. "Tighnari, Sethos, and Collei, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Nefer, owner of the Secret Archive."

"Miss Nefer, Dori, hello!"

Sethos greeted them, while Tighnari asked directly, "Miss Nefer, Dori, did you also receive orders from the Grand Sage?"

Nefer wore a helpless expression.

"More or less! He told us to go out and earn funds. He really knows how to 'make the most of everything'!"

There was clearly deep dissatisfaction with the Grand Sage in Nefer's voice.

The speaker had no such intention, but Ning Fengzhi took notice. The Akademiya was short on funds, was it? His Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect certainly wasn't short on Gold Soul Coins.

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

Hearing Ning Fengzhi's offer, Nefer's lips curled into a mocking smile.

As someone who practiced deception, she herself loathed hypocrites. In Nefer's eyes, Ning Fengzhi was a textbook example of one.

"You'll have to discuss financial support with the Grand Sage. I don't have the authority to approve it.

"I'm only here to open my Secret Archive. I'll trade an equivalent piece of information for a shop. Anyone interested?"

Nefer's gaze passed over Qian Renxue before turning to Ning Fengzhi.

A shop wasn't worth much, and she could learn about the other party's situation from the information they offered in exchange.

"No problem, Miss Nefer. You can have any shop you like. Consider it a welcome gift from me."

Qian Renxue spoke first, but Nefer shook her head.

"Debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay. I don't want to owe anyone a favor as soon as I arrive."

Ning Fengzhi hadn't managed to get ahead of Qian Renxue and was privately regretting it when he saw Dori rubbing her little hands together and smiling at him.

"Here's my business card. If you have any big deals, be sure to think of me! I'm Sumeru's most successful merchant."

Dori's business card read, "Dori Sangemahabay, master of Alcazarzaray Palace, the all-providing super merchant."

Ning Fengzhi's mouth twitched. It was the first time he'd ever seen such a blunt business card.

Only then did he notice that Dori was standing on a pink bubble. The bubble even seemed to be alive.

"Another external Martial Soul! Since when did external Martial Souls become so common?"

Ning Fengzhi didn't dare underestimate Dori. Besides, merchants were more comfortable dealing with other merchants.

If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could strike a business deal with Dori, it would be a way to get connected to the Akademiya.

As Qian Renxue watched Nefer fiddle with a chess piece, wondering what sort of information would make a suitable trade, the Sky Screen updated again.

But the figure appearing on the Sky Screen wasn't Alhaitham. It was a handsome blond man—Kaveh, of course.

"He told you he was a frail scholar? Don't make me laugh."

Tighnari appeared next.

"Why is he being so falsely modest? Is he trying to hide his strength?"

"Definitely. He wants people to overlook how strong he is. He must be incredibly powerful."

Cyno appeared too.

"Oh? Is he as strong as you?"

"Not quite."

Cyno folded his arms across his chest, looking confident.

Tighnari felt a little awkward as he watched the scene on the Sky Screen.

"So you're all this close?"

Sethos asked with interest.

"More or less!"

Alhaitham appeared then.

The scene of four handsome men with very different personalities—Tighnari, Alhaitham, Kaveh, and Cyno—sitting together, chatting and trading barbs, made countless women's eyes sparkle as they watched the Sky Screen in a daze.

When Alhaitham's final line, "Focus on the key point, and every trouble is nothing more than a monotonous cycle," ended, the scene changed completely.

A rapid montage showed Alhaitham in battle: clashing with Cyno, fighting the Scarlet King Mechanism in the desert, taking on mercenaries, and more. It revealed just how formidable he was.

After the montage of Alhaitham's battles, the scene returned to the tavern. Alhaitham waved in the direction of the camera.

"Boss, the drinks are good."

Then the scene ended completely.

The contents shown on the Sky Screen gave many people food for thought.

They were especially curious about Kaveh and Cyno's identities. Cyno's claim that he was stronger than Alhaitham also drew plenty of attention.

Qian Renxue's eyes shifted as she turned to Nefer. "Miss Nefer, why don't you tell us about the two new people who appeared on the Sky Screen?"

"Are you sure?"

"Mm!"

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

"The other, the handsome blond, is Kaveh. He's an architect with an extreme devotion to beauty, and he's hailed as the light of Kshahrewar.

"Dori knows him well, after all, he owes her quite a bit of money."

Dori nodded too.

"Kaveh? He's had pretty bad luck. He designed Alcazarzaray Palace for me, but halfway through construction, a Withering Zone destroyed the project.

"I was furious at the time and told him to withdraw from it, but he sold off his possessions and borrowed money to finish Alcazarzaray Palace.

"Although the completed palace made him famous, he went bankrupt and ended up owing me a huge sum. I don't really understand him, but I didn't lose anything, and I'm not going to hound him to pay me back."

Qian Renxue and Ning Fengzhi both found it hard to understand. Could there really be people like that in the world?

"Um, everyone should probably avoid bringing this up in front of Kaveh."

Tighnari spoke up, putting in a word for Kaveh.

"Heh, of course, of course."

Ning Fengzhi agreed with a smile.

Just then, She Long whispered a few words into Qian Renxue's ear, and her brows furrowed.

"Qinghe, is something the matter?"

"My imperial uncle has been choosing a site for the Akademiya, and he's set his sights on the land occupied by Blue Tyrant Academy. He may be running into a bit of trouble.

"Why don't you all come take a look at Blue Tyrant Academy? That place would be truly suitable as the Akademiya's site."

"If the land already belongs to someone, then..."

"That won't be a problem. As long as it's suitable, our imperial family will take care of it."

"Then let's go have a look. We should settle on a site as soon as possible. The Grand Sage should be arriving soon, too."

Nefer kept that dangerous smile on her face. Tighnari and Sethos didn't object again, and they all went to Blue Tyrant Academy together.

Meanwhile, at Blue Tyrant Academy, Prince Xue Xing was already growing impatient. He had promised to allocate them an even larger plot outside Heaven Dou City to rebuild their academy, but Liu Erlong still refused.

It was as if she were deliberately going against him, and Prince Xue Xing was thoroughly infuriated.