Finding a New Disciple

The Tai Yue Star slave market was even larger in scale than the one Qi Yuan had seen on Dong Yu Star.

The entire slave market was packed with people.

Every slave merchant group had arranged a large number of distinctive slave "exhibits" outside their storefronts to draw attention.

Beautiful female slaves with adorable cat ears and breathtaking looks; Tuo Luo Race warriors nearly ten meters tall with fearsome combat strength; Luo Luo Race beast tamers who were naturally gifted at taming beasts...

There were practically slaves of every kind imaginable.

Moreover, apart from "rare items" at the Star Traveller level and above, slaves at the Planetary and Apprentice Levels were outrageously cheap.

A Psychic Master at the fifth or sixth stage of the Planetary level, for example, cost only a few thousand Eternal Coins.

Those below the Planetary level could be bought for as little as a dozen or so Eternal Coins!

Tourists visiting Tai Yue Star could be seen everywhere, casually buying several slaves at a time.

Qi Yuan walked through the slave market streets once more, his emotions difficult to describe.

His status was now completely different from before, yet when he saw those slaves—clearly helpless to control their own fates, yet forced to cooperate with the staff of the slave merchant groups in putting on various displays—he could not help but empathize with them.

Still, he understood that this was how the universe's laws of survival worked—

The strong preyed on the weak; the victor became king while the loser was defeated.

If he did not want to become the "little shrimp" swallowed by some bigger fish, then he could only do everything possible to grow stronger without pause!

Qi Yuan wandered around the slave market before finally arriving at the premises of what was arguably the largest slave merchant group in the entire market.

Nearly three months had passed since he had gone to Emberlight World.

In other words, he had wasted three System Return opportunities for nothing!

Now that everything had been settled, he naturally needed to quickly find a suitable disciple so he could use the System Return function to rapidly improve his strength.

However, for the moment, he had no idea where to find a suitable target.

He could not exactly grab someone with decent aptitude off the street and make them acknowledge him as their master!

Not to mention that he himself was only Star Traveller Tier 7. He did not have the standing to persuade any true genius to become his disciple.

After thinking it over, he could only turn his attention to the slave market.

Last time, Hugo had casually bought an "excellent" Wuxia Race Psychic Master on Dong Yu Star with a return multiplier of twenty-nine times.

With the Return System assisting him, he could directly view everyone's "aptitude." Surely he could find one or two who were even better than that Wuxia Race member, right?

"Honored sir, what kind of slaves are you looking for? We have beautiful Meng Bei Race female slaves, powerful Tie Gao Clan warriors, and every variety of slave you could want. We guarantee we can meet your needs!"

When the middle-aged manager saw Qi Yuan enter, he hurried over and guided him inside. He wore a fitted black formal suit, had pointed ears, and his hair was slicked straight back.

Qi Yuan followed him into the store. After a brief moment of thought, he said with a smile, "I need to purchase Star Traveller slaves."

His cultivation had already reached Star Traveller Tier 7, while his domain had reached the fifth level.

If he bound a Planetary-level disciple now, the returns would no longer be that great.

It would be best to choose someone who had just broken through to Star Traveller, or someone at Star Traveller Tier 1 or 2.

That would both fall within Qi Yuan's ability to teach and provide him with substantial return effects.

"Star Traveller slaves!"

The manager's face immediately lit up. Someone asking to buy Star Traveller slaves right away was clearly a major client!

He quickly led Qi Yuan onward.

"Sir, please come this way. In our reception room, you can view virtual projections of all our slaves and choose freely."

However, after hearing him, Qi Yuan shook his head slightly.

"I'd like to choose in person. Is that possible?"

"Choose in person?"

The middle-aged manager seemed somewhat surprised. "Sir, our virtual projections comprehensively display all information about the slaves, including their appearance, strength, and habits. We can absolutely guarantee their accuracy. Why would you need to come into contact with those foul-smelling slaves?"

Qi Yuan saw that he appeared somewhat troubled, so he smiled and said, "I won't make you show me around for free. How about this: if I find one I want later, once the transaction is complete, I'll pay you an additional ten percent handling fee."

"Ten percent!"

The manager was stunned at first, but then the smile on his face became exceedingly warm.

If he successfully sold a Star Traveller Tier 9 slave, then wouldn't the handling fee alone amount to hundreds of millions of Eternal Coins!

That was equivalent to several months of his usual income!

"Sir, you are too generous. But since you have this request, our store will certainly do everything possible to accommodate you! Please wait a moment. I'll contact the Logistics Department immediately."

As he spoke, the middle-aged manager used his Auxiliary Brain to contact the Logistics Department staff.

Only a few minutes later, he smiled at Qi Yuan and said, "Sir, it has been arranged. Please come with me."

With that, he took the lead toward the elevator passage inside the merchant group's premises.

"Our 'warehouse' here basically contains every type of slave handled by the merchant group," the manager explained as they walked. "You can take a look and see whether any catch your eye. If you need a large quantity, we can also arrange for stock to be transferred from the port warehouse. It will arrive quickly!"

"Mm."

Qi Yuan followed the middle-aged manager into the internal transit elevator and went directly to a "slave warehouse" on the thirty-first underground level.

Calling it a "slave warehouse" was no exaggeration.

It was nothing more than a bare underground space. Other than the elevator passage, there were no rooms, corridors, or any other facilities. There was not even basic lighting, leaving the entire underground space pitch-black.

Fortunately, both Qi Yuan and the middle-aged manager were above the Star Traveller level. With their psychic power spread out, they could easily "see" the scene within the space.

Within this sunless darkness, slaves of all shapes and forms from various races were crammed together like actual "goods," sitting tightly packed against one another. Even turning around or moving was difficult.

A sweltering, fishy stench rushed at him, making Qi Yuan frown slightly.

"Sir, the Star Traveller slaves are on floors thirty-one through forty. Let me help you finish choosing quickly so we can get back upstairs. The smell down here really is unpleasant," the middle-aged manager explained with a smile.

"Mm."

Qi Yuan answered indifferently, but his consciousness had already connected with the system to inspect each Star Traveller slave in the area.

"Thirteen times, fifteen times, twelve times, sixteen times, nineteen times..."

The system scan was completed almost instantly. Nearly all the slaves had base return multipliers between ten and nineteen times. There was not even one that exceeded twenty.

Qi Yuan shook his head in disappointment. "Let's go. Take me to the next floor."

"Y-You're done already? You only glanced over them?"

The middle-aged manager looked doubtful, but he still hurriedly replied, "Certainly, sir. Please follow me!"

Over the next period of time, Qi Yuan continuously went from floor to floor with the middle-aged manager accompanying him.

Moreover, on nearly every floor, Qi Yuan merely swept his eyes across the place before leaving, without any intention of lingering.

The middle-aged manager could not help grumbling inwardly at the sight.

He leaves after one glance every time? Not a single one catches his eye? Could this bastard be a competitor deliberately sent here to mess with me?

Fortunately, when they reached the fortieth floor, the final floor holding Star Traveller slaves, that picky customer finally spoke for the first time.

"I'll take that one!"

With Volume Two beginning, dear readers, please lend a hand and keep reading through to the latest chapter's final page. This data is extremely important for whether the novel can receive future recommendations, so please, I'm counting on you~~~