"Welcome, honored guests, to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's Treasure Appraisal Fair. The fair is being held on the second floor. Please feel free to browse.
"If anything catches your eye, please register your purchase on the west side. If you need to buy on credit, you can also undergo an assessment there. The results will determine the discounts you receive and your credit limits."
The White-Skirted Girl smiled as she explained things to Huo Yuhao and his companions. Xiao Xiao spoke up. "Are there different credit limits?"
The White-Skirted Girl answered,
"That's right. Our Treasure Gathering Pavilion grants different credit privileges according to each guest's individual circumstances.
"The assessment primarily considers your current cultivation, age, Soul Master category, and other factors to arrive at an overall rating.
"You can all rest assured that our Treasure Gathering Pavilion will maintain strict confidentiality. We will never disclose your information, nor will we inquire into your family backgrounds or origins. We assess only your own abilities."
Xiao Xiao nodded. Seeing this, the White-Skirted Girl's smile did not diminish in the slightest. She simply asked gently,
"Judging by your reactions, this must be your first visit to our Treasure Appraisal Fair?"
Wang Dong puffed out her chest, seemingly afraid of betraying her inexperience, and asked casually,
"Yes, it's our first time. Why?"
The White-Skirted Girl's expression did not change at all. Still wearing her polite, gentle smile, she told the three of them,
"Since this is your first visit, I suggest you undergo the assessment first. That will establish your credit limits, so you'll know where you stand when buying items at our fair. If you would like, I can take you there now."
After saying this, the White-Skirted Girl added with a smile,
"Besides determining your credit limits, this rating also allows you to receive discounts on purchases at the fair. The exact discount likewise depends on your rating."
Huo Yuhao interjected,
"How very pragmatic. As expected of a Treasure Appraisal Fair that takes commerce to its utmost limits."
There was no sarcasm in Huo Yuhao's words; he was merely expressing his feelings. The White-Skirted Girl smiled and nodded, replying politely and gently,
"All the world bustles for profit; all the world jostles for gain. There is no kindness without cause in this world. If there weren't enough profit in it, you probably wouldn't feel comfortable accepting our goodwill either, would you?"
Huo Yuhao smiled, then said to the White-Skirted Girl,
"That's fair enough. Not bad—they've certainly trained you to have a nimble tongue."
The Blue-Skirted Girl smiled, then said to Huo Yuhao,
"That's how it is for people like us. Just as Soul Masters must spend their entire lives honing their cultivation, if our tongues slip and we offend honored guests like you, our lives come to an end."
As she spoke, the White-Skirted Girl led Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao toward the west side. Following behind her, Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong kept having their attention drawn to the displays around them.
Huo Yuhao managed to keep his gaze straight ahead. After all, most cultivation supplies were merely somewhat novel to him and could do nothing for his body.
Still, the Treasure Appraisal Fair was indeed enormous. The three of them walked nearly a hundred meters before reaching the far western end.
Beneath the long counter ran a recessed strip of lights glowing a crystalline yellow. Soft light flowed out from below, easy on the eyes yet rich with texture.
The girl in white brought the two of them to the left side of the counter. A girl behind it immediately rose and said respectfully, "Greetings, honored Soul Masters. Please fill out an assessment form each.
"We will calculate your credit limits within a few minutes."
Three forms were pushed in front of them along with exquisite ink pens. Sure enough, the information required was not complicated.
Name, gender, age, soul power level, martial soul, and honors received—just those six simple fields. There was not even a field for the ages of their soul rings.
Huo Yuhao and his companions exchanged glances, then each lowered their head and began filling out a form.
Huo Yuhao listed only his Qiongqi martial soul, while Xiao Xiao listed only her Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron. Even Wang Dong was shrewd enough to list only her Light Goddess Butterfly martial soul.
At that moment, however, Huo Yuhao quietly said to Wang Dong,
"I suggest you add your second martial soul."
Wang Dong froze for a moment. Then, faced with Huo Yuhao's resolute gaze, she gritted her teeth and chose to trust him.
After Light Goddess Butterfly, she added a comma and the words "Clear Sky Hammer."
According to the information he had obtained while chatting with Dai Hao earlier, Shrek Academy had already investigated Wang Dong's background after she displayed her Light Goddess Butterfly martial soul upon enrolling. Naturally, they also knew about the Clear Sky Sect.
Being a little more forthcoming would very likely persuade Shrek Academy to give Wang Dong a slightly higher rating instead.
They finished the forms and handed them in. Soon, the two of them received their assessment results.
The girl responsible for registration and calculating credit limits seemed a little dazed. The White-Skirted Girl accompanying Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong at the counter urged her softly, "Little Red, hurry up."
The girl behind the counter had a pretty, round face. Her eyes were slightly small, but she was delicate and cute, and looked about seventeen or eighteen.
Hearing the prompting, she hurriedly stood up. Yet the way she looked at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had completely changed, her eyes now shining with a certain fervent light.
It was easy enough to understand why she did not look at Xiao Xiao. After all, Xiao Xiao was a girl, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were both dressed in men's clothing. What was on this girl's mind hardly needed explaining.
Xiao Xiao snorted coldly and stepped forward. Just as she was about to speak, she saw that Little Red had already placed three cards on the counter.
One was red, one black, and one purple.
Little Red said to Huo Yuhao,
"Mr. Huo, this red card is yours. Rather than a credit limit, you may take one item from us free of charge each year, and you receive forty percent off all items. Mr. Wang, this purple card is yours. Such a deep shade of purple is very rare at your age. Your credit limit is two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, available once a year. You will need to be reassessed the following year."
Only after handing the red and purple cards to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong did Little Red pick up the black card and say to Xiao Xiao,
"Miss Xiao, this black-level privilege is yours. Each year, you receive a thirty-percent discount and a credit limit of one million, which you may use at most twice a year."
Xiao Xiao looked at the black card in her hand with some surprise. Meanwhile, Wang Dong stuck out her tongue in dissatisfaction and muttered,
"So I'm the one getting the worst deal..."
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