Chapter 0203

Chapter 203: A Bandit in a Crooked Shopkeeper’s Skin

Zhou Tong suddenly sucked in a sharp breath and stopped walking.

“What’s wrong?” Zhang Chu Qiao asked, worried.

“Someone is cursing me,” he said with a strange look.

“Who?” Big senior sister bristled at once, killing intent flashing as she scanned the area.

“Don’t bother. He’s hiding well; you won’t find him. Besides…” Zhou Tong’s eyes gleamed with amusement as he chuckled: “He’s kneeling to me in devout worship right now.”

Hearing that, big senior sister burst out laughing. It was too funny.

A curse drains life force, but Zhou Tong held the Edict: Revered Deity. Each time the curser knelt, Zhou Tong received faith and life force and also gained leverage over him. It was like cursing himself while feeding Zhou Tong power. Let out three farts and knock six times; the bad couldn’t outdo the good.

“Ignore him,” Zhou Tong said calmly, a mocking smile at his lips.

Soon they reached the nearest shop, the Bloodline shop.

The people behind them all went red-eyed, burning with desire. For martial artists, talent and comprehension mattered most. Most were blocked by their natural limits. But a good bloodline could raise your talent and break your ceiling with ease.

When the doors opened, the crowd surged in, the scene chaotic.

“Line up. If you annoy me, you’ll regret it,” came a lofty voice, and the crowd settled.

A skinny middle-aged man stood before them, shifty-eyed and short, his gaze full of greedy cunning. He was clearly the shopkeeper.

“Welcome, all of you,” he said with a sneer. “I can already smell the stink of poverty on you. It’s disgusting.”

Everyone froze. Why was a shopkeeper insulting customers?

“I hate poor people. If you don’t have at least ten thousand lumina coins, get out. Don’t stain my noble floor with your beggar’s air,” he snapped.

Anger boiled over.

“How dare you! You’re too arrogant!”

“Don’t you know friendliness brings business? If we don’t buy, what are you?”

The shopkeeper only laughed louder. “If you don’t buy, others will. Get lost.”

He released his aura—he was a Seventh Layer life-and-death expert—and slapped the loudest protester across the face.

“You’re dead!” the man shouted, moving to fight back.

But the laws crashed down at once. He spat blood, eyes wide with fear.

“Hahaha,” the shopkeeper mocked. As a native of the secret realm, he wasn’t bound by the laws, so he could do as he pleased. “Outsider paupers daring to strike me—you’ve earned death.”

At his call, a squad of native guards rushed out and cut the man down on the spot.

Staring at the blood on the ground, many people broke into a cold sweat. So the safe zone wasn’t truly safe. At least, the natives could bully outsiders at will.

“Good. The troublemaker is dealt with. Now we can trade. Who’s first?” the shopkeeper said.

“I am,” someone rushed up at once.

“It’s Elder Qian Yi of the Grand Mystic Sect,” Chu Ran whispered. The Grand Mystic Sect was one of the five great sects, stronger even than the Blood God Sect.

“I want a strand of Ancestral Dragon bloodline,” Qian Yi said, excited. His core technique was the Divine Dragon Art; with an Ancestral Dragon bloodline, he would rise another step.

“We have it,” the shopkeeper said with a casual wave. A red light orb dropped into Qian Yi’s palm.

“Haha, this really is Ancestral Dragon blood,” Qian Yi cried after checking it.

“Thank you for your purchase. That will be thirty thousand lumina coins,” the shopkeeper said with a fox’s grin.

“So expensive?” Qian Yi froze.

“What, you can’t pay?” the shopkeeper’s face turned vicious.

“Give me a moment. I’ll gather it,” Qian Yi said, turning to the Grand Mystic disciples behind him. “Hand over your lumina coins.”

They all bristled but didn’t dare defy him, and one by one they paid up.

“My lord, I’ve collected enough,” Qian Yi said, offering a pile of glowing motes.

“Hmph. At least you know your place,” the shopkeeper smirked, then his face darkened after a glance. “You must have a death wish. You’re five hundred short, and you dare try to cheat me!”

Qian Yi’s expression stiffened. He muttered, “It’s only five hundred. Can’t you round down?”

Smack. The shopkeeper slapped him hard. “What are you, to make me take a loss? Go look in a puddle at your ugly face.”

“You—” Qian Yi shook with rage. He was a great sect elder; when had he ever suffered such shame?

“We’re not buying,” he snapped.

“Not buying? Your dirty hands already touched my goods. The stink of poverty has seeped in. Today, whether you buy or not, you’re buying,” the shopkeeper said.

The native bodyguards surged out again, surrounding the Grand Mystic group.

Qian Yi’s face went pale. He looked at the shopkeeper in fear. “We really don’t have the coins. What do you want?”

“Simple. We recycle bloodlines here too,” the shopkeeper said, eyes roaming until they landed on a Grand Mystic disciple. “Sword Spirit blood… what a treat.”

Greed shone in his gaze. “Give me his bloodline. It can barely cover five hundred.”

Everyone gasped. The shopkeeper was shameless. Sword Spirit blood might not match Ancestral Dragon, but it was still top-tier. This was extortion.

“What, you refuse?” he asked as the natives shifted, ready to move.

“I agree, I agree,” Qian Yi blurted.

“Elder, how can you—” the disciple went white and tried to resist.

“Less whining. The sect feeds your whole family. Time you did something for the sect. Or else I can’t promise your parents’ safety,” Qian Yi said coldly.

The disciple crumpled at once.

“That’s better. I’ll take the Sword Spirit blood,” the shopkeeper said. With a flick, he ripped the bloodline out, and the disciple collapsed to his knees, hollow and spent.

“Trash,” Qian Yi spat, not even looking at him. He grabbed the Ancestral Dragon blood with glee and led his people out.

“Next,” the shopkeeper said lazily, as if the crowd’s horror meant nothing.

“I… I want that Sword Spirit blood. Is one thousand lumina coins enough?” a sword cultivator asked, testing his luck.

“Get lost. That’s a high-grade bloodline. Not a coin less than twenty thousand.”

“You go too far,” big senior sister said through clenched teeth.

Her words drew the shopkeeper’s eyes. When he saw her, his pupils flashed with sudden, blazing light.