GDK 672: Friend, wanna get filthy rich?
When the tens of lowgods of varied strengths and that mid-stage highgod divine guard arrived, an austere and desolate aura instantly filled the area. That grave and stern divine guard who took the lead was especially frightening. Even though he did not unleash his Domain of Divinity or demonstrate his wrath, just the act of furrowing his brows was enough to intimidate even the toughest of men.
Han Shuo’s unfolded consciousness discovered that it wasn’t just the tens of divine guards who came out following that old man’s loud whistle. There were males and females of both young and old that walked out from several other buildings. Some of them were lowgods, some were basegods, while a few of them were merely demigods.
After taking a few glances around, Han Shuo concluded that those people had arrived from other material planes just recently. They were inside other buildings and came to watch when they heard the noises.
“What’s wrong with buying on credit? Never seen that before?” out of Han Shuo’s expectations, even when confronted against such a formidable group of experts, the young man, only a mid-stage lowgod, even covered in cuts and bruises, did not back down in fear. On the contrary, there was a murderous look in his eyes like he wanted to fight to his death.
The old man shook his head and sighed. He feigned pity as he said, “What a pitiful fella. His brain really has been beaten out of his skull!”
“Seize him!” that leading divine guard said coldly and gestured with his hand.
The two lowgods standing behind him dashed forward like lightning bolts. Dark radiances gushed out from the pikes in their hands.
The blue eyes of that young man who wanted to buy on credit were suddenly filled with madness as he shouted loudly like an infuriated beast. The energy of destruction burst out from his body as he charged at the divine guards coming to apprehend him. He ran wild.
Han Shuo found people with this kind of zeal and fearlessness in the face of death to be very admirable. But unfortunately, as this person was very severely injured, exerting so much power under such conditions would only cause his injuries to worsen.
Suddenly, midway forward, that young man stumbled and fell to the ground. Just like that, he was unconscious.
Gods were not invulnerable to injuries. Given the injuries he sustained, it was already incredible that he was still able to walk. And now, to suddenly exert himself, it would be a wonder if he didn’t collapse!
The two divine guards, who were about to punish the young man as a lesson to the observing crowd, stared blankly when the young man unexpectedly passed out. They turned their gazes to that midgod, seeking for his instruction.
“Seize him. Those who are not well-behaved must be locked up and given a lesson on the rules!” the leading divine guard coldly groaned.
The two divine guards who heard the command did not show a bit of hesitation. They walked straight up to that collapsed young man, pulled him up and dragged him away.
“Hold on!” Han Shuo yelled.
The two divine guards were startled yet again and their gazes turned to back their commander. Their commander, however, did not utter a word, simply gazing at Han Shuo with his cold eyes, as though waiting for Han Shuo’s explanation.
“You must be the local chief of divine guards, Lord Dolores?” Han Shuo smiled and asked in an urbane manner.
The chief was astonished. It was only now that he started sizing Han Shuo up carefully and asked, “Aren’t you a newcomer? How did you know my name?”
“Elder sister Donna mentioned to me that if I ran into any trouble over here, I could look for you for help!” Han Shuo said unhurriedly.
Dolores’ expression softened as soon as Han Shuo mentioned Donna. He asked, “What’s your name? Where did you come from?”
“Bryan, of Profound Continent!” Han Shuo answered smilingly. Before coming over, Donna had told him that Dolores was a younger generation of her family clan who was assigned to this place to be tempered and gain experiences. She also told Han Shuo that she would notify Dolores in advance and he would have nothing to worry about.
After hearing Han Shuo’s answer, Dolores nodded his head. It appeared that Donna definitely did notify him about Han Shuo. To proceed, Dolores looked all around him and coldly instructed, “Those who have nothing to do here, dismiss!”
The crowd who gathered all around to watch the drama rapidly dispersed. A few moments later, those who remained were the divine guards, that old man in charge of processing divine tablets, Han Shuo, and that blacked out young man.
“My elder cousin told me about you. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I will help you with everything within my means!” Dolores said to Han Shuo after the spectators dispersed.
“That fella is quite courageous. If you could avoid making things difficult for him, please do so!” Han Shuo proposed to Dolores in an appropriate manner while pointing at that young edict of destruction cultivator on the ground. That young man’s behavior of recklessly charging ahead even though the odds were completely against him had rather impressed Han Shuo.
“No worries!” Dolores put on a rather strange expression as though he couldn’t understand why Han Shuo would plea leniency for this random newcomer who didn’t know how to follow the rules. But as Donna had instructed him to assist Han Shuo and such a matter was less than trivial, he casually agreed to the request.
Han Shuo put on a smile, pointed at the old man, and asked, “There’s one more thing, I heard from elder sister Donna that getting a divine tablet done takes only fifty blue crystal coins. But why is it that he’s asking eighty pieces from me?”
“Erm, I didn’t know that you were on the same side. My apologies! My apologies!” the old man bowed and apologized humbly. His attitude was in complete reverse. However, when Han Shuo looked at him carefully, he noticed that the old man did not reveal a trace of fear.
“About this, different people get different prices!” for some reason, Dolores’ grave and stern face appeared somewhat awkward. Soon after, he shot a glare at that old man and instructed, “Jeff, exempt the processing fees for his divine tablet!”
“Yes! Yes!” that old man called Jeff hastily agreed. However, he did not appear nervous at all.
Meanwhile, the divine guards beside Dolores all had strange expressions. A few of them were even secretly laughing.
Han Shuo had clearly taken in the expressions of each and everyone around him. He finally understood what was going on – Dolores had to be the mastermind of the scam. Otherwise, that old man would have shown at least a trace of fear. This also explained why after Han Shuo uttered those words, Dolores appeared even more awkward than Jeff!
“No need for an exemption. It’s just fifty blue crystal coins. I can afford it!” After having figured it out, Han Shuo did not show any intention of delving further into it. He withdrew one purple crystal coin and passed it to Jeff. He then pointed at that young man collapsed on the ground and said, “One piece of purple crystal coin. I’m also paying for that guy’s divine plate!”
Jeff did not immediately accept the purple crystal coin. He secretly looked towards Dolores as though asking him for instruction. It was only when he saw Dolores nod that he accepted the coin and answered affirmatively.
“After your divine tablet is complete, you may head north. After traveling for approximately half a month, you will arrive at the City of Shadows. The City of Shadows is one of the seven major cities of the Domain of Darkness. Our House of Lavers is in the City of Shadows. If no unexpected business pops up, my elder cousin will be in the city. Make sure to look for her when you arrive at the City of Shadows. She will help you settle down,” after hinting at Jeff, Dolores thought for a moment and said to Han Shuo.
Han Shuo nodded after hearing Dolores’ words.
“Ease up. As the local chief of divine guards, I’m rather influential in this valley. You may leave once your divine tablet is done. No one will give you any sort of trouble!” Dolores continued.
“Thanks a lot!” Han Shuo knew that those newcomers who arrived at this valley would be defrauded and harassed. Without crystal coins, those who wished to obtain a divine tablet would have to serve in the mine inside a valley for a few years. Even those who came from mid and high-level material planes who might be in possession of crystal coins would be confronted with all kinds of trickeries until a portion of their possessions were squeezed out.
Han Shuo was very fortunate that Donna had given Dolores instructions in advance. Otherwise, it would have been almost impossible for him to leave the valley, especially with such ease.
Finally, before he left, Dolores said to Han Shuo, “If you face any issues within the valley, just look for me. I will help you resolve everything that is within my means!” Dolores led his men away.
As Dolores and his group left, the old Jeff bowed and respectfully invited Han Shuo into the building. He said, “Please come inside. I will complete your divine tablet as soon as possible. Haha, why didn’t you tell me you were acquainted with Lord Dolores? If I had known earlier that you were one of us, we could have avoided all the misunderstandings!”
“I was about to tell you but that fella beaten black and blue popped out of nowhere. I wasn’t able to do so in time!” Han Shuo smiled insincerely and feigned civility with Jeff. Han Shuo understood that a character like Jeff was hard to deal with and it would be very hard to guard against any trickeries that this old and cunning fella might do behind his back. As Han Shuo was just off the boat and unwilling to bicker with him, he merely played along instead of mocking him.
The procedure for obtaining a divine tablet required a test of the applicant’s realm, the applicant’s origins, and a series of complicated procedures. However, with Jeff’s cordial assistance, Han Shuo completed the procedures very soon and made off with his divine tablet.
That young man that lost consciousness was also woken up by Jeff. When he woke up, although muddle-headed, he still intended on putting up a fight. But when he heard Jeff say that he would help him get a divine tablet, he quickly calmed down.
Akley. Mid-stage lowgod of destruction. Originating from Blue Ocean Continent. Han Shuo learned some information about him when they were in the process of getting a divine tablet.
“Akley, this is your divine tablet. Keep it well and don’t lose it by any means. No matter where you go, a divine tablet is your identification. Without one, you will find yourself in a ton of headache!” Jeff warned when he handed the divine tablet to Akley.
“Pff, I don’t need your reminder. I will pay you back when I have the money!” Akley took his divine tablet impatiently. It appeared that he was still oblivious that Han Shuo had paid for him.
“No need for that. He paid the crystal coins for you and even plead leniency for you. Otherwise, you would be locked up by now!” Jeff lightly groaned and said. If it wasn’t for Han Shuo, perhaps Akley wouldn’t have been able to enter the building.
Akley was stunned after hearing Jeff’s words and started sizing Han Shuo up carefully. After a long while, he mumbled, “What a coincidence, I’m lacking an assistant!” Akley’s eyes shone brightly as he gazed at Han Shuo. He asked excitedly, “Friend, wanna get filthy rich?”
“Not interested!” Han Shuo replied succinctly.
“Erm… I know that my appearance now doesn’t look very convincing, but I know a place where we can get very rich. It’s true. I’m short of an assistant. I’m now officially inviting you to join me!”