Chapter 169 - Something Big Is Happening!
Beyond the clouds in the skies above at a height of 6500 fts, a figure floated. The world would have been shocked greatly if they knew someone could actually bypass the suppression of the sky and fly to such heights.
The jade was something the figure left behind many years ago. It contained a great secret and could change humanity's eventual fate of extinction. The figure himself did not know what secret lies in the jade. The knowledge was something he gained through divination. but now the same divination failed him. Heaven's secrets have been obscured and the future was unknown.
"I have left the seed of hope and opportunity in that boy's hands. Whether he can grasp it or not is up to him now. The fate of humanity no longer has anything to do with me." The figure murmured. He took one last look before disappearing.
…
Leon did not discover the figure hidden in the clouds above. Dusting his rear, He was still dumbfounded by what happened. What kind of eccentric fortune teller was this? Can't divine my fortune? No problem. That's okay. He was cool with that but tossing him out was not cool. How did that darn fortune teller disappear so fast? Leon found it hard to believe, but the fortune teller may have been someone beyond the Transcendent Realm.
He felt so helpless and powerless when he was tossed. He still couldn't sense the fortune teller's cultivation, despite what happened. The power was absolute and inviolable. Leon had not been able to put up a shred of resistance at all. Since when did the world had someone like this?
"Fate of the Desolate is uncertain…" Leon mused over the fortune teller's previous words. "I have not seen the whole world, so I can't say for sure that Gaia is entirely scarce in spirit energy, but this continent definitely is. Perhaps, the Desolate in the Fortune teller's words was referring to this continent? Could he be from a different continent?"
He had once seen the largely blank map of the world. The continent they currently lived on only occupied one tenth of the space. There was bound to be at least one or two other continents out there, he speculated.
Leon had some faint guesses why his fortunes couldn't be divined. It may have something to do with his very existence. He was reborn in this world, but he was denizen of the Divine Realm. The concept of his transmigration was a mystery, but it can be said that he was regarded as a foreigner in this world, an abnormality.
Since his soul didn't originally belong to this world, his soul wouldn't be recorded and recognized by the world. Thus, when the fortune teller tried to peer through heaven's secrets and divine his fortune, the jade did not land on an existing constellation. It was like taking a roll call and calling out a name that wasn't on the list.
However, he was still able to practice the awakener's path that requires the world's recognition. That was something he couldn't put a finger on. Perhaps, there would be a problem when trying to make his breakthrough to Transcendent Realm.
Arriving at his pill store, Leon shook his head and decide to push these thoughts aside. He would tackle the problems as they come. There was an immediate problem in front of him. The pill store was opened for business when it shouldn't be, and it was selling pills that shouldn't be on the market.
They were All-Purpose Healing Pills and Golden Ointment. Leon found out after sweeping the entire store with his divine sense. They were Tier-1 Spirit Pills, but their quality was all at the trash rank. It wasn't fit for human consumption and would cause various health problems in the long run. Was this his disciple's doing?
Leon immediately shook his head at the thought. His newly accepted disciple Reginald shouldn't have known about the pill store. Reginald did not follow him to see the pill store after he bought it. He did not see his disciple in the store when he swept the entire place with his divine sense either.
Furthermore, his disciple should still be trying to digest all the knowledge he taught him. But there wasn't anyone else in the entire Capital that would know the recipe for his pills. Something must have happened to his disciple.
Leon didn't believe this was his disciple's doing, or at least not by his own will. His disciple was aware of his status and should have known better than to sell such trashy pills, which was detrimental to the people and the kingdom's development. It was an extremely stupid move that would offend him.
It seems he had to enter to investigate who the perpetrator was. Making up his mind, Leon stepped into the pill store.
"Hello esteemed customer, how may I help you?" One of the store clerks happily greeted.
"You are mistaken. I am not here to buy anything. I'm here for something else." Leon looked at the clerk strangely. Does this clerk not know this property belonged to him?
"This… then what business do you have here, sir?" The store clerk asked with bafflement. His initial enthusiasm was lost when he found out Leon didn't come to buy anything.
Looking at Leon's worn out black attire, the store clerk began to feel uneasy. He's not here to cause trouble, is he?
"This pill store belongs to me. Do I need a reason to be here?" Leon replied with nonchalance.
"Sir, if you are here to cause trouble, I will have to ask you to leave. Who doesn't know that this new establishment had been jointly opened by the Fischer and Primrose merchant associations?" The store clerk gesture for him to leave sternly, while refraining from losing his temper. Sure enough, this person was here to cause trouble!
The pill store had only been opened for a few days, it had grown with surging popularity under the influence of the two merchant associations and the demand of the market. Although the pills were low-end products, which were only effective on non-awakened people and negligible to Awakener, injuries weren't uncommon in hazardous workplaces like construction and mining. Even death was a possibility in such workplaces without safety measures.
Additionally, the Capital's human resources has been fully utilized. Every worker lost meant one less worker. The nobles would not be able to employ new workers unless they seek other cities, but there aren't many people who are willing to work so far from home unless very favorable conditions were offered, and neither were the nobles willing to accommodate such high expenses. As such, they had to care for their workers, which result in the pills being very sought after.
There was a constant flow of customers entering and leaving the premise of the pill store. They naturally overheard Leon's arrogant claims.
"Where did this ignorant kid come from? Does he think this is the Lower Districts, where the gangs could act unruly and lay claims to territories? Doesn't he know offending the Fischer and Primrose merchant associations is the same as offending all the associate noble families?"
"Hah… the way I see it, this arrogant kid must have thought his life was too boring and decided to come over and court death."
Such were the discussion on the truly ignorant mass as they did not bother hiding their contempt for Leon. However, there were also some nobles among the group of customers that displayed startled expressions upon seeing Leon. Something big was going to happen!
Some of these people had previously defended the western upper wall against the crawlers and seen the prince before. Since the prince said the store was his, it had to be his! Who dares to claim otherwise? The Primrose and Fischer merchant associations are too bold! They actually had the courage to step on the dragon's tail!
The few nobles kept their silence and looked forward to watching a good show.
Leon ignored the background discussion and continued to face the store clerk with indifference.
"The Primrose and Fischer merchant associations, was it? The Lucretius Merchant Association didn't participate, hm? Make sense. If the Primrose and Fischer merchant associations also knew who I am, they also wouldn't dare to offend me either, unless they don't want to do business in this kingdom anymore." Leon said with indifference.
"This… who are you? Even if you are someone with big background, you can't just wantonly claim other people's properties as your own, right?" The store clerk asked carefully. Leon's calm demeanor and words had instilled some doubts into him.
This pill store had been the prime location eyed by all three merchant associations for the longest of times. Each merchant association wanted the prime location for themselves and was non-negotiable. They were all rivals and didn't want anyone else to have it. However, the prime location ended up being bought by an outsider! A nobody! How can they allow this!?
When the prime location finished its renovation, the two merchant associations arrogantly thought that since no one came forward to open it for business, the person must have realized his mistake and didn't dare to. They concluded that it was just a matter of time before the owner present the title deed with an apology.
Thus, the merchant associations seized the prime location ahead of time and made concessions to enter a joint venture in operating the place, splitting the profits equally among them.
Of course, the store clerks didn't know any of this. They were just low-level workers and weren't privy to the details. As far as they were concerned, the owner of the prime location was jointly shared by the heads of the Primrose and Fischer merchant associations.
However, no one had expected that the Lucretius Merchant Association would take the initiative to reject the joint venture and withdraw all intentions on the prime location. Had the Lucretius Merchant Association gone stupid? Who doesn't want to make more money? What was Oliver Lucretius thinking?