Chapter Ninety-Four: Secret Arts

“Good, good, good.” Ming Yu’s eyes burned with fervor, fixed on the Ice Soul Blade. A treasure! “Luoyuan, this gift of yours is indeed weighty.” His expression was complicated as he looked at Luoyuan and his companions. “Do you realize how much this gift is worth?” “A sky-high price!” Luoyuan laughed, “It’s a price beyond our imagination, that much I know.” “Yes, a sky-high price! Even if I added up all my assets, they wouldn’t come close.” Ming Yu gazed at Luoyuan. “I told you, I won’t let you suffer a loss. Speak, what do you ask of me?” “I want to annihilate a family,” Luoyuan said. “Oh? What is their strength? What’s the level of their strongest member?” Ming Yu frowned. “Just a minor family under the Hundred Tiger Pavilion. The strongest among them is a ninth-tier cosmic-level.” “Ha…” Ming Yu laughed. Only a ninth-tier cosmic-level? For him, that was far too easy. “Even if I killed ten, it wouldn’t match the value of this Ice Soul Blade you’ve given me.” “Let’s do this.” Ming Yu pondered for a moment. “I’ll give you a third of my territory! No… that might attract unwanted attention. Here’s what I’ll do: out of nearly a hundred thousand life planets under my domain, from today, half the ownership will be yours, and half will remain mine. But you’ll manage all of them—planet profits, soldiers, and so on, I don’t care.” “As for cash… I truly don’t have much on hand… nowhere near the value of your ‘Ice Soul Blade’.” Ming Yu thought it over. “Lord Ming Yu, please, just give as you see fit. The four of us have gained enough from this,” Luoyuan was well aware not to be too greedy. Otherwise, provoking the other’s ire would be troublesome. Besides… This time, he’d obtained many treasures. The Ice Soul Blade was less than a thousandth of the total value of the other treasures combined; it was hardly significant.

“Give me your account,” Ming Yu said. “Yes.” Luoyuan promptly provided his account at the Cosmic Star River Bank. Then a notification arrived: two hundred billion cosmic coins had been transferred. One cosmic coin equaled roughly 3,300 Qianwu coins; two hundred billion cosmic coins amounted to about sixty-six trillion Qianwu coins. The cash Ming Yu gave was nearly equivalent to the sale price of a hundred thousand life planets! For a domain lord, this was a tremendous sum. Luoyuan could only marvel at Ming Yu’s wealth. “Alright, which family did you want me to wipe out?” Ming Yu asked cheerfully.

“The Nuolan Mountain family,” Luoyuan replied. Luo Feng, Hong, and Thor looked at Ming Yu with anticipation. “Nuolan Mountain family? Some minor trouble, but nothing serious, just a lower-tier family.” Ming Yu’s brow furrowed briefly, then he shook his head and smiled. He opened a holographic screen before Luoyuan and the others, and soon, an old man with sinister eyes and white hair appeared on the screen. “Lord Ming Yu!” The old man bowed respectfully. “Mm, Carolan, take a few ninth-tier cosmic-level subordinates and find an opportunity to eradicate a family called Nuolan Mountain under the Hundred Tiger Pavilion,” Ming Yu said calmly. The old man hesitated for a moment, then quickly accepted the order and withdrew. Luoyuan and his companions smiled; thus, a cosmic-level family met its doom through a casual conversation.

Leaving the manor, Luoyuan’s group of eight went to the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance headquarters to deliver the items needed for the ‘Apprentice Mercenary Assessment.’ “Cosmic apprentice mercenaries! We’ve become cosmic apprentice mercenaries, ha…” “There are so many powerful beings on Canglan Star, we’d best leave soon.” “Yes, let’s set off for Earth.” The eight hurried to the planetary port, retrieved their spaceship, and departed from Canglan Star.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6… 3, 2, 1! Universe jump!” The spaceship trembled slightly, then began to travel at 1.2 times the speed of light through the dark cosmos, heading swiftly in the designated direction. In the control room, Luoyuan had sent the four servants to rest, while he, Luo Feng, Hong, and Thor remained, unable to contain their excitement.

“Come, brothers, time to divide the spoils! As usual—big brother, second brother, fourth brother, each gets forty billion cosmic coins.” Luoyuan and his companions distributed their earnings. “Third brother,” Hong shook his head, “this was all your doing. We just ventured into the Interrealm once; honestly, this money is…” Thor and Luo Feng shook their heads, “Far too much, we don’t need it.” “This is just a small sum. Our true wealth is in the treasures,” Luoyuan laughed.

Hong nodded. “Just one Ice Soul Blade is so expensive; all those treasures together…” Thor’s eyes sparkled. “Alright, four fifth-tier force battle suits, one for each of us, and several fifth-tier weapons—we’ll divide those as well. I’ll take the Moya Vine seedling, and two life fruits; Luo Feng, you get one…” Luoyuan laid out the distribution plan, and Luo Feng, Hong, and Thor simply nodded in agreement. The majority of these treasures were earned through Luoyuan's efforts.

After dividing the items, Luoyuan flipped his hand, and five auxiliary light brains hovered above his palm before dropping to the floor. Each contained a set of Thunder Secret Techniques. Luoyuan picked up the fifth auxiliary light brain and smiled, “Master Wu, come out now, stop hiding!” Luo Feng, Hong, and Thor were startled and looked curiously at the auxiliary light brain in Luoyuan’s hand.

After a moment, it remained unresponsive. “Master Wu, if you don’t come out, I’ll destroy this auxiliary light brain!” Luoyuan threatened coldly. “No, no, I’m coming out now.” A comical old man’s voice sounded, and the light brain projected the image of Old Wu. “Little fellow, how did you know I was hiding in here?” the white-bearded old man asked anxiously. “That’s not important. Hand over your Thunder and Space Secret Techniques. I can find you an heir—how about my second brother?” Luoyuan pointed to Thor beside him, who awkwardly scratched his bald head.

Old Wu’s eyes lit up at the sight of Thor; he sensed Thor’s talent for lightning. But handing over his techniques so easily made him somewhat reluctant. Luoyuan noticed his hesitation and smiled, “Don’t feel cheated. You’ve spent millions of years in the Interrealm hoping to find an heir for your former master. If you agree, I guarantee your safety, and if there’s an opportunity, I’ll even grant you a physical body so you can truly experience life as a human. How about it?”

“Is what you say true?” Old Wu asked with interest. He really had no choice. If he didn’t obey, Luoyuan would destroy him; better to hand over the secrets than face oblivion. After millions of years alone, as a sentient being imbued with all human emotions, he wanted to live. “Of course, I, Luoyuan, keep my word,” Luoyuan promised. “Alright, I trust you,” Old Wu smiled and nodded.

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