"Send them to auction?" Yang Kai's eyes lit up. "That's not a bad idea. President Hua really does have a talent for business!"
"You're mocking me, my lord!" Hua Youmeng flushed crimson.
"No, no, I genuinely admire it. To come up with such a good idea in such a short time — most people couldn't manage that."
"So does that mean you agree, my lord?" Hua Youmeng looked at him with surprised delight.
"A stroll outside wouldn't hurt. I'd like to see for myself just how prosperous Zixing City really is. I'll have to trouble President Hua to be my guide." Yang Kai smiled faintly.
Hua Youmeng hurried to her feet, saying joyfully, "Then please wait a moment, my lord. I won't be long — after all, I need to inform Uncle Xia and the others about selling the land deeds."
"Go ahead. I'll wait outside." Yang Kai nodded.
A short while later, Hua Youmeng emerged from the Five Directions Trading Company.
The company's members had mixed opinions on selling the thirty-odd land deeds. Some, like Hua Youmeng had originally thought, wanted to keep all the deeds and grow the company — this was a rare opportunity, and no one wanted to miss out. Others proposed a compromise: sell half, keep half. That way, they would have enough shops and enough Sacred Crystals to go around.
In the end, though, everyone agreed to Hua Youmeng's decision to sell all the deeds.
They didn't know why Yang Kai had suggested it, but the words of a Void King realm powerhouse were not something they dared defy. Still, it was a shame — the Five Directions Trading Company had missed its chance to claim prime locations in Zixing City.
Hua Youmeng looked around and spotted Yang Kai crouching in front of a nearby street stall, haggling with the vendor.
A Void King realm powerhouse shopped like *this*? Something felt deeply strange to Hua Youmeng, and she walked over. After a moment, Yang Kai and the vendor's voices drifted to her ears.
"Brother, this Purple Copper Luo Crystal of mine is a top-grade forging material! I went through absolute hell to mine it. Forged into a weapon, it could definitely produce a high-grade Sacred King Artifact. You open with ten thousand high-grade Sacred Crystals — aren't you going a bit too far?" the vendor shouted indignantly.
"Ten thousand isn't low," Yang Kai replied with a placid smile, unmoved.
"Fine, fine! You win — eighty thousand Sacred Crystals, take it or leave it. Consider it a gift."
"Ten thousand!"
"Seventy thousand. That's my absolute rock-bottom price. Not a single crystal less!"
"Ten thousand!"
"Stop pulling my leg, will you? Running into a philistine like you — I must have terrible luck. Tell you what, brother, you look like a man of bearing and distinction, so I'll give you face — sixty-five thousand!"
"Ten thousand!"
"Sixty thousand!"
"Ten thousand!"
"Damn it — did one of my enemies send you here to mess with me? Blink one more time and I'll hack you to death!" The vendor had been thoroughly worn down by Yang Kai's antics. He drew a Sacred King grade chopping blade and pointed it furiously at Yang Kai, looking every bit ready to start swinging if the man pushed his luck any further.
Yang Kai chuckled and quickly scrambled to his feet, darting to the side.
"Madman!" the vendor called after him, sheathing his Artifact. He shouted a parting threat from a distance: "Don't let me see your face again, or I'll beat you on sight!"
"My lord..." Hua Youmeng appeared at Yang Kai's side with a face full of dark lines. "What exactly are you doing?"
She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. A Void King realm powerhouse had spent an eternity haggling with a Sacred King realm warrior over a few tens of thousands of Sacred Crystals — and in the end not only had the deal fallen through, but he had been chased away.
Was this really a Void King? Was the vendor truly safe acting this brazenly? If he knew he had been shouting at a Void King realm powerhouse, she wondered what expression he would make.
"Taking in the local culture of Zixing City, and killing some time," Yang Kai explained with a smile. "Hmm, the warriors here do have rather short tempers."
Hua Youmeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, thinking that anyone who got teased the way she had just watched would probably lose their temper too.
"Let's go. We'll head to that Tongtian Auction House first and get the land deed business sorted." Yang Kai gestured ahead. "Lead the way."
"Alright." Hua Youmeng nodded obediently and stepped forward to guide him.
Yang Kai took in the sights as they walked, glancing left and right like a wide-eyed country bumpkin who had just arrived in a great city for the first time. Everything fascinated him.
Hua Youmeng was genuinely flustered. Yang Kai's behavior had completely shattered every notion she had ever had about Void King realm powerhouses.
In her imagination, a Void King had always been someone like Lu Tianfeng — elevated above the world, imperious and untouchable. But the moment Yang Kai blended into a crowd, he was indistinguishable from an ordinary warrior — perhaps even less impressive than one. If she hadn't already known he was a Void King, she never would have believed it.
Before long, Hua Youmeng stopped in front of a beast-drawn carriage stand and hired a carriage.
The carriage was pulled by two demon beasts that resembled horses in shape. The interior was spacious and quiet. Yang Kai and Hua Youmeng settled inside, and with a flick of the reins, the driver sent the carriage rolling smoothly forward.