Cultivation Kill

"I lost all my spirit stones at the Qinggang Sect's casino," Shen Zige lied without batting an eye.

The Qinggang Sect is the most powerful sect in the Bamboo Kingdom. Even Tian Qiwen, the leader of the Wuding Merchant Alliance, dares not offend the Qinggang Sect.

“I recently visited Qinggangzong and I didn’t hear of anyone losing so much money at their casino. Usually, if someone loses this much, there would be a lot of gossip.”

Wu Xin looked thoughtful.

"How would I know? No one can tell you everything," Shen Zige scoffed.

Wu Xin was just bluffing Shen Zige to see if he panicked.

"Welcome to our pawnshop, but we need to confirm your draft before we can give you the spirit stones."

Wu Xin gestured to the shopkeeper to bring over tables and chairs for Shen Zige to rest.

"no problem."

Shen Zige was used to having to confirm in almost every city and had no objections.

“Very well, give us the pawn ticket first,” Wu Xin said. “I would appreciate it if Manager Xia could take the pawn ticket and personally go to Ninety-Nine City to confirm it.”

"It is my great honor," said Manager Xia.

Shen Zige had a bad feeling.

“There are also pawnshops of the True Artifact Sect in this city, so there is no need to go to the Ninety-Nine Cities.”

The shopkeeper's assistant spoke for Shen Zige, saying, "Moreover, it saves two spirit stones on the round-trip teleportation fee, which is equivalent to the monthly salary of five receptionists."

“What do you know?” Wu Xin said, “Big business requires a focus on stability. You can’t be petty and greedy for small gains will only lead to greater losses.”

Manager Xia snapped, "You clerk, what right do you have to speak to Manager Wu? Get out of here!"

“The two cities are far apart, and if any information isn't transmitted in a timely manner, it will create an information gap between them,” Wu Xin said. “And information gaps can be profitable.”

"For example, if there is a shortage of iron ore in region A and the price soars, someone who knows this will rush to region B and buy up all the iron ore before they know it, hoarding it. This is making money by taking advantage of information asymmetry."

"Oh, so you doubt me!" Shen Zige said. "I don't trust you or the shopkeeper either. What if you take my pawn tickets and run away, resign, and never come back? Where am I supposed to find you then?"

“You know that our Wuding Business Alliance has a guaranteed reputation,” Wu Xin said. “If you didn’t trust us, why would you come here to pawn your goods?”

“I believed it just now, but I’m starting to doubt it now, is that not allowed?” Shen Zige said.

The waiter brought over a grand master's chair from the transport station for the manager to sit on. It was made entirely of sandalwood and was quite luxurious.

Shen Zige had no intention of sitting down.

"We don't do business here, I'll go to another shop."

He planned to leave. Wu Xin was too shrewd and hard to fool. There was no need to confront him directly, since there were still a few cities he hadn't visited.

“I do have a solution that satisfies both sides,” Wu Xin said. “I’ll go with you to Ninety-Nine Cities to confirm. I’ll pay for the teleportation fee in spirit stones, and you can keep the pawn ticket. I won’t ask you for it. If that still doesn’t work, I’m starting to doubt your purpose in coming to our pawnshop.”

Shen Zige couldn't refuse; otherwise, it would be too suspicious if he didn't want to be one.

"Okay, you'll pay for the delivery. Once it's confirmed, you need to pay immediately."

After Shen Zidan finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the door.

Wu Xin followed closely behind.

As the sun sets and night falls, many shops along the roadside have already hung up candles.

The number of pedestrians on the street gradually decreased, and most of those still walking around were hungry poor people with fierce eyes, staring at the wallets of every passerby.

The city guards on the morning shift have already gone home and are no longer patrolling, while the city guards on the evening shift have not yet arrived. This is the most dangerous time of day!

Two filthy, skin-and-bones men lunged at Wu Xin behind Shen Zige.

In their eyes, Wu Xin was dressed smartly and neatly, and was much richer than Shen Zige, who was pretending to be a down-on-his-luck young master.

"roll!"

Wu Xin flicked his sleeve, shoving the two beggars aside. The two crashed to the ground, tumbling and rolling, with the sound of bones breaking.

"Everyone, get up there and cripple him!"

A very short boy shouted, but unfortunately, everyone present took a step back and no one dared to rush forward!

"Brother Dayuan, what are you doing here?"

A person pushed through the crowd and appeared in front of Shen Zige.

It is indeed the source of time!

Shen Zige was surprised and didn't understand why Shi Yuan had come to this city to find him.

"Brother Shen, what brings you here?" Shen Zige went over and pretended to hug Shi Yuan, whispering, "Wu Xin has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he's in a bit of danger."

"I was exposed as soon as I pawned my eighteenth pawn ticket," Shi Yuan said softly. "The pawnshop owners in two cities are relatives. They were visiting each other and found that both shops had received this pawn ticket. Luckily, I immediately took the teleportation array and rushed over to redeem my earring. Shen Xiaoming from Xingguo's 96 cities is now wanted by the authorities."

"You go ahead of me and activate the teleportation array. Have the teleporter set it to teleport in three seconds," Shen Zige whispered.

Shen Zige was fortunate to have met Shi Yuan; otherwise, his trip to Ninety-Nine City with Wu Xin would have been a trap, and there would have been solid evidence that he was wanted, making it difficult for Star Realm Company to protect him.

The beggar stopped making noise, and Shen Zige and the other person immediately separated.

"Let's go."

Wu Xin said expressionlessly, seemingly unaware of Shen Zige and Shi Yuan's conversation.

Thus, the three of them formed a formation with Shi Yuan walking at the front, Shen Zige in the middle, and Wu Xin at the back.

"I guess Shi Dayuan is wanted by the police too," Shen Zige thought. "All the pawnshops in Wuding Merchant Alliance have Shi Dayuan's signature on their names. It seems I'll have to restore them to their original state after I leave."

Soon, Shi Yuan arrived at the teleportation array, threw the spirit stone to the teleporter, and told him to set a three-second delay before activation.

Wu Xin finally found something was wrong: the person in front of him walked in the same way and was the same height as that annoying Shen Zige!

Secret Technique: Spiritual Energy Burning!

Shen Zige conjured a powerful flame, no less potent than that of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, and struck Wu Xin with it. At the same time, he guided his sword to follow closely behind the fireball as a surprise attack!

If Wu Xin hadn't been mentally prepared, he might have been attacked by Shen Zige in a moment of panic. However, he was also preparing to attack Shen Zige, so he didn't panic when he saw the flames flying towards him. Instead, he shouted, "Child's play!"

Secret Technique: Heavenly Demon Mind Capture!

Wu Xin's divine sense transformed into a celestial demon and charged towards Shen Zige—

The transformed demon swept through like a hurricane, whipping up vegetation and creating sonic booms. Everyone around paled in shock.

Shen Zige's spiritual flames collided with the illusory demon, causing an immediate explosion that scattered like meteors.

Although the guiding sword broke through the illusionary demon and rushed towards Wu Xin, he slapped the sword with his palm and sent it flying into the sky.

Divine thought, mind control, and the blessing of the golden light shield!

Shen Zige's control over his mind had reached a perfect stage. His divine sense enveloped a golden shield of light as he crashed into the illusory demon.

Peng——

The shockwave exploded, creating a cascading sonic boom that cracked the earth, ripped off roof tiles from surrounding houses, and rained down dirt.

They were evenly matched!

Shen Zige sheathed her guiding sword and jumped into the glowing teleportation array.

Shi Yuan and Shen Zige disappeared into the teleportation array.

"Impossible! Even my secret technique, the Illusionary Demonic Transformation, couldn't withstand it at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage!"

Wu Xin clenched his fists.

"Shen Zige, you just wait! I'll come find you again once I've mastered my secret technique!"