Torch Dragon City.
Zhang Shou and Niman entered the city side by side.
"So this is a Level 100 metropolis? It really is something else," Zhang Shou murmured as he stepped past the gates.
Neither Fukang City nor Jiangli City could compare to Torch Dragon City in scale. The former two were impressive enough to accommodate several million people, but Torch Dragon City could hold several billion. Its footprint was shockingly vast, stretching beyond the horizon in every direction.
Moreover, the architecture throughout Torch Dragon City was uniformly oversized. Ordinary mortals could come and go freely, but giants could do so just as effortlessly.
"I'll handle the trade in person later while you keep watch from the shadows," Niman said to Zhang Shou as they walked. "If I get driven out of the city and you haven't been exposed, hurry straight to the System Management Center and use Retracing Past Steps to teleport back to Jiangli City."
Zhang Shou frowned. "No way. I'm a grown man—how can I hide behind you? Let me do it."
"All right, let Old Zhang go."
Before Niman could reply, a squirrel-sized slime perched on her shoulder spoke first.
Although Yu Xian had not come in person, he could dispatch his summoned beasts and project his consciousness into them at any moment to keep abreast of the situation here.
This transaction was essentially a trust-building exercise. The other party feared being swindled, and they harbored the exact same concern.
Yu Xian had even arranged for the Death Emperor to provide backup outside the city. If both of them were driven out by the legion occupying Torch Dragon City, it would immediately teleport them to Avici Hell.
Their retreat route was already secured; all that remained was to see whether the other side was dealing in good faith.
"Zhang Shou might be tough to kill, but his adaptability in a crisis isn't as good as mine," Niman said with a slight frown, voicing her objection.
Indignant, Zhang Shou retorted, "Back on Guyue Continent in Binli City, an entire legion hunted me down and I still survived. You're saying my adaptability isn't good?"
"Old Zhang may look like a stubborn donkey, but he's actually pretty sharp. Don't worry," Yu Xian chimed in.
Zhang Shou promptly flashed Yu Xian his middle finger. He wasn't fool enough to miss the backhanded compliment, let alone being compared to a donkey.
In truth, Zhang Shou was undeniably bold. Back when his combat strength was negligible and he was nothing more than a pure support healer, he had already dared to trail Qingniao on all sorts of perilous missions. His competence was beyond question.
It was precisely because Yu Xian knew Zhang Shou well that he had paired him with Niman.
One was daring and ready to fight, while the other was seasoned and worldly. Short of walking into an inescapable dragnet or an absolute dead end, both of them should be able to make it back alive.
At the very least, one of them was guaranteed to survive.
The rendezvous Yu Xian had arranged with the trader was Torch Dragon City's Central Square. Zhang Shou and Niman parted ways halfway there, each taking a roundabout route with tacit understanding before arriving at the square one after the other.
Following the prearranged signal, Zhang Shou retrieved an apple and called out, "Apples for sale! Fifty thousand Fortune Gold Coins a piece! Fresh apples for sale..."
Passersby cast speechless glances in his direction. Who had ever heard of an apple so expensive? Even ten thousand Fortune Gold Coins would be utterly absurd.
Yet a moment later, a woman's voice rang out from across the square: "Buying apples! I want to buy an apple—offering fifty thousand Fortune Gold Coins!"
In an instant, Zhang Shou's eyes locked onto hers. Moving with mutual understanding, the two strolled toward the greenery at the edge of the square.
"You're not Yu Xian," the woman said, frowning slightly as she studied him.
Zhang Shou smiled. "And you're Innocent Wind? You don't look the part to me either."
"Let's just trade," she said noncommittally, cutting straight to the point.
Zhang Shou produced a Talent Trait Enhancement Stone, and the woman took out five Talent Trait Awakening Stones. After verifying that everything was in order, they concluded the exchange on the spot.
"A pity," the woman remarked coolly, glancing at Zhang Shou once the deal was done. "I was hoping to meet the future number one of the Zhen Realm."
Zhang Shou chuckled. "If you're truly keen to meet Yu Xian, you might consider visiting Jiangli City."
"For the next trade, I might consider it," she replied.
With that, the two went their separate ways, quickly melting into the crowd and departing in different directions.
After making several loops to ensure he wasn't followed, Zhang Shou rendezvoused with Niman and said with a grin, "Still can't say for sure if they were trading in good faith, but Salty Fish didn't need to step in, and the deal went through smoothly."
"Good. Then let's get back to Jiangli City right away. Let's go," Niman said with a nod.
Coming here had required riding Yu Xian's flying summon, but returning was far simpler—they could teleport straight back.
The other party might not have been genuinely sincere from the start; it was equally plausible that they had held back simply because Yu Xian hadn't appeared in person. After all, in their eyes, Zhang Shou and Niman were merely two errand runners.
Killing two minor lackeys offered no benefit whatsoever other than making an enemy of Yu Xian. Naturally, they wouldn't enter into a losing proposition.
Zhang Shou and Niman teleported back to Jiangli City, and upon exiting the city gates, they returned to the back of the Astral Black Tortoise.
"Safe and sound! The deal is done!" Zhang Shou strutted before the group, announcing the success with a broad grin.
Yu Xian took the five Talent Trait Awakening Stones handed over by Zhang Shou. With a faint smile, he said, "This is only the first trade. We still need to do two more, but with this initial success, the subsequent ones shouldn't run into trouble."
Although ten of them had entered the Zhen Realm together, and nine Talent Trait Awakening Stones were needed since Yu Xian already had his, he had subsequently crossed paths with Ximen Wangcai, Situ Xingye, and Fang Qinghao.
Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye had been toiling away tirelessly on behalf of the Sparkle Legion, so they certainly deserved a reward. Fang Qinghao might seem inconspicuous, but she had been looking after Little Nora all this time, serving as the girl's little nanny.
For someone on their own side like her, he naturally intended to provide a stone to give her a boost as well.
Furthermore, if anyone else in the Sparkle Legion rendered great service in the future, he needed respectable rewards ready at hand. That was why Yu Xian had decided from the start to trade for fifteen Talent Trait Awakening Stones.
"Little Nora, is there anything you'd like to trade for?" Yu Xian asked, recalling that she had received a hefty haul of rewards as well.
Little Nora was busy munching on snacks. Upon hearing him, she replied, "Nope! I used up all my rewards."
"Oh, if you used them up, then never... Wait, used them up?" Yu Xian didn't register it at first, but then his eyes snapped wide in sheer shock as he stared at her.
Little Nora nodded. "Last night I tried enhancing myself. It kept succeeding, so I just kept going until they were all gone."
Absolute silence fell over the platform. Everyone stared at Little Nora, their expressions frozen in disbelief.
She had received seven of every kind of enhancement stone! Using them all up meant every single one had reached +7! How on earth was that possible?
"Little Nora, show us your stats!" Zhang Shou blurted out, finally finding his voice.
Little Nora casually opened her stat window and displayed it for all to see.
As the group laid eyes on her attributes, their eyes widened further and further, until their sockets threatened to tear apart.
What kind of absurd stats were these? How could this even exist? Was this truly permitted by the system?
Where was the fairness in this world?
This was utterly insane—they had to be dreaming.
Zhang Shou slapped himself so hard across the face that his cheek swelled up, yet he still could not fathom that he was looking at something so utterly preposterous.
As for Yu Xian, his mouth fell open so wide his jaw dislocated, his eyes nearly popping right out of his head.
Chapter 520