There was a reason for why, Shedin Clan was able to provide him with Netheril Cold Steel, it was because Shedin Clan had most of the control over Netheril Cold Steel refining facilities so using this to attract talented Artifact Refiners was an always working strategy for them.
This way they were hinting to him that we can provide you with Netheril Cold Steel in the future easily and you won't have to wait for years for it to appear in the market and fight for it.
But how could they think that 1 kg aside even if they had only provided him with 0.1 gm of Netheril Cold Steel, Rex was still very happy with it, as long as he could figure out the constitution of different material used to refine it how hard will it be for him to refine it in bulk?
"The is still quite some time until night falls, I wonder how many fishes will come," Rex thought while rubbing his hands.
As expected within the span of half an hour another dwarf came with a gift.
Kord was like the starter of a chain reaction. After him, several other dwarfs came to him with a gift box in their hands, showing their goodwill and for negotiation, Rex accepted their goodwill, he believed that his kind heart was big enough to accommodate everyone's goodwill alone but there was no space for negotiations.
He didn't even plan to claim the title of venerable much less joining any clan here, he only came to buy the material and observer their technology which he has already done. There was not much he could gain by staying here.
In the span of two hours, he received a total of 5 more gifts.
By the time he received his 8th gift, Rex had already dragged a sofa to the door and sat on it. He would open the door just after the first knock, take the gift, then close it again.
There was also a dwarf who knocked again after Rex shut the door but Rex completely ignored him, the poor dwarf knocked a few more times then after thoroughly witnessing the thickness of Rex's face first hand, he left the inn.
..Knock…Knock…
'Another one?' Rex got up from the sofa and opened the door.
This time instead of a dwarf, it was a woman in a black robe, her face, hands, neck were all covered in black cloth so he could only see her grey eyes. Rex first looked at her figure then at her hands folded in front of her chest, he got confused.
"Are you the inheritor candidate of Venerable Wolford?" The woman asked in a cold tone.
"Yes?" Rex replied.
"I'm Krin, I come here to invite you because you majesty wish…"
She was still speaking but Rex interrupted her.
"Sorry miss, although you are beautiful and have a nice figure, I Rex is an honorable and righteous man, I cannot take a woman as a gift no matter how beautiful you are, please leave and if possible tell your clan to bring some gift that can be used in refining instead," Rex said before shutting the door.
Krin's lips twitched. She was surprised when she saw that the inheritor candidate was such a young person, she even developed some respect for Rex but it disappeared soon after she comprehended the meaning behind his words.
She started knocking on the door again but Rex completely ignored her.
Rex sat on the sofa and touched his chin as he thought over what she said.
'You majesty? A normal person cannot use that word even when they are talking about their clan lords and her Golden Core cultivation base is unusual, she is likely sent by the king if not from someone of Royal Family, now what should I do?' Rex thought.
It wasn't a coincidence when Rex interrupted her just after she uttered the word 'his majesty', his thinking speed is faster than others, if Rex doesn't want to play the fool then it is easy for him to speak and respond faster than a normal person, in a way that others might have trouble keeping up. His thinking speed might be different but his body's reaction speed is not abnormal, these are the effects of possessing overly high WIS and INT.
...Knock...Knock...
Krin kept knocking on the door but didn't speak, the soundproof array installed in the inn isolates the room from the noise made outside, knocking on the door was far as one could go unless they intend to break it.
Rex was still thinking about what to do, but Krin stopped after three tries and left.
'It would waste my time if I go around and meet the royals here, tomorrow after I get the items from the list I will leave this city, and head for the place where that meteor... That island landed,' Rex thought.
"Wifey jokes aside, I brought some new dresses for you, check if you like them or not and yeah... wear that innerwear too, the shop owner said its necessary, she said that only country bumpkins wear transformable clothes without transformable innerwear," Rex said then took out the other three set of clothes he bought for Lerna.
"She?" Lerna raised her eyebrow.
Rex inwardly chuckled but on the surface, he acted like he remembered something seriously good.
"You are asking about the shopkeeper? She was a blonde woman with an almost perfect figure, seriously I'm telling you she was really beautiful if it wasn't for the fact that she was a married woman it was love at first sight for me," Rex said in an excited tone.
"Hmph, you are just like any other man, the only things you look at is beauty and figure," Lerna disgruntled while still reading her book, completely unfazed by the dresses he took out.
"So? Tell me what do women look at? Have you seen a world-class beauty falling for a beggar? What's wrong in chasing a beauty," Rex said in a displeased tone.
"Temperament, nature, and feelings," Lerna said in a low tone.
"Hehe... Are you reading too many dramatic novels these days? Temperament and Nature? No one is entirely good or bad especially for me, I thoroughly know what kind of person am I, look at the Azure Emperor, that idiot probably doesn't even know the names of all the beauties in his harem, would he care for temperament and nature? He is still enjoying his life, right?
As for feelings, they can be cultivated in time, you yourself know it. The first time we met, you madly attacked me without knowing a single thing about me, and now you are living in the same room as me," Rex retorted.
'How do you like my speech?' (Rex)
[For a second there, even I was doubting if your view has changed,]
'Nah, it's just some random bullshit, it won't work if she put her emotions aside and think as a third person,' (Rex)
Lerna remained quiet for a few seconds before she spoke.
"There is also strength," She said in a very low tone, it almost seemed like she was muttering to herself.
"Strength? Oh please, you want me to find a woman who is at Core Breaking stage and still single? Even if I find one like that then she will probably be an old hag or someone who doesn't have any interest in males. If I had met one like that then I would have given it a try you know, but it's not like there is one beside me and I won't notice," Rex said.
Lerna didn't speak but just glanced at him for a second, she seemed like she was waiting for him to take some hint.
"Wait you don't mean..." Rex suddenly made a surprised expression.
Lerna didn't react on the surface but she could feel her heartbeat rising rapidly for some reason.
"I get it, why didn't I think of that, you are telling me to pursue... Zakiya," Rex said with gleaming eyes.
"???" (Lerna)
The rapidly beating heart cooled down in an instant.
After Zakiya had locked Little Aru in Ice Prison once, Lerna had taken a private questioning session of Rex so she knew who this 'Zakiya' in his words was.
"You are absolutely right, not only she is a genius with a powerful cultivation base, she is also very beautiful moreover her background doesn't seem simple either. If I seriously pursue her and succeed then even if it takes, a hundred years or even a thousand, it's worth it, you are a genius Lerna, as expected of my wifey... Even if it's just in name," Rex said in a praising tone, he acted like he finally solved a problem that was bothering him for years.
Lerna was calm like flowing water in a river... before the storm.
"What about that snake?" She held back her anger and asked.
"Snake? You mean Ria? She probably won't mind it furthermore, she is the type who would be the first one to escape if I talk about marriage, but why are you asking questions like that? It's not like the beasts in the forest worries about so many things. Let's leave that aside for now, I will be cultivating for most of the time tonight, tomorrow we will head out," After saying that much, Rex didn't wait for her to reply, he sat cross-legged in the open area near the corner and started cultivating.
Lerna intently stared at him for a few minutes, he then closed her book and went for sleeping, she was not in the mood of reading anymore.
[We are safe~]
'She was probably on the edge though,' Rex held back his laughter while looking at the angry Lerna on the bed.
He then started to cultivate seriously.
He wasn't far from the Core Breaking peak stage in Qi cultivation, earlier he was worried about losing control over strength so he decided to take it slow but things weren't the same anymore. Rex was 80% sure that a big blood bath will take place if his guess was correct and that pyramid was a type of inheritance ground... but not from this realm.
Rex wasn't sure about the details so he didn't confirm it but the architecture style of that pyramid was not something one would usually see in the middle realm.
After reaching the Core Breaking peak stage, Rex didn't dare try to breakthrough again, it wasn't because of the difficulty of a breakthrough but the first true thunder tribulation he would need to face after reaching the Sky Body Formation Stage.
This thunder tribulation won't be similar to the ones he had faced until now, it would be a dangerous thunder tribulation with around a 70% death rate at the very least. Rex had seen Lerna's thunder tribulation so he knew how dangerous it was, even a spirit beast like her who is known for its toughness almost failed to resist it, her lost blood essence was also an affecting factor but it never had any impact on her tough scales that got destroyed easily under the rain of thunder strikes.
Rex didn't go to sleep just after reaching the Core Breaking peak stage instead he entered the inner world and started practicing in 1:10 time flow rate to get used to his new strength as fast as possible.
Next day...
"Stay here and don't go anywhere, I will come back as quickly as possible after I got those things," Rex said to Lerna, who was sitting on the sofa with her right leg folded on her left.
She was wearing one of the three white dresses Rex brought her, the casual one. She munched on the hamburger in her hands as she stared at Rex with hidden anger in her eyes.
Rex shook his head then headed towards the door. Right now he was wearing his long blood-red coat that suited well with his silky white hairs and glossy skin.
Rex took a deep breath and opened the door.
But just as the door opened he saw Krin standing outside with her hand almost hitting his head.
[What perfect timing,]
'Damn my luck,' Rex couldn't help but curse his A+ Grade luck.