At the same time in the palace
Xiao Chen was seated in the room where the King was regaling important guests. Sitting across from him was the man who controlled everything. He came from a Kingdom Tier power.
"You are not allowed to antagonize this man, do you hear me?" The muscular man with a hairy face said with a snort. His hair and mustache were red in color, and the beard was pinkish. It looked odd yet no one could question this man's power, not even the Kingdom Tier organization he came from.
"Uncle Taro I—" Xiao Chen meekly answered but the man cut him off.
"Enough!" He slapped the table. "We talked to him, he will stay out of our way so long as we don't knock on his door. I don't know where he is from or what his cultivation level is, but if what Mo Zan said is true, he might be stronger than me. Although Mo Zan is at the Qi Crystallization Realm and cannot fathom the power of my Realm, she said it felt more intimidating than me."
"Uncle, he finished the operation that I carefully brought all together for years. I invested so much time and money in Floating Ghost Alchemy. I destroyed its rivals, I purchased two formulas for them so they could raise to be the best in the Kingdom, and as soon as he appeared, he ruined it. He ruined it all." Xiao Chen said in grievance.
"I always tell you, Xiao Chen, you have to control your underlings. They cheated against a Knight of the Kingdom, they lied about the medicine and they went to mock the shop when they were introducing the medicines created by this expert. What did you expect to happen?" The man said as he shook his head. "Let that be a lesson to you, train your underlings better next time."
————
"Master Yontu, Sect Leader of the Poseidon Kiss, wants to meet you. Because he wanted to meet in private, we didn't invite him to the room before." After Mo Zan left, Yontu was about to go home, when Jiang Yong appeared.
"Call him in." He said as he waited. Soon, the elderly man walked in. He recognized him from the banquet but they didn't interact much so he didn't have any information about him. He only knew that the old man's name was Fang Gang and his master didn't like this sect. But he didn't know why.
"Master Yontu, it is an honor." The old man bowed as he sat across from him.
"What do you want from me?" Yontu asked without looking at the man. For a second, a cold glint passed through the old man's eyes, but it vanished as quickly. He smiled broadly and spoke what he wanted.
"I don't know if Master Yontu knows, but our sect specializes in Dual Cultivation. Through the union of nature, our disciples share Qi, knowledge, and life." The old man said.
Yontu for a second wanted to look at the man in disgust but he held it back. He heard a lot about Dual Cultivators. Even the most righteous ones would suck their partners dry to increase their strengths. And he was certain the old man in front of him wasn't righteous.
"I knew when I started to cultivate the manual left by our ancestors was faulty and further in the road of cultivation, I would be incapable of using some of my body parts. But now I am at the peak of the Fourth Layer, and I want to have the taste of the Fifth Layer. I am so close but because of the defect in the manual, I cannot cultivate. I was wondering if Master Yontu has any medicine that can allow me to use my body parts? As you know, Master Yontu, Fifth Layer is important for an old man like me. If I manage to reach it, I will gain another 100 years!" The old man said without any shame. A smile appeared on Yontu's face as he looked at the old man.
"Your manual cockblocks you, is that it?" Yontu asked with a smile.
"In a sense, yes." The old man said with shame.
"I see," Yontu said as he thought. "I may have a solution for that, but it won't be cheap."
"So long as Master Yontu can help me with this problem, I am willing to pay with every gold I have." The man said hopefully. It has been years since he was able to command his body fully. He wanted to have that taste again.
"Okay, I will drop by your sect in a week with the result," Yontu said and leaned back. "You can leave now."
"Thank you, Master Yontu. As expected of the greatest alchemist in the Kingdom. Your fame is not in vain." The old man was about to prostrate him, so Yontu just told him he can leave.
"Alcy, can we do it?" He asked as soon as the old man left.
"Doc, it is possible right?" Alcy asked instead of answering.
"Of course, it is," Doc said with a snort. "We may not have Gladiator Blood but we have beasts that can do the same."
"Are you serious?" Ezio asked in disbelief. I thought Doc was modern.
"Of course, I am not," Doc said with a laugh. "Well, beast blood is still an ingredient but the main purpose is leading the blood into the designated area. Give us a few days."
"Got it. I will leave the boring stuff to you." Ezio smiled as he got up. The Jiang Duo were waiting at the door. "I will take my leave now. Keep up the good work."
"Yes, Master Yontu." Both of them said at the same time. Old Man handed him a card. It was purple in color. Since transactions were worth more than thousands of golds, shops used these special cards.
They were like credit cards, but worked thanks to the inscriptions on them. He had one with his identity as Ezio, and now he acquired another one for his alias. It was the same. On one corner of the card, there was a devilish face and underneath, the name "Imp Treasury" was carved.
Yontu, after changing back into Ezio, returned to the forge to see a bored dwarf master sitting while watching clouds.
"What happened, Master? You looked bored." He said as he walked up to him.
"No orders at all. Ever since that bastard brought that dwarf, no one asks me to forge anymore." Aodhfionn said with a depressed sigh.
"Don't worry, master. I am sure it is just temporary. They are now excited to discover this new toy, after they have their fun, they will once again come to beg you and you can reject all of their offers once again."
"Ye smelly brat. Are ye making fun of yer master?" Aodhfionn said with mock anger. He felt thankful to Ezio for trying to cheer him up. Especially when he was depressed himself. Ezio, too, felt alive when he saw his master depressed. Although he still felt confused, he didn't want to burden Aodhfionn anymore.