***Ethereal City, The City Lord's Mansion.
Baum greeted Han Shuo's arrival with the most pompous ceremony and treated him as a distinguished guest. Most of the people in the mansion were surprised and confused. They did not know why their city lord would treat a young man with such respect.
But after learning Han Shuo's identity, they also began to look at Han Shuo with great excitement. It seemed that Han Shuo's customers from the City of Shadows had eagerly advertised the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy everywhere, even in distant lands.
Although Baum was the City Lord of Ethereal City and a very powerful expert, he did not have his own family clan. It was a very different situation from the City of Shadows, where the old family clans wielded great political power. Baum did not even have a relative living with him. His mansion seemed simple and crude, yet it had a solemn atmosphere.
It was obvious that the divine guards loved and respected their city lord. Although he did not have a family clan, he had several divine armies under his command, allowing him to firmly secure Ethereal City under his rule.
Han Shuo and Baum decided on the location for the new Celestial Pearl Pharmacy branch shortly after entering the mansion. Baum simply gave up a plot of land in the busiest area of Ethereal City and even offered to help Han Shuo with everything else.
Han Shuo found it difficult to adjust to Baum's abrupt change in attitude. After hearing Baum's plans, Han Shuo asked, "Thank you for your generosity, City Lord. Um, I will give you thirty percent of all profits from this branch. Is that all right with you?"
At that time, Bolten, Bowen and Li Wei travelled thousands of miles to the City of Shadows and asked Han Shuo to establish branches of Celestial Pearl in the Dominions of Death and Destruction, where they came from. They proposed the collaboration with the intention of getting rich together. From Han Shuo's point of view, Baum must have had similar thoughts as he was so helpful and enthusiastic.
But out of Han Shuo's expectation, Baum immediately shook his head when he heard Han Shuo's generous proposal. He replied, "No, you don't have to do that. All you have to do is follow the rules of Ethereal City and pay ten percent in taxes to the city. These are the customs of Ethereal City. I personally will not take any crystal coins from you."
Han Shuo stared blankly for a moment, confused. The storefront that Baum had given him was a large area in an expensive area. Baum was even willing to help Han Shuo with recruiting and handling all the miring procedures. All Han Shuo had to do was refine the medicine. He found it very puzzling that Baum did not want any financial compensation for helping him with all this work.
While Han Shuo stared at him in astonishment, Baum explained, "Do not be surprised. I just told you that the Space and Destiny Dominions are different from all other Dominions. Not only do we allow anyone to live here, but we administrators are only here to maintain the most basic order in the city. This place is basically as free as it gets. Under normal circumstances, we will not interfere with your business. I only need ten percent of the profits generated by the businesses to maintain the Divine Guard armies of the city.
Han Shuo was even more astonished when he realised that Baum was not joking. He also started to like Ethereal City a lot more. Seeing that Baum had no intention of taking any of his winnings, Han Shuo didn't insist on giving his money away. He smiled faintly, nodded, and said, "Ethereal City really is a wonderful place. Haha, I like this city already!"
"The presence of Celestial Pearl Pharmacy will benefit the gods of Ethereal City. That's why I'll do everything I can to help you open a branch here!" Baum continued, "I will arrange everything with your store within five days. You can write a notice to hire salesmen and pharmacists, and I will have the divine guards post the notice. Ethereal City is filled with all kinds of talents, and there is no shortage of excellent apothecaries. You can find anything you want in this city!"
"That's great!" Han Shuo was pleased. He had not expected to receive such treatment from Baum, even though they hada fight. Han Shuo was quite curious about this city lord who had no family clan.
"If you have no place to stay yet, please stay at my mansion. I have many empty rooms and gymnasiums. You can stay here as long as you like, as long as you do not mind that the place is rather rough," Baum invited.
"Well, I will trouble you then," Han Shuo bluntly agreed with a smile.
Han Shuo and Baum stopped exchanging pleasantries. Baum provided Han Shuo, Rose, and Earth Elite Zombie with a rather quiet, seven-storey building. There was a gym on the ground floor, and the rest of the building consisted of rooms, living quarters, and some common living facilities.
Rose, who was a clean freak, immediately went to take a bath. Meanwhile, Han Shuo and Earth Elite Zombie went to a spacious lounge on the third floor. Earth Elite Zombie began to recount what he had experienced in the past fifty years, including his encounter with Verón.
Fifty years ago, after leaving Han Shuo, Earth Elite Zombie went straight to the Earth Dominion. Since the Earth Dominion had the most Earth Energy cultivators on Elysium, it was the most richly endowed with the knowledge and divine weapons of that energy. After arriving in the Earth Dominion, the Earth Elite Zombie began trying to communicate and interact with humans.
It was only after leaving Han Shuo and trying to survive in this world that Earth Elite Zombie realised how wonderful, treacherous and complicated the world really was. He came into contact with all kinds of characters.
As a result, Earth Elite Zombie began to grow up quickly. He had met his fair share of kind-hearted people, devious people and everyone in between.
In those few decades, Earth Elite Zombie had experienced many friendships and betrayals. He had found himself in dire straits many times, but in the end he always managed to survive by using his skills and understanding of Earth energy. Through this process, Earth Elite Zombie rapidly grew in strength.
Earth Elite Zombie was born in the Place of Extreme Earth and is made of the earth's yuan energy. As a result, he can grasp and understand profound concepts of Earth energy faster and better than anyone else. After repeatedly facing and defusing life-threatening situations, Earth Elite Zombie repeatedly made breakthroughs and grew in strength at an astonishing rate, reaching the Mid-stage of Midgodhood in the short time of a few decades.
Earth Elite Zombie quickly became a famous figure in the Earth Dominion for his ability to move freely and stealthily underground. He then went through a series of trials and tribulations, insulting several young broods of great family clans in Akaji City. Having become bolder and more audacious than ever by using his special talent, the Earth Elite Zombie ruthlessly murdered those infants.
His actions were exposed in no time. The bigwigs of Akaji City, who had lost their sons, were furious and sent men to hunt Earth Elite Zombie all over the city. Earth Elite Zombie calculated that it was near the time of his appointment with Han Shuo, so he began travelling towards Ethereal City. During his journey, he occasionally emerged from the underground and was spotted by peoples. This allowed Verón to track him all the way to Ethereal City.
In those few short decades, the Earth Elite Zombie experienced and encountered countless trials and tribulations, which allowed him to grow up quickly. Whether in terms of intelligence or social skills, Earth Elite Zombie had become much more mature than before. After listening to the detailed account of his experiences, Han Shuo realised that Earth Elite Zombie had truly evolved into a highly intelligent life form. He was no longer the simple and naive zombie who only knew how to follow orders like a robot.
"I did not expect you to experience and learn so much after leaving me. It seems that your decision back then was the right one," Han Shuo lamented.
Back then, the Elite Zombies and the Little Skeleton were all completely dependent on him, doing only what he commanded. The lifeforms they encountered in the Netherworld were all of low intelligence, so their growth was slow. But after arriving on Elysium, all they encountered were dark, scheming and powerful characters. In such an environment, they could either grow or die.
"Yes, this world is wonderful and much more interesting than the Netherworld. Everyone here is strong and powerful. Some were even cunning. It is only natural that I would grow after living with these people. Father, you seem to have become much stronger than before. So much so that you can tame that woman!" the Earth Elite Zombie said, smiling with his eternally naive and innocent look.
"You and your brothers are all getting stronger. I too must continue to improve. Otherwise, one day in the future, I might become a burden to you little guys!" Han Shuo's heart was at peace and he felt satisfied. Talking to the Earth Elite Zombie was like talking to an old friend. It made Han Shuo feel very comfortable.
The two of them chatted and chatted about the past, not realising how quickly time passed. Midnight came without their knowledge.
By this time, Rose had finally finished her bath. She had changed into a dark purple robe. Her long, silver-white hair, still slightly damp, was uncovered and fully exposed as a faint scent emanated from her body. After casually sitting down next to Han Shuo, she quietly reminded him, "You promised the soul in the Holy Grail that you would talk to him after arriving in the Ethereal City.
Han Shuo raised his eyebrows, opened his eyes wide, laughed and replied, "Thank you, luckily you reminded me. Otherwise, it'll take me a while to remember," Han Shuo had been worried about the safety of his Elite Zombies and had started searching for them as soon as he entered the city. After finding Earth Elite Zombie, killing Verón, and fighting Baum, Han Shuo almost forgot about McKinley.
Han Shuo took out the Holy Grail and began to communicate with McKinley's divine soul, "I have arrived in Ethereal City. What can I do for you next?"
"Here... I'm finally here..." McKinley was very excited. After taking a while to calm down, he said to Han Shuo, "Search for a person named Baum. If he's still in Ethereal City, it shouldn't be hard for you to find him. He was my best friend a long time ago. He should also be in the Late-stage of the Highgod Realm."
"Baum?" Han Shuo immediately replied, "Haha, so that person turns out to be the City Lord of Ethereal City. Haha, what a coincidence, I'm in Baum's mansion right now!"
"What?! He became the City Lord?" McKinley was very surprised.
"That's right. The current City Lord of Ethereal City is Baum. He possesses Late-stage Highgod strength and cultivates in the Edict of Space. That's him, right?"
"Yes, damn right it is. It is definitely him! That goddamn son of a bitch, he must be the one who betrayed me! That's how he took this place! The City Lord of Ethereal City was supposed to be me!" out of Han Shuo's expectation, McKinley's divine soul became furious after hearing the news.