Chapter 208: 208. Chapter 205: Broken Blade

208. Chapter 205: Broken Blade

Afterwards, the fat shopkeeper led Li Xuan deeper into the Slave Market, hoping Li Xuan would purchase more slaves, which would solve his KPI for this year.

As Li Xuan kept walking further into the market, the quality of the slaves grew poorer and more abnormal—either highly skilled murderers, or lecherous thieves who plucked flowers, and even ministers who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the state; in short, the slaves here were hardly any good people.

These people are death‑row convicts that this Slave Market bought at a high price; some were sold off because their bones were soft, while the rest, who refuse to repent, are kept here day and night for torment, to try to erase their temperament, since their abilities are evident to all.

Huang Shang was originally imprisoned for theft and then sold to the Slave Market; after all, his former boss wanted to kill Huang Shang outright, and the Slave Market merely saved his life.

Li Xuan had little interest in these heinous criminals, since he certainly didn't want to keep any wolf‑dogs that might bite back at him by his side.

The fat shopkeeper, who was also adept at reading people, keenly sensed Li Xuan's lack of interest, but he couldn't do anything; he didn't know what Li Xuan actually wanted, so he didn't know what to recommend.

"Fine, shopkeeper, take the two of us back. I'm a bit tired today; we'll come back to buy slaves another time," Li Xuan sighed, shook his head, and said.

"Very well, young master. Our hospitality was lacking; I'll take the two young masters away right away," the fat shopkeeper said, regretful, but to avoid offending a wealthy patron like Li Xuan, he could only escort Li Xuan back.

But at that moment, Bang Chui suddenly spoke up.

"Brother, the aura on that person is off," Bang Chui whispered, pointing at someone in a cell.

Li Xuan, hearing Bang Chui's words, stopped in his tracks and looked toward where Bang Chui pointed; in the corner of the cell there was indeed a slave curled up in a ball.

"Shopkeeper, this slave looks interesting; give me an introduction," Li Xuan said to the fat shopkeeper, pointing at the slave Bang Chui mentioned.

"Well, he's basically a cripple, only one arm, with a particularly stubborn temper. He's been here for three or four years, and no one wants him. If it weren't for his soul‑master status, my boss wouldn't have kept him. We don't even know what rank of soul‑master he is, but no matter how we torture him, he never reveals his strength," the fat shopkeeper sighed helplessly to Li Xuan.

"Interesting, take me to see?" Li Xuan's eyes lit up, and he said to the fat shopkeeper.

"Young master, you like this kind?" the fat shopkeeper raised an eyebrow in surprise at Li Xuan, not expecting him to spare even a disabled person.

Nevertheless, the fat shopkeeper opened the cell door and led Li Xuan inside.

A disheveled man sat in the corner, head lowered, his thoughts unreadable.

"Bai Chuan, get up, stop pretending to sleep. Show your ability to the young master; perhaps he'll take pity and buy you, and your life after leaving here will improve," the fat shopkeeper sneered at the man on the ground.

The person curled in the corner seemed not to have heard anything, not moving a muscle.

Li Xuan suddenly thought of something; with a flick of his mind, he waved his hand, and his soul power formed a fiery line that shot straight at the person on the ground.

Li Xuan thought of testing this person's strength himself.

"Clang!"

A metallic clanging sound rang out.

A withered hand wielded a broken blade, blocking Li Xuan's attack.

The earlier sound was the fiery line colliding with the broken blade.

More importantly, Li Xuan sensed that this fellow had no soul power at all, relying instead on the sheer strength of his martial soul to resist the attack.

Since higher soul power makes a martial soul stronger, Li Xuan inferred that this person's soul power level must be at least sixty, otherwise he couldn't so easily block the attack.

"Interesting, shopkeeper, how much does he cost?" Li Xuan asked the fat shopkeeper.

"He's rather special; it requires thirty thousand… gold Soul Coins," the fat shopkeeper said, surprised that Li Xuan would launch an attack; as an ordinary person he was startled by the scene, but still quoted a price.

"I'll take him!" Li Xuan smiled lightly, unhesitatingly produced three bags each filled with ten thousand gold Soul Coins, and tossed them to the fat shopkeeper.

"Young master, you are generous!" The shopkeeper's eyes lit up; with a swift motion, he directly loaded the three massive bags into his Soul Guide Device.

Li Xuan merely smiled and shook his head; the slave traders' eyes were too poor to notice this person's strength.

"Enough, I'm tired today. Later, select three thousand women who can do farm work, none older than forty, understand?" Li Xuan turned away without hesitation, walking out while saying this to the fat shopkeeper.

"Understood, young master; I will certainly pick some of good quality for you!" the fat shopkeeper said with a flattering smile.

"How much?" Li Xuan asked the fat shopkeeper.

"These people are practically a bonus for you, so no gold Soul Coins needed," the shopkeeper said with a smile at Li Xuan.

Ordinary human slaves are essentially worthless; even three thousand of them wouldn't amount to many gold Soul Coins, so it's better to give them to Li Xuan as a goodwill gesture.

"Send the women and children to outside Star Luo City tomorrow morning, and Huang Shang, Bai Chuan, plus those three lifestyle‑type soul masters, will be taken to the inn where I stay," Li Xuan instructed the fat shopkeeper.

"No problem, young master; I'll have them clean the slaves and deliver them to you," the fat shopkeeper nodded immediately, offering no refusal.

Li Xuan said nothing more, simply leaving the Slave Market with Bang Chui and returning to Star Luo City.

As the capital of the Star Luo Empire, Star Luo City is naturally immense, so Li Xuan thought of taking Bang Chui for a proper stroll.

After leaving the Slave Market, Li Xuan went out to procure some herbs needed to refine Second-grade Pills and One-Grade Pills, and then began wandering around Star Luo City.

Li Xuan and Bang Chui both disguised themselves, so even if they met an enemy, they would hardly be recognized as Li Xuan.

……

As the sun set, Li Xuan returned to the inn with Bang Chui; by then the fat shopkeeper had already delivered several slaves to his room.

Seeing the few people lined up before him, Li Xuan graciously took a seat. "You all will rest here tonight, and tomorrow morning accompany me back to my domain. Bai Chuan and Huang Shang stay; the three of you get your own rooms and depart in the morning," Li Xuan tossed a gold Soul Coin to the three and said.

"Yes, master!" the three lifestyle‑type soul masters took the gold Soul Coin and left the room.

"Huang Shang, this is your Soul Guide Device, along with one million gold Soul Coins," Li Xuan produced a jade‑style ring from the Small Cave Heaven and handed it to Huang Shang; it contained one million gold Soul Coins.

"Master, you're giving me the whole one million gold Soul Coins?" Huang Shang was stunned; he hadn't expected Li Xuan to be so generous, handing over the full amount. He had thought ten hundred thousand gold Soul Coins would be generous enough as startup capital, but this was more! "Huang Shang, you may conduct any business without reporting to me, but I have one condition for you," Li Xuan said, pointing at Huang Shang.

"What? What condition?" Huang Shang was puzzled, looking at Li Xuan, wondering if it meant adding some shackles. That shouldn't be, after all he just received one million gold Soul Coins.

"You may do business, but you must also cultivate. I know you're a soul master; though your talent is poor, I will accelerate your cultivation, at least enough to make you a strong Soul Saint. I will provide the best soul rings and soul bones for you, but you must not slack off; you must work hard, understand?" Li Xuan said earnestly to Huang Shang.

Huang Shang is someone Li Xuan considers his own, so Li Xuan will spare no effort in nurturing him; after all, Huang Shang is part of his forces, and the stronger he is, the more stable the caravan.

"Soul Saint?" Huang Shang widened his eyes, incredulously asking Li Xuan.

"If you work hard, I can certainly help you achieve the Soul Saint Realm. Here are your cultivation supplies and a technique; study them yourself, and ask me directly if anything is unclear," Li Xuan nodded, saying without hesitation.

"Huang Shang, I know you won't believe easily. First, go back and cultivate according to the method in the book I gave you, while taking the pills I gave you. Tomorrow morning you'll see how great the opportunity I gave you is," Li Xuan waved his hand at Huang Shang and said.

"Yes, master," Huang Shang bowed respectfully to Li Xuan, then turned and left Li Xuan's room to rest in his own quarters.

He hasn't had a peaceful sleep in many years.

After Huang Shang left, only Li Xuan and Bai Chuan remained in the room.

Cleaned up, Bai Chuan looked to be in his thirties, with a firm, rugged face—clearly a mighty man.

"Your martial soul can actually resist my flames; what realm of strength are you?" Li Xuan furrowed his brows and asked Bai Chuan curiously.

"I… currently have no cultivation." Bai Chuan's hoarse voice sounded utterly flat, as if he were not speaking of himself.

"What's going on?" Li Xuan was momentarily stunned, then raised an eyebrow in puzzlement and asked Bai Chuan.

"Six years ago, I fought a soul master and he crippled me." Bai Chuan still spoke in a flat tone to Li Xuan.

"What was your cultivation level before you were crippled?" Li Xuan scratched his head and asked Bai Chuan.

"Seventy‑six, strong‑attack type battle martial soul master!" Bai Chuan's voice remained flat, without any ripple.

"Hold on, I'll find a doctor to examine you." After saying that, Li Xuan left the room to fetch Bang Chui.

Soon, Li Xuan returned to the room with Bang Chui.

"Bang Chui, check what injuries he has." Li Xuan pointed at Bai Chuan and asked Bang Chui.

Bang Chui nodded, then extended his hand, a green stream of soul power flowed into Bai Chuan's body, and Bang Chui began a thorough examination.

Half an hour later, Bang Chui's brows furrowed deeply.

"All his meridians are damaged, his dantian is already crippled, and his body hasn't been filled with soul power for at least five years, meaning it's essentially incurable." Bang Chui frowned and whispered to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan turned his head and looked at Bai Chuan seriously; the guy really was crippled.

"If we want to treat him, I still have a way…" Bang Chui gritted his teeth, then looked at Li Xuan anxiously and said.

"Drain your source power? Not even that far yet; I have plenty of ways to cure him." Li Xuan gave Bang Chui a head knock and said irritably.

"Master, you really are an expert at bragging." Bai Chuan's tone was full of sarcasm.

"What if I heal you?" Li Xuan flashed a brilliant smile at Bai Chuan.

"Heal me? Then I'll give you this life." Bai Chuan snorted, saying nonchalantly.

"Go rest first; I'll study how to cure you." Li Xuan chuckled, completely indifferent to Bai Chuan's attitude.

When I finally cure him, everything will become clear.

"Thank you, Master." Bai Chuan took the golden Soul Coin, then bowed respectfully to Li Xuan and left his room.

"Brother, if we consume one‑tenth of my source, his meridians should normalize, and we'll have Soul Saint Realm combat power, brother, no loss." Bang Chui, after Bai Chuan left, looked sincere and suggested to Li Xuan.

"I have a huge stock of herbal medicine that can heal his injuries; any single plant can revive him, so there's no need to use your source power. Unless absolutely necessary, don't use your source power lightly, understand?" Li Xuan said seriously to Bang Chui.

"Understood, brother." Bang Chui blinked his big eyes, then nodded.

Li Yuan extracted at least ten kinds of Heavenly Material Earth Treasure and Immortal Grade spirit plants from the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan, all capable of treating Bai Chuan's injuries, but Li Xuan hesitated over which to use.

"If only I had a top‑grade Alchemy Pill, I wouldn't have to waste Immortal Grade spirit plants." Li Xuan rubbed his chin and muttered.

Li Xuan felt reluctant to use Immortal Grade spirit plants on Bai Chuan; the Heavenly Material Earth Treasure's effect isn't great, so he hesitated.

"Fine, I won't study him for now; it's already been six years, a day earlier or later makes little difference." Li Xuan muttered to himself.

"Bang Chui, go back to your room and rest; tomorrow morning the two of us will set off home." Li Xuan patted Bang Chui's crown and said with a smile. (End of chapter)