Chapter 330: Slave Market

Lei En stepped out of the portal and appeared on a tree‑lined path.

This is the Coastal District, northwest of Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng; it stretches north along the coast, and not far away the sound of waves can be heard. A large area is the residence of the city's nobles and tycoons, the environment is beautiful, and the population isn't as dense as in the commercial district or the docks, so the portal didn't alarm anyone.

He briefly oriented himself, led the Extreme Warriors a few hundred meters, turned into a quiet street, and before him stood a sizable private manor with a tall wall surrounding it.

"This is the place."

Lei En nodded; hearing voices from inside the manor, he sent an Extreme Warrior to knock.

The door was opened by a guard in armor; when he saw the Extreme Warrior he was momentarily stunned, but he didn't panic, instead he seemed pleased. He scanned the Extreme Warriors, then his gaze fell on Lei En and shouted, "Master, the distinguished guest you mentioned has arrived!"

The manor rang with the sound of running footsteps, and the main gate burst open.

A tall figure rushed out, dressed in simple cloth but tightly stretched over his powerful muscles, exuding an extremely fierce aura—it was the legendary Iron Guard Shi Weifute.

"My Lord Earl!"

Shi Weifute called out with a face full of surprise; when they were in the Death Forest, he thought Lei En was only speaking casually, and never expected him to actually come.

Lei En stepped forward, gave him a brief hug, and smiled, "I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

"How could I…," Shi Weifute replied, looking delighted, "Welcome, there's no time to waste. My lord, please come in."

He bowed and gestured a welcome, looking very enthusiastic.

Led by Shi Weifute, the party entered the manor; Lei En surveyed the surroundings, instantly taking in the layout, and praised, "This manor is vast, exquisitely arranged, and must be quite old. You've spent a lot of money, haven't you?"

"You flatter the Earl, sir," Shi Weifute said with a hint of pride, sighing, "I've poured the money I earned after years of struggle into this manor, to give my descendants a comfortable home."

Lei En gave a slight nod.

Property prices in the Coastal District are famously steep throughout the Empire; a manor this large, with a prime location, is worth at least thirty‑to‑forty thousand Gold Shields. For a legendary Iron Guard who has no estate and makes a living hunting souls, that's truly hard to achieve.

The manor also employs many servants and a few transcendent guards; maintaining them costs a fortune.

Entering the main hall of the villa, a group of youths rushed forward.

Their appearances resembled Shi Weifute's in several ways; the oldest were seventeen or eighteen, the youngest five or six, both boys and girls wore training robes, sweat glistening, as if they had just come from the training ground.

Shi Weifute proudly introduced, "My lord Earl, they are my children."

"So many?"

Lei En couldn't help but be surprised.

These ten‑some children were clearly not all born of the same mother; it was evident that Shi Weifute, outwardly upright, kept a harem at home.

"I have no other pursuit in this life but to sire many children, nurture them as best I can, hoping a few will become fine seedlings to carry on my family business," Shi Weifute explained in two sentences, then turned a stern face toward the children and said, "This one is the Earl of Glamorgan from Mo Du, do not delay your salute."

The older children, only two or three years younger than Lei En, already understood worldly matters.

In fact they had been quietly observing the distinguished guest, and upon hearing Shi Weifute's words they called out a bit formally, "We have seen you, my lord Earl!"

The younger ones mimicked their older brothers and sisters, raising their voices to salute.

To them, the Extreme Warriors, taller and stronger than their father, attracted their gaze even more, eyes full of curiosity.

"Enough, today's training ends early; steward, see to it that they go wash up and rest." Shi Weifute waved his hand, and instantly the children, as if liberated, shouted and scattered.

Only the two eldest sons and daughters lingered reluctantly, their eyes repeatedly turning to Lei En, visibly excited.

Entering the study, Shi Weifute sighed, "You've made the master laugh."

"No problem."

Lei En was indeed a little surprised at first, but soon understood.

Shi Weifute's approach is beyond reproach; it is common among legendary transcendent beings who rose from humble origins.

They endured countless hardships to become legends, finally breaking through their own class and securing a place among the upper echelons; of course they wish to go further, establish a family, pass down their surname and wealth, and thus cement their foothold.

However, the existence of the Blood Soul Curse makes everyone born equal; the descendants of transcendants and ordinary people have the same chance of becoming transcendants.

Even pouring more cultivation resources can only slightly raise the probability of achieving the first Soul Transformation.

Of course there are rare treasures with better auxiliary effects, but none are anything less than priceless, beyond what a typical legend can obtain, and they are unaffordable.

Therefore, the best method is to have many children.

It's like fishing: cast a wide net, produce a dozen or even dozens at once, invest appropriate resources in each child; with luck, a few will successfully undergo Soul Transformation. Legends live at least three hundred years, and generation after generation the bloodline spreads, increasing the number of transcendent descendants enough to form a family.

Yet they remain merely transcendants; whether a new legend appears depends on the favor of the goddess of destiny.

Lei En himself is still young and has never thought about such matters.

In fact he need not consider it; his goal far exceeds becoming a legend—he aims to eventually attain the Holy Soul, and with the lifespan of a Holy Soul Wizard, as long as he lives, having heirs is irrelevant.

"Was your journey back from the Sai En Plateau smooth?" Lei En asked.

"We met a few battles, but all were easily resolved," Shi Weifute replied, "We went to Zhu Bile Mountain, then rode an airship back to Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng, dealt with the harvest, and the squad disbanded."

At this point he gave Lei En a meaning‑laden glance, smiled, "Lao Ruina and Sang Ya are constantly thinking of you, they've been visiting my house these days; shall I inform them?"

"No need," Lei En declined immediately.

Shi Weifute, assuming Lei En was unwilling to indulge, showed a expression only a man would understand and gently urged, "Both of them are fine women; among the soul hunters of Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng there are many suitors. Lord Earl, you can rest assured…"

"Thank you for your kindness."

Lei En remained unmoved.

He had just broken through that level of relationship with Ao Xi Li Ya and was in a sweet period, not wanting to provoke other women lest he bring trouble upon himself.

Shi Weifute sighed inwardly, realizing he could only help them this far; Lei En had no interest, and pressing further would only cause resentment.

"Let's get down to business," Lei En said seriously, "I came to Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng to purchase a batch of slaves—no transcendants, only ordinary people, preferably adult males, healthy bodies, and clean backgrounds."

"Ordinary‑person slaves…" Shi Weifute was greatly surprised.

Since returning to Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng, he had kept Lei En's request in mind, gathered information from all sides, deepened his understanding of Lei En, guessed the new lord's intent, and prepared to form his own transcendent army.

So he spent several days investigating Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng's slave market and compiled a detailed report.

Yet the slaves listed in his report were all transcendants.

Lei En's demand was completely unexpected; how could ordinary‑person slaves build a transcendent army? Did he misread, perhaps they serve another purpose?

Shi Weifute's mind shifted urgently, and with sympathy he said, "Ordinary‑person slaves are cheap, often seven or eight are needed to equal a single first‑rank transcendent; their conditions are poor, usually consumed within the trade city‑states, sent to mines, plantations, or factories, and their ends are not good."

Lei En nodded in understanding.

He was well aware of the cruelty of the slave system; whether in his previous life or in Ai Lun E Si, slaves were regarded as merchandise by their masters and could hardly ever be treated normally. Only if a slave was a transcendent, possessing extraordinary power, would a master dare not to mistreat them, and sometimes would even keep them alive to be nurtured.

The Empire had long abolished slavery, and any slave who entered its borders would be granted the status of a free citizen.

Lei En bought slaves and brought them back to his domain, thereby making them his subjects.

"Lord Count, how many would you like to purchase?" Shi Weifute asked.

Lei En already had a plan: "Three hundred to four hundred."

"A slave trade of this magnitude is rarely seen even in Thus: Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng; only the biggest slave traders could supply it," Shi Weifute thought for a moment. "I know a friend who deals in slaves—not very close, but among the many slave traders he's relatively conscientious. Lord, shall we go now?"

Lei En wanted to retort, can a slave trader have a conscience?

He produced an Arcane Torrent staff and said, "Tell me where it is, and teleport me there directly."

Shi Weifute gave an address: near an arena at the junction of the dock district and the commercial zone in Thus: Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng.

The Extreme Warriors, hearing the commotion, prepared to go together.

Lei En looked at them; the Extreme Warriors' appearance was too distinctive, so he said, "Take off your armor and put on ordinary cuirass, hand over the Lambo gun to me, and just bring one greatsword."

After the adjustments, the Extreme Warriors no longer looked so conspicuous.

Lei En opened the portal, and Shi Weifute led the way inside.

On the other side of the portal was an alley; a passerby nearby was startled, and then someone eager to enter prepared to go in, only to see a group of tall, muscular barbarians emerge, surrounding a young man who looked like a noble. They quickly pretended not to see, lowered their heads, and left.

Shi Weifute led the way, and soon they entered a vast courtyard behind the arena.

These courtyards were all interconnected, covering a huge area, but each gate was barred with iron fences, walls over five meters high made escape impossible for ordinary people, and squads of guards patrolled, making the place resemble a heavily fortified prison.

Shi Weifute held a token in his hand and passed through unimpeded.

After passing seven or eight gates, they finally entered a spacious, luxurious hall, where a middle‑aged man in a loose long robe greeted them, clearly having received word, his face beaming with a smile.

"Shi Weifute, is this the distinguished guest you mentioned earlier?"

(End of chapter)