The ultimate chaos God

At the Pavilion

The silence of the Ashen Veil Forest faded behind Li Tian as busting Green Willow Market came into view.

The market stood at the edge of the Li Celestial Clan's territory as it is already overflowing with life. Vendors shouted over each other to lure passing cultivators and hammers rang from distant forge, while arguments over spirit herbs, weapons, and pills rose and fell like waves. The air carried a mix of crushed medicinal fragrance, smoke, and dust.

Here, everything could be bought.

Everything could be sold.

Even a person's life.

Li Tian adjusted the worn sack on his shoulder and stepped into the crowd.

His qi remained completely concealed. In a place like this, weakness wasn't just exposed. It was harvested.

His eyes moved once across the market.

Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

That was enough.

Without hesitation, he crossed the street and entered.

The noise died the moment the doors closed.

Inside the Pavilion the air turned calm and cool, scented faintly with sandalwood and refined spiritual energy. Shelves lined the walls, holding sealed herbs, polished weapons, and glowing artifacts. Behind a jade counter stood a merchant who had already decided what Li Tian was worth the moment he walked in.

His gaze skimmed over Li Tian's bloodstained clothes.

A polite smile followed.

"What brings you here, Young Master?"

Li Tian didn't answer.

He untied the sack and poured its contents onto the counter.

Spirit Dew Lotuses. Bloodroots. Low-grade spirit cores.

The merchant inspected them lazily with a wooden rod.

"Damaged herbs. Impure cores."

A dismissive breath.

"One hundred spirit stones."

No pause. No negotiation.

Li Tian said nothing.

Instead, he reached into his robe and placed a single spirit core on the counter.

Click.

A deep blue light spilled across the jade surface.

For half a heartbeat, the merchant's hand stopped.

Then he recovered. Too quickly.

He picked up the core and examined it under his eyelids rather than his eyes.

"A mutation," he said evenly. "Impressive appearance. Unstable energy."

He placed it down.

"I'll add another hundred spirit stones."

That was when Li Tian finally looked at him.

Not angry. Not loud. Just still.

"Are you cheating on me," he said quietly, "or do you genuinely not understand what you're holding?"

The merchant's smile broke.

The counter shook as both hands slammed down. A wave of spiritual pressure surged outward.

"Watch your tongue!"

The pressure rolled forward like a tide meant to force him down.

Li Tian did not move. Not even his sleeves shifted.

The pressure reached him and stopped. Not resisted loudly. Not shattered dramatically. Just erased at his body's edge, like wind hitting a cliff that refused to acknowledge it.

The merchant didn't notice.

But the deeper part of the pavilion did.

"I've appraised treasures for thirty years," the merchant barked. "You think you can question me?"

Li Tian's voice stayed level.

"Apparently."

That single word deepened the merchant's rage.

"That core came from an Earth Beast Realm Grade Five Cinder Wolf," Li Tian said. "Its value exceeds everything on this counter."

A laugh burst out immediately.

"A Soul Awakening brat killing a Grade Five beast?"

He turned deliberately, raising his voice.

"Does anyone believe this?"

The room shifted. Conversations died. Eyes turned. Pressure gathered.

Then a voice cut through it all.

"Enough."

Not loud. But it split everything in half.

Silence dropped instantly.

A man in white robes stepped out from the inner hall, lazily fanning himself as though the entire situation bored him. His presence alone smoothed the air, but beneath that calm was weight. Control. Authority.

Master Luo.

The merchant's face is drained of color.

"Master Luo! This boy"

He stopped speaking when Master Luo raised a hand.

He wasn't looking at him. He was looking at Li Tian.

Something subtle changed.

A probing intent slipped outward, refined, invisible, sharp enough to test bone and spirit alike. It moved through the air like a needle

It touched Li Tian.

and Just unable to continue, as if it had encountered something that did not belong to this world's measurement.

For the first time, Master Luo's fan slowed.

"...interesting," he murmured.

He stepped forward. The spirit core lifted into his hand. His eyes narrowed slightly.

The energy signature was fresh. Real. Undeniable.

Then he looked at Li Tian again.

Soul Awakening Realm Grade 3. Carrying an Earth grade beast core And not reacting to his probing intent at all.

Two possibilities formed in his mind.

Either this boy was backed by something that could erase his perception, or he himself was something that should not exist at this level.

Neither option was safe to ignore.

The merchant was about to speak again.

Slap.

The sound cracked through the pavilion. He staggered sideways, stunned more by the intent behind the strike than the force itself.

"M-Master Luo..."

"You embarrassed the pavilion," Luo said calmly.

Silence returned like a weight pressing down on everyone's shoulders.

Then he turned back to Li Tian. A polite smile returned, perfectly controlled.

"My apologies. My staff has offended you." A slight bow. "I hope you will not take it to heart."

Li Tian studied him. Something had changed in the man's eyes the moment he looked closer, but it vanished too quickly to name.

Master Luo gestured toward the back.

"If you do not mind, we should speak somewhere quieter. The inner vault."

Li Tian picked up the spirit core. "Lead."

Heavy doors closed behind them.

The vault was different from the pavilion. Not loud wealth, but controlled accumulation. Artifacts lined in order. Herbs sealed in crystal. Techniques resting in silence.

Master Luo opened his fan again.

"Choose anything you want."

Li Tian didn't move immediately. "There is always a price."

A soft laugh. "I prefer people like you." He tapped the fan once. "I want a simple arrangement. Bring anything valuable you find and sell it to me first. In return, this market protects you. No theft. No interference. And resources you cannot normally obtain will be provided."

Li Tian looked at him for a long moment.Then he nodded once.

"Deal."

Only then did he move through the shelves.

He took a High-Grade Spirit Elixir without hesitation. Then paused.

A faint pull.

In the corner, half-buried in dust, sat a jade slip.

Phantom of Seven Hells.

Master Luo noticed. His smile tilted slightly.

"That thing has sat here for two centuries. No one could read it. Some say it rejects everyone who tries."

Li Tian brushed it clean. "Then it was never meant for them."

A pause. Master Luo's eyes lingered on him a fraction longer than necessary.

"...perhaps."

They returned to the exit. Li Tian walked ahead. No hesitation. No farewell.

At the door, he lifted a hand slightly without turning.

"We'll meet again."

Then he disappeared into the crowd.

Outside, the market swallowed him whole.

Inside the pavilion, silence lingered too long.

The merchant finally spoke.

"Master... why treat him like that?"

Master Luo stared at the entrance. The smile that had carried him through every negotiation slowly faded.

"I tested him," he said quietly.

A pause.

"And something answered that should not exist at his level."

The fan closed as hids voice became lowered.

"I've met geniuses.

"I've met geniuses. Monsters. Saints."

Another pause.

"But that boy does not belong to any of them."

He looked once more at the door.

"When something refuses to show its fate, it means the world has not decided what to do with it yet."