The ultimate chaos God

Supreme pavilion

As Li Tian came out of the Ashen Veil Forest after a life-and-death battle with the Swift Wolf, he came to a stop at the market that stood at the edge of the Li Celestial Clan's territory. It was already overflowing with life. Vendors shouted over each other to lure passing cultivators, hammers rang from distant forges, and arguments over spirit herbs, weapons, and pills rose and fell like waves.

Li Tian adjusted the worn sack on his shoulder and stepped into the crowd, his eyes moving once across the market. He came to a stop before a pavilion, raising his head to read the name. "Supreme Pavilion." Li Tian chuckled. "Which person goes about calling his shop 'Supreme Pavilion' when he's still staying in this small region?"

Without another word, he entered the pavilion. Inside, a merchant stood behind a jade counter. His gaze skimmed over Li Tian's bloodstained clothes.

The merchant gave a polite smile. "What brings you here, Young Master?"

Li Tian didn't answer as he untied the sack and poured its contents onto the counter. Spirit Dew Lotuses and Bloodroots, but he was still hiding the core he'd retrieved from the Swift Wolf's body.

The merchant inspected them lazily with a wooden rod. "These are low-low grade spirit herbs."

Li Tian was wondering why the merchant called the herbs "low-low." "Is there some other rank that bears that name?" He scratched his head in confusion. "I'm new here, there may be something like that."

The merchant gave a dismissive breath. "One hundred spirit stones."

Li Tian said nothing. Instead, he reached into his robe and placed a beast core on the counter.

Click!!

A deep blue light spilled across the jade surface. For half a heartbeat, the merchant's hand stopped. He picked up the core and examined it under his eyelids rather than his eyes.

"A mutation," he said evenly. "Impressive appearance but unstable energy." He placed it down. "I'll add another hundred spirit stones."

Li Tian could not accept that the beast core was worth only about hundred spirit stones. "Are you cheating me," he said quietly, "or do you genuinely not understand what you're holding?"

The merchant's smile broke as the counter shook, both hands slamming down. A wave of pressure surged outward. "Watch your tongue!"

Li Tian did not move, remaining calm despite the merchant's threat. "What is wrong with him?" he whispered to himself.

The merchant continued, "I've appraised treasures for thirty years. 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 a Spirit Grade Swift Wolf," Li Tian said. "Its value exceeds what you are talking about."

A laugh burst out immediately. "A Soul Awakening brat killing a Spirit Grade beast?" He turned deliberately, raising his voice. "Does anyone believe this?"

The room shifted as the conversation died, and a voice cut through it.

"Enough."

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 weighty authority.

Master Luo.

The merchant's face drained of color. "Master Luo! This boy-"

Master Luo raised his hand to stop him from talking, his attention totally focused on Li Tian as he sent a probing sense against him. It touched Li Tian and just stopped, unable to continue, as if it had encountered something, while Li Tian remained expressionless.

Master Luo's fan slowed. "...interesting," he murmured.

He stepped forward and picked up the beast core, looking at it. The energy signature was very pure. Then he looked at Li Tian again.

Soul Awakening Realm, Grade three. Carrying a Spirit 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.

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

Li Tian studied him and noticed something had changed in the man's eyes the moment he took a closer look.

Master Luo gestured toward the back. "If you do not mind, we should speak somewhere quieter. The inner vault."

Li Tian picked up the core. "Lead."

Heavy doors closed behind them. The vault was different from the pavilion, containing many artifacts and pills.

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, and in return, I will get you anything you want from the market."

Li Tian looked at him for a long moment, and as a person with a past life, he understood what Master Luo was trying to do. "It will be good that I make an alliance with him." Without any second thoughts, "Deal."

He then immediately moved to the shelves, searching for the elixir. While he was still searching, he saw a High-Grade Spirit Elixir and picked it up. But that wasn't the last of it, not far from the elixir he saw a jade that seemed attractive to him.

He picked it up and read the title on the jade.

[Phantom of Seven Hells]

Master Luo noticed, and 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. "...perhaps."

They returned to the exit, Li Tian walking ahead. 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 and the merchant finally spoke. "Master... why treat him like that?"

Master Luo stared at the entrance with a serious expression. "I tested him," he said quietly. A pause. "And something answered that should not exist at his level."

The merchant was amazed, unable to explain what his master actually meant.

Master Luo closed his fan, his voice lowering. "There is something off about that boy." His attention remained drawn toward the door.