Chapter 314 - 309: Ancient Demon Remnant

Chapter 314: Chapter 309: Ancient Demon Remnant

After watching the young Akenis with the Business Opportunities Information Guide depart, Pipi entered the vast, ring-shaped slave market, flanked by four Beast Slaves.

Weike Wei had foreseen that the first issue would sell out, but when he had pleaded for a reprint, Pipi had refused without hesitation.

The value of the inaugural issue lay in its limited run and, more importantly, the genuine business opportunities it contained.

It was a status symbol—a way for ordinary young Akenis to satisfy their vanity and show off.

The guide was both effective and in limited supply, making it novel and appealing. Combined with its exquisite, durable packaging, its influence would spread like a tidal wave once the guide itself became seen as a treasure.

The 500 Akenis who bought a copy would inevitably treasure the first issue, whether they profited from it or not.

Once the other Akenis understood the guide’s importance and scarcity, the concept of hunger marketing would unleash its full power in the Commerce Capital, amplifying its impact even further.

With this kind of boost, a B-grade effort could achieve A-grade results, or even better.

Patience was an essential virtue for any successful person. ’Changing the current state of the Akenis won’t happen overnight.’

...

Gazing at the statue of piled gems and riches in the center of the slave market, Pipi emulated one of his Mentor’s gestures, shaking his head with a calm smile. He then walked toward the specialized sales sections of the slave market.

While most slaves in the Commerce Capital were sold to other Akenis, some unsellable stock from elsewhere occasionally found its way here. Coupled with the fact that more Akenis gathered here annually than anywhere else in the worlds, the variety of slaves available was vast and comprehensive.

Of course, due to the Akenis’ own limited strength, exceedingly powerful species were rare. In truth, the Akenis didn’t lack the means to imprison powerful slaves—only the ability to capture them in the first place.

Any being beyond the capabilities of their Beast Slaves and native Magic Creatures was, eight times out of ten, acquired through trade.

A dazzling array of slaves—humanoid, bestial, even some that were formless—cowered in cages of various sizes.

Boisterous shouts from sellers echoed through the market. Here, the Akenis—creatures far smaller than most of the beings in the cages—held the fate of all non-Akenis in their hands.

Ninety-nine percent of the slaves showed no signs of Magic Power, but to be worth selling, they had to possess some kind of special ability.

Pipi did a lap of the market, silently taking note of what he wanted to buy. Then, his eyes were drawn to an exquisite cage at a distant, open-air stall, and he stopped.

The cage was only the size of a small stool. Its body was entirely gold, with impossibly slender bars. Inside, two small figures were huddled in a corner.

They were completely naked and slender, yet only stood a hand’s breadth tall. Their faces were small and delicate, with a distinctive cluster of upturned eyelashes at the corners of their eyes. They were almost humanoid, but not quite. Two horrifying, long-healed scars marred their smooth backs, as if someone had carved two symmetrical, diagonal gashes with a knife.

Frankly, by Akenis standards of beauty, it was hard to judge the two little creatures. But Pipi knew that by human standards, they were absolutely beautiful and exquisite.

"You’ve taken a liking to them? You have a keen eye, sir! They’re a new species of Elf! Extremely rare—perhaps the only ones!"

The Slave Master immediately began his sales pitch. After seeing the four Beast Slaves behind Pipi, he decided against the exaggerated lies he had been planning to tell.

’Elves?’

The word gave Pipi a start. Elves were synonymous with the wondrous, favored children of nature and Law. They were typically quite powerful—at least, compared to a species like the Akenis.

’Could the Akenis even capture Elves with their level of strength?’

’Besides, they had no Magic Power fluctuations, let alone the unique kind that Elves possessed.’

Facing Pipi’s skeptical gaze, the Slave Master hurriedly explained.

"Their Magic Power is very weak. The ones who captured them took it upon themselves to cut off their wings—their most vital part. You know how dangerous Elves are; you have to take precautions! It did cause a slight problem with their value, though."

As he spoke, the Slave Master took out a box. He opened it to reveal eight small, translucent wings.

"If you want them, it’s just 1,000 Crystal Shields."

Pipi had no intention of haggling. The price was within an acceptable range, and he saw no need to waste time.

A ferocious-looking Beast Slave reached out and picked up the cage. Another grabbed a handful of assorted Crystals from a large burlap sack he was carrying and handed them to the Slave Master. The merchant carefully placed them on a nearby scale to be weighed, then returned the excess to the Beast Slave.

This Akenis Slave Master wasn’t necessarily ignorant of the value of rare commodities. However, the two little creatures looked completely listless. He probably couldn’t care for them properly or get them to eat. It was better to sell them off quickly before they died on him.

Many had asked the price before, but few were willing to buy. No one was a fool; there was no point in buying risky goods. But now they were finally sold. Seeing how decisive Pipi was, the Slave Master suddenly felt he had sold them for too little. He wanted to go back on the deal but didn’t dare.

After Pipi left the slave market, a succession of traveling merchants arrived, seeking out the slaves he had shown interest in and buying them one by one.

...

「Two days later at midnight」

At a wilderness camp far from Wealth City, beast-drawn carts arrived, pulling cages and, in some cases, loads of Magic Pattern Scrolls.

These Akenis Merchants all had excited expressions, thrilled by the prospect of a profitable arbitrage. Thanks to the *Business Opportunities Information Guide*, they learned that a mysterious, wealthy merchant was buying up technology. When they went to collect their orders, they also discovered the buyer was incidentally acquiring skilled-laborer slaves.

Naturally, some of them had made a detour to the slave market to purchase a few select slaves.

As this was an internal order within the chamber of commerce, they weren’t worried about the deal falling through.

Sure enough, before long, Weike Wei arrived with two masked Beast Slaves. He purchased the goods at a generous price and sent the merchants on their way.

A long while later, Pipi finally made his appearance.

He patted a pocket on his vest, and the Magic Mirror appeared in his hand.

At that moment, the night grew darker, and everything in the surroundings seemed to become sluggish.

Weike Wei and all the slaves watched in terror as their bodies grew sluggish until they couldn’t move at all.

Ignoring their terror, Pipi pulled a Magic Steel Hand Cannon—nearly half his height—from another pocket. He aimed it at a distant spot and pulled the trigger.

BANG! A muzzle flash erupted. In the distant, overgrown grass, a figure was blown to smithereens by the terrifying kinetic force.

"Greed and curiosity always come at a price!"

He shook his slightly numb arm. ’I have the body of a Magic Creature and I even got a lot stronger back on Earth. How in the world do those lunatics from the Silent Knight Order train with these things?’

As Pipi put the cannon away, the Magic Mirror trembled slightly as if on cue, and a distorting force suddenly emerged.

Like a stretched 3D special effect, all the slaves and Technique Magic Pattern Scrolls were twisted and sucked into the mirror, disappearing from sight.

The night returned to its normal brightness. Weike Wei, trembling, and the four bewildered Beast Slaves found they could move again.

Weike Wei opened his mouth to speak but lacked the courage. He could still feel the heart-pounding terror from moments before, and a strange, hissing roar seemed to echo faintly in his ears.

’It must be true. The legends say that every great, veteran merchant has a way to connect to an Otherworld.’

...

「Desolate Garden World」

Facing the Eye of Void, many of the creatures in the prison carts lost control of their bowels in fear. While most of them were not Magic Creatures, many possessed considerable intelligence.

Their own power level was so low that a magical presence of this magnitude was something they had never even heard of. Even the air they breathed seemed saturated with a terrifying magical aura.

In the small golden cage, the two listless figures were now pale, clutching each other as they trembled.

A strange, trembling voice filled with disbelief escaped their lips.

"The Eye of Void, Dororian Kwa... an Ancient Species!"

The Demon Eye’s cold gaze hung in the sky like that of a Demon God, its focus now settling on the two tiny creatures.

"The offspring of Jilian. They are not yet extinct."

But when the two caged figures heard the name Jilian, a trace of confusion crossed their terrified faces.

’So they don’t even know what they are? I suppose Master Sage anticipated this.’

The Demon Eye’s already scant interest vanished completely. It sent all the prison cages and Magic Pattern Scrolls out of the "Desolate Garden."

A massive pile of carts and cages suddenly appeared near the Qingzhen Secret Place.

"AGH!!! It stinks so bad!!!"

Doudou immediately flew into a tizzy, hiding on the roof with Gou Dandan. The constant breeze up there made things more bearable for them.

Meanwhile, Su Su and Qin Xiaoxia’s attention was immediately drawn to the two exquisite figures in the golden cage.

"Not only has Pipi established a foothold, but he’s also sent back plenty of gifts. Not bad," Qin Xiaoxia said. He was, of course, aware that his student had changed his name.

With a wave of his hand, a small wooden box nearby opened on its own, revealing the beautiful, translucent little wings inside.

Su Su gently covered her mouth with her hand, finding it hard to imagine who could have the heart to cut the wings off such beautiful little creatures.

But before she could voice her thoughts, a loud voice boomed from overhead.

"Hey, Cousin~~ I wanna raise these two!!!"

Doudou crawled out of the bird’s nest on the roof and shouted down, only to be flicked by his cousin. He was sent flying back into the nest with a THUD.

"You know, Su Su," Qin Xiaoxia said, "I have this strange feeling sometimes. The creatures Doudou is willing to get thumped for just to say he wants to raise them... they usually turn out to be pretty special."

...

「France. Type-3 Incident Quarantine Zone: Death Illusion Barrier. Border Sentry Observation Post.」

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP...

A piercing alarm suddenly blared, startling the observer who had just made a cup of coffee. He yelped, spilling it all over his chest.

The time was the exact moment the Magic Mirror made its "delivery."