832 A Rich Mans Life! (1/2)
Since I'm so powerful now, I wonder if I'll be able to unlock the storage ring. Wang Baole tested his strength. The power that he felt pleased him and filled him with immense confidence. With a wave of his hand, he pulled out the storage ring that he had gotten off the Never-Ending Clan cultivator. He leveled a fierce glare at the object and unleashed his Divine Sense, allowing them to envelop the storage ring completely.
”Unlock!” Wang Baole roared and allowed the full weight of his Divine Sense to fall on the storage ring. But… the storage ring was like an extremely hard rock. No matter how Wang Baole tried to crush it with his Divine Sense, it remained sturdy and unflinching under his attacks.
”Suppression!”
”Activation!”
He kept yelling and unleashing increasingly stronger bursts of his Divine Sense on the storage ring. He even resorted to using the power of the Emperor Armor. The lack of results was slightly embarrassing, to be honest. Luckily, there was no one around to witness it. Wang Baole coughed dryly, then quietly put away the storage ring, which looked no worse for wear.
”I'm not in peak form today. I'll try again another day,” Wang Baole muttered. Then, he shifted slightly. The Emperor Armor on his body blurred and faded away. Wang Baole's aura dropped from its previous early-stage Spirit Immortal realm level and returned to that of a False Immortal realm. He then left the inn in a great mood.
Time to look for Xie Haiyang. After buying the materials I want, I'll head back to the Divine Eye Star System. Wang Baole patted his rather slim tummy happily. He smacked his lips and sighed at how much weight he had lost. Then, he conjured a bottle of Ice Spirit Water with his essence technique… and started drinking as he headed towards Xie Haiyang's shop…
It didn't take him long before he saw Xie Haiyang's shop in the distance. It was built like a palace, a loud beacon of unabashed wealth that stood out from the rest in the market. No other shops could compare with its opulence. It was the shop that reigned supreme over all other shops. The shop was filled with cultivators entering and leaving. It wasn't crowded to the point of being congested, but it enjoyed a good, bustling crowd of customers.
That was the scene that greeted Wang Baole when he entered the shop. People filled the shop, and the staff ran around, busy with attending to customers. Despite the crowd, Wang Baole's arrival was noticed.
The person who noticed him was the staff member who had attended to him during his last visit. His eyes brightened when he saw Wang Baole. He stepped away from the customer he was attending to and rushed towards Wang Baole, cupping his fists in greeting.
The staff member was clearly ecstatic as he held onto the supreme-grade Spirit Stone. He escorted Wang Baole to the staircase with bright, shining eyes, then took his leave. Wang Baole could sense the differential treatment that he was receiving. He could feel the looks of consideration and awe being directed at him from the crowd. He sighed secretly.
That's what a rich man's life is like, simple and to the point. Wang Baole shook his head as he sighed, then made his way upstairs. He didn't see Xie Haiyang when he reached the second floor. There was no one around. Just as he began to look around, he heard laughter ringing out from behind him.
”Brother Baole, it's been awhile. How have you been?”
Wang Baole blinked when he heard that, and he pretended to freeze for a moment. After the moment was over, he turned around hurriedly. A smile filled with delight appeared on his face when he saw Xie Haiyang, and he laughed out loud.
”Brother Haiyang, we just met some days ago.”
”Brother Baole, I've heard of your spectacular performance during the mission. You're amazing.” Xie Haiyang praised Wang Baole as they sat down. Xie Haiyang eyed Wang Baole for some time and realized that he wasn't reacting to what he had just said. In fact, there was a look of slight confusion on his face. Xie Haiyang muttered something to himself under his breath, then coughed awkwardly.
”You're the pig-masked man, aren't you?”
”Pig-masked man?” Wang Baole blinked and continued to feign ignorance. It didn't matter if his act seemed exaggerated, he wasn't going to admit to things that he wasn't supposed to admit to. It didn't matter that he would be throwing handfuls of Red Crystals at Xie Haiyang later and thus exposing his deliberate ignorance as an act. That would be a separate matter.
”Baole, you're being too modest. So be it. It doesn't matter if you're the pig-masked man. I just want to let you know that he's famous now. He's incurred the wrath of the Never-Ending Clan. They're doing everything they can to find out who he is. The only person who knows is the Flame Patriarch, though, and he's erased all evidence that points to the pig-masked man's identity. Besides the Flame Patriarch, no one else in the universe knows for sure who the pig-masked man is.”
Xie Haiyang deliberately emphasized the words ”for sure” when he spoke. Then, he gave Wang Baole what seemed like a smile. An imperceptible flicker flashed in Wang Baole's eyes. He knew this was Xie Haiyang trying to give him a hint. He smiled as well. Xie Haiyang was still too inexperienced. He hadn't learned the important principle of not speaking the truth even when he had seen through the act.
The thought gave Wang Baole a sudden sense of superiority. He was reminded of the high officials' autobiographies and the countless invaluable lessons that he had learned from them.