Chapter 70: Dragon Lookout Pavilion

At nightfall, Ji Xinghuo followed Ren Mian out of the villa’s gate.

Ren Mian put on a hat and a scarf to cover her face and sat in the back of the bus with Ji Xinghuo, but they got off after just a few stops.

“Xinghuo, go rent two mounts.”

“Okay.”

Ji Xinghuo entered a horse shop not far ahead intending to rent two horned horses but changed his mind upon seeing a tall and majestic tamed wind deer in the stable, its antlers branching like stout tree limbs, its back large enough for two riders.

Soon, he led out the wind deer, as tall as himself, from the shop.

“Sister Ren, this was the only one left in the shop,” Ji Xinghuo said with a smile, chivalrously reaching to help her onto the saddle.

“Let’s ride this one then,” Ren Mian saw through his little ruse but didn’t call him out on it.

She stepped on Ji Xinghuo’s hand to mount the deer.

Ji Xinghuo happily jumped up behind her, a special peach blossom fragrance wafting to him. Even maintaining a fist’s distance, it felt like a close contact.

The wind deer started moving, light and swift.

A few strands of hair fluttered out from beneath the hat, drifting before Ji Xinghuo’s eyes, unsettling him a bit. As the wind deer’s pace quickened and swayed more, Ji Xinghuo nervously placed his hand on her waist saying, “Sister Ren, it’s too shaky. Can we go slower?”

Ren Mian’s body shook slightly as she turned her head giving Ji Xinghuo an annoyed look.

“Keep your hands to yourself or I’ll kick you off.”

Ji Xinghuo laughed, “With this speed, I might fall off without your help.”

Despite her warning, Ren Mian had to slow the wind deer down, but Ji Xinghuo did not remove his hand, nor did he make any further moves.

He changed the subject, “Where are we heading?”

“You’ll know once we get there.”

Ren Mian ignored him further, seeing that he didn’t overreach by leaning into her back, she sped up their mount once again.

After a while,

The wind deer crossed half of the East Xia District stopping at a horse shop near Star Gate Square.

“We got here so fast,” Ji Xinghuo thought, wishing the road were longer to prolong the shared ride with Sister Ren, which ended in less than twenty minutes.

“Get down.”

Ren Mian got off the wind deer and waited by the street.

Ji Xinghuo returned the mount to the shop and hurried after Ren Mian, catching up, just as he was about to apologize, he noticed a playful sparkle in her eyes, indicating she wasn’t really angry.

Suddenly, Ren Mian asked, “How long till your promotion to mid-level?”

“Uh…”

Ji Xinghuo scratched his head and stealthily checked the Wanxiang Star Pupils interface. Killing a super master a few days ago added 22 energy points, and he had harvested several monsters on the way back to Olympia, directing all gained energy into Ether Affinity.

His Ether Affinity progress was (Level 3, 166/1439), nearly doubling since his last outing.

His current star power was 218, just 40 points shy of his next evolution.

“With focused cultivation, maybe two months in the Star Realm,” Ji Xinghuo made a conservative estimate.

Ren Mian appeared surprised and nodded, “Much faster than I expected.”

“Why ask all of a sudden?”

“I have a critical hunting plan, prepared since last year. You’re a key part of it. If you reach mid-level ranger soon, we’ll have a better chance,” Ren Mian spoke softly.

Ji Xinghuo nodded decisively, “Then I will work even harder.”

“Yeah.”

Ren Mian then led the way without further discussion to a shop door.

This street, close to Star Gate Square, buzzed with people and various arms and oddities stores.

Ji Xinghuo took a quick look at the shop, outwardly plain but three stories high with considerable space behind, and a small sign by the door in bold, curly script.

“Dragon Lookout Pavilion,” he read quietly.

Such a powerful name!

Ji Xinghuo hadn’t heard of it before but knew that in the Star Realm, where real dragons existed, these mighty creatures dominated among the species.

Of the more than forty career templates on Earth, two related to dragons.

One is Dragon Warrior, the other Dragon Lord.

Both incredibly powerful, Dragon Warriors fuse dragon-related species traits to harness dragon power or transform into dragons; Dragon Lords, similar to beast masters, specialize in raising dragons, hence also known as Dragon Tamer.

When it comes to showiness, Dragon Lord is not far behind a superconductor technician.

However, becoming a superconductor technician is achievable with effort, while becoming a Dragon Lord involves almost pure luck.

Most wouldn’t even dare to dream of it.

“Dragon Lookout Pavilion deals in everything from arms to questionable goods,” Ren Mian whispered, “Exotics, valuables, treasures. If it’s worth enough, you can sell it here. Even confidential information.”

Ji Xinghuo was astounded; handling information and dealing with stolen goods indicated powerful backing.

“Who established Dragon Lookout Pavilion?”

“Not one person but a group,” Ren Mian replied, “Several legendary, unofficial individuals created this trading platform, led by a legendary Dragon Lord.”

Legendary individuals! And several of them…

Ji Xinghuo gasped. Any legendary figure was a well-known entity, official or not, mythical to most.

He looked at Ren Mian.

Being just a senior extrahuman, how did she join such an elite group?

“Brought in by an elder,” Ren Mian saw his doubt, “Many know about Dragon Lookout Pavilion now, even officials planted insiders. The upper echelons turn a blind eye as long as it doesn’t disrupt trade.”

“Let’s go in.”

They entered Dragon Lookout Pavilion’s front hall, similar to a regular store displaying various arms and species with salespeople assisting customers.

Ren Mian walked straight through to a corridor, leading to a room marked ‘Staff Only’.

She knocked, and a small crack opened in the door.

“I’m a member.”

As she spoke, she displayed a dragon-shaped metal badge at the slit.

The door opened from the inside.

“Please come in.”

As they entered, Ji Xinghuo noticed the doorman was a super extrahuman, a man in his thirties. Approaching him increased the humidity, suggesting his profession to be “Water Master”.

“Is Selina here?” Ren Mian inquired.

He nodded silently.

“I’ll find her then,” Ren Mian was familiar with the place, she exited from another side of the room into a quiet indoor marketplace, scarcely populated.

The sealed marketplace was split into two levels, divided into hundreds of rooms.

Ji Xinghuo’s magnetic field sensing was already active. These rooms were designated for specific trades, clearly categorized: spears, swords, knives, odd-shaped weapons, and bows each had their sections, as did species by class, all highly valuable.

Some rooms were empty but showcased items non-staff patrons had displayed for viewing.

Passersby stopped occasionally, inquiring if interested.

“Stall setting?”

Ji Xinghuo was curiously unfamiliar with this simple market setup, having grown up in a digital world.

It seemed anyone could set up a stall; Dragon Lookout Pavilion provided the space.

Ren Mian led him upstairs into one of the rooms, occupied by a woman in her forties with red hair, high nose, deep eyes, obviously of high status, and from her magnetic field and ether fluctuations, a super extrahuman.

“Ms. Ren,” the woman stood greeting her in the official language of the Asia-Pacific community, with a respectful smile, “It’s been a long time since you visited Dragon Lookout Pavilion. Welcome.”

Ren Mian nodded slightly, “Mrs. Selina.”

“What brings Ms. Ren tonight? Interested in our products or brought something intriguing?” Selina asked warmly.

“Both.”

“I look forward to it then,” Selina invited them to sit.

Ji Xinghuo placed a bag containing various species on the table; Ren Mian spoke, “Evaluate these species then give me an estimate.”

“Please wait.”

Selina, keen-eyed, first picked a basalt-bodied species, admiring, “Haven’t seen a basalt body in a while. Judging from its form, it’s a recently evolved rock scythe giant from Peak Valley.”

Ji Xinghuo was impressed; she deduced so much with just a glance.

“Basalt bodies have strong defense but affect speed and agility, making them a niche market best sold to Earth Walkers, but it might take a while to find a buyer.”

“Dragon Lookout Pavilion can buy it.”

After some thought, Selina considered, “This basalt body is priced at 14 million, Ms. Ren, what do you think?” her gaze flitting fleetingly over Ji Xinghuo.

Ren Mian, in charge at Dragon Lookout Pavilion, immediately agreed, “Fair enough.”

Selina then evaluated the rest based on quality, giving purchase prices. While the stony skins were numerous and below expected prices, adding several high-quality and exceptional species brought the total to over four million.

Taking the species away, Selina asked, “Ms. Ren, do you want to settle the account now or buy something?”

“Get me a 30-day supply of top-grade Blood Marrow Solution,” Ren Mian requested.

Selina looked troubled, “Production of grade-A Blood Marrow Solution is always limited, sold only to regular clients and still in high demand. I can only provide 20 days’ worth.”

“That’ll do,” Ren Mian didn’t press, “Add 10 days of grade-B.”

Ji Xinghuo, unfamiliar with Blood Marrow Solution but recognizing its value from their serious transaction.

Soon, Selina handed over a box to Ren Mian.

She opened it to inspect, inside were capped glass vials filled with blood-red liquid, each vial holding about two milliliters. The 20 vials contained a deeper hue compared to the lighter 10.

Ren Mian handed the Blood Marrow Solution to Ji Xinghuo for safekeeping.

“Selina, have any symbiotic species arrived recently?” Ren Mian’s question perked up Ji Xinghuo.