Chapter 236: Let's Build a Gaming Guild (2/3)

"From what young Master Fang implies..." Nalan Hongwu murmured, stroking his beard as he pieced the details together. "He was dispatched by that venerable elder to a place called Half-City to establish a branch. And over there, master cultivators are as plentiful as the clouds?"

"Yet..." Su Tianji mused, her brow furrowing in curiosity. "How is it that we have never once heard of such a place?"

"Perhaps..." Xue Daolv ventured, voicing a thought that struck even himself as utterly astonishing, "the proprietor's current location lies entirely beyond the bounds of our known world?!"

"That far?!" Ye Xiaoye gasped, her mouth agape. "Then how on earth did the owner manage to contact us!"

"It must be the doing of that venerable senior!" Ye Songtao asserted. "The senior's methods of communication appear far more sophisticated than any transmission array currently in existence!"

"Owner! How are things over there? Is it fun!" These were the questions Jiang Xiaoyue had insisted on asking.

"It is decent enough. Rather peculiar around here."

"Owner! Could you start a live broadcast or something, so we can catch a glimpse of the new shop?" This came from Dong Qingli.

"While I was looking through the tutorial just now, there seemed to be some sort of video function that allows you to see the other side!" Lin Shao searched for a moment and quickly discovered a small icon shaped like a camera.

The system's version of Penguin Communication was divided into real-scene video and virtual video. Soon enough, a prompt flashed before Fang Qi: Lin Shao wishes to initiate a video call with you. Do you accept?

"This crowd... they figured it out so quickly?" Fang Qi felt a touch of surprise. He clicked accept, and through the screen, he saw a great throng of people pressing closely behind Lin Shao—Jiang Xiaoyue, Song Qingfeng, Nalan Mingxue, Su Tianji, and the rest were all crowding around.

"It really is the owner!" Jiang Xiaoyue cried out, covering her small mouth in astonishment.

"To think such a thing is actually possible!" Lanyand pointed at Fang Qi, who was seated before his computer screen. "Look, is that the new shop behind him?"

"The shop appears quite deserted!" Su Tianji remarked, pointing toward the space behind Fang Qi.

"Good grief!" Fang Qi muttered, watching the crowd gesticulate and peer at him through the screen. His weathered face flushed slightly with embarrassment. "Are all of you really just crowding around to gawk at me?!"

"Merely checking to see if you had truly vanished," Nalan Mingxue replied with utter composure.

"I was nearly abducted, you know!" Fang Qi said with solemn gravity. "None of you have any idea how perilous it was when this proprietor first arrived. I boarded a rogue carriage and wasn't even permitted to disembark. Fortuitously, I possessed the wits to handle it!"

The two sides fell into an enthusiastic conversation, during which Fang Qi related a few anecdotes from his journey, such as how a certain death-seeking driver had been bound hand and foot into a tidy bundle.

"Giggle, giggle..." Jiang Xiaoyue laughed so hard she nearly collapsed onto the desk, her small fists pounding against the wooden surface. "How can anyone be so foolish!"

"Are the people in that city truly so entertaining?" Dong Qingli found herself thoroughly amused as well.

Right at that moment, Fang Qi heard Zou Mo call out from the front of the shop: "Owner! Someone is here to collect the monthly fee!"

"A monthly fee?" Fang Qi's brow knit together. "What monthly fee?"

"You all carry on without me for now! We shall speak later!" Fang Qi added a waving goodbye emoji.

"Owner! Remember to open a live stream for us!" Dong Qingli remained entirely fixed on the idea.

"Yes, precisely! I wish to see the new city!" Jiang Xiaoyue chimed in, her face alive with excitement.

...

Liu San was considered a prominent cultivator of this particular street, though there had been certain establishments on this avenue that he previously dared not approach—such as the predecessor to Fang Qi’s current shop.

However, word had traveled that Mo Tianxing had sold the property...

"Senior Liu! The arrogance of this shop is immense!" Beside Liu San stood a pockmarked young cultivator dressed in a short tunic.

"Their prices are by no means low; it appears this establishment deals in some rather fine wares," Liu San scoffed, stepping over the threshold into the shop. "Who is the proprietor here?"

"I am." Only then did Fang Qi rise from his seat and step forward.

Liu San cast a glance at the prices listed on Fang Qi's small blackboard. "Lad, are you a newcomer?"

"What of it?"

"Are you familiar with the Red Wood Pharmacy?" Liu San inquired with an air of haughty superiority. "I operate under the command of Master Xu Biao. Given the revenue of a shop like yours, three thousand spirit crystals a month will ensure you live a peaceful existence within this city!"

Fang Qi looked over at Zou Mo, only to find the youth looking entirely bewildered.

Was this not simply a protection racket?

Fang Qi could not help but let out a quiet laugh. "My apologies, but we are already quite peaceful. We have no need for anyone's assurance."

A sinister smile crept onto Liu San's face. "This city... is far from safe. Has the owner truly weighed his options carefully?"

"Is that so?" Fang Qi frowned slightly. This was already the second time he had heard those exact words, the first being from Mo Tianxing. He shrugged his shoulders. "I find it safe enough."

"Senior Liu, this brat refuses a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Let me...!" The pockmarked youth beside him could no longer restrain himself, but he was promptly held back by Liu San. "Harmony breeds wealth, do you not understand?"

Liu San's smile did not reach his eyes. "If you come seeking our aid after this, the price will no longer be so lenient!"

"Is that a fact?"

"The owner may wait and see for himself," Liu San chuckled softly, turning on his heel to depart.

"..." Fang Qi watched the two departing figures, left momentarily speechless by the encounter.

At that point, Ruan Ning from the neighboring equipment shop hurried out. Shifting her gaze into Fang Qi's establishment, she remarked curiously, "Why did those men leave in such a furious rush?"

"They came to collect a monthly fee, but the owner refused to pay... and so..." Zou Mo murmured, filled with a sense of trepidation.

"And so you drove them away?" Clad in her red attire, Ruan Ning looked thoroughly exasperated. "Do you have any inkling of how troublesome it is to offend people when you have only just arrived here?"

"What is there to be troubled about? A thorough thrashing will suffice," Fang Qi replied nonchalantly. Furthermore, his own purse was hardly brimming with wealth; had he not inquired with Wang Xian regarding the general property rates in this vicinity and found them reasonable, he would never have purchased this shop. "Why should this proprietor hand over hard-earned money to anyone else?"

Ruan Ning stood frozen. "...You truly possess a head as thick as wood!"

"If you have no desire to pay them, you could alternatively seek out a faction to join, provided you possess some sort of specialized skill," Ruan Ning advised the two of them. "In a city such as this, an individual certainly cannot survive for long on their own—unless, of course, you happen to be some peerless, invincible master."

"I see..." Fang Qi stroked his chin, nodding slowly. "It does feel as though having a faction might be necessary."

A look of approval crossed Ruan Ning's features, as if she were dealing with a teachable child. She nodded and added, "Do not assume this path comes without expense. The Coiling Dragon Manor is situated within the inner city. Unless you approach one of these factions directly at their doorstep, you must go to the Coiling Dragon Manor to register, for every faction in this city—including newly established ones—must have their title and emblem recorded at the manor."

"Is that how it works..." Fang Qi murmured to himself, falling into deep thought. "A new faction must have its title recorded at the Coiling Dragon Manor?"

"Little Mo! Accompany me to the Coiling Dragon Manor!" Fang Qi called out.

"Ah...! Right away!" The somewhat bewildered youth scrambled to respond.

"He has finally come to his senses!" Ruan Ning exhaled a long breath, crossing her arms as she watched the two of them depart toward the inner city, feeling a sense of relief at last.

Yet, when she turned her gaze back to Fang Qi's shop, she was nearly driven mad with frustration. "Hey! You left your shop doors wide open! Am I supposed to watch the place for you?!"

The figures had already vanished into the distance.

Along the road.

Zou Mo spoke with a vacant expression, "Owner, which faction do you intend to join?"

"Join?" Fang Qi dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "Why should I join someone else's? Wouldn't it be far better to establish one ourselves?"

"Establish one ourselves?!" Zou Mo was utterly stupefied!

"Indeed..."

Within the Coiling Dragon Manor, a middle-aged man dressed in rather opulent robes stared at the application form Fang Qi had submitted. "The Defying the Heavens Online Gaming Guild?!"

The expressions of everyone present looked as though they had laid eyes upon a ghost. "!!??"

Of course, what they could not possibly know was that Fang Qi had already devised the recruitment advertisement in his mind: The Dragon-Slaying Saber, yours with a single click...