Chapter 578: Boss, Top Up Money!

One region waging war against another where a shop resided was naturally something Fang Qi had no desire to see.

After all, these were not times of peace; who would have the luxury of leisure to frequent his establishment for online games and television dramas?

Moreover, the current Fang Qi was essentially bound to his own shop; if it flourished, he would thrive, but if it fell, even if he were to hide within its walls forever, a certain system might fail to shield him.

It was only a matter of time before the formidable factions backing Jessica, Carl, and the others discovered that the trio had fallen into captivity.

From the fragments gathered during his conversations with Jessica, Fang Qi could sense the sheer, unimaginable vastness of this continent—so boundless that even the power behind her had yet to map its entire expanse.

He had even caught faint intimations from her words that at the absolute zenith of this world’s pyramid lay ancient existences akin to gods hidden in the shadows.

And there was more than one.

Though even Jessica had never beheld them with her own eyes, the countless divine decrees and miracles that had descended upon this world through the ages stood as unassailable proof.

The spiritual runes etched upon their brows further attested to this; each rune was a manifestation of distilled divine power, granting them the ability to channel celestial might and invoke miraculous spells.

If an opponent of equal rank were a common cultivator or martial artist wielding ordinary spiritual essence or martial qi, while the other side could summon such terrifying, transcendent forces, the outcome required no guesswork to foresee.

It was simply not a battle on the same echelon.

This was precisely one of the reasons they dared to look down upon the cultivators of the Daluo Continent; in the presence of overwhelming power, any unorthodox tricks or lesser arts were utterly futile.

That Fang Qi had emerged victorious that day was merely because he had endured countless battles within the games; at the very least, his game character had mastered and claimed most of the ghosts and gods' powers as his own, and upon fully synchronizing with that character, his control over that power far surpassed anything the trio could muster.

Coupled with the formidable might of the Demon Sword and his other gear, he had managed to vanquish three foes as one.

Had Boss Fang been a novice Soul Bender, the defeated party would undoubtedly have been him.

Yet among them, Carl, the strongest of their number, was merely a vanguard general.

One could well imagine what a colossal, monolithic entity the judgment temple behind them truly was.

Perhaps the only saving grace was that Boss Fang had come here to open a shop, rather than marching into this world to drop a ruthless declaration like "I grant you destruction," so there was no need to worry about some outwardly harmless fellow like himself coming to break down the door.

Another minor blessing was that Jessica and her companions...

"Belch—!" Jessica cast her broom aside, clutching a bottle of Cola as she let out an involuntary, hearty burp. "Huh? How is this Cola already gone? Bring us a bottle of Iced Red Tea!"

With that, she fished out a strange, purple spiritual crystal and casually tossed it over as payment.

"Once the day comes that we return, I shall certainly capture this wretched boss and make him brew Iced Red Tea for us every single day!" Jessica snorted coldly.

In her mind, a vision of Boss Fang pouring tea and massaging her shoulders had already materialized; the corners of her mouth curled upward as she thoroughly enjoyed the sweet, numbing comfort of this capitalistic decadence, her mood becoming exceedingly pleasant.

"Do not act rashly for now; this shop is riddled with hidden mechanisms!" Kelvin warned in a low, hushed tone. "Furthermore, we can gather more intelligence here to discern just what manner of sacred entity is backing this establishment!"

He was clearly recollecting a certain night spent smashing doors and clawing at windows without ever finding escape, rendering him considerably more cautious now.

On the other hand, it was best that such a humiliating ordeal never leaked out; thus, while investigating the shop's secrets, he was also contemplating how to negotiate terms with Boss Fang.

...

"These matters concerning the outsiders must indeed be guarded against," Gu Tingyun’s expression grew somewhat solemn. "We were able to cross the Heavenly Abyss Ocean to get here; if they should one day follow that same ocean to our Lingzhou, our homeland will be in dire peril!"

For once, Fang Qi assumed a rare air of solemnity, given that he was still half a native of the Desolate Sea Realm: "This matter truly cannot be left unguarded."

By now, Fang Qi understood quite clearly that the invaders belonged to a single faction known as the "Judgment Temple." Though he knew nothing of their standing across the entire continent—perhaps it was exceedingly high—they did not represent the entirety of the vast and boundless network of factions scattered across the land.

Of course, the existence of other factions possessing a similar nature to the Judgment Temple could not be ruled out, a point Fang Qi needed to weigh with utmost caution.

"I intend to depart for the return journey this very day to begin making arrangements. What are your plans, Boss Fang?" Gu Tingyun naturally had no intention of delaying.

"I plan to find a peaceful place to open a branch shop, and perhaps take in the local customs and culture of this region while I am at it. If any news arises, I shall inform you then," Fang Qi replied in such a manner.

"Very well."

...

In truth, whether the cultivators of Lingzhou and the Desolate Sea Realm could establish a foothold beneath the crushing weight of this immense upper realm depended not on Fang Qi alone, but on themselves—on all the cultivators and martial artists hailing from Lingzhou, the Desolate Sea Realm, the Western Polar Realm, and every other region.

Fang Qi alone could not dictate their destiny; at least one of Jessica's assertions held true: it was a world of wolves devouring sheep, where only the fittest survived.

It had to be said that certain forces possessed the power to bind people together.

In the face of such things, conflicts of hatred and interest seemed to lose all their worth.

The cultivators of the Half-City in the Morning Star Sea Realm and those of the other major orthodox sects normally looked askance at one another, yet now they had to maintain a facade of brotherhood.

The Great Jin Kingdom and the Yunnan Realm, the Wuwei Daoist Alliance and the two Sacred Sects, though historically rife with friction, at least shared no enmity with the cultivators of Lingzhou.

Two figures shrouded in black robes had gathered at this moment in a secluded corner of the shop: "Should we...?"

"Naturally..." The tall man draped in the black cloak spoke, his voice carrying a trace of bleak desolation as he gazed upon the jade plaque in his hand, which bore the characters 'Luo Tian.' "The years flow endlessly, and floating life is but a dream. May the immortal souls of our predecessors watch over us, so that we may emerge victorious in this battle!"

"How many years has it been... and now we, too, must face the very enemies they once fought..."

"How is the 'demonic power' within your body faring now?" the black-robed man inquired in a low whisper.

The woman frowned slightly: "Just as it was in that 'world,' I can hear the whispers of demons from time to time. However, it is actually quite manageable; the power contained within this class advancement contract is flawless. Now that I possess the power of the 'Stigmata,' I have absolutely no fear of demons."

"Furthermore, I believe I can condense another seed of demonic power. With the aid of that 'world’s' strength, I imagine you are not far from your own class advancement either."

"With this strength dwelling within us, perhaps 'Awakening' is no longer an unreachable dream!"

"Then let us first journey into that world to comprehend it thoroughly!"

"Let us drain our fatigue points first, and then join their discussion!"

"Let’s go, let’s go! If a piece of epic gear flashes for me later, I shall treat you to a Cola!"

"Shall we do a live stream today to reinforce a weapon to plus fourteen? I recall that the reward voucher carried no restrictions on the reinforcement level?"

"My goodness, it seems that is truly the case! How could plus fourteen possibly suffice?! Let us aim for plus twenty!"

"Boss, add some credits to my account!"