Chapter 212 A Completely Different Inner Circle
Listening to the astonishing words coming from Qin Bei’s mouth, it wasn’t just Qin Xiu who was taken aback this time. Even the onlookers felt this was too much.
It was really over the top.
Everyone had seen rounding up, seeking good fortune, and applying basic mathematics.
But generally, it’s the seller who takes the hit while the buyer reaps the benefits.
Qin Bei selling things went against this rule, which was already shocking enough.
But the way he rounded numbers and applied these tricks? One could only wonder what shady dealer taught him such methods.
Twenty-three million spirit stones turned into thirty million thanks to your wild gibberish?
That’s an increase of a whopping seven million spirit stones.
Even the shadiest of merchants would shed tears at such an operation.
Rounding up is something Qin Bei got down to a fine art.
Everyone looked at Qin Xiu with sympathy.
It really was tough for Qin Xiu to conduct business with such a sly merchant.
Upon further reflection, they considered that Prince Bei wasn’t all that bad.
At least, when he sold them the soul beads, he wasn’t this pushy or devious…
“No, you!…”
Qin Xiu looked at Qin Bei, itching to challenge him.
But the words hung in the air, cut short.
He was definitely going to buy the soul beads; even if they cost thirty million, he could only grit his teeth and go for it.
Since he was buying regardless, what good would it do to fight back? What if he made Qin Bei mad again and suddenly raised the price to fifty million? He’d probably die of anger right then and there.
“Fine! Thirty million it is!”
Qin Xiu swallowed his frustration!
Taking such a hefty loss this time, he must find a way to recover it after leaving the royal tomb.
“I love doing business with straightforward people like my royal brother.”
This time, Qin Bei didn’t give Qin Xiu much trouble.
Adding more to the conversation? Even if Qin Xiu desperately wanted to take his own people inside, it probably wouldn’t happen.
Thirty soul beads for thirty million spirit stones? Qin Bei was more than satisfied with that deal.
“Here’s ten million spirit stones; the remaining twenty million will be handed over when we get out,” Qin Bei said.
“Sure.”
Once they exchanged, both of them wore a smile as they looked at each other.
“Well then, my royal brother, enjoy these sixth-level soul beads at your leisure! I’ll head in first.”
Without lingering, Qin Bei led his team into the inner circle of the royal tomb.
Qin Xiu followed, cursing with his team as they stepped into the inner circle.
Those left outside could only gaze enviously at those entering the inner circle.
…
“What’s this? It’s pitch black!”
Upon being teleported into the inner circle, Qin Bei was utterly bewildered by its environment.
Compared to the outer circle, the inner circle felt like an entirely different realm.
What was the outer circle like?
Sunshine and day and night.
It was no different from the outside world.
But this inner circle?
It was all foggy and dark.
If a regular person ventured in, they would be entirely blind.
Even a Golden Core realm cultivator like Qin Bei couldn’t see anything beyond ten meters.
Quack~
Quack~
Quack~
A cacophony of crow calls resonated.
The vibrations of their wings sent the fog swirling.
But Qin Bei and his companions could only hear the noises without catching a glimpse of the crows.
“Did we take a wrong turn? Have we seriously ended up in a graveyard?”
Peng Yuan, trailing behind, questioned, shivering.
In this eerie environment, it was hard not to think profoundly.
Qin Bei turned back, rolling his eyes at the kid.
“Seriously? What kind of nonsense is that? What do you mean ‘a real graveyard’? Isn’t this basically a graveyard?”
Qin Bei found Peng Yuan’s intellect quite touching.
Peng Yuan:…
“Uh… the outer circle was so nice, I kinda forgot I actually walked into the royal tomb…”
Shyly scratching his head, Peng Yuan admitted.
Right now, he was utterly compliant with Qin Bei’s orders.
Never had he encountered a master this generous towards his subordinates.
Peng Yuan resolved to try and join Prince Bei’s mansion as soon as they got out.
Even if he couldn’t become a retainer, being a servant in Prince Bei’s mansion would still be a brilliant opportunity.
He didn’t feel it diminished his so-called genius status at all.
After all, compared to someone like Qin Bei, the gap was still vast.
“We must’ve entered the Demon Domain from the four major regions,” Ji Zhuyue said, her brow furrowing.
Before entering the royal tomb, they had done their homework.
So they knew a bit about the inner circle.
The main difference between the inner and outer circles was that the inner area was divided into four sections.
They were the Ghost Domain, Human Domain, Demon Domain, and Monster Domain.
Each area was distinctive, with different types of buried individuals.
In the Demon Domain, they buried all the deceased demons.
Some were buried in the royal tomb for their contributions to Great Xia.
Others were interred here for offending the royal family, effectively becoming nutrients for the royal tomb.
Their purpose? To nourish those who once contributed to Great Xia.
Naturally, plenty of demon cultivators who angered Great Xia found themselves in this Demon Domain too.
After being captured—or upon dying—they were sent to the royal tomb, using their own bodies to provide adequate nourishment for this world.
It served as both punishment and torture for these demon cultivators.
Of course, the Demon Domain wasn’t home solely to demon cultivators; it also housed many ancestors of Great Xia.
Upon their passing, they came here to preserve their souls through this land.
Even after thousands of years, the powerful ancestors’ souls could retain consciousness and fight on.
…
“Creepy! It’s either the Ghost Realm or the Demon Realm—damn it! My luck is terrible!”
Qin Bei couldn’t help but bemoan as he looked around at his surroundings.
“Forget it; it’s all the same. Let’s head forward and figure out how to procure those soul beads. If we still rely on our wits, we might strike it rich again,” Mu Zhaoxue said, linking her arm with Qin Bei’s, comforting him with a smile.
Watching this unfold, Ji Zhuyue silently shook her head.
How had the once aloof, money-averse Mu Zhaoxue been led astray by Qin Bei in just a few months? She was actually starting to crave money.
That materialistic nature was indeed infectious.
Yet seeing her husband’s eyes gleaming with desire clearly indicated he also agreed with Mu Zhaoxue’s sentiments.
“Ha-ha! Well said! Soul beads are the direct goal. I wonder how the soul beads in the inner circle differ from those outside. If I could snag another hundred twenty thousand, whew, I’d hit the jackpot!”
While holding Mu Zhaoxue’s hand, Qin Bei moved forward, muttering eagerly.
He was truly hoping for more of these fortunate occurrences to come his way.
…
Inside the palace.
This time, the group of old men sitting there began to grow nervous.
The opportunities in the outer circle were merely a bit of fluff for the geniuses of their sects.
Of course, excluding freaks like Qin Bei…
In the outer circle, the gains were already far beyond anything anyone had achieved in previous years.
So they simply disregarded such freaks.
The inner circle, however, held significance for their sect geniuses.
Those long-kept secret techniques, if one were to snag a single one, would be a monumental victory.
Someone once got their hands on a celestial-grade martial art in this inner circle.
Such a thing was like a national treasure for any sect.
Naturally, they held no illusions that their disciples would retrieve celestial-grade magical powers.
As long as they secured a divine-grade skill, they’d be content.
Even a low-level divine-grade power would make them overflow with joy and meritously reward their disciples.
However, the crucial requirement was that these divine powers must not be common knowledge.
That sort of value was paramount.
If it was already known, the value would plummet.
“Ah, Qin Bei’s luck is remarkable! He’s directly assigned to the Demon Domain—another no-brainer competition,” the Ninth Prince chuckled while watching the imagery, relishing the fruits presented by the maid.
Emperor Xia glanced at him and promptly closed his eyes, turning away.
Sigh~ Out of sight, out of mind!
For his younger brother, Emperor Xia could only choose to ignore him.
What a large gathering of people, yet the Ninth Prince claimed to be bored.
Then they found themselves in this situation.
All the old men turned serious gazes toward the imagery before them.
Unsurprisingly, some less serious ones split their focus, admiring the ten or so beautiful palace maids catering to the Ninth Prince.
How charming! Is this the leisurely lifestyle of a prince? I envy this!
But the Ninth Prince is genuinely generous; he even arranged for us something!
…
“Brother, this eerie energy surrounding us is so oppressive! Instead of this, how about I send in some dancers for a performance? Watching the dance while drinking would certainly lighten the mood!”
The Ninth Prince had a sudden stroke of inspiration and suggested to Emperor Xia.
Emperor Xia:…
“Either watch quietly or get out!”
Emperor Xia had reached the end of his patience.
What in the world was going on?
Dancers?
Was this some kind of entertaining spectacle? Accompanied by dance?
The Ninth Prince:…
Smack~Smack~
After his proposal was shot down, the disgruntled Ninth Prince sulked while consuming the fruits the maid offered.
“Eat already! But stop smacking your lips; you haven’t retained a single bit of royal etiquette!”
Emperor Xia shot a glare at the Ninth Prince, seizing the moment to scold him roundly.
The sect elders sampling the royal fruit were so frightened they immediately sealed their lips and swallowed the fruit in their mouths whole…
Cut~
In the end, the Ninth Prince could only grumble silently.
Though he did recall not to smack his lips this time.
The others around him were now too afraid to make a sound.
They felt the relationship between the Ninth Prince and Emperor Xia was undeniably odd.
If one were to assert that the Ninth Prince didn’t respect Emperor Xia—however, the Ninth Prince would never counter Emperor Xia’s words the second time.
But if one were to claim that the Ninth Prince respected Emperor Xia—he had never seen anyone so audacious.
The kicker was that Emperor Xia indeed tolerating the Ninth Prince’s antics.
This left everyone scratching their heads in confusion.
All they understood was one thing: royal family relationships were indeed complex!
Even Emperor Xia couldn’t escape it.
…
The Ninth Prince glanced at Emperor Xia above, and upon noticing he wasn’t paying attention, he readied to stir the pot once more.
Ahem~
The Ninth Prince first coughed a couple of times, capturing everyone’s attention.
This included Emperor Xia, of course.
Huh~ What do you want now?
Emperor Xia gritted his teeth, struggling to suppress his rising temper, and asked the Ninth Prince.
“Uh… Your Majesty, sitting here in silence isn’t fun. How about I act as the banker and set up a betting table?”
As he spoke, the Ninth Prince looked around, gauging the interest of those present.
Upon seeing the eager gleam in the elders’ eyes, he instantly knew that they found just sitting there monotonous too.
Emperor Xia caught on as well.
Although he didn’t quite understand what the Ninth Prince was up to, he eventually nodded in agreement.
Because Emperor Xia was well aware that his younger brother, despite being rather unserious and preoccupied with enjoying life over cultivation, was surprisingly astute when it came to revelry.
So, without any need for the Ninth Prince to elaborate further, Emperor Xia recognized this was the opportunity for the Ninth Prince to start raking in the cash.
The targets? Naturally, the so-called clever old men gathered in the hall.
“Go ahead, tell us what you want to bet on!”
Emperor Xia inquired.
“Hey~”
Once he saw Emperor Xia’s nod of approval, the Ninth Prince immediately pumped up with enthusiasm.
“It’s really simple; we’ll bet on one person!”
“One person!”
While announcing this, the Ninth Prince raised a finger, waving it in front of dozens of old men.
The tension in the air escalated.
“I believe everyone can guess who this is without me saying a word—yup, it’s Qin Bei.”
“Him? What’s there to bet on regarding him? Change the subject,” Emperor Xia shook his head.
“I wasn’t finished yet. Why the rush?”
The Ninth Prince shot back defiantly.
Scaring the others into a slight jump.
What a daring one, indeed!
“Quickly, spill it! Don’t stall!”
“Okay, I’ll just say it! I’m putting together the bets on when Qin Bei will obtain the soul bead from the big devil. That’s it. I’ll be the banker; you can bet as you wish. If you lose, it’s ten to one!” the Ninth Prince proclaimed gallantly.
Everyone perked up when they heard about the tenfold return.
How could anyone resist such enticing profits?
Even the group of old men couldn’t hold out against it.
The Ninth Prince hadn’t specified any upper limit for the bets—which meant anyone could wager as much as they liked!
Such betting opportunities were nearly unheard of in their lifetime.
“No, how could anyone draw an accurate conclusion on when this kid will score the soul bead from the big devil? Also, could you show just a little respect? That’s your ancestor we’re talking about—call him a big devil? No respect whatsoever!”
Emperor Xia reprimanded the Ninth Prince sharply.
The nearby elders, too, jolted out of their lure of the tenfold payout.
Indeed, how could one predict exact timings?
Without the Emperor’s warning, they might’ve walked straight into the Ninth Prince’s trap.
…
The “big devil” they referred to was, in fact, a royal ancestor whose spirit guards the Demon Domain posthumously.
Although he was a bit different—people dubbed him the big devil for haunting the royal tomb’s Demon Domain, preventing those demon cultivators from causing a ruckus.
It could be said he cared for the royal family in life and continued to do so even in death.
“Oh, right! My brother makes a valid point. This would indeed be unfair for you. However, what I mean by time is actually within one day. That is to say, you can wager that Qin Bei will get the soul bead within one day or even two days. As long as the final result falls within one day, no matter how many hours it takes to finish, the person who bets wins.”
“And if it’s one to two days well then the bet is that the one who bets will win within two days. Thus, it follows in succession; make any bet you like! I, Prince of Seven Seals, guarantee: just wait for the result. If I lose, I’ll deliver the compensation! No tricky business! And it will all be settled within three days!”
“How about it? Are you all intrigued now?”
The Ninth Prince wore a grin, peering at the crowd of unwitting participants before him.
Hahaha! A bunch of naive souls—better brace yourselves for this king’s clever game!
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