Chapter 158: “The Fine” and the Invitation to the Sleepless City

“Munition costs?”

When Jian Wuxin heard those four words, a crack finally appeared on that eternally ice-sealed face of his.

Since the day he began cultivating, he had fought countless battles. He had heard things like “your skills are inferior,” heard “your Dao heart is flawed,” and had even heard “what are you looking at.” But he swore that in his entire life, he had never heard of fighting someone and then having to compensate the other party for “munition expenses”!

How absurd was this!

How shameless!

This was simply the most vicious blasphemy against the sacred words “contending for the Great Dao”!

“You—”

Just as he was about to roar in anger, another thunderous “boom” rang out. Seven or eight sword butterflies struck the same node of the flying vessel’s formation almost simultaneously. The light of the sword array instantly dimmed to the extreme, emitting a strained “crack” as it reached its limit.

Behind him, the disciples of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect all turned deathly pale, their Dao hearts shaking violently.

The sect-protecting sword array they had always taken pride in, before the opponent, looked like a refined young lady being beaten up by street thugs—utterly incapable of fighting back.

How was this fight supposed to continue?

The other side did not contend with sword intent, did not debate Dao techniques, and could not even be bothered to show themselves.

They simply used this kind of “treasure” they had never even heard of, employing a nearly extravagant, cost-ignoring method, smashing them alive!

This was no longer a duel of techniques.

This was a duel of wealth!

At this moment, Jian Wuxin’s pure sword heart felt an unprecedented sense of suffocation.

He felt like a warrior who had painstakingly trained dragon-slaying skills for twenty years, only to discover that the dragon had arrived piloting an interstellar battleship.

“Fellow Daoist Jian, a friendly reminder.”

Chu Feng’s unhurried voice sounded once more, carrying a merchant’s shrewdness.

“The cost price of my ‘Sword Butterflies’ is three thousand top-grade spirit stones each.”

“The first wave just now, we fired one hundred and twenty of them, totaling three hundred and sixty thousand.”

“Now this is the second wave. At present, forty-two have been expended, totaling one hundred and twenty-six thousand.”

“Oh right, we also need to add our security personnel’s ‘attendance allowance’ and ‘emotional distress compensation,’ as well as the ‘environmental pollution remediation fee’ for damage to the航道… I’ll have finance calculate it. I’ll give you a twelve percent discount, round it up nicely—five hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones. Not a stone less.”

“Pff!”

One of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect disciples, upon hearing that number, failed to catch his breath and directly suffered a Dao heart collapse, spurting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Five hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones!

That was enough to buy a decent Profound-tier treasure!

And in just this short amount of time, it was gone?

Jian Wuxin’s hand gripping the iron sword bulged with veins. He stared deathly at Ascension No. 1, eyes filled with a chill cold enough to freeze stars.

He knew he could refuse to pay.

At worst, it would be the destruction of the ship and the loss of all lives.

But he could not.

He was not alone. On this ship were dozens of elite sect disciples, the future hope of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

He could die, but these people could not be buried pointlessly in such an inexplicably stifling battle.

An unparalleled humiliation!

This was an unparalleled humiliation that Jian Wuxin had never suffered since making his name!

Without saying a word, he took out a storage pouch from his robes, wrapped it in spiritual power, and fiercely hurled it toward the direction of Ascension No. 1.

“We’re leaving!”

He practically squeezed out those three words through clenched teeth. Then he abruptly turned around, no longer sparing this place a single glance, and piloted the badly damaged sword-shaped flying vessel, turning into a streak of light as it vanished miserably into the depths of the starry domain.

“Tsk, didn’t even want an invoice. A big client indeed.”

Inside Ascension No. 1, Chu Feng played with that heavy storage pouch and nodded in satisfaction.

At the side, Zhao Wuji watched with tears welling up in his eyes, excitedly jotting down notes in his little notebook:

“The President used ‘cost accounting’ and ‘sunk cost deterrence’ to successfully complete a highly efficient ‘non-standard asset monetization’!”

“This business model is at least ten thousand years ahead of the entire Cultivation World!”

Just as everyone was still immersed in this uniquely styled “victory,” a gentle spiritual light appeared at the center of the battlefield without any warning.

As the light dissipated, a leaf-shaped vessel silently hovered there.

On the vessel stood a woman in green robes, smiling gently. She cupped her hands toward Ascension No. 1 and the freshly reorganized “Black Wind Security” fleet from afar.

“An envoy of the Thousand Illusions Pavilion, acting on the Pavilion Master’s orders, to deliver invitations to President Chu of the Ascension Group, as well as to the various heroes of the Black Wind Domain.”

Her voice was not loud, yet it clearly entered everyone’s ears.

Long Batian and the others felt their hearts tighten—Thousand Illusions Pavilion!

This was a colossal existence that even desperadoes like them dared not provoke lightly!

Chu Feng stepped out with interest and looked at the envoy.

“Oh? What kind of invitation?”

“The once-in-ten-years Heaven-Piercing Auction.”

The green-robed envoy smiled.

“It will officially commence three days from now in the ‘Sleepless City.’”

“At that time, prodigies from all walks of the Mortal Realm and hidden aristocratic clans will gather there.”

“The Pavilion Master said that since President Chu intends to ‘roadshow,’ that place would be your best stage.”

As she spoke, she flicked her finger, and two jade slips glowing with flowing light shot forth—one flying to Chu Feng, the other to Long Batian.

The instant Chu Feng caught the jade slip, a lazy yet alluring voice transmission, audible only to him, rang out in his mind.

“Little man, not bad at all. You even managed to extort a sum from that latrine-stone Jian Wuxin. Big sister is optimistic about you.”

It was Yao Yue!

“But big sister has to remind you.”

Yao Yue’s voice took on a hint of gravity.

“This time in the Sleepless City, there is something you want—but also someone you least want to see.”

“Your Chief Risk Control Officer’s senior brother, Murong Tian, has already arrived.”

“Be careful. That guy… is a madman.”

Chu Feng’s gaze tightened slightly.

“Sleepless City?”

At the side, Feng Zhiruo’s expression also grew serious.

“President, we must go!”

She explained:

“The Sleepless City is a neutral mega-city located at the border between the Black Wind Domain and the Central Domain of the Tianyuan Continent. It is said to be controlled behind the scenes by the Thousand Illusions Pavilion.”

“The Heaven-Piercing Auction held there is one of the highest-spec events in the entire Mortal Realm. Every time, earth-shaking treasures appear!”

“Conducting a round of ‘market research’ and ‘brand promotion’ along the way of our roadshow isn’t a bad idea either.”

Chu Feng stroked his chin and made a decisive call on the spot.

“Full speed ahead. Target—Sleepless City!”

Just as Ascension No. 1 turned its bow and prepared to depart, Feng Zhiruo added another sentence, her tone carrying a trace of warning.

“President, you should be mentally prepared.”

“In the Sleepless City, all manner of people mingle together, and all private fighting is strictly forbidden.”

“All disputes must be resolved within the ‘rules.’”

“And the ‘rules’ there are at least a hundred times more complex than the rules of those star pirates in the Black Wind Domain!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep