“You can just pick up your people and then head to the Shou Empire. I still have a few connections there. They’re not as bold as the Sea King. Those beasts still know how to respect a hierarchy. They didn’t lose their minds just because of a few hundred years.”
Considering how they wanted to turn Sage into a pampered captive the only time he’d been to that other Empire, he was in no hurry to go back again.
“I don’t think the Shou Empire is a good idea, they may respect you, but they might not ever let me leave again.”
“There’s also the Xuanyuan Empire, that place is still a backwater. It should be easy to hide there. Your people control bugs, don’t they? You’d probably fit right in with all those Gu Cultivators.”
“Do you only know people at the top of Empires? Can’t we just go hide in the Eightfold Kingdom or the Tianren Kingdom? Nobody should know us over there, right?”
“The Chain Ocean Palace is influential within the whole of the Tianxia Empire, are you sure you want to risk staying within their territory?”
“You’re right, it's best not to risk it. We also will not return to my Clan. If the Sea King marked you or me somehow, then we would lead them right back to my people. It's better for me to remain ‘dead’ and never draw any attention back towards my Clan. There is only a single Memory Sphere with our names on it and we will just have to hope it doesn’t draw his attention.”
“That black eyed scoundrel has much better things to do than care about a clan of bugs wearing human skin. They’ll be fine, and even if they wouldn’t be, there’s nothing you can do about it now. If he really wants to kill you, everyone in your World Core goes with you after all.”
Leave it to Guan Zhenyan to bring up the worst situation. Of course, Sage had already had a huge discussion over it on the Inner World and they eventually decided that what Guan Zhenyan said here was right. They could only hope not to get the man’s attention and if they did, at least there were now two different seeds of hope for their Clan. He also had to hope that the Hoplites wouldn’t seem too out of place. They’d started to spread through the Tianxia Empire already due to the villages of them that Sage had left in the wilderness between the Kingdoms and also because of the prominence of the Jade Horde in some places. Such perfect subordinates would certainly be popular among many groups of people. Of course, it would be even better if that Sea King fellow didn’t even question where they came from. Sage had just been a way to get to Guan Zhenyan after all. So it should be a bonus to loot the Universe Ring rather than an incentive to dig deeper.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Guan Zhenyan traveled down a few dozen more levels of the Tianxia Capital and then walked into an immense showroom with a ceiling hundreds of feet tall. The reason for such a huge structure became apparent after they walked past a few columns and many thousands of vehicles appeared. Flying Ships of all shapes and sizes were present as well as what seemed an uncountable number of smaller Flying Magical Tools. What was most depressing was that Sage actually picked out one of the Airships his Clan had designed, but it was pushed over to one of the farthest and most remote corners along with a few other cheap and poor quality flying vehicles.
While standing in the open area between all the displays, Guan Zhenyan suddenly spoke to him, using a voice transmission so no one could overhear them.
“How much money do you have? We need a fast flying tool.”
“I already have a Flying Tool, it’s quite fast.”
“That little boat of yours is too small. The Xuanyuan Empire is a very long way from here, that little boat is barely fast enough, and not comfortable at all.”
Thinking of this, Guan Zhenyan turned and started to walk towards one of the side halls, passing through the immense showroom and into a large hallway-like area. Along both sides of this hall were openings with a countertop and a door to the side. Walking up to one of them, Zhenyan knocked on a small cylindrical bell which let out a low, almost gong-like noise. The small office behind the counter had a curtain and a man wearing an apron made of beast hide leather walked in. They took off a set of large gloves and put on a fake smile for Guan Zhenyan, “Hey there, how can I help you? Are you here for a trade-in or repairs?”
“I’ve got more than one to sell, shall we head back to show you?”
Sage wasn’t given any time to back out of this situation, but that didn’t mean he had to trade in his best things. Instead he countered by asking a question, “You came directly to this trade counter. Are there benefits to be had by dealing with this person instead of on the sales floor?”
“You caught on quick. That main room is full of snakes working for a cut of whatever they can sell. They’ll say anything it takes to make a deal. These traders are individuals and get first access to whatever gets sold to them. If you bring out something that catches their interest they will help you pick out all the best stuff they have in stock. So just bring out all the Flying Tools you’ve got and see if you can get their interest.”
That final line was a good reminder, they were at this flying tool shop after all, so they only cared about flying tools here. Considering the circumstances, and with some calculations from his Adjutor, Sage realized that Guan Zhenyan was right. Sage didn’t care about the man’s comfort on the trip, but the Red Comet was not really the best for long distance travel. Compared to true Flying Ships that were loaded with functions to gather their own energy, defenses, offenses, and all sorts of other things, the Red Comet was just a basic flying tool with decent speed. The more Qi it was supplied the faster it could go, but maintaining that for weeks or months on end was not really possible. Especially given how lazy Guan Zhenyan had shown himself to be. There was no telling how long it would take to get to the Xuanyuan Empire if he was only using the Red Comet.
“I’ll bring out everything, but only on one condition. I get to make the final decision on whether or not you sell any of them, alright? We hear the offers first before we sell anything.”
“Fine, but I don’t feel like being a mouthpiece. Put descriptions on Jade Talismans.”
That was fine with Sage as well as he knew that without some descriptions, the purpose of many of the Flying Tools from the Inner World might be easily missed by this trader. Considering the circumstances they were in, Sage had many of the ‘reserved’ products brought out. The Red Comet. The Flying Wing. A Military Airship. After a moment of hesitation he also brought out one more, the Logistics Airship.