"Right!"
Zhao Xuan suddenly grinned as he remembered something. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the rhombus-shaped crystal he had dug from the golem's skull.
"President Lian, do you know what this thing—"
Before he could even finish, Lian Jie's voice exploded through the room.
"Land King Crystal!"
Zhao Xuan froze mid-sentence.
"Land King Crystal?"
He looked up in confusion and found Lian Jie standing there, completely stunned.
The older man's eyes were wide open, fixed intensely on the crystal in Zhao Xuan's hand.
His entire face was filled with shock, disbelief, and utter astonishment.
In that moment, waves of realization crashed violently through Lian Jie's mind.
He recalled Zhao Xuan mentioning earlier that he had discovered a natural relic.
Then—an outrageous, almost impossible thought flashed in his mind.
"Wait… no way… Could this be… a Tier Four Land King Crystal that Zhao Xuan obtained by killing a Tier Four Land King Beast?"
No.
No, no, no—impossible!
That couldn't be!
There was an enormous chasm between Tier Three and Tier Four—a gap that separated elites from legends!
But the more Lian Jie tried to reject the idea, the stronger that possibility clawed at him.
And then—he remembered what had happened that morning at the entrance of the Mystical Bird Relic.
Could it be…?
That insane guess began to feel less like fantasy and more like truth.
"Huuh…"
He took a deep breath to steady himself, forcing his thoughts into order.
Then he looked straight at Zhao Xuan, his eyes gleaming sharply.
"Zhao Xuan," he said slowly, "this Land King Crystal… where exactly did you get it? Don't tell me—it came from that natural relic you found?"
"Yes," Zhao Xuan nodded. "It's from the final guardian of the relic. I dug it out from that guardian's skull after defeating it."
As soon as those words fell—
"Hhhhhhh—!!"
A long, sharp inhale of cold air echoed through the office.
Lian Jie stood frozen.
For several long seconds—minutes, even—he couldn't move, couldn't speak.
When he finally came to his senses, the way he looked at Zhao Xuan had completely changed.
Gone was the gentle, guiding look of a senior addressing a junior.
Now, there was only respect—the kind shown between equals.
"Truly… a hero born of youth," he muttered, finally managing to speak.
Clapping Zhao Xuan firmly on the shoulder, Lian Jie continued, "Zhao Xuan, to be honest, before today I wasn't very optimistic about your chances in the National Examination. The participants there are all monsters among monsters—the most gifted prodigies of our generation."
"Your strength was impressive, yes, but compared to those born into great families, you still seemed a step behind."
He paused, his eyes gleaming with admiration.
"But now… now I see I've gravely underestimated you."
Zhao Xuan scratched his head, smiling awkwardly. "You flatter me, President Lian."
"I'm looking forward to seeing your performance in the National Tournament," Lian Jie said sincerely.
"I'll do my best," Zhao Xuan replied, his fist clenching with quiet determination.
Lian Jie smiled, then waved his hand. "Alright, alright, enough about that. Let's talk about this Land King Crystal instead."
"The so-called Land King Crystal," he explained, "is an energy crystal formed within the bodies of Tier Four and higher Land King-type creatures. Each one contains extremely pure energy and serves as the main ingredient for crafting mid-grade energy solutions."
He paused for a moment, eyeing the crystal again.
"Judging by the quality, this one's from a Tier Four Land King. It should fetch around three million credits on the market."
"I see," Zhao Xuan nodded gratefully. "Thank you for the explanation, President Lian."
"Hah, there's no need to be so formal," Lian Jie chuckled warmly. "If you don't mind, just call me Brother Lian. 'President Lian' sounds far too distant."
Zhao Xuan grinned. "Then I'll respectfully accept that, Brother Lian."
"Hahaha! That's better, Brother Zhao!"
By the time Zhao Xuan left Lian Jie's office, the sun was already dipping below the horizon.
Outside, the orange sky bathed the city in a soft golden hue.
He opened his System Panel briefly and couldn't help but smile when he noticed that, during Lian Jie's sudden "test attack," his Armament Haki proficiency had increased by four points—finally advancing from Beginner to Proficient.
The corners of his mouth curved upward into a satisfied grin.
Instead of heading straight home, Zhao Xuan made a stop at Xiao Liu's counter and sold the Land King Crystal to the guild for a clean 3,000,000 credits.
But before the digital receipt even cooled on the printer, he had already spent it all—
Every last credit converted into energy potions and cultivation resources.
And that wasn't all.
Zhao Xuan also spent another 1.2 million on a large batch of specialized blue bricks from the guild.
Afterward, he visited a furniture store downtown and ordered a full set of household furniture.
Why, you ask?
The answer was obvious—
He was going to build himself a home inside the desert relic!
A place to rest, to store supplies, and maybe—
to quietly prepare for the battles to come.
A fortress of solitude in his very own pocket dimension.
Two birds, one stone.
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