Chapter 093: Conflict

Soon, their wares drew a crowd.

The women in particular were drawn in by the fluffy low-rank Luo cat cubs and the purple rabbit kits, which were simply too adorable to resist.

These low-tier spirit beasts were docile, obedient, small in size, and not especially intelligent, making them ideal as pets.

Before long, people began asking about the prices.

Feng Jun’s expression never changed, so there was no hope of him dealing with customers. Shen Duo had to smile and explain the prices herself, politely refusing any haggling.

After all, the prices they had set were already more than fair. They had only come to the market as an afterthought, and they were not short on coins.

Most of the people here were independent spirit mages who traveled widely and knew the world well. They could tell at a glance that these three young people were not trying to swindle anyone.

Several rogue mages made quick purchases of a few low-priced cubs and some materials from the stall.

Then, from behind the crowd, a rough voice suddenly rang out.

“Get out of the way, or this young master’s light orb won’t care where it lands.”

Shen Duo’s brow furrowed slightly.

Before long, the space in front of their stall had been cleared.

Through the open gap in the crowd, three young men were seen escorting two dainty girls in blue spirit-mage robes who looked exactly alike as they walked toward them.

One of the taller men flattered the girls beside him. “There are so many people at this stall, there must be something interesting here. If any of you junior sisters like something, just tell your senior brother!”

Those two girls were already nine-star spirit mages, only one step away from becoming Sky Mages.

The three young men beside them were all mid- to low-tier spirit mages as well. No wonder that rude shout had made the crowd scatter on its own.

They were only staying one night at Esport Harbor. Though Shen Duo already disliked this group, she did not want to invite any trouble.

So she merely watched them coolly.

The two girls glanced over the goods on the stall, their expressions unchanged; clearly, they looked down on everything there. But when their eyes swept over Shen Duo, both pairs of eyes suddenly lit up. The girls exchanged a glance and walked toward Shen Duo’s stall.

The young man who had spoken before was thrilled. He felt he had earned face in front of the junior sisters and smiled even more ingratiatingly, drawing the envy of the other two men.

The two girls disdainfully looked over the ordinary materials and leftover beast cubs on the stall, then fixed their gazes on the fox on Shen Duo’s shoulder.

With haughty voices, they said, “We want this fox on your shoulder. Name your price.”

In their eyes, the girl before them, barely fifteen, was nothing but useless trash who could not even absorb spirit energy. The young man beside her had a handsome face, but he was only a seven- or eight-star spirit mage. Only the tall man on the left had any real strength, though he was merely a swordsman.

If they wanted to deal with the three of them, it would be no more than a trivial matter for their group of five spirit mages.

Shen Duo had not expected them to set their sights on the Five-Tailed Fire Fox. Their taste was decent enough, but unfortunately, it was not for sale.

“Miss,” Shen Duo said coldly, “I’m sorry, but this fox is my spirit-beast partner. It is not for sale.”

The two girls had never imagined they would be refused. They looked the three of them up and down. Seeing that their spirit-mage robes were made of the most ordinary cloth, with even some places torn, one of the girls let out a mocking laugh. “Isn’t the only thing you want money? State your price, and I’ll consider it charity.”

As soon as she finished, the three men behind them burst into laughter.

“It’s only a red fox. If junior sister hadn’t taken a liking to it, would you even get this chance? I advise you to be sensible,” another medium-built man warned.

If Shen Duo had not pulled him back, Wei Dong would already have made a move. He was the straightforward sort, always striking first when words failed. Right now, these people were truly begging to be beaten.

Shen Duo stared at the two girls. The faint smile on her face had long since vanished, and her eyes had gone cold. She did not want trouble, but faced with such arrogant idiots, she could not very well swallow the insult.

“I’ll say it one more time. This is my spirit beast. It is not for sale. If you please, look elsewhere.”

The two girls’ tempers flared at once when they saw how shamelessly ungrateful she was. Since childhood, whether at home or in the academy, they had been doted on beyond measure. There had never been anything they wanted that they could not have. They had only wanted to buy the fox because it was lovely and a rare fiery red. Who would have thought they would run into a stone wall?

At once, both girls were displeased.

One of them snapped, “Stop pretending. Anyone here who’s a spirit mage can tell you’re trash who can’t even absorb spirit energy. What contract spirit beast could you possibly have? Who are you trying to fool? It’s your good fortune that my sister and I fancy your beast. Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a penalty!”

The other girl, determined to get her way, immediately reached for Shen Duo’s shoulder.

Relying on their superior strength, they meant to seize it by force, and none of the surrounding rogue mages dared to interfere.

Shen Duo did not move at all. She only gave a soft, cold snort.

Before the girl’s hand could touch the red fox on Shen Duo’s shoulder, she was suddenly scorched by a strange burst of flame. In an instant, her entire right hand turned black as char.

The sudden agony made the girl scream.

Lou Jingbai stood on Shen Duo’s shoulder, looking down coldly at the human, thinking, “So you dare treat this lord like a low-rank beast? That’s the price.”

Seeing her sister injured, the other girl’s eyes turned blood-red. She hurled a spirit-energy orb straight at Shen Duo and the others.

Then she angrily shouted at the young men behind her, “What are you standing there for? Kill them all!”

The men had still been stunned by the strange flames that had burned their junior sister like that. But at the cry of the girl they adored, they no longer had time to think. They charged in headlong.

Their minds were filled with thoughts of making the junior sister look at them differently. If they could win her favor, would their future still be a concern?

After the girl hurled one furious spirit-energy orb, another and another followed in quick succession, each bearing a different attribute.

Shen Duo drew the longsword from her storage pouch, her face ice-cold as she met them head-on.

In an instant, the small market descended into chaos. At the rear of the market, the violent detonations of the spirit-energy orbs drew everyone’s attention.

The group stood with dark, malicious expressions, staring through the smoke and dust. One of the men said viciously, “This is the consequence of hurting junior sister! Truly, there is a road to heaven and you won’t take it; there is no gate to hell and you insist on entering!”

Many of the rogue mages who knew what had happened looked on with sympathy through the dust. Those three people who had been running the stall were probably blasted to ashes by now.

In that situation, it had clearly been the other side at fault. But who could blame them when their strength was so overwhelming? That was the cruel rule of this world.

Soon, every onlooker widened their eyes in astonishment as they stared at the girl slowly walking out from the dust.

Her companions followed behind her.

Within the swirling haze, not a trace of disarray could be seen on the girl. She held a longsword in her right hand, her expression cold, her deep eyes blazing with fierce battle intent.