Star Odyssey

Chapter 2707: The Merchant Exchange

The Transcendent Universe woman and her group proceeded to spend nearly half an hour walking across the massive bestowal art carrier. The woman was not in any hurry, and she just strolled along, taking various twists and turns as she went along, as though avoiding something. Finally, they arrived at what should be the control center of the carrier.

Lu Yin frowned. He had expected the women from the Cloudflow Universe to be delivered to some high-ranking person from the Transcendent Universe. For so many beautiful women to be brought together, the intention had seemed clear.

However, Lu Yin was currently reevaluating his assumption. This did not look like a place for such activities, and it was even possible to see distant parts of the bestowal art carrier moving as the massive construct continued to operate.

There was something odd about the entire situation, especially considering how the woman seemed to be avoiding something on her way to this location, which only increased the oddity of the situation.

Lu Yin and Cloudflow were not in a hurry, so they simply waited and watched.

The following day, the fighting broke out again, but Lu Yin and Cloudflow did not leave. They remained where they were and watched the women.

The blonde woman also did not leave. She appeared to be communicating with someone through the lens that covered one of her eyes.

They continued to wait for another two days.

During these two days, one of the women from the Cloudflow Universe tried to escape, only to be easily subdued by the blond woman. However, the would-be escapee was not struck hard. "If you dare to try to escape again, I will slaughter a hundred people from Cloudflow Universe as your punishment."

When the blonde hair moved aside to reveal the woman’s face, there was a fierce expression as she glared at the women from the Cloudflow Universe with eyes that overflowed with killing intent. Her glare caused the women’s hearts to tremble, and none of them dared to try to escape again.

Another two days passed, and finally, a smile appeared on the blonde woman’s face. "He’s finally here."

Lu Yin and Cloudflow glanced at each other and calmed themselves down.

Soon, they saw two figures enter the area.

The blonde woman had led the women to a dimly lit location that was surrounded by the carrier’s moving parts that made rumbling noises. It was a place that was rarely visited by people, and it was also difficult to find.

The blonde woman’s smile grew when she saw who was approaching, and her fierce glare softened in an odd manner. "Mr. Zhu, I’ve waited a long time for you."

One of the two people who had arrived was a middle-aged man in an outfit in the style of the Transcendent Universe: a blue and white combat uniform. However, the uniform looked out of place on the man, as his shrewd eyes gave off the impression of a businessman, rather than a soldier. Behind the man was an arrogant young man. The moment the young man arrived, he stared at the women from the Cloudflow Universe with heated eyes.

"I'm truly sorry, but I was delayed," Mr. Zhu apologized.

The woman looked at the young man. "And who is this?"

The young man finally looked at the blonde woman and answered, "Zhu Ye."

The woman was taken aback. "The young master of the Zhu Mercantile Company?"

Zhu Ye was the heir to a large family company.

Mr. Zhu affirmed the youth’s identity. "He is the young master of my Zhu Mercantile Company."

The blonde woman’s smile gained even greater enthusiasm. "So it’s Young Master Zhu. I didn't expect you to come in person for a small demi-human trade."

Mr. Zhu smiled. "Naturally so. I simply happened to bump into the young master on my way here. He was curious about this transaction, and so he decided to accompany me. You don’t have to take his presence to heart."

The woman continued to smile. "How could I do that? It's my honor to have the young master be here in person to check the quality of the merchandise. Shall we begin?"

Mr. Zhu nodded and moved next to the women from the Cloudflow Universe.

Zhu Ye was already there, as he had approached one of the women, reaching out to raise her chin.

She angrily pulled her head away.

Zhu Ye sneered, and he slapped the woman to the floor. Blood trickled from her mouth.

The other women from the Cloudflow Universe started angrily cursing.

Mr. Zhu smiled casually and ignored the comments. After all, he did not even see these women as human beings.

The blonde woman walked over to Mr. Zhu's side. "Why is Young Master Zhu really here? Is this really nothing more than a matter of convenience?"

Mr. Zhu quietly replied, "He did indeed want to tag along, but he is currently making a trip that will make my Zhu family extremely wealthy."

The woman looked rather puzzled.

Mr. Zhu could not hold back a smile as he proudly stated, "Our young master was accepted into the Merchant Exchange."

The woman's expression changed drastically, showing her shock. "Has Young Master Zhu passed the Merchant Exchange’s entrance examination? Is this really true?"

A short distance up ahead, Zhu Ye overheard the conversation, and his smile grew more and more pronounced and arrogant. He grabbed the woman from the Cloudflow Universe again, and this time, he pulled her closer. "The quality of this batch isn’t bad, especially the horns on this one’s forehead. These are quite interesting."

Mr. Zhu laughed. "The young master likes them, so we’ll take them all. We won’t even sell them—we’ll just gift them to the young master in congratulations."

The woman’s smile instantly grew larger, and she said, "If Young Master Zhu likes them, I’m happy to give them to him as gifts.”

Mr. Zhu was surprised. "It’s unlike you to be so generous."

The blonde woman walked closer to Zhu Ye and almost leaned against him. "Not everyone has the opportunity to get closer to the Merchant Exchange. Don’t you think so, Young Master Zhu?"

This reason was no surprise to Mr. Zhu. Their young master had been accepted into the Merchant Exchange, which was something that many people throughout the Sixverse Association could only dream about. This opportunity could elevate the Zhu Mercantile Company to new heights, and when word of the matter spread, even rival companies would be frightened. Mr. Zhu grew even prouder of the matter as he thought of this.

Zhu Ye laughed and wrapped an arm around the woman's waist. "I don’t only want these women. You’re pretty good yourself."

He then bent his head down and kissed the woman.

She acted shy, her earlier coldness and fierceness completely gone by now.

Lu Yin could not tolerate the scene any longer, so he walked out. "You two, there are other people around. Please restrain yourselves."

The three people were badly startled by his sudden presence, and they all stared at Lu Yin.

Mr. Zhu turned to look at the blonde woman. "Who is this?"

The woman was equally confused, and she shot a fierce glare at Lu Yin. "Who are you? I left orders that no one was to approach this place! You’re asking to die."

Zhu Ye was surprised, but unfazed by the arrival of an unknown person. He continued to observe the women from the Cloudflow Universe, acting as though Lu Yin was nothing more than an ant. However, someone else suddenly appeared in front of the young man: Cloudflow.

Zhu Ye’s eyebrows rose. There was no pressure or presence from Cloudflow to indicate a peak powerhouse, which meant that no one but Lu Yin had any idea of the man’s true power. "Now another one is here? You are really not handling your business very well at all."

Mr. Zhu stared at the blonde woman. "Who are they?"

The woman was still glaring at Lu Yin, and the killing intent in her eyes was mounting. She had just been fawning over Young Master Zhu, only to have these two men completely ruin the mood.

Lu Yin glanced at the woman, and then at Mr. Zhu. "I really didn't expect to find this sort of business taking place at the front of the battlefield. You carefully chose this place and pointedly avoided certain areas on your way here, which says that Qiu Zhan knows nothing about this."

The woman's eyes grew cold, and her hand rose in Lu Yin’s direction before quickly releasing a beam of light.

Neither Lu Yin nor Cloudflow had released the slightest hint of their power, so the woman had no idea that she was attacking an extremely powerful person. This was also why she had taken the initiative to attack. If she had known Lu Yin’s strength, she would not have dared to attack, even if she had been beaten to death.

She used a red energy converter, which was an impressive level of power that allowed her to use attacks equivalent to a peak Envoy’s. Given that only white and black energy converters were more powerful than the woman’susing, she expected to see Lu Yin die from a single attack.

However, the red beam suddenly froze, as what looked like clouds appeared around it. At the same time, the suffocating pressure of a peak powerhouse crashed down onto everyone present.

It felt like they were being crushed by the sky.

The blonde woman, Mr. Zhu, and Zhu Ye all felt as though the sky was pressing down on them and replacing the ground below. It was such a shocking development that they nearly collapsed.

Zhu Ye stared up at Cloudflow who seemed to rise high into the sky before his eyes, and the young man turned pale with horror. "An expert?"

The woman could not believe her eyes. How could a peak powerhouse have appeared out of nowhere in this place?

Wait... The woman stared at Cloudflow. "You’re Cloudflow!"

"Lord Cloudflow!" a woman from Cloudflow Universe shouted excitedly.

"Lord Cloudflow!"

...

Cloudflow took a deep breath as he looked at the women. "I’m sorry that I'm so late."

Lu Yin had not expected Cloudflow to actually apologize to the women. He was a powerhouse equal to a Progenitor.

Lu Yin had never seen a peak powerhouse apologize to people who were comparatively as weak as ants. This single action of Cloudflow's had completely changed Lu Yin's impression of the man. It instantly reminded Lu Yin of the Progenitor of Bloodlines and the Rune Progenitor. Both of those men had prioritized protecting mankind and had been willing to sacrifice themselves in the fight against Aeternus.

As far as such men were concerned, they felt guilty towards anyone whom they had not been able to save.

This guilt was triggered by their sense of responsibility and righteousness.

Lu Yin finally understood why everyone from the Cloudflow Universe had been so desperate to save Cloudflow. His status in his people’s hearts was no different from the Progenitor of Bloodlines in the hearts of the people of the Sixth Mainland. Cloudflow was his people’s hope of living.

Mr. Zhu trembled as he dropped to his knees. It was the only posture that he could maintain while under the pressure of a peak powerhouse. The Zhu Mercantile Company was massive, but they were nowhere near large enough for Mr. Zhu to have any experience interacting with such an expert.

As for the blonde woman, she had collapsed to the floor. She had never dreamed that Cloudflow himself would appear before her. She had been sent to the Cloudflow Universe to pressure Qiu Zhan into throwing more of the demi-humans away to die in the fight against Aeternus in order to force Cloudflow to reveal himself. Cloudflow had indeed appeared, but he had done so in the place and time where the woman was most vulnerable.

It was over. This was the end.

Lu Yin observed Zhu Ye. While both Mr. Zhu and the blonde woman had given in to despair, despite Zhu Ye’s obvious panic, he appeared to possess some level of confidence. Even so, it was only enough to keep him from collapsing to his knees.

Cloudflow also looked at Zhu Ye. "On your knees."

Zhu Ye quivered, and he was overcome with enough fear that he nearly collapsed, but he still stubbornly held out. "You- you can't do anything to me."

Cloudflow's eyes grew cold. "Why not?"

Zhu Ye's teeth chattered so badly that he struggled to speak. "I- I am part of the Merchant Exchange."

Cloudflow glanced over at Lu Yin, whose eyes narrowed. He had come across the name of Merchant Exchange when Possessing a few different people from the Sixverse Association, but there had only been some fleeting mentions, so he did not know anything about it. "This Merchant Exchange is something that makes you fearless before a peak powerhouse. Why?"

Zhu Ye answered shakingly, "No one in the Sixverse Association dares to act against the Merchant Exchange. They never interfere in the affairs of the Sixverse Association, but you absolutely should not kill me."

"Did the Merchant Exchange ask you to buy these demi-humans?" Cloudflow asked in a low voice.

Zhu Ye gulped. "No one from the Merchant Exchange will come after you. I can act as though I never even saw you. Whatever you do will have nothing to do with me."

"Let's eliminate the threat entirely," Lu Yin said.

Zhu Ye was startled. "You can't kill me! I’m a member of the Merchant Exchange!"

Cloudflow was not at all intimidated by the name. Even if this young man belonged to the Great Sovereign himself, his actions had already dug his grave for him.

Mr. Zhu and the woman were still kneeling on the floor, neither one daring to make any sound at all. It was the appropriate attitude to show to a peak powerhouse.

Cloudflow waved a hand to eliminate Zhu Ye.

However, the action caused no damage to the young man. Instead, a burst of light that had the appearance of a tall shield surrounded his body, completely enveloping him. Cloudflow’s attack passed through the shield without interacting with the man or anything inside of it.

Cloudflow was caught off guard, and he attacked again, but the exact same thing repeated. He was completely unable to harm Zhu Ye at all.

Zhu Ye was terrified, as he had expected to die to Cloudflow’s attacks. It was only after the young man saw the two attacks pass by him that he remembered what the leader had said to him when he had been accepted into the Merchant Exchange. "The Merchant Exchange does not make enemies, but we are not afraid of them, because it’s very difficult to kill our members."

It was difficult for even a peak powerhouse to kill someone from the Merchant Exchange. While Zhu Ye had heard this before, he had assumed that it was simply because of the threat that the Merchant Exchange posed. Only after Cloudflow attacked did Zhu Ye understand that he had been given something that allowed him to completely ignore a peak powerhouse. This had to be an invaluable power vessel.

This realization made Zhu Ye incredibly excited.

At this moment, Cloudflow released his third attack. This time, he released an attack that was intended to deal with one of his peers, but even then, he was unable to touch Zhu Ye.