Volume 3, Chapter 52 – Shocking News

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In a relatively secluded commercial street in the east of Sky Dome, a very unremarkable magic bookstore welcomed its first customer of the day. As the doorbell chimed, a man draped in a black robe with a hood completely concealing his face slowly pushed open the bookstore door and stepped inside. In the next moment, a vast space, decorated in an ancient yet mysterious style, was revealed before the mysterious man, filled with an array of books, countless magic tools, and medicinal herbs.

If one were to look only at the exterior decoration of this bookstore, they would never imagine that the interior of such a ‘small shop’ could be such a spectacular sight. Even though this was not the man’s first visit, he could not help but show a look of astonishment.

The massive independent space inside featured towering spiral bookshelves and countless grimoires, many of which were lost forms of magic. This place was quite simply a massive treasure trove, and every visit left the man in awe, making his desire to recruit the bookstore owner grow even stronger.

A smile inadvertently appeared on the face hidden beneath the hood.

In front of the man, a small, exquisitely crafted girl with water-blue twintails and a large blue bow was silently organizing an account book. She did not stop her movements just because the man had entered. This situation of being completely ignored did not displease the man as he had long since grown used to it.

Besides, his purpose for coming here was not to see this little girl.

Although she ignored him, the mysterious man still took it upon himself to politely offer a visual greeting to the little girl. After acknowledging her, the man slowly raised his head to look upward toward the person he had specifically come to see.

At this moment, an elegant woman surrounded by five or six floating grimoires sat atop a flying carpet, hovering beside a bookshelf as she organized the volumes. Although the woman appeared to be only around seventeen or eighteen years old, her figure was full and her posture lithe. Every smile and movement was filled with dignity and poise. Her platinum-blonde hair was smooth and beautiful, her skin as fair as jade, and her beautiful eyes danced with light. Every movement she made exuded an indescribable charm and maturity, along with a faint, inexplicable aura of ‘danger’.

This uniquely styled woman, wearing a simple brown checkered skirt with two tufts of fluffy fox ears on her head, was the person the mysterious man sought.

After offering a friendly bow, the mysterious man spoke very politely.

“It has been a long time, Miss Noya.”

Hearing this, the woman known as Noya slowly closed the grimoire in her hand. She turned her head playfully and glanced at the robed man with charming eyes, feigning surprise. “Oh ho? If it isn’t His Majesty Xue Tian’ao? Why would a great figure like you, who should be in the palace entertaining guests from various countries or preparing for the Coronation Ceremony, suddenly run into my little shop?”

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“…”

Seeing his disguise and vocal mimicry broken so easily, the robed man smiled helplessly. He removed the hood concealing his identity, revealing his brilliant golden hair, his sharp and handsome features, and his spirited, confident azure eyes.

“A little shop? With this scale, calling it a ‘little shop’ seems a bit inappropriate, doesn’t it?”

Looking around at the countless grimoires, Xue Tian’ao smiled playfully.

“A broken shop that nobody visits is a little shop, isn’t it?”

“Isn’t that because you are unwilling to let others find this place, Miss Noya?”

Xue Tian’ao said with a laugh. To find this magic bookstore, one needed a certain level of strength to break through the surrounding illusion magic.

At the same time, while watching this fox lady, a trace of greed imperceptibly flickered in Xue Tian’ao’s eyes. After testing her with the System, her value was at the ‘S+’ level, making her naturally someone Xue Tian’ao wanted to recruit.

Unfortunately, the recruitment process had not been very smooth.

However, for now, Xue Tian’ao was not interested in trying to conquer this lady who was already a mother. There were currently two targets with higher priority within Sky Dome. Since this shopkeeper always kept her shop open in the city, finding her would not be difficult. There was no need to rush.

Hearing Xue Tian’ao’s words, Noya only gave a faint smile.

“Mm, true enough. But this time, Your Majesty Xue Tian’ao, why have you suddenly come to my shop? Is there something you want to buy again?”

As she spoke, Noya’s eyes sparkled with the look of a money-grubber as she carefully scrutinized the Chosen Son before her. “Just say it directly, no need to keep being so formal with me.”

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Xue Tian’ao nodded slowly.

“There are indeed some things I want to buy. Since Miss Noya has said so, I will be blunt. I need Ice Dragon Horn, Tears of Nature, Black Coral Root, Bewildering Flower Bud, Heartbreak Ghostflower Leaf, Summer of…”

…

Listening to Xue Tian’ao list the names of these rare materials one by one, Noya’s gaze became increasingly playful.

“Wow, it seems Your Majesty Xue Tian’ao wants to make a massive purchase.”

“Haha, indeed. So, does Miss Noya have these materials here?”

“Of course I have them, but they are all rare materials, so they are very expensive.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I am now the ruler of a nation, so buying these things is no problem.”

With a wave of his hand, a faint golden light flashed. The spatial ring on his index finger rippled with dense spatial energy, and countless Primestone Coins suddenly piled up into small mountains before Noya.

“Is this enough, Shopkeeper?”

Seeing the countless purple-shining Primestone Coins, Noya’s fox ears stood straight up, and her tail even began to wag with excitement.

“It’s enough! Since that’s the case, I’ll go prepare them for you.”

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With that, Noya steered the flying carpet toward the storage room. However, mid-flight, she cast a curious glance back at Xue Tian’ao. “But Your Majesty, for you to suddenly want so many precious materials, the thing you want to make this time should be quite incredible, right? Is it some new type of weapon?”

“No, it’s not a weapon.”

“Hmm? Oh, right, these materials don’t look like they’re for making weapons. They should be for medicine, right?”

“Haha, Miss Noya, you really are clever.”

Xue Tian’ao chuckled lightly. Within his azure eyes, a thick sense of ambition and greed slowly surfaced.

Indeed, the materials he wanted to buy were for making medicine. Furthermore, it was no ordinary medicine, but an unparalleled divine drug that could help him conquer that black-haired girl!

Last night, after the banquet ended, Xue Tian’ao returned to his residence in the palace and met an important figure with a value of ‘A’. This was an unremarkable black-haired man who looked so ordinary that he would be lost in a crowd.

However, despite being such an ordinary man, when Xue Tian’ao saw him in the office, his eyes immediately lit up. He excitedly stepped forward to greet him and directly helped the black-haired man up from his kneeling salute.

“It has been a long time, Moxiao.”

After the banquet tonight, Xue Tian’ao’s mind was filled with that black-clothed silhouette. All he thought about was how to conquer that black-haired girl of ‘Transcendent’ value. To conquer her, he had to understand her.

Therefore, he was extremely excited to see this black-haired man, as the other party was the most outstanding intelligence broker he had ever met. He had previously tasked him with investigating the eldest miss of the Blackrose Family. Now that Moxiao had appeared in the palace, he must have found results!

“How is it, Moxiao, are you alright?”

“Yes… yes… Your Majesty.”

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The man named Moxiao spoke in his usual timid tone. Then, he immediately showed an uneasy expression as if recalling something terrifying, and his entire body began to tremble. This caused Xue Tian’ao to frown and quickly inquire.

“Moxiao, what is wrong with you?”

As he asked, bursts of faint golden light were released from Xue Tian’ao’s palm, gradually enveloping the black-haired man. After being soaked in this power, Moxiao’s expression gradually stabilized, and the fear in his heart seemed to be suppressed.

After catching his breath for a moment, Moxiao hurriedly and tremblingly grabbed Xue Tian’ao’s hand, saying with an anxious expression.

“Your Majesty! You, you must be careful! That eldest miss of the Blackrose Family, that Miss Yu, is the newly born demon king tier Abyssal Demon! She is Blood Butterfly! You cannot let her stay in the capital any longer! She… she is very dangerous! The entire Sky Dome is in danger right now! You must…”

“Wait! Calm down!”

Faced with Moxiao’s words, Xue Tian’ao could not help but show a look of bewilderment. Although he had previously suspected that Miss Yu and Blood Butterfly were the same person, after sensing her aura at the banquet, he had dismissed the idea.

However, now…

“Moxiao, are you sure? That lady’s aura is clearly human.”

“No! Your Majesty, do not be deceived!”

Moxiao suddenly said with great excitement. “She is an Abyssal Demon. That lady of the Blackrose Family was infected by Shadow Essence long ago during her exploration of the Northern Frontier. The reason her aura looks like a normal person’s now is only because she is using a divine artifact called the ‘Veil of Deception’ to mask her own presence! Now, Blood Butterfly has specifically come to Sky Dome to use her status as a demon king tier to control Inferno and take its power for herself! Your Majesty, you must… you must quickly gather the troops and take action against Blood Butterfly! Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable!”

Xue Tian’ao was stunned. Hearing Moxiao’s words, he froze on the spot and raised a hand to his chin, falling into deep thought.