A Chaotic World

Chapter 176: Luck

Lu Tianzi's voice was laced with just the right amount of confidence, sounding neither overbearing nor overly docile.

But when his words entered the ears of everyone present, they felt as though they had just been struck by a bolt of lightning!

Nanlu Tianzi of the Nine Suns Sect?

There was no one here who did not know of that name.

That was none other than the famous top ranker of the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, the very person who had drawn the Wild Melody Circus to visit this remote region of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom!

In a way, it could be said that his fame did not pale in comparison even to someone like Elder Rei!

Elder Wenshen felt the colour drain from his face as his thoughts fell into a complete frenzy.

After all that had happened, the other party just had to be the famous rising star of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom?

What kind of shit luck was this?!

The main reason for their visit to Bluenight City was precisely to establish good terms with him!

Now that things had already reached such a state, just how was he supposed to face the sect master when he returned?

"Do you finally understand the situation now, Elder Wenshen?" Elder Rei looked at him with pity in his eyes. "I can't force you to do anything against your wishes, but is it possible for you to give up the rights to purchase our Black Maned Shadow Lion? If you do so, our Wild Melody Circus will certainly appreciate the goodwill behind such a magnanimous gesture, and will certain compensate you in other aspects."

The reason why Elder Rei arrived so quickly was because one of the other Wild Melody Circus members in the tent informed him of what happened. Thus, he was already clear on the things that had led to the current situation.

As one of the three Grand Elders of the Wild Melody Circus, Elder Rei naturally had a wealth of experience under his belt.

Even in such a situation, he was trying to create an easy way out for Elder Wenshen, so as to minimise the embarrassment that could result from this incident.

At this moment, Elder Wenshen finally snapped out of his daze.

He could not possibly leave things as they were.

No matter what, he had to salvage the situation somehow!

"Since Elder Rei has already spoken, of course we will be more than willing to listen to your request. However, there is no need for compensation!" Elder Wenshen hurriedly answered before clasping his fist towards Lu Tianzi. "My deepest apologies for my actions earlier, Sir Nanlu! Then again, your strength is truly unprecedented in the history of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom, so much that it had resulted in a slight misunderstanding. Now that I am aware of your glorious self, I am more than willing to give up the Black Maned Shadow Lion if you so wish for it! Hopefully your magnanimous self will be willing to forgive us for what we did earlier as well. In fact, from now on, if there is anything at all that you need done, you can just say the word. We of the Quake Scroll Sect will certainly do our best to accomplish it for you!"

Elder Wenshen spoke everything in a single breath. But seeing that he did not manage to garner a reaction from Lu Tianzi, he quickly turned around yelled in irritation. "What are you doing back there, Yanming? Hurry and apologise to Sir Nanlu!"

Yanming dared not dally either.

He knew just as well that their main mission this time was to befriend this Nanlu Tianzi.

If even Elder Wenshen was afraid of punishment from the sect master, then the anxiety that was running through Yanming right now could not be described by mere words!

"My apologies, Sir Nanlu! I must be blind to have failed to recognise someone of your great stature. Please pardon my ignorance!" Yanming gave a deep bow with his fist clasped in Lu Tianzi's direction.

Lu Tianzi was speechless.

He certainly understood that after the Scarlet Moon Heroes Meet, his status had been elevated to a point where it was no longer the same as before.

However, he never imagined that it would be to such an exaggerated extent!

Then again, when he thought back to how even General Nanbai Zhaoyu had been extremely polite to Beimu Fei, things began to fall into place in his mind.

Not to mention the fact that General Nanbai Zhaoyu was much stronger than Elder Wenshen, he was also a General, meaning he was a man serving under the Scarlet Moon Overlord!

If even someone like him had to be polite to Beimu Fei, it was no wonder that Elder Wenshen who had a far lower status would be willing to drop all of his pride in an instant, even going as far as offering the services of the entire Quake Scroll Sect!

In the end, even though Lu Tianzi was a genius in the martial path, he was still far too inexperienced to fully understand the thoughts behind Elder Wenshen's offer.

He did not realise that if he ever asked the Quake Scroll Sect for any sort of help, the relatively weak Quake Scroll Sect would immediately appear on the radar of powerful influences all over the kingdom, allowing them to boast of a connection to the greatest rising star!

Of course, that was not something that would have any direct impact on Lu TIanzi either, so Elder Rei did not step in to expose Elder Wenshen's underlying intentions.

"Brother Nanqing, what do you think?" Lu Tianzi chose to leave the decision to Nanqing Haowen.

After all, this matter first arose due to the agreement between him and Yanming before it suddenly escalated to its current state.

"Why don't we let this matter end here?" Nanqing Haowen immediately answered with a wry smile.

Even though he had been infuriated earlier, all of his rage had turned into exhilaration upon seeing Lu Tianzi evenly match the other party's Origin Core realm martial artist.

The disbelief from when they called Lu Tianzi out for cheating was similarly dissipated upon witnessing the servient attitude that they were currently displaying.

Now, all he was interested in was the young Black Maned Shadow Lion!

"Very well," Lu Tianzi nodded.

This was for the best.

Lu Tianzi did not want to cause too much trouble on the grounds of the Wild Melody Circus either. His status might be extraordinary, but it would be good not to push things too far.

"It is settled then!" Elder Rei gave a loud clap, as though announcing the resolution of the matter. "As an apology for our lack of hospitality, we shall not accept any payment for the young Black Maned Shadow Lion. It is yours as of this moment!"

"What? Is this really all right?" Nanqing Haowen's eyes lit up in surprise.

Not to mention him, even Lu Tianzi had to secretly suppress the shock in his heart!

Considering that the Intermediate Essence Condensation realm Subterranean Red Tiger was being sold for a full thousand low ranked beast cores, it was unimaginable just how much this Black Maned Shadow Lion would cost!

Yet Elder Rei was actually intending to give it to them for free?

"As a companion of Sir Nanlu, it is our greatest regret to have subjected you to such a bad experience," Elder Rei smiled. "Please accept this small gesture. Otherwise, our Wild Melody Circus will surely be ridiculed by the masses once this news spreads."

From the side, Elder Wenshen's countenance turned darker upon hearing this, but there was nothing more that he could say about it.

"This" Nanqing Haowen turned towards Lu Tianzi.

Without him realising it, the younger Lu Tianzi had already grown to become a sort of leader in his heart.

"Why don't you just accept it? It is a gesture of goodwill from Elder Rei after all," Lu Tianzi smiled.

"Well then, thank you for the generosity, Elder Rei!" Nanqing Haowen clasped his fist in gratitude.

"Thank you for the generosity!" Lu Tianzi did the same. He knew that the other party was doing this only because of him.

"Hahaha! Don't worry about it!" Elder Rei laughed in satisfaction. "But how do you want to accept the Black Maned Shadow Lion? Do you need us to deliver it to your residence?"

"Please hold on a moment, Elder Rei," Nanqing Haowen walked over to the edge of the cage, once again matching his gaze with the young beast.

Just like before, the Black Maned Shadow Lion continued to sit in the middle of the cage, unwilling to come forth due to the sense of caution in its heart.

The memories of being subjected to harsh treatments were still too vivid in its mind.

Just as their gazes matched, a thought of realisation suddenly flashed through Nanqing Haowen's mind, as though he had somehow touched upon a higher truth.

Nanqing Haowen's eyes widened in surprise before closing briefly.

When he slowly opened them again a few moments later, there was a profound look in his eyes that did not exist before.

Nanqing Haowen turned around to look at Elder Rei, and what he said next shocked everyone present.

"Elder Rei, rather than giving it to me, is it possible to set the young Black Maned Shadow Lion free?"

"What?" Elder Rei furrowed his brows. "I gifted the Black Maned Shadow Lion to you since you seemed to really want it earlier, but now you are telling me to set it free instead?"

"Nanqing Haowen!" Nanlan Qianxue hurriedly called out.

Even Lu Tianzi was cursing in his heart.

Just what was Nanqing Haowen doing?

Did he not understand that by doing this, it was equivalent to rejecting the gift from Elder Rei, constituting a direct smack to Elder Rei's face?

"If Elder Rei is willing, I will be eternally grateful!" Nanqing Haowen took a deep bow to show his sincerity.

"As you wish!" Elder Rei harrumphed unhappily.

***

A while later, the group had already left the boundaries of the Wild Melody Circus, and were standing right beside a huge metal cage.

Within this metal cage was naturally the young Black Maned Shadow Lion.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lu Tianzi asked uncertainly.

"That's right," Nanqing Haowen was unnaturally calm as he replied. "The Black Maned Shadow Lion has already lost its trust towards people, and it would be futile even if I spend the rest of my life trying to convince it otherwise. As long as it is kept in captivity, nothing will change. Since that is the case, I might as well just let it go. This is the least that I can do for it."

"Don't regret this," Nanlan Qianxue added with mixed feelings in her heart.

She knew just how long Nanqing Haowen had been searching for a suitable beast. Seeing him give it up just like that was truly mind-boggling, yet it also reminded her of the difference in mentality between a true beast tamer and a layman.

"This is your final chance! Even if you regret your decision after this, it will be too late!" Elder Rei warned.

"I have decided," Nanqing Haowen nodded resolutely.

Elder Rei did not say another word. With a wave of his hand, Essence energy wrapped around the cage door. The next moment, it was already slowly creaking open.

The Black Maned Shadow Lion perked up its ears in surprise.

With an Origin Core realm bloodline, it naturally possessed greater intelligence than low ranked beasts. Even though it did not understand the demons' language, the Black Maned Shadow Lion was able to guess the meaning behind their conversations to a certain extent.

This was especially because Nanqing Haowen had gone to convince Elder Rei only after locking gazes with it. During that period, it had sensed the sincerity in Nanqing Haowen's eyes as well.

Carefully stepping out of the cage, the young Black Maned Shadow Lion landed on free grounds for the first time in months.

Right in front of him, the wilderness stretched on endlessly, as though welcoming it with open arms. As long as it so wanted to, it could return to a life of freedom, dominating the wilds as the apex predator!

Before running for its freedom, the Black Maned Shadow Lion turned around, and its gaze met Nanqing Haowen's once more.

And this time, the sensation was completely different from before.

"This!" Elder Rei widened his eyes in surprise.

Despite having freedom laid out right before it, the young Black Maned Shadow Lion had chosen to stand in place, turning around to lock gaze with Nanqing Haowen.

Could it be?

No, there was no mistaking it!

Perhaps because the Black Maned Shadow Lion had sensed Nanqing Haowen's pure and sincere thoughts of letting it go free, the last vestiges of its caution had finally crumbled, gone with the wind.

At this very moment, the two of them had formed a mental connection that was ideal for a beast contract to be formed!

Elder Rei felt like he was going crazy right now.

Just what kind of crazy luck was this?!