Chapter 194: Astral Alliance’s Greed
Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Astral Alliance’s Greed
Chapter 194: Astral Alliance’s Greed
Rhain slowly opened his dark grey eyes.
Resting peacefully against his chest was Seris.
Her beautiful face was perfectly relaxed in deep slumber, and her magnificent silver-blue hair sprawled across the silk sheets like a river of moonlight.
Rhain held her feather-light body gently with a warm smile.
Just as he was admiring the serene beauty of his wife, the familiar, crisp mechanical voice of the System echoed in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Daily Sign-In available. Would you like to sign in?]
’Sign in,’ Rhain answered internally.
[Sign-In successful!]
[Congratulations! You have received the Epic-Grade Artifact: Cloud Piercing Spear.]
[Item automatically sent to System Inventory.]
Rhain’s eyes flickered slightly.
With a mere thought, his consciousness swept into the vast expanse of his System Inventory.
Lying in the glowing space were rows upon rows of Rare and Epic-Grade weapons, armors, artifacts, and countless talismans he had accumulated from his daily Sign-Ins ever since arriving in the essence-rich Inner Province.
"I have enough high-tier artifacts to single-handedly arm an entire mid-sized sect,"
Rhain murmured softly to himself.
Because his combat style relied on the devastating physical might of the Abyssal Sovereign Physique, his bare fists, and the Red Tribulations Heavenly Flame, he had absolutely no use for ninety-nine percent of these weapons.
’Should I try to sell them?’ he pondered.
But a moment later, he dismissed the thought.
With the flawless Epic-Grade pills generating hundreds of millions of Aetherium Crystals every week, he was already ridiculously wealthy.
He wasn’t exactly short on Aetherium Crystals right now.
’I will just leave them there for now. Perhaps they will be useful later,’ he decided.
"Mmm..."
A soft hum vibrated against his chest.
Seris’s beautiful eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her pale purple eyes. Seeing Rhain’s handsome face looking down at her, a rosy blush immediately painted her cheeks.
"Good morning, husband," she whispered sweetly, her voice still carrying the hazy softness of sleep.
"Good morning," Rhain chuckled, gently brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
After fondling with each other for a while, Seris sat up, stretching her slender arms above her head.
"Husband," she spoke, her pale purple eyes brightening as she remembered, "We promised to visit sister Liana today."
Rhain nodded. "Let’s go after we get ready."
Half an hour later, Rhain and Seris left the frozen domain of the Core Palace together.
The moment they entered the Outer Palace, the bustling environment practically ground to a halt.
Seris’s transcendent, otherworldly beauty—amplified even further after her True Heavenly Physique’s awakening—was impossible to ignore.
Countless Outer Palace disciples stared with their mouths hanging wide open, their souls seemingly drawn out of their bodies.
"Who... who is that fairy?"
"Is she a fairy? I’ve never seen a senior with such breathtaking beauty in my life!"
However, before any of those arrogant or infatuated disciples could even think about stepping forward to introduce themselves, their instincts screamed at them to stop.
Rhain walked casually beside Seris, his hands folded loosely behind his back.
His dark grey eyes swept over the gawking crowd, and a subtle pressure rolled off his body.
The gawking disciples instantly felt a chill crept down their spines, forcing them to instinctively step back and keeping a very, very safe distance.
____________
Meanwhile, in a modest courtyard situated in the eastern sector of the Outer Palace, the atmosphere was grim.
Liana stood near a wooden bed, her usually bright silver eyes clouded with deep exhaustion and worry.
Lying on the bed was a young man in torn Outer Palace robes. His face was bruised and swollen, and his robes were heavily stained with dried blood.
He was in a completely unconscious state.
Sylvan stood near the wall, his fists clenched tightly.
BANG!
Unable to contain his fury, Sylvan viciously punched the wooden pillar of the courtyard.
"Those Astral Alliance bastards!" Sylvan gritted his teeth, his face twisted in rage and deep powerlessness, "They broke his arm and ruptured three of his meridians. The healers said if the damage had been even slightly worse, he would have lost his arm permanently."
A few other Outer Palace disciples from Mirravele City stood around the room, their faces completely drained of color.
"They usually only extort twenty percent of our monthly resource allowance for their so-called ’protection’..." one of the disciples muttered bitterly. "But because the Inner Palace Contest is approaching, they ruthlessly raised it to thirty percent so their senior members can hoard resources!"
"If it was only thirty percent, we could have survived it by taking extra jobs," Sylvan hissed, his eyes bloodshot. "But for our group? They are demanding a staggering fifty percent! Fifty percent! How are we supposed to cultivate?"
One of the disciple winced. "It’s because of—
"I know exactly why!" Sylvan roared, then immediately lowered his voice, glancing at Liana.
Liana’s hands, which had been carefully wrapping a bandage around the unconscious disciple’s broken arm, went still.
She didn’t look up, but the slight trembling of her fingers revealed her awareness of the unspoken truth.
Everyone knew the true, sickening reason behind the impossible tax.
Sylvan took a shuddering breath, his voice shaking with suppressed anger. "It’s Braxton. That bastard leader of the Astral Alliance. A top five Gold Badge disciple, fifth level of the Spirit Manifestation Realm. He saw Liana during the first week of classes and became obsessed."
His voice turned guttural as he continued.
"He’s been sending messengers, demanding that Liana become his woman. She refused every single time. So now he’s using a different strategy. He’s deliberately starving our group so that Liana will have no choice but to crawl to him and submit, just to survive."
Sylvan pointed a trembling finger at the unconscious disciple. "And when Mylo tried to refuse the new rates, They beat him to death as a warning to the rest of us!"
Liana lowered her head, biting her pink lip so hard it nearly bled.
She felt an overwhelming wave of guilt.
Her friends were suffering and being brutally beaten, all because of her.
"It’s my fault," Liana whispered dispirtidely.
"It’s not your fault, Lady Liana!" another disciple quickly interjected. He hesitated for a moment before looking at her with a glimmer of hope. "Lady Liana... you know Senior Rhain, don’t you? He is a Gold Badge disciple in the Inner Palace! If we just ask him for help, the Astral Alliance wouldn’t dare touch us!"
Sylvan’s expression turned incredibly ugly at the mention of Rhain’s name.
His pride fiercely rejected the idea of begging that man.
But looking at Mylo’s battered body, Sylvan unclenched his fists and let out a bitter, defeated sigh.
"As much as I hate to admit it... he is the only one who can help us now." Sylvan lowered his head, swearing an oath in his heart. "One day... I will break through to the Spirit Manifestation Realm, and I will personally crush Braxton and his dogs! But until then... we need him."
"No."
Liana shook her head firmly, cutting off their hopes.
"I will not drag Rhain into this," Liana stated, her silver eyes filled with a stubborn resolve. "Braxton isn’t just an ordinary Inner Palace disciple. He is ranked in the top five of the Gold Badge class. His strength is terrifying. And worse, Braxton’s uncle is Zobek—a corrupt Outer Palace Instructor who covers up all their dirty work. If Rhain intervenes for my sake, he will be targeted by the top echelons of the Alliance and a Core Formation Instructor. I absolutely refuse to cause him that kind of trouble."
Just as the disciples were about to argue—
CRASH!
The doors of the courtyard were violently kicked open.
"How touching!" a mocking, arrogant voice sneered.
Four figures swaggered into the courtyard.
They wore the deep black robes of the Inner Palace, with gleaming Bronze Badges pinned to their chests.
The oppressive auras rolling off their bodies clearly marked them at the first and second levels of the Spirit Manifestation Realm.
At the front of the group was a young man named Trold with a cruel, angular face and narrow eyes that swept the room with undisguised contempt before landing entirely on Liana.
"But your time’s up," Trold mocked, crossing his arms, "Where’s this month’s payment? Pay the fifty percent resource tax right now. Or, Lady Liana can simply pack her bags and head directly to Senior Braxton’s pavilion. He has a very comfortable bed waiting for you."
Liana’s face turned ghastly pale, and she instinctively took a step back.
"You bastards!"
Sylvan couldn’t hold back his righteous indignation any longer.
"I’ll kill you!" Sylvan roared. He drew his silver longsword, his Level 9 Essence Condensation aura erupting to its absolute limit as he charged headfirst at Trold.
Trold looked at the charging Sylvan and let out a disdainful scoff.
"An ant trying to shake a tree."
Trold casually raised his hand.
In a single blur of motion far too fast for Sylvan’s Essence Condensation Realm perception to track, his fist drove directly into Sylvan’s solar plexus.
CRACK!
Sylvan’s eyes bulged.
A choked gasp tore from his throat as his body folded around the devastating blow. His silver sword clattered uselessly to the ground.
"Sylvan!" Liana screamed.
"Anyone else want to play hero?" Trold asked, sweeping his mocking gaze across the room.
The other Outer Palace disciples scrambled backward in terror, their faces sheet-white.
Trold let out a cruel laugh, stepping confidently toward Liana.
"Ah, Lady Liana," he drawled, stepping closer. "Our leador Braxton wanted me to pass along a message. He said... if you come to his residence tonight and keep him company, all of your friends’ debts will be forgiven. Isn’t that generous?"
Liana’s face went pale. Her fists clenched at her sides, trembling violently.
"I will never—"
"Since you refuse. Hand over the resources willingly," Trold sneered, his eyes flashing with greed as he aggressively reached his hand out toward Liana, "I’ll just take your spatial ring myself!"
His fingers were mere inches from violently snatching the ring off Liana’s left hand which contained her monthly resource allowance, her precious herbs, and the Epic-Grade breakthrough pill she had just purchased yesterday.
But right at that exact second—
"Touch it, and you lose your hands."