Chapter 26: The Wealthy Tycoon

After the senior disciple and the former archbishop finished speaking, the boy finally opened his mouth. "When Brother Ou mentioned the earth veins earlier, I remembered this land of mine. At that time, I hadn't planned to draw from the earth veins. I was soaring in the sky—what use had I for earth veins?

But one day, I discovered that these earth veins had developed ambitions they shouldn't have. So, when faced with earth veins that have gained sentience, my decision is always to eliminate them.

I have some experience dealing with earth veins. So, Brother Ou, how do you plan to handle it? Will you destroy the sentience directly, or seal the earth vein away? You must know, these two approaches are entirely different."

Ou Xiaolu didn't hesitate at all. He answered directly, "Kill."

Yes, kill. Previously, Ou Xiaolu had destroyed a shadow fragment of a spirit vein and immediately gained fifteen experience points. How much experience would he get from an earth vein that had developed true intelligence? Ou Xiaolu didn't even dare to imagine.

Besides, whatever they gained this time would be shared, but the only thing Ou Xiaolu could ensure for himself was the spirit vein. If he only sealed it, and the spirit vein was lost or became something he could see but never possess, he would suffer a great loss.

So, when faced with such a question, Ou Xiaolu had no doubts—kill was the only answer.

Once Ou Xiaolu made his request, the others promptly proposed various plans. Soon, the boy helped Ou Xiaolu choose the most reasonable scheme and began preparations.

The so-called preparations amounted to finding a better outfit for the senior disciple. As for the boy, his spiritual form couldn't leave the building. Under everyone's gaze, he slowly floated upward, merging into the enormous bat perched atop the laboratory.

Ou Xiaolu then saw a flash of red light, and the giant bat shrank rapidly until it was only as tall as a person and descended to the ground.

The bat rolled once across the floor and stood up, instantly transformed into a man—six foot two, cloaked in blood-red, every inch of him rippling with muscle, his face covered by a crimson bat mask.

The man flexed his body. "It's been a long time since I used this body. Feels a bit unfamiliar still."

Ou Xiaolu was not the only one stunned; even the boy's friends stared in awe at the transformation.

Finally, the former archbishop spoke first. "Your physique is even more outrageous than mine. What did you inject into it?"

"The product of earth vein dissolution mixed with blood," the boy explained. "Only then can this body perform at a normal level."

At that moment, Zhong Kui, who had been silent, spoke. "Seems you’ve taken the next step. I’d say it won’t be long before you have a body of your own."

The boy nodded confidently. "It was that bottle of potion that gave me hope. Brother Ou, if you ever get more, sell it to me directly—I’ll pay handsomely."

Ou Xiaolu was still undecided when the boy seemed to hear something and turned to his companions. "Transport is ready. Follow me."

Ou Xiaolu assumed they would ride back in another luxury car and quickly followed. But instead, they took an elevator from the research institute to the top of the cliff, where a blood-red helicopter awaited.

As soon as they approached, two men jumped down to open the cabin doors for them.

Ou Xiaolu noticed the helicopter’s emblem had been changed to a bat symbol, though he wasn’t sure if the helicopter itself was handmade.

Once everyone was aboard, the boy explained, "I'm only a board member at the Shixi Campus, so I can’t clear a runway. Most of my aircraft aren’t vertical takeoff, so I have to trouble you all with a helicopter ride."

Ou Xiaolu was speechless at the boy's ostentatious display. Yet faced with such a tycoon, what could he say? He couldn’t very well suggest they study which cab company in Xinxiang was the most comfortable.

Ou Xiaolu was sure that if he did, the boy would simply say all the cab companies in Xinxiang belonged to him anyway.

So, in such circumstances, Ou Xiaolu kept his mouth shut. Fortunately, the boy—though his spiritual form looked no different from a mischievous child—had existed for over a hundred years. Sensing Ou Xiaolu’s thoughts, he eagerly began explaining the power of money to him.

At the very least, any props or comforts could be bought with money.

Annoyed by the boy’s speech, Ou Xiaolu retorted, "None of these are useful. Not a single item is worth my attention."

The boy stared at Ou Xiaolu. "You can tell which items are useful and which aren’t?"

Under the boy’s gaze, Ou Xiaolu felt as if a wild beast was watching him. Still, he nodded. "I can see certain things, which is how I noticed the differences at Shixi Campus."

Before the boy could reply, the former archbishop laughed. "Then, young man, tell me—which of these three items is best?"

Ou Xiaolu looked and saw the former archbishop pulling three silver crosses from his coat and placing them before him. Each cross radiated a faint glow.

Seeing the three crosses, Ou Xiaolu finally relaxed—he’d suspected as much. Even the knife seller in Chinatown looked like a Christmas tree; how could these bigshots lack good items?

Ou Xiaolu pointed to the cross emitting blue light. "This one’s best, but it can only be used twice more. The others are the same."

The former archbishop nodded, silently putting away the blue and one white cross, then handed Ou Xiaolu the remaining white cross. "This is for you."

Ou Xiaolu took the cross and smiled. "Light Spirit? Did you capture it?"

[Light Spirit, character card, minion grade, combat strength 30/30, possesses illumination, dazzling light, and guiding beam.]

His words changed the expressions of both the boy and the archbishop. The senior disciple sitting to the side remarked, "You do have an eye for things. Perhaps you should open an appraisal shop in Xinxiang. I’ll send you business."

Ou Xiaolu hadn’t replied when the boy interrupted, "Don’t trouble him. Old Bones’ business isn’t so easy to take. All right, we’re almost there. Prepare to disembark. Brother Ou, keep the Light Spirit with you—if something happens, it will find us."