Chapter 358 357: Dare to Snatch the City Lord's Things?

On a small street in Oasis City No. 777, filthy natives trudged along with baskets on their backs, the air filled with the sounds of bumps and scrapes.

At the stalls, vendors sized up the Sand Mine the natives had collected, vocally driving down the prices. They sold a glossy green fruit, each one as large as a human head.

These were Oasis Fruits, the very thing all natives relied on for survival.

It wasn't that the oasis could only produce this fruit, but it was the only one that could serve as a staple food, the only one that could fill their bellies.

Ni'Er and her grandfather lived this way. Just now, they had carried a three-thousand-jin load of Sand Mine here, found a familiar vendor, and traded for the fruit. They also bought a gourd of water and couldn't wait to begin enjoying their meal.

CHOMP.

Taking a bite of the Oasis Fruit, a blissful smile spread across Ni'Er's face. The tart sweetness burst across her taste buds. Paired with a sip of the lake water, which had its own sweet, lingering aftertaste, it was simply divine.

It had been so long since they'd eaten and drunk so heartily. This wonderful day was all thanks to the generosity of the masked noble.

If not for him killing the Desert Sea Robbers and gifting all the Sand Mine to her and her grandfather, they might not have been able to eat their fill.

After all, they were supposed to travel to a much more distant location to mine, but for specific reasons, they hadn't been able to make the journey.

On top of that, the Desert Sea hadn't yielded much Sand Mine lately, and their stomachs had been empty for far too long.

"Grandpa, that lord is so good to us," Ni'Er said, unable to stop herself from recalling the masked, humanoid figure. 'It's like the soul inside his body has a unique pull on me.' She added aloud, "To think there are nobles this good in the world."

"Yes, there are many wonderful things in the world."

Her hunched-back grandfather also gnawed on an Oasis Fruit, his face etched with complex emotion.

'He hadn't expected an encounter like this, either. It seemed the great figures from the Outer Realm weren't all bad. There were still a few good ones out there, like the masked man they had just met, for instance.'

Of course, this one encounter wouldn't change his fundamental opinion of nobles from the Outer Realm. He was different from most natives. Others might be completely ignorant, perhaps even seeing a noble from the Outer Realm for the very first time.

But he had seen nobles from the Outer Realm with his own eyes before—long before Jiang Qiu. They were cold-blooded, emotionless creatures who wouldn't deign to speak with an ant like him.

Nor were they foolishly playful, like the City Lord's grandson, Ah Si.

His own son had been captured by outsiders, sold to an arena, and was most likely dead by now.

It was an all-too-common story. Some arrogant nobles enjoyed visceral, bloody combat. They loved watching young, strong natives fight each other. Once a native won enough times, he would be pitted against a Cultivator whose power was on par with the nobles.

But how could a mortal possibly defeat a Cultivator? For a native, entering the arena was a death sentence. What those nobles wanted to see was exactly when a native would die, and in what state he would be when it happened.

The more a native won, the more fervent their anticipation of his death became. The moment a native with a long winning streak died a sudden, violent death, the nobles would erupt in frenzied celebration, and a steady stream of rewards would flow into the arena organizer's accounts.

Of course, local nobles also captured natives to sell. However, they lacked the sophisticated equipment for it and often lacked the interest. The native population was already too small, and without any particularly outstanding specimens, they weren't worth much.

But people from the Outer Realm were different. For them, capturing natives was a sport. They could scan a vast area for natives in one go, then, with the click of a button or a mere flicker of thought, effortlessly capture hundreds, even thousands, of people.

It was a special form of local entertainment, you could say. Many nobles from the Outer Realm, visiting the Desolate Realm for the first time, amused themselves this way...

TAP-TAP-TAP—

Suddenly, a flurry of urgent footsteps shattered his reminiscence. He turned to see several nobles in expensive clothes rushing over, sending the vendors along the path scattering in fear. "The noble lords are here! The noble lords are here! They're from the Celestial Star Shop!"

"Huh? What are noble lords from the Celestial Star Shop doing here?"

The area was filthy and chaotic, a veritable slum. Generally, no noble would ever want to set foot here. They considered themselves above it all and refused to associate with the natives.

But now, not only had nobles arrived, they were nobles from the immensely powerful Celestial Star Shop.

The Celestial Star Shop was arguably the most powerful entity in all of Thousand and Seventy-Seven Little Oasis City. Its background was staggering; rumor had it they were connected to the Celestial Star Oasis City itself.

Celestial Star Oasis City was no ordinary place. It boasted one of the top arenas in the entire realm and was considered one of the most elite Oasis Cities.

With a name like that, their connection was bound to be extraordinary.

Now that their people had appeared, the natives were terrified. Some, fearing they'd be captured and sent to die in the arena, simply grabbed their bundles and fled. In an instant, the entire street descended into chaos.

But in the chaos, no one dared to run toward the nobles from the Celestial Star Shop. Instead, they scrambled away, a dark, surging mass of people moving in the opposite direction.

Old Tu Tou grabbed his granddaughter, preparing to flee as well. It wasn't a guilty conscience; it was pure, simple fear. A wise man doesn't stand beneath a crumbling wall. It was better to leave than to gamble on the nobles' intentions.

But just as they were about to move, a sudden, powerful tug yanked on his granddaughter's basket. With a THUD, a native who had been brushing past them stumbled and fell to the ground. His hand was still caught on a corner of Ni'Er's basket, and he stared, stunned. "How is this so heavy?!"

The force of his pull made Ni'Er lose her balance, and a few pieces of Sand Mine spilled from her basket. They hit the ground with a series of dull thuds, like bones falling to the dirt. The sound instantly attracted a pack of rabid dogs.

"Sand Mine! Someone dropped a lot of it!"

"Holy shit, how were this old man and his granddaughter carrying so much? Where did they find it?"

"We're rich, we're rich! Grab it!"

BOOM—

The surrounding natives and vendors, who had been about to flee, instead surged forward like madmen. They swarmed Ni'Er, clawing at the Sand Mine on her back. She panicked, and even Old Tu Tou was dumbstruck. "Don't rob us! My granddaughter and I worked so hard to gather that!"

But how could a hunched old man and a fourteen-year-old girl possibly stop so many people? It was the first time something like this had ever happened to her. Ni'Er panicked, and the basket slipped completely from her shoulders, spilling all the Sand Mine onto the ground.

The natives scrambled to scoop up a few pieces into their arms before fleeing.

Ni'Er stood there, bewildered, as her eyes welled up with tears.

But at that very moment, a thunderous crack echoed out. One of the first natives to flee had been struck and crippled by the nobles from the Celestial Star Shop. Everyone froze, stunned.

"A bunch of worthless curs! You dare steal the City Lord's treasure?!"