Chapter 359 358: The Shameless Should Disappear

The nobles in a small place, the Cultivators, weren't actually of a very high Realm. They hadn't even come into contact with Spirit Charm Cultivation, making them roughly equivalent to high schoolers in Blue Star Plateau City, still hovering below the Jade Sinew Realm.

However, this level of strength was still more than enough to crush ordinary people. What's more, the nobles from the Celestial Star Shop were exceptional even within Oasis City, their average combat power surpassing even that of the City Lord's Mansion.

Beating up a few natives was a piece of cake for them. Just moments ago, the leader had made a move, crippling a fleeing native, and instantly intimidated everyone.

In truth, they would never dare to offend the Celestial Star Shop. Fleeing was just a guilty instinct, a natural fear of the nobles. Not all the Human Race natives of the Desolate Realm were like Old Tu Tou and his granddaughter, Ni'Er.

When a people has been enslaved for a long time, their morality and other aspects naturally decline. Theft and robbery become necessary skills for survival.

But now, after they had robbed their own kind, they found themselves being berated by the noble masters. The nobles even resorted to violence, telling them they couldn't snatch the City Lord's treasures?

Who was the City Lord?

'Isn't the City Lord that debaucherous old man who spends all his time procreating in the City Lord's Mansion? What treasure of his could be here? Who's ever even seen his treasure?'

Everyone was baffled, but they didn't dare question the nobles' words. They just stood there trembling. Those who had snatched Sand Mine quietly hid it behind their backs.

Even Old Tu Tou and Ni'Er were stunned. They pulled back their hands and froze on the spot.

TAP TAP TAP.

The noble leader approached step by step. The once-crowded street cleared for him, opening up a wide path. The natives huddled cautiously to the sides, not daring to run, not even daring to look up.

BAM!

The leader smashed a fist into the face of a shifty-eyed native. A pained cry rang out, and then BAM! He kicked the man in the stomach. A few jin of Sand Mine slipped from his palm.

"Worthless scum. Snatching whatever you want?"

Hearing the leader's cold snort, everyone shuddered. CLATTER... A good deal of Sand Mine slipped from sweaty palms and fell to the ground. Some people simply dropped to their knees and began to kowtow. "Noble Lord, Noble Lord, I'll give you all this Sand Mine! It's all yours!"

THUD. THUD. THUD.

One after another, the natives knelt and kowtowed.

"Noble Lord, spare us, please spare us!"

"I'm begging you, don't hit me, don't hit me!"

These nobles were ruthless. Almost no noble would ever be good to a native. They were naturally the strong ones, monopolizing Cultivation Techniques and cultivation resources, enjoying absolute status.

Even though the Celestial Star Shop was said to treat its customers with extreme respect, that only applied to actual customers. If they discovered your status didn't match, you would most likely just "disappear."

Thus, to most people, the word 'noble' was supreme.

And the guy who had first tried to snatch from Ni'Er's basket was now kowtowing the most fervently, as if trying to get three lifetimes' worth of kowtows done at once. "Noble Lord, Noble Lord! This grandfather and granddaughter duo behind me has a lot of Sand Mine! Take theirs, they have a ton!"

Clearly, he understood now. The "City Lord's treasure" the noble lord spoke of referred to the Sand Mine. After all, that was the only valuable thing, the most valuable thing any of the natives could ever get their hands on. They rarely obtained anything more precious.

Sand Mine was also the basis of their currency—in other words, their property.

'According to the noble's logic, all of Oasis City belongs to the old City Lord. The natives are just trash with no rights, so anything a native harvests should rightfully belong to the City Lord.'

'These lords must be here on behalf of the City Lord to collect the City Lord's "property"!'

Having rationalized it to this point, the pickpocket's heart lifted. He felt that as long as he went along with the noble lord's wishes, he would be off the hook.

Old Tu Tou and Ni'Er, the ones he was pointing at, instantly became the target of public condemnation. Countless natives accused them of hiding a large amount of Sand Mine, claiming they had actually been helping the City Lord recover his "treasure."

At this, Old Tu Tou panicked. He stood in front of Ni'Er, desperately trying to straighten his back, which was bent at a right angle. But he failed, leaving him half a head shorter than everyone else, unable to defend himself. "No, a lord gave it to us... no... no, Noble Lord, that Sand Mine..."

He was flustered, his words becoming unclear. He was accused by one person, then by ten, until everyone around him was pointing at him, a circle of fingers surrounding him, spittle flying onto his face.

After all, the value of three tons of Sand Mine was self-evident. Which of the natives who frequented this street would have that much in savings?

Everyone was half-dead from starvation, living from one meal to the next. They rarely had any savings. Even if they did have some, they would hide it somewhere no one could ever find. Who would carry it around so openly?

And to carry it around openly was one thing, but to have so much!

They were envious, jealous, and resentful. How could an old man and an underage girl possess so much wealth?

If it were a strong, domineering middle-aged man with a few of his brothers, it would be understandable for them to have that much wealth. They could parade it through the streets and no one would bat an eye.

But it just had to be an old man and a girl.

'How could they deserve so much wealth?'

'Was it luck?'

'Why don't I have that kind of luck!'

They couldn't accept this outcome. Since they hadn't managed to snatch the Sand Mine for themselves, they decided to pin all the blame and responsibility on the "culprits." If anyone was to blame, it was the ones who possessed three tons of Sand Mine.

As this line of thinking took over, their cowardice began to swell into boldness, their blood starting to boil. With the "support" of the noble lords, their sense of justification grew ever stronger.

The pickpocket who started it all was especially animated, excitedly recounting his "contribution" to the City Lord. He claimed he had long suspected something was off with the grandfather and granddaughter, figuring they must have stolen the City Lord's fortune, and so he had stepped up to uphold justice.

But unfortunately, he met with resistance. The two thieves pushed him to the ground and were now trying to flee with the evidence.

His face was red as he told his story, and the people around him added their own embellishments, frightening Old Tu Tou until his face turned deathly pale. Behind him, protected in his arms, the light in Ni'Er's eyes grew dimmer.

'Yes,' she thought. 'I know many of the myths and legends Grandpa tells are just to comfort himself. The stories about the so-called former glory of the Human Race... who can prove any of them?'

'After all, I've survived in the Desert Sea for over a decade. What kind of things haven't I seen? Sure, the legends say the foreign nobles who garrison here are hateful and oppress the natives.'

'But these people, this part of the Human Race with their rotten nature... do they really deserve to be adorned with a glorious history?'

A long, long time ago, the Human Race were the masters of this Desolate Realm. They lived in harmony with the Outer Realm. Then, a cataclysm occurred. The entire Desolate Realm transformed into a combination of deserts and oases, and the innate aptitude of the Human Race began to weaken.

Countless years passed, and now the Human Race had become... this.

'If only this Oasis City were mine,' she thought. 'I would make the despicable disappear, and I would never let an honest person suffer such shameless accusations...'