Hu Kuang grinned triumphantly, his chest puffed out in pride.
"I've awakened the Dark Sky Tiger bloodline!"
Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd.
Dark Sky Tiger—an ancient and powerful beast lineage.
The monster beast royals exchanged incredulous glances.
How could someone like Hu Kuang, of all beings, possess such a rare and formidable heritage?
Sure enough, fools truly have their own kind of luck!
But before anyone could process this absurd reality—
Mo Yuan let out a deep chuckle, lifting his arm as crimson lines ignited along his skin.
"Not bad," he said, his voice carrying a newfound weight. "Because I've awakened the Holy War Ape bloodline."
The royal beasts fell completely silent.
Two awakenings—one after another?
What were the chances of that?!
A probability so astronomically low that it bordered on the impossible.
"Wait a moment…"
The high priest suddenly narrowed his eyes, deep in thought, before turning to Luo Chuan.
Something wasn't right.
Just then, Hu Kuang scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
"Ah—now that I think about it… we all drank mineral water before this happened."
The valley fell into an even deeper silence.
Then—
Envy.
Pure, unfiltered envy.
Every single monster royal's gaze locked onto Hu Kuang and Mo Yuan as if they had just won the celestial lottery.
Then—
A soft cough broke the tension.
"Ahem. Well… I also awakened my bloodline."
Yao Ziyan's voice was calm, yet the air around her subtly shifted.
In the next instant—
Behind her, a towering, radiant phantom appeared, its nine tails flowing like streams of violet stardust.
A hush fell over the valley.
Purple Sky Fox—another ancient bloodline!
But unlike Mo Yuan and Hu Kuang, whose power was formidable but still beneath a ceiling—
Yao Ziyan's bloodline radiated a dominance that surpassed them completely.
A suffocating nobility, an ancient power that demanded reverence.
After all—
She was the Emperor.
The monsters and royals didn't even know how to react anymore.
Even Hu Kuang and Mo Yuan, who had been basking in their newfound power, fell utterly speechless.
They had been celebrating—
But now, in comparison to Yao Ziyan…
Their awakenings felt almost insignificant.
Still, Hu Kuang, never one to stay quiet for long, blinked in amazement before a sudden thought crossed his mind.
"Sister Ziyan, how did you meet the boss?" he asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
After all—
He had already figured out that Luo Chuan was here entirely because of her.
And if someone like Yao Ziyan had ties to such a mysterious and powerful figure…
Then just who was she, really?
His question wasn't just his own—
It was a curiosity shared by every single monster royal present.
At his words, Yao Ziyan simply smiled.
"I'm a clerk at Origin Mall."
Silence.
Then—
"Oh."
The response came collectively from the group, but their voices were flat, their expressions slightly blank.
As if the information had passed through one ear and out the other—
Only for them to suddenly freeze a second later.
"Wait, what?"
An ancient bloodline holder—a monster beast Emperor—was just a clerk?!
But strangely—
Once the shock settled, they found themselves accepting it.
It made sense.
After all—
Hu Kuang, a monstrous warrior feared across the realm, was literally a mount now.
Nothing about this situation followed common logic anymore.
And yet—
This was the new normal.
The high priest hesitated for a moment before rubbing his hands together.
"Um, boss… can we also buy goods from the mall?"
Luo Chuan gave a casual nod.
"Of course."
But before the high priest could celebrate—
Luo Chuan's expression shifted slightly, his voice turning calm yet oddly sharp.
"One more thing."
The sudden change in his tone made everyone tense.
Even Bai instinctively straightened.
Then—
"Coke, Spirit Crystals—remember to pay."
The high priest stiffened.
For a brief moment, the weight of those words didn't sink in.
Then—
Realization hit.
Ah.So that's what this was about.
A pause.
Then—
He couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
"Boss, you really don't forget a single debt, do you?"
Behind him, Yao Ziyan finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
A small giggle escaped—
Then another—
Until she finally burst out laughing, hurriedly covering her mouth.
But the way her eyes curved into bright crescent moons, the way her shoulders shook uncontrollably—
It was clear just how amused she was.
So this was what he cared about?
Luo Chuan, meanwhile, remained completely unbothered.
To him—
A debt was a debt.
Spirit Crystals were Spirit Crystals.
It didn't matter whether it was a mountain of wealth or just a handful—
There was no reason to just give them away for free.
He understood this principle deeply.
"If you don't take small steps, you'll never reach a thousand miles," Luo Chuan mused idly. "If you don't gather small streams, you'll never form a great river."
Yao Ziyue, who had been watching this entire exchange in silence, finally turned to her sister with a strange expression.
"Sister… is the boss always like this?"
Yao Ziyan tilted her head in thought before offering a soft smile.
"Well… the boss just takes rules very seriously," she said. "But other than that, he's usually very easygoing."
Yao Ziyue narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"...Sure."
Clearly—
She wasn't convinced.
Luo Chuan casually lifted his palm.
A moment later—
A translucent light curtain materialized out of thin air.
It flickered faintly, displaying four commodities.
However—
Two of them—Jade Nectar Dew and mineral water—were grayed out, marked as out of stock.
"There are only two products available for now," Luo Chuan stated simply. "You can purchase them as you wish."
The monster beast royals leaned in closer, their attention immediately drawn to the strange, floating display.
They had never seen anything like it before.
Their curiosity ignited.
But more importantly—
A new realization settled among them.
The world was changing—
And those who followed this mysterious boss were bound to change with it.