Chapter 396 The Miser Xu Guozhong
After emptying this floor of the warehouse, Wu Xuan and his companion naturally headed to the next floor.
Although there is only one layer separating them, Wu Xuan and Ye Guyi killed five Soul Douluos along the way, which shows how valuable the supplies in this second-level strategic warehouse are.
The alloy door that reappeared in front of Wu Xuan and his companion had five keyholes and four password screens.
Wu Xuan was naturally very familiar with this, and easily destroyed the soul-guiding lock in front of him again.
With a soft "hiss," the metal door in front of him opened again, and an aura belonging to a Soul Saint appeared in Wu Xuan's perception. Wu Xuan had already sensed this person's aura before, but what waves could a Soul Saint possibly make?
"Mr. Qian! How did you get in? How did you open the door without Mr. Xu here?" A middle-aged man who looked to be around fifty years old immediately questioned Wu Xuan upon seeing him.
The guarded look on his face made it seem as if he was implying that Wu Xuan was an outsider.
"I was allowed in with Xu Guozhong's permission, of course. And do you think you can question me?" Wu Xuan said coldly.
"Yes, yes, yes! I overstepped my bounds." The middle-aged man hurriedly nodded and bowed, apologizing profusely.
"I have a question for you. Did Xu Guozhong say he was coming to take inventory?" Wu Xuan asked.
"Ah? Wasn't Lord Xu supposed to be in the third-floor warehouse checking accounts all day?" The middle-aged man looked up slightly, puzzled. Lord Xu's daily routine was always like this; why did Elder Qian have such a question today?
Wu Xuan couldn't help but curl his lip, then raised his hand and sent the middle-aged man away with a single palm strike. Given Xu Guozhong's miserly nature, it was impossible for him to ambush and kill him now, and there was even less time for an ambush. Therefore, the only option was to kill him head-on.
Wu Xuan and his companion then resumed their cargo-moving activities.
The area of this second floor is significantly smaller than that of the first floor, about one-third the size. But even this one-third is still quite spacious.
Inside this second-floor warehouse, there are at least thirty kinds of rare metals, all of which are extremely valuable. Each one is several times more expensive than those on the first floor.
Looking at the alarm devices set up around him, Wu Xuan could only say that he was too naive. He neither broke down the door nor forcibly demolished it. Even if Xu Guozhong was on the third floor, he wouldn't have noticed such a small commotion.
And so what if they found out? Now that he's the only one left in this war reserve warehouse, what waves can he possibly make?
With the cooperation of Wu Xuan and Ye Guyi, the second warehouse was emptied out completely.
"Only one last floor left! Now the main event is about to begin." Wu Xuan said, slowly stretching.
With a click, the third-floor door opened. A downward staircase came into view, extending twenty meters down the stairs.
At this moment, the light inside the third level was extremely bright. Almost all the soul-guiding lamps were shining. A strong metallic aura emanated from within, giving off a chilling feeling.
"Qian Tong! How dare you enter the third level without permission?" A furious roar suddenly erupted from the steel jungle below.
He was an elderly man, very tall but somewhat thin, with deep-set eyes and dark skin. He even seemed to have some royal blood.
The man before them, though of royal blood, was one of the traitors of that era and is now deeply favored by the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire. However, he is not a supporter of Crown Prince Xu Tianran, but rather someone Xu Tianran is currently trying to win over.
Upon hearing this, Wu Xuan pretended to be startled, then turned and ran away.
Wu Xuan's actions infuriated Xu Guozhong, so Xu Guozhong stopped checking the treasures in the warehouse and rushed towards the door.
However, Xu Guozhong, who had just reached the entrance, could hardly believe his eyes. What did he see? An empty second floor. The rare metals that had once been piled up had all vanished into thin air, without a trace.
"Damn it, Qian Tong, where are my rare metals? Where did you hide them?" Xu Guozhong roared hysterically.
The rare metals in this second layer were beyond monetary value. They were hard to buy even with money, and now not even a trace remained. How could this not enrage him?
"Where to? Hmph! I'll help you find it, Hurricane Battlefield!" Wu Xuan stretched out his arms and released his domain, directly enveloping Xu Guozhong.
Upon seeing this, Xu Guozhong immediately turned and ran, but unfortunately he was no faster than the domain set up by Wu Xuan, and was instantly enveloped by Wu Xuan's domain.
"You're not Qian Tong, so who are you?" Seeing that he couldn't get out, Xu Guozhong asked with a gloomy expression.
Seeing this, Wu Xuan chuckled softly, then ripped off the mask from his face, revealing his true appearance. "Guess!"
"You're courting death!" Xu Guozhong's face turned cold, and nine soul rings—two yellow, three purple, and four black—flashed around his body.
A multicolored fireball? Xu Guozhong's martial soul is actually a degenerated version of the Sun Moon Royal Family's inherited Sun Martial Soul!
However, the temperature of this degenerated, multicolored fireball is only so-so, probably not even ranking among the intermediate-level martial souls.
Immediately afterward, Xu Guozhong waved his dark, rough hand forward, and a long-handled battle sword appeared in his grasp. The sword's blade was about two feet long, and the handle, as thick as an egg, was over five feet long. Xu Guozhong was indeed a melee fighter.
It wasn't over yet. A blazing red halo shot out and hovered around Xu Guozhong's wrist as he gripped the knife. Instantly, Xu Guozhong's aura surged, and the temperature emanating from the multicolored fireball began to rise continuously. At this moment, Xu Guozhong stood there with an imposing and majestic presence.
He immediately unleashed two level-nine soul tools: one for close-range combat and the other to amplify his own flames.
"You little beast, surrender now and return my rare metals, and I might spare your life! Let me tell you, this auxiliary soul tool of mine is called Blazing Flame Ring, and it can elevate my own flames by several levels. Right now, this soul tool hasn't met a true opponent yet," Xu Guozhong said arrogantly.
"You're just a frog in a well, your vision is so limited, you can only see a tiny patch of land." Wu Xuan shouted coldly, his seven soul rings instantly rising around him. The aura that Wu Xuan unleashed in that instant swept over Xu Guozhong, causing him to look horrified and take two steps back.
"That's impossible, you little beast! Don't think you can fool me with your bluff!" Xu Guozhong brandished his broadsword and slashed it at Wu Xuan.
Instantly, a fiery red blade of light streaked across more than forty meters, slashing down towards Wu Xuan. Its imposing momentum seemed to cleave Wu Xuan's battlefield in two.
The air instantly became scorching hot. Xu Guozhong's longsword was quite sophisticated. Don't underestimate it just because it's a melee soul tool; its nine level-nine core arrays are among the most complex. Combined with the assistance of various other core arrays, the power of his enhanced flame sword is already one of the best among level-nine soul tools. Moreover, its attack range is much longer than that of ordinary melee soul tools. It can be considered a soul energy weapon.
(End of chapter)