The Sacred City Plaza was bathed in moonlight, its white stone tiles reflecting a soft, cold glow.
Behind School Master Ning, the dragon-shaped banner of the Douluo Alliance fluttered steadily in the desert wind, its scales embroidered with threads of gold and silver.
Opposite him, the totem flag of the Snake-People Tribe rose high, the coiled serpent pattern seeming almost alive as it swayed.
Between the two banners, history quietly shifted.
"It is a pleasure to cooperate," School Master Ning said warmly, extending his hand.
Queen Medusa regarded him for a brief moment before clasping his hand in return. Her grip was firm, her expression composed, but the faint ripple in her pupils betrayed emotions she did not bother to hide.
"It is also the Snake-People Tribe's good fortune," Medusa replied evenly, "to walk this path together with you."
The agreement they had just signed was simple in form, but its implications were immense. From this moment on, the Douluo Alliance—a coalition of Spirit Masters and Spirit Beasts—had officially secured a stable foothold on the Douqi Continent.
For Medusa, however, this cooperation meant far more than trade.
Before School Master Ning's caravan had arrived, her path had been one of desperation.
The Green Lotus Core Flame had been her final gamble.
If she succeeded in using it to break through to the Dou Zong realm, the Snake-People Tribe might reclaim a fragment of their former glory. If she failed, the backlash alone would doom not only herself, but the entire tribe that depended on her.
It was a wager with no retreat.
Then the caravan arrived.
At first, the Snake-People Elders reacted with instinctive hostility. Humans entering the Sacred City in force was, to them, nothing short of provocation. Accusations flew. Suspicion mounted. A few radicals even argued for slaughtering the entire caravan and seizing its goods before outsiders could threaten the tribe's fragile balance.
That clamor ended the moment the Elders saw what stood behind School Master Ning.
Six sixth-tier Magic Beasts.
They stood silently, without arrogance or hostility, yet their auras pressed down like invisible mountains. More unsettling than their strength was their demeanor—these beasts did not stand as slaves, nor as guards compelled by force.
They stood as equals.
That single scene shattered generations of assumptions.
Humans and Magic Beasts… cooperating?
Not coercion. Not enslavement. Cooperation.
It was a possibility the Snake-People had never seriously considered.
From that moment, negotiations shifted.
Once the agreement was signed, School Master Ning moved decisively.
Using the Snake-People Tribe's unique position within the Tagor Desert and their deep familiarity with the Magic Beast Mountain Range, he established the Sacred City as a neutral hub. Through the Snake-People, he contacted powerful Spirit Beasts such as Emperor Tian and arranged meetings with high-tier Magic Beasts that rarely interacted with humans.
The result was unprecedented.
A high-tier Magic Beast trade fair unfolded within the Sacred City.
Rare ores from forbidden regions. Millennia-old spirit herbs. Peak-grade Magic Cores that even major sects would kill to obtain. These treasures flowed steadily into the hands of the Douluo Alliance.
At the same time, School Master Ning exploited the Sacred City's geographical advantage. Sitting between the Black-Corner Region and multiple empires, it became a natural crossroads. Caravan routes multiplied. Trade volume surged.
Unlike the brutal, deceit-ridden commerce of the Black-Corner Region, transactions here were conducted by disciplined Spirit Master teams. Prices were transparent. Contracts were honored. Escorts were reliable.
That contrast alone drew countless caravans from the Gama Empire and beyond.
A closed loop quietly formed.
Resources acquired through the Sacred City were transported to the Black-Corner Region, sold to desperate factions, or exchanged directly for sacrificial coins at the Sacrificial Shop. Those coins were then used to purchase spirit artifacts, pills, and cultivation techniques—goods that flowed back outward through the Sacred City, radiating across the Northwest Continent.
The Snake-People Tribe did not remain passive.
They formed escort teams. Exploration squads. Mining units that delved into desert forbidden zones. Within months, they had secured control over several rare mineral veins and desert herb fields.
For the first time in generations, the Snake-People were no longer clinging to survival at the edges of power.
They were upstream.
Witnessing the overwhelming capabilities of the Sacrificial Shop, Medusa made her decision.
She abandoned her plan to gamble everything on the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Instead, she exchanged for a Po Zong Pill.
When the breakthrough occurred, the Sacred Temple shook as a majestic Dou Zong aura surged skyward. The entire Snake-People Tribe erupted into celebration that lasted through the night.
This was not merely a rise in strength.
It was independence.
"Congratulations on achieving your wish," School Master Ning said, cupping his hands formally.
Even Qian Daoliu and Emperor Tian did not hide the envy in their eyes. Despite their terrifying strength, their accumulation of Dou Qi still lagged behind true natives of this World.
Medusa regarded them calmly. "Your foundations are deeper than mine ever were. For you, the Dou Zong realm is only a matter of time."
School Master Ning laughed softly, then produced an emerald-green pearl that pulsed gently with life.
"This is the Sage-Immortality Pearl," he said. "A six-tier special spirit artifact. Consider it our gift."
Gasps rippled through the hall.
"It stabilizes temperature and humidity, shields against sandstorms, detects intruders, and creates an optimal growth environment," School Master Ning continued. "It is… especially suitable for nurturing young Snake-People."
The hall fell deathly silent.
Several Elders unconsciously slithered forward, their eyes fixed on the pearl as if staring at salvation itself.
For the Snake-People, this artifact surpassed even the Po Zong Pill.
Their young had always suffered. Heat. Dryness. Human hunters. The mortality rate was a wound that never healed.
This pearl protected the future.
Medusa accepted it without hesitation. For the first time, a trace of genuine astonishment crossed her cold features.
When the pearl was placed within the nursery hall and pale green light spread gently across the chamber, old Snake-People wept openly as they watched their young crawl and play without pain.
From that moment, any remaining hesitation toward the Douluo Alliance vanished.
Before School Master Ning departed, Medusa made her own decision.
She produced a cold jade box, its seal radiating violent flame energy.
"This is the Green Lotus Core Flame," she said calmly. "I gift it to you."
The room froze.
School Master Ning's pupils contracted.
Bear Lord roared moments later. "Auction it! Those fools in the Black-Corner Region will pay anything!"
Qian Daoliu shook his head. "Or keep it. Such a flame is a foundation treasure."
School Master Ning slowly raised his hand.
"We sell it to the Sacrificial Shop."
Silence.
He looked at them steadily. "Medusa understands value. But she understands stability even more. The Shop is the source of all our opportunities in this World."
He paused.
"Auction profits are temporary. Standing with the Sacrificial Shop is permanent."
No one argued.
Because no one doubted that truth.
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