Two days later, inside the Mercenary Guild.
"A wine that is capable of stimulating the true essence inside our bodies? Liu Xiufeng, have you gone crazy?! Is there any wine capable of doing that? Even the emperor's wine could barely do it, how much more a wine from a nameless store?" A topless and bald man with a huge scar on the right side of his face spoke with a grating voice, but Liu Xiufeng was already used to this. He also did not dare show any displeasure against the man for he was much stronger than him.
The bald man was called by everyone as Scar, he was a peak 5th-rank Spirit level fighter who was infinitely close to breaking through towards the 6th-rank King. His strength can already be considered as one of the best within the empire's middle-level experts.
"Boss Scar, can you not feel my strength? I broke through towards the mid-stage of 4th-rank Knight Crusader." Liu Xiufeng scratched the back of his head while smugly looking at his fellow mercenaries. He then released his true energy and indeed, everyone could feel that he had reached the mid-stage of 4th-rank Knight Crusader.
Boss Scar glanced doubtingly at Liu Xiufeng. He was sure that the guy was only at the initial stage of 4th-rank Knight Crusader two days ago, but then the guy came back with a mid-stage strength. The speed was surely astonishing. He then thought of what he previously said.
"Tell me, where can I find this store? If I find out that everything you have said was false, then don't blame me for being rude."
Liu Xiufeng patted his chest with confidence, an ugly smile can also be seen on his rough face.
"Boss, I am a hundred percent certain about this. But like what I have told you, the prices of the store's wines are expensive and the owner himself has an unfathomable strength. I could not even feel the true essence in his body."
Scar was surprised upon hearing his words. Although Liu Xiufeng was one realm weaker than him, the latter could still gauge his power. So after learning that the owner of that wine store was strong, he felt that there was more to see from this store. He then smiled and stood up from his seat.
"Okay, I have decided to visit this store. Liu Xiufeng, lead the way."
Liu Xiufeng smiled and nodded his head in response.
"Sure, boss!"
A group of men with strong auras walked out of the Mercenary Guild. Everyone thought that they were going out on a mission, but the group was actually headed to a small store just to drink wine...
* * *
Two days after Liu Xiufeng's visit, Jiu Shen was still cultivating diligently when he heard the systems robotic voice reverberate inside his head.
- Ding!
- Next Mission: Earn 1000 True Crystals. A reward will be given for successfully accomplishing this mission.
Jiu Shen opened his eyes slowly.
"Are you kidding me? That's one thousand True Crystals! You might have mistaken about it, system. Recalculate it!"
- Ding!
- Recalculating!
- Next Mission: Earn 1000 True Crystals. A reward will be given for successfully accomplishing this mission.
Jiu Shen's face turned dark, but a moment later, he shook his head helplessly.
"System, can you at least help me in my cultivation?"
- Ding!
- Once the host accomplishes multiple missions, a cultivation breakthrough as a reward is not impossible. Host, to become the strongest Wine God in all realms, work hard!"
"A cultivation breakthrough as a reward... I don't believe you." Jiu Shen muttered to himself while the system remained silent against his accusations.
He then felt the auras more than ten people coming towards his store. A familiar presence was also among the group of visitors.
"Looks like I will have more customers today." Jiu Shen sighed and sat lazily on a chair as he waited for the group of men to come inside his store.
He did not have to wait for long, after a little more than half a minute, a bunch of savage-looking men came inside his store.
"Hello, Wine Master Jiu Shen." Liu Xiufeng greeted Jiu Shen with a fist palm salute. The latter merely nodded his head faintly, but Liu Xiufeng was not offended at all.
The rest of the mercenaries glanced around while their boss, Scar, calmly stared at the young gigolo-looking owner of the store, Jiu Shen.
Boss Scar was surprised since he could not feel Jiu Shen's strength no matter how hard he tried.
'Just how strong is this gigolo?!' He thought in alarm while maintaining a calm facade.
Jiu Shen emotionlessly glanced at them and pointed at the small blackboard.
"If you want to buy something, you can check the prices there."
Everyone of them gulped after seeing the absurd prices of the wine. There was also that dish that was as expensive as the emperor's wine.
"What the fuck?! A wine sold for 120 True Crystals? Are you fucking playing with me?! Hey kid, it must be Gold Coins instead of True Crystals, right?" A mercenary with bulging belly cursed while pointing at the blackboard.
Jiu Shen did not even bother glancing at him and just closed his eyes.
"I have my reasons for pricing my items as such. If you are not going to order anything, then please leave. I still want to take my afternoon nap."
The chubby mercenary smashed his hand on the table angrily. He poured his true energy on that smash and his 3rd-rank Crusader cultivation level was displayed. When his fat hand touched the table, he felt a strong rebound force that flung his body several meters away.
"Thud! Thud!"
He stood up from the ground in bewilderment while wiping away the blood at the corner of his lips.
"How is that possible?"
Everyone was alarmed after seeing what had happened. They finally realized that this simple store was not so simple at all. They were not brainless fools, they knew that someone who could fling away a 3rd-rank Crusader without moving was never a simple person.
They thought that it was the doing of Jiu Shen, but it was actually the system that reinforced the entire store. No one was capable of smashing anything inside, not even the emperor.
Jiu Shen ignored their surprised looks and just silently stared at them with a cold smirk.