Things are finally settling down again. The rush to hand in contribution points is finally over. Other than the elders who participated in the trap, Jin Mo and his crew of friends managed to obtain some contribution points via handing in heads as well. There were quite a few people who handed in information about the invaders’ locations, verified with a Soul Scour, of course, but the points weren’t worth as much. Ri and Sophia were the only ones below the sky realm who were lucky enough to hand in a head. There were a couple of casualties from the invaders; they died while gathering information. Overall, the Immortal Continent obtained an overwhelming victory against the immortal realm upon first contact.

“I’m here to trade for my items….”

Oh, Baldie’s back. It’s been a week. “Do you have your own jade box this time?”

“Yes,” Baldie said as if it were only natural. Her chin was just ever so slightly tilted towards the ceiling, her chest barely puffing out. I want to break her pride. I don’t know why; it just irks me to see her like that. It’s a little like how I enjoy keeping Softie down. Perhaps some part of my personality was twisted; it wouldn’t surprise me. Traumatic events change people, and traveling alongside Lucia has made my whole life traumatic. I’m glad I have my childhood as a justification for my behavior.

Anyway, I’ll take Baldie’s things out of my interspacial ring and hand them over. “Here’s the things you wanted.”

“Thank you,” Baldie said and transferred the items from my jade box into hers. “Also, I accumulated an extra five hundred points. I wish to exchange them for a bushel of fox-eye berries.”

An extra five hundred points? I don’t think there were any missions quick enough to finish while also handing out that many points at once. However, I’m not going to ask how she did it. There’s a glint in her eyes. She’s just waiting for me to ask. I won’t give her the satisfaction. “Alright, give me your identity plate.” There’s no need to go to the back or anything to pick up items. Most of the commonly traded things are stored in rings underneath the counter. Aren’t I afraid of being robbed? Of course not. If there’s someone capable of robbing the counter, they’ll be capable of robbing it a storage too.

“You’re not curious as to how I obtained so many points?” Baldie asked, raising an eyebrow. She handed over her identity plate, but there was a bit of resistance when I was taking it from her fingers. “I took advantage of that jade box shortage you caused. I bought unrefined jade from some stores, shaped them into boxes, and created storage formations on them myself. Then, I sold them to people in the streets.”

It turns out Baldie isn’t completely braindead. She must’ve regained some of her mental facilities after losing the strength of an immortal. “There was a shortage, and you only made five hundred points?”

Baldie’s expression darkened, but it turned back to normal in an instant. “I wasn’t the only one who had the same idea. There was a lot of competition.” She snorted. “The people of this lower dimension are blind pigs. They couldn’t tell the difference between the handiwork of an immortal and the handiwork of a mortal; they actually refused to buy my boxes just because they were a few points more expensive. The people from the immortal realm would climb over each other just for a chance to buy something I created.”

“Sounds like it’s the people up there who’re the blind pigs.” It took me a few moments, but I found the bushel of fox-eye berries. There’s just too much crap stored here. I wonder if there’s a way to streamline treasures. Well, I have a lot of time to worry about that. “Here you go.”

Baldie seemed to be holding something back. I bet her chest was feeling pretty stifled right about now. “Thank you,” she muttered and stored her berries in another box. She took the identity slip and left without saying goodbye. How rude of her. Maybe I should cut her pay.

Phweeeeeeeeeeet! Phweeeeeeeeeet! Phweeeeeeeeeeet!

The alarm from the door in the sky? I suppose it was about time for a second round of invaders. While the seven great sects might not see any worth in this little pocket realm, there’ll still be people from the immortal realm who’ll come here. They’ll hear rumors about the seven great sects finding a lower dimension. They’ll probably even hear rumors about how they lost all their future prospects down here. There’ll be some who want to escape from the law. There’ll be some who’re on the verge of death, hoping to find a breakthrough down here. There’ll be some who wish to seek refuge. There’ll be some who seek glory, conquering the dimension that the seven great sects couldn’t.

Of course, since these stragglers don’t have huge backers behind them, they won’t get very far. The alarm already stopped. The corpse puppet I sent outside to take a look didn’t even get to see the invader’s face before he turned into ashes. I should modify the formation, make it less lethal. With a group of willing volunteers coming to deliver knowledge to me, it’d be quite wasteful to kill them all before making contact with them.

“Ilya! Is my hammer done yet!?”

“No.” I’m still working on it. “It’s a delicate process. What about Durandal, did you fix him?” Before Lucia left last time, she said something about Soul Scouring a blacksmith to learn the art of blacksmithing. If only she’d realize she’s Soul Scoured dozens of people who can read without getting a single bit better at it, then maybe she’d realize just Soul Scouring people isn’t enough to become a master.

“Yeah! Durandal’s fixed! The blacksmith said he’d fix Durandal for free as long as I promise to never Soul Scour him again!”

…I wonder what that poor blacksmith forgot when Lucia rummaged through his mind.