Way of the Knights

Chapter 401 - Filthy Rich

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Raul Highlander, the current City Lord of the Sky Blaze City and an Elder of the Martial Emperor Sect. 

His dignified appearance plus his matured facial features leaves anyone with a deep impression. He was wearing brown tight-fitted clothing with golden linings. His aura was concealed, making him look like a strict middle aged man, but those who have discerning eyes could tell the enormous strength he's hiding within. 

Currently, Raul's facial expression was a bit strange as he gazed at Raven. 

"Young man, what is this lucky chance that you speak of?" He asked. 

Raven didn't waste time and answered him truthfully. "Reporting to City Lord, this bookshelf is hiding something in a form of a sealed formation. As for what its contents are, I am not so sure but I could tell that it leads to a secret realm, and judging from the profundity of the seal that's in here, I could tell that where it leads will be nothing short of extraordinary." 

Raul was silent for a bit, he studied Raven's appearance and judged his character based off of first impressions. He could tell that he wasn't lying about what he said. Furthermore, Raven's words are hinting at something that's deeply tied onto the history of their clan. 

"A secret realm?" Albert repeated whilst in deep thought, later on something clicked on his mind, causing his eyes to brighten. He then turned towards his father and said: "Dad! Could it be that place?"

Raul looked at his son's eyes and sighed. "It might be." His voice sounded unsure. 

"I'm somewhat confident that it should be that place!" Albert exclaimed, " You told me this before didn't you? Highest Ancestor once entered that place and encountered a lucky chance that changed his talent, allowing him to join the ranks of the Martial Emperor Sect! He told us that he left the entrance to the secret realm within the clan but we've searched high and low, almost even turning the whole Sky Blaze City upside down yet we didn't manage to find it."

"As the ones managing the Sky Blaze City, all of the other secret realms present here are already recorded, yet none of those were the one that Highest Ancestor spoke of. I believe that this should be the one!" Albert continued, trying to convince his father with his conjectures. 

Hearing his son's ideas, Raul had to agree that what he said makes sense. It is somehow hilarious though. Just like what Albert said, they quite literally flipped the who Sky Blaze City upside down in search for the that realm their ancestor spoke of, they searched high and low yet didn't manage to find it. They have records about every secret realm present in the Sky Blaze City yet who would've thought that there's another one sitting inside of Albert's room? How funny was this. 

The more he thought about this, the more it makes sense. Additionally, this bookshelf is something that's been passed down from one generation to the next. 

Raul once again looked at Raven, his expression was quite complicated. He cleared his throat and asked: "You did us another favor, we haven't even thanked you enough for saving Albert's life. If it turns out that this the secret realm that our Ancestor spoke of, then I believe that even if I give you everything in this palace, it wouldn't be enough to repay you."

"Don't mention it City Lord." Raven waved his hand, "I'm just lucky to find the strangeness about this, that's all. I'm already thankful that Brother Albert was nice enough to fill me with details about the Blue Marble Planet and the Divine Realm. He even allowed to temporarily stay here, that's already enough for me."

"See? What did I tell you? This guy's attitude is even better than at least 80% of the disciples of the sect!" Albert walked towards Raven and swung his arms around him while telling this words to his father. He then turned into Raven and said: 

"But my father is also right, Brother." Albert spoke with a serious tone. "If there's anything that we could help you with, don't hold back. If you do, then I'll stop being your brother!" 

"This…" Raven was a bit stumped, he smiled wryly and said: "Now that you mention it, there is some things that I need help with."

"Oh?" Albert raised his brow, "What is it then? Don't hesitate, I'll help you to best of my abilities."

"Uh…" Raven placed on an embarrassed expression and said: "About that, uh. You see, I've read somewhere that the currency in the Divine Realm is different, so…"

Upon hearing this, Albert smacked his head in bewilderment and said: "God, I'm stupid! I should've known! Gold is utterly useless in here! You're lacking Spirit Stones!"

"Right…" Raven was even more embarrassed now that Albert said this out loud. 

Things like copper, silver and gold are the most common metals. In the lower planes, they might have some value but in the Divine Realm, they're nothing but useless scraps of metal. The currency of the Divine Realm comes in the form of Spirit Stones. Unlike gold, Spirit Stones contained energy that could be used to aid in one's cultivation, restore missing energy or as its most common use, as a currency. 

Spirit Stones are divided into several grades: Shards, Chunks, Blocks and Slabs. 

Typically, Spirit Stone Shards are the ones used as currency since the energy they contained are impure and too little for one's use. Chunks and above are commonly used for cultivation but even so, most of the people still uses them as currency. 

A Spirit Stone Chunk is roughly equal to 10 Spirit Stone Shards. A Spirit Stone Block is equal to 10 Spirit Stone Chunks and a Spirit Stone Slab is roughly equal to 20 Spirit Stone Blocks. 

Knowing that Raven is in need of Spirit Stones, Albert didn't hesitate to pass on a spatial ring to him. When Raven sank is perception inside the ring, his eyes widened a bit with what he saw. 

He counted at least three hundred thousand shards, a hundred thousand chunks, one thousand blocks and two hundred slabs of spirit stones. 

Raven's lips twitched, this guys is truly a Young Master. Seeing how he casually passed on a spatial ring containing this much wealth like he was throwing garbage made Raven feel a bit irritated. 

And if that wasn't enough, another spatial ring was handed to him, this time by the City Lord himself. Raven wasn't even sure if he wanted to look inside to see its contents but he did so anyway. And what a scene that was. 

Rows upon rows of neatly stacked Spirit Stone Blocks and Slabs blinded his vision. This image right here screams 'Spirit Stone Shards? Chunks? Never heard of it.' As it only contained Blocks and Slabs. Raven didn't even want to count how many was inside. There was too much that it literally formed a mountain. There's even some clothes and equipment in there that Raven didn't even dare to check.

Raven's lips was parched, he then said: "This is…a bit too much than what I was expecting." 

Hearing thus caused Albert to roar in laughter as he said: "Don't sweat it Brother. Compared to your act of saving my life, that amount alone is nor even enough." 

"He's right Little Friend." The City Lord added.

"Then I'll shamelessly accept it. Thank you for this." Raven replied.

But inwardly he was screaming: 'This shameless father and son duo! Isn't this the same as calling me a beggar?'

"Do you know how to activate this secret realm?" Albert asked curiously as he studied the bookshelf. 

"I should be able to. But I need help." Raven answered in a straight forward manner.

 "First we have to do this outside, otherwise I'm afraid that the activation will ruin this place. Second, I need the help of at least 10 Knight Kings and at least one Knight Monarch."

"Eh? Is that so?" Albert tilted his head, he then looked at his father and said: "The second requirement. Isn't that a weird coincidence? You're a Knight Monarch, while the rest of the Elders of the clan are Knight Kings at the very least."

"Now that you say that…" Raul muttered as his eyes gleamed while staring at the bookshelf. 

"If we did it that way, then I'm quite confident about opening this secret realm. As for how long it will stay open, it would depend on how long the Elders could last." Raven stated.

He then looked at Albert and said: "The only way to stabilize this entrance for an indefinite period, is to sacrifice an item or a keepsake that came from the secret realm itself."

Albert and Raul looked at each other. The former then gazed at Raven and said:

"That is so creepy." Albert shivered as he took something out from his Spatial Ring. He then showed to Raven and said: "This is exactly the item that you described. An Immortal-grade Mind Calming Jade that's been passed down to me by my father."

Raven inspected the jade, he then faced the jade in front of the bookshelf and instantly, a droning sound came out from it. He then looked at Albert and said:

"It really is a coincidence."