Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Meet Fatty Yuan Again, the Yuan Family’s Pet, the Armored Ape!

“Sister Bai Zhi, Sister Bai Shao, let’s go out for a walk.”

Having already made a decision, Bai Zian called Bai Zhi and Bai Shao, intending to take a stroll and see if there were any opportunities to pick up some bargains. The two sisters, Bai Zhi and Bai Shao, nodded in agreement.

With that in mind, Bai Zian walked out of the City Lord’s Mansion.

Soon, Bai Zian arrived at one of the large markets in Bai Lin City.

On the surface, Bai Lin City had three super-sized markets. These markets not only housed famous auction houses but also stores that traded in all kinds of spirit beast materials. However, this was just the surface, known as the open market, where all materials and resources being traded had traceable origins.

Yes, the open market.

However, hidden within Bai Lin City were also two underground black markets. The scale of these two black markets was remarkable, rivaling the three open markets. In addition, there were several smaller trade venues, but those were not worth mentioning.

Three open markets and two black markets — this was the general layout of Bai Lin City’s trading scene.

This time, Bai Zian had come to one of the large open markets, the East Market. But instead of heading straight to the shops, he went to a teahouse, intending to take his time.

The teahouse was always bustling with customers, including merchants from the other six main cities. Sometimes, while sipping tea here, one could overhear some interesting information.

Yes, news from the other main cities.

“Young Master Bai is here! We haven’t seen you in such a long time, we’ve all missed you dearly!”

“It’s a rare honor to have you here, Young Master Bai. We must make sure to treat you well today.”

As soon as Bai Zian stepped into the teahouse, the owner, with a flattering smile plastered on his face, hurried over to greet him obsequiously. It was clear that Bai Zian was a regular here.

Naturally, given that this was one of the more prosperous places in Bai Lin City, it was inevitable that Bai Zian would frequent it.

“The usual, same as before.”

Bai Zian smiled faintly, paying no mind to the owner’s flattery. Taking the hint, the teahouse owner quickly went to make arrangements without lingering to bother Bai Zian.

For the next while, Bai Zian sat quietly, sipping tea and listening to the conversations of the other guests.

“I heard that at the auction in Lan Lan City, a diamond-grade material called ‘Rapid Thunder Sand’ appeared. Is that true?”

“Yes, it’s true. I was there and saw the auction process with my own eyes.”

“My goodness! You have no idea how intense the bidding was — even the City Lord of Lan Lan joined in!”

“Well, that’s to be expected. Diamond-grade materials are coveted by the big players.”

“I heard that the granddaughter of the City Lord of Chi Yi City defeated a Bronze-ranked beast tamer last month despite being only Iron-ranked.”

“Old news. The beast tamer she defeated had a pet with high-level Bronze strength.”

“That’s terrifying! To be able to leap across a major rank in battle with just Iron-level strength — is this what it means to be a true genius?”

“Hah, speaking of geniuses, who could compare to the grandsons of our own City Lord and Vice City Lord in Bai Lin City?”

“I’ve heard that City Lord Bai Jingchong’s grandson and Vice City Lord Feng Yangyan’s granddaughter both awakened incredibly powerful talents during their awakening ceremony.”

“I bet they’ll both grow into diamond-ranked beast tamers.”

“Absolutely, these are the real prodigies! If they meet the City Lord of Chi Yi’s granddaughter, they’ll definitely crush her.”

“….”

Seated by the window, Bai Zian quietly drank his tea, listening to the surrounding conversations.

Merchants traveling between the major cities were no ordinary people. The wilderness outside the cities was incredibly dangerous, and ordinary beast tamers wouldn’t dare venture far from the safety of the city.

In fact, the merchants traveling between these cities were at least Silver-ranked, and some were even Gold-ranked. Because of this, their conversations often touched on high-level topics, sometimes even involving diamond-grade materials.

This was precisely why Bai Zian liked coming to this teahouse. Here, he could learn things that couldn’t be heard within Bai Lin City itself.

However, much to Bai Zian’s dismay, the conversations sometimes veered off-topic. Just like the group earlier, who had somehow ended up talking about him.

This left Bai Zian speechless.

After half a day of listening and not hearing anything new, Bai Zian finally decided to leave.

But just as he stepped out of the teahouse, a chubby figure rolled over from a distance and quickly arrived in front of him.

“Brother An, I’ve missed you so much! Where have you been all this time?”

“I went to the City Lord’s Mansion several times but couldn’t find you. You don’t want me anymore, do you?”

Standing in front of Bai Zian was none other than his top follower — Yuan Pangzi (Fatty Yuan), whose full name was Yuan Potian.

Compared to the time of the awakening ceremony, Fatty Yuan hadn’t changed much, except that his tone had become even more plaintive, giving Bai Zian a headache.

“Fatty Yuan, if you keep talking like this, I’ll treat you like a ball and kick you.”

Bai Zian threatened him harshly, and only then did Yuan Potian give a sheepish grin, dropping the whiny tone.

“Brother An, have you formed a contract with a pet yet?”

“I’ve already successfully contracted a pet, and it’s a very powerful one.”

“Guess what kind of pet I contracted, Brother An!”

Fatty Yuan grinned broadly, unable to contain the joy in his heart, eager to share the news with Bai Zian.

“What else could it be? Uncle Yuan surely arranged for you to have an Iron Armored Ape.”

Bai Zian replied calmly, without a hint of hesitation.

Of course, this wasn’t something Bai Zian learned using his [Eye of Revelation].

When it came to Fatty Yuan, Bai Zian didn’t even need to use that ability.

The Yuan family had always used ape-type spirit beasts. Even their family name, Yuan, which literally means ape, showed just how deep their connection was with ape-type spirit beasts.

Moreover, Fatty Yuan’s father, a Gold-ranked commander in Bai Lin City, used an Iron Armored Ape that had evolved into an Iron Helm Great Ape as his primary pet.

So what pet Fatty Yuan would contract didn’t require much thought.

“Not fun. I thought I could surprise you.”

Hearing Bai Zian’s words, Fatty Yuan pouted, clearly disappointed.

As expected, Bai Zian had guessed it right. His contracted pet was indeed the Iron Armored Ape arranged by his family.