Click—
The door to the private viewing suite where Hugo and the others were seated swung open. Qi Yuan stepped in with steady strides.
Woosh—
Instantly—
Every eye in the room turned to him.
"Qi Yuan!"
Hugo waved enthusiastically. "Come over here, quick!"
"Hahaha! I can't believe it—one of my own men turned out to be a genius who mastered a domain at the Stellar Tier. This is amazing! Absolutely amazing!"
In stark contrast, Hugo's sixth brother, Adona, looked as if he'd swallowed coal, his expression dark and ominous, his eyes flashing with a dangerous glint as he looked over.
As for the Seventh Prince from the Eternal Empire, his expression was one of genuine appreciation.
Just as Qi Yuan came to stand beside Hugo, the prince's voice sounded from behind.
"Young Master Hugo."
The Seventh Prince gave him a slight nod, smiling as he said, "How about selling me this slave of yours? I can offer you a price that will absolutely satisfy you."
As one of the most powerful princes in the Eternal Empire, he required a vast number of talented individuals—not only as combat guards, but also to help manage his sprawling assets.
Someone like Qi Yuan, with such extraordinary talent in cultivation, was exactly the kind of person he wanted under his banner.
"Seventh Prince…"
Hugo froze briefly, his smile quickly fading.
But before he could reply, Adona's eyes lit up beside him—
The Seventh Prince wants this slave?
If this genius slave ends up in the prince's hands, won't little brother Hugo be crushed?
And if he refuses, he'd be offending a royal prince. No matter how he chooses, it's a win for me!
Growing more delighted the more he thought about it, Adona jumped in to stir the pot:
"Haha! Nineteenth Brother, you're truly lucky. One of your slaves has caught the eye of the Seventh Prince himself—this is your big payday!"
Hearing this, Hugo's face darkened. Qi Yuan, standing behind him, felt a sudden chill in his heart.
That prince looked every bit the part of someone with immense status—undoubtedly surrounded by elite warriors.
If Qi Yuan really ended up serving him, the secret that he'd broken free from his biochip's control could easily be exposed, and escape would become nearly impossible.
With that troubling thought, Qi Yuan looked toward Hugo, uncertain what his master would decide.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness,"
Hugo replied bluntly and without hesitation.
"This guard—and his kin—are vital to my territory. I'm afraid I cannot part with him."
"Oh? Is that so…"
The Seventh Prince sounded slightly regretful, falling into brief contemplation.
Seeing this, Adona quickly added fuel to the fire:
"Nineteenth Brother, the Seventh Prince is a distinguished guest of our Ortega family. Are you really so stingy you won't give up a mere slave?"
He watched the prince's expression as he continued with feigned generosity:
"How about this—you wanted those Yun Guang tribe slaves from me, right? Let's skip the next round of the arena match. I'll give you the whole batch of Yun Guang slaves. In return, you give this slave to the Seventh Prince. Deal?"
"No deal."
Hugo shut him down immediately.
While he could be impulsive at times, he wasn't a fool. He knew exactly what mattered more.
Especially now, when his standing within the family was extremely delicate.
A slave who was not only absolutely loyal but also had the potential to become a Universe-tier powerhouse was priceless to him.
He knew exactly where his priorities lay.
Too bad Qi Yuan didn't know what Hugo was thinking—otherwise, he'd probably apologize to him.
After all…
Even if you refuse everyone else for me, I'm still a man you're destined not to keep.
Given that this was the Ortega family's home turf, the Seventh Prince—even with all his power—couldn't really force Hugo to do anything.
So, after a few polite words, he took his leave.
Before leaving, however, he did show considerable magnanimity by leaving behind the promised third-tier psychic weapon shaped like metallic wings.
Adona, on the other hand, showed no such grace.
Garon City.
In a beautiful estate filled with exotic blooms and dreamlike landscaping, resembling a realm of fantasy—
Hugo and his party landed directly in the garden after returning from the arena.
"That damn Adona! One day I'm going to throw him into the Tree Ancestor Abyss and let him taste the pain of having his soul and body drained dry!"
Along the way, Hugo cursed out his shameless sixth brother again and again.
You couldn't blame him—Adona's behavior was nothing short of disgraceful.
After realizing he couldn't take advantage of Hugo, he shamelessly broke off the next arena match and pretended to forget about the wager they had agreed upon.
In the end, while Hugo did receive a third-tier mid-grade psychic weapon, seemingly a generous reward—
Compared to what he'd hoped for, it felt underwhelming.
"Oh right, Qi Yuan!"
Hugo suddenly turned and called out to him, a curious glint in his eyes.
"When did you master a domain? I didn't even know!"
The biochip could control a slave's will, preventing betrayal, but it couldn't freely access memories.
Qi Yuan had deliberately kept his domain hidden and never showed it before others—there was no way Hugo could have known.
"Master, I achieved it just before we left," Qi Yuan answered calmly. "I had only just grasped it and wasn't yet proficient, so I didn't report it."
"Hmm…"
Hugo didn't suspect anything.
"Haha! I never would've thought it—just a random group of native slaves I bought, and one of them turned out to be a Stellar-tier genius who already grasped a domain!"
"Don't worry. I meant what I said: even if you're a slave, as long as you have talent, I won't be stingy with resources!"
He thought for a moment, then added:
"After the Realm Lord Banquet, I'll have the chance to meet the Ancestor. I'll try to request a suitable combat secret art for you."
"When we return to Thunderstorm Star, all your resource allocations will be upgraded to match a ninth-stage Stellar-tier warrior. Plus, you'll have full access to every secret art below the Universe level in the virtual 'Dao Comprehension Tower.'"
"Oh, and thanks to you, I also won that third-tier psychic weapon—it's worth over ten billion Eternal Coins!"
Hugo turned to Qi Yuan with a big, rich-man grin. "So, tell me—what reward do you want? As long as it's reasonable, I'll make it happen!"
"Reward…"
Qi Yuan, who had been in a subdued mood ever since returning from the arena, suddenly lit up at the mention.