The Innkeeper

Lex waited an entire day, but Fernanda did not return, so there was no opportunity for her to find the business card. Time was running short, and he had to test out its capabilities, but it seemed like he would have to do it himself.

He could, naturally, just find a random person on any planet and have them activate the card, but he had a better idea. Time was tight so he did not sit around and teleported out of the Inn, reappearing in a familiar environment. He looked around to ensure he was alone before he turned in a particular direction and used Home Sweet Home, blasting off in a straight line.

Home Sweet Home was a technique Lex used, which was ridiculously fast in a straight line, so much so that if an ordinary person were to use it they would need to wear glasses just to keep their eyes open against the wind pressure. But now that Lex's cultivation had reached the peak of the Foundation realm, his speed had reached a whole new realm.

In fact, Lex's speed at the moment had somewhat crossed the threshold of what normal Foundation realm experts could achieve. Of course, this was because of the unique nature of the technique as well. Otherwise, without the use of any techniques, the only aspect of his body that transcended his realm was his toughness.

In fact, from the moment Lex achieved his latest boost in cultivation, the way he perceived the world changed dramatically. The human body had an inherent gauge for danger, and certain things would naturally make you hesitate. For example, an ordinary person would not approach a high ledge with a cavalier attitude or would be very careful when touching a blade.

The care or hesitation hidden behind those actions was rooted in the body's perception of the possibility of harm and its instinct to avoid it. To a large extent, all such instincts had basically vanished from Lex's day-to-day life. The only danger he perceived, if at all, was from extremely strong individuals.

He felt nothing when he looked down from high places, most sharp edges felt as dull as a boulder. He was pretty sure that even the oh so intimidating guns from back on Earth would not scare him much. In fact, if he did not feel the need to perfect his Foundation through his actions, he would have broken through to the Golden core realm. At that point, his defense would have been even stronger.

A side effect of his increased defense was a sense of security that made him more comfortable taking risks, which is exactly what he was doing now.

He was currently in X-142, and he was returning to the Infinity Emporium. He ran until he reached a small town, where he used some of the massive supply of spirit stones he had in his home at the Inn to straight out buy a hover-car from someone.

It took him quite a few hours, even at the fastest speed, to reach the Emporium, but it was completely worth it. Even the last time he came here, Lex ended up buying quite a few valuable things. In fact, it was at this moment he recalled he had an amulet or something that hid identity from cameras or something like that. He had no idea where he put it to be honest, and had forgotten it even existed right up until this moment. It seemed even cultivation could not prevent you from losing your own things.

He stepped into the familiar building, once again amazed at the fact that dozens of people entered before him, yet once inside, he arrived completely alone. The only other person in the shop was the familiar Powell Grant, standing behind the counter with a familiar smile.

For a moment, Lex could not help but wonder if the Emporium was a part of a system or something. How else could so many people enter, yet detect no difference as they all get teleported to an individual room.

It certainly did tick the box for systems by manipulating space, but honestly that was not enough to confirm his suspicion. After all, just because it was impressive did not mean it could not be achieved through other means.

"Dear customer, it's good to see you again," said the shopkeeper with a smile. He seemed to recognize Lex as if it was yesterday, and rightly he should. Lex sold him some premium information, the likes of which were not easily encountered.

"It's good to be back," Lex said, as he glanced at the items on display.

"Just in case you returned I had our catalog updated," the shopkeeper said, bringing out a book from beneath the counter. "Last time we could not provide you with truly impressive items due to the kind of sales we have on this planet normally, but now I have arranged for a premium selection that can be made available in as little as a day upon order. After all, since your last transaction boosted you to a level 8 membership status, we have to make an effort to cater to your needs. I recall during your last purchase you were interested in items with spatial properties.All such items are level 7, and usually too valuable to keep on a planet with a level 4 rating like this, but I managed to stash one here in case you ever come back."

The shopkeeper was filled with pride as he elaborated on his preparations, though Lex doubted the man expected to encounter such an amazing deal yet again. Regardless of what he thought, Lex was about to clean out his so-called premium stock.

The talk about level also gave him similar vibes as to how his system worked, as it divided guests into Prestige levels instead of membership levels. But once again, this was too arbitrary a comparison to make a judgment… yet.

"I'm glad you've made preparations this time," said Lex, his smile very sly. "Because this time I'm in search of very particular items, and I already know how I intend to pay. The burden is on you now to perform."

The shopkeeper listened with excitement. It seemed like Lex was his lucky customer.

"I have a card here, a business card. It belongs to a… mysteriously strong person - suspected to be in the Daolord realm. If anyone channels their spirit energy into it, a temporary clone of that person will be summoned that one can interact with. The person in question is known to not be very hostile or aggressive so summoning the clone should not earn you any ire. But the drawback is… the card will only remain active for the next 24 hours."

The shopkeeper was momentarily startled. The time limit of the card greatly reduced the value of the card, yet the inherent value of such a card was monumental. When he recovered, a massive grin painted his face as he opened the latch on the counter and welcomed Lex to the back. The item had to go through appraisal before any further discussions.

*****

Lex had spent the last few months in the Crystal realm, and a lot had happened to him during that time. In fact, it was not just himself who underwent a massive change, but his system as well. But the level of his change, while massive compared to his starting line, was not enough to get him in touch with the higher levels of the universe - directly at least.

While he was in the Crystal realm, due to the natural boundary of the realms, his changes were detected by none, for there were none in that realm looking out for the kind of changes he underwent.

Once he left the Crystal realm, he went directly to the Midnight Inn, which had a Destiny level protective formation, preventing the influence of karma, destiny, scrying, prophecy and so on. Thus, once again, for better or for worse, his changes lay undetected.

The moment he landed on X-142, however, his aura resonated with the laws of the Origin realm, and like a ripple, the resonance carried out into the vast unknown.

Due to the ridiculously size of the Origin realm, one would expect that it would take a long time for the ripple to travel throughout the realm, yet this was a matter of laws. In a unit of time so infinitesimal Lex could not possibly perceive it, like a trumpet announcing the arrival of a lord, news of Lex's changes were declared in the very fabric of the realm.

What this meant… was too complicated to explain simply. The repercussions of this, however, while few, were significant.

On a planet far away, Serene Williams was sighing as she thought of her rebellious daughter. It would be so much easier if she rebelled by bringing home a boyfriend or something, but no, she had to go participate in an intergalactic war for honor and pride and a few other equally worthless things.

Before her thoughts could go deeper, though, a tremor ran through the entire planet, splintering it instantly and causing many continents to instantly collapse. In fact, had it not been for several formations that sprang to life immediately stabilizing the place, the splinter would have run directly through the planet, destroying its core and causing an explosion that would have changed this from a planet to a bunch of meteors.

"What happened?" she asked, instantly appearing beside her husband, her eyes extremely grave. Only he could have done this, but it didn't make sense. His training was going well, he should not have lost control of his strength like that.

"The mark I left on Lex's skull has vanished. He is either dead, or someone has removed the mark."

Horror filled her eyes as she visibly paled, but her husband spared no time to reassure her. Things had to be done quickly.

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