allendalepharm Chapter 73 What the hell are commoners?
Chapter 73 What the hell are commoners?
As Li Fulan's thoughts stirred, a stream of light flashed simultaneously from his storage ring and storage belt. The light was initially just a faint wisp, like the tail of a firefly, but in the next instant, it suddenly expanded into a dazzling golden torrent.
Immediately afterwards, a crisp, melodious impact, loud enough to drive ordinary people mad, resounded throughout the main hall of the Spirit Hall branch.
The sound began as a soft clinking of a few gold coins, crisp as jade striking jade. But as the flow of gold poured forth, countless coins began to tumble, collide, and overlap in the air, converging into a breathtaking metallic symphony. Each crisp sound seemed to strike the heartstrings of everyone present, causing their pupils to dilate in the golden light.
A golden torrent poured down—not a few hundred, not a few thousand, but a full million gold soul coins.
They surged forth from the void like a burst dam, densely packed and layered, forming a magnificent golden waterfall in mid-air. As the gold coins fell, they collided with each other, and the sounds they made merged together to create a strange rhythm, like the thunderous hooves of thousands of horses on an ancient battlefield.
They piled up and pressed against each other, and in the blink of an eye, they formed a magnificent little mountain on the smooth marble floor.
The mountain of gold was more than half a person tall, its base spreading out and occupying nearly ten square meters of space in the center of the hall. Each gold coin shimmered dazzlingly in the sunlight, countless golden reflections intertwining to bathe the entire hall in a golden hue. The dazzling golden light almost blinded everyone present, and even the air was filled with an extremely luxurious metallic scent.
A deathly silence fell over the hall.
Dozens of deacons and attendants from the Spirit Hall stopped what they were doing in unison. They stared wide-eyed and gaping-mouthed at the golden mountain in an almost comical manner.
Someone dropped their teacup, which shattered on the ground, but no one paid any attention. Someone was writing, leaving a long ink mark on the paper with their brush, but they were completely unaware.
Even Hu Liena, known for her aloofness, was dumbfounded. Her alluring eyes widened, completely devoid of their usual charm. Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out; she could only watch helplessly as the golden mountain glittered before her eyes.
Standing next to the mountain of gold, Xiao Wu was completely dumbfounded. She had never seen so many gold coins before, nor had she even imagined it. In her mind, ten gold soul coins were already a huge sum of money, enough for an ordinary family to live on for several months. And now, her master had casually pulled out a million coins and piled them on the ground like garbage.
She swallowed unconsciously, her bright eyes sparkling with admiration and awe as she looked at Li Fulan. It turned out that her master was such a wealthy man.
The platinum bishop in charge of receiving them completely disregarded any semblance of superiority. His eyes were wide open, almost popping out of their sockets, and his jaw was agape. He pointed at the mountain of gold with a trembling finger, his voice distorted.
"This...this is all cash? Sir, don't you have any gold notes?"
His voice trembled slightly, a loss of composure born from the shock of such immense wealth. As a Platinum Bishop of a branch of the Spirit Hall, he had seen countless high-ranking officials and handled countless amounts of wealth. But even so, witnessing a mountain of one million gold spirit coins at once was a first for him.
In this era where storage soul tools exist but have limited space, who would carry a million dollars in cash with them when they go out? It's not just a matter of weight; it's practically like carrying a whole mine around.
An ordinary Soul Master's storage Soul Tool can only hold a few hundred gold coins if it's considered high-grade. Even the top-tier storage Soul Tools can only hold a few thousand gold coins. The space required to hold a million gold coins is unimaginable. This means that this seemingly ordinary young man carries at least dozens of top-tier storage Soul Tools, or… he possesses a legendary space-type Soul Bone.
Either way, it means this person's background is unfathomable.
Li Fulan didn't explain that most of these gold coins were actually disguised as higher-density platinum coins. He simply patted non-existent dust off his cuffs, speaking as calmly as if he were discussing what he had for lunch.
"According to the rules of the Spirit Hall, one hundred gold coins can be exchanged for one contribution point. Here is one million, so according to the exchange rate, I should receive ten thousand contribution points, right?"
His tone was nonchalant, as if what he had just poured out wasn't a million gold coins, but a million grains of sand. That nonchalance towards such immense wealth left everyone present feeling suffocated.
The bishop took a deep breath, trying to calm his wildly beating heart, and directed his deacons to begin counting the dizzying pile of wealth. Although the presentation was somewhat exaggerated, it was indeed real gold and silver.
The deacons approached the mountain of gold with extreme caution, afraid that their movements might disturb this mysterious and important figure. They took out a soul-guided device specifically used for testing gold and began to examine the purity and weight of the coins batch by batch. Each coin underwent rigorous testing, and without exception, they were all genuine coins of extremely high purity.
"That's right, 10,000 contribution points. This is enough to directly promote you to an honorary elder of the Spirit Hall, granting you access to top-secret files and the privilege of selecting treasures from the treasury."
The bishop respectfully presented a specially made token symbolizing his identity, and gestured for him to enter. The token was cast from a special metal, with the emblem of the Spirit Hall and intricate anti-counterfeiting patterns engraved on its surface, reflecting a faint purple glow under the light.
"You can go in and choose now."
Li Fulan casually took the token, twirled it lightly between her fingers, called out to Xiao Wu who was still staring blankly at the golden mountain, and strode towards the Martial Soul Treasury in the inner hall.
His silhouette was composed and confident, his steps steady yet unhurried, as if everything that had just happened was a trivial matter. That calm and collected demeanor made everyone present feel that this man was unfathomable.
Hu Liena, who had been in a state of shock, only came to her senses after Li Fulan's figure disappeared around the corner.
Just then, an aged yet authoritative voice came from the depths of the hall.
"Hu Liena."
An elderly man with white hair and beard slowly walked out from the side hall. He wore the Spirit Hall's purple-gold robe, with a complex soul pattern emblem embroidered on his chest, a symbol of identity exclusive to Spirit Hall elders. The old man's face was calm and composed, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp light, clearly indicating that he was a powerful figure with profound cultivation.
Hu Liena quickly composed herself and respectfully bowed: "Elder Yuan."
Elder Yuan walked slowly to the mountain of gold, his gaze lingering on the glittering gold coins for a moment before turning to Hu Liena and asking in a deep voice, "Have you investigated this young man?"
Hu Liena nodded slightly, a thoughtful glint in her alluring fox-like eyes. As a core member of the Spirit Hall's "Golden Generation," she was young but had already participated in considerable intelligence work. Naturally, she wouldn't overlook any clues about this suddenly appearing mysterious figure.
"Reporting to the elder, I have already had someone investigate." Hu Liena's red lips parted slightly as she began to report the information she had gathered. "This person's name is Li Fulan. He first appeared in the Spirit Hall's records three days ago. He came from the direction of Suzhou City and took this girl named Xiao Wu as his disciple in a small village along the way."
Elder Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Only three days? There are no records of this before?"
"No." Hu Liena shook her head. "I had someone search through all the Soul Master registers on Douluo Continent, but we couldn't find that name. It's like he appeared out of thin air."
Elder Yuan remained silent for a moment, then his gaze fell once more on the mountain of gold. He said in a deep voice, "A million gold coins in one go—what do you think of such a gesture?"
A sharp glint flashed in Hu Liena's eyes. She quickly walked to Elder Yuan's side and lowered her voice, "Elder, I've analyzed this carefully. There are probably only a handful of people in the entire Douluo Continent who could produce so much cash at once."
"Tell me about it." Elder Yuan's tone carried a hint of testing.
Hu Liena took a deep breath and began her speculation: "First, the most likely candidate is a member of the royal family of either of the two great empires. The Heavenly Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire have ample treasuries, so raising this money wouldn't be difficult for their royal family members. But I've already verified that there's no such person on the royal registers of either empire."
Elder Yuan nodded slightly: "Continue."
"Secondly, heirs could be from some reclusive noble family." Hu Liena's eyes flickered. "There are ancient families on the continent that have existed for hundreds or even thousands of years. They stay away from court intrigues, yet they have accumulated astonishing wealth. The heirs of these families certainly have the financial resources to emerge from seclusion."
"What about that possibility?" Elder Yuan pressed.
Hu Liena shook her head: "I had people investigate all the known reclusive families, including those that are semi-reclusive, but we couldn't find anyone who fit the criteria. Moreover, scions of reclusive families usually have extremely unique temperaments and styles of conduct. This Li Fulan… is too ordinary, too ordinary to be considered a scion of a prominent family."
Elder Yuan stroked his beard thoughtfully: "Are there any other possibilities?"
"Yes." Hu Liena bit her lip. "A third possibility is that they are a secret trainee of the Spirit Hall headquarters, or someone with connections in the Elder Hall."
Upon hearing this, Elder Yuan frowned slightly: "You mean, he might be one of us?"
Hu Liena nodded, then shook her head: "I've ruled out that possibility as well. If it were an insider, there would be no need to exchange contribution points this way. Headquarters has a dedicated channel to directly grant identity and permissions, so why go through all that trouble? Besides, I just checked the Elder Hall's internal communications and didn't receive any prior notification about this person."
Elder Yuan's brows furrowed even more: "Then what other possibility is there?"
A glint flashed in Hu Liena's eyes. She hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "The fourth possibility... is someone from the seven major sects."
"The Seven Great Sects?" Elder Yuan's tone became more solemn.
Hu Liena explained, "Although most sect disciples serve their sect directly, it's plausible that illegitimate children who have been ostracized, or disciples who have been expelled for committing crimes, might come to the Spirit Hall with a large sum of money. The seven major sects have deep foundations; even expelled disciples might take a considerable amount of wealth with them when they leave."
Elder Yuan was silent for a moment, then slowly asked, "Have you investigated?"
"I checked." Hu Liena's expression turned strange. "The seven major sects have no record of expelling any disciples in the past ten years. Moreover, disciples of the seven major sects all have unique auras and cultivation marks, which Li Fulan completely lacks. His cultivation method is very ordinary, as if he learned it from a random teacher in some small town."
Elder Yuan finally closed the register he had been flipping through, looked up, and his expression was incredibly varied, as if he had just swallowed a dead fly.
"So, what exactly is his identity?"
Hu Liena took a deep breath and squeezed out two words through gritted teeth, her tone sounding utterly absurd.
"civilian."
"What? What the hell is a commoner?"
Elder Yuan's voice suddenly rose, and for the first time, a look of shock appeared on his usually placid old face. He stared wide-eyed at the still-glittering golden mountain, then at the direction where Li Fulan had disappeared, his lips twitching uncontrollably.
"Commoner? You've seen a commoner carrying a million gold soul coins around and throwing them like stones? Are you kidding me?"
Hu Liena shook her head with a wry smile: "I wish it were a joke, but that's the truth. Based on all the information we could find, this Li Fulan is indeed just an ordinary commoner. He has no illustrious family background, no powerful connections, not even a proper mentor. He seems to have sprung up from a crack in a rock, appearing suddenly and then spending money like water."
Elder Yuan's brows furrowed deeply. He remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "This is impossible. There is no wealth that appears out of thin air, nor are there powerful individuals without origin. He must have secrets we don't know."
"What the elder means is..."
Elder Yuan turned around, his gaze falling on Hu Liena, his tone carrying a deeper meaning: "Hu Liena, you are the core of the Golden Generation, the future pillar of the Spirit Hall. I hope you can get close to this Li Fulan and find out his background."
A strange light flashed in Hu Liena's eyes, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, revealing a meaningful smile: "Elder, rest assured, this matter... is left to me."