Shops in Hong Alliance City

Muyu King, a very talkative and sociable King-level powerhouse, was delighted when Luo Feng expressed his intention to explore Hong Alliance City and see its sights. Muyu King confidently declared, 'I know every corner of Hong Alliance City like the back of my hand. I'll accompany you and give you a tour.'

'That would be great,' Luo Feng said with a smile.

'No trouble at all. Immortal beings have infinite lifespans; we can't just cultivate all the time. As for adventurous battles, they only happen occasionally. In such a long life, there must be other things to do, right? It's a pleasure to accompany a friend around Hong Alliance City.' Muyu King grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth.

Led by Muyu King, Luo Feng began to stroll through the Hong Alliance.

...

In Hong Alliance City, where even the lowest-tier residents possessed King-level strength, a city teeming with countless powerhouses was naturally highly developed. Scenes rarely witnessed elsewhere were commonplace here.

Large-scale spaceship transactions.

Trades of plant life and metal lifeforms.

Powerhouse hiring services.

Appraisal services for special items.

Grand auction houses.

New types of gambling businesses.

'Gambling?' Luo Feng saw a peculiar seven-story palace ahead, with three human-language characters 'Puya Palace' inscribed on it.

'Most powerhouses have an adventurous spirit, and with such long lives, there isn't always much to do. Gambling at Puya Palace... it's a form of entertainment. Come, let me show you.' Muyu King pulled Luo Feng into Puya Palace. As soon as they entered, they saw numerous powerhouses.

This massive palace, spanning several kilometers in length and width, was incredibly lively.

'Open!'

'Open!'

'Open!' A group of King-level powerhouses from various races stared intently ahead, laughing and shouting excitedly.

'Number 1031!' the attendant called out loudly.

Immediately, many powerhouses in the hall cursed casually as if venting, but others shouted, 'Number 1031 is Nongcang King! Nongcang King made a huge profit this time!'

'Nongcang King, you've won a treasure worth 100 million mixed-element units; you must treat us to a grand feast!'

'Don't be stingy!'

'How could Nongcang King be such a stingy human?'

Amidst the clamor, a tall human with curly hair loudly declared, 'Come on, everyone with a ticket number, head over to the Nine Fragrance Palace next door!'

'How generous!'

'So magnanimous!'

A cheer immediately erupted.

This drew Luo Feng's attention, who had just entered Puya Palace. He asked, 'Muyu King, what's going on here?'

'This is a type of gambling called 'One in Ten Thousand',' Muyu King explained with a smile. 'And with this method, Puya Palace, the casino, barely makes any profit.'

'Oh?' Luo Feng was surprised.

'This gambling game is very simple: the casino puts up a treasure worth '100 million mixed-element units.' This isn't some arbitrary item or price; these treasures typically fetch at least 100 million mixed-element units in external shops,' Muyu King explained. 'Puya Palace itself provides this treasure, then sells 10,000 tickets, each valued at 10,000 mixed-element units.'

'Once all 10,000 tickets are sold, at a specific time, a single ticket number is chosen. The holder of that ticket wins the treasure worth 100 million mixed-element units,' Muyu King said.

'I see,' Luo Feng realized.

Quite interesting.

It's essentially 10,000 powerhouses pooling their money to buy a treasure, and then one lucky individual among them gets to keep it.

Invest 10,000, gain 100 million.

Of course, there are more losers.

'Anyway, each ticket is only 10,000 mixed-element units; gambling occasionally is just for fun.' Muyu King continued walking further inside, introducing Luo Feng to various gambling methods. Gambling, in general, was much the same everywhere, with many similarities to popular Earth gambling games, but also some unique and distinct ones.

The stakes for small bets were a few hundred mixed-element units, while the highest stakes were reportedly in the 'hundreds of millions' range.

However, those highest-stakes games only occurred occasionally when certain prominent figures met, as even peak King-level powerhouses wouldn't dare to gamble that much.

...

'Whew.' Stepping out of Puya Palace, Luo Feng exclaimed, 'How much profit does Puya Palace make? With so many powerhouses gambling, even a small cut for the casino would be terrifyingly lucrative!'

'Puya Palace is the only casino in all of Hong Alliance City. Although it has to pay taxes to the Hong Alliance, its profits are still astounding—a pure no-capital business,' Muyu King sighed. 'It's impossible to apply to the Hong Alliance to build another casino; there's only one slot, and it belongs to Puya Palace... Rumor has it that Puya Palace is backed by a certain Palace Master within the Hong Alliance Hall, or even, some say, by several Palace Masters working together.'

Luo Feng nodded.

'It's not just Puya Palace.'

Walking down the street, Muyu King pointed to the massive shops in the distance. 'Shops for various businesses all have quantity limits. These shops... they must be backed by at least a Universe Venerable to be established, right? So, not everyone gets the chance to earn huge profits within the Hong Alliance.'

'Of course, there are winners and losers.'

'Aside from a few unique places like Puya Palace, many shops, though limited in number, aren't singular entities; there's still competition.'

'Haha...'

'Although we King-level powerhouses can't open shops, our residence in the Hong Alliance doesn't require money. As long as we don't actively gamble or shop, we naturally don't need to spend. But as long as a shop is open... it constantly needs to pay various taxes and fees to the Hong Alliance.' Muyu King pointed ahead. 'Look, that's the best among the large goods shops... it's called 'Yu Bao Hall,' and it's said to be owned by a human Palace Master among the Hong Alliance Hall Masters.'

...

Yu Bao Hall was divided into two floors, each occupying an area comparable to Puya Palace.

One must know that land within the Hong Alliance is quite scarce; even the residences of King-level Immortals are only so large. So, how immense must a shop spanning several kilometers in length and width be, and how much merchandise could it hold?

'Whew.'

'Tsk, tsk.'

Luo Feng entered Yu Bao Hall, gazing at the countless treasures densely packed and stretching to the horizon. Each item was accompanied by a blueprint, which included videos, images, and textual information, detailing the origin, special features, and selling price of the treasures.

'The treasures on the first floor of Yu Bao Hall range from millions to hundreds of billions of mixed-element units, with everything imaginable,' Muyu King said, pointing to a distant spot. 'Look at that staircase leading to the second floor.'

'Hmm?' Luo Feng turned his head to look.

'Not just anyone can enter the second floor of Yu Bao Hall.' A harsh voice came from behind. A man with purple jade-like scales on his head, dressed in a peculiar golden robe, his entire body seemingly carved from purple jade, walked past Luo Feng and directly ascended the stairs, casting a glance at Luo Feng as he did so.

Muyu King quickly walked over, glancing at the golden-robed powerhouse ascending. He immediately said, 'To go to the second floor, one must either be a Four-Star existence or higher, or have deposits exceeding 100 billion mixed-element units in the Universe First Bank or Cosmic River Bank. Meeting either of these conditions grants access to the second floor.'

'Who was that seemingly impressive fellow?' Luo Feng chuckled.

'His name is Wu Lü King,' Muyu King whispered. 'Although he's of an alien race, his teacher is a Seven-Star existence who dotes on him exceptionally, treating him like his own child.'

'A disciple of a Seven-Star alien existence?' Luo Feng smiled.

'That Wu Lü King is quite a ruthless individual, yet he's generous in befriending powerhouses of considerable background among humans, and thus has a group of powerful friends. Luo Feng, we're not in his circle... it's best not to provoke him,' Muyu King advised. 'Different statuses naturally lead to different circles, and those with powerful backgrounds or strength will naturally form connections.'

'Oh,' Luo Feng nodded.

'There are countless treasures on this first floor, billions of them; enough to keep you looking for a long time,' Muyu King said with a smile.

'True enough.'

Luo Feng nodded.

Luo Feng merely scoffed inwardly at Wu Lü King. It seemed this alien race indeed felt inferior among humans; otherwise, a truly confident individual... might not care about the other party deep down, but wouldn't deliberately put others down to flaunt their status. This was a manifestation of insecurity.

...

Yu Bao Hall truly lived up to its reputation as the largest and best shop in Hong Alliance City. The sheer quantity and rarity of its treasures were astonishing; some weren't even found in the 'Virtual Universe Company's Treasury,' though, of course, some items in the Treasury weren't present in Yu Bao Hall.

However... shopping in a treasury couldn't compare to the feeling of browsing in such a grand hall.

'Truly enviable,' Luo Feng muttered.

'Tsk, tsk, I've even found quite a few treasures for Golden Horned Beast's cultivation of 'Original Body Heaven and Earth',' Luo Feng mused. The more he looked, the more he liked. He hadn't planned on buying anything, but seeing billions of treasures, he couldn't help but want to purchase some. However, the items that truly caught his eye typically cost hundreds of millions, billions, or even tens of billions of mixed-element units.

But...

He had no money on him. Although he had acquired some spoils from killing the young man of the Shizu clan earlier, he hadn't yet converted them into currency.

'Hmm?' Luo Feng's gaze was suddenly drawn to a peculiar golden combat armor, approximately eight meters tall. Although it was a virtual representation from the Virtual Universe, the moment he saw this strange golden combat armor, Luo Feng immediately thought of 'Soldier Armor' and 'General Armor.'

'This is...' Luo Feng's eyes suddenly lit up.