Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"9,998 gold soul coins?"

Hearing Flender's asking price, Chen Ming's voice involuntarily rose by eight octaves.

"Only 9,998 gold soul coins!" Flender mistakenly thought that this gullible customer had fallen for his sales tactics, shocked that such a large soul tool was being offered at just half the price, completely unaware that Chen Ming had already seen through the essence of this soul tool.

"Your asking price is outrageous! Are you trying to fool an idiot? While the storage space inside this soul tool is indeed large, it's unstable and could explode at any time. If you sent this to an auction house, they wouldn't even accept it."

"This soul tool is worth, at most, 200 gold soul coins—and that's only because it's a historical artifact with decent aesthetics. It's priced as a decorative piece. If anyone were to use it as a storage soul tool, they'd risk losing their entire fortune in some spatial explosion!"

"What? It's that serious?" Flender quickly grabbed the storage soul tool and began to inspect it carefully.

When Flender first acquired this item, he assumed the storage space inside it might simply shrink over time. But after Chen Ming pointed out some issues, Flender began to sense that something was indeed wrong.

He turned his attention to the storage soul tool, repeatedly storing and retrieving items from it. After using it more than ten times in a short period, Flender finally noticed that the problem was far worse than he had initially imagined.

The space hadn't shrunk much, but it had become increasingly unstable. When placing or retrieving items, there was a growing sense of rigidity, and the soul power consumption was also increasing with each use.

During his earlier tests, he had only used it a few times before stopping, so the issue hadn't been apparent. It took repeated trials to uncover the problem.

At this rate, it wasn't just a matter of the space shrinking over time—it might outright explode.

"Sorry about that, I made a mistake..." Flender forced an awkward smile and stuffed the bracelet-shaped storage soul tool back into his pocket.

He was indeed a shrewd businessman, but even he had limits.

A storage soul tool that gradually shrank in capacity was one thing—it might earn him a few complaints, or at worst, a refund request. But one that exploded mid-use? That would undoubtedly make him an enemy.

At best, the buyer would secretly sabotage him in retaliation. At worst, they might directly come knocking at his doorstep.

Granted, Flender didn't particularly mind making enemies, but it had to be worth it.

Making an enemy over a faulty storage soul tool? That wasn't worth it.

As this thought crossed his mind, Flender's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had realized something.

Wait a minute—he had only discovered the problem after being prompted and testing the soul tool more than ten times. How had this kid noticed it on his first try?

Was it because he had expertise in storage soul tools? Or was it that… he possessed a rare spatial-type martial soul?

"Young man, I see you have extraordinary talent. You're a great prospect! Have you ever heard of Shrek Academy?"

Flender couldn't even be bothered to continue selling his goods. Instead, he enthusiastically began introducing his Shrek Academy to Chen Ming.

Whether Chen Ming had expertise in storage soul tools or possessed a rare spatial-type martial soul, Flender had no intention of letting him slip away.

The former represented a knowledgeable talent. If Chen Ming joined Shrek, Flender could potentially acquire countless valuable items in the future. This would be like having a walking pile of gold soul coins on hand.

The latter represented a strategic talent. Even if Chen Ming's aptitude was slightly subpar, spatial-type martial souls were among the rarest on the Douluo Continent. With proper training, his future potential would be limitless.

Moreover, the quality of spatial-type martial souls was inherently high, and their innate soul power was bound to be superior compared to ordinary soul masters.

A talent like this showing up at his doorstep? It was as if the heavens themselves, seeing Shrek Academy's lack of students, had deliberately sent him a gift.

"Sorry, never heard of it. Not interested. I'm a student of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and won't be joining any other academy."

Chen Ming's response to Flender's invitation was a flat rejection, delivered with a three-hit combo of polite refusal, leaving Flender speechless.

It was only then that Flender noticed the Heaven Dou City-style clothing Chen Ming was wearing. It was clear his family background wasn't lacking, and joining Heaven Dou Imperial Academy was only natural.

Thinking it through, Flender realized he had been overly presumptuous.

"Ahem... I couldn't help myself for a moment... Ahem..." Flender coughed awkwardly a few times and stopped promoting Shrek Academy. Instead, he started introducing the various items in his shop.

Because of what had just happened, Flender was more honest when introducing the items this time. Although the prices were still higher than average, and he occasionally couldn't help but exaggerate the value of his goods, the descriptions were mostly accurate, without the glaring problems from earlier.

After browsing the shop, Chen Ming spotted the crystalline gold that Tang San had taken in the original story. He casually picked it up, weighed it in his hand, and asked Flender:

"How much for this crystal?"

"100 gold soul coins," Flender replied without hesitation, quoting an exorbitant sky-high price.

"Heh..." Chen Ming chuckled, placed the crystalline gold back on the shelf, and began examining the nearby soul tools that resembled junk.

Although these soul tools were either broken or on the verge of breaking, they were crafted from rare metals.

Before putting them on display, Flender had already inspected most of them, removing and selling the valuable materials. But a few still had some utility left.

Chen Ming casually picked out two or three items, placed them together, and turned to Flender.

"How much for this junk?"

"Junk? These are treasures! I only left a few valuable items in this pile of junk to create a lucky find for customers, hoping they'd come back to my shop in the future. And you just picked them all out!"

Flender muttered, his expression slightly awkward.

"Are you selling them or not?"

"Of course, I'm selling! Out of all the people in the world, you came into my shop—that's fate. For a fated customer like you, I'll sell. And with your sharp eye, these treasures won't go to waste."

Flender's expression shifted instantly, a beaming smile spreading across his face. Though his words were flattering, his hands were quick, pulling out an abacus from who-knows-where and calculating with practiced efficiency.

"A total of 1,024 gold soul coins," Flender said with a cheerful grin after doing the math.

"500 gold soul coins," Chen Ming countered, cutting the price in half without hesitation.

"But I paid more than 500 gold soul coins for these..." Flender grimaced, complaining to Chen Ming.

"500's my final offer. Take it or leave it. If not, I'll leave."

"Fine! I'll sell!" Flender swiftly grabbed a cloth bag, stuffed the nearly useless soul tools into it, and handed it over to Chen Ming, holding out his hand for payment.

"I have a feeling I might have overpaid..." Chen Ming sighed.

"Come on, look at the deal you got!" Flender's eyes darted to the crystalline gold sitting on the shelf. A sudden idea struck him, and he tossed the crystal into the bag.

Flender had owned the crystalline gold for years without knowing its use. It wouldn't sell for much even at the blacksmith association, so he might as well toss it in as a freebie.

"I'll throw in an extra item for free. 500 gold soul coins—I'm losing money here."

"Tsk..." Chen Ming shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and finally pulled out a card from his storage soul tool, handing it to Flender.

Seeing the 1,000 gold soul coin card, Flender's grin widened. He quickly retrieved five pouches containing 100 gold soul coins each and handed them to Chen Ming before eagerly pocketing the card.

Flender was a simple man—his life revolved around three things: Erlong, Shrek, and making money.

As for Yu Xiaogang... well, that was something special to him.