Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Logically speaking, most shops usually reveal what they're selling through their signs and names to attract nearby customers. However, this shop was quite peculiar. The signboard outside didn't have any words on it but was engraved with three special emblems. Although the craftsmanship of the engraver was rather mediocre, making the patterns somewhat abstract, upon closer inspection, Chen Ming could still recognize that the three emblems were the Clear Sky Hammer, the Seven Kill Sword, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

These are the symbols of the top three sects, and they've also been engraved on the tokens issued by the Spirit Hall in recent decades.

Under normal circumstances, only shops belonging to or associated with these three sects would carve one of these symbols into their signboards to signify their affiliation.

Ever since the Clear Sky Sect sealed itself off from the world, the markings of the Clear Sky Hammer could no longer be seen on shops along the streets. Only the symbols of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's Seven Kill Sword and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon remained.

Chen Ming had previously visited shops affiliated with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. Although these shops prominently displayed their respective symbols, they still had proper shop names.

This was the first time Chen Ming, in all his years, had seen a shop whose signboard consisted solely of these three symbols.

How should one describe it…

It felt rather out of place.

The Clear Sky Sect's symbol was mostly found in blacksmith shops, while the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's symbol was usually seen in shops selling materials from spirit beasts. Only the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's symbol might appear in all types of shops.

To outsiders or those with limited knowledge, these three symbols appearing together might give the impression of something remarkable. But to insiders, doing this was akin to blatantly stating on the signboard, "I'm a fraud."

Driven by curiosity, Chen Ming pushed open the shop's door and slowly walked inside.

Inside the large shop, there was only one person, and no counter could be seen. The three surrounding walls were crammed with various old and worn-out items, none of which looked valuable.

At this moment, the shop owner was reclining on a lounge chair, using his weight to keep the chair from tipping backward, holding a lunchbox in his hand, clearly in the middle of a meal.

The moment this person looked up, Chen Ming almost immediately guessed who he was.

A hooked nose, a face as flat as a shoe sole, and a cunning expression. Combined with the setting and the signboard outside…

Wasn't this person none other than the dean from the original Shrek story, the legendary miser, the Flying Horn of the Golden Iron Triangle, Four-Eyed Owl Flender?

Noticing someone enter the shop, Flender's eyes lit up instantly. His gaze swept over Chen Ming briefly, and he immediately became energized.

"This outfit, this style, this fabric… No matter how I look at it, it seems like something only available in Heaven Dou City, right?"

"This demeanor, this aura… Could it be a noble young master who has come from Heaven Dou City?"

As a shrewd businessman, Flender's eyes were razor-sharp. With just a glance, he had noticed that while Chen Ming's clothes appeared relatively plain, they were actually of exceptional quality. Furthermore, his entire demeanor was nothing like that of rogue soul masters who lived perilous lives.

In reality, this outfit was made by the tailor in Dugu Bo's residence. Not much effort had been put into its design; it was just a random assortment of everyday clothes.

However, the tailor of Titled Douluo's household could hardly be ordinary. Although Dugu Bo had given only casual instructions, the tailor had still done their utmost to craft Chen Ming's daily attire.

From the fabric to the design, it was a genuine masterpiece, ranking among the finest even in Heaven Dou City.

But to Dugu Bo and Chen Ming, who were both rather unrefined, these clothes were just everyday wear, with no attention paid to the details.

Usually, Flender ignored most visitors, as he could tell that these country bumpkins couldn't afford his goods and thus didn't bother to waste his energy on them.

But now that he saw a noble young master from Heaven Dou City, Flender immediately perked up, his eyes gleaming with a sharp and cunning light. He stood up, casually tossed the half-eaten lunchbox onto a small table beside the lounge chair, wiped his mouth haphazardly, and walked toward Chen Ming with a face full of smiles.

From his appearance alone, he looked exactly like a shrewd and calculating shopkeeper. There was no hint that he was, in fact, a famous Spirit Sage-level soul master on the continent.

"Hello, young master. Welcome to my humble shop. What are you looking for today?" Flender asked with a smile, his tone exceedingly friendly.

"I was just passing by and saw the sign outside, so I got curious and decided to take a look around," Chen Ming replied casually, wanting to see how this important character from the original story would respond.

Hearing Chen Ming's casual reply, Flender wasn't annoyed. Instead, his smile grew even more genuine.

"Just looking around? That's perfect! It means you're open to finding anything," Flender thought. "With my skills and tongue, if I can't talk this noble kid into clearing out my junk pile, it must be because he didn't bring enough money."

"Come, come, this way, please."

"Look at this—this is an ancient storage-type soul tool. It was recently excavated from a ruin by a group of soul masters. Its condition is excellent. Without my connections, rare treasures like this would never circulate on the market."

Chen Ming accepted the bracelet-shaped storage soul tool that Flender handed over and probed it with his soul power.

Compared to the storage soul tools commonly available on the market, which usually had a capacity of one or two cubic meters, this bracelet-shaped storage soul tool indeed had a much larger capacity—about five or six cubic meters. It was only slightly smaller than the one Chen Tianyun had given him.

The problem, however, lay in the fact that the internal space of this storage soul tool was highly unstable, and the engravings crucial to its function had faded over time.

While it might work fine for one or two uses, any frequent usage would cause the soul tool to completely break down, taking everything stored inside it into spatial chaos.

And at that point, there would be no use crying over it.

Mistaking Chen Ming's hesitation as consideration, Flender, whose eyes were practically gleaming with gold coin symbols, continued to extol the virtues of his wares.

"A storage soul tool of this size is extremely rare, even on the entire continent. Most of them are sent directly to auction houses, where they fetch sky-high prices."

"You entering my shop out of all the people in the world proves that we are fated. I'll give you the best possible deal."

"This soul tool is worth 20,000 gold soul coins at market value. But I'll give you a discount. Not 20,000, not even half that—just 9,998 gold soul coins, and this exquisite storage soul tool can be yours."

"Doesn't that sound tempting?"