Dimensional Slime Rancher-Chapter 7: The Grand Xia Empire welcomes your glorious exhibition!
On the main avenue of the imperial city.
Troops in gleaming Spirit-Forged armor were aggressively clearing the way, blocking the massive, spectating crowd on both sides of the street.
There were tens of thousands of people gathered, making an absolute racket.
The noise of cheering and stomping was so deafening that it felt like it was going to physically capsize the capital.
The people were all focusing their attention, curiously and expectantly looking toward the towering southern city gate.
As the icy cold autumn wind blew, the dead leaves on the pristine stone street were blown into the air, creating a dramatic atmosphere.
Since the first horn blew, the mood of the imperial city had been electric.
The spectating crowd fell absolutely silent as hundreds of dark green flags marched past.
It was like a sea of ferocious beasts as the flags fluttered in the wind.
The elite disciples of the Sect were marching in perfect synchronization, and every single step was accompanied by the heavy, terrifying thuds of massive war-beasts, resounding throughout the imperial city like a rhythmic earthquake.
At the vanguard of the procession, the leader was a middle-aged man riding a massive, two-headed Obsidian Lion.
His sharp, snake-like gaze and arrogant features gave off an overwhelmingly commanding aura.
This man was Sect Elder Gu, one of the most ruthless and renowned Beast Tamers in the continent, triumphantly entering the capital to display the Sect’s absolute military dominance.
Behind his mount, a long and narrow rank of heavily reinforced steel carriages was being escorted.
The exterior of the cages was etched with dense suppression runes that crackled with blue lightning.
The carriages were being pulled by gigantic, armor-plated rhinos, and each step they took made the ground violently tremble.
Even though the beasts within the carriages were heavily sedated and barely moving, their terrifying auras leaked out, suffocating the air.
They were peak Tier-4 and Tier-5 mutant beasts. Every single one of them was a walking natural disaster, capable of leveling a small town.
These monsters used to rule the untamed wildlands but were now reduced to mere showpieces for the Sect’s power.
The heavy carriages generated a deafening grinding noise as their reinforced wheels rolled over the quartzite flooring of the imperial city.
The crowd suddenly erupted into thunderous, awe-struck cheering after their initial stunned silence.
The citizens of a martial empire were always enthusiastic toward overwhelming displays of power.
As the Sect demonstrated its strength, the citizens felt a vicarious thrill.
This was the brutal reality of a cultivation world.
The hardened, disciplined Sect disciples were completely indifferent to the cheers of the crowd.
They continued to orderly march toward their destination: the grand exhibition plaza in front of the Imperial Palace.
A massive, elevated stone platform had been constructed at the Gate of Heavenly Mystery Square. Colorful banners representing the various noble families were set up in the surrounding area, fluttering nervously in the autumn wind.
The Royal Guards formed a dense, golden wall around the square to ensure order, though they looked visibly tense in the presence of so many terrifying beasts.
"The Emperor welcomes the esteemed delegation of the Beast Tamer Sect!"
As the procession stepped into the square, the sharp, magically amplified voice of the Chief Eunuch resounded throughout the entire city, easily heard in every nook and cranny.
It was soon followed by another deafening round of cheers.
On the high platform, an elderly man wearing an intricate dragon robe was smiling tightly. He respectfully looked at the arriving Sect Elder and nodded in greeting.
Not far from the Emperor, the Crown Prince, Xia Long, was leisurely standing there in his golden python robe.
On his right was the fierce-looking Second Prince, Xia Wu, and the gentle, scholarly Third Prince, Xia Ming.
On the sides of the tall platform, the court officials were standing with their hands in a formal salute, their expressions a mixture of awe and deep political calculation.
Sect Elder Gu lazily dismounted his two-headed lion and walked up the stairs to the tall platform. He didn’t kneel. Instead, he simply offered a shallow, arrogant bow to the Emperor.
"The Beast Tamer Sect brings greetings, Your Majesty. We have brought our finest war-beasts to demonstrate the pinnacle of cultivation, and to formally challenge the merchants of your great city to prove their worth."
"Excellent! Excellent! Elder Gu, your Sect’s prowess is truly the envy of the continent. The Grand Xia Empire welcomes your glorious exhibition!"
The Emperor laughed loudly, swallowing his pride and not hesitating to give lavish praises to the powerful faction.
Soon, the formal diplomatic rituals were neatly and tidily carried out.
Everyone meticulously played their political roles.
"The welcome ceremony has ended! Let the Grand Beast Exhibition and the duels commence!" the sharp voice of the eunuch resounded once more.
Back in the dead-end alleyway, Ren lazily opened his sleepy eyes.
He woke up earlier than usual today, mainly because he was rudely awakened by the magically amplified shouts of a eunuch that echoed out of nowhere.
After Ren finished washing his face and brushing his teeth, he went out to the lobby and started his morning routine.
He took a fresh, premium Mana Cube and tossed it to Pudding, who was vibrating impatiently by the counter.
As he expressionlessly watched the blue slime gobble down the expensive food, he suddenly had a strange realization: he was definitely treating this gelatinous blob better than most nobles treated their own children.
After flipping the ’Closed’ sign to ’Open’, Ren yawned, curled up in his recliner, and started to wait for the morning rush of wealthy idiots.
However, after an hour passed... the store was completely, eerily deserted.
There wasn’t a single customer in sight. It was slightly unbelievable for a shop that had been packed with aggressive nobles and screaming stewards for the past few days.
"There’s something very weird going on today. Why isn’t there even a single customer? Normally, Fatty Jin would have already bought his daily kibble and been chased out by Unit 01 by now."
"And the little menace, Xiaoyi, didn’t turn up for work either. Did the annoying nobles and my free labor get abducted by aliens?"
Ren was silent for a moment, then finally sighed and stood up.
He suddenly remembered that Xiaoyi seemed to have babbled yesterday about some ’Sect-something’ arriving in the capital, and that her grandfather had grounded her for the day.
However, why were all the VIP customers missing as well? That was what actually concerned Ren’s wallet.
The simple truth was that the customers who patronized the Dimensional Ranch were all people with high status.
To welcome the intimidating Beast Tamer Sect, the Emperor had mandated a grand assembly at the palace plaza, practically forcing every renowned and influential person in the imperial city to attend.
As Fatty Jin, Minister Zhao, and the rest had all gone to the palace to kiss up to the Sect, it was natural that the alleyway was dead.
"Well, if it’s dead, I might as well check on the spicy jelly," Ren muttered, walking toward the Workshop.
He opened the heavy cryo-fridge and took out the tray of Searing Mana Cubes.
"It’s been resting overnight, the elemental fusion should be perfectly stable now." Ren had originally planned to debut these during the afternoon rush, but since there were no customers to impress, he decided to do a final quality check.
Taking out a pair of spiritual-wood tongs, he carefully picked up one of the glowing, golden-crimson cubes.
The moment he lifted it from the cooling stasis field, a burst of rich, spicy, and violently energetic aroma gushed out, rushing into his face.
After deeply inhaling the scent, Ren’s eyes widened slightly, and a faint, excited flush appeared on his normally pale cheeks.
"The aroma is explosive but contained, volatile but not decaying..." Ren already made his evaluation and was highly satisfied.
He brought the glowing cube closer to his face. The exterior was firm, binding the violently swirling red magma-like energy inside.
The cube itself was completely transparent, without any flaws or cracks in the Stardust Gel structure.
As expected of the flawless synthesis provided by the System’s Workshop, the Searing Mana Cube was a masterpiece of elemental engineering.
Before he even fed it to Pudding, Ren could feel the ambient temperature in the Workshop rising. He was salivating slightly, completely intoxicated by the sheer power contained in a two-inch cube.
"What a beautiful weapon," Ren smacked his lips, his face filled with genuine, villainous enjoyment. Even though he wasn’t a combat cultivator, he knew exactly how devastating this would be in a fight.
Suppressing the urge to immediately test it, Ren placed the cube into a specialized, lead-lined pouch and secured it to his belt.
After locking the rest of the tray back in the cryo-fridge, he happily walked back to the front of the store, planning to enjoy his quiet morning.
However, when he stepped out of the Workshop, he discovered someone standing perfectly still at the entrance.
It was a tall man wearing heavy, dark green robes embroidered with a snarling tiger. He wore a wide bamboo hat that shadowed his face, and he carried a massive, chained beast-whip on his hip.
His aura was thick, suffocating, and reeked of wild animal blood.
A hoarse, arrogant voice came from beneath the bamboo hat, dripping with condescension.
"Are you the shopkeeper they call the ’Rancher’? Bring out your best beast. I am here to smash it."
