Soon following the voice, an incredibly handsome young man in front of whom even Gu Chen failed to compare slowly walked down the grand wooden staircase with a calm, perfectly measured pace, wearing pristine silver and white martial robes.

As he appeared behind the counter, the female staff members and female customers in the pavilion literally got stars in their eyes, practically drooling and heavily blushing over his presence.

’And we meet,’ Gu Fan crossed his arms as his mind immediately pulled up the massive lore database from when he wrote about this specific character.

This was Song Tianyu, the eldest son and primary heir of the neutral Song Patriarch, and in the original timeline of the novel, he was written to be the most noble, righteous, and sometimes infuriatingly humble character in the entire Poison Valley region.

Gu Fan remembered perfectly that Tianyu was destined to become Gu Chen’s sworn brother and most loyal ally, acting as the perfect, self-sacrificing meat shield who would eventually throw his own life away to save the protagonist.

But that was all in the past, because now Gu Fan had absolutely no intention of letting his dear ’son’ keep such a ridiculously overpowered and useful supporting character.

"Elder, you are acting completely out of line and severely embarrassing our clan’s merchant reputation," Song Tianyu stopped the Elder and reprimanded him softly as he reached the bottom of the stairs, projecting a gentle but authoritative aura that instantly made the furious, purple-faced elder freeze in his tracks.

"We are merchants who value peace and profit above our own personal egos," Song Tianyu told the Elder, "And above all, we never degrade the "Customer" in the premises of this pavilion. Never and ever."

"So you better retract your killing intent immediately and report to the punishment hall to reflect on your lack of discipline."

The elder looked like he wanted to argue and rip Gu Fan’s masked head off, but he didn’t dare to defy the eldest young master. He simply gritted his teeth together and bowed down to Song Tianyu before aggressively storming out through the back doors of the pavilion.

With the elder gone, Song Tianyu turned his attention to Gu Fan, stepping forward with his hands clasped politely in front of him as he offered a respectful bow to the masked rogue cultivator, showing absolutely zero young master prejudice despite his high status.

"I deeply apologize for my elder’s horrific lack of manners, esteemed guest," Song Tianyu said with a warm, disarming smile that usually won over anyone he met, trying to peacefully defuse the volatile situation, "He let his pride cloud his business sense, but please rest assured that the Song Clan values every single customer, and we would be honoured to serve your needs."

"Your elder needs a much tighter leash, so you better learn how to train your mutts before someone actually snaps their necks," Gu Fan scoffed.

"I will keep that in mind," Instead of getting angry at the blatant disrespect, Song Tianyu simply maintained his humble, polite smile because his father has always warned him to be cautious. The world was vast and there were hidden dragons all around them eager to be provoked and run havoc.

Even if it was only a small chance, Song Tianyu did not want to take it and become the cause of his Clan’s extinction.

"You are absolutely right to be offended, sir, and I will personally ensure you receive the highest standard of service to make up for it," Song Tianyu agreed smoothly, gesturing gracefully toward the heavily arrayed staircase, "Since you requested our absolute best offensive artifacts, please allow me to personally escort you to the highly restricted third floor of our pavilion, where we keep the best of them."

"Oh Fine! Show me what other crap you have there," Gu Fan grunted dismissively and followed the Song Tianyu genius up the grand wooden stairs.

As they moved up the floors one by one, they passed through several high-tier defensive arrays on the staircase thanks to Tianyu casually waving his jade identity token to deactivate them.

Finally Gu Fan was lead by Song Tianyu to a massive, lavishly decorated hall that was lined with pristine glass cases and hovering weapon racks. And unlike the artefacts at the lower floors, these artefacts pulsed with faint Spirit Qi.

"Our third floor caters strictly to elite cultivators and wealthy merchants, so every single weapon here is forged by our Grandmaster Blacksmiths using rare ores imported directly from the central continent," Song Tianyu explained expertly, acting like a perfect, highly professional shopkeeper as he walked over to a rack holding a massive, terrifyingly sharp spiked shield.

"This is the ’Earth-Shattering Bastion’, an Earth-Grade defensive and offensive hybrid artifact that costs exactly fifty-five thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones," Tianyu pitched smoothly, pointing out the intricate glowing runes carved into the heavy metal. "It contains a rebound array that actively absorbs physical kinetic energy and violently reflects it back at the attacker, making it absolutely perfect for someone playing the tank."

"Good... but I am sure you can do better," Gu Fan just nodded lazily and pretended to inspect the heavy shield, completely uninterested in the actual weapons since he already had his King-Tier Blood-Drinker Sword and his Earth-Grade Meteor Hammer stored safely in his Void Band.

Song Tianyu saw the look in Gu Fan’s eyes and moved towards the next display case, unlocking it to pull out a pair of incredibly sleek, crimson-glowing sabres that practically vibrated, sending a chill of bloodlust through the room.

"And if you prefer sheer, overwhelming lethal speed filled with overwhelming killing intent, these are the ’Twin Blood-Lotus Sabres’."

"These sabres were forged from the fangs of a 5th Stage Origin Realm Beast and Spirit Grade Adamantium metal."

"These are priced at five thousand Medium-Grade Spirit Stones, since they actively drain the blood of your enemies to keep the blades impossibly sharp."

Gu Fan listened to the extensively detailed information about the artefacts one by one, but his mind was focused on something else.

’I will never get such an opportunity again,’ Gu Fan thought to himself, ’I can make the first move and then Gu Chen... I am sorry Gu Chen, but I will be taking away your dear friend.’

And just as Song Tianyu walked over to the next weapon, a black-iron battleaxe and started to explain its armour-piercing capabilities, Gu Fan abruptly cut him off.

"Such a barbaric weapon... If I were being honest, it would be more suited for a cultivator who practices the ’Nine heavens vajra Dragon Body’, wouldn’t it?" Gu Fan casually said but his voice was loud enough to echo through the third floor.

"Aren’t I right, young master Song Tianyu?"