"Robbery...this is highway robbery. 100,000 spirit stones just to get inside the shop? And after reserving, at that? For what? I'm listening. Try and make this make sense." In a strange display of quiet rage, Zuixian asked the crystal puppet guards, and to prevent himself from losing control of his bubbling emotions, he drank a mouthful of wine.
It was one thing that the Silkshifter God's Abode required reservations, another that just to set foot inside the building, one had to pay a 100,000 spirit stone fee. The main entrance aside, four additional entrances also had waiting lines of their own, each over 200-meters long, and fielding about 440 people.
This meant that about 2,220 people waited outside at all times, and this of course didn't include the people already inside. The Silkshifter God's Abode was open 12 hours a day. Peak hours excluded, the mansion-sized shop catered to between 2,200 and 2,500 people per hour — meaning that just from entrance fees, they averaged about 220 million to 250 million spirit stone in hourly revenues — 2.640 billion to 3.0 billion revenues per day!
Just entrance fees!
Prior to the Rampaging Beast Hordes, the yearly revenues of the seven states of Yanzhou combined didn't match the Silkshifter God's Abode's weekly entrance-fee revenues!
Ever a calm and composed person, never in his life had Zi Zuixian felt so outraged. The Silkshifter God's Abode robbed these people with remarkable ruthlessness, and instead of rebelling against the absurd fees, they competed with one another to be the first to pay the fine!
"These are the Silkshifter God's Abode's rules — rules that all prospective customers are aware of. Initially, we didn't have entrance fees, but due to soaring demand and limited capacity, we had no choice but to implement these fees. If you can't afford them, you can try one of our branches in the other counties. However, attempting to cause trouble at the gates of the Divine Tailor's shop...will likely lead you to a gruesome death," the leading crystal puppet said, instantly making Zuixian speechless.
Indeed, no one forced them to try and get into this shop.
Spiritual Silk was a luxury, not a necessity. No one could blame the Divine Tailor for taking advantage of the madness induced by his unprecedented products. And if they didn't want to pay the fee, they could have perfectly gone elsewhere.
Zuixian didn't know, but as the one that brought them to this place, how could Qiu Meng not be aware of the rules? Four crystal puppet guards stepped forward, and from the energies undulating in their cores, Zuixian estimated that, should they misbehave before the Silkshifter God's Abode, even Dao Revelation experts risked their lives.
Instantly, the Wine Eccentric turned to his sworn brother, who shook his head in a mix of helplessness and exasperation.
"Yes, of course, we will..." Qiu Meng started and reached for his storage ring. But at that time, the hundreds of noble ladies at their back lost patience, their Spiritual Senses unfurled, locking on the two brothers with naked murderous intent.
"From what broken waste of a village do you two country bumpkins come from? If you can't afford it, roll out of the way!"
"Humph, let's not even mention reservations and entrance fees. The cheapest dresses in the Silkshifter God's Abode cost 3,000,000 spirit stones on average. Judging from your inferior clothes, you probably can't afford to glance at the wares."
"This is a house of swans. Contemptible toads such as you shouldn't try to mix...with the elite of the Eastern Continent!"
"Bottom-feeding wastes, know your place!" One after the other, the noble ladies of the Spiritual Aristocracy spat at Zuixian and Qiu Meng.
They weren't incorrect. <anno data-annotation-id="e5fbe6c6-aa51-b85e-605c-0076d1116eed">Three million spirit stones was the average Nascent Soul expert's yearly income.</anno> And 90% of that income vanished in cultivation-related necessities. When even the average Nascent Soul expert would need a decade of savings for the Divine Tailor's cheapest robes and dresses, how could a pair of poor-looking Pulse Condensation and Golden Core juniors afford the goods?
In times of chaos, luxury clothes were the average person's last worry. The Spiritual Aristocracy was no exception. When beast invasions could knock on your door at any time and bring ancient families to ruin, spending millions of spirit stones to look pretty didn't make any sense. But the Silkshifter God's Abode caused a shift in the aristocracy's needs and mindset.
The cheapest dresses, those on the first floor, could resist the average Golden Core realm expert's all-out blow. As for the dresses on the seventh floor...even Supreme Clarity realm ancients, the supreme experts of the Eastern Continent, would become helpless before them!
The Divine Tailor proved the authenticity of these robes by first having them appraised and auctioned by Imperial Wind City's Grand Auction Hall — setting off the rabid chase for these unprecedented products.
Now, everyone wanted to look pretty. And with the abode's wares routinely sold out, how could those noble ladies tolerate being delayed by what they perceived as the bottom feeders of the Eastern Continent?
The mere sight of them burned their eyes!
Initially, Qiu Meng was about to pull out his reservations and pay the entrance fees. But after getting a barrage of callous insults thrown his way, the seething rage inherited from Qiu Chen's vengeful soul took over, making the Celestial Grandmaster's eyes turn red.
Never one to care for insults, Zuixian was about to ignore the noble spirit ladies, but noticing the change in Qiu Meng's eyes, he reached for his gourd, determined to fight tooth and nail for a way out.
But as tension rose and seething killing intent burned in Qiu Meng's eyes, a voice pealed across the scene, seizing the attention of all customers.
"No need for reservations or fees, they're my guests. You can bring them...straight to the seventh floor." Mild and melodious, that voice pacified all turbulent emotions, making the noble ladies glance towards the seventh floor where their idol, the Divine Tailor, resided.
From that vantage point, Xinzi's new Klesha Avatar, the so-called Divine Tailor, watched Zuixian and Qiu Meng with a mesmerizing smirk.
