The Innkeeper

Chapter 1334  Influence

In the darkness of the sealed galaxy, the sentient planet looked listlessly into the darkness as the golden doors vanished. It had not reached in time, much to its disappointment. But now that it had seen those doors, and knew what it looked like, it began searching for its traces within its galaxy.

Soon, it found it once more, and initiated its teleportation sequence. Now that the door had caught its eye, it would reach it.

Inside the Midnight Inn, Lex quickly recalled everything he knew about Versalis Bank. Almost all his knowledge came from those two rhinocentaurs.

He knew that the Henali worked with the bank, and that the bank was having some issue with Celestials, and that they didnʼt like debtors. Likewise, the Celestials didnʼt like others messing with them.

The Versalis Bank was very much a universal entity, the kind that he had not wanted to encounter. But now that this auditor was here, Lex could not ignore him either.

Lex did something he had not done in a while. He scanned Ripley to try to get more information about him.

Name: Ripley Dundam

Age: 1,300,000

Sex: Male

Cultivation Details: Celestial Immortal level 7

Species: Titan

Midnight Inn Prestige Level: 1

Remarks: You can avoid taxes, but you canʼt avoid repaying a bank loan. Take caution.

The result was both intimidating and relieving. At least he was merely a Celestial immortal, capable of ripping the entire Inn to pieces with the wave of a single hand. But Lex had dealt with Dao Lords, so a Celestial would be no problem.

More importantly, he saw how Ripley observed the realm. He looked impressed, but not envious or greedy. In fact, he looked like someone with something to sell, and the more he saw of the realm, the more things he was coming up with selling. Or at least thatʼs the impression Lex got when looking at him.

Lex waved his hand, and summoned the business card Ripley had sent, glanced at it and quickly threw it in the same drawer that contained the letter from the governor. There was nothing special written on the card - just his name and position in the bank, as well as the aura of the bank itself, which Lex found extremely enticing and overwhelming. It was best to stay away from it.

Lex summoned a business card of his own and sent it to that worker with some instructions.

”Dear Guest, the Innkeeper has agreed to see you,” the staff worker said, and held out the Innkeepers business card with both hands. ”He has invited you for a meeting in his office. If youʼd like, I can escort you there.”

Ripley took the business card, his smile widening as it did, and bowed at the worker.

”Thank you, I will find my own way there. By the way, this is a little something from me to you.”

Ripley took out a gold coin from his picket and flicked it through the air towards the staff worker, who quickly caught it, surprised. Most people who tipped workers did so with MP, but it wasnʼt uncommon to be handed items either.

Yet it was unlikely that anyone had been tipped with anything as valuable as that coin. Lex had no idea what was special about it yet, but even from within his office, his instincts could detect how valuable it was. In fact, his heart swooned at the thought of getting that coin - something his heart apparently did not when near valuable treasure.

Lex did not, however, take the coin back from the worker, and instead just kept an eye on him as well as Ripley, who began walking through the realm at a casual pace - though he was walking directly in the direction of Lexʼs office.

The man took in everything, though he remained mostly unseen by most. He did occasionally greet a random guest here and there, all of whom would fall over themselves as they tried to rush up to him and greet him. It seemed like he was well known, and everyone who knew him kept him in high regard. Lex could clearly see that everyone of them were powerful people, yet in front of Ripley none of them had the aura of the powerful. In fact, they seemed to be sucking up to him.

Word quickly spread across the Inn that Ripley was here - at least within a very limited circle. Many guests who were originally watching the Midnight Games rushed to come and meet him, but it seemed like the commotion was something he wanted to avoid, so he teleported directly to the Innkeepers office and stepped in.

Luthor was sitting at the receptionistʼs desk, waiting for Ripley. Walking through the hall towards the Innkeeper put a lot of pressure on anyone, irrespective of their cultivation level, but there was a way around it.

If a guest was escorted by Luthor, there would be no pressure. Yet Luthor merely nodded at Ripley from a distance.

His aura, no matter how impressive, could not impress the Innkeepers assistant, which only made Ripley grin wider as he stepped into the hall - and almost fell.

The sudden aura had actually taken Ripley by surprise, but he recovered well enough. The rest of his walk to the Innkeepers door was smooth, and he grinned as if nothing happened. Luthor knocked on Lexʼs, and only once the Innkeeper called out ”come in” did Luthor open the door for Ripley.

The auditor laid eyes on the Innkeeper, and he was immediately impressed! In his line of duty, meeting Dao Lords was not uncommon. In fact, he had met dozens of Dao Lords within the Origin realm alone.

It was incredibly rare to find a Dao Lord who could so completely withdraw their aura simply because of how incalculably powerful they were. Dao Lords were so damn powerful that they themselves had to go through a very long learning phase, only after which could they control their power.

Yet in front of the Innkeeper, Ripley felt nothing at all. It was as if he was meeting a mere mortal - a preposterous thought.

”Mr. Innkeeper, your reputation precedes you,” Ripley said, walking in.