The Innkeeper

Chapter 1348  Do not tolerate impoliteness

No wait, Lex suddenly realized that he wasnʼt portraying the aura of a Dao Lord. After all, most of the time, the Innkeeper appeared in front of guests without any aura at all, and he had done the same when appearing in front of Ereboth.

”Or better yet, why donʼt you give me all of your guests!”

Erebothʼs aura began to rise rapidly, just as his grin grew ever larger. Time seemed to slow down in Lexʼs eyes, and this time it wasnʼt because the system network had slowed down his perception of time. Rather it was his own instincts at work.

They communicated with him as clearly, or even clearer than they ever had before. Lex was about to die. He had been locked onto by a being he could not hope to resist, and it was gathering itself up to strike. In fact, the reason it had not already struck was because it was savoring the build up, hoping to see some fear and terror in the Innkeeperʼs eyes.

That last bit was not information provided by his instincts, but Lexʼs own deduction, as well as his sixth sense which was very good at determining others feelings.

Yet in the face of certain death, Lex felt not an iota of fear. Lex had looked a Demi-Dao Lord in the eyes and proclaimed vengeance in the future, so a Celestial immortal could not intimidate him.

Although he knew logically speaking he could do nothing to resist, Lex did not operate on normal logic. To kill him was far from simple. Heck, if nothing else, Lex was certain that if he unsealed whatever was in his mind keeping his time affinity at bay, both of them would die. So even if he were to die, he would not do so alone.

But Lex had no intention of dying, now or ever. Seeking supremacy was not for the weak of heart.

So with a clear mind, and all his focus, Lex began to analyze the situation, as well as the strange reaction his instincts were giving him.

They were telling him he was faced with certain death, but were not telling him how to avoid it, which was unusual. His instincts always provided him with a way out of trouble, unless he was faced with a being of astronomical power. Since Ereboth had not yet reached the Dao level, Lex did not consider him to be at such a level.

That only left him with one other explanation. His instincts seemed unable to detect things related to systems. Or perhaps, it was not that his instincts could not detect them, but instead that they could not directly guide him.

If the solution to his current predicament lay within his system or maybe even that of Erebothʼs, his instincts could not guide him. But by remaining completely silent, they could at least tell him that the method of his survival was related to systems, and let him discover the rest himself.

He quickly went through everything his system offered him, and discovered that there was nothing it could do to save him in this instant. He could try to evict Ereboth from the Inn, but he had a feeling that the Celestial level planet would be able to resist instant teleportation.

That meant the method of his escape lay not within his system, but Ereboths. But Lex knew nothing about his system, so it was unreasonable to expect him to be able to do anything with that.

Maybe his hope, then, lay in his superior authority.

After going through every possible solution, Lex decided that this was the option he would gamble on. He could, indeed, teleport away and try to escape. But if he did that, then the image of the Innkeeper would forever be broken. That was just condemning himself to a long, slow death rather than an instant one.

With his decision made, Lex acted. He summoned the full aura of the Innkeeper that the system afforded him, and for once mixed in his own Domination as well. He put his entire being into squeezing out the most powerful Domination he could muster, hoping that when mixed in with the Innkeeperʼs natural aura, it would give a stronger impression.

Outside, within the Inn itself, the clear sky was suddenly overcast as heavy clouds appeared within the sky, and an oppressive aura filled every corner of the Inn.

Wu Kong, who was about to agree to Brandonʼs demand of dating his grandniece, felt the aura and snorted, turning away, as if he had been caught doing something shameful.

Every other guest suddenly held their breath, and felt like they were on the precipice of doom. No one knew what had happened, and most couldnʼt even muster up the courage to ponder the reason for such a change at all.

But none of them felt like they themselves were in danger, for the aura was not targeting them. No, Lex had not released a blind, targetless aura. Instead, it was tinged with his intention towards Ereboth.

As for what his intention was? It was the intention of an elder to warn a naughty child. Oh, it was also filled with his intention to use his authority as a system owner to display the system interface, and that is exactly what happened. His system interface popped open in front of him - and so did Ereboths system: The System System!

The ever pleasant, ever calm Innkeeper displayed the slightest hint of disapproval in his eyes as he looked at Ereboth.

”Young man, although I welcome all guests, I do not tolerate impoliteness. Do not make me turn off your system for a while. It would be a shame for you to fail all 107 of your active quests.”

Erebothʼs aura froze, and for the second time in its existence, it felt fear. The first time, it had felt fear when the Governor had faced him, and locked him in his galaxy. That was the fear of death. But this time… this time he felt the fear of a secret revealed!