Wu Tianmo walked inside the Black Tower and was taken aback. It was luxurious, more so than anywhere he had been before. He stepped inside onto a polished stone floor that reflected the torchlight above.
Glass display cases wrapped around the outer walls of the room. Where inside lay familiar weapons. They were dented, stained with blood, and bore the Chen Clan insignia.
At the center of the reception hall was a large circular desk made from Blackwood. Behind it clerks were taking bets while dressed in dark robes.
Throughout the lobby were servants and guards yet the room was big enough for it not to feel overwhelming.
There was a large bronze signboard which featured two names, their kills, and odds of winning their next match.
Tie Ya, 6 Kills, 7:3
Chi Kui, 2 Kills, 3:7
Above it was a second signboard that featured the same information, except it included a cultivation level.
Sui Yan, 3 Kills, 9:1, 2nd Stage of Body Reforging Realm
Gui Ren, 0 Kills 1:9, 1st Stage of Body Reforging Realm
Around the signboards there were large paintings on the walls depicting fights in the gladiator arena.
Executions were painted across canvas that depicted the brutality of the arena.
Some between mortals, and some grander depictions of cultivators.
An older man approached the front slowly with a single guard accompanying him,
"What may we do for you today, Young Master? You may call me Manager Qiu"
No one in the village knew who the Wu Clan Patriarch was at this point. He literally never left his estate so this simply looked like some rich young master in flashy red robes.
Wu Tianmo walked forward causing the guard to stiffen.
The guard was a 1st Stage Body Reforming Realm cultivator and could sense Wu Tianmo was strong.
Wu Tianmo smiled,
"I'm here to look at the goods, as it happens I need some good servants for my manor so my wife doesn't have to clean it herself."
Manager Qiu smiled,
"Yes, yes. Very smart young master! Happy wife happy life! So I take it you're here to purchase a few servants then. You're in luck."
Wu Tianmo crossed his arms,
"Oh and why am I so lucky?"
Manager Qiu stepped backward with one foot and extended his arm towards the back door,
"We should take a stroll through the back courtyard young master."
Wu Tianmo nodded and followed him as they passed through the door to the slave quarters. They arrived in a room which looked like a prison.
There were two sides to this large enclosed courtyard divided by a set of iron bars, yet each side was fully visible.
Velvet couches surrounded small stone tables, jars of wine, fruit trays, and a large pipe were laid out for the guests to enjoy.
The imprisoned slaves were forced to watch the patrons enjoy themselves and the patrons were able to window shop while they drank.
Sometimes the patrons chose their favored man or woman from within the cells to have bathed and presented.
In this building, human lives were treated as nothing more than objects.
Manager Qiu led Wu Tianmo to the section where some wealthy mortals were drinking with a few female attendants.
The mortals were sitting on a large green couch, laughing and partying to their hearts' content.
Wu Tianmo noticed immediately, these two female attendants were cultivators. They immediately noticed Wu Tianmo and winked at him.
This caused the drunk mortals to feel jealous, one of them was wearing green robes with a flying fish emblem.
He stood.
The man had a large amount of golden jewelry on making him shine in the flickering torchlight.
He pointed his finger at Wu Tianmo,
"Don't look at our servants you bastard! Think you're *Hic* all that because you have a handsome face. You'll never have all this!"
He spread his arms out wide to show his worn wealth wearing an arrogant expression.
The female attendants stood, she pouted and comforted him,
"Young master, come back over here sister has something to show you."
She then removed her top causing the young master to perk up in more places than one.
The young master took one more look at Wu Tianmo, who was calmly speaking to Manager Qiu beside him.
Wu Tianmo rested his hand on the hilt of the wooden sword, and hated nothing more than someone pointing at him like that.
He was a dignified patriarch at this point, how could he let some mortal brat act this way?
He started to pull out the sword from his sheath when he felt a grip on its hilt other than his own, it was Manager Qiu.
Manager Qiu only uttered a few words with a firm resolve then removed his hand,
"There is no fighting in the slave pens. Offenders will be chained and thrown into the arena."
Wu Tianmo chuckled but quickly understood,
This old man is a cultivator... how did I not sense his ability before..
"Fine, fine. The young master of the Flying Fish can keep his finger today."
Manager Qiu smiled, yet he was imagining something far darker,
He sized Wu Tianmo up, if he was to be captured and sold, he could be quite an expensive slave with such a face. If brought up to the capital the noble ladies would give whole fortunes just to have him.
These thoughts quickly left his mind, he didn't know who this kid was, best not make any hasty decisions. Yet it wasn't completely out of the question, all he needed was a reason.
They walked towards the cells where the Manager Qiu provided some additional information,
"All the slaves here are broken out into tiers, and at this branch of the black tower we have Bronze - Silver tier slaves. What is young master looking for specifically?"
In the old shopkeepers mind, you could tell a lot about a person by the slaves they keep around them. If they're all women, then the person is likely lustful and easily swayed by pleasures of the flesh. If they're surrounded by strong warriors, then they're weak but in a high societal position.
All clans had servants, normally they were smaller clans that pledged themselves to the larger ones.
Though some used slaves to fill their ranks.
This young master in front of him, intrigued the shopkeeper, how brave of him to come alone into this underworld. Or he might just be stupid, the old man was undecided.
Wu Tianmo pondered for a moment,
"I need a eunuch to protect my wife, and some female servants to help her."
The old man looked away and at the different sections of cells,
"We can make any man a eunuch so you can simply choose any of them, however when it comes to female servants.... do you want them, untouched?"
Wu Tianmo wasn't a stranger to women, he had many during his travels outside of the clan.
However, he would never force himself on a slave.
Wu Tianmo waved his hand,
"I do not plan to have them, whether they're touched or untouched is of no consequence."
The old man couldn't get a read on Wu Tianmo and decided to just show him around,
"Let us walk a bit young master. All the Bronze ranked slaves are mortals, and all the Silver ranked are cultivators."
As they walked by the different cells, most of them were filled with lifeless people. Those who had lost the will to live and continue on.
This was the life of a bronze tier slave, to be used and discarded at will.
The world is cruel.
Finally they had gotten past the bronze level slaves, none of them appealed to Wu Tianmo. He wanted some charming women to accompany his wife, and some powerful warriors to protect her in his absence. She was a mortal after all.
Finally they got to the Silver Ranked slaves and the old man explained,
"The higher ranked a slave is, the better they're treated by the tower. Some cultivators even willingly become slaves to escape death penalties and to become stronger. The tower provides cultivation techniques to those who offer themselves willingly. As you can see, the Silver ranked slaves have better living quarters and overall standing within the tower."
Wu Tianmo stopped for a moment,
Some offer themselves willingly?... I really am fortunate to have been born into a clan. How tempting is immortality, many would sell themselves for power, and longevity.
The old man continued without looking at Wu Tianmo,
"These slaves just arrived from a few counties over, shipped down the river towards their new lives."
Wu Tianmo looked at the Silver ranked slaves and froze.
His whole body shuddered with emotion but he retained his composure.
"It's... you?"