Chapter 557: Origin of the Gambling Den~!

"So, what is the reason for the branch of the Explorer Union becoming a gambling den? As far as I know, something like that should not be normal..." Having followed the three cultivators out of the building that the branch of the Explorer Union was located inside, Chu Yang could not hold back his curiosity as he asked this. Wanting to find out how a branch of the Explorer Union had essentially transformed into a gambling den.

"Wait with your questions, we have to get somewhere quiet and away from this place before we can talk without worrying about that vicious meatball finding out about it!"

Only able to tilt his head when he heard this as he wondered who the vicious meatball was, Chu Yang followed the group of three as they made their way towards the edge of the Small River Town. Soon arriving in front of a large restaurant.

"We will get a private room, just bring the usual."

"Sure, boss! I will be back soon after checking which rooms are available!"

Watching the man who he assumed to be the leader of the group of three talking with one of the servers at the entrance of the small restaurant, Chu Yang thought about how odd his current situation was.

He had just met the group of three a few minutes ago and now it felt like they were about to divulge some big secret about the Explorer Union branch of Small River Town.

Thinking about it again... To say his current situation was odd, would be an understatement!

"Please follow me, the third private room is available." Returning only a few seconds after he had left to check the private rooms, the server smiled happily before leading them into a rather spacious room on the second floor of the restaurant.

The room was not only spacious, but Chu Yang could clearly feel some sort of formation surrounding the private room.

After closer inspection, Chu Yang realized that the formation was extremely weak and would break if he accidently walked into it.

What is the use of such a weak formation...?

Barely whispering this to himself as he looked over the formation, Chu Yang did not take more than a few seconds to understand the use of the weak formation that surround the small room.

The formation was not for attacking, defending, trapping or anything similar. Instead, it existed to dampen the voices of the people inside the formation.

Not like an isolation formation that made it impossible to hear what was happening inside the formation... It merely silenced the sound of those inside the formation. Making it harder for people outside to hear what the people inside the formation were talking about!

To be honest, Chu Yang was a bit shocked upon realizing this, as he did not expect that a voice dampening formation actually existed...

"Okay, this place should be good enough for us to talk..." Interrupting his train of thought before he ended up dwelling deeper into the mysterious that was the weak noise dampening formation, the man who had reached the Second Stage of the Foundation Establishment said this before looking around himself cautiously.

Even if he said that the place was good enough for them to talk, he clearly did not feel safe given how he was looking around himself...

Rolling his eyes as he thought about this, Chu Yang could not help wondering just what this manager of the Explorer Union branch had done to make these three people so terrified of him... Was he perhaps a demon in human form or something?

"So, the same question from earlier... What is the reason that the branch of the Explorer Union is a gambling den?" Asking the question, he had asked just after they had left the Explorer Union branch again, Chu Yang patiently looked towards the strongest of three people sitting together with him. Waiting eagerly for an answer.

"Haa... This all happened a few years ago when the old manager of the Explorer Union branch retired and left to live the rest of his life in the village he was born. The new manager arrived shortly after and built up his gambling den. Slowly turning the once large and lively Explorer Union branch into what it is now...

At first, some wanted to resist and complained to the larger branches located deeper inside the Sky Empire... However, this was to no avail as the father of the current branch manager seem to have quite a few connections inside the Explorer Union. At the very least enough to make sure his son does not get in trouble for what he turned the Small River Town Explorer Union branch into..."

Shaking his head filled with sadness as he said this, the man almost looked like he was about to cry when explaining the current situation of their town's Explorer Union branch.

The other two sitting beside him were the same, as they looked down at the table with depressed expressions on their faces.

To the three of them, the Explorer Union was not only their source of income, but was also the reason why they had managed to step onto the path of cultivation in the first place!

Witnessing how bad the situation of their branch had become, it was obvious that they would feel sad and disheartened. Especially when they saw many of their former friends get addicted to gambling. Wasting what little they earned for risking their life against demon beasts or other cultivators!

Even thinking about the group's situation was more than enough for Chu Yang to feel bad for them.

Given that they were all in the Foundation Establishment Realm, it would not be hard for the three of them to take an escort mission to another town or city with an Explorer Union branch in it and never return to the Small River Town.

As for why they had not left the Small River Town... Chu Yang guessed that it was most likely because their friends and family were still living there... If not, Chu Yang doubted that the three would not have left after witnessing what the branch of the Explorer Union turned into!

"Then, what about the manager of the Explorer Union, why are you so... Scared of him?" Asking the last question that was on his mind regarding the Explorer Union, Chu Yang eagerly waited for them to answer. After all, the manager of the Explorer Union was the reason why everything had ended up going astray.

Back at the Explorer Union branch, he had indeed managed to spot a ball shaped man who was most likely the manager of the branch spying on them while they left the building, but he was only someone around the Fourth Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Not to mention, he had clearly ended up with his ball shaped appearances due to an over consumption of pills used to forcefully increase his cultivation realm.

Even the leader of the three in front of him who had only reached the Second Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm should be more than capable of dealing with someone who had been fed so many pills-

No! Even someone at the Peak of the Qi Condensation Realm might be able to deal with the ball shaped man he had spotted spying at them. After all, the ball shaped man's movement should be extremely limited due to his shape. Making it rather easy to dodge him and at the same time land an attack...

"Actually... We are not really afraid of the manager himself. Even I can beat that human shaped ball with little effort. The problem is the guards that his father sent to guard him and help him out in anything he does. From what I know, even the weakest among them are at the Foundation Establishment Realm, while there is also another two at the Core Formation Realm!

With me and my two brothers' strength, there is no way we can beat someone like that! Not to mention that no one in Small River Town has the strength to fight with those two guards at the Core Formation Realm. The next strongest person is the town lord, who just recently broke through to the Core Formation Realm with the help of those two experts..."

Hearing this explanation, Chu Yang understood why the three people in front of him were so nervous and did not dare to speak ill of the branch manager.

They clearly feared that someone would tell him about it and that he would in turn sent over some of his subordinates to beat them up!

"Now... Another question, this time it's not about the branch manager or anything like that. I'm curious if any of you know if there is any ancient ruins or area filled with demon beasts nearby? I tried asking at the counter of the Explorer Union earlier... But it was not really of much help..." Asking this, Chu Yang looked up towards the group of three.

Compared to knowing about the situation of the Explorer Union, he was much more interested in finding a location where he could go to improve his strength...