The Innkeeper

The crowds went wild at Lex's victory, even if most of them didn't actually understand what actually happened. In the last couple of seconds the exchange between Lex and Gerard has been too difficult for most of the crowds to follow, but that didn't deprive them of feeling the intensity of the moment.

Moreover, as soon as Lex won, the various screens changed from following other racers and all either focused on Lex, or began to play a slowed down replay of the final moments.

The number of tricks involved made for a truly remarkable spectacle. From the get go, Lex's speed boost using his physical body was not only unexpected, it was staggering to behold. Even if he were a body cultivator, getting that kind of acceleration was far out of the ordinary. In fact, had Lex been purely cultivating the Regal Embrace it would have never happened. But his body had undergone too many upgrades. His body was sturdy enough to tolerate the ridiculous burst of power his many upgrades gave to him. Anyone else would have been reduced to destroying their own bodies every time they exhibited their strength. The fact that he could easily switch his states also helped tremendously. In the last moment he had entered the berserk state which heavily boosted his physical prowess beyond what he could normally output.

In exchange for all that destructive power, all Lex felt was slightly exhausted and a bit of soreness in his leg. It couldn't be helped, his body's defense just made him too durable.

The quick wit displayed by both Gerard and Lex after Lex made his final move just made for too exciting a finish. The crowds had long entered into a standing ovation, though neither Lex nor Gerard seemed to have noticed.

Lex himself was basking in the exhilaration of the victory. Lately, any kind of excitement in his life had to do with putting his life on the line. It was great to finally be able to have something nonlethal get his adrenaline pumping.

He truly only cared about the challenge the race had provided. The first place obviously got a number of awards and accolades, such as a trophy, some MP, some other free vouchers for certain services at the Inn. But none of that really mattered to him.

The race had been a nice break from all the work he had been doing, and he knew that he wouldn't have time for anything like this again soon. Even as his cart came to a stop and he finally began to notice the cheering crowds, most of his attention had already been diverted back to his office.

*****

The Innkeeper, the emperor, his wife and the general had spent some time discussing plans for the Minor realm. The Innkeeper had stated that the empire should be incharge of safety inside the Minor realm, which was no problem at all for the massive empire, excluding a single hiccup.

Although the pagoda offered excellent benefits to those that traversed its levels, it had one caveat: the tests each floor presented could absolutely be lethal. The only way to exit the pagoda was at the entrance to each floor. Once a participant entered a new floor, they could choose to exit via a teleportation formation, or continue forward. Continuing on didn't mean they couldn't come back, but from what the emperor recalled, deaths inside the pagoda were all too common.

Besides any deaths inside the pagoda, the emperor promised the strictest of securities, due to how seriously they treated the pagoda. He even elaborated on the kind of deployment the emperor planned, during which Lex learned a new term: Heaven Immortal. Although no one explained to him, Lex concluded that it was the level directly or soon after Earth Immortal.

The reason it was brought up was because the Emperor planned on having at least one person of such a cultivation realm present inside the Minor realm at all times.

Based on how the general and the empress reacted, cultivators in this realm were considered sufficiently powerful.

It was good to know, but it did not matter to Lex at the moment. Instead, he took this opportunity to inform the emperor about the Inheritance Lounge as well. The reason why it was not popular, and almost no one knew of it, was because it required a level 4 Midnight Inn prestige to use. Since he was looking to strengthen the human race, that would also be a good way. Incidentally, Lex would also earn some MP along the way, but that was beside the point.

The emperor was intrigued and immediately began planning to investigate it, while Lex silently started planning a couple of things of his own. It was just too convenient.

For a time, he thought that the problems faced by earth were beyond him, and he more or less accepted it. He had detached himself from the planet, and only kept abreast of its situation due to his nostalgic feelings. He also felt a certain level of indignation, knowing that the earth and all its peoples had been treated as pawns in a game by some prisoners.

He had planned on using the empire to take control of earth from whoever was controlling it at the moment, for at least what he had seen of the empire so far was pretty good. Until it was revealed to him that the earth was already, in some manner, under the purview of the empire.

Too much of the conversation that happened inside the chamber of secrets had been wiped from his memory, but none of that mattered now. He had direct access to the actual ruler of the empire, so he was sure he could somehow use that to his benefit and allow circumstances on earth to improve.

But at the same time, he as the Innkeeper, couldn't randomly bring up earth. But the pieces were falling perfectly into place for him, as if he was destined to help earth all along. Marlo had lost his patience, and was about to make a move against the prisoners who had been manipulating the earth, the repercussions be damned.

Larry was actually planning on joining him, and had even invited Lex. But the way Lex saw it, him joining the attack did not contribute in a meaningful way. Instead, by strengthening his relationship with the empire directly, he could then 'casually mention' the issue to the emperor or general using his alternate identity. Although it wouldn't be the same as the Innkeeper mentioning it, due to the increasingly close ties the Inn had with the empire, he couldn't see them turning him down.

Yes, this was a much more practical and viable solution. At the same time, it was also slowly strengthening the Inn. It was a win-win in his book.

Once the emperor left, Lex began planning his next actions. He had to keep an eye out for a Minor realm suitable for the Inn workers only. He also had to go explore the dangers of the pagoda himself.

Once he got a good sense of how dangerous it was, he could plan how to start sending his workers to the pagoda.

He also had to remember to look over the next phase of the festival going on. Now that the Grand Prix had come to a conclusion, the next big event was supposed to begin. Although the races would now become a staple of the Inn, he wouldn't be focusing all his resources on promoting just that.

Although, in Lex's mind, the next event wasn't too exciting, it had potential. He also…

There was a knock on his office door, interrupting his flow of thoughts. That was strange.

"Come in," said Lex.

Luthor opened the door and said, "Innkeeper, there's a guest here who wishes to meet with you. If you'd like, I can schedule a meeting for later, or turn him away."

It felt strange that Luthor was informing him of this as usually Mary was one who would pop up and let him know of these things, but then again, Luthor was his secretary. It only made sense that if anyone approached the office, Luthor would be the one they'd interact with.

"Sure, send them in," Lex said as he cleared his thoughts. While his planning was important, anyone who could bear the pressure of his office and ask to meet him would be worth giving his attention to.

Perhaps deterring the undetermined was also one of the reasons the hall right outside his office radiated such an intimidating aura.

A person dressed in a long, brown trench coat walked in, a small black notepad in his hand. The coat hid his entire body, and the fedora he was wearing hid his face well. Lex felt like he was in front of a detective from a black and white movie.

Until, that is, he scanned the person. The guest was a devil and, coincidentally, his name was one that was all too famous on Earth.

Name: Rocketfellow Rothsfather.