That sucked. There was a huge difference between Yellow Rank and Mystic rank, as I had experienced for myself during the battle for Atlantis. But that didn't mean my loss was assured. I had cut my way out of a Mystic ranked Large Liopleurodon, after all. And there were other factors in a match, not just cultivation realms alone.
Plus I had a trump card of my own. I personally was reluctant to do so, but if necessary, I would just unleash Hei Ba and watch him massacre everybody. Of course, I didn't want to do that because it wouldn't be fun otherwise. Not only that, summoning a peak Mystic rank spirit beast in a school tournament was going to cause an uproar and lead to a lot of uncomfortable questions. I would invite scrutiny that I couldn't afford at this juncture.
Well, I would worry about it when the time came. Even though Long Fan Xue had apologized for her attitude, I hadn't quite forgotten how she treated me after I was crippled, saying that I was trash. So in line with typical cultivation story tropes, I was going to get my revenge on her and prove everyone who looked down on me wrong.
The problem was that reality never quite worked the way fiction did, so it wasn't as if my victory was a foregone conclusion. I had to work harder.
"Don't worry about it," Hao Ren assured me, mistaking my determination for anxiety. "We'll support you all the way!"
"Thanks. I'll do my best."
"That's all we ask for." Qin Ying snorted as she glanced at the rest of our classmates. "You and I are probably the only ones who will take the tournament seriously. The rest of the class have already written themselves off. I'm not sure if even half of them will show up on the day itself."
Things were just getting better and better.
"Well, whatever happens will happen," I said, trying to sound confident and utterly failing. Tong Xue and Hao Ren shifted uneasy, unable to meet my gaze. I wondered if I could rely on them, but at least they would participate with me. "We'll just have to do our best."
The rest of the week crawled by, the semester inching toward its end, and the looming day of the tournament drawing ever closer. As I had promised Qin Ying, I attended classes regularly, never missing even one. Honestly, the lessons of the regular class weren't all that useful for me, but at least it gave me the opportunity to revise the basics.
At home, I trained as per usual, sparring with dad and practicing my techniques. When I had the time, I would open a portal to my dungeon and check on the progress there. It appeared that my Collector Crabs had brought back a sizable amount of spirit stones.
"Whoa! Thanks, guys! Good job!"
"They did great work," Long Wang affirmed with a nod, his hands behind his back as he bowed. "I have already rewarded them appropriately."
"Thanks!"
I then approached the dungeon core, which was none other than the former Ancient Aquatic Artifact that was set into an altar. A prompt window from my system showed up immediately.
-Would you like to upgrade your dungeon by feeding it spirit stones? –
"Yeah." I felt like Kim Jin Woo as I took a fistful of spirit stones and began inserting them into the altar. The artifact swallowed them. At first, nothing happened. I glared at the altar until the system informed me that the Deep Sea Palace needed more spirit stones. Suppressing a sigh, I poured more of the rest of the spirit stones into the altar, stopping when a new notification window popped up.
-The dungeon has been upgraded. Sections previously locked are now open to construction. Submerged areas have been expanded. –
That meant I had more water filled areas in my dungeon, and I could see the cavernous slowly grow, more seawater flooding into the growing subterranean lakes. No Collector Crabs or worker type summoned spirit beasts were added, though, but I did get a few more ordinary ranked spirit contracts. It didn't take me long to locate fifty Construction Crabs near the outskirts of the Deep Sea Palace and forge a contract with them. Bringing them back, I had them start constricting the unlocked sections.
"Phew. I finally upgraded the dungeon." I stared at the remaining spirit stones. "What do I do with those?"
"You can save up the spirit stones for further upgrades, my lord. Or you can sell them in the surface. Don't forget that the resources here belong to you."
"What about you, Long Wang?" I turned to my dragon butler. "Do you need the spirit stones?"
Long Wang scoffed. "Have you forgotten that I was originally a Heaven ranked spirit beast? The spirit stones will have no effect on me. If you want to restore me to my original strength, you have to grow stronger. So the spirit stones will benefit you more than me. And when you grow stronger, I benefit too."
"Okay, thanks." I saluted him. "I'll be leaving the Deep Sea Palace in your care again. Oversee the construction and modify them however you see fit. I trust you."
"Understood, my lord. I'll make sure to hold the fort until you return."
With that, I opened a portal to the surface world and stepped back into my room. Dropping on my bed, I took my glasses off, shut my eyes and sank into a deep rest.
When I woke up the next morning, I approached my dad and mom to ask them about the spirit stones.
"Um, where should I sell them?"
"Spirit stones?" Dad frowned and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Your parents are making enough money, so you don't have to worry about selling your resources. Use them for yourself."
"I mean, I have excess…"
"Yeah, don't worry about making money. Use them to improve your cultivation and focus on training and studying," dad said.
"That's right," mom agreed, looking concerned. "What's the matter? Do you need money for something?"
"No, I just happened to come across a bunch of spirit stones while on the island, so I was wondering if I could sell them. They aren't useful for my cultivation, so I didn't see the point in keeping them around."
Even as I said that, I realized that I had just made a mistake by lying. This wasn't going to be the only time I was going to sell spirit stones. My dungeon was providing me with a steady source of income, with the Collector Crabs bringing back extra spirit stones for profit. While most of them would be used to upgrade my dungeon, the rest could be exchanged for cash to improve my cultivation. After all, the dungeon's upgrades scaled with my cultivation realm, and even Long Wang's strength depended on mine. I had to find a way to quickly improve myself.
Selling spirit stones and getting better equipment or other resources would be a good idea. But what excuse would I have for the next batch of spirit stones? Should I tell my family about the dungeon? Would they believe me? It was a pretty farfetched tale, if I thought about it.
"Hmm, I might know someone," dad mused to himself. "There are a few stores that buy spirit stones for a good price from soldiers and cultivators who hunt spirit beasts during missions. Give however much you want to me and I'll pass it to him."
I trusted dad and I knew he wouldn't take my money or cheat me or anything, but I was looking toward the future. I would have more spirit stones and other resources to sell later down the line, and I couldn't keep making up excuses. Not only that, I could imagine the concern they would show if I told them I had my own dungeon, and they probably would send me to see a psychiatrist.
Quite frankly, I doubted they understood the concept of dungeons. My brother might, but my parents hadn't read any manhwas or Korean web novels before, or read any dungeon manga or watched any Japanese anime either. So they wouldn't understand what a dungeon was, never mind believe me. I didn't want to waste time and money on therapy sessions, so it was simpler to omit the truth.
"I would like to see the store for myself."
"Hmm? Sure. You can come along."
"Tonight?"
"Hmm, tonight might be difficult. How about tomorrow?"
"Why not you give me the address of the store and I'll check it out after school? I might go with a few friends to look around."
Dad raised an eyebrow, but he nodded. "Okay, I'll send you the details by phone later. Have fun."
And so, Tong Xue, Hao Ren and I were at the commercial district after school. I had asked them if they knew anything about spirit stone vendors, but they were just as clueless as me. Hao Ren googled them, but in the end, I opted to go for the one dad introduced me to.
"Um, Hen You Qian?" I stared at the name on the text message that dad sent me via phone. "His shop is called Zhuan Qian (Making Money) store?"
"Not gonna lie, that's very on the nose," Tong Xue remarked.
"Apparently, this uncle Hen You Qian is an old war buddy of my dad," I explained. "They fought on the frontlines against spirit beasts when a wave attacked Xia Hai City about ten years ago. He opened up a shop after he retired."
"So where is it?" Hao Ren asked, looking around.
The commercial district was a road with traditional styled markets and shophouses, two rows of terrace houses that had been converted into shops, though I suspected most of them had residential quarters in the upper stories. Lampposts and decorations hung from above, giving the place a vibrant feel, and different stores ranging from bakeries, confectionaries, eateries, meat and butcher shops, vegetable stands and pawnshops filled the place. The interiors were mostly airconditioned, though the heater would be up during winter.
There was even what looked like a sleazy bar at the far corner of the commercial district, though it didn't seem to be open yet. A dark alleyway shrouded its entrance in shadow, with litter strewn about just unseen from the larger, cleaner road between the two rows of terrace shophouses. It was incongruous, a location that looked completely out of place.
Most like that was why it caught my eye.
"Hmm, they have a bar here. Too bad we're underaged, so we can't drink alcohol." Tong Xue shrugged when he glanced in the direction that I was staring in. I sighed.
"Yeah. Anyway, let's go." Not wanting to waste time, I tore my gaze away and strode to the Zhuan Qian Store. Pushing the glass door open, I stepped into the airconditioned interior and moved past the display cases proudly bearing gemstones, jewelry and other precious minerals.
"Oh? High school students? That's rare." A deep voice resounded from the back of the store. A bald, grizzled man who was about fifty years old stared at me, scars crisscrossing his face, and a thick beard covering his jaw. He cocked his head and grinned. "Those glasses…huh, so you must be Song Jian Shen's son."
"Yeah, I'm Song Jun Wen." I bowed "Hello, uncle Hen You Qian."
"What can I do for you today? Your dad said you wanted to sell something."
"Um, that's right." I reached into my bag and took out a huge bunch of spirit stones. Each was as big as a gemstone and were deceptively heavy, emanating potent qi as they glowed warmly in the store's lighting. "I have a bunch of spirit stones for sale. I thought you would need them."
"Excellent." Hen You Qian chuckled as he studied them with a magnifying lens. "Already collecting spirit stones at your age, huh? Not bad. And these look like they are of pretty good grade too. I'll need to evaluate them more closely, but at first glance, I can tell you that all of them are worth 950,000 yuan at least."
"950,000 yuan?!" Tong Xue blurted out, his eyes wide. "That much?!"
"Of course," Hen You Qian sniffed. "Don't you know how precious spirit stones are? Many cultivators use them as resources for their cultivation, absorbing qi from them, but that's not all. Spirit stones serve as an alternative fuel, frequently used as a source of power. Almost hundred percent of our power plants now run on spirit stones. Batteries too. They can also be used as construction materials for treasure weapons or armor or equipment, though spirit ores would be more suited for that. Naturally, they will fetch a high price."
He then turned to me with a frown, raising one of the spirit stones and offering it back to me.
"Are you sure you don't need the spirit stones for your cultivation?"
"At my current level, the qi they provide has very little effect. I'll need higher grade spirit stones, so I might as well sell these and use the money to buy a better grade one."
"That makes sense." Hen You Qian nodded and gathered the spirit stones into his hands. "I'll bring these to the back and analyze them before I give you a more accurate quotation. It'll take some time, but you can come back later if you want."
"Sure," I replied with a smile. "Don't worry, we don't have anything to do at the moment. We'll wait here for you. Thank you, uncle Hen You Qian."