From Wind Wolf Town to Jiali City, there was a distance of more than three hundred kilometers. Traveling day and night at Tang San and Wang Yanfeng's speed, they could arrive in roughly three days.
Following the small path, the master and apprentice duo did not dare to delay and moved quickly along the way. The task given by the Wind Wolf Lord was a round trip in ten days, to bring back news.
If there was a delay, Wang Yanfeng would surely be punished. Moreover, traveling faster would naturally allow them to spend more time in Jiali City.
As they proceeded, Wang Yanfeng said to Tang San, who was following at his side, "Let me test you, what is used for transactions in big cities?"
Tang San answered without hesitation, "In villages and towns, most transactions are conducted through bartering. However, in big cities, or rather, across the whole continent, transactions are carried out using coins made from rare minerals or plants. In Tianyu Empire, the currency is primarily made from minerals. In Rihchen Empire, on the other hand, coins are mainly made from plants. The biggest advantage of such coins is that they contain energy within, which can be directly absorbed to strengthen the bloodline, making them impossible to counterfeit. In other words, the coins themselves are valuable."
"Correct, you remember it quite clearly. How is the currency system in Tianyu Empire divided?" Wang Yanfeng nodded in satisfaction.
Tang San said, "The currency of Tianyu Empire mainly has five levels. The highest level of currency is known as the Purple Crystal Coin. It's made from a special purple-gold metal believed to contain very large amounts of energy. Even great monsters and spirit monsters could use it for cultivation. It is also very rare and seldom circulates in the market. Its value is more symbolic."
"One Purple Crystal Coin is roughly equal to a hundred Tianyu Coins. Named after the Tianyu Empire, its material is composed of six rare minerals combined. These six rare minerals each possess one of the six element properties: water, fire, earth, wind, light, and darkness. Simply merging them is an extremely difficult craft, and the energy contained within is also very vast. It plays a good role in stimulating bloodline intensity."
"One Tianyu Coin is equal to ten Elemental Coins. Elemental Coins are mainly divided into six types, corresponding to the six elements found in the Tianyu Coin. However, the quality of the same type of mineral used in Elemental Coins is a bit lower than that used in Tianyu Coins. These are also the most mainstream and higher currency in circulation, possessing strong purchasing power."
"Below the six types of Elemental Coins is the Spirit Rhinoceros Coin. It is made from a kind of spirit rhinoceros stone. One Elemental Coin is approximately equal to one hundred Spirit Rhinoceros Coins."
"The lowest level of currency has many types and is therefore also known as the Monster Coin. Energy intensity is used to measure them. Any mineral that contains energy equal to at least one percent of a Rank 1 Demon Race's bloodline power can be used as a Monster Coin. Because there are so many different types, Monster Coins are quite mixed. The exchange rates of Spirit Rhinoceros Coins to various Monster Coins can differ, requiring a complex judgment. Thus, most of the time, large cities still use Spirit Rhinoceros Coins for transactions."
Wang Yanfeng nodded in satisfaction and said, "You remember very clearly. The largest source of income for our Wind Wolf Town is the Wind Spirit Stone mine next to the town. The Wind Spirit Stones mined there, when the size of a fist, are roughly worth one-fifth of a Spirit Rhinoceros Coin. They're not considered precious minerals, but they are still not bad. Most of the yearly mining yield is handed over to the Wind Wolf Tribe. The physically strong slaves are all working there."
Tang San had naturally seen the Wind Spirit Stones before, which were a blue-gray stone. The Wind Elemental Array set up in Wang Yanfeng's room relied on these stones.
The stones contained many impurities, but what was rare was that the energy they held was solely of the wind element.
Wang Yanfeng sighed lightly and said, "A fist-sized Wind Spirit Stone weighs about one kilogram. The tribute we're bringing this time is five thousand kilograms of Wind Spirit Stones. That's equivalent to more than two-thirds of the town's output for the year. It's almost the same every year."
Tang San asked, "Is the Wind Wolf Tribe very powerful?"
Wang Yanfeng replied, "To us, of course they are very powerful. The Wind Wolf Clan Leader is one of the top ten strongest members of the Wolf Monster Clan. Although not ranking at the very top, he still possesses formidable strength. It is said that he is a Rank 10 or higher top-level power. In the Monsters, whether you have a powerful leader often determines the life and death of the clan."
"The law of the jungle," Tang San said indifferently.
"That's right. That's the law of this world," replied Wang Yanfeng.
The path leading from Wind Wolf Town towards the main road was somewhat desolate, and they didn't encounter any Demon Race along the way. After one day, they finally merged onto the main road.
The road to Jiali City was much wider than any Tang San had seen since he arrived in this world. It was fifty meters wide and exceptionally flat, a sight he encountered for the first time here.
The foundation of the road was made of compacted crushed stone, astonishingly level, with forests and hills running alongside it.
Upon entering the road, many different races could be seen.
Slaves were rare, but the various Monster races broadened Tang San's horizons.
In Wind Wolf Town, he had almost exclusively seen Wolf Monsters. Pig Monsters were also considered a Vassal race; such races not adept at fighting generally weren't very strong as a whole.
Yet, on this road, in just half a day, Tang San encountered more than ten different Monster races.
Among them, one race left a particularly deep impression on him.
They were an extremely robust race. Standing upright, they were over eight meters tall, running with their thick limbs on the ground but rising to a vertical position when they stopped, exhibiting a humanoid shape. Their over-five-meter-long noses swung as they moved, with thick layers of keratin covering their colossal heads.
Their eyes were light purple, exuding a powerful, oppressive aura.
It was only after this race of Monster had disappeared from sight that Wang Yanfeng dared to explain to Tang San.
This was a powerhouse of the Elephant Demon Clan.
The division within the Elephant Demon Clan wasn't as complex as that of the Wolf Monster Clan, and they had one main lineage. They were much fewer in number than the Wolf Monsters, but among the Monsters, the Elephant Demon Clan ranked in the top ten of the super races.
A newly born Elephant Demon already possessed the strength of the Third Stage. Adult Elephant Demons had even more formidable power, typically above the Seventh Stage. The one they encountered was considered fairly common among adult Elephant Demons.
To assess the strength of an Elephant Demon, not only the size of the body was considered but also the color of the eyes. Ordinary Elephant Demons had light purple eyes, while those at the Eighth Stage had dark purple eyes. Upon reaching the Ninth Stage, their eyes would turn red. It is said that Elephant Demons of Rank 10 or above have golden eyes, known as the Golden War Elephants, with extremely formidable combat abilities.
This one, though only of the Seventh Stage, emanated an incredibly intense fluctuation of vital energy as it passed by. Together with its incredibly robust body, one could imagine just how fierce an individual Elephant Demon's combat prowess might be.
Seeing such a powerful Monster race, Tang San understood increasingly why Monsters and Spirit Monsters ruled this world. Their innate strengths made them virtually unbeatable.
According to his understanding, what's referred to as the Monster race is essentially Demon Beasts that have awakened their wisdom. And in Demon Monster Land, there are indeed Demon Beasts that have not awakened their wisdom. These Demon Beasts are also enslaved and controlled by the Monster race. There is even a subservient relationship between the closely related Monster race and Demon Beasts, considered as a type of vassal, but even these Demon Beast vassals hold a higher status than Human vassals. After all, in the eyes of the Monster race, Demon Beasts are more useful to them.
Under Wang Yanfeng's guidance, the two of them traveled along the very edge of the road. Human vassals were not allowed to walk in the center of the road, or else if trampled to death by a member of the Monster race, they had it coming. No one would bother to intervene.
After hastily traveling for another day and a half, the two, having endured meals in the wind and sleeping in the dew, finally arrived at their destination.