Sitting in the large bathtub, Kai lazily scrutinized the black energy on his finger. He felt very good right now, he was finally making a new breakthrough, he had absorbed some of the Kings, in a nutshell he was finally able to cultivate normally!
Reflecting on everything that had happened in the past few months, it could be considered that his true journey as a martial artist would now begin. There were indeed a lot of opportunities in the Border Beast City, to begin with, he rested and settled into the dormitory, getting himself in order.
Now he realized that the next step would be to get a trading post. He needed his own merchant to whom he could market his goods, and he could only trust Diso in that regard.
Kai was also very eager to experience the marvelous cultivation zones in the Source Tower. He would also need to advance to the next level of the Shadow Seal Dance, and the specialized zones could help him a lot. He was especially interested in the room where the people from the caravan said that time miraculously goes twice as fast. So going in there, you could cultivate for a month, and for the outside world, only two weeks would pass.
Considering all of his plans, saving time is expensive. But what couldn't be saved was money... All these areas needed an incredibly large amount of energy stones! That was why obtaining a sales outlet was the initial goal...
They needed to prepare a point of sale, and Kai had no doubts about his ability to obtain materials. If they had their own outlet, he was sure that in cooperation with Diso, they would be able to make money quickly!
More money meant faster cultivation, faster cultivation meant more strength. More strength means more difficult tasks, more difficult tasks means more money! It's very simple, they will be able to earn money and cultivate quickly. Don't forget that in addition to using energy stones as currency, they could also be absorbed! However, only the richest people could afford it....
While Kai was thinking about his plans, looking at his energy, suddenly there was a shout!
- Bro! I thought you were dead! What were you doing in there for so long? - Shouted a naked fat man wrapped in a towel below his waist and ran in Kai's direction.
Kai immediately noticed one very interesting thing, which made him very happy....
When the fat man heard that Kai had finally come out and was now in the baths, he quickly ran to buy a bottle of strong alcohol, he knew that his friend would be happy with such a gift. It seemed that Diso hadn't been sitting idle either, and had even somehow managed to make some money during these two weeks!
- Ho-ho, Brother Diso, you know how to greet me after a long separation! Hahah! - Kai laughed loudly.
This time, the fat man also brought along two clay glasses so that they could drink at the same time.
- Of course Brother Kai, you're hurting me! Hahaha! - The fatty laughed in response, deftly pouring the alcohol into the glasses.
- Fatty, I see that you didn't just sit around, where did you get the money for the alcohol, I forgot to leave you the energy stones....
- Don't underestimate me Brother, I'll tell you everything now... - Said Diso giving Kai his glass and quickly climbing into the spring and sitting down next to Kai.
- Well, for starters, I talked one of the merchants into hiring me if I could sell one of his items for an hour. In fact, I just tricked him into a bet, haha. - The fat man said cheerfully and continued talking.
- Since I needed to understand the principles of a merchant in this city, practicing is the best option. Naturally, I got the job and have been trading all this time. I even managed to earn five whole energy crystals! It turns out that stone crumbs are just as common here. When energy stones are mined, they leave behind waste rock of various sizes, which is then all crushed to the same size. Ten of these are equal to one energy stone, as they contain much less energy. - Showing ten fingers Diso said.
"Wow fatty, you're good!" - Listening to Diso, Kai praised him in his head. This side of the fat man was indeed intimidating. In matters of business, he was very efficient.
"His great grandfather must have blessed him from heaven with his talent." - Kai thought.
- So Brother Kai, about your assignment, hehehe... - Diso said intriguingly.
- Don't be lazy fatty... - Kai said lazily, sipping his alcohol.
- Anyway, there's a nice outlet that belongs to two brothers. And the main thing is... - Diso paused, - As you asked one of them is on the third level, and also they are on their own, I checked it out for sure. But that's not the main thing! - Diso continued.
- They have quite a bad reputation, as they like to drag newcomers into unprofitable disputes and end up stealing from them. By most accounts, almost all of their goods are obtained this way. They pretend to be traders and challenge newcomers to a fight arguing that they were insulted. And as a bet, they place an item equal to what their victim has on his hands....
- Well, I deliberately provoked myself by losing four of my hard earned stones to them! Heh. - With shining eyes, Diso said.
- Hehehe, keep going fatty! - Kai said smiling evilly, as if he had already realized something.
- I told them that I would definitely come to get even and take everything from them! Since I have a rich older brother! Hahaha! Brother, I actually prepared everything for you and brought you a cooked game on a cutting board! - Diso proudly declared.
- Damn, I've never underestimated anyone so much in my life! Fatty, you're a genius in your field! - Kai shouted enthusiastically.
He was really incredibly surprised right now. Diso had literally prepared all the ground for his plan, it was amazing! And he did it on his own, without any advice!
- Brother Diso, the two most important things in this city are money and power. I think with our abilities, we can do a lot of things here! Maybe my plan will work even better than I expected! - Laughing said Kai.
- Sure! Let's get drunk tonight and tomorrow morning we'll have a lot to do, hahaha! - Said the fat man and raised his glass and clinked it with Kai's. They drained them at the same time.
They drank until late at night and laughed all the time, all of tonight they had completely allocated to resting. Rest is also an important part of work, for without it you burn out! So they decided to continue drinking.
In the evening Kai repeated the previous night with Diso, and took the drunken body to his room....
In the morning, Kai put his hair in a sloppy bun and put on his uniform. The Food Bureau employee seemed to have an eye for detail, for the uniform fit him perfectly. It was dark gray, similar to every building in the city. It seemed to be a hallmark of the Border Beast City.
Adjusting his clothes Kai examined himself. The uniform was very comfortable and didn't constrain his movements, it was even something like workout clothes, with wide not long sleeves and pants that were loose at the hips, but tightly tied below the knee. There was a special place on his belt for attaching his identification stone plaque.
When he pinned his plaque on his belt, five black lozenges immediately appeared on his chest, which characterized him as a warrior of the fifth rank. Inspecting this process, looking into the Essence, Kai could even see a few simple arrays that had been applied to his clothes, and even understood a bit of how they worked.
With all the preparations done, Kai left the room and began to make his way down towards the dormitory exit. He and Diso had agreed to meet there around this time yesterday, he didn't like to be late, so he went out even a little bit in advance.
As he walked slowly downstairs he could hear the fat man talking to Ms. Shiho, they seemed to have gotten along well over the past two weeks.