Immortal Kingdoms

Although the woman gasped, she was still on guard as she extended a hand, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone, "Uncle, at least provide some identity certificate for me."

Leonardo rolled his eyes and tossed out his crystal card.

The woman caught the card and gasped, "A one-star SCC, you are indeed a resident with private property…"

Soulscript Crystal Cards, also known as SCCs, are universal identification certificates granted to pedestrians or civilians who pay annual taxes with the identities of landlords, their rankings from one to nine stars depending on their contributions to their respective nationalities who issued the SCC.

"Alright, but how can you prove that you know a real magician? Magic is a lost art throughout the entire plane, that is recorded in every article and history book to the point where the lost knowledge is a public opinion. I'm not the only person wasting resources on studying the theory of magic."

"I can't possibly discuss this matter with you in the streets. Moreover, this place will soon be flooded by the city guards, so we better not tarry around for too long. Moreover, I still need to convert my raw ether into azure luan currency, find a suitable shopfront to invest in, hire servants, shop for necessities…" Leonardo furrowed his brows and began to toss out the objectives on his to-do list.

The woman listened seriously, fixing her large spectacles while nodding.

"That is indeed a lot to do. Alright, we don't have all day so we should get going to Vast Sky Avenue, which is the closest marketplace to your address, we should be able to find everything you need there."

Then, she pushed her books into Leonardo's embrace and stood there with her arms spread  horizontally, a serious expression on her round face.

Leonardo gave her a weird look while holding the books, "What are you doing?"

She responded seriously, "You obviously can fly, you should carry me."

Leonardo blinked. Then, he laughed while storing away her books in his spatial ring. Then, he picked her up by the waist and took her into the air.

…

Vast Sky Avenue.

Each district within the city has its popular business-oriented avenues, and the 7th District has the remarkable Vast Sky Avenue where the sky's the limit for the opportunists.

Shopping centers, museums, auction houses, trade companies, and a few branches of the Azure Luan Bank serve as the lifeline to the dynasty's economic and financial development.

All business-oriented avenues restrict flight in any shape or form, as everyone who goes in and out is required to go through an inspection to leave behind a temporary spiritual imprint.

Permanent residence within a business avenue is afforded only to business owners and entrepreneurs with grand investments. As for those without any, Vast Sky Avenue will charge a perpetual monthly tax until the business in question gains sufficient revenue to compensate for the resources spent on maintenance.

Leonardo and the woman who went by the name Merlin landed not too far from the flight-restricted zone across the massive gates leading into Vast Sky Avenue, watching as thousands of people clustered together while advancing through the entrance gate or leaving through the exit.

"The formation will automatically brand your spiritual fluctuations and when you leave, the guards will approach you to pay the tax fee depending on the amount of time you spent inside. However, since you have a one-star SCC, you can link it to an account in the Azure Luan Bank, and the fees will be automatically deducted from your account upon entry and exit."

Merlin fixed her white laboratory dress and began walking in a certain direction, "I don't have money or a bank account, so I will register my spiritual fluctuations under your name as an employee. Of course, this is something you'll have to do for every employee as a basic incentive, but you can also adjust tiers and monthly expenses for each employee that will limit their time lest they take advantage of you."

Leonardo followed while browsing through the booklet from earlier, nodding with a faint smile.

"How about this incentive then, your expenses will be unlimited, and you don't need to worry about any consequences or repercussions from overstaying your welcome in Vast Sky Avenue."

Merlin's figure whirled as she rushed back in front of Leonardo, "Uncle, are you having a fever or something?"

Leonardo looked at this woman who was clearly older than him yet called him uncle, but he didn't mind since technically, his mental age should be a few decades old.

"If you don't want it then you don't want it, I was going to create a private account and a business account, link your spiritual fluctuations to the business account, but you do look reluctant to accept if."

Leonardo shrugged his shoulders and started walking in the direction of the entrance gate, shaking his head.

"Who said I don't want to?! This is your loss!" Merlin quickly chased after this uncle who appeared out of nowhere to change her entire life.

Whether it was for better or worse, she would have to gamble with it.

…

Half a day later, Leonardo and Merlin walked out from the Azure Luan Bank, the former with a faint smile on his face as he inspected his SCC that had the stamp of the dynasty's currency on its back, the latter staring blankly at a platinum card with the stamp of the dynasty's currency filling up its front, feeling her spiritual fluctuations within.

Of course, the highest clearance is a diamond card, but the bank ultimately used Leonardo's SCC as a substitute for the diamond card.

"You're now my official assistant shopkeeper, you better not slack off, understood?" Leonardo stretched lazily.

Merlin mumbled, "I can't believe I'm holding onto 100,000 credits right now… This is too much for someone like me…"

When Leonardo deposited the raw ether crystals to be converted into credits, the amount of raw ether crystals shocked her. Of course, pure ether crystals are incomparable to raw ether, because no one can go around the energy loss when purifying the ether, resulting in the natural loss of almost 70% of the energy within.

With the dismal conversion rate, a value of 0.001 currency credits equates to 1 raw ether fragment. (100:1)

While on the other hand, the value of 0.0001 raw ether fragment equates to 1 pure ether fragment. (1000:1)

Each fragment is the size of a fingernail, extremely small.

Observing her expression, Leonardo decided not to tell her that he had 900,000 credits in his account, instead flicking her forehead to grab her attention once more.

"Mhm?" Merlin snapped out of her daze, recalling what Leonardo had just said as she tilted her head, "You haven't even found a shopfront yet, let alone a shop for me to assist in managing. Moreover, I'm not sure if our funds are sufficient to buy a shopfront…"

Leonardo shook his head, "I'm not buying anything. I will either rent or invest in a shopfront with potential. In the future when I have enough liquid assets, I will naturally buy my own shop here."

Leonardo touched his chin and began walking ahead, holding the small booklet with his other hand to continue reading. Merlin seemed to understand the difference between investing and buying, and she quickly followed after him.

"What kind of business are you going to invest in?"

Merlin asked when she caught up, her voice loud enough for Leonardo to hear but not to a point where it could be considered disturbing to the surrounding crowd.