Strongest Businessman of the Cultivation World

"Who says there are no other shops selling herbs for treatment?"

Manager Chu Kuang, who was passing by, was irked by the Physician's words. He instantly refuted his claims against the City Lord.

The Hu Clan's cultivation store sold most of the commonly found herbs in the surroundings. Though their quantity was low, they were sufficient to treat these desperate commoners.

There was also the produce from the Herb Garden. The Citizens may be unaware but he had visited most of the Physicians and intimated to them the availability of the herbs.

Today, he was here to ask Physician Leong if he needed any of the herbs only to hear him slander the City Lord.

Physician Leong's face turned red from anger and shame. He refused to acknowledge the man before him and angrily asked, "Who are you?"

Chu Kuang was stunned by the Physician's shameless behavior. The people also curiously looked at him to know his identity.

Shrugging off their stares, the kind-hearted bald man took out the Blood Leaf from his box of samples and handed it to the teenager.

"Here. Use this Blood Leaf to stop the bleeding. Isn't that what Physician Leong prescribed?"

The teenager looked at the smiling face of Chu Kuang and then the impassive Physician standing on the stairs of his clinic. He was unsure as to what to do.

One of his father's acquaintances in the crowd recognized the herb. He hurriedly asked the kid to make a paste of the herb and apply it to the bleeding wound.

As soon as the kid did as he was asked, the blood flowing from his father slowly reduced and stopped within a few breaths. However, the blood loss was too severe and the man's face was pale as his breathing slowed.

The only person who could save him was the Physician standing on the stairs, coldly looking down at the scene. He was angry that his plan had been ruined.

His master had assigned him one task; to incite the Citizens against the City Lord and make him reopen the stores of the Sect. With the arrival of Chu Kuang, it had been ruined. He glared at the bald man, ignoring the pleading eyes of the teenager.

Chu Kuang could not stand by and watch someone's grudge cost a boy his father.

"Physician Leong, does your consciousness not hurt? Is your loyalty to the Monstrous Flame Sect so strong that you would rather watch people die than treat them?"

Physician Leong's eyes widened when his affiliation with the Sect was made public.

"He is from Monstrous Flame Sect? No wonder, he was speaking ill of the City Lord earlier."

"This Bastard! He refused to treat my brother just because his Sect has a grudge against the City Lord? What did my poor brother have to do with either?"

"My mother passed away because this crooked man wanted to incite us against the City Lord?"

The Public sentiment was quickly turning sour. The anger in the people's eyes scared the Physician. When one of the burly men rolled up his sleeve, he gulped loudly.

"I have only apprenticed under the Medicine Master of the Sect, the First Elder, Yi Yan. Their battle has nothing to do with me."

"Then why did you not treat my brother?"

"Because I really did not have any Cloud Moon grass."

Physician Leong desperately tried to make people understand his position. The People were still suspicious of his words.

"If you do not believe me, ask him!" The man in white robes pointed to Chu Kuang, "Ask him whether his garden had any herbs two weeks ago."

The crowd turned their heads to look at Chu Kuang.

"No, we did not have many herbs available back then."

Chu Kuang replied honestly. The anger in the people's eyes abated and turned to disappointment. Seeing this, Chu Kuang immediately amended his statement.

"But now we do. So, why are you not treating the poor lad's father Physician Leong? If you don't want to say so. Because if you dally any further, he might pass away."

Chu Kuang's reminder once again had the people look at him with suspicion.

Physician Leong sweated bullets. He immediately took the Blood fruit from Chu Kuang and went to his apparatus to prepare a blood recovery concoction.

"Take this Icy blue Flower as well. Its petals will help improve the efficacy of your concoction."

When he brought out the beautiful crystalline blue flower, an adventurer in the crowd gasped.

"Is that an Alchemist's Wonder? I saw it in the Hu Clan store. They sell  every petal for 10 silver!"

His friend and the people surrounding him gasped. 10 Silver meant it was 1 gold!

To the people in the upper echelons, 1 gold was just change in their pocket. But to these commoners, 1 gold was a tenth of their monthly income!

They looked at Chu Kuang with reverence in their eyes. His generosity had won their hearts. They became curious about his identity.

"Who is he?"

"Is he some Noble?"

He addressed their curiosity and took this opportunity to spread the word about the Herb Garden.

"Everyone, I am Manager of the Herb Garden near the East gate. We have most of the herbs needed for the treatment of injuries and maladies. Even if we do not have the herb, we will do our best to get it within a few weeks. So, please pay us a visit."

His introduction explained his generosity earlier. Still, it only impressed the people because not every rich man would act as Chu Kuang did.

One of the astute people in the crowd however noticed something amiss.

"You said you did not have any herbs two weeks ago. Most herbs take more than two weeks to mature. So how come you have herbs now?"

His question was not understood by many but Chu Kuang, who was playing with plants for the past few days, understood what he meant.

"For the benefit of the commoners affected by the misdeeds of the three major powers, the owner of the garden, Ikasa, has sacrificed a lot. He gave up a huge reserve of Energy Infused water and asked me to irrigate the fields with it. That way the herbs mature faster and you will not suffer from a lack of herbs."

Chu Kuang's explanation awed the adventurers and commoners. Many of them recognized the name Ikasa.

"Isn't he the owner of the Ikasa's manuals?"

"Is he, really? Then he is the benefactor of all the commoners."

"I heard his shop was burned in the attack last week."

"Tsk. Damned Hu Clan. Just because their business was affected they targeted that shop."

Chu Kuang's ears perked upon hearing what one of the people in the crowd said. His expression became grave.

'I need to get this information to Master Ikasa as quickly as possible.'

As soon as Physician Leong administered the ready concoction, Chu Kuang took his leave. He set off to Ikasa's Villa in the north.

At this moment, the man Chu Kuang was worried about connected to the Printer. Ikasa looked at his Star shaped cultivation stats with joy.

"10 Points in every Physical sense and 20 Points in Spiritual Sense. Yes, I am ready to advance to the Intermediate stage of the Sense Realm."

He added 2 points to every sense. As soon as he did so, his sensitivity increased and he experienced a sensory overload. The enhancement in the senses brought him new experiences. For the first time, he tasted the taste of his teeth and saliva.

Not only his tongue, but his skin had also become super sensitive to the stimulus from the surroundings. Even the afternoon sun's heat was too much for his skin. It felt like he was being lightly roasted. The gentle breeze of wind made him feel ticklish.

His nose smelled the variety of smells mixed in together. He could distinguish each smell, separately. The earthy smell of the soil, faint fragrance from the flower bed, and slightly sweet smell from the kitchen. This was a completely new feeling.

But not every new experience was as pleasing.

Every sound in the environment was amplified several times. He could hear the crickets chirping, the scraping of a ladle against the container, and even the wind whistling.

The cacophony of the sounds made him feel like he was experiencing the worst hangover.

If his ears were hearing was in a bad state, his vision was beyond tolerable. He didn't dare open his eyes. In the small peek he had, he saw streaks of light flash before his eyes as if he was in a disco.

After getting used to the abnormal vision, he could see the outlines of an object.

The streaks of light were contained in the various objects. The Flower vase looked earthy yellow though it was painted red. The Printer was pitch black. The transparent water in his glass emitted Turquoise color.

'Am I reading the energy signatures of objects with my eyes?'

He wondered as his eyes scanned every object in the room. When he looked outside, he experienced sharp pain in his head.

The scenery outside was a collage of multiple colors. His perception was unable to take it all in. He shut his eyes and turned his head away.

'If I can train myself to use the senses properly, I will be invincible in the Sense Realm. My vision can not only see further, I can read the energy path. Something only Path Finders can do.'

With this thought, Ikasa sat down to meditate and regain control over his heightened senses.