Strongest Businessman of the Cultivation World

Any product could be sold for a sky high price as long as the customer was desperately in love with it.

Ikasa's manuals held the same allure for the Nian Clan's young leader.  He was willing to go against the elders of the Clan just to obtain a few copies and put his clan's finances in red.

As such, the mere possibility of getting the manuals cheaper made Sang Yi excited. He did not bother to conceal his true emotions from Ikasa. With eyes shining, he waited for Ikasa to state his conditions.

"I usually only sell my x100-use manuals to my Business Partners. If the Nian Clan is willing to manage a branch of my Manual Store in Elm City, I can definitely offer you a significant discount on top of the lower price."

Sang Yi often let his emotions get the better of him. Many in the Clan would say he was impulsive. Yet, they chose him as the leader for expedition to the rift because he had learned to keep his impulsiveness under control.

Ikasa's offer sounded very good on the surface. But it went against the fundamentals of the Clan.

The Nian Clan leaders avoided engaging in formal business. They encouraged their young ones to participate in hunts to fill their bellies.

It was not like they had never thought of venturing into businesses in the past.

The Nian Clan had started a business of selling Animal products and Bone Artistry. However, they had been fooled by the cunning merchants and suffered losses so heavy that the Clan was pushed to the brink of collapse.

They had no choice but to sell the Mystic Blood, a product of their sacred rituals, to sustain the Clan's survival and clear the debts.

The Elders of old learned their lessons from this incident. They grew so fearful of business ventures that they had instituted a rule prohibiting it. The Clan followed this rule to date.

Sang Yi was brought up in such an environment which considered entrepreneurship as a cause for disaster.

His eyes dimmed hearing Ikasa's proposal. He would rather give up on the manuals than break the age-old rule of the Clan.

Ikasa noticed Sang Yi's enthusiasm fall rapidly. He realized that he had to word it in such a way that the negative connotations and risks related with the 'Business' would be eliminated.

"You do not have to worry about any financial risks. I will bear them all. I will provide the goods and a shopkeeper. The Nian Clan only needs to promise its protection to the shop."

His words reignited Sang Yi's interest. Still, he was not completely sold on his idea.

"The Nian Clan does not even have to do anything much. As long as news spreads that you are protecting the shop, I am sure no one in Elm City would dare to attack it. Your Clan can earn profits every year for virtually doing nothing!"

Sang Yi was finally tempted. The deal sounded way too attractive to pass up on.

Since this was not a typical business deal, he was sure that the Elders of the Clan would also agree to it.

"I will relay your proposal to the Clan-head."

Ikasa's smile froze.

'What? He had no power to agree to the contract? Was I just wasting my time on him?'

Only when Sang Yi spoke the next lines did Ikasa feel better.

"I am sure he will agree to it immediately. But for signing the contract you will have to visit the Nian Clan personally."

Ikasa cheered upon hearing the condition. He began to think about who he should appoint as the Storekeeper in Elm City.

Sang Yi became anxious when Ikasa did not reply immediately. He knew that the roads to Elm City were filled with dangers and thought Ikasa had a problem with his condition.

"The Elm City will also host an Auction a month later. Many merchants from the Furnace Fire Empire bring exotic treasures to sell in the Auction. Your journey will definitely be worth it."

Ikasa did not expect to hear about this additional benefit from Sang Yi. He had already made plans to go to Elm City to sell his Prime Gold Ore. Now that he knew of the auction, he simply had to plan his itinerary around it.

"Brother Sang, you don't have to worry about it. I will definitely come to Elm City to visit the Clan Head! Just do me a favor and search for a few good locations for the shop."

After shaking hands on the deal, the two young men chatted like long lost brothers for the rest of the morning. Only when the sun reached the zenith did Ikasa and Xin Ruo take their leave.

When the two returned to City Lord's Manor, Ikasa found a message from He Ling on the Slate.

[Opened a new shop in Oak City.]

[x100 use Mid-Grade Cultivation Technique Manuals - 5]

[x100 use Gazelle Punch - 1]

[x100 use Peek -a- Boo Defense -3]

[x100 use Loose Motions - 1]

[x100 use Fast, Faster, Fastest - 1]

[x100 use Swift Attack - 1]

[x100 use Sweeping Kick -1]

[x100 use Jab -1]

.

.

.

.

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[Dumb Belle's Guide to Strength - 10]

[Send them with He Qing and He Ding if possible.]

The long list of the order made Ikasa's eyes widen. He Ling had ordered 13 hundred-use manuals of just the Mid Grade Techniques. Every manual cost 400 gold. The Mid Grade Techniques alone would earn him 5200 gold!

There were 12 orders for Low Grade techniques. He had priced the hundred-use manual of the low-grade martial skills for 300 gold. 300 into 12 is 3600 gold!

And his most premium product, the High Grade Cultivation Method, Dumb Belle's Guide to Strength. Ikasa charged 500 gold for each copy of this manual's single-use version. The order for this manual alone would earn him 5000 gold!

Ikasa calculated the gains from this order alone. He would receive 13,800 gold from this order.

Thirteen thousand gold was more than what an average prestigious family of a Tier-3 City earned in a year!

And Ikasa had earned this amount from a single order.

Not to mention this order was for just one single shop in the Tier-1 City of Oak!

"Hahaha!"

The young man laughed as he calculated the previous gains from his deal with the He Family. He had sold goods worth over 50,000 Gold in the past two months!

If he included the 10% profits he would earn from the sales, Ikasa would receive more than 20,000 gold on top of the 50,000.

Seventy Thousand Gold in two months! 35 thousand per month!

An average prestigious family from any Tier 2 City only earned around 6-8 thousand gold per month. A merchant may do better but even his income did not exceed the range of ten thousand gold.

However, Ikasa had earned multiple times their amount from a single deal with the He Family.

"What is a successful partnership? This, right here, is the perfect example!"

Ikasa laughingly said to Xin Ruo. He was sure that the income would only grow from here as he opened his shops in more cities.

Because the seventy thousand did not even include his other income streams like his shop in Birch City, his cooperation with the Xue Family and his Herb business.

Including them all, the monthly sales of the GHBG would exceed fifty thousand gold!

If powers were based on monthly income alone, GHBG was fully qualified to be considered a top echelon organization even amongst the Tier 1 Cities!

Xin Ruo was quite pleased to see Ikasa's joy. However, she was also worried about the rate of growth. They were earning wealth way faster than their strength increased.

Also, they had now contracted the enmity of Su Family and the Mu Family. She just hoped that everything would be okay.

—--

"What? Mu Shi was killed in the Rift?"

The Second Elder of the Zhen Family, Zhen Fa, stood up from his seat with shock. The news delivered a huge blow to his plans. More than the plans he was afraid of the consequences.

He began to pace in his courtyard. After the nervous energy in his body dissipated a little, he asked the messenger before him a question.

"How?"

"Everyone coming out of the Rift said he was killed by the Steel Guardian Beasts. However, I think there is something amiss. The Steel Guardian Beasts do not enter each other's territories and certainly do not attack together."

The messenger read the relevant part of the letter to answer Elder's question.

After thinking things through, Qian Bu had decided to inform his master of the incident and of his hypothesis through a letter. He knew that if his master learned of the incident from somewhere else, his life would be over.

However, if he came clean, his master would not blame him too much.

Judging from the Elder's gritted teeth as he cursed Qian Bu, the Commander had apparently misjudged the complexity of events. Still, his timely message had saved him from the Sage Zhen Fa's wrath.

The Second Elder of the Zhen Family carefully considered the hypothesis presented by Qian Bu. He also did not believe that Mu Shi, a scion of the Mu Family, could be killed by the Steel  Guardian Beasts.

"Even if he was exhausted, he should've been able to elude them."

The Elder mumbled. Then his eyes shined as a thought came to his mind. He called for his Butler and ordered,

"Ask our informants to be on the lookout for the Emerald Leaf bracelet and the sword, 'Tyranny'. If it shows up in any markets, immediately apprehend the seller!"

Smiling wickedly, the Elder turned to look in the direction of Beech City.

"Let me see how long you can hide."