Suotuo City was an important economic city of the Balak Kingdom.
It lay in the heartland of the Balak Kingdom, connecting the main trade routes in all four directions. Its influence was second only to Barak City.
As an important economic city, hawkers' cries rang endlessly through its streets. Its prosperity was only slightly inferior to Spirit City's.
A boy who looked to be just over eight years old walked into a shop marked with the emblem of a Soul Master store.
The lighting inside the shop was rather dim.
A bespectacled middle-aged man lay in a rocking chair.
He appeared to be nearly fifty.
Although he was not young, he had a sturdy build.
His face was distinctive: his chin protruded somewhat, his cheekbones were broad, his face was flat, and he had a slightly hooked nose. He could be described as looking like the sole of a shoe.
Even with his eyes closed, his face gave off a somewhat crafty impression.
He wore a pair of black-framed crystal glasses. The rigid square frames made him look rather strange.
Tuoba Yan swept his gaze across the shop.
There were fluctuations of Soul Power within the shop.
Before some Soul Tools were bound to an owner, the Soul Power contained within them would automatically leak out.
There were not many types of Soul Tools, with storage-type ones making up the majority.
In the corner by one wall, Tuoba Yan's eyes lit up when he spotted a gray crystal.
"Bancrystal!"
Tuoba Yan suppressed the excitement in his heart. On the surface, he continued browsing the shop as if nothing had happened.
After a while, he picked up a bronze dagger from the counter and walked over to Flender. "You're Flender, the Four-Eyed Owl, right?"
"Buy something or get lost!"
Just as Tuoba Yan had expected, Flender's tone was extremely cold.
Faced with those harsh words, Tuoba Yan smiled. "This bronze piece is almost convincing enough to pass for the real thing. But you dug it up too hastily. The smell of horse urine is still on it. You should have waited for the smell to fade."
Flender propped up his glasses with a finger and opened his eyes to a slit. "Are you here to ruin my business?"
"Of course not."
The warm smile never left Tuoba Yan's face. "Everyone opens a business to make money. There's no rule saying you can't swindle people. The patterns on this dagger are very well done. Though it's a fake antique, it's barely sharp enough to suit my taste."
With that, Tuoba Yan drew the dagger and slashed it through the air, cleanly cutting off one corner of the table.
"Tell me, how much is this dagger?"
"One hundred Gold Soul Coins."
"If it were genuine, it would be worth far more than that. Fine, I'm in a good mood today. Deal."
"But my dagger costs two hundred Gold Soul Coins."
"Are you sure you won't change the price?"
"No change. One price: five hundred Gold Soul Coins."
Five hundred?
In the blink of an eye, a counterfeit had soared to five hundred Gold Soul Coins.
The smile at the corner of Tuoba Yan's lips grew more pronounced as he stared sharply at Flender.
Flender closed his eyes and ignored Tuoba Yan's expression. As the shop owner, he impatiently urged, "Pay if you're buying. Leave if you're not!"
Tuoba Yan glanced around, then selected two more items from the shop. He placed a stone and a gray crystal together with the dagger. "I won't haggle with you. Six hundred Gold Soul Coins for all three."
Flender glanced at the two items Tuoba Yan had selected from the shop.
The gray crystal was opaque and looked dirty. Nobles preferred purple crystals.
As for that stone—
It looked like an ore, yet it differed from ordinary ore. During the blazing summer, its naturally cold aura caused many droplets of water to condense on its surface.
"Eight hundred."
"Seven hundred."
"One thousand!"
Tuoba Yan stared at Flender with some displeasure.
When buyers and sellers haggled, Flender not only refused to lower the price but actually raised it.
Tuoba Yan angrily cursed, "Flender, everyone says you're a crooked merchant, but you can't seriously treat me like some fool waiting to be fleeced, can you?"
Flender seemed to enjoy doing business this way. He ignored Tuoba Yan's scolding and said, "If you don't have enough money, you can pay five hundred Gold Soul Coins first. Pay back the rest slowly. Within three years, you'll definitely clear the remaining balance!"
Three years?
Tuoba Yan secretly laughed.
Ever since the Four Academy Trial had ended, he had spent another year or so cultivating in the Simulated Training Grounds of the Advanced Soul Master Academy.
By now, his Soul Power Level had risen from level thirty-four to level thirty-eight.
Recently, he had been working hard to refine his Soul Power inward, preventing others from judging his true Soul Master level in advance from the aura of Soul Power he emitted.
Although he could not yet completely conceal his Soul Power aura, he had already achieved some success.
Even Flender, a seven-ring Soul Sage renowned throughout the Soul Master world, habitually misjudged Tuoba Yan's level, believing him to be merely a two-ring Soul Grandmaster.
Once a Soul Master advanced to the rank of Soul Grandmaster, they could collect a monthly subsidy of ten Gold Soul Coins from Spirit Hall.
Three years meant more than three hundred Gold Soul Coins.
Together with Gold Soul Coins earned through other means, that was why Flender said Tuoba Yan would certainly repay the remaining balance within three years.
With a flick of his finger, Tuoba Yan took out a bag of Gold Soul Coins from his Storage Soul Guide Device and placed it on the table. Then he stored the three purchased items in his own ring-shaped Storage Soul Guide Device.
After he had taken two or three steps, Flender's voice rang out again.
"You don't have enough money!"
"Flender, don't push your luck. There are one thousand Gold Soul Coins on the table, not one coin short!"
"You damaged my table. Pay up."
Hearing that, Tuoba Yan looked at the corner of the table he had cut off while testing the dagger. "How much?"
"One thousand Gold Soul Coins."
"One thousand Gold Soul Coins?" Tuoba Yan was so angry he nearly laughed aloud. He sneered without the slightest courtesy, "Heh heh, Flender, have you gone crazy from wanting money? It's an ordinary cedar table. Its market price is at most three Silver Soul Coins, yet you want me to compensate you with one thousand Gold Soul Coins?"
"My table is worth that much. If you don't have the money, you can leave behind the three items you just bought."
At the entrance, Spirit Eagle Douluo could no longer stand watching.
Spirit Eagle Douluo had traveled the continent and had never encountered such a shameless merchant.
Tuoba Yan was part of the Red Sequence under Spirit Eagle Douluo's protection. Anyone bullying Tuoba Yan was, in Spirit Eagle Douluo's eyes, the same as slapping his face.
He stepped into the shop and was just about to speak when Tuoba Yan raised a hand to stop him.
Tuoba Yan's smile vanished, and he spoke sternly. "Flender, don't go too far. Don't think I'm easy to bully just because I'm young. I advise you to be kind!"
PS: This book will not worship the Master or follow the protagonist's group. The plot will be kept as streamlined as possible. Once we leave the Junior Soul Master Academy, the real show will begin. Get ready, everyone—the steamrolling is about to start.
Yesterday, I came across a video of the Liaoning aircraft carrier. Our motherland is growing stronger by the day, and that is a wonderful thing.
Here, I especially wish our motherland ever greater prosperity and strength. At the same time, I wish all readers smooth sailing and that all your wishes come true!