Doing Business

"Teacher, if it's really as you say, wouldn't this essence core sell for a lot of money?"

The Rakshasa God was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond. She had even been thinking about buying Bibi Dong back from Spirit Hall.

Spending money to buy the Pope—what a refreshingly bizarre train of thought. Still, she could not explain it. Bibi Dong bore the mark of the Asura God. Though she was not his heir, if Bibi Dong learned of her existence, then the Asura God would know as well.

"Uh... probably. Forget it. As long as you're happy."

Before long, they were deep within the forest.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, a wolf covered in silver fur was sent flying backward.

It staggered to its feet, but after only a few breaths, it collapsed heavily onto the ground.

"As expected. Although my Soul Power is only a little over Rank Thirteen, with my physical strength added in, even a Hundred-Year Soul Beast can't withstand a single blow from me." Looking at the Silvermoon Wolf's corpse, Ye Xinyu spoke softly as a yellow soul ring slowly rose from it after only a few breaths.

"Teacher, what should I do next?"

The Rakshasa God glanced at the pale yellow soul ring and spoke.

"I remember your Martial Soul has a fire attribute, right?"

Ye Xinyu nodded slightly, and golden flames slowly rose from her palm.

"And then?"

"Then use your fire to burn its entire corpse together with the soul ring. Use the secret technique I taught you to envelop all the energy, then completely dissolve it. Once there are no more impurities, that should be enough. But you must remain fully focused throughout the process. The fire cannot be too strong, or it will destroy it. Nor can it be too weak, or too many impurities will remain."

"As for how to control the heat, you'll have to figure that out yourself. No one else can teach you—it depends on your own comprehension." As she spoke, the Rakshasa God could not help sounding somewhat irritated.

"Actually, you don't need to go through so much trouble. You can directly use the secret technique I taught you to devour the energy within this soul beast, along with the energy of its soul ring—"

Bang.

"The fire is too strong. Lower it."

"The fire is too weak. You haven't even removed the impurities."

Ye Xinyu said nothing and quietly began another attempt.

Two days later, Ye Xinyu sat in the main hall of the City Lord's Manor.

Before long, a middle-aged man walked out slowly, with Xiao Chenyu following behind him. The instant he saw Ye Xinyu, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Miss Ye, you've finally arrived. The welcoming banquet has already been prepared. Come and see whether it suits your tastes."

Ye Xinyu merely smiled. His humility was clearly due to his fear of her mother. As for her, she was only a Rank Ten Soul Master and was not worth such treatment from the lord of a city.

"There's no need. City Lord Xiao should already know why I came, right?"

Xiao Jifeng could not help but freeze for a moment. A girl of six or seven spoke with such maturity—Spirit Hall truly was a place that produced talent. His expression became serious as well.

"I know. However, Miss Ye should also know that Spirit Hall expressly forbids the large-scale hunting of soul beasts. If discovered, the consequences would be severe."

Ye Xinyu shook her head.

"Don't beat around the bush with me. Just name your price."

Xiao Jifeng was not embarrassed and answered frankly.

"Since Miss Ye has put it that way, I won't beat around the bush either. If they are confirmed to be edible species, then to save you the trouble, I can offer ten Gold Soul Coins per kilogram. How does that sound?"

The older a soul beast was, the more energy its body contained. Whether Soul Masters or ordinary people, everyone benefited from eating soul beast meat, so there was basically no concern about finding buyers.

However, due to Spirit Hall's jurisdiction, no one dared slaughter soul beasts on a large scale. Besides, there were not many types of soul beasts that could be eaten. Still, judging by the situation, these were likely goods from within Spirit Hall, so no one should investigate them.

Ten Gold Soul Coins per kilogram? That much?

Though somewhat surprised, Ye Xinyu did not show it. With a casual wave, she took several soul beast corpses from her storage space and placed them on the floor.

"I can't be bothered to ask around anymore. We'll go with that price. Check these."

She was not afraid of exposing herself. In outsiders' eyes, she was the daughter of a high-ranking member of Spirit Hall. It was perfectly normal for her to have a Soul Tool.

Xiao Jifeng did not think much of it at first, but when he saw the several soul beast corpses on the carpet, he froze briefly before smiling.

"They are indeed soul beasts, and edible species at that."

As he spoke, he gave his servants a look. Several people immediately came forward and carried them away.

Afraid that she might misunderstand, Xiao Jifeng explained again.

"Um, once they've been weighed, we'll settle the payment immediately."

Ye Xinyu waved a hand calmly.

"I'm not in a hurry. However, I have something else here. I wonder whether City Lord Xiao can afford to buy it." As she opened her palm, a pale yellow glow slowly bloomed.

"This is?" Looking at the pill-like object, Xiao Jifeng could sense the pure energy radiating from it even from a distance.

"It's nothing much, just a special medicine. After taking it, it can probably increase a Soul Master's cultivation by around a hundred days."

"Saving a hundred days of hard cultivation!" The moment those words were spoken, Xiao Jifeng could no longer remain composed. His eyes heated up involuntarily. For high-level Soul Masters, a hundred days truly amounted to little. But for low-level Soul Masters, a hundred days was nearly equivalent to gaining an entire rank of Soul Power.

Yet when he thought of that, Xiao Jifeng's brows furrowed slightly.

As the lord of a city, he understood human nature well. If such a supreme treasure truly existed, why would she sell it instead of taking it herself?

Ye Xinyu naturally understood that look.

"To be honest, the Soul Power enhanced by this kind of thing is somewhat impure and takes time to refine. Besides, I don't need external items to improve my own strength."

Truthfully, she did not particularly want to make a deal with the city lord. But this place was simply too remote—not even an auction house could be found—so she could only try approaching him.

Just then, an attendant entered from outside.

"My lord, a total of four hundred and sixty-four kilograms."

Hearing this, Xiao Jifeng raised his hand and took out a purple card.

"Our first business deal—let's round it up. Five thousand Gold Soul Coins. Keep it."

"As for that thing..."

Seeing City Lord Xiao's hesitant gaze, Ye Xinyu said nothing more. She casually put away the card, then, after a moment's thought, flicked her finger and left that essence crystal on the table.

"This one is a gift for City Lord Xiao. If you find it useful, bring a price and come find me later. I still need to cultivate, so I won't stay any longer. Farewell."

With that, Ye Xinyu walked straight toward the door.

I added a bit of setting, but it existed in the original work too. After all, Bibi Dong could devour things, and Tang San could as well.

The protagonist merely refined it; she did not use it herself.

Anyway, I think it makes perfect sense.

Going to sleep. I'll write more tomorrow.