Celestial Ship Merchant Guild

Celestial Ship Merchant Guild.

The most prestigious chamber of commerce in the entire Da Shun.

When it comes to shipping and maritime trade, there is no other like it. Its business covers major rivers and surrounding oceans, and it is said to connect the north and south, and has everything.

Some say that the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild is backed by multiple Aristocratic Clan holding shares in each other, while others say that the Son of Heaven himself takes half of the profits, and the entire chamber of commerce is a money bag for the royal family.

Liang Qu could not know which was true and which was false.

But he knew that the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild branch in Huaiyin Prefecture had sold a tattered ancient book for a terrifying price of 1.3 million taels of silver in May.

And transactions like this happen almost every month.

Damn it, a book costs over a million taels of silver, who on earth is spending money to buy these things?

Liang Qu gritted his teeth in envy, but remained expressionless. He asked Fan Xinglai tea and got up to greet the guest at the door.

Zhu Bingcan, who had a goatee, waved his hand repeatedly. "Lord Liang, you are too kind. I have important matters to attend to and cannot stay any longer. I will be leaving soon."

"Steward Zhu came and went in a hurry. I wonder what brings you here?"

"To be honest, Lord Liang, the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild branch will open on the 18th of this month, and a Sky Shipping Auction will be held at that time. I have come here today to deliver an invitation to Lord Liang."

As he spoke, Zhu Bingcan pulled out a gold-embossed red invitation from his sleeve, held it up with both hands, and respectfully presented it.

Liang Qu took the velvet invitation, opened it, and a piece of gold letter paper slid out. He held it with his little finger and picked up the paper.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that it wasn't paper at all, but a thin sheet of gold!

The afternoon sun shone obliquely, making the golden leaves gleam with a dazzling light that almost blinded this country bumpkin.

Even a single invitation like this must be worth a fortune! Liang Qu took two steps back, Mizar.

In the very center of the gold paper, the text, location, time, and the name of the inviter are engraved in relief. Below the center, the seal of the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild is stamped.

"The Celestial Ship Merchant Guild only sets up branches in the center of the prefecture, but the change of Huaiyin Prefecture to Pingyang Prefecture is an inevitable trend, so the Chamber of Commerce should make preparations in advance."

This auction has been in preparation for a long time and features a wide array of rare items. We look forward to your presence Lord Liang.

Zhu Bingcan bowed deeply.

For the first auction, it was essential to invite local tycoons and dignitaries.

Although Liang Qu is nestled in the small Yi Xing Town, it is quite famous.

Da Zao Marquis, a disciple of the Hunting Tiger, Eighth-Rank Official in the River Conservancy Office, and a capable henchman of Xu Yuelong's faction. Each of these identities was well-known and respected.

Although its current strength is slightly lower, its future prospects are promising, and it is already on the invitation list of the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild.

"I'll trouble you, Steward Zhu."

Liang Qu nodded.

"It's my duty. Now that Lord Liang has received the invitation, my task is complete. I need to move on to the next location..."

"Then I won't keep Steward Zhu any longer. Take care."

"Don't send it."

Zhu Bingcan bowed again, took a dozen steps back, and turned to leave.

Auction...

Liang Qu turned over the gold paper.

He was quite interested in the so-called auction, wondering what good things might be inside, and wanted to go and broaden his horizons.

Who knows, there might be some unexpected surprises.

For some reason, whenever he heard about an auction, images of malicious bidding, threats, stalking, murder, robbery, and being forced to hide in Great Marsh, where he would eat raw fish and secretly develop his health would keep flashing before his eyes.

Even though I've never participated in a gathering like this before, the images keep popping into my head.

Strange, who exactly gave him that first impression?

I can't take it anymore, my brain is so sleepy.

Liang Qu's eyelids were drooping, so he quickly put away the invitation and went back to his room to sleep.

When I woke up again, the sun hadn't set; in fact, it had risen a little higher.

"I slept for a whole day and night?"

Liang Qu was a little confused as he looked at the sun rising against the clock outside. He then delved into his Sea of Consciousness to check his Mental Link.

Compared to yesterday, the difference is very obvious today; the proportion of Mental Link has shrunk by one-sixth!

Golden Gong Fish really does have the effect of strengthening the spirit! That's rare.

Having broken through the Galloping Horse, Liang Qu's spirit had already increased. With the growth of the Golden Gong Fish this time, the remaining space is probably enough to contract both kinds of Spirit Monster.

He just felt that doing it this way wasn't cost-effective.

The share occupied by the Mental Link remains constant; for example, when the ruler was initially Cannot Move, it was always the share of an ordinary beast.

Even if Cannot Move now and still have the strength of Galloping Horse, my share of the Mental Link will not change.

In other words, if something is small at first, it will continue to be small; conversely, if something is large at first, it will not become smaller.

Furthermore, aside from the factor of strength, the willingness to submit also has a significant impact. The Round Head, for example, occupies a relatively small share because of its high willingness to submit.

The Marsh Essence needed to evolve from an ordinary beast to Spirit Monster is not too much.

Overly Spirit Monster also carry the risk of mental backlash. Liang Qu has no reason to give up the ability to control a large number of Water Beast in order to control those of ordinary strength; that would not be worthwhile.

This unnecessary reduces future possibilities.

"Lord Liang has achieved great success today; I would like to award you twelve Minor Merit."

Li Shoufu added ink to Liang Qu's file with his brush.

"What should we exchange today? Still three Cockscomb Fruit?"

"No, let's get a River Dolphin porpoise token instead. I've already accumulated a hundred Minor Merit, right?"

"Wait a moment, let me see." Li Shoufu counted them once, then gave a thumbs up. "One hundred and ninety-six Minor Merit, more than enough. Lord Liang is the fastest person in our River Conservancy Office to accumulate Minor Merit!"

People around turned their heads at the sound and whispered among themselves.

Three months, almost two hundred Minor Merit?

No, after deducting the exchanged items, it's over two hundred! Then I looked at the twelve heads at Liang Qu's feet.

Could it be by killing Spirit Monster? How is that possible? For ordinary Martial Artist, it's extremely uneconomical to earn Minor Merit merits by specifically relying on Spirit Monster- River Conservancy Office.

They're hard to find and hard to kill, it's too time-consuming, you can only see one occasionally and take it out on the go.

If they only hunt and kill Spirit Monster, they'll probably starve to death.

But some people not only did it, they did it much better than others!

Liang Qu was used to the awe-inspiring looks from the crowd and pointed to the Minor Merit workbook.

"One hundred and ninety-six, then give me ten more Qi Replenishing Pill and two Source Water Fruit."

Qi Recovery Pill are usually used by Martial Artist below the fourth level. Liang Qu has been promoted to Galloping Horse Martial Master, and the effects of the Qi Recovery Pill pills are becoming insufficient, so he needs to start switching to Qi Replenishing Pill.

The price is also higher.

As for the Source Water Fruit, I heard it's an upgraded version of the Cockscomb Fruit, costing twenty Minor Merit per fruit. I don't know how effective it is, but I'll give it a try first.

Knowing Liang Qu's capabilities, Li Shoufu left the long table and led him to collect resources. On the way, he suddenly said...

"Oh, right, I forgot to inform Lord Liang that our River Conservancy Office is moving to the county tomorrow, and we will no longer be working on the ship."

"I saw the notice on the task board, which is closer to my home."

A few days ago Celestial Ship Merchant Guild came to invite Liang Qu because the branch had been established and, judging by the time, the River Conservancy Office should be ready soon.

That's a good thing.

Li Shoufu arrived at the token room, his qualifications were verified, and the person in charge instructed Liang Qu to select a token from the ordinary River Dolphin section.

Each River Dolphin porpoise has a numbered keepsake; Round Head Wife's is...

"Found it, 374."

"Lord Liang, why don't you choose a male? Both are worth one hundred Minor Merit, but the male is larger and can provide more assistance."

"No need, this one is fine."

Round Head helped him find a group of wild River Dolphin last time, and unexpectedly obtained Tiger Devouring Human You, a Buddha statue, and Mermaid Tear.

Any one of the three items is far more valuable than one hundred Minor Merit, so Liang Qu will definitely grant its wish.

Li Shoufu didn't try to persuade him further, and then went to the medicine room and Treasure Plant room to exchange for Qi Replenishing Pill and Source Water Fruit.

After receiving the reward, Liang Qu finally met his Round Head wife.