Little Boss Duke

Saturday.

Duke chose to take a compensatory day off. At Little Sam's Card Shop, he had four days of leave each month.

The reason he took the day off today was that the Spirit Society was holding a public lecture—one open to all Spiritual Apprentices. The speaker was Mudis Black Snake, a 1-Ring Arcane Master of the Black Snake Family.

"Mudis Black Snake is the young elder of the Black Snake Family and a strong contender to become the next High Priest." Old Sam walked alongside Duke on their way to the lecture.

Old Sam had been stuck as a Spiritual Apprentice for many years, but he never missed a single public lecture held by the Spirit Society.

Duke asked, "Does a lecture by an Arcane Master have any use for Spiritual Apprentices like us?"

An Arcane Master was a type of Arcane Mage.

The Spiritual Arcana encompassed the entire universe. All cultivators who had achieved success in cultivating their Spirit Seas were called Arcane Mages. Depending on their direction of cultivation, Arcane Mages were divided into two major paths—Arcane Masters and Arcane Scholars.

Arcane Masters studied powerful arcana for use in battle, with might capable of shattering heaven and earth.

Arcane Scholars studied the secrets of arcana to create spirit cards, potions, puppets, and so on. The names for the different paths varied as well, such as Card Making Scholars, Apothecary Scholars, Puppet Scholars, and so forth.

"Why wouldn't it be useful, Little Duke? Whether they're Arcane Masters or Arcane Scholars, they're all pioneers in the field of Spiritual Arcana. If you can absorb even a little of their experience, you'll benefit for the rest of your life... Perhaps neither of us will be able to advance to the first ring in our lifetimes, solidify a spell model, or release arcana, but listening to them will always do us some good!"

"I understand."

"Good that you understand. Don't miss any public lectures in the future, especially those taught by 1-Ring Arcane Mages. He's a powerhouse bearing the Black Snake surname, and we rarely get the chance to be personally taught by someone like that!" Old Sam's face was filled with longing.

The Black Snake Family was nobility—a newly risen baronial family.

According to noble customs, only those who reached the first ring during their cultivation of the Three Seas could take on a noble surname. Otherwise, they retained an ordinary name. The noble surname of the Black Snake Family was naturally "Black Snake."

"Hey, Old Sam, you came." A middle-aged man waved at him.

"Of course I had to come. This is a lecture personally given by Lord Mudis." Old Sam exchanged pleasantries with the newcomer. "Winston, how's business been lately? Made a fortune yet?"

"If I could make a fortune, I would've done it already." Winston glanced at Duke. "Who's this?"

"Haha, he's a Spiritual Apprentice I trained at my shop. He's learning card repairs from me now." Old Sam sounded somewhat smug. Among several thousand Spiritual Apprentices, one might not even emerge.

Yet Little Sam's Card Shop had produced a Spiritual Apprentice, which was clearly a great honor.

They entered the Spirit Society together.

A full three to four hundred Spiritual Apprentices had come, nearly filling the Spirit Society's largest auditorium. Familiar faces sat together chatting, and the entire place was buzzing with noise.

Duke found a seat beside Old Sam.

He was a newcomer. After sweeping his gaze around the auditorium, he noticed that there were not many young people like him.

There were few people who could open their Spirit Seas only by relying on potions. Those geniuses who could open their Spirit Seas on their own were either children of great families or had already been recruited for secret cultivation. They had no need to attend public lectures.

The public lectures were meant for ordinary Spiritual Apprentices.

"Teacher Mudis will arrive shortly. Everyone, please be quiet!" The president of the Spirit Society personally hosted the public lecture and brought order to the auditorium.

A moment later.

A black-robed man of about thirty-four or thirty-five entered the auditorium amid a crowd of people and walked up to the lectern.

With a warm smile, he said gently, "You should all know who I am, so I won't waste time introducing myself. In today's public lecture, I'll explain the relationship between the structure of rings and spirituality."

Mudis went straight to the point.

He soon began speaking at length onstage, starting with the structure of rings and then combining it with the Spiritual Arcana system. His broad explanations were still filled with details that offered insight.

Duke couldn't understand many parts of it.

But that wasn't important. Xiao Yi recorded the entire public lecture from beginning to end, and it would become part of her database.

Before he knew it, the two-hour public lecture had ended. Mudis did not leave time for questions and departed the auditorium amid the crowd surrounding him.

The Spiritual Apprentices who had attended the lecture left in groups of two and three.

Old Sam exchanged farewells with his friends, then called Duke over to leave together.

"Little Duke, how much did you gain from today's public lecture?"

"To be honest, I didn't understand much."

"Haha, not understanding is normal. The height from which an Arcane Mage views a problem is certainly different from ours as Spiritual Apprentices. You've only just set foot into the Spirit Sea. You'll understand gradually."

When they reached the fork at Second Vertical Street, Duke prepared to say goodbye.

But Old Sam suddenly said, "Don't rush off, Little Duke."

"What is it?"

"Would you be interested in taking over Little Sam's Card Shop?"

"Hm?"

Duke froze.

Old Sam took out a box of cigarettes, silently lit one, and gazed toward the street ahead. From here, the sign for Little Sam's Card Shop was visible, bright and conspicuous.

"If nothing unexpected happens, I'm planning to move to Chen Jiao City. The Continuous Sealing Paste Technology I bought from you helped me find a major buyer, and I made more money than I could have earned from running Little Sam's Card Shop for my entire life." Old Sam blew out a smoke ring. "But I only paid you ten gold dragons. That was far too little."

Duke couldn't guess how much Old Sam had made by reselling it.

Naturally, he felt envious, but he soon let it go and replied seriously, "Boss, we signed a contract. It was a fair deal. I urgently needed those ten gold dragons, and that was enough. How much you earned by reselling it was your ability, and had nothing to do with me, so you don't need to feel that you owe me anything... You gave me a job back then, and I'm very grateful."

"You're a good child who knows how to be grateful. But I've already decided to give Little Sam's Card Shop to you."

"There's really no need..."

"Listen, Little Duke. I've already earned more than enough from you. Compared to that, Little Sam's Card Shop is nothing. And I don't want to transfer it away carelessly. After all, it carries the dreams and livelihood I've had from my youth until now. It helped me earn money to support my family and raise my children until they could all make their way to the big cities."

Old Sam spoke with deep emotion. "Now I want to choose a suitable owner for it. I believe you, Little Duke, are the right person. So accept Little Sam's Card Shop as a little support from me for a future scholar... In addition, I have one request: don't change the shop's name."

"This..." Duke wasn't the type to put on airs. Since Old Sam had said this much, he had no reason to refuse again. "Then I'll accept it."

"Haha, that's more like it, Little Boss Duke."

Old Sam immediately took Little Duke to Little Sam's Card Shop. The three Card Masters were all there, as were Bob and the three apprentices. One of the apprentices had just been hired.

"Everyone, stop for a moment and listen to me." Old Sam clapped his hands.

Everyone set down their work and gathered around the counter.

Old Sam glanced at his old companions and slowly said, "I'm preparing to retire. My children are all in Chen Jiao City, and my wife is there helping take care of our grandchildren. So after giving it some thought, I've decided to transfer Little Sam's Card Shop to Duke... Don't be surprised. Duke has a sharp mind, and he's also opened his Spirit Sea. I believe he'll run Little Sam's Card Shop well."

As soon as he finished speaking.

Best, the Card Master, immediately began shouting, "Old Sam, have you lost your mind? What money could Little Duke possibly have to buy your shop!"