Old Sam Left

"Little Duke didn't have any money, but I liked his prospects, so I transferred it to him for free. What's the problem with that, Best?" Old Sam threw out a smokescreen.

He had already sold the patent for the Coating System to someone else.

Patents sold privately like this came with contractual restrictions. Even the title of technical inventor had been transferred along with it, so both he and Little Duke had to keep silent.

"Have you gone crazy, or is Little Duke your bastard son?" Best shouted.

Old Sam's face hardened. "Best, what does this have to do with you? Just do your job as an external Card Maker. The Card Repair Shop will pay your wages on time every month. You don't need to meddle in anything else... From now on, Little Duke is the owner of Little Sam's Card Shop. Nothing else will change."

The news had come far too suddenly.

Everyone was too stunned to react, especially the formal employee Bob. He was practically a veteran of Little Sam's Card Shop, having started working there when the shop had first opened.

Still, the shop belonged to Old Sam. He could transfer it to whoever he wanted.

Bob had no choice but to step forward. "Boss, you're leaving. This is truly... heartbreaking. But I also believe Little... Duke will become a good boss."

"You're right, Bob." Old Sam smiled.

Duke said, "Bob, after I take over the Card Repair Shop, your job and treatment won't change. The same goes for the other three Card Masters, and the three apprentices as well. In short, nothing will be different from when Old Sam was here. Even the shop's name will remain Little Sam's Card Shop."

Dilanke and Sane, the two Card Masters, naturally had no objections.

After receiving his education through Bob's slaps, the apprentice Bobby had already come around. Besides, he, Thomas, and Levin, the newly hired apprentice, had no say in the matter to begin with.

Old Sam turned his gaze toward Best.

Best snorted. "What can I say, Old Sam? This is your shop. It's your freedom to transfer it to whoever you want. I just work for money."

"Then it's settled." Old Sam said, "Over the next few days, I'll take Little Duke around to handle the paperwork and officially transfer the shop. After that, I'll explain the supply channels. Bob, keep a closer eye on the shop."

"All right, Bosses." Bob changed his way of addressing them quickly.

Old Sam immediately took Duke to handle the procedures. After making a fortune reselling the patent, he no longer wanted to stay in Snakehead Town. He only wanted to reach Chen Jiao City as soon as possible and reunite with his family.

After the two left,

Best immediately began complaining. "Old Sam really has grown senile. He didn't even ask us before transferring the shop to Little Duke. That kid was all thumbs even as an apprentice. I'm afraid it won't be long before he runs the Card Repair Shop into the ground."

"Best, don't be so pessimistic. Little Duke did Open Spirit Sea, after all."

"So what? Which of us hasn't Open Spirit Sea? Are there that few people in our town who've Open Spirit Sea? You all saw the public lesson this morning—hundreds of drug-doped Spiritual Apprentices!"

"At least he's more reliable than an ordinary person taking over."

"Heh, I don't think so."

Best complained for a while. Seeing that no one else was really backing him up, he gradually lowered his flag and beat his retreat, though he repaired cards with a trace of anger and occasionally cursed at Levin, the newcomer apprentice.

"The shop has four storefronts in total, with a large courtyard in the middle and a big warehouse in the back. You can renovate it later and move straight in. That'll even save you the rent." Old Sam spoke as he walked.

Duke bared his teeth. "If you'd told me sooner, I could've saved a sum of money."

He had just rented a new place. The landlord might not be willing to refund his rent if he terminated the lease immediately, unless he could find someone to sublet it at once.

"It's only a little money. After deducting all the wages and expenses, the Card Repair Shop earns at least one Golden Dragon a month." Old Sam didn't care. "Besides, I've already paid this year's business tax in advance. For the next few months, every copper the shop makes will be pure profit... In any case, work hard. I'm still looking forward to you becoming a Scholar."

Following Old Sam, Duke made several trips to the town's various institutions. After three days, he had finally completed all the necessary procedures.

Old Sam also handed all the various supply channels over to Duke.

From that point on,

Little Sam's Card Shop truly became Duke's property.

On the evening of the third day, Duke played host, calling everyone from the shop together at a large restaurant in town to hold a farewell banquet for Old Sam.

The meal cost a full fourteen Silver Dragons.

Before this, that had been a figure Duke could never have imagined.

The next morning, Old Sam left Snakehead Town carrying bags large and small. Duke saw him onto the Black Beetle Car and only turned back after watching it disappear.

"Whew!"

"Old Sam is gone, and Little Sam's Card Shop belongs to me."

"In Snakehead Town, in this world, I finally have an industry of my own to make a living from. From now on, I just need to cultivate in peace and repair cards seriously!"

Duke walked all the way back to Little Sam's Card Shop with light steps.

"Boss!" Bob greeted him enthusiastically.

Duke glanced toward the repair area and asked casually, "Card Master Best didn't come to work today?"

"No. But Card Master Best gave us instructions last night. He said he might have something to do today and wouldn't be coming in."

"I see."

Duke said nothing. External Card Masters had some privileges, and couldn't be held to the same strict standards as formal employees and apprentices.

He went straight to Workstation Four. This backup station had originally been used mainly by Old Sam, but now it had become Duke's exclusive workstation. A huge pile of ruined cards was stacked on the tabletop. He had spent nearly all his free time studying how to repair ruined cards, striving to master the technique of repairing spirit cards as soon as possible.

Whenever he encountered a difficult point, he would ask the two Card Masters, Dilanke and Sane, for guidance.

The day passed just like that.

After Bob got off work, Duke stayed behind alone in the shop. He planned to renovate the warehouse behind the shop and turn it into a private living room. From then on, he would live in the shop.

He worked until midnight before closing up and heading back.

"Xiao Yi, how is my cultivation progressing now?"

"Master has now condensed one hundred and thirty-four drops of Spirit Liquid. The condensation speed has already fallen substantially compared to before, but there is still a long way to go before Condensing Liquid into Line."

The sign of a One-Star Spiritual Apprentice was gathering qi and transforming it into liquid, while the sign of a Two-Star Spiritual Apprentice was Condensing Liquid into Line.

The two were linked by a quantitative change that triggered a qualitative change.

The Spirit Sea seemed boundless, but in reality, it could only store a limited amount of Spirit Liquid. Every person's constitution was different, and so was the amount of Spirit Liquid they could store, ranging from one hundred to one thousand drops.

Having little Spirit Liquid didn't mean one had poor talent, and having a lot didn't count as exceptional talent either.

That was because after Condensing Liquid into Line, what determined the strength of one's Spiritual Power was the energy lines. They had long surpassed the level of relying on sheer quantity to pile up power.

What determined a Spiritual Apprentice's strength was the energy circuits that the energy lines could form—rings!

Of course,

For Duke, the more Spirit Liquid he condensed now, the longer he could use the One-Ring Desert Eagle and the more shots he could fire. His ability to preserve his life would grow stronger as well.