Quake the Crowd

At the city gate, two guards lounged against the wall, yawning.

Suddenly, Zhou Qiubai entered their line of sight. One of the guards gave him a bored glance and casually waved his hand. "Hey, kid, one Soul Copper Coin for entry."

Zhou Qiubai fished out a copper coin from his money pouch and handed it over.

The guard took the coin and weighed it in his hand. Just as he was about to let him through, his gaze was suddenly drawn to the White Clothes Sword at Zhou Qiubai's waist.

"Wait!" The other guard stared at the sword hilt, his face full of confusion. "What is that? A Martial Soul?"

Zhou Qiubai nodded.

The guards exchanged glances, a flicker of understanding passing through their eyes. They did not stop him any further.

There were all sorts of strange Martial Souls. Some could only fart. Why bother caring about something like this?

If the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up.

"Go on in." The guard waved lazily, leaning back against the wall and yawning.

Zhou Qiubai nodded and strode through the city gate.

Behind him, the two guards lowered their voices and began chatting. Their voices seemed especially clear in the warm summer afternoon:

"That sword's really nice. It looks like jade."

"What's the use of looking good? Martial Souls aren't for decoration. My third uncle's kid mutated a Martial Soul that looked like a pure gold staff, but his Innate Soul Power was only half a level. He's still farming at home now."

"True..."

Suotuo City was far livelier than he had imagined.

Zhou Qiubai picked up his pace and blended into the crowd.

There was a Seven Treasure Goods Firm in the eastern part of the city. One could tell whose business it was just from the name.

He entered the firm. Behind the counter, an old shopkeeper with a goatee was intently working his abacus.

Hearing footsteps, the old shopkeeper looked up and adjusted the crystal lenses on the bridge of his nose, his gaze carrying a hint of shrewdness.

"What business can I help you with, customer?" he asked, his voice low but friendly.

"Exchanging money." Zhou Qiubai took a small cloth pouch from his clothes and gently placed it on the counter.

The pouch contained over a dozen fairly good Spirit Beast hides. Clearly, when he had exchanged money in Soul Hunting Town a few days ago, he had secretly held some back for himself.

The old shopkeeper opened the pouch and carefully examined them.

"These are... ice-attributed, ten-year Spirit Beast hides, of average quality. Market price is eight Gold Soul Coins each." The old shopkeeper set down a crystal core and continued calculating. "There are twelve in total, ninety-six Gold Soul Coins altogether. Would you like cash or a deposit note?"

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect operated throughout the continent, so naturally it also offered deposit services.

Anyone without a storage Soul Tool knew better than to flaunt their wealth, so the merchant guilds under the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had specifically introduced the Douluo Continent version of a "bank."

For example, if you deposited money in Suotuo City, you could withdraw it in Heaven Dou City as long as you retained the record.

But the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could not possibly work for free, so...

There was a handling fee.

"Cash."

That was why Zhou Qiubai answered as he did.

Even if the handling fee was only one Soul Copper Coin, it was still money.

The old shopkeeper nodded, took out a money pouch from beneath the counter, and counted out ninety-six Gold Soul Coins.

Zhou Qiubai accepted it and weighed it in his hand. Feeling its satisfying heaviness, he was very pleased.

"Also." He took out a small jade bottle from his clothes and placed it on the counter. "Do you buy this?"

The old shopkeeper removed the stopper and gave it a light sniff. His eyes immediately lit up. "This is... plant Spirit Beast sap?"

He carefully poured a drop into his palm. The liquid rolled about, giving off a crisp bamboo fragrance. "The quality is very high. How much does the customer wish to sell?"

"You name the price." Zhou Qiubai spoke, his heart full of anticipation.

The old shopkeeper pondered for a moment, a merchant's shrewdness appearing on his face. "Plant Spirit Beast sap of this quality is exceedingly scarce on the market. If sold by the drop, it would fetch at least five Gold Soul Coins per drop. There are around thirty drops in this bottle, making it one hundred and fifty Gold Soul Coins in total, but..."

He paused, his eyes gleaming. "If the customer does not urgently need money, I suggest taking it to the Auction House. Tomorrow night, Suotuo Auction House will hold a Soul Master-exclusive auction. Treasures like this fetching two hundred Gold Soul Coins would not be unusual."

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Qiubai nodded in agreement. "Then I'll trouble the shopkeeper to put it up for auction."

"Not a problem." The old shopkeeper beamed. "We cooperate with the Auction House. Consignment sales only charge a ten percent commission. Just leave your name, and after the auction, you can collect the money with your receipt."

"Zhou Qiubai," he answered simply.

The old shopkeeper promptly took out a wooden plaque, deftly carved Zhou Qiubai's name and a number into it, then handed it over. "Keep this receipt safe. The auction begins tomorrow evening. If you are interested, you may come watch as well."

Zhou Qiubai accepted the wooden plaque and turned to leave.

When he walked out of the firm, his money pouch held ninety-six more Gold Soul Coins, while he had one less bottle of Bamboo King sap in his clothes. Still, it was quite a worthwhile transaction.

He had two bottles. Selling one diluted bottle for starting capital while keeping the other for himself made him quietly pleased.

Next, it was time to collect money from Spirit Hall.

The Spirit Hall branch in Suotuo City was located in the city center.

The Balak Kingdom was relatively close to Spirit Hall, and as one of the kingdom's two most renowned major cities, Suotuo City's Spirit Hall naturally occupied an excellent location.

Zhou Qiubai entered through the main doors and saw a line of more than a dozen people in the hall.

Most were parents bringing their children to awaken their Martial Souls, while several young Soul Masters were handling rank certification.

He went to queue at a window marked "Soul Master Affairs."

Ahead of him was a young man dressed in a gray martial outfit, arguing with the staff member behind the window.

"I was already level twenty-one last month. Why hasn't my subsidy been issued yet?" the young man asked, his voice full of dissatisfaction.

The staff member was a woman in her twenties. Her expression remained calm. "The records show that you collected a subsidy in Sading City last month. According to the rules, you cannot collect it twice in the same month."

"But I moved to Suotuo City!"

"Then you will need a transfer certificate issued by the Spirit Hall of your original residence." The woman tapped the file on the desk. "Without proof, it cannot be processed."

The young man's face reddened with anger, but he did not dare cause trouble in Spirit Hall. In the end, he could only leave while muttering curses.

When it was Zhou Qiubai's turn, the woman asked without looking up, "What business are you here for?"

"Rank certification and subsidy collection," he answered firmly.

"Name, age, Martial Soul, current rank." The woman's tone remained cold.

"Zhou Qiubai, sixteen years old, sword, level twenty-one Soul Grandmaster." He gave his information.

Only then did the woman raise her head. Her gaze swept over Zhou Qiubai, seemingly assessing his potential.

A sixteen-year-old Soul Grandmaster was not outstanding, but it was still fairly good.

His looks...

Were decent too.

"Release your Martial Soul and Soul Rings to confirm your rank," she said in an official tone.

She saw so many people every day. It was not as though she had never seen people more talented than Zhou Qiubai.

Zhou Qiubai directly drew the White Clothes Sword. At the same time, two Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet.

One yellow, one purple.