Brocade Dragon Chamber of Commerce

Jiang Ding wore a longsword at his waist as he walked along the bustling street.

The unexplained disappearance of a few beggar children had caused no impact on Eastern Spirit City. On the contrary, ever since the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce had contacted various powers to launch the mountain-opening operation in Eastspirit Mountain, vast quantities of herbs, rare beasts, and other goods had been sent back every day.

Herbal medicines, beast meat, and other goods had all dropped in price to varying degrees, making the market increasingly prosperous and lively.

Blacksmith shops, clinics, teahouses, brothels, and other trades that had once struggled to stay afloat now had a constant stream of customers, earning fortunes.

Idle men who had once gone hungry whenever no one hired them suddenly found all sorts of work—hauling goods, assisting others, manual labor. The bolder ones entered the mountains to hunt beasts and catch butterflies, and the pay was higher than before.

Under such circumstances, occasional news of someone dying in Eastspirit Mountain could not stir even the slightest ripple.

Perhaps this is one form of investment-driven economic growth...

Jiang Ding seemed to gain some insight as he recalled something from his textbooks.

He had only invested the equivalent of fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver, yet through the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce leveraging its influence, it had created an economic storm sweeping across the areas surrounding Eastspirit Prefecture, far exceeding the purchasing limits of fifty or sixty thousand taels.

As he passed the splendid Brocade Dragon Chamber of Commerce, the foremost chamber of commerce in Eastspirit Prefecture, he noticed that it had become much quieter.

The noisy scene of people constantly coming and going was gone. It took a long while for a single customer to appear.

The groups of well-dressed attendants and maidservants, their faces perpetually wearing properly enthusiastic smiles, had become mere decorations. There were far more of them than customers.

The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce understood well that one should not keep all the profits for oneself.

Taking advantage of the opening of Eastspirit Mountain, it shared profits with the major powers in the city. The precious herbs, minerals, rare beasts, and other gains obtained during the operation were divided according to each party's power and investment, so everyone benefited.

With goodwill established, they naturally chose the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce first when conducting business, and its trade flourished by the day.

"Seven Profound Martial Arts Hall!"

In contrast, a large residence nearby whose former purpose had been unknown had now become the main hall of the Seven Profound Martial Arts Hall. The people coming and going were all energetic young men and women.

They were all young talents sent up from branch halls throughout Eastspirit Prefecture. It was said that in little more than a month, several youths with outstanding aptitude had ascended Seven Profound Mountain and become disciples of Zhang Ziteng, the acting sect master of the Seven Profound Sect, the Iron Sword of the Goshawk. It was truly a single step to the heavens.

Perhaps in the real world, evil and beauty are destined to coexist.

Just like the yin and yang of all things.

Jiang Ding watched the jubilant people around him, their hearts filled with hope for the future, then compared them to the beggar children on Rotten Plank Street who had nearly been abducted, and thought this to himself.

A faint insight stirred in his heart, and even the circulation speed of his inner force seemed to increase slightly.

Over the past month, he had never slackened in his arduous training. He had opened more than six hundred additional tiny branches of the Twelve Primary Meridians, bringing his total opened meridians to over seven hundred and twenty. At most another month would be needed to complete the twelve hundred required for the "Lesser Heavenly Circuit" realm.

The Minor Breath-Concealing Technique had reached proficient (68%), while both the Vajra Seal and Thousand-Thread Guidance had reached the minor accomplishment stage.

Only his foundational cultivation method, Fledgling Eagle Takes Flight Sword Art, had reached minor accomplishment (99%) half a month ago and could not break through any further.

Books also described this sort of cultivation bottleneck. It stemmed from young martial artists having insufficient understanding of the martial and immortal paths. They needed to study more, gain a thorough understanding, or experience more different things. Perhaps then, they would suddenly understand.

Many people remained before such a bottleneck for their entire lives.

Jiang Chaoyang was one such example. Nearing fifty, his Young Eagle Takes Flight Formula had only reached the proficient level, trapped firmly by the bottleneck for decades.

Maintaining the Minor Breath-Concealing Technique deliberately, Jiang Ding pondered various martial arts questions. Before he knew it, he had wandered to the entrance of the small shop.

"Who's this big shot?"

"Hurry it up. We still need to buy rice and rush back to the village..."

Jiang Ding looked up, and his brow could not help but furrow.

The entrance to the small shop, which had seen an unbroken stream of people delivering unknown specimens these past days, was blocked by a group of sturdy servants dressed in silk.

Every one of them was full of vitality and wore an arrogant expression. Several even carried the aura of inner qi.

Large numbers of herb gatherers and mountain villagers had been blocked outside, not daring to advance an inch. Some had grown tired of waiting and left on their own.

Judging from their restless expressions, they had been waiting for quite some time.

Displeased, Jiang Ding walked toward the entrance.

He had always had a good temper.

He did not care even if Huang Deyou or Long Shi offended him. So long as they did not obstruct his continued cultivation, he would leave them alone. Mistakes could be corrected, and differing views could be reconciled.

But they could not affect his cultivation!

Library points were extremely important to him. No one could create the slightest obstruction to this matter for any reason!

"Young Master, please forgive us."

The two servants guarding the entrance both clearly possessed the aura of the inner qi realm. Seeing Jiang Ding approach, they cupped their fists. "My master is discussing important matters with the shopkeeper. Please wait a moment, or return another day."

Jiang Ding placed a hand on his sword hilt and said flatly, "Move aside."

The two inner qi realm servants were about to say something, but a chill rose in their hearts. They no longer dared to stop him and allowed him to enter.

"Young Master Jiang!"

A steward by the side door jolted. Suddenly recalling something, he finally recognized Jiang Ding and hurried over in small steps, wearing a fawning smile. "My master is Ding Feng of the Brocade Dragon Chamber of Commerce. He has been waiting for you for quite some time."

His words were humble, yet a trace of pride still involuntarily showed through.

The Brocade Dragon Chamber of Commerce was the foremost chamber of commerce in Eastspirit Prefecture. Its master, Ding Feng, known as Spring Breeze Hand, was a renowned hero throughout Eastspirit Prefecture. He most enjoyed making all kinds of friends in the martial world and was on good terms with major figures such as the Brotherhood Gang's leader and the Dragon-Tiger Martial Hall's master.

A chamber of commerce like the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce was merely a modestly sized one in Eastspirit Prefecture.

"Hahaha!"

A burst of hearty laughter came from inside.

"I had long heard that Eastspirit Prefecture had gained another outstanding talent. Ding Feng came uninvited; I hope you will forgive me, Young Master."

A tall, stout fat man wearing a brocade robe embroidered with golden toads heard the commotion and hurried out from inside. From afar, he gave Jiang Ding a deep bow.

Jiang Ding ignored him and swept his gaze around the room.

The original counter and square stools had been moved somewhere unknown. In the center of the front hall stood an expensive redwood Eight Immortals table draped in brocade, with incense burning around it. At some point, silk curtains had been added to the windows.

Fragrant tea curled from the Eight Immortals table, invigorating the spirit upon a whiff. It was far superior to the inferior tea Jiang Ding had previously served Long San.

A shabby, cramped little general store had been arranged to resemble the parlor of a wealthy household.

Huang Deyou hid in a corner like a quail.

Jiang Ding stared at the tall, stout fat man before him, glanced at the two iron balls turning in his hand, and asked expressionlessly, "Shopkeeper Ding, is this your home or mine?"

He could not appreciate this decorating style.

More importantly, this style had not considered practicality at all. It had completely discarded the general store's original functions, and restoring it would take time.

Many specimens would be lost because of this.

"Young Master Jiang, we merely tidied the place a little..."

Ding Feng froze. In his view, this was roughly equivalent to using a broom to tidy a host's home when visiting while the host was away.

One had to know that the Eight Immortals table and silk curtains were all extremely valuable. It was equivalent to gifting several dozen taels of silver for doing nothing at all.

This was how Spring Breeze Hand, the timely rain of the martial world, had earned his reputation.

There was no other reason.

It was simply throwing money around—throwing money at people the moment they met. The cruder, more direct, and more vulgar it was, the better. The more it was done this way, the more his brothers liked it.

"Young Master, please forgive me!"

Seeing the concealed anger in Jiang Ding's eyes, Ding Feng suddenly understood and revealed a guilty expression. "Ding has grown used to associating with friends from the common streets. This was Ding's mistake."

He bowed deeply.

"Ding has done wrong. Please punish me."

"It's fine."

Jiang Ding found a place to sit, suppressing his emotions. He gained a new understanding of those who had earned a name for themselves in the martial world—they could be as yielding or as forceful as water.

But he had no time to waste and let specimens be lost.

"Shopkeeper Ding, what brings you here?"