Make a Little Money, Find a Backer First

Though Little Gold controlled his strength very well, that slap still carried plenty of intimidation. It smacked Xiao Yan senseless, and waves of pain spread through him as if his whole body had been beaten apart.

Right after that, Xiao Yan clearly saw the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear opposite him reveal a humanlike look of contempt.

Too weak...

Xiao Yan: "..."

He had wanted to grumble a couple of lines, but then he saw that he was already outside the Assessment area—out of bounds.

Aggrieved, he swallowed his resentment back down and slowly walked back to the Rest Area. Whether he had passed the Assessment was still another matter.

Several young girls gathered around him, and their concerned voices finally made Xiao Yan feel a little better.

"Old Gong, this... does it count as a pass?"

Many of the Assessment teachers looked troubled. Old Gong had said that as long as Xiao Yan could last one minute, he would count as having passed, but he probably had not even lasted five seconds.

But if they did not let him pass, they had been the ones to violate the rules first. Letting in a Soul Beast comparable to a ten-thousand-year one was already against the Assessment standards.

"Let him pass. Those fourth-year brats weren't much better than him when a whole group of Soul Ancestors faced Little Gold," Old Gong said, waving his hand indifferently.

He had wanted to teach this kid a lesson. Why bother blocking him at the Assessment?

"Base score, one hundred. Combat technique... twenty-five, I guess."

Old Gong smacked his lips and said.

"Then I'll give one hundred twenty-five too."

"One hundred thirty."

"One hundred thirty-four."

"..."

As the teachers spoke one after another, they arrived at the final score—one hundred thirty-one points. (Dai Huabin: one hundred forty-five, full base score, forty-five in combat technique.)

This child's fighting spirit was not weak. He even dared to charge head-on at a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear. Unfortunately, he had been beaten so badly he could barely recognize his own parents.

As the result was announced.

Xiao Yan let out a breath of relief, but at the same time, he felt gloomy. He had clearly been thinking of proving himself by killing a beast. The thrill of tearing apart a Soul Beast with his bare hands and using Blood Explosion was simply too satisfying, and he could pick up some popularity along the way. Could it be that his thoughts had been seen through?

He had been trapped in a scheme by hateful capital. It hurt...

"You want to go up and give it a try?" Old Gong asked with a chuckle.

"It's not my Assessment," Su Wen said with a shrug.

"Remember, old man. Half a month of food expenses for three Pet Beasts."

The later matches were not very interesting.

Most of them were Soul Beasts of three or four hundred years, and the fighting methods were even more boring—wars of attrition. Among nearly a hundred people, someone like Xiao Yan, who dared to charge straight in, was quite rare.

Su Wen waved his hand and turned to leave.

"Don't worry. My Great Spirit Arena isn't short of this bit of feed from you," Old Gong snorted twice.

"Since you're being so generous, old man, why not cover the next few decades while you're at it?" Su Wen teased.

"Hmph, hmph~" Old Gong stopped talking and focused on watching the Assessment.

Sea God Island.

Inside the Golden Treehouse.

Su Wen sat cross-legged on the bed, playing with the Black Gold Card Yan Shaozhe had given him earlier, a pensive look on his face.

There was no other reason... he was poor.

There were still more than two million Gold Soul Coins left in the card. That amount was enough for an ordinary family of three to live a life of luxury for the rest of their lives, but for his three money-devouring beasts, it would probably only last a year or two.

Actually, he could also reach out to the academy for money. After all, the fact that he could live on Sea God Island already said a lot. For example, with Old Lin of the Treasure Pavilion, as long as he asked, an endless stream of funds would flow to him. But he was still more willing to find a little amusement for his dull, tedious life.

Although he had already made up his mind that once these fellows grew a little stronger, he would throw them into the Star Dou Great Forest, or the neighboring Sunset Forest, for now, at least, he still had to keep them by his side.

"Make some money?"

Su Wen pondered.

If one were to name the most popular money-making tools for transmigrators in other worlds, they would be daily necessities like soap and paper. But that simply would not work on the Douluo Continent. With the spread of Soul Tools, this world, aside from being somewhat more Western-fantasy in style, was not that different from his previous life.

Then only food remained...

Su Wen's eyes lit up.

Milk tea and ice cream, things that had taken the world by storm in his previous life, naturally felt nothing special once one was used to them. But if they were moved to another world... perhaps they could stir up a little splash. The food culture of the Douluo Continent was a blend of Chinese and Western, but it was fairly traditional. Even drinks were quite rare, and people seemed rather indifferent to satisfying their appetites.

He had never encountered anything like ice cream at all.

"How about... giving it a try?"

Something made by mixing egg yolks and white sugar had some technical content, but not much. In the end, he should be able to experiment it out. As for various flavors of ice cream (milk tea), it was nothing more than building on that base and pairing it with all kinds of fruits.

If he was going to do it, he might as well just do it. At worst, he would be finding himself something fun to play with.

Su Wen smacked his lips.

"Well now, what an honored guest. What brings you to this old woman's Treasure Pavilion? Short on money?"

Top floor of Treasure Pavilion.

Su Wen sat facing an old woman dressed in white. The latter wore a luxurious robe patterned in pale-green lines, displaying the imposing style of Treasure Pavilion rather well. Her expression was warm, and she chuckled softly at Su Wen.

"Please don't tease me, Senior. I really am short on money."

Su Wen calmly took a sip of tea. It was bitter and astringent. Without a change in expression, he set the teacup down.

Seeing this, the pretty maid behind the old woman covered her mouth and giggled.

Su Wen sighed carelessly.

"But I'm not here to borrow money."

"Oh?" A trace of surprise flashed through the old woman's eyes. She had been keeping an eye on Su Wen all along, but this little fellow clearly knew that Treasure Pavilion was Shrek Academy's deep pocket. Almost most of its funds were circulated here, controlling seventy to eighty percent of the entire academy's cash flow. Forget a few million—even tens of millions could be taken out to help him in an emergency.

And his Soul Beast could practically be called a gold-eating beast. Even Gong Changlong's Great Spirit Arena could not afford to raise it. If this little fellow was not here to borrow money, then what was he up to?

"I'd like to ask you for a plot of land in Shrek City. The higher the foot traffic, the better," Su Wen continued.

"You want to make money yourself?" The old woman revealed a look of realization and smiled.

It would be good to let this child run into a few walls.

"Shrek City has a population of over ten million. Merchants of all kinds come from every corner of the world, and all the major top powers have a presence here. The entire city's daily cash flow reaches tens of millions of Gold Soul Coins. But whether you can earn that money into your own pocket... that is not such an easy thing." The old woman smiled.

However, she did not try to dissuade him. Her tone was gentle as she said, "Wen Lu, as it happens, a shop contract on Shrek East City Third Avenue is about to expire. Do not renew it. Notify them clearly to move out on time within three days, or they will bear the consequences."

"Yes..."

A young girl behind the old woman bowed slightly, then turned and left.

A smile appeared on Su Wen's face.

Shrek East City was where Treasure Pavilion was located. Because it was near Shrek Academy, the surrounding streets were all occupied by branches of renowned merchant firms from across the continent, and the foot traffic could only be described as terrifying.

"All right, I've given you the place. May this old woman ask what kind of business you want to do?" Old Lin asked with a chuckle.

"Drinks!"

Su Wen subconsciously took another sip of tea, and it was so bitter that his face twisted.

He really was not used to drinking this stuff. Of course, maybe he just was not old enough yet...