Hong Hua instinctively glanced at Wang Tianyuan.
Compared to this big lug, wasn't her job a little too easy?
Although she did not understand why Gao Shang wanted Sun Meng, an ordinary person, to study Soul Master knowledge and combat techniques, these tasks would only take time at most. They could hardly be called tiring.
"Nothing else for now."
Gao Shang nodded.
"Once you no longer need to handle this work, I'll arrange something new for you."
Hong Hua and Wang Tianyuan exchanged a glance, then rose together and cupped their fists.
"Thank you, boss."
Each sounded more sincere than the other as they voiced their thanks.
Wang Tianyuan in particular felt that ever since Gao Shang had beaten him up, life had offered more and more to look forward to.
Gao Shang nodded slightly, then rose and headed toward the front hall.
Although last night's Polar Ice Phosphorus Shrimp had worked well, a whole night had passed, after all. To sustain his upcoming training, he still needed something for breakfast that would replenish his Qi and blood.
At the same time, he needed to tell Sun Meng about his plans.
If he wanted to establish himself in this world, he could not rely on himself alone.
Sun Meng was one of the people he had chosen for his core team.
Over the next dozen or so days, Gao Shang's life gradually settled into a routine.
Every day, he spent four hours practicing Taijutsu and saber techniques, four hours cultivating, and four hours practicing Ninjutsu.
He trained for twelve hours a day. If meditation could not replace sleep, Gao Shang felt he might genuinely have been unable to bear it.
Still, hard as it was, the rewards were considerable.
As for Taijutsu and saber techniques, his close-quarters combat had originally relied almost entirely on brute strength. In terms of technique, he could not compare to Wang Tianyuan at all.
But with the help of a complete system of moves and extensive training, Gao Shang could now exchange blows with Wang Tianyuan for quite some time without even activating his Sharingan.
This made him marvel once again at just how great a difference having a teacher's guidance could make.
As for Ninjutsu, after a dozen or so days of effort, he had gained a basic grasp of two C-rank Ninjutsu.
They were "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique" and "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu."
One of these two Ninjutsu involved spitting out a large fireball, while the other involved spitting out multiple small fireballs, so they had quite a few things in common.
However, he had only just gained a basic grasp of them, and his proficiency was still very low.
Forming the hand seals alone took three or four seconds, so he could not use them in actual combat yet.
He had also tried casting Ninjutsu without seals, but without hand gestures to guide him, activating the Ninjutsu only took longer.
Finally, there was his Soul Power.
Thanks to the abundant essence contained in the thousand-year Tyrant Dragon fossil, Gao Shang had already reached rank twelve when he first broke through to become a Soul Master, leaving him just one step away from rank thirteen.
Now, after half a month of cultivation, he had finally crossed that bottleneck and successfully reached rank thirteen.
Not only could he last longer, but his rank had also officially caught up with Tang San's in the original story.
Barring any surprises, by the time Tang San absorbed a Soul Ring and broke through to rank thirteen, he would be at least rank fourteen.
"Young master, there's someone outside who calls himself Zhao Gang asking to see you."
Just as Gao Shang finished today's combat training and was about to rest for a while, a maid knocked on the courtyard gate.
"Zhao Gang? Is it already the day we agreed on?"
Gao Shang did a quick calculation and realized that exactly fifteen days had passed since his first visit to Zhao Gang's medicine shop.
The high-intensity training during this period had made him lose track of time.
"Take Uncle Zhao to the front hall first. I'll be right there."
"Yes."
The maid's footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Gao Shang washed his face and quickly changed his clothes before heading toward the front hall.
He no longer lived in that small courtyard from before, but in a large residence he had purchased for over a thousand Gold Soul Coins.
The residence not only had separate courtyards, but even came with an ornamental rockery and a pond.
For that very reason, he had bought some more servants to handle the residence's daily cleaning and miscellaneous chores.
A few minutes later, Gao Shang met Zhao Gang, who had already been waiting for quite some time.
Zhao Gang still wore a stunned expression as he enviously surveyed the various decorations in the front hall.
In fact, he had gone to the milk tea shop early that morning to look for Gao Shang, only to learn upon arriving that it had been closed for a week.
That had given him quite a fright. He had even thought Gao Shang had swindled him and run off.
Fortunately, while returning to his medicine shop, he had run into Su Yuntao, who was accompanying Sisi as she shopped.
Only after asking him about it did he learn that Gao Shang had actually moved here.
"Uncle Zhao, I'm terribly sorry. I was so busy with the move that I forgot to let you know."
Gao Shang offered a polite apology as soon as he entered.
Although the matter with Zhou Qi had left him somewhat dissatisfied with Zhao Gang, since Zhao Gang had leaked information about him, after all.
Gao Shang also understood that Zhao Gang was only an ordinary person. If a Soul Master really wanted to get something out of him, it would hardly be difficult, so he had no intention of pursuing the matter.
"Little... Young Master Gao, you must be joking."
Zhao Gang had instinctively wanted to call him "Little Gao," but swallowed the words just as they reached his lips.
He knew very well that the gap in their status was growing ever wider. Continuing to presume familiarity would only make things awkward for both of them.
"I didn't even bring a gift to celebrate your move. I'm the one who's been discourteous."
"It was just a simple move. There's no need for a gift."
Gao Shang did not correct his form of address, and his tone remained very even.
Their relationship had always been a business one. They could hardly be called close.
Besides, Zhao Gang keeping a certain distance from him might not be a bad thing. At least he would not be targeted by certain people who had designs on Gao Shang.
"But since you've come today, Uncle Zhao, have you finished purchasing the whale rubber?"
Gao Shang did not continue exchanging pleasantries, instead asking directly about business.
"I haven't let you down."
"I can't speak for anything else, but at least all the thousand-year whale rubber in Nuoding City should be in my hands now."
When the subject turned to whale rubber, a look of delight finally appeared on Zhao Gang's face. Once this deal was completed, he would be able to buy his son a residence just as grand as this one.
"All right, let's count the goods, then."
Gao Shang nodded, his gaze falling on the large sack beside Zhao Gang's feet.
Zhao Gang did not have a Storage Soul Tool, so the sack most likely contained whale rubber.
Sure enough, upon hearing Gao Shang get straight to the point, Zhao Gang immediately opened the sack and took out a large wooden box.
"Young Master Gao, this box contains thousand-year whale rubber. Fourteen pieces in total."
He paused, then added:
"Since a few of the pieces were purchased from noble lords, the total cost came to six thousand seven hundred Gold Soul Coins."
"Fourteen pieces!"
Hearing that number, Gao Shang could no longer remain calm.
A single piece had earned him over twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins back then. How much would fourteen pieces be worth?
As for the cost of purchasing the whale rubber and Zhao Gang's commission, he did not take them to heart at all. He wished Zhao Gang could earn even more.
Zhao Gang could see that Gao Shang was somewhat excited, but he did not bring up payment. Instead, he picked up the sack again and handed it over.
"This contains a hundred and eighty pieces of hundred-year whale rubber."
"Some medicine shops insisted on keeping a few pieces no matter what, so the quantity is a little lower. The total cost was seven thousand five hundred Gold Soul Coins."
After stating the price, Zhao Gang said nothing more.
His gaze simply remained fixed on Gao Shang, carrying a trace of unease he could barely conceal, and he seemed unable to sit or stand at ease.
When ordinary people did business with Soul Masters, especially transactions this large, their greatest fear was that the Soul Master would refuse to pay.
If Gao Shang really refused to honor the deal, Zhao Gang would not only lose the family fortune accumulated over several generations, but also be saddled with an enormous debt.
It could be said that this time, he had staked everything he owned.
His life or death depended entirely on whether Gao Shang would act honorably.