The Strongest Businessman

After listening to the cultivation realms above Spirit Gathering and Mystical Magnate, Jack and the rest of the first group spoke the rules and regulations that they were able to know during their tasks. Dylan and the rest were able to little by little got to know the nature, the characteristics and the lifestyle of the people living in the Thunder Clouds City.

Then, Scott discussed about the current business trends of the city which are fashion, pill refinement, weapon-making, and trade/auction. He also enumerated the current business ranking of the all well-known business establishments within the city.

Everyone listened attentively to what the first group reported and by the end of the discussion, they were able to gain a great amount of understanding about the city. In this city, they were nothing but small fries as almost everyone here has already reached the Awakened Spirit Realm and Origin Palace Realm practitioners can be seen almost anywhere!

After learning a great deal of knowledge about the city, Dylan's employees started to work and train harder than they used to be. Clearly, what they discovered this day became the thing that will drive them in order to strive to be stronger than they were!

Dylan was thinking of what business to do while he was observing his employees. He began to organize his thoughts and formulated a step by step plan.

'My first priority is to create a business that will enable me to gain at least 1000 gold coins a day because I will need the money and the Primal Stones I am going to gain for the next step of my plans. The next is that I also need to buy books and learning materials for me to read before taking the examination. If my assumptions are right, then the intellectual part of the test is the knowledge of the person in the history and culture of the Thunder Cloud City as well as the nature of cultivation. The next is that for me to secure myself passing that Strength test I need to be able to advance to the Awakened Spirit Realm.' Dylan carefully devised a plan.

'According to the real estate agent, I only have two weeks to prepare. I can use the first week to build up my business until it's stable enough to earn 1000 gold coins and the last week to prepare myself for the Nobility Test. But I'm still not sure what type of business I should create. I have enough money to build a small business but I'm still not sure what particular business.' Dylan felt that he encountered a predicament. He thought hard on what business he should do.

Dylan accounted and considered many variables already. He can buy a small store but he does not have supplies to use as commodity. He knew that the people here have little interest in food because almost every human in the city is already at the Awakened Spirit Realm and once a cultivator reached the Awakened Spirit Realm, he can withstand passing meals for a week​ by using spirit energy as his nourishment. Although there are some who still likes to eat for the sake of pleasure and enjoyment, that's​ only a small group of customers and it would not sustain his needs. Thus, he needed to find a supply of goods fast.

'Oh, right. I have yet to use the 18 Centurial Stones because! According to the manual, I need to be able to have a set of 250 spirit veins before cultivating the Ancestral Veins System but *sigh*, it's such a pity that the spirit veins I gain from the Centurial Stones is useless unless I cultivate the Ancestral Veins System. I'll worry about business after acquiring the veins.' Dylan sighed in his heart as he entered his mindscape.

Dylan approached the gates and saw the Centurial Stones and started cultivating them. After​ 3 hours of cultivation, Dylan was able to successfully integrate his Centurial Stones in his body. Currently, he now has 33 additional spirit veins from his Spirit Veins System.

Dylan began to inspect other types of rewards because Dylan wasn't able to receive a reward for killing his first ever opponent, Andrew and after killing hundreds of bandits during their travels. Dylan inspected carefully but he was unable to sight anything. Although it was a bit disappointing, he was not really depressed because he knew that he should not be dependent on the mansion all the time.

The one thing he did not receive in the mansion was Techniques. Thus, this became his weakness that was easily exploited by Andrew and if it weren't for the Waning Moon Sword and the Shield of Dusk, he would be the one dead by now.

He also thought it through that maybe the reason that his master did not award him with battle techniques or any type of techniques was for him to not be overly reliant on the Cosmic God Mansion.

Dylan's only weakness in the past was his Low Spirit Rank Techniques but now he was able to cultivate Mid level Spirit Rank Techniques which greatly increased his strength.

He practiced the Mid level Spirit Rank Battle Technique- "Tiger Slaying Fist" to the Minor Accomplishment Mastery already and for his Movement Technique, he practiced a technique similar to the Four Soft Steps in nature called Seven Crane Dances to the Minor Accomplishment Mastery as well. His Secret Technique called the [Tiger and Crane] was somewhat lagged as he only cultivated it to the Novice Mastery.

This was only possible because of the training program he had with his employees and his own comprehension that his employees deemed as amazing. Most of his employees were still at the Novice Mastery and only a little was able to reach the peak of the Novice Mastery.

Dylan began to look at the mansion. He thought back to the time he was begging the mansion to help him but it did not reply. It simply stood majestically despite it's successor being pummeled and crippled to death without even giving any help.

Dylan still held a bit of a grudge to the mansion for not helping him. Based on what Dylan read in novels, he thought that being a God-level treasure the mansion must already have gained sentience and have cultivated to an unimaginable level! It could have lended just a slight help because it​ possessed tremendous strength that with just a slight help it could have turned the tables around but it did not.

Dylan gritted his teeth and tightened his fist as he looked hatefully at the mansion. If only it helped, then Leila and Frank wouldn't have died or Scarlet wouldn't have been taken away.

A moment later, Dylan calmed himself down and cleared his mind. He was then able to think properly that it is highly possible that the mansion did not help to prevent it from being discovered because if it did the state or even worse the whole country might have learned of its existence. If that happened, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

After that he sighed and accepted what just happened, Dylan just stood there and appreciated the view of the majestic and beautiful mansion of his master. It was truly a sight to marvel about.

Suddenly, Dylan saw something that shocked him greatly.

"It can't be, can it?" Dylan was dumbfounded. He immediately got out of his mindscape and had Tom buy something. Tom was a bit shocked when Dylan suddenly called him just to buy something but he still obeyed.

After half an hour, Tom arrived and gave the thing that Dylan asked him to buy.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Tom. You can continue training now." Dylan calmly said with a smile.

"No problem, sir Dylan." Tom replied.

After Dylan left, the employees were curious about what Tom bought and approached him to ask him what item Dylan asked him to buy so urgently.

"Tom, what did sir Dylan ask you to buy?" Ronald asked.

"Yeah, Tom, what was it?" Scott joined in the conversation.

"Was it a weapon?" Allanas asked.

"Was it a treasure or an artifact?" Beverly inquired as well.

"Was it something like a Technique?" Arnold questioned.

"Well, it was not anything like that." Tom scratched his head when he answered.

"What was it then?" The employees were anticipating what type of item did their boss ask Tom to buy. Their eyes and ears were attentively focused to Tom's answer.

Tom felt slightly uncomfortable by being stared by by his friends. Since it came to this, he could only say the truth.

"It was a... book about herbs." Tom spoke shyly.

"What​!?!" The rest of the email were completely shocked. What was their boss' planning to do with herbs?

Inside Dylan's mindscape...

"I can't believe this... Sky Spirit Grass, Blueheart Lotus, Silverdust Flowers, Dawnheart lotus... All of this are High Spirit Rank Herbs and Low Earth Rank spirit herbs... But they are just weeds in the Cosmic God Mansion!?" Dylan was in for a total shock. He was trembling in shock when he saw the diversity of High Spirit Rank Herbs and Low Earth Rank Herbs that were near the mansion gates.

After several minutes of reading the herbal book that Tom bought, Dylan was able to successfully keep all the herbs enlisted in the book to his mind thanks to his nearly photographic memory. He was able to find almost everything​ inside the book within the grounds near the mansion gates.

"Heavenly 8-leafed Lotus! Solarburst Chrysanthemum! Goldeneye​ fruit! Dragon Scaled Vines! These are High Earth Rank Herbs!! How can they just be weeds in this garden?" Dylan was still utterly dumbfounded because he knew the rarity and the amazing medicinal properties of this herbs.

Many people would kill at the sight of a single one of them but Dylan saw that there were multiple herbs of each rank within this garden. If people knew what Dylan had in his possession, they would cut open his mind, take control of his body, or coerce him to surrender these herbs by torture.

Dylan wasn't able to realize it before because he was too focused on his cultivation and business and most of the herbs that he knows are all Low to Mid Spirit Rank Herbs because of his Herbal Shop back at the Soaring Cloud City but these herbs that he saw astounded him because the most lowest ranking herb in this garden is a High Spirit Rank Herbs!

If it weren't for Dylan spotting a High class Herbal Shop while walking, he wouldn't have recognized these herbs and he wouldn't have ordered Tom to buy a herbal book for him.

When he moved passed that Herbal Shop, he was quite intrigued about the herbs on sale and he only skimmed through the herbs but he was able to remember their appearances. With the herbs' appearances in mind, Dylan was able to recognize them and then asked Tom to buy the book for verification purposes.

What's more is that this herbs could be seen anywhere! If weeds are already this high ranked, what of the herbs that are being preserved and constantly nurtured by the mansion?

"There's got to be Sky Ranked Herbs or even Immortal Ranked Herbs in there​! That means if in the future, I am able to take control of the mansion. Then, does that mean it's all mine? " Dylan could not help but feel excited about this.

"But herbs are useless for me right now since I am unable to refine anything except the Cosmic God Stones. I really need to find out what's wrong with my body. When I'm successful enough in either business or cultivation, I'll invite doctors and alchemists to check my condition." Dylan felt down because of this. He really can't cultivate like what other people do.

"Although there useless to me, but for my customers they aren't." Dylan smiled as he approached the gates and started plucking High Spirit Rank Herbs one at a time.

"Master and Mansion, thank you for this help. Well, these herbs may be herbs to both of you but this is equal to profit for me. Hehehe." Dylan smirked as his pace of plucking the herbs started to become faster.

After two hours of picking herbs, Dylan was able to collect hundreds​ of herbs for the more than 50 kinds of herbs near the mansion gates. It was a good thing that the gates have enough space for a hand to pass through it.

Dylan exited his mindscape and heartily laughed at the large pouch of Sky Spirit Grass in his right hand that he just materialized.

"Hehehe, well, it's time for business." Dylan smiled with satisfaction.