Chapter 3743 — The Spirit Jade Card

The shopkeeper's expression remained perfectly courteous, but his words were anything but. Yu Zhe knew full well that to step aside now would mean that the Star Ink Stone—that one-of-a-kind prize he had set his heart on—would go to Wei Zhao, while he would have to walk away empty-handed!

It meant that all his scheming and scrambling would end in nothing at all—worse than nothing. He would be left drowning in debt for his pains.

After all, the twelve hundred spirit jades he had borrowed were still piled up useless in his cave dwelling, but every single day he was paying enormous interest on them. He had held the loan for only a few days, and already the interest alone had reached a staggering three figures—and it would keep snowballing!

If he had managed to lay his hands on the Star Ink Stone, Yu Zhe would never have given a thought to such a paltry sum. Once he grew strong enough, those creditors would not only stop pressing him for repayment—they would come running to hand him more spirit jades, eager to make him their protector.

But now, that beautiful vision had shattered in an instant, and ruthless reality was all that awaited him. The loan sharks would come banging on his door for their money, and with his current strength he could not afford to offend them—these were not men of goodwill, not by any stretch!

Just how miserable his end would be, anyone with half a toe's worth of sense could figure out!

In a single instant he had plunged from heaven to hell. By now what surged in Yu Zhe's heart was not mere roaring fury, but hysteria—a descent into sheer madness!

And yet, for all the hysteria boiling inside him, Yu Zhe showed nothing on the surface. To those around him, he merely bit his lip in silent, sullen defiance—nothing more. Casting Wei Zhao a glance steeped in venomous hatred, he turned and stalked out of the private room.

This Star Ink Stone belongs to me alone, and no one will ever take it from me! A worthless rootless cultivator dares to contend with me? Clearly he doesn't even know how the word 'death' is written!

"Sir, when you leave the Hong Clan Trading Guild later, you had best be careful." Watching Yu Zhe's retreating back, the shopkeeper could not help warning Wei Zhao.

He had spent decades in the Hong Clan Trading Guild and had seen men beyond counting; scenes like this were old hat to him. A greenhorn like Yu Zhe could hide his feelings as deep as he liked—there was no hiding them from his piercing eyes.

"Many thanks for the warning." Wei Zhao smiled faintly.

In truth, he had needed no warning. That one look the man had given him a moment ago had already told him of the vicious killing intent behind it. Deep though it was buried, the venom in it was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine. If he could not even sense that, he would have to be far too dull-witted.

It looked like there would be some trouble once he stepped outside. Wei Zhao sighed to himself. Judging by the man's aura, his cultivation probably stood at around the mid Foundation Establishment stage—one level above his own. He had never feared fighting above his level, but the risk was far from small.

Still, it was only a bit of risk. Wei Zhao had carved his way up from the mortal realm, and he had never yet learned what fear was.

So what if the man was a mid Foundation Establishment expert? If he truly had more guts than sense and came looking for trouble, then a killing spree it would be! In the month and more since arriving on Cloud Tier Island, Wei Zhao had not yet killed anyone!

Seeing how calm and composed Wei Zhao remained, the shopkeeper's estimation of him rose another notch. Since Wei Zhao had made no effort to mask his aura, he could tell the young man was a peak early Foundation Establishment expert.

And for a peak early Foundation Establishment expert to remain so utterly unruffled in the face of a mid Foundation Establishment threat—that was a rare thing indeed. Anyone else would surely have panicked by now, flustered and at a loss for what to do.

It seemed this customer's ability to casually produce two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills was backed by genuine strength, not mere dumb luck after all!

With this added measure of appreciation, the shopkeeper's manner grew noticeably warmer and more attentive than before. He took the initiative to ask, "This old man is Hong Zhong. Might I ask the young sir's honored name?"

Under normal circumstances, a man of Hong Zhong's rank—a shopkeeper of the Hong Clan Trading Guild—might treat others with courtesy, but that courtesy would extend only to the surface. He seldom volunteered his own name to anyone.

After all, though he was merely the manager of a single branch, the Hong Clan Trading Guild was a top-tier trading house that ranked among the finest even on Middle Island. The vast resources at the command of any one branch manager would make even the higher-ups of North Island's Tri-Layer Pavilion green with envy—his status and position went without saying. Even a core disciple of the Tri-Layer Pavilion could not be mentioned in the same breath as him.

What was more, Hong Zhong bore the surname Hong, and what that implied went without saying. Though Hong Zhong belonged to a collateral branch of the Hong Clan Trading Guild, he was still a member of the Hong family!

And for him to volunteer a request for one's name meant that this customer had already become a special guest whom the Hong Clan Trading Guild would take special care of. This was a stroke of good fortune many would beg for in vain—and across all of North Island, few were even qualified to receive it.

"My humble surname is Lin, and my given name is Er." Wei Zhao replied with a slight bow.

"So it is young hero Lin. Then shall we begin our transaction? You may first inspect the goods you wish to purchase." Hong Zhong knew Wei Zhao must be itching to get his hands on the Star Ink Stone, so he pushed the wooden box containing it across to Wei Zhao and made the suggestion.

"Very well." Wei Zhao nodded, opened the box, and examined it closely. Having confirmed that it was indeed the very same Star Ink Stone he had seen last time, he said, "I have no objections."

"Excellent." Hong Zhong immediately packed the wooden box, and Wei Zhao naturally handed over his two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills along with the sack of four hundred spirit jades on the floor.

Payment in one hand, goods in the other—once the money and merchandise had changed hands and both sides were square, the great stone in Wei Zhao's heart finally settled. The Star Ink Stone he had dreamed of was his at last!

Though for the moment he still had no idea what it was good for, he would know once he got back and asked that ghostly thing. Anything that even a big shot of the spirit beast clan valued so highly was bound to be a supreme treasure that could not be found just by seeking it!

After the transaction was complete, Hong Zhong took out a jade token of translucent, dark green from the cabinet and handed it to Wei Zhao. "Young hero Lin, this is a Spirit Jade Card. It is recognized and accepted not only by our Hong Clan Trading Guild, but by the entire merchants' alliance, which covers every other major legitimate business across the five great islands of the Heavenly Tier. It can be used in place of physical spirit jades for purchases. Next time you buy something this valuable, you need only use the Spirit Jade Card—no more hauling a whole sack of spirit jades about as you did today."

So it was the equivalent of a UnionPay card in the mortal realm?

Wei Zhao's heart stirred. The Spirit Jade Card felt cool and smooth in his hand, and its jade quality was clearly a cut above even superior spirit jades!

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