Zhen Shi and the duo of legendary mages finally left the cover of the Berthelien forest at the crack of dawn.

Immediately below them lay a majestic city expanding to a distance of several hundred kilometers. Countless regal buildings and mansions surrounded an awe-inspiring castle placed at the very center, that Zhen Shi easily guessed had to be the King's Castle. It was clearly visible even from this distance since the palace was several times larger than every other construction and was placed at a higher elevation.

However, there was one other building with a spherical dome as a roof, gleaming like silver under the sunlight, which reached to a height similar to that of the palace, despite not being placed on elevated land...

Vivienne smiled brightly while looking down on the city, "I can't believe we're finally out! We've been trapped in that valley for so long... and now we're finally free!"

Myne grinned with widened eyes, "Good god! I don't remember Lyon City being this populated the last time I was here. Time has indeed changed the world..." but his eyes lingered on the King's castle for a bit longer...

Zhen Shi laughed as well, "Well peeps, I can't believe it took us all night just to leave the Berthelien forest!"

Myne grimaced and spouted, "Well... I blame the two of you and your blasted herbology! Stopping every few minutes just to be entranced by a random weed or insect only to collect them."

Vivienne frowned, "Hmph. If that's the case, I suppose it will be fine if only Little bro and I eat my herb-based cooking from now on!"

Myne immediately gasped, "No, no, my beautiful lady, forgive this stupid husband of yours! How could I live without eating you... *cough* eating your food."

Vivienne frowned even more with a reddened face, while Myne began to contemplate ways on how to hang himself and his stupid mouth.

Zhen Shi gaped, "SHIT! Was that a self-insulting comment? Are brother Merlin's masochistic tendencies going to come out?"

And so in order to 'help', Zhen Shi spoke out, "Aiya! It's getting late! C'mon, you slowpokes let's get going!" and dashed forwards.

Myne followed immediately thanking the gods again for giving him this 'understanding' brother. Vivienne who was getting used to this situation could only sigh helplessly before following after the two of them.

🏰🏰🏰

Moments later, Zhen Shi and the duo arrived within the streets of Lyon City, the Capital of the Lyonesse Kingdom. There were various buildings on either side of the winding cobblestone paths. There were also several middle-aged guards at the Soul Formation stage stationed all around.

Reminded of the fact that he now had a useless pile of knowledge related to pill refining and blacksmithing, Zhen Shi spoke to Myne and Vivienne about his intention to buy materials for pill refining and blacksmithing.

Vivienne had a strange look in her eyes, but still nodded and said, "Indeed. With Little Bro's skills in herbology, pill refining is indeed suitable. But blacksmithing..."

Myne laughed, "Bro don't worry. Blacksmithing is the Number One side-profession! And the reason is super simple... Blacksmithing involves the amazing and wondrous nature of magic formations, while pill refining just needs some random knowledge on herbs and beast remains! I, myself, used to be one of the most skilled blacksmiths and even had a divine tier furnace back in Camelot... but I seem to have misplaced it and can't remember where I put it..."

Vivienne frowned at Myne with the same strange look. But Zhen Shi jumped at this chance, "Bro what were you doing in this 'Camelot'? I thought you kept saying that you weren't Merlin?"

Vivienne who had been acting strangely, immediately laughed cheerfully at this sudden turn-around.

Myne frowned and asked smugly, "Shitty kid! Do you HAVE to be Merlin to be in Camelot? Huh? Huh?" while repeatedly poking his finger onto Zhen Shi's chest.

Zhen Shi was speechless, 'FUCK! That is indeed true! How do I answer that? System, this is all your fault...'

System: "..."

Zhen Shi laughed uncomfortably, "Ahh.. just forget it. Let's go into the market already. Otherwise, the people around will think that you're some sort of weirdo!" and said nonchalantly.

Noting that there were indeed many people looking at them weirdly, Myne had to stop. And so, the trio got directions from a passerby and wordlessly entered the market area.

The market area basically referred to the region around a fairly wide winding cobble-stoned path leading towards the more lucrative shops. But still, there were hundreds of shops selling daily wares for mortals and commoners, as well as shops for ordinary cultivators, on the sides of the cobblestone path.

There were even some people that had even laid down a cloth with various odds and ends, and sat down intending to make a quick coin or two.

But the guards took no action to stop them either. Myne and Zhen Shi were just about to excitedly go out and check out the shops, "C'mon! Let's go on a shopping spree!" when suddenly Vivienne stopped them by grabbing them from their shirt collars. She spoke out, "You and whose money?"

Zhen Shi was confounded, "FUCK! We're broke and inside a market! Oh, wait..."

As such, "Sis Vivienne, of course, I thought about that! Who would be stupid enough to buy without money? I collected quite a bit of demon beast cores and was planning on going to sell them first," said Zhen Shi while proudly slapping his hand on his chest.

"Oh, then you have my apologies, little bro," said Vivienne while letting go of their collars.

Zhen Shi grinned happily at his own ingenuity, and following instructions from another passerby, they walked into a nearby shop named 'Sales Hut'.

Inside there were several small stalls with dozens of people in line to exchange items. These stalls were categorized based on the item to be sold. Fortunately for Zhen Shi, it seemed that there weren't any who had come to sell beast cores early in the morning.

Vivienne mentioned that she'd go to sell some excess herbs and walked away, while Myne stayed with Zhen Shi as he walked over to the relevant stall. And within it, there was a soft-faced young man presumably in his twenties, lazily resting in his chair. Zhen Shi noted through that this fellow was at the Core Formation Stage...

Zhen Shi was surprised and wondered how this place operated with just a bunch of Core Formation Salespeople. But he immediately lost his surprise when the air aether showed him several stronger cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage inside the building. Still, thinking back to Batsy, he wasn't worried.

Noting the arrival of customers the young man lazily glanced at them. He didn't even bat an eye at Zhen Shi's cultivation, but upon sensing Myne's cultivation, spoke with a modicum of respect and a polite but lazy smile, "Greeting respected customers, I am Seth. What would you like to exchange today?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Zhen Shi nodded in response to the salesman's greeting, "I want to exchange these Core Formation, Soul Formation, and Soul Transformation Beast Cores."

Seth counted them carefully and replied with a lazily raised eyebrow of surprise, "Respected Customer, there are 34 basic beast cores, 4 ordinary soul formation beast cores, 2 ordinary soul transformation beast cores, and one soul transformation beast core of an uncommon dark spiritual nature.

Based on the normal exchange rate, I can give 10 silver coins for a basic beast core, 10 gold coins for a soul formation beast core, and 75 gold coins for a soul transformation beast core. As for the dark natured beast core, I can give 100 gold coins or one lesser-grade spirit stone. What is the respected customer's preference?"

Zhen Shi answered curtly, "Spirit Stones." Seth nodded lazily and handed out the total due amount with a lazy but polite smile.

"Oh yes. I also have two nascent soul stage demonic cores here to sell," said Zhen Shi handing them out.

This caused the lazy Seth to immediately perk up and stand respectfully. Seth was a veteran Sales Hut employee who prided himself on making the best deals and turning out huge amounts of profit. And he was excited at the chance to make a big deal once again! As such, he respectfully took the two beast cores and checked them.

Zhen Shi was speechless as he witnessed the lazy salesperson transforming into a serious employee in a flash, 'NANI? Isn't this guy too shameless?'

Seth's eyes lightly shone as he gazed over one of the two cores. He raised his head and spoke to Zhen Shi with a calm and polite smile, "The respected customer can get the general price of 250 gold coins or one ordinary-grade spirit stone for each core. What is the respected customer's preference?"

Zhen Shi was about to agree... when suddenly Myne's voice rang out in his mind!

It took him a few seconds to remember that once a person reached the Soul Primary Stage, it was possible to converse mentally within a short-range. Although Zhen Shi had never engaged in genuine telepathic communication before, with days of experience talking mentally to a certain system, he could already be considered a veteran!

Myne continued mentally, "Bro, that salesman's eyes were strange when he examined the Bat type demonic core. I felt that it is from a rare bloodline as well, but I can't say the exact price it would go for..."

Zhen Shi was speechless, 'FUCK! I almost got cheated there because I forgot to use the appraisal skill. System you almost ruined me...'

System: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And so, Zhen Shi activated and analyzed the demonic cores with an eye of golden light. The Brown earthworm core was revealed to be fairly ordinary, besides the unusually long lifetime of the Earthworm. As such the price was around what Seth had mentioned.

But the beast core of the Bat...

Possible Uses: Crafting weapons for Demonic Musicians, Pill of Eternal Sore Throat Cure--->

Zhen Shi gaped at the words of floating gold. He gaped, even more, when he saw the price...

!

With more than a little bit of rage at Seth the hoodwinker, Zhen Shi spoke icily, "Kid, you're too wet behind the ears to trick yours truly..."

This caused Seth to be taken aback as he had previously been confident that he had been dealing with a rookie... But he still respectfully asked while smiling politely, "Then what is the respected customer's asking price?"

Zhen Shi smiled maliciously while activating a hint of in his eyes for dramatic effect, 'Dare to make a fool out of me? If I don't make you cry like a baby, my name isn't Zhen Shi!'

And said, "For the earthworm beast core, I am fine with the general price in spirit stones. But for the Bat core, I'm going to need at least 7000 gold coins!"

This caused Seth to immediately fall into despair as he realized that he had underestimated this person. His pride in judging the characters of customers was thrown into the sea along with his hope of making another huge profit. But since this price would only allow a smaller profit than expected, his inner-salesman took control and said, "Respected Customer, this is too close to our selling price. How about 4000 gold coins?"

Zhen Shi began to wag his index finger side-to-side, "Kid, kid, if you're unhappy, how about I sell this super rare demonic core at some other place? Do you think I'm stupid to think that you can't gain more by auctioning this?"

Seth grimaced mentally. If the higher-ups were to find out that he had let this auction-worthy item out of their grasp he would be in extremely hot water. Most definitely, he could kiss his promotion and year-end bonus goodbye. As such, with a polite smile, "Respected Customer how about we settle down at 5000 gold coins? This is indeed the basic price."

But Zhen Shi wagged his index finger again, "Kid, Kid..."

Seth was getting really annoyed with this customer, 'Respected Customer can you keep that annoying finger out of my face? And whose MOTHER is a kid? Isn't this respected customer even younger than me?'

Even so, Seth made use of his professional experience to maintain a polite smile and listen calmly to Zhen Shi as he spoke, "Kid, what do you think will happen if these people here got to know that you tried to cheat me of the item's actual worth? Do you think they'll just run away in rage or riot and leave bad reviews? Not to mention the hordes of old customers who'll come back in fear of being cheated?"

Seth's polite smile almost died on the spot. But he still held steadfast and spoke neutrally with a strained but still polite smile, "Respect customer that is blackmail! But in the end, it would be my word against yours. Which side does the respected customer believe the Sale Hut will take?"

Zhen Shi was enraged, 'FUCK! Respected Customer my ass! If you respect yours truly so much, just bend over respectfully and let me blackmail you ass respectfully... while you smile politely!!'

However, at that point, Myne who had been silent the entire time spoke out, "Kid, are you sure you want to do that?" and brought out a small piece of crystal. He lightly tapped on it causing a blurry mist to waft out. Slowly, an image of Zhen Shi and Seth slowly appeared upon the mist. The entire conversation they had just had was played out with audio included.

Seth's eyes widened at the sight of the recording on the scrying crystal. He couldn't believe that these respected customers of his were actually respected con-artists! He was feeling very dissatisfied with the fact that he had dug himself a grave to jump into.

Zhen Shi laughed out loud while clapping this awesome brother of his on the back. He proudly wagged his index finger in front of Seth's face once more while saying, "Kid what do you say now?"

Seth lowered his head in defeat, but still managed to smile politely, "Very Well, Respected Customer, the exchange can be done at the aforementioned price of 7000 gold coins. Will the respected customers be taking coins or stones?"

But Zhen Shi wagged his index finger once again, "Tsk-tsk. Respected kid, haven't you heard of inflation? Particularly in this respected stall of yours, there is respected inflation... As such, the respected price has risen to a more respected one of 10,000 gold coins!"

Myne too backed him up by menacingly waving the scrying crystal.

Seth's polite smile finally collapsed at that point. But he hurriedly lowered his head in defeat before these respected con-artists raised the price so much that there would be no profit at all. Nevertheless, he was unable to comprehend how his usually successful strategy had led him to this sorry state.

With tears of defeat rising in his eyes, he spoke out, "Yes, respected customers here is the due amount," and handed out a bag full of coins. Zhen Shi, however, momentarily paused, and rather obviously opened up the bag, beginning to count and confirm the amount.

Seeing this Seth felt more tears rise up, 'Respected Customer, do you disbelieve me so much? Do you think that I'm that much of a liar and a robber? Just because of my sales tactics?'

Satisfied with the count, Zhen Shi laughed happily and wagged his index finger in front of Seth's forlorn face, "Well then, respected kid, pleasure doing business with you! I'll be sure to come back and recommend you to all my friends! But I do hope you'll treat us and them just the same as today!"

Myne grinned cheerfully as well as they sauntered away from Seth's stall.

Seth finally broke down in tears of despair, 'Respected Customer please never come back! I'll have to quit if your respected friends are just like you...'

Zhen Shi, on the other hand, was extremely happy. 10,000 gold coins was a small fortune! Based on his scholarly knowledge, it was the net-worth of some lesser nobles! As such, he had to give a silent prayer and wish of good luck to the passed away Batsy for letting him become rich within a single day!

Maybe later he'll realize the effect of even such simple actions...

Ignorant, the two of them walked over to Vivienne who had been watching the entire scenario. She smiled and shook her head, "That kid is actually crying because of the two of you..."

Zhen Shi laughed at this and turned around to wave at Seth in the stall, who immediately ran into the inside of the shop crying even harder. Zhen Sh explained, "Nah... Sis you've got it wrong. He is just so happy about me fixing his calculating ways. He probably ran into the shop to pray to the gods in thanks for having the fortune to meet us!"

Myne laughed uproariously at this and patted Zhen Shin on the back, as the trio walked out of the Sales Hut. But, suddenly, Zhen Shi asked frowning, "Bro Myne, do you record every single second of your life with those crystals like that? No right?"

Myne grinned proudly, "Of course! I always do!"

Zhen Shi grimaced, 'FUCK! Isn't that pretty perverted? Do you look at those recordings while in bed as well?'