Noon. The sun stood at its peak.

“Ahh, young hero! This sword fits you very well! Made from the best steel in the country by a master blacksmith, its quality is peerless for Body Refiners!  I assure you, you won’t regret it! Only two silvers and it is yours!”

“Exotic delicacies from the west! 2 copper a banana! Come and grab before it's too late!”

“First ranked Monster cores! 10 gold each. Thirteen left in stock! 

The market of the city of floating clouds was very grand. The center was filled to the brim with merchants from all over the world, selling their wares and shouting their throats out to do so. The streets too were bustling with people, showing of the prosperity of the city.

Gregjoy had just arrived and was strolling around to see if he could find someone selling herbs. He possessed a fortune of hundred thousand gold. Although this might seem like it was much, his fortune would quickly go up in smoke if he were to be a Mind Temperer.

Body Refining Realm is the realm that signifies that one is but a normal human. That’s why the cost of food and their weaponry is quite low, merely a few coppers a day for food and pieces of silver for a good iron sword. 

But Mind Temperers are different.

They need Monster Cores to cultivate if they wanted to progress quickly.

The lowest ranked monster core costs at least ten gold each!

Monster Cores are the hearts of beasts that adapts to the heaven and earth energy. These hearts are pure and don't contain foul mortal air. The weakest of these beasts has the strength of a Mind Temperer, which is why they are so expensive. 

As a Mind Temperer, you can harness the energy you draw inside your body from the Monster Cores and use it along with battle techniques. Using a good weapon amplifies the power of techniques, making your battle prowess stronger.

However, a good weapon for a Mind Temperer can cost as much as thousands of gold! 

The difference between a few silvers and thousands of gold is like heaven and earth!

After half an hour, Gregjoy finally found a herb stall. 

“Hello, I want to buy herbs. Fireweed, Red ginseng, Wolfberries as well as Ginger root. I’d preferably have the ginger dried. How much of these herbs do you have in stock?” 

The young man that sat behind the counter looked up at him, curiously.

“Hmm, Fireweed, Red Ginseng, Wolfberries and dried Purple Ginger root…” The young man repeated while looking through his herbs. “I have about thirty of each. A bit more of the fireweed, maybe forty. How much do you need?”

“As much as you have” Gregjoy answered. “How much does it cost?”

“All of it!?” The young man exclaimed. Although shocked, he quickly recovered.“These are quite common herbs. About fifty coppers a piece. The total price should be around six silver and five hundred copper. Do you need a bag to carry it with?”

Gregjoy handed the young man seven silvers and received the bag of herbs

Before he left, he asked the young man. “Do you know where I can find more herbs?”

“Go to the merchant association. If there’s anything you need you can find it there.”

“Where can I find it?”

“The northeast part of the city. You’ll see the gigantic building from far away. If you get lost, just ask a city guard.” 

“Got it. Thanks.

Leaving the market, Gregjoy headed for the Merchant association as told by the herb stall seller. It was true what the young man said, the building truly was gigantic, almost comparable to the arena. There was a massive amount of people flooding out and in the building, and even he was quite astonished.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Hello, I need large amounts of herbs. Twenty kilograms of Red Ginseng, Wolfberry, and Dried Purple Ginger root as well as forty kilograms of Fireweed. 

“Wait a moment. I’ll go talk to my supervisor.” The clerk said in panic and ran off.

Apparently, his demand was rather large for this association too. He wasn’t surprised. A medicinal bath such as the one he was going to concoct used a lot of herbs and wasn’t that common. It wasn’t strange for the merchant association to not have everything in stock, although he still held his hopes high.

“You are lucky, sir. We have everything you wish for in stock. That’ll be twenty-seven gold."

"Here."

"Thank you for choosing our store. Do you want for us to deliver it to a place of you designation?"

"No thanks. Could you lead me to my herbs?"

The clerk looked at him strangely but nodded anyway. "Follow me."

The clerk lead him to a room and opened the door for the young man, waiting outside himself. Smiling and after checking so that the clerk wasn’t watching, Gregjoy flashed his sleeve and grabbed all of the herbs into his space ring which could at most hold hundred square meters of space. This was, of course, a very precious, high-leveled space ring given to him by his master.

After Gregjoy left, the clerk went in but stupefied from the sight. How did the herbs vanish in thin air?!

Gregjoy understood that to do everything he wanted inside the city without being disturbed was impossible. So before leaving the town, he bought proper equipment and utensils for connecting the medicine, a tent, and some food along with a reinforced steel bathtub to use.

He found a quiet, flat-grounded grove in the forest outside of town, not far from a river. There weren’t any magical beasts in the vicinity of the city and that made him feel reassured that this was a good spot.

Having set up the tent, he sat in front of a huge cauldron placed over a fire. The cauldron was filled with boiling water. He slowly added the herbs, following the formula. As time passed, a medicinal aroma had begun spreading in the surroundings. 

The concoction finished brewing. 

Gregjoy touched the scalding, boiling mixture with his finger and willed it into his space ring.  He walked over to the bathtub and released the medicinal concoction into it. Then, removing his clothes, he gritted his teeth and jumped in. 

A normal Body Refining would die from this.

 But not him. 

Gregjoy's whole body had been tempered and refined to a terrifying degree and could tolerate the temperature. The medicinal properties of the water would help him recover, stimulated by the heat. As usch, not only would it allow him to train more efficiently with the nameless sword art and in the arena, but his body's constituition would also be improved during the baht because of the herbs!

He believed it would take at least half a year for him to break through. Once broken through, he would shed his mortal self and join the ranks of Mind Temperers, cultivators striving toward immortality with double the lifespan of Body Refiners! He would take the first step upon the road to revenge!