Arya knew that staying any longer would be troublesome, so he quickly collected Chinn's space bag. It was of low level, but he didn't have time to inspect its contents now. He motioned to Kane to take the horses and start moving, assuring him that he would catch up in a few minutes.

After sending Kane ahead, Arya turned his attention to the shop owner—the main culprit behind this entire ordeal. The man was still inside his shop, and upon seeing Arya return, he smirked.

"What? Have you come to apologize after getting beaten by my brother? But from the looks of it, you didn't get the punishment you deserved."

Seeing Arya's rough state after the fight, the owner assumed he had returned to beg for forgiveness.

"Oh yes, I've come to beg... for you to hand over every single coin you have," Arya said coldly. Without waiting for a response—he was in a hurry and had no patience for this piece of filth—he grabbed the shopkeeper's hands, twisting them behind his back with force. Before the man could scream, Arya shoved a cloth into his mouth, kicked him aside, and searched his pockets. He found only a few white coins.

Knowing that most of the money would be in the shop's drawer, Arya opened it and saw a good number of white coins. He didn't have time to count, so he swept them all into his space bag. He wasn't particularly in need of money, but since he had made a point earlier, he decided to follow through. Besides, he had already spent everything on his second Seed Stone and still needed to save for the third.

After securing the coins, Arya sprinted toward Kane, who had left a minute earlier. As he ran, he reflected on Chinn's strange ability. That transformation had significantly increased his power, making him a formidable opponent. If not for that skill, Arya could have easily defeated him, given his superior Seed Weapons and Seed Stones. His two uncommon-rank seeds, which appeared as common-rank black and white rings when summoned due to his second skill, were still of much higher quality than Chinn's.

His weapon was slightly better than Chinn's, though not by a huge margin. Additionally, his physical strength had improved after his breakthrough, thanks to his dual elements. However, Chinn's extended time as a Weapon Master had given him a natural advantage in physical combat.

"There are too many mysteries in this world," Arya thought. "I'll uncover them in time. But for now, I need to understand that transformation technique. It enhances a Weapon Master's physique, strengthens their Seed Weapon, adds an oppressive aura, and creates a deeper connection between the weapon and its wielder. I need to verify if my observations are correct."

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Eventually, he caught up with Kane. Because of the earlier incident, they had lost the opportunity to rest as planned. It was now 1:20 in the afternoon, and they were nearing the border.

As they traveled toward Bansi City, Arya decided to check their loot.

From the shop owner, he had collected 119 white coins—an absurd amount for a simple food vendor. It made sense, though. The location near the border meant he could have scammed several unfortunate travelers before running into Arya and Kane. Including the one pink coin Arya had kept untouched, he now possessed 1 pink and 124 white coins in total.

Next, he inspected Chinn's space bag. What he found surprised him.

Inside, there were 13 pink coins and 29 white coins. There was also a medium-quality weapon—an oddity, considering most Seed Masters and Weapon Masters used their Seed Weapons exclusively. Only mortals or those with low-quality Seed Weapons purchased ordinary weapons.

Among the items, he also found a strange emblem that appeared to belong to an organization. He set it aside for later examination. The last item he retrieved was a Rank 1 monster core. Given Chinn's strength, he could have easily hunted a late-stage Rank 1 beast. Arya, on the other hand, could only manage to kill early-stage Rank 1 monsters and fight mid-stage ones. Late-stage Rank 1 beasts were beyond his current capabilities, especially since he couldn't yet wield both elements simultaneously multiple times in succession. Fighting beasts was always harder than fighting humans, and his physical strength was nowhere near the transformed Chinn's level.

Arya glanced at Kane, who was staring ahead, seemingly unbothered by what had just transpired.

"Kane!" Arya called. When Kane turned, Arya tossed the shop owner's money bag at him.

"This is yours. And stop overthinking what happened. It was necessary. If we want to become stronger and restore our village's status, we must be prepared to remove any obstacles in our path."

Kane sighed and nodded. "I get it. Don't worry. I wasn't ready to see something like that, but I'm fine now. That guy got exactly what he deserved. What's this?"

"Our spoils," Arya replied with a smirk. "I went back, beat that shopkeeper senseless, and took all his money. Like I said, how could I forget about him?"

Kane's eyes widened at the sight of the coins. "That's a lot, but I can't take all of it."

"Don't worry," Arya reassured him. "That Chinn guy was much wealthier."

With that, Kane accepted the money, and they continued their journey toward the border of Bansi City.

To enter Bansi City, they had to pay a toll, as was customary for travelers crossing between cities. The local governing power enforced these rules, though individuals from influential backgrounds or powerful sects could bypass them. If a cultivator reached level 30, they could avoid paying the standard toll of 5 white coins per person.

Out of curiosity, Arya asked the toll collector about entry fees for other cities. He learned that mid-level cities waived the toll for those at level 40, while high-level cities only allowed free entry for cultivators above level 50. Otherwise, the fees were steep—30 white coins for mid-level cities and 2 pink coins for high-level cities. There were only three high-level cities in the entire Azur Water Kingdom, including the one controlled by the royal family.

Paying their combined toll of 20 white coins wasn't as painful after their recent gains. Once inside Bansi City, they resumed their journey toward Fisco City, taking occasional breaks along the way.

As they ventured further into more developed areas, the presence of powerful cultivators became increasingly apparent. Arya noticed multiple three-ringed Seed Masters and knew they had to tread carefully. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he stuck to well-traveled paths, steering clear of any potential thieves or powerful thugs.

With each step, the duo drew closer to the next stage of their journey, knowing that greater challenges and mysteries awaited them in the cities ahead.