Chapter 470: Exchange List

The 50 pieces of ice-jade phoenix tree leaves brought from the Northern Frontier exchanged for Gao De a total of 17,000 Jin Quehua coins.

At first glance it seemed a astronomical sum, but it vanished quickly in practice.

He spent most of it acquiring the Harand Shipyard, then poured another 2,000 gold as initial operating capital after the purchase.

Immediately after, recruiting crew members, craftsmen, procuring supplies, and preparing for sea departure consumed nearly another 2,000 gold.

Add to that the miscellaneous expenses—labor and material costs for crafting the 【Frost’s Arrival】, purchasing materials for the 【Healing Spell】 potion—and Gao De’s remaining balance was suddenly only 4,733 Jin Quehua coins.

It still looked like a lot.

But the places he needed to spend money next were even more numerous.

Buying a shop was one; after purchasing it, he would need a large sum to operate it properly.

Also, he needed to buy at least twenty doses of the 【Rapid Excavation】 spell potion to bring back to the Northern Frontier, to boost Phoenix’s construction efficiency—another thousand gold roughly.

Money is always insufficient… This truly is a truth.

Gao De sighed inwardly.

Once this mission was done, it would be enough to sustain him for a year.

After this, even if Gao De simply lay idle and did nothing, by year-end evaluation, with three Second-Class Merits already secured, his ranking would surely be in the top 10%.

With the “KPI” pressure gone, Gao De instantly felt much lighter, though his original pressure had never been great.

But at least for the next several months, he could focus on his own affairs without worrying about the Sea Sentinels.

The military merit evaluation still needed a few days, so Gao De didn’t sit idle waiting—he continued with his planned schedule.

First, buying a shop.

After preliminary research and screening, he had narrowed his choices to three shops.

He was most interested in a herbal shop in the North District and a general store near Demon Skull Alley in the East District.

Each had its pros and cons, and he had been torn.

But now he didn’t need to decide.

—Because he discovered that during his twenty-day mission, the herbal shop in the North District had already been snatched up by someone else.

Now the general store was the only option left.

To avoid being outmaneuvered again, Gao De didn’t delay—he visited the shop the very next day.

The general store was located on Dezhen Linjie, a typical two-story street-front building: the first floor for business, the second for living quarters.

Dezhen Linjie was an old district, so most buildings along the street were antiquated; today’s weather was dull, no sun, and under the gloom, the buildings looked even darker.

“Old Harlin General Store.”

The sign’s lettering had faded.

Harlin was both the shop’s name and the owner’s surname.

It was a traditional family-run retail shop with decades of history, but unfortunately, Old Harlin’s only son, Young Harlin, had no desire to inherit the business.

With competition growing fiercer and Old Harlin aging and lacking energy, the business had never thrived, leaving him no choice but to sell.

The shop’s display shelves were sparsely stocked—evidence of poor sales and the owner’s lack of motivation to restock.

Gao De entered the store, observed the interior, then approached politely only after the one other customer had left.

“Boss, I saw your shop’s transfer notice in the Dorn General Store Association’s price list. I’m planning to open a magic-materials shop, and your location is perfect—let’s talk?” Gao De cut straight to the point, no unnecessary flattery.

First, his preliminary research was complete; second, he wore the Sea Sentinel mage uniform.

Old Harlin looked up, his slightly cloudy eyes scanning Gao De’s face and crisp uniform, then pursed his lips before speaking: “Officer, I’ll say this upfront—this shop is hard to run.”

“Don’t worry, I’m fully aware,” Gao De said.

“Then let’s sit down,” Old Harlin muttered, sighing.

Honestly, he preferred not to deal with “officials.”

How could common folk compete with officials?

The inherent disadvantage meant he’d be at a disadvantage in negotiations.

Also, if he sold to an official and the business failed later, he feared the official might blame him.

But refusing outright? He dared not.

So Old Harlin reluctantly hung a “Closed for Business” sign and led Gao De upstairs to the living quarters.

Private general stores are usually small, around fifty square meters per floor.

But since it was built early in the old district, land was cheap then, so Old Harlin’s store was slightly larger—about seventy square meters.

The second floor, as living space, matched the first floor’s area, divided into three rooms: a master bedroom, a secondary bedroom, a living room, and a simple kitchen and bathroom.

In the living room, Old Harlin brewed the best tea he had for Gao De, then slowly explained the shop’s details.

Including its service radius, current customer base, historical monthly profits, foot traffic, and competition.

Old Harlin spoke honestly, no embellishment—he’d be glad if Gao De backed out.

But unlike Old Harlin’s expectation, Gao De, after hearing the details, wasn’t discouraged—he was even more satisfied.

Because the problems Old Harlin raised weren’t problems to him.

For instance, the most pressing issue Old Harlin faced was that last year, a large general store opened by the Blackwell Consortium just one street over.

With lower costs and better product quality, it instantly stole away most of Old Harlin’s customers.

But Gao De’s ideal customers were those coming out of Demon Skull Alley.

Different industries meant many of these drawbacks vanished.

“I see your listed price in the association is 650 Jin Quehua coins?” Gao De sipped his tea slowly.

The price was well-calibrated.

Expensive? The shop’s area was indeed larger than average general stores.

Bargain? Not really—it was in an old district, next to the black market, with some safety risks.

“If you want it, I can give you a discount,” Old Harlin said, glancing at Gao De’s Sea Sentinel uniform and gritting his teeth.

“No need. Since it’s already the internal price, stick to it,” Gao De waved off.

When reimbursing, even the smallest savings counted—why not take it?

But in actual transactions, Gao De never exploited his Sea Sentinel status for advantage.

He drew a clear line between the two.

For a grassroots mage like him, reputation mattered greatly—such actions that could stain his name were absolutely forbidden.

Gao De was straightforward; Old Harlin didn’t insist.

Once the price was agreed upon, they swiftly moved to the next stage: negotiating payment method and handover timing.

Of course, this was just preliminary.

In the Jin Quehua Empire, shop transactions involving real estate required official procedures—not like buying vegetables, where you pay and take it immediately.

But if buyer and seller agreed beforehand, the official process was merely a formality.

“By standard rules, land tax is paid by the seller, and stamp duty is shared equally by both parties—but it’s a small amount, too messy to split—let me cover it all. What do you think, Officer?”

Official procedures weren’t free—they existed primarily to collect taxes.

This was one of the government’s key revenue sources.

Land tax was calculated based on the shop’s land area and location, estimating land value, then taxing at around 2%.

Stamp duty was levied on the transaction contract amount.

Dorn City’s stamp duty rate was 0.5%, meaning 0.5% of the contract value, or 0.25% each for buyer and seller.

With a transaction amount of 650 gold, Gao De’s stamp duty would be under 2 gold.

When acquiring the Harand Shipyard, the stamp duty had been higher.

Even though Lagos City’s rate was lower at 0.4%, the final stamp duty still neared 20 gold.

“Fine,” Gao De nodded.

This small tax wasn’t abuse of power—it was normal transactional procedure, no need to avoid.

“Then see you tomorrow.” With everything settled, Gao De rose and left.

In the meditation chamber.

Gao De sat still, eyes half-closed, beside him, three or four vials of Kai Mai Ding lay scattered, overturned.

The transparent glass shimmered faintly—the liquid inside had long been consumed, leaving only a sharp, pungent medicinal odor filling the cramped space.

His body trembled slightly, his breath rising and falling in rhythm with the tremors, like a breeze stirring a calm lake, creating ripples with unique cadence and grace.

The Wu Liang Breathing Method was one of the oldest breathing techniques, and one of the most orthodox.

It belonged to true Fa.

When Gao De studied at the Saires Academy, his instructors had spoken of breathing methods.

But they were only the same in name—fundamentally different.

It wasn’t a coincidence; breathing methods were top-secret lineages. Small principalities knew of them but couldn’t obtain the true method, so they created inferior versions based on fragments.

These inferior versions weren’t useless—but compared to the true method, the difference wasn’t merely vast—it was heaven and earth.

Using the Wu Liang Breathing Method and the Kai Mai Ding’s potency, Gao De expanded and reshaped the tiny, threadlike magical channels within his body.

Moments later, Gao De opened his eyes, took another vial of Kai Mai Ding from the box beside him, uncorked it, and drank it down in one “generous” gulp, then tossed the empty bottle carelessly onto the floor.

If anyone saw this, they’d doubt whether Gao De was human or beast.

Kai Mai Ding was violently potent, with heavy toxic residue—others drank it with extreme caution.

Yet Gao De’s single dose exceeded what a normal mage consumed in a week.

Only beasts could normally withstand such a dosage of Kai Mai Ding.

Another half-hour passed.

Gao De opened his eyes again, but this time he didn’t continue—he slowly rose to his feet.

The Leo Mon magic network requires a total of 365 magic channels to be constructed.

From the moment he began learning the Infinite Breathing Method until now, exactly two and a half months had passed.

The number of magic channels Gao De has now built has reached 108, and the construction speed of each main magic channel is growing faster.

This is due to [Adaptation] continuously evolving his bodily metabolism and toxin immunity through repeated stimulation by the Pulse-Opening Tincture, allowing him to consume larger doses at once:

[Your toxin immunity has increased by 50.1%. Your body’s organs have improved their ability to digest, metabolize, and expel various toxins by 51.4%.]

According to Nasi’s original words, if he chose the Leo Mon magic network, he must be prepared to waste several years on it.

But at this pace, Gao De will complete the Leo Mon magic network in less than half a year.

This is the importance of a specialty, Gao De exhaled a deep breath, thinking to himself.

[Adaptation] is not a combat specialty—it cannot directly boost his combat power—but its growth potential and comprehensiveness grant him far greater benefits than any combat specialty, and indirectly enhance his combat strength as well.

Because he fully felt the power of [Adaptation], Gao De now placed even greater importance on second-circle specialties.

His current mage rank has reached mid-first circle.

At his current cultivation pace, he will reach second circle in no more than two or three years.

Before ascending to second circle, he must accumulate a sufficient number of mastered spells.

For Gao De, learning spells itself is not difficult.

Constructing a first-circle spell model with second-circle mental energy is like a middle school student solving elementary math problems.

The difficulty lies only in obtaining spell formulas.

And under current circumstances, his most reliable channel for acquiring spell formulas—even rare ones—is through Sea Sentinels’ merit exchange.

As the official mage organization of the Jin Quehua Dynasty, in terms of spell heritage and depth, how many could rival it?

This is also why Gao De values his development within the Sea Sentinels so highly.

“They said it would take one or two days to decide—how has it been five days already with no news? Has something changed?” Gao De frowned, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind.

Five days had passed since his return; his purchase process for “Old Harlin’s General Store” had gone smoothly, yet the Sea Sentinels had still not finalized his merit rating, causing Gao De to grow suspicious.

“A couple of second-class merits are a big deal to me, but to the Sea Sentinels, they’re nothing—they wouldn’t hold me up.” Gao De shook his head to himself, dismissing the baseless speculation, and prepared to leave for “Old Harlin’s General Store.”

The shop transfer process was complete, but the previous owner still needed time to clear inventory and move—he couldn’t leave immediately. Considering the man’s advanced age, Gao De had given him five days.

Today was the agreed final day; the man should have already moved out.

Yet as soon as he stepped outside, he ran straight into a Sea Sentinels messenger.

“Master Gao De.” The man had come specifically for him.

“What is it?” Gao De already had his answer.

“Your merit rating has been finalized. I’ve been sent to deliver your notification letter and merit exchange list.” The worker bowed slightly and extended a scroll of parchment and a thick, sealed book to Gao De.

(End of Chapter)