Chapter 538: Trade

"A standard bronze-tier cub—let it loose, and many iron-quality primal heart-beast masters would be tempted…"

Fang Xing nodded after reading the appraisal from the Bronze Heart Phase Scripture.

For masters whose primal heart-beast is only iron-quality, it doesn't mean they're doomed to remain at the soldier rank forever.

Although a primal heart-beast cannot ascend to the general rank without great fortune, any other heart-beast captured at bronze quality can naturally break past the soldier rank.

Of course, doing so carries certain risks.

Because masters control foreign heart-beasts primarily by overpowering them with their own primal heart-beast.

If the primal heart-beast is weaker than the foreign one, and the latter suddenly rebels, the master's protective aura may not even withstand the attack—possibly resulting in instant death!

Thus, recklessly capturing a foreign heart-beast above one's own primal heart-beast's rank is extremely dangerous for a master.

Of course, if raised from infancy, the bond between master and foreign heart-beast may be strong, and aside from the inability to share protective aura, it's nearly as good as a primal heart-beast.

The protective skill is unique to the primal heart-beast.

This kind of later-captured heart-beast, no matter how harmonious the bond, rarely grants the master an additional layer of protective aura.

However, if it possesses other defensive skills, those can certainly be applied to the master.

In short, this young Earth Rampager cub can still fetch a decent price.

Many soldier-rank and general-rank masters would be tempted.

"Alright, let's go."

Fang Xing closed the Bronze Heart Phase Scripture and mounted Erha: "It's time to leave…"

His main purpose in coming here was to scavenge resources, with the side goal of finding a heart-beast that suited him.

Unfortunately, he hadn't seen anything truly compelling—so now he'd head to the Hall of Hearts.

Shortly after Fang Xing departed, a fierce wind swept through.

¤￠o

Amid the wind stood a ferocious beast.

It resembled a white tiger but bore two long, sharp fangs—it was an Upper Lord-tier, Ferocious Sabertooth Tiger!

Once a heart-beast reaches the lord rank, it develops an extremely strong territorial instinct.

This sabertooth tiger had clearly been stirred by the recent disappearances of heart-beasts within its territory.

That meant a predator had arrived; under normal circumstances, such a situation demanded mutual predation—only one would survive.

With seven hundred years of cultivation, this ferocious sabertooth tiger was far beyond Erha's match.

Even if Erha's quality was exceptionally high, the vast gap in cultivation could not be bridged.

Fortunately, Fang Xing knew this well and had no intention of immediately elevating Erha to lord rank.

Though Erha's quality was high, he had only just broken into the general rank and already gained over ninety years of cultivation—he was already "overfed" and needed time to digest it properly.

That was why he decided to leave, also to avoid drawing the attention of a lord-rank heart-beast.

I have to say, Fang Xing's decision was perfectly timed.

Otherwise, facing off against this ferocious sabertooth tiger, even if he ultimately escaped alive, he'd surely be left battered and humiliated.

…

Lüsen City.

Hall of Hearts.

Returning here, Fang Xing's emotions were complex.

He entered the hall and saw the towering glass dome, the stone pillars standing all around, and the statue of the Lord of Hearts.

According to doctrine, the Lord of Hearts embodies all heart phenomena and has no fixed form.

Thus, the statues carved by worshippers are often abstract—in this place, the deity is represented by a pure white sphere, resembling a glutinous rice ball.

"Hello, young master."

Du Gu Fang, dressed in clerical robes, smiled: "How may I assist you?"

"I've come to make an offering to the Lord of Hearts and wish to enter the trading zone behind the hall."

Fang Xing pulled out a piece of gold, weighing five taels.

"The Lord of Hearts will bless you."

Du Gu Fang smiled faintly, accepted the devotee's offering, and signaled a priest to lead the way.

Fang Xing arrived behind the chapel and saw a vast square.

Along both sides of the square stood several solemn buildings, while some masters had set up stalls directly on the square—though there were few traders.

"Almost all are soldier-rank; general-rank are rare…"

Fang Xing glanced around and shook his head.

Before entering Lüsen City, he had instructed Erha to conceal his cultivation—now he appeared to be merely a soldier-rank master.

After a brief inspection, he first entered a building with a golden coin sign above its entrance.

It was a bank, also purchasing valuable items related to heart-beast masters.

"Esteemed master, what brings you to our 'Datong Bank'?"

The shopkeeper bowed upon seeing Fang Xing enter, smiling warmly.

"I'm selling some resources."

Fang Xing set down the bamboo basket and took out several items.

"This is… 'Blood Orchid'? 'Star Iron'? And 'Jade Honey'?"

The old shopkeeper rubbed his left eye—on it, he wore a monocle.

Seeing Fang Xing's gaze, he smiled slightly: "Forgive this old man's show—this is my primal heart-beast, the Arc-Lens. Weak in combat, but useful for appraisal… Your 'Blood Orchid' is ninety years old, worth one hundred taels of gold… The Star Iron weighs three jin six liang, worth eighty taels of gold… And the 'Jade Honey'—how about ten taels of gold per bottle?"

"The prices are fair."

Fang Xing nodded, accepting the deal.

In truth, he still had plenty of these items—he'd kept most of the Jade Honey back and wouldn't risk selling everything in one place.

Moreover, bronze-quality dog food is hard to find; Jade Honey can serve as a temporary substitute.

"Very well, total is two hundred and twenty taels of gold. Would you prefer gold or gold notes?"

The old shopkeeper smiled.

Fang Xing knew that in Lüsen City, one tael of gold equaled ten taels of silver, and one tael of silver could buy a hundred jin of rice.

Two hundred-plus taels of gold—even the Fang family of Sanshan Village would struggle to raise such a sum.

"The higher the master's rank, the more money they make—and the more they spend…"

He replied: "Gold notes, then. Your Datong Bank has a main branch in the Heart Capital—your reputation is solid."

The old shopkeeper's smile widened and handed Fang Xing twenty-two gold notes.

Each note was worth ten taels, pale gold in color, thick and stiff, with a distinctive texture.

Fang Xing even sensed a peculiar energy—likely an anti-counterfeit mark.

To operate banks across the Heart Realm, Datong Bank clearly had immense backing.

Even a monarch-rank power might not suffice.

"By the way, I heard your network is extensive—can you pre-order powerful heart-beast cubs or eggs?"

After the transaction, Fang Xing asked casually: "Do you have any commander-tier ones?"

"That… commander-tier heart-beasts are highly sought-after, especially cubs. Our bank accepts pre-orders, but this service is only offered to higher-tier partners…"

The old shopkeeper hesitated: "With your status, perhaps you could pre-order a few iron or bronze-tier cubs?"

Commander-tier heart-beasts, once grown, become lord-rank.

In Lüsen City, they're powerful enough to challenge the city lord—thus strictly controlled.

Fang Xing nodded in understanding, left the bank, and stepped onto the square.

"Top-grade battle pet food—all 'Blood Fang Rice,' brimming with blood qi!"

"Skill scrolls… 'Tear Claw' from the Hall of Hearts… only fifty taels of gold!"

"Heart-beast eggs, heart-beast cubs… iron-tier cubs on sale cheap!"

"Battle robes woven by a Weaver master—made with 'Water-Fire Silk,' waterproof and fireproof… essential for wilderness travel…"

…

The crowd on the square had grown slightly, and the vendors' shouts were louder than before.

Fang Xing walked past several stalls and shook his head at each.

"Of course—street stalls have no good goods… quality is even worse than shops; chasing bargains only leads to losses."

He stood before a stall selling heart-beast cubs, watching the listless, mediocre specimens, and sighed.

"Too poor…"

"Compared to them, the Earth Rampager I plan to sell looks like a rare gem…"

Still, a bronze-tier heart-beast cub was truly valuable—nearly equal to all his gains from this mountain expedition.

"Master, take a look at this 'Mingling Cat'!"

The hawk-nosed vendor, seeing Fang Xing pause, began hyping his heart-beast as heavenly, divine, destined to become king, emperor, even legendary…

"And these 'Black Feather Crow Eggs'—I risked my life climbing a ten-thousand-foot cliff to pluck them from the nest!"

The vendor, aware his goods were subpar, pulled out several pitch-black eggs.

"Still iron-tier… and Black Feather Crows are too small to carry a rider…"

Fang Xing shook his head.

He knew well that in a small county town like this, top-tier heart-beasts were impossible to find.

And in the Weather Team's concept, Erha is the absolute core.

As long as he could get a large flying heart beast that matched the Destruction Domain—even if it was only Bronze rank—he was prepared to accept it, since it was just a temporary solution.

He hadn't expected that the poverty of this small county exceeded even his prior expectations.

'Looks like… I'll have to go catch one myself.'

'After replenishing, I'll head back to Mount Qinglong… but this time I must avoid the area I visited last time.'

Fang Xing had read so many books at the academy that he knew if a large number of heart beasts died in one area, it would inevitably trigger a chain reaction and attract Lord-level experts.

Just as he was about to leave, another Driver walked in through the square's entrance.

The Driver was around forty, dressed in a black fitted outfit with a headband; Fang Xing didn't recognize him.

Beside him walked a one-eyed old wolf.

The old wolf was covered in scars, blind in one eye, with gray-white fur, looking rather pitiful.

More importantly, its single remaining eye locked onto Fang Xing the moment it saw him.

'Huh?'

Fang Xing's heart stirred: 'This one-eyed old wolf… seems similar to the one that appeared in Sanshan Village… Fang Lianshan mentioned in his letter that the wolf was one-eyed and had been taken away by a passing Driver…'