Chapter 7

"So, can I be considered a weapon refiner now?"

Inside the hut,

Wu Tao looked at the first-grade, second-level sprinting robe in his hand, feeling excitement, agitation, and joy that he could hardly suppress. If there were a woman by his side, he would definitely have picked her up and spun her around a few times.

Unfortunately, he was a single dog, so he could only bounce around a few times with a sense of ceremony, slowly digesting all the excitement and joy on his own.

"Alas, in this life, I have no friends. If this achievement were in my previous life, I would definitely have gathered my good brothers for a few cases of drinks at a street stall, both to celebrate and to show off unintentionally."

Wu Tao stroked the delicate white robe with both hands, and Zhang Li came to mind. He had just wanted to show off to Zhang Li, but the thought was instantly extinguished.

The cultivation world was not like the rule of law society in his previous life; he had to learn to be low-key and make money quietly.

"Let's test it."

The robe had been successfully refined, but quality control was also important. He intended to make a living as a weapon refiner and could not afford to ruin his reputation.

Wu Tao, having lived two lives, knew the importance of integrity.

The robe had a single function, a first-grade, second-level sprinting restriction. Since it was refined by his hands, he was familiar with the structure of the restriction. After a quarter of an hour, he had refined the restriction and imprinted his divine consciousness.

He put on the robe and said, "I'll just test it in this room."

He considered his current low cultivation, a second-layer Qi Cultivation novice, who had not yet mastered the Fireball Spell. Taking a first-grade, initial-level robe outside for testing...

That would be asking for trouble.

If a bad person saw him and robbed him, or worse, killed him for the treasure, he could only complain to King Yan.

He activated the sprinting restriction in the robe with his spiritual energy. The robe immediately emitted a layer of light like fireflies, and Wu Tao's figure moved, his legs spinning as he circled around the small room.

After two laps, Wu Tao stopped and concluded, "The restriction is intact, the activation time is fast, about three seconds, the spiritual energy is continuous, the speed has doubled, quality... qualified."

Wu Tao carefully took it off and removed his divine consciousness imprint.

Then, he wrapped it in a clean cloth and put it under the bed, planning to sell it at the market the next day.

"I heard that the cheapest stall at the market costs thirty spirit stones a day, and I only have six spirit stones left... I'll have to swallow my pride and borrow from Zhang Li."

Wu Tao was a bit worried that Zhang Li might not be willing to lend him the money.

After all, not lending was the norm, and lending was a favor.

He did not think their friendship had reached the point where he could borrow money.

But what could he do? He only knew Zhang Li.

He would have to borrow even if he had to kneel and call her mother.

...

The next morning, after taking care of Hu Zi, Wu Tao came to Zhang Li's door and knocked.

Zhang Li had no customers last night.

After a while, the door opened, and Zhang Li, with sleepy eyes and a bad temper, looked at him, "What do you want? I'm still sleepy."

Wu Tao struggled internally, hesitated for a moment, and then said the words about borrowing money, worried that Zhang Li would not trust him, and quickly added, "Daoist Zhang, rest assured, I will pay you back in full in no more than two days."

Zhang Li looked at his anxious, sweating face, said nothing, and seemed to be thinking. After a moment, she asked, "How much?"

Wu Tao was overjoyed and quickly said, "Sixty spirit stones."

Zhang Li turned around, and Wu Tao heard the sound of spirit stones clinking inside. Soon, Zhang Li returned with a money bag and handed it to Wu Tao, saying, "Here are a hundred spirit stones, Daoist Li, take them to tide you over!"

Really borrowed... Wu Tao took the money bag, feeling infinite gratitude, and then said seriously, "Daoist Zhang, I can't thank you enough, you have saved my life."

Zhang Li yawned, waved her hand, and said indifferently, "It's not as serious as you make it sound. Alright, I'm going back to sleep."

She then closed the door.

Wu Tao held the money bag in his hand, determined to remember this favor, for in this world, there were few people willing to lend you money.

...

"Lightweight talisman, four low-grade spirit stones each."

"Soundproofing array, a ten-year special offer, installation included, three-year warranty, only fifty low-grade spirit stones. The discount is only for three days, after which it will return to the original price of sixty-eight low-grade spirit stones. Hurry up if you want to install it!"

"Wen family beast skin talisman paper workshop is closing, Wen family beast skin talisman paper workshop is closing. Wen He, the bastard, ran away with his sister-in-law, unable to pay spirit stones, so our workers can only take beast skin talisman paper as wages. Twenty sheets for one low-grade spirit stone, at cost, at a loss..."

"Spirit rice, the best spirit rice, this year's new variety, Youxiang No. 3, very fragrant, no need to cook, just eat three bowls..."

"Uncle, how much is your spirit rice?"

"Little Daoist, not to brag, but this spirit rice is a new variety cultivated by Master Zhou Tianong, a top-grade spirit farmer from Wushan Mountain, this year. It's very fragrant. One low-grade spirit stone for thirty pounds..."

"If you don't believe me, look, this is my spirit farmer certificate, stamped by the Wushan Mountain Spirit Plant Hall. I have taken great care of these spirit rice... guaranteed quality..."

The spirit farmer selling spirit rice opened a certificate and handed it to Wu Tao to see.

Wu Tao had never seen a spirit farmer's certificate before and was curious. He took it and saw, "Han Tizhu has passed the spirit farmer examination of the Wushan Mountain Spirit Plant Hall, evaluated as a D-grade spirit farmer, and is hereby issued this certificate as proof."

—There was indeed a red stamp of the Wushan Mountain Spirit Plant Hall at the bottom right, which could not be faked.

"See, a D-grade spirit farmer, I'm pretty good, right!" Han Tizhu pointed to the "D-grade spirit farmer" on the certificate and said to Wu Tao, a hint of pride on his face.

"Uncle is amazing!" Wu Tao returned the certificate to Han Tizhu and gave him a big thumbs up without hesitation.

The first lesson in society: don't be stingy with praise. Praise others, it doesn't cost anything, and it makes the other person happy. Why not?

Wu Tao's praise hit the spot, and Han Tizhu said, "Little Daoist, just for your thumbs up, I'll give you an extra pound."

He then proceeded to weigh the spirit rice for Wu Tao.

Wu Tao quickly held Han Tizhu's arm and said in a difficult manner, "Uncle, I'm sorry, I don't have any money on me now. When I have money, I will definitely buy your spirit rice."

Han Tizhu was not disappointed but said generously, "Alright, Uncle wishes you wealth and plenty of spirit stones."

Wu Tao said goodbye to Han Tizhu and headed to the market rental office.

The market was also built by the disciples of Wushan Mountain. To set up a stall here, one had to go to the office to get a rental certificate. If one set up a stall privately, and was discovered by the inspector, they would not only be heavily fined but also lose their residency in the Western Outer City.

Wu Tao had already learned to investigate thoroughly before taking action to avoid unnecessary trouble.

At the market rental office, there were only two windows, but many cultivators were waiting to rent stalls, forming two long queues. At the official Wushan Mountain office, no one dared to cut in line.

Wu Tao also obediently joined the queue.

After three quarters of an hour, it was Wu Tao's turn.

"Sir, hello, I want to rent a stall." Wu Tao smiled and said politely.

"What are you selling?"

"Robes."

"Robes?"

The office staff finally looked up at Wu Tao upon hearing these two words, "Sure, which area do you want to rent, and do you have a certificate? If you do, please show it."

"Certificate?"

Wu Tao was puzzled, "Sir, I haven't heard that renting a stall requires a certificate?"

"First time?"

Seeing Wu Tao nod, the cultivator at the office said, "You didn't know that renting a stall can be discounted with a certificate. Selling spirit rice with a spirit farmer certificate can reduce the stall rental fee by ten percent. If you sell robes and have a certified weapon refiner certificate from the Wushan Mountain Weapon Refining Hall, you can get a twenty percent discount on the rental fee and a ten percent reduction in transaction tax."

"Thank you for your explanation, sir. I don't have a certificate." Wu Tao really didn't know about this and thought about whether he should take the exam at Wushan Mountain in the future to save some money.

He just didn't know how difficult it would be.