Chapter 17. Us young masters have money, progress with the True Essence Formula and sudden leap in strength
The storekeeper looked at Lin Xiang with a flushed face and asked with a respectful tone of uncertainty, "Young master, this order might cost you several thousand gold taels, are you certain you have that much money on you?"
The storekeeper didn't dare to say that Lin Xiang wouldn't be able to afford his order and instead had said that he might not have that much money on him to not offend him. However, judging by Lin Xiang's ordinary clothing, he didn't look at all like someone able to make such a huge purchase!
"What are you trying to say? You think us young masters can't afford it? It's only several thousand gold taels, nothing much!" Lin Xiaodong crossed his arms in front of his chest, coldly staring at the shopkeeper as he spoke with a tone of indignation. Aware just how much money Lin Xiang had, Lin Xiaodong's confidence shot through the roof.
Even if Lin Xaing had accepted the fact that Lan Yunyue left him and had moved on, Lin Xiaodong still didn't like it. That Lan Yunyue was quite an eyesore to him; how could he miss this opportunity to have her eat a loss?
The shopkeeper's face looked extremely embarrassed. He didn't expect that this fat youngster in ordinary clothing was actually some kind of tycoon. His face red, he hurriedly voiced out, "I dare not say that, young masters! It's just that the order is quite large…"
The shopkeeper felt extremely flustered. In addition to those items that Lin Xianghad wanted, he quickly calculated that this business transaction would almost be up to 8000 taels of gold!
This was equal to the price of two great treasures! And with the commission he could earn 160 gold taels for himself! With so much money on the line, the shopkeeper was extremely careful with his words and worried about offending Lin Xiang and Lin Xiaodong.
"Hmph!" Lin Xiaodong snorted. He reached into Lin Xiang's robes and took the golden banknotes near his chest, and spread them out in his hand like a fan.
The storekeeper froze when he saw the golden bank notes. His eyes flashed as he fiercely calculated the total amount in that stack of bills. They were banknotes worth 1000 gold taels each! With that the total amount should be at about ten thousand gold taels! He immediately realized that the golden banknotes were the real deal. As long as he went to a bank that was part of the chamber of commerce, he could exchange them for gold taels.
The storekeeper was thoroughly shocked. He sized up Lin Xiang and also Lin Xiaodong again. Although Lin Xiang had made pretty large purchases in the past, he didn't seem like a child from an aristocratic family.
The young girl in the shop had also hinted at it as if he was poor and had suddenly come into riches, so the shopkeeper didn't think that Lin Xiang had much money remaining after he spent more than two thousand gold taels on pills already.
As for Lan Yunyue and her friend, they were both also thoroughly shocked. 10,000 gold taels! How could these two be so freakishly rich?
It simply didn't make sense.
Not long ago Lan Yunyue still remembered how Lin Xiang had to use Iron Threat Grass and cheap spirit herbs, and was barely able to afford even that. She could not process what happened during this time that Lin Xiang was suddenly able to spend several thousand gold taels so casually.
As for the shopkeeper, he did not care about Lin Xiang's situation anymore. Money was god, and this was a temple. In particular, because Lin Xiaodong had spread out the golden banknotes wide, the shopkeeper's eyes picked up a peculiar item among them - it was a purple-gold colored card.
It was the card that Muyi had given to Lin Xiang; the VIP card! Everyone who used one would automatically be given a 10% discount on all shops that were under the government's jurisdiction!
The storekeeper's heart was awed. This VIP card was given by the chamber of commerce to the Royal Family and Marshal's Quarters to please them. To date, there have been less than 100 sent out!
The only ones that had the qualifications to own one of these was either a member of the Imperial Family or a top-tier figure within the Marshal's Quarters.
No matter what that young girl said, these two youths actually had an astonishingly outstanding background. They might possibly even be Emperor's little sons putting on some disguise and coming out of the Imperial Place to play around.
With this thought, the shopkeeper's face flushed red as he put on a smile and said, "Please forgive this foolish self for not recognizing such esteemed guests of honor. Please wait, I shall prepare everything immediately."
"Mhm. Don't miss anything," Lin Xiang expressionlessly said.
The storekeeper's keeper body was bloated like a pig with too much gas and yet he moved like the wind to collect all the items. Lin Xiang wanted a variety of materials that were all in different sections of the store, but the storekeeper was quick on his feet and fast with his hands as he dashed around.
In the meantime Lin Xiang noticed Lan Yunyue's shocked expression and felt a bit awkward. He came here to shop, it was not his intention to show off his wealth to exact revenge or to make Lan Yunyue regret her choice. That's simply how things turned out.
As for Lan Yunyue, she simply did not know what to think. She severely doubted that Lin Xiang was concealing his wealth in the past, so she instead felt that thanks to his wits he must have succeeded in some kind of business and managed to flip the money he got from Zhu Yan, earning a fortune.
Turning 2,5 thousand gold taels into at least 10 thousand gold taels in less than a month. It really was a shocking accomplishment!
Although Lin Xiang's martial talent was far inferior to Zhu Yan, when it came to his accomplishments he might not have been that much worse. He was also intelligent and especially kind. And he was also quite handsome…
Lan Yunyue felt extremely embarrassed and guilty when she realized that she had these thoughts. Although these days she had grown to regret her decision of leaving Lin Xiang due to the fact of how Zhu Yan treats her, she had already made her choice and could no longer go back.
At that time the shopkeeper had already gathered everything at the counter. He had a radiant smile as he said, "Two esteemed guests, please examine the authenticity of the goods. The total is 6830 gold taels after factoring in the discount."
When the storekeeper spoke to Lin Xiang in the past, he was respectful, but now he groveled to the point that it seemed as if he wanted to bow down his head to kiss Lin Xiang's feet.
Seeing the stacks of goods, Lin Xiaodong asked Lin Xiang, "Is this everything, brother Xiang?"
"Yes, it should be everything," Lin Xiang said. He calculated that the discount that the storekeeper mentioned was the 10% discount from the VIP card, so there was no need to bring it up.
Lin Xiaodong faintly nodded with a dignified expression and threw out seven one-thousand banknotes at the counter as if it were a spare change.
The shopkeeper received the money with a smile and soon gave the two the change. Aware of their 'secret identities', he respectfully asked, "Two guests, should I call a carriage for you?"
Lin Xiang faintly raised his eyebrows, thought for a moment and said, "That's alright."
Lin Xiaodong was not aware of the VIP card and was surprised by the fact that the shopkeeper actually called a carriage for them; he thought that it was because of money. He then said, "Brother Xiang, are you going back to the Grand Clarity Pavilion?"
Although Lin Xiaodng was aware that Lin Xiang was only a worker at the Grand Clarity Pavilion, he had still brought it up as if Lin Xiang was an esteemed guest there instead.
Lin Xiang wryly smiled. "Yeah. Let's go."
Not long later Lin Xiang and Lin Xiaodong left the shop.
Meanwhile Lan Yunyue remained in the story, feeling extremely confused. Ten thousand gold teals, 2nd Stage cultivation, a carriage, Grand Clarity Pavillion…
All the things that she dreamed of before, that she had to betray herself for, were just as easily obtained by Lin Xiang as well.
The life that Lin Xiang had after she left him was completely different from what she had imagined. It was as if… as if he bloomed after she left him.
…
As they returned to Lin Xiang's lodgings, Lin Xiaodong was in a funny move. "Haha, that felt great. Damn, remembering Lan Yunyue's dumbfounded expression really makes me want to laugh!"
Lin Xiang forced a smile. "Lan Yunyue had made her decision and it was also a reasonable one. We already went our separate ways, so there's no need to poke fun at her…"
Lin Xiang sighed and then playfully smiled. "Though… It did feel good."
Lin Xiaodong laughed. He felt that Lin Xiang was too soft-hearted in regards to the matter of Lan Yunyue leaving him for Zhu Yan. He was aware just how good Lin Xiang was to her in the past.
Lin Xiang let out a breath and said, "Xiaodong, this soft armor and these three Golden Deer Pills are for you."
Essence Gathering Pellets were only suitable for those that were diligent in practice, so giving Golden Deer Pills to Lin Xiaodong instead was more fitting.
The three Golden Deer Pills and the flexible armor added to a value of nearly a 1000 taels of gold. To Lin Xiaodong this was a great sum of money, and he hesitated for a moment until he thought of Lin Xiang's business. If what he guessed was true then 1000 gold taels was only a drop in the bucket compared to what he would make in the future. Thinking of these he accepted the items and smiled with a laugh as he said, "Then I will shamelessly accept them. Brother Xiang, later you will become my protective umbrella, haha."
"Hm. You helped me a lot in the past and favors must be repaid. In addition…" Lin Xiang took out the remaining 3000 gold taels and a letter. "When the family messengers come next time to Sky Fortune City, help me get this to my parents and have them buy the restaurant."
With Mo Eversnow's divine soul secretly watching over him, Lin Xiang especially wanted to show off an honest and righteous attitude of someone who always repays kindness. Perhaps after seeing him like this, Mo Eversnow might become more willing to share some of the memory fragments earlier with him when he requests it in the future.
In addition, Lin Xiang was determined, but he was far from being indifferent to all emotions. He felt a great amount of respect and gratitude toward his parents of this world and because of this he wanted to repay them. At least, doing that much would give him a peace of mind.
"Alright, let me handle this matter."
"Mm. There's one more matter. Please get me 200 gold taels worth of Sky Worm Silk." Lin Xiang gave Lin Xiaodong 200 gold taels.
"Okay, leave it to me!"
As Lin Xiaodong left, Lin Xiang returned to his room alone.
He took out a pure True Essence Stone worth 1000 gold taels and began to absorb the rich energy from within. The effect of the last Essence Gathering Pellet that he took yesterday was still active in his body, so he had no need to take another one yet.
Everything was on the right track and Lin Yang was satisfied with his rate of progress.
That day Lin Yang's thoughts flowed incomparably smoothly and he quickly entered into a relaxed state of flow.
Over time, his circulation speed of true essence within his body began to accelerate more and more.
'Mmm? How could it be so fast?' Lin Yang was surprised. As he continued to practice, his circulation speed continued accelerating further.
"Pah!" Eventually, with a small sound, the true essence stone in Lin Xiang's hand suddenly cracked open.
'The true essence stone was already used up?' Lin Yang opened his eyes with a slightly surprised expression.
As Lin Yang calculated, he had only been using that one True Essence Stone for about 8 hours, but it was already fully drained!
Just like this 1000 gold taels went up in smoke…
Lin Yang frowned and took out another pure True Essence Stone.
The cost of using True Essence Stones was incredibly high, but perhaps the effect was worth it. He planned to completely use up two True Essence Stones and try to accurately judge the amount of cultivation progress that he made thanks to them.
As Lin Xiang absorbed the energy from the True Essence Stones, a massive influx of fresh pure true essence merged into his body.
His true essence circulation speed climbed up even more than before, and the acceleration showed no signs of slowing down. Soon, it had surpassed the previous top speed and reached several times the norm, and then…
This…This…
Lin Xiang felt shocked. He achieved the Large Success of the First Layer of the 'True Essence Chaos Formula'!
He opened his eyes. He took in a deep breath and his face revealed an expression of joy.
About two weeks ago he had quickly reached the Small Success of the First Layer of the True Essence Chaos Formula when he grasped the basic control of his strength and true essence, but he didn't expect that he would reach the Large Success stage so soon!
'In the novel Lin Ming only achieved Large Success of the First layer after he already entered the Seven Profound Martial House. He managed to do it thanks to the stimulation of a True Essence Stone that he received after placing first in the assessment,' Lin Xiang recalled.
As it appeared, thanks to the help of a pure True Essence Stone and his efforts these days, Lin Xiang had reached the Large Success of the First Layer of the True Essence Chaos Formula much quicker than Lin Ming. As of now, barely 20 days passed since he had acquired the Magic Cube.
Lin Xiang closed his eyes, clutched the pure True Essence Stone in his hand and tested the effect of his breakthrough.
He soon cast his judgment.
After breaking through the cultivation manual's layer, his true essence circulation speed was no longer as crazily speedy as earlier, but the base speed was enhanced by about 30% when compared to yesterday.
In addition, after these last few hours when he was greedily absorbing true essence, Lin Xiang's true essence density had also significantly increased. IT felt as if during these last two hours his cultivation had actually made several days of progress! However, once his cells became saturated with true essence, his cultivation speed seemed to have returned to a more ordinary speed.
Having made these observations, Lin Xiang stood up, packed his backpack and ran out of his room.
He then sprinted all the way to the glade in the Zhou Mountains where he usually practiced.
Once at the training spot, Lin Xiang tossed his backpack to the ground. In it were healing herbs and medicines, and also bandages. The medicine was not the cheap stuff; they were all rare and precious medicines. Even the bandages had been steeped in black bone grass juice which provided an extra healing effect.
Lin Xiang picked an Iron Wood tree and then punched it with his full force, imbuing true essence into his attack.
"Bang!"
As soon as Lin Xiang punched the tree in front of him, a 'bang' rang into the air. His fist drilled deep into the tree all the way to his elbow, going out the other way, causing the entire tree to bend back and a large area where he punched out to split.
Lin Xiang's eyes flashed. He pulled out his fists and whipped his leg, striking the tree.
With a loud bang, his shin, akin to a heavy ax, struck the area that was split by his punches.
A foot-deep dent appeared at the side of the tree as the entire tree bent to the other side due to the force of the strike. While being bent to the side, the remaining half of the tree was unable to hold it anymore and with cracking sounds the tree broke.
With a loud sound, the Ironwood tree crashed to the ground.
'Great! With me being able to demolish an Ironwood try this large, my strength should have surpassed 2000 jins!' Lin Xiang's heart thought.
An ordinary person that had just reached the Early Flesh Training would only have about 1000 jins if their foundation is decent, but at the same boundary Lin Xiang's strength was actually above 2000 jins!
Not long ago, his physical strength was not as exaggerated. As he expected, after he reached the Large Success of the True Essence Chaos Formula, his strength had increased by 500 jins, just like it happened to Lin Ming in the novel. To an ordinary martial artist, 500 jins was often the gap between large stages!
However, the 'True Essence Chaos Formula' was in truth only the part of the 'Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians' which revolved true essence, it was not everything.
The 'Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians' was truly worthy of being the Divine Realm's top tier Body Transformation cultivation technique.
Lin Xiang remembered that of those in the Verdan Feather Holy Land that practiced the 'Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians' Body Transformation, there were disciple janitors who swept the floor of the entrance and little children that played near the fireplaces who had several ten thousand jins of strength.
If they had reached the Large Success stage of the 'Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians', they could even rely on their strength to shatter mountain ranges, part the seas, and shatter the skies.
Reaching Large Success of the 'True Primal Chaos Formula's' first layer was only his first step, there were also six more layers, each more difficult than the last! After the Large Success of the first layer was still the Perfect Success, and then there was the second layer…
Beyond the 'Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians' and continuing the 'True Primal Chaos Formula', there was still the Eight Hidden Gates and the Nine Stars of Dao Palace.
At this point Lin Xiang wasn't even qualified to be a floor sweeping disciple of these ancient sects.
Thinking of this, Lin Xiang chuckled. The road that he wished to walk on was truly long, but this only caused him to feel more excited about the possible levels of strength that he might reach.