Chapter 49: Borrowing

Page 1 of 3

Outside the outer city of Tianyun City, a figure cloaked in black slipped quietly through the bustling streets before turning into a secluded alley.

Beneath the cloak, Lin Chuan’s lips curved faintly upward. Inside his Cosmos Bag lay sixty-two million low-grade spirit stones—the proceeds from selling the secret-realm treasures to the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild in the black market.

“This haul is nearly twice what I gained from the Azure Nether Secret Realm.”

Lin Chuan calculated silently. “The Heavenly Sea Secret Realm is a spirit-grade secret realm, just like the Azure Nether Secret Realm. Aside from the place where I unexpectedly discovered Old Zi’s reincarnation, the gains over the same period should have been about the same.”

He took several familiar turns through the back alleys and, after confirming that no one was following him, removed his cloak and returned to the Earthfire Courtyard.

The moment he pushed open the courtyard gate, a rich medicinal fragrance greeted him. Zhang Yida was hard at work in the alchemy room.

“Brother Lin!”

Sensing Lin Chuan’s presence, Zhang Yida immediately put away the pills he had just refined and hurried out to greet him.

“You’re back!”

Lin Chuan nodded slightly. “Has anything happened at the Myriad Medicines Workshop these past few days?”

At the question, Zhang Yida’s face, yellowed year-round by the smoke of alchemy, split into a broad grin.

“Guess what? On the second day after we returned, the chief manager of the Myriad Medicines Workshop came to our door personally, bringing five million low-grade spirit stones as an apology!”

“Oh?” Lin Chuan raised an eyebrow. The outcome was even better than he had expected.

Zhang Yida rubbed his hands excitedly.

“The entire outer city is saying that a supreme figure stands behind our Soaring Firmament Apothecary, and that even the Myriad Medicines Workshop doesn’t dare provoke us! The medicinal-material merchants who used to ignore us are now scrambling to supply us!”

Lin Chuan nodded in satisfaction.

This was precisely the effect he had wanted. He had deliberately left the corpses of Zhou Hao and the others behind so that the Myriad Medicines Workshop would understand that the Soaring Firmament Apothecary was not to be trifled with.

It seemed that making an example of them had worked remarkably well.

“Nicely done.” Lin Chuan patted Zhang Yida on the shoulder. “I’m going to cultivate. Call me when Zhang Lin and the others return.”

Inside the main room, Lin Chuan sat cross-legged, sensing the surging spiritual power within him.

During those seven days in the Endless Sea, he had not only plundered a vast number of treasures, but had also accumulated abundant combat experience through his battles with various sea beasts.

As the Heavenly Feather Transforming Dragon Art circulated, the bloodline powers of the Crimson-Gold Dragon and the Five-Plumed Peacock had begun to merge. They had helped him break through in one stroke to the seventh level of the Spirit Martial realm.

“It shouldn’t be long before I can attempt to break into the Profound Martial realm.”

Lin Chuan looked inward toward his dantian. A mass of golden mist was slowly rotating there—the “dragon breath” unique to the Heavenly Feather Transforming Dragon Art.

Toward evening, Zhang Lin and his wife, along with Wang Tiezhu, returned one after another to the Earthfire Courtyard.

When they heard that Lin Chuan had finished his secluded cultivation, they immediately gathered outside the main room.

Page 2 of 3

“Come in.”

Lin Chuan’s voice came from within.

The four of them pushed open the door and entered, all wearing delighted expressions.

Wang Tiezhu eagerly delivered his report.

“Brother Lin, over these seven days we sold another four or five thousand Gathering Spirit Pills, earning a net profit of forty thousand low-grade spirit stones!”

Li Yu added, “And no one dares to force our prices down anymore. The cost of purchasing medicinal materials is now five percent lower than before.”

Zhang Lin then produced a ledger. “These are the detailed accounts.”

Lin Chuan flipped through it casually and nodded in satisfaction.

“Not bad. Keep it up.”

Then he suddenly changed direction.

“However, I have a way to make even more money than selling pills.”

The four of them stared at him in surprise.

In their eyes, earning two hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones a month was already an astonishing fortune. What could possibly be more profitable than that?

Seeing their disbelief, Lin Chuan chuckled.

“Do you know how many martial artists there are in Tianyun City who, like you once were, cannot save enough money to enter a secret realm even after decades?”

Zhang Lin answered instinctively, “At least a hundred thousand…”

“Exactly!”

Lin Chuan slapped his thigh.

“If these people had possessed the money to enter secret realms and seek treasures from the very beginning, would they still be destitute?”

Wang Tiezhu scratched his head. “But… but they don’t have any money.”

“That’s why we can lend it to them!”

A shrewd gleam flashed through Lin Chuan’s eyes.

“The loan term will be seven days, which is exactly the length of a secret-realm expedition. As for the interest… we’ll charge twenty-five percent of the principal.”

“Twenty-five percent?!”

Zhang Yida cried out in alarm. “You’ll charge that much in just seven days?”

Lin Chuan merely smiled without answering.

That interest rate would have been considered exorbitant even in Earth’s online lending industry. But in a world of resource-rich secret realms, as long as one did not die after entering, the guaranteed return was more than fifty percent.

Zhang Lin was the first to understand. He slapped his thigh with sudden excitement.

“Brilliant! Borrow one hundred spirit stones and repay one hundred and twenty-five seven days later. They can afford that completely!”

Li Yu’s eyes shone.

“And we won’t bear any of the risks of entering secret realms. It’s a guaranteed profit!”

Wang Tiezhu counted on his fingers.

“If we lend out a million… we can earn two hundred and fifty thousand in just seven days? That’s much faster than selling pills!”

Zhang Yida suddenly thought of a problem.

“But what if someone refuses to repay the debt?”

A cold smile tugged at the corner of Lin Chuan’s mouth.

“Don’t forget. We have a ‘supreme figure’ backing us.”

Page 3 of 3

He raised the Blood Spirit Ring and gave it a slight shake.

“Old Zi’s greatest specialty is tracking souls.”

The four of them immediately understood.

With a terrifying existence like Old Zi, capable of instantly slaughtering hundreds of martial artists, who would dare default on a debt owed to the Soaring Firmament Apothecary?

“Brother Lin, how does your mind even work?”

Wang Tiezhu gazed at him with admiration. “How could I never have thought of such a wonderful idea?”

Zhang Lin sighed as well.

“If someone had been willing to lend us money to enter a secret realm ten years ago, perhaps by now…”

Lin Chuan rubbed his nose, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“This wasn’t originally my idea.”

He thought of the campus online-lending crisis on Earth.

“Back home, we called this financial innovation.”

“Financial?”

The four exchanged bewildered looks. The term was utterly unfamiliar to them.

Lin Chuan waved a hand.

“In any case, starting tomorrow, besides selling pills, we’ll establish the Soaring Firmament Bank and specialize in providing loans to martial artists who want to enter secret realms.”

He began assigning the details. Zhang Lin would be responsible for reviewing borrowers’ qualifications, Li Yu would manage the accounts, and Wang Tiezhu and Zhang Yida would handle disbursements and debt collection.

As for risk control, with Old Zi’s soul contracts in place, there was no need to fear bad debts.

“Remember, for the first batch of borrowers, choose only those with experience in secret realms but insufficient funds.”

Lin Chuan instructed them, “Once the system is running smoothly, we can expand.”

The four nodded repeatedly, their eyes filled with anticipation.

They seemed to see a road to riches unfolding before them—one even more lucrative than selling pills.

Deep into the night, Lin Chuan stood alone in the courtyard, gazing up at the starry sky.

From within the Blood Spirit Ring, Little Fatty’s voice rang out.

“Chuan, that’s a vicious move. It’s even faster than robbing people outright.”

Old Zi also fawned, “The young master is wise! I shall certainly drag out the souls of every wretch who refuses to repay his debts!”

Lin Chuan shook his head.

“We aren’t tyrants running a loan-sharking operation.”

A brilliant light flickered in his eyes.

“This is a win-win arrangement. They use our money to change their fate, while we earn a reasonable profit.”

Little Fatty muttered, “Twenty-five percent interest per week, and you call that reasonable…”

Lin Chuan smiled without answering. In a world of resource-rich secret realms, it truly was not considered high.

He believed that before long, the Soaring Firmament Bank’s profits would surpass those of the apothecary.