Chapter 501: Chapter 439: Purchasing a Spiritual Vessel

"What do you think of this Spiritual Vessel, sir?"

The Spiritual Vessel landed back in the courtyard as the clerk asked.

"It’s alright, but the hull is too thin. We’re looking for a sturdier Spiritual Vessel."

Zhao Lin didn’t reject it outright, simply making up an excuse.

Gu Dezhao, thinking Zhao Lin wanted to haggle, chimed in, "That’s right. The materials are a bit lacking. Can you lower the price?"

The clerk spread his hands. "I’m truly sorry, but our store has fixed prices. This Spiritual Vessel is a bestseller; it’s a six-month wait for a new one to arrive. If you want to take one home today, there’s an extra charge of ten thousand Spirit Coins."

’An extra charge?’

Zhao Lin sneered inwardly and pointed to the third Spiritual Vessel. "What about this one?"

The clerk, assuming Zhao Lin was just asking casually, gave a perfunctory introduction. "That one is from the Shangfa Sect of the Western Realm. In most respects, it’s similar to the Spiritual Vessels from the Earth Dark Sect, but it flies a bit faster and uses slightly better materials. The total price is six hundred thousand Spirit Coins."

A question occurred to Zhao Lin. "These three Spiritual Vessels are all from other sects. Doesn’t your shop have any made by our own Chenghua Sect?"

"Are you joking, sir?"

The clerk looked as if he’d heard the funniest joke in the world, the corner of his mouth twitching in a sneer. "The Spiritual Vessels from our Chenghua Sect? They’re shoddy and poorly made, with questionable quality. Only a fool would buy one!"

"Our people are incompetent, and our techniques are lacking. How can we possibly compare to those established, boat-building sects?"

"When it comes to Spiritual Vessels, the ones from other sects are just better..."

Zhao Lin’s expression darkened. The feeling was all too familiar. Why couldn’t they just discuss the matter at hand? Why did they have to bring people into it? It was as if this clerk could only achieve some bizarre sense of superiority by aggressively disparaging his own people and praising outsiders.

"That’s enough."

Zhao Lin didn’t want to hear any more. He raised a hand to cut the clerk off. "We’ll think about it." With that, he turned and walked straight out.

The clerk was stunned. ’Things were going so well,’ he thought. ’Why did they suddenly leave?’

Gu Dezhao hurried to catch up with Zhao Lin, whispering, "Shopkeeper Zhao, I thought that Spiritual Vessel was quite good. Why don’t we pool our money? Worst case, we wait six months."

Zhao Lin shook his head. "No need to consider it."

The three of them left the Imperial Boat Pavilion and went to the Treasure Ship Hall.

"Welcome, gentlemen. Are you looking to buy a flight-type magical treasure or a Spiritual Vessel?"

The clerk at the Treasure Ship Hall was very enthusiastic, greeting the three of them the moment they walked in.

"A cargo Spiritual Vessel. It needs to be amphibious, for both water and air."

Zhao Lin stated directly.

"Of course. This way, please, sirs."

The clerk made a guiding gesture, leading Zhao Lin and the others into an open-air yard.

The Treasure Ship Hall’s decor wasn’t as grand as the Imperial Boat Pavilion’s. The yard was somewhat cluttered, with more than a dozen Spiritual Vessels of various shapes and sizes arranged within it.

The clerk introduced five cargo-type Spiritual Vessels, with prices ranging from 350,000 to 800,000 Spirit Coins.

Coincidentally, the cheapest one was made by the Chenghua Sect.

Zhao Lin took it for a test ride and secretly shook his head.

He had to admit, comparisons were brutal.

The Chenghua Sect’s Spiritual Vessel was not only slow and difficult to handle, but its defensive Arrays were also quite weak. It wasn’t much better than the old, worn-out Spiritual Vessel their store currently owned.

Zhao Lin tested a few other Spiritual Vessels and took a liking to one from the Luosa Sect, priced at six hundred thousand Spirit Coins.

Although its flight speed was average, its materials were exceptionally sturdy. It was equipped with nine defensive Arrays alone, all of them Tier Two, compensating for a lack of quality with sheer quantity.

Zhao Lin flew the Spiritual Vessel out of the market square to a deserted area to test the power of its offensive Array.

BOOM!

A white ball of light shot out from the bow, disappearing into the clouds in a flash.

Zhao Lin wasn’t quite satisfied. He frowned and asked, "The offensive power is a bit weak. Can we install additional offensive Arrays?"

The clerk gave a wry smile. "I’m afraid that’s not possible. Sect regulations stipulate that the offensive Arrays on ordinary Spiritual Vessels cannot exceed Tier One. Only battle-vessels are allowed to have stronger ones."

Zhao Lin knew this to be true, so he said no more. He piloted the Spiritual Vessel back to the Treasure Ship Hall and said to the clerk, "Have your shopkeeper come see me."

The clerk’s spirits lifted. He quickly led the three men to a private room to rest, then turned and left to fetch a portly, middle-aged cultivator.

"I am Yan Shunfeng, the Second Shopkeeper of the Treasure Ship Hall. May I ask who I have the pleasure of addressing?"

The middle-aged cultivator’s eyes swept over them as he spoke with a smile, clasping his hands in a polite bow.

"Zhao Lin."

"Gu Dezhao."

"Tang Zhengquan."

The three men stood up and returned the courtesy.

"You three look a bit familiar. Have we met before?"

Shopkeeper Yan, seeing that Zhao Lin was the leader of the group, asked politely.

"Shopkeeper Yan has a sharp eye. I am the shopkeeper of the Golden Core Hall, and this is Shopkeeper Gu. Since we’re all in the same market square, we have likely crossed paths a few times."

Zhao Lin smiled faintly, giving Gu Dezhao a meaningful look as he spoke.

"No wonder. In that case, you could say we’re practically in the same line of business."

Shopkeeper Yan picked up his teacup and took a light sip.

"Since we’re in the same business, how about giving us a better price on the Spiritual Vessel? If Shopkeeper Yan ever comes by the Golden Core Hall, we’ll be sure to give you a generous discount."

Gu Dezhao knew this was his cue and immediately picked up the conversation.

Shopkeeper Yan was momentarily taken aback, then chuckled in amusement. "And which Spiritual Vessel have you gentlemen taken a liking to?"

"It’s the one from the Luosa Sect. The asking price is six hundred thousand. Come on, Shopkeeper Yan, give us a better deal."

Gu Dezhao didn’t hold back, diving straight into haggling with him.

After an hour of haggling, the price had only dropped to five hundred sixty thousand.

After that, no matter what Gu Dezhao said, Shopkeeper Yan refused to budge.

"This is the absolute lowest I can go, and that’s only out of professional courtesy. Why don’t you three discuss it and then make a decision?"

With a hint of regret, Shopkeeper Yan stood up, clasped his hands toward Zhao Lin and the others, and took a few steps back before leaving the private room.

"Sigh, we can’t afford five hundred sixty thousand either."

Gu Dezhao sighed. "Should we just go back to the Imperial Boat Pavilion and buy that Spiritual Vessel from the Earth Dark Sect?"

Zhao Lin was spending a fortune on a Spiritual Vessel precisely to guard against the Earth Dark Sect; how could he possibly buy one of theirs? He rejected the idea flatly. "That Spiritual Vessel is not an option."

Gu Dezhao stroked his beard, confused. "Shopkeeper Zhao, why do we have to buy a Spiritual Vessel right now? Draining our accounts completely won’t do us any good. Wouldn’t it be better to wait until next year?"

Zhao Lin paused for a moment, then decided to reveal the truth. "Elder Gu, I’ll be honest with you. In the future, besides making trips back to Han Chi County for stock, we’ll also need to travel frequently to and from Red Tail Island. The amphibious function is a must-have."

Gu Dezhao was astonished. "To Red Tail Island? To stock up on what?"

"To be perfectly honest, I’ve secured the exclusive rights to sell Spirit Pearls from Red Tail Island..."

Zhao Lin gave him a rough summary of the situation.

"Really? We can sell Spirit Pearls?"

Gu Dezhao nearly jumped out of his chair, the words tumbling out.

Hearing this, Tang Zhengquan was also visibly shocked.

Zhao Lin nodded slowly. "It’s true. The half-month I was away was for this very matter. We not only obtained the exclusive rights to sell Spirit Pearls in the three southeastern prefectures, but also the rights to the Spirit Grass and minerals around Red Tail Island."

Gu Dezhao’s expression shifted again and again. ’Zhao Lin’s abilities are just too incredible!’ he thought. ’Even with the support of County Elder Lu Yuanxiu, is the Spirit Pearl business on Red Tail Island something you can just take whenever you want?’

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