98 98.

By the time Yang Ze made his way back to the shop, it was already early noon. It took him quite a while to arrange all the things, but now that he was done with all the arrangements, he could finally sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor.

And sure enough, it didn't take long before a man made his way towards the shop.

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In the city of Mehull, Gong Fu is one of the many businessmen. However, compared to the other large-scale business, his business was quite small. He usually deals in spices, grains, and clothes. His family started this business fifty years ago. At first, everything was going on pretty well. They would usually earn a profit of more than twenty spirit stones every month. Though it wasn't much, it was enough for their small family.

However, good things never last long. Over the past few years, there had been increased tax rates and increased expenses on daily commodities. On top of that, they even had to pay the Beggar Sect protection money.

Right now, his business was on the verge of bankruptcy. He talked with many of his friends and the majority of them were in the same situation. At this time, their small business was slowly being overtaken by the large families. But, there was nothing that he could do.

He had tried his best to salvage the situation but to no avail. Their group even went to talk with the big families, but all they received were empty promises.

In the end, he could only return back with a heavy heart. Now, he had less than twenty spirit stones on him. And if things keep on going the way they are, it won't be long before his family business that ran for over five decades comes to an end.

"Forgive me, father, I am incompetent." Thinking about how his father worked so hard for this business, he could only sigh in grief. In the end, he became the sinner.

"Well, hello there."

Just when he was at his lowest, an immature voice sounded in his ears.

"Huh?" Looking at the child in front of him, Gong Fu pointed toward himself. "You talking to me kid?"

"Mmm Hmm.." Nodding his head, Xiao Li hopped near him with a smile. From a distance, he was able to distinguish this person from the rest of the crowd. His clothes were luxurious and he seemed to have something on his mind. A perfect target as his first customer.

"Go away, I don't need a guide. I live here." The moment the man looked at the wooden badge hanging on Xiao Li's waist, he waved his hand to him. He was already upset about the future, and right now, he could care less about a brat from the Golden Bowl Sect.

"Well, I have a gift for you." Xiao Li didn't take his words to heart but took out a rune with a smile.

"Huh!" In his irritation, Gong Fu wanted to scold him, but the moment his eyes fell on the rune, he forgot the words that were about to come from his mouth.

"This..." How could a businessman like him not know what this thing was?

"Where did you get this?" Standing up in a hurry, he tried to take the rune from Xiao Li's hand. But the moment his hands neared him, a snort brought him back to his senses.

"Gulp..." Looking at four burly figures that were standing a few meters behind Xiao Li, Gong Fu almost cursed out loud. Looking at the Beggar Sect's token on them, the first thought that came to his mind was 'trouble'. But to his surprise, they only gave him a warning glance.

'Since when did the Golden bowl and the Beggar Sect start working together?' This was the first thought that came to his mind, but soon his train of thoughts was stopped by Xiao Li's voice.

"Here, this is what our shop is selling. Right now, we are offering a special discount for a limited number of people. You can buy these things at half the price of the normal market." With a smile, Xiao Li slowly moved towards him before whispering in his ears...

"Do you know, there is a rune grandmaster in that shop?"

"Really?" As soon as Gong Fu heard this, he almost jumped in disbelief. What was the concept of a Rune grandmaster? He knew very well.

Every word that this child spoke was full of shocking news. Buying runes from a Rune Grandmaster at half the price? This was too good to be true.

"Here take this. This is a free sample." Looking at him still hesitating, Xiao Li threw the final bait.

"Be sure to check it out." After telling him the address of the shop, Xiao Li bid him farewell before looking for another person.

"This..." Gong Fu stood in his position for a long time. At first, he was a little hesitant. Who knows it might be a scam. But the boy didn't force him to buy anything, hell, he even gifted him a free sample.

Clenching his teeth, Gong Fu slowly relaxed "Even if it's a lie, there is no harm checking out the place."

After making up his mind, he slowly made his way toward the location that the young boy told him.

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"Welcome Dear customer."

Looking at another young boy standing in front of the shop greeting him with a smile, Gong Fu didn't know how to react.

"Please come inside."

This was the first real customer, so Yang Ze was pretty enthusiastic about it.

With a smile, Yang Ze brought him to the chair before offering him a seat.

"Would you like to have something? Water or tea?"

"Err... Water please." After speaking with some hesitation, Gong Fu began to observe the inside of the shop. Compared to the outside appearance, the inside was much better. Slowly touching the soft chair, he nodded. Even the chairs and tables were luxurious. Running his gaze through the shop, his eyes stopped at the shelves placed behind the wooden counter.

"This... this... this..." With every passing second, his breathing was getting ragged. He just couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him, on the shelves were hundreds of runes stacked neatly. From the number he could make out, there were more than a thousand runes.

"Hisss..." Gong Fu exhaled coldly. What was the concept of a thousand runes? This shabby-looking shop has goods worth more than a thousand spirit stones. For a moment, Gong Fu felt like he was dreaming. What was the concept of a thousand spirit stones? Even his family business only brought him a profit of twenty spirit stones per month.

"Well, here you go." Handing him a cup of water, Yang Ze pulled out a paper and a brush from his robe before placing them on the table and taking the seat in front of Gong Fu.

"Let me introduce myself first." With a smile, Yang Ze slightly nodded his head.

"My name is Hua Ji, and right now, it is my job to take care of this business. At this moment, we are working with the Xia Family to provide you with the best experience and opportunity."

"Huh?" Gong Fu couldn't understand what was going on. He was just here to take a look at the runes and buy them if possible for his business. But now, the person who was supposed to be selling them was sitting in front of him, giving him an introduction instead of selling him runes.

"Worry not, dear customer. Let me explain what is going on here." Looking at his flustered face, Yang Ze slowly moved forward and started explaining his 'original' business model to him.

As Yang Ze slowly began to explain, Gong Fu's mind also began to fill with various thoughts.

'What? Fifteen spirit stones for five runes? Outrageous. Looks like, there really is a pit. After all, how can there be such a good thing?'

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'Heh... Giving us a fancy badge and making us a member of this broken-ass faction... If I really wanted to join a faction, then I would rather join a rather prestigious one, instead of this no-name one..."

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'Hmm... The conditions offered by the faction aren't that bad. So, people can buy at the normal price and there is no limit. Also, there are no strings attached to this faction... We can do whatever we want?'

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'This... This... This... My god... After introducing five more people, I can earn back my fifteen spirit stones, and even more once they bring more people under the... Heavens... What kind of offer is that?

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'Shit... This is too good to be true... I need to do it immediately... I can bring all my friends here... Heavens... I don't need to work my ass off any longer... I can just sit back and reap the profits...'

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"So this is everything." Taking a deep breath, Yang Ze stretched out his arms before looking at the man in front of him.

"How about this? Are you interested?" Even though Yang Ze asked this question, he didn't need to hear the answer. Just looking at his expression, he had his answer.

"Just one thing... You said you are working with the Xia family!?"

"Hmm..." Nodding with a smile, Yang Ze stood up from his seat while slowly explaining "This shop is the property of the Xia family. They have given me this as a gesture of goodwill... You can go and ask the people around here."

"Good..." Nodding his head, Gong Fu stood up slowly. "I will bring the spirit stones. Please register me as a member of the Vault Of Heaven."

"Then, I shall wait for your return, dear customer." With a smile, Yang Ze looked at his departing back before bursting out in a loud laugh.

Finally... His plan is in motion.

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