Upgrade

When the trio returned to the deck of the Trade ship, they found five kids tied with a rope tied around their arms and cornered by a guard while the Chief, Roa, and a few other adults of the community stood in front of a bald, old man. The man only wore a thick mustache on his face while a thin white robe with blue ends covered his body. A blue gourd hung around his waist.

This was the same old man who sat on the ledges of the trade ship before suddenly disappearing.

"You are?" The old man's pupils seemed to have gone for vacation for his eyes had none. With his gaze directed at the trio, Trilok, Kol, and Noland shivered.

"An unfortunate brother," Trilok hurriedly replied.

"A lost soul," Kol gasped.

"I don't know. It's too deep a question," Noland coughed, "After all, who really am I?"

The Chief almost rolled his eyes and passed out. He had heard what those four little shits and his sweet daughter committed but to be spouting such nonsense, so quickly, as if they had memorized some sort of script, Chief felt like it was really the time to pass the seat of the ship to his son.

The old man, who seemed to have garnered guard's reverence around him only shook his head with an odd chuckle.

"I cannot answer that," he replied to Noland. "Are any of those five related to you?" He inquired again.

"My brother," Trilok glared at Vayu.

"My... soon-to-be-dead troublemaker," Noland stared at fatty Ron coldly.

"Ah... my Boss' brother," Kol's eyes darted. She did not want to be here right now.

"I see. Explain the situation to these three youngsters including the thought process of the kids," The old man looked at the most reasonable of the group gathered— Roa.

The long-haired middle-aged man gulped and looked towards Trilok and Noland. In fact, Roa was feeling guilty right now. Had he not recited bedtime stories to Jeli all these years to cultivate her mind and thinking, they wouldn't be here right now. What Wise Woman? A wise woman would have known about taxes!

So, with a bitter expression, Roa began explaining the situation. From how the kids were disgruntled at their low budget, how they began constantly buying and selling goods after learning a lesson from the story, and how they all wished to exit the ship only to find that there is something known as taxes that can screw all of their plans six ways to Sunday.

Before even getting angry, Trilok felt impressed. He carefully gazed at all five of their faces. At such a young age, with still baby fat on their faces, nobody would take them seriously. But if they could still continuously generate profits, then it meant a genius haggler lived within this group and just this fact was thought-provoking.

"I offer my sincerest apologies for not teaching my brother well," Trilok clasped his hands and bowed. If even the Chief had to wait for judgment then really, a small-time alchemist like him couldn't really make a fuss. Noland offered his apologies and so did Kol. They were already here, so might as well try to mellow the situation. Seeing that even the youngsters of the ship were humble, the old man sighed.

"Their thinking is young and creative. They managed to purchase a vial of Cinder Seep Potion. But, their total revenue from various sales exceeds the purchase value of the potion. In total, these five have 11,000 coins to pay as tax. Not only did they sell alchemical products, but also spiritual weapons, and pills," The old man sighed.

He could let go of the taxes on the purchase. After all, the other party was literally kids who had begun their path of cultivation. But to not tax them for sales whose value reached close 80,000, and most of it including the sales of spiritual weapons, the product with the highest tax... how could the old man turn a blind eye to it?

"We are willing to pay on their behalf," Roa spoke up hurriedly, afraid that his father would only end up worsening the situation but for a while now, the Chief was only silent. His pupils were dilated but nobody seemed to have noticed this. Except for the serene Old Man in front of them, of course.

"Hmm. And do teach your young ones about taxes. It is a required knowledge for every aspiring cultivator. Honestly, if more cultivators in the sea were educated, there would be far fewer disputes," he sighed before turning and leaving into the entrance of the interior. While the gemstone on Roa's brown ring glowed and a pouch appeared in his hands.

"Please, take this as compensation," He handed the pouch to the guard. Looking at the contents of the pouch, the guard nodded towards the ones surrounding the five kids.

*Clack*

*Clack*

Under the clanking sound of their armors, most of the guards receded into the interior of the ship while the two guards at the entrance remained. Of course, this time, they didn't stop the group of civilians from leaving the ship.

---

"Brother... I'm so sorry!" Vayu trembled and hurriedly begged the moment the siblings entered their home. Not replying to anything, Trilok first took out 3000 coins with a bitter heart and made a coin pouch for Vayu.

"The next time you see Jeli, give her this coin pouch. Her brother paid your tax, after all."

Gulping, Vayu took the coin pouch before Trilok sat behind the counter, his gaze observing Vayu with intentions the younger one did not know.

"So? I have a few questions. First, how did you sell your stuff?" Trilok inquired as Vayu blinked.

'I'm not going to be smacked? I guess... it's true that elders hold their beating against juniors once they begin their path of cultivation!' Vayu sighed in relief.

"It was all Jeli!" Vayu huffed, "She said, that people always need things. So, we were supposed to go to a store and demand a price. If they did not accept the price, we left instantly. According to Jeli, there were a few shops that would stop us from leaving, and then we could sell to them. So, we began purchasing and selling in this manner. The more we earned, the more various stores started to stop us from leaving. Soon, we bought that Cinder Seep Potion and divided it into five vials!"

'So simple and elegant,' Trilok now felt admiration towards the Drunkard's youngest one. As the quality of their products would increase, so will the price but the store owners will buy the things they need before the price increases further!

"And what did you learn from this experience?" Trilok inquired with a sigh. But he had his fist clenched, fully expecting Vayu to reply incorrectly.

"Of course! If I had greater strength, I wouldn't have been stopped at all! Even if that old man had deep strength, I would still be able to survive," Vayu proclaimed.

'And implicate me once they find your origin, you Ingrate!' Trilok sighed, his eyes flashing darkly as he presented a malevolent grin.

"Incorrect."

As the old man said, if there are more educated cultivators, they would be able to understand that many taxes, in fact, benefits an individual, too. Once they understand the concept of making profits while benefiting others, too, the world would become more peaceful.

Of course, that did not save Vayu from a beating, making him realize that Cultivation meant squat when in front of his brother.

---

Dusk descended over the Sky Ocean and Trilok closed his store with a sigh. Only one day of trade festival now remained but Trilok had already bought what he needed.

Right now, he looked at the invisible panel that only he could perceive. More than 60,000 points remained but...

'Should I upgrade my cultivation or spiritual vein?' Trilok thought deeply.

On one hand, the rise to Spiritual Enhancer would allow Trilok to finally boost his Cultivation actively. For more than 6 years, he had been grinding day and night. First, he risked his life on fishing boats to earn just enough. But knowing that upgrading the cultivation at the first stage didn't mean shit, he began learning alchemy from the records already present. With Alchemy came the necessary knowledge of mathematics and with owning a store came the need of learning about surroundings, business modes, and taxation policies.

Meanwhile, he also knew that without upgrading his cultivation every now and then, he would still be stuck at the 5th stage of Spiritual Dweller. His spirit was oddly uncomfortable and didn't attune with the surroundings quickly.

Now, he had a chance to either spend 50,000 points to upgrade his spiritual vein to blue, something that only tens of individuals have in the community, or become a Spiritual Enhancer.

'Once I become a spiritual enhancer, I will finally be able to cultivate actively. Even as a spiritual dweller at the peak of it, I can barely absorb a single strand, or two, at most. This is the limit of Spiritual Dwellers. But... as an Enhancer... I might just be able to...'

A thought appeared in Trilok's mind and he activated the process of upgrade with a thought.