*Badump*

*Badump*

A group of five kids tried to look away but they would end up seeing the tanned woman inside the tent. She had narrow eyes with the lower half of her face covered by a thin gauze that revealed the outline of her nose and lips. A golden head jewelry hung over the middle of her forehead while she eyed the kids in front of her with her chin supported by her palms.

The most striking thing, or things, however, were a pair of breasts pressed over the short counter. Unlike other larger tents with greater space, this tent could only accommodate two adults, or barely a group of five children.

"Why must you feel embarrassed?" The woman's lips curled upwards, "I can sense spiritual energy from you all. Cultivators. We shouldn't feel shame at all. After all, cultivation is being one with nature." The woman cooed as the boys of the group shivered.

A thin dark-haired girl with a pigtail finally gritted her teeth and glared at the woman, "Everyone of you is naked!" She pointed and scowled.

"Girl, are you blessed with parents?" The woman inquired while tilting her head.

"I have a super-strong father!" The girl snorted and pouted.

"If he felt that this ship, our nature, and traditions are harmful, then why would they allow you to board this ship? You five are young adults now. It is a high time that every one of you develops a firm mentality," the woman chuckled as she finally traced the crystal orb placed over the draconic claw as a stand.

"For just a low price of 300 coins, I will be willing to divine your fortunes."

"You're a shameless woman! Why would we believe you?!" The girl crossed her arms while the group behind her averted their gaze.

"Tell me, why did you enter this tent?" The woman inquired.

"Because..." the girl fell stunned. Their group was rattled by seeing so many half-naked men and women and quickly entered the nearest tent. This one.

"Because fate allowed you to," the woman smiled. Her eyes observed every single child in the group, "So young," she whispered with an audible grunt, "I guarantee that with my divinity, you will be able to glimpse at a clue. If you follow this clue, a great fortune will be in your grasp!" 

"And, if you pay me 3000," the woman straightened herself to let her two best employees hang low while she hiked up the thin cloth covering her lip, revealing her enchanting features. Making an 'O' shape with her lips, she whispered, "I'll turn you into real men~!"

"You crazy bitch!" The only person who seemed to understand the woman's intentions was the bickering young girl. Before she could lunge at the woman, a young boy quickly caught her, "Oi, Don't go crazy, Jeli!" 

Vayu exclaimed. He felt a little strange and aroused by seeing such a beautiful woman in such a state but he still quickly hugged Jeli from behind to stop her. Should she attack someone, they would have to face a fine again and the last time they entered a trade ship, they failed to have a good ending.

"Whatever!" Jeli growled. "Let's leave!"

"Ah, I want my fortune tested," Ron stated with blushing cheeks and the other boy quickly agreed. 

"You guys!" The girl with Jeli was speechless.

"If it's just a fortune... it should be fine, right? But... brother said that most fortune readers are crap who eat shit for breakfast and spout nonsense all day long... Big Sister, how can we believe you?"

The fortune teller's expression had turned slightly bleak.

"You cannot believe me. But you must believe in your own fortunes."

Vayu frowned.

'What would... brother say to this reasoning?' Vayu thought deeply.

He didn't want to waste money. Not after he saw how his brother and Kol would cultivate every night and even with their great fortune, they always prioritized smart purchases.

"I'm leaving," Vayu pursed his lips, "I only believe my brother. And if he's right, then you're just wasting our time for your profit. Sister Kol told me that sometimes, women would use their figures to try and attract customers. So this should be the main selling point on this ship! Jeli, remove your top—"

While Vayu had impressed Jeli with his reasoning and surprising sharpness in thinking, the latter part of his sentence had already made Jeli smash her fist into Vayu's chest.

"But..." Ron bit his lip.

"Boy, don't listen to them," the woman smiled and leaned forward, "You want your fortune tested, right?"

"I do... and I also want to be a man," Ron whined, "But... if my brother finds out about it, he will stop talking to me for a week."

Clearly, Noland had his own way of punishing his little brother.

Soon, the group of kids walked out while the woman glared at Vayu's tiny back viciously.

"Hehe! Brat, I'm full of shit? Let's see about that!" Spirit energy leaked out of her body and entered the crystal orb while she whispered an incantation and continued to concentrate on Vayu's receding back.

'I will curse you with diarrhea!' She thought internally. Her gaze growing colder.

However, she suddenly heard a soft hiss of a serpent. It was extremely close. As if... right behind...

The woman hurriedly turned her neck to find a large maw opened up.

*Chomp*

"Haaah!" The woman opened her eyes with her curvaceous body covered in a cold sweat. Blood oozed from her nostril as she hurriedly looked towards the exit of her tent. The boy was no longer there.

---

"Let's go! Another one!"

Trilok counted his coin. He was happy. Too happy.

"Boss... we're really going to fuck this ship at this rate!" Kol exclaimed but she continued pushing the crate over a cart.

They had long sold their products!

50 coins per Poor Man's Health which meant 25000 coins.

And, Trilok easily bumped up the price of the Spirit Trace Oil and sold it for 1150 coins per vial which meant— 230,000 coins!

The best thing was that all these coins were slowly being absorbed by Trilok. He didn't hold back at all.

However, next came the sale of the recipes.

Trilok intended to break this market.

At least, the alchemical one.

Usually, there is a high tax on the sale of alchemical recipes and even if Trilok sold it to an individual buyer, he would have to sign a contract stating that he cannot sell it to anyone else in that particular ship.

But papers and contractual agreements didn't exist in Carnival Ship!

Trilok started selling his recipes from the management of the ship.

Of course, the news of a youth selling an uncommon recipe quickly filled various ears and the prices started to deplete.

Breaking a market isn't as easy as it sounds. Every time Kol and Trilok would stop to sell their recipes, they would have to spend a lot of time on negotiations. Sometimes, the buyers would lowball them, or sometimes, they would reject outrightly, which will increase the effort on Trilok's and Kol's side to make the sale.

In this time, the news of the new recipes entering the market would reach others, and soon, the prices would dwindle.

But as long as Trilok can make a single coin more, he would keep on selling.

All these coins were 'alive.'

From the point of view of a business, Trilok's actions bordered unprofessionalism but seeing him so excited with every sale, Kol realized that he had other thoughts. He wasn't in this game just to make large profits.

Trilok, in this game, just wanted to earn as many coins as he can.

And the greatest thing about such a situation, to Trilok, was that anyone keeping an eye on him would only find his actions as a desperate measure to earn money with greedy intentions. And when he uses all the coin, many would realize that it wasn't greed but an attempt to grow stronger and prepare for the attacks of pirates.

Nobody would ever realize that in these attempts, he would finally own a Heaven-ranked cultivation technique and even have a remainder of spiritual points left to upgrade his Cultivation without using the purchased items!

"Boss... I think it's enough," Kol patted Trilok's shoulder, "We aren't going to earn more than a thousand for our recipes now," She sighed.

"A pity," Trilok pursed his lips. He had absorbed a lot of coins by now. And his earnings...

'Hehe...'

In the end, both of his products were only uncommon and their collective sales could only fetch him 392,500 coins. In reality, most of the alchemists didn't agree to trade once they realized the intentions of these two.

Still, in Trilok's and Kol's eyes, this market was already broken.

Even if they produce Spirit Trace Oil, they wouldn't be able to make high profits and the market value will be highly competitive.

"Say, Boss. Why not help me in preparing a gourmet recipe? We'll go perfect splits on the profit!" Kol suggested again.

She knew not too much about Alchemy. But she did know about Trilok's recipes and their ingredients.

And honestly, she was amazed.

The only reason why Trilok started selling recipes in a large number is due to the ship's no taxation policy. But was Trilok stupid enough to not see the greatest flaw in the plan?

Exposing the recipe would also risk the chance of someone from the Silent Community getting the recipe. If such a person is of high stature, say, Roa, he would become Trilok's greatest competitor and would even end the venture right then and there. 

This was a major hole in their plan and Kol couldn't help but shiver as to how skilfully Trilok filled it.

'Boss must have already tried various resources when experimenting on Spirit Trace Oil. He only needed a few minutes while negotiating to change the recipe completely. The original recipe would use resources whose collective price would not increase 500 coins but Boss changed the nature of resources and their rarity! According to the new recipe, the cost of spirit trace oil itself should be a little over a thousand. So, even if the news of Boss selling the oil at a 'loss' can be seen through other alchemists, they would need a lot of time simply research the recipe all over again.'

'Research costs time, money, and effort. It is already a surety that aside from our products, the new spirit trace oil will be sold for a phenomenal price. Meanwhile, if somebody does pay a large price just to obtain the recipe, they would need to spend a lot of time just to optimize the contents! And if they are not an alchemist, they will need to hire one! Hehe, such movements cannot be hidden even if the opposing party might want to,' Kol's eyes flashed.

What Kol didn't know was that the Spirit Trace Oil was a downgraded version of Spiritual Aftertaste. She had seen this potion in a few shops but it was too expensive. Most of the materials that Trilok changed belonged to the Spiritual Aftertaste and this is why he could have modified the recipe so easily. Of course, this modification increased the nonexistent chance of failure.

Since the new concoction will not be an oil, but an uncommon potion. This fact was seen through most of the alchemists but they still intended to purchase the recipe anyway.

"Huh? Gourmet recipe? Why don't you purchase a few from around and actually crack on them?" Trilok inquired.

"Heh, Boss. I'd rather use my time and effort on cultivation right now," Kol chuckled sneakily. By now, the two were quite unaffected by the topless people around them. Instead, the two were attracted to the smoking joints. But now was not the time.

"So, Boss, will you give me my bonus now or?" Kol licked her lips.

"Miss. Kol, let's purchase something before thinking anything else," Trilok snickered while continuously observing various potions, pills, oils, and other concoctions.

"We are purchasing right away?" Kol was surprised.

"Yes."

Trilok stopped in front of a tent adorned by countless steel weapons on the front. A wooden rack held eleven differently shaped swords while a young man continuously hammered against the anvil with a furnace burning near him. His tanned sweaty body didn't raise any reaction, but seeing him keep a bite over a rather thick, and brown smoking pipe while he hammered onto a red-hot shape, Trilok and Kol simultaneously looked at each other.

'Tonight?' Kol communicated with her gaze.

'Tonight.' Trilok agreed.

"Ha? Boss! We've got some fresh meat!" The young man glanced towards Trilok and Kol before calling out to the insides of the tent.

Trilok and Kol could see the figure resting against the counter slowly sitting up and stretching her hands.

'Big,' Kol and Trilok pursed their lips.

"Come on in, kids!" The woman inside the tent waved her hands with a smile as Trilok and Kol pushed their cart into the tent, making the youth snort as he shifted a little, allowing enough space for the two to enter.

"What you got in there? Weapons to sell? Let me tell you something, we only purchase enchanted weapons and artifacts!"

"Where's that old man?" Trilok inquired.

"Old man?" The woman with wild and long hair frowned. She leaned back on her chair without any shame while Kol gulped slightly.

Trilok, meanwhile, observed the tent.

The u-shaped counter only allowed a single entrance but three sides of the store with the counter actually covered by transparent, red crystal shelves which displayed a number of weapons and artifacts. Behind the counters, many plated armors were hung on a stake of wood.

'Yeah, this is the place,' Trilok looked at one particular unsold armor.

[Blood Bath: An Exotic eight-piece armor crafter by an expert under heaven with the hopes that the host of this armor will shed blood for eternity and revel in the joy of pain.

Special Traits: The user of this armor will be continuously stabbed by the barbs placed within the armor to feed the item with blood and increase its defenses. This armor can already be worn by cultivators of Spirit Fusion realm so that they can make contract with the armor without bleeding dry.]

"I remember, last time... ehm, three years ago, an old man used to run this shop. He had a straight tattoo running from below his eyes which dropped down to his chin... he showed off a collection of spatial rings. I want to purchase one."

Trilok spoke up.

The woman frowned before grunting and smacking her head.

"That's my father alright," she growled. "Listen, kids. Spatial Rings cannot be exchanged with low-quality items. Even the worst ring would cost you 200,000 coins. And that's the worst ring without any blood enchantment."

"Miss... Boss," Trilok cleared his throat and smiled, "I have the coin. But it is too much to carry around needlessly. Let's exchange then. I give you the coin, and you give me a good ring. We're traders, right? A single trade with me should be enough to satisfy you for days!"

The woman looked at the crates once again.

"You mean..." 

"We both are great alchemists. It's more space that we need. Not coin," Trilok lied through his teeth.

"Fine," she grumbled and bent down before sitting up and placing a palm-sized brocade box on the counter. 

"There are two types of spatial rings. But you oughta know that, right?" She glanced towards the 'young masters' standing in front of her.

"A ring without blood enchantment that can easily be broken into. And the other one being a ring that allows blood contract. Until I want, or die, nobody other than me can access the ring," Trilok nodded.

"Exactly," the woman sighed.

Without hesitation, the woman unlocked the box and revealed three rings placed on the cushy interior of the box. These rings and the box gave a feeling of luxury that Trilok never had.

The three rings were placed into a triangular formation. The ring to the right was dark green in color, the ring to the left was crimson. Finally, the ring in between and a little above was a steel ring with a small sapphire embedded in it.

"These three are our shop's blood enchanted rings. Do you want to see the simple ones?" The woman inquired.

"No... these are good," Trilok shook his head.

Behind him, Kol bit her lips.

'Unnnhh... I want one myself, too. The moment I have a breakthrough with my recipe, I'll get a chance to snowball through my poverty, too!' Kol sighed.

Her salary was still the same but her bonus itself was double the amount. So she wasn't really dissatisfied with her employer but herself. She gets paid for her tasks. Nothing more. So, the sale of recipes had nothing to do with her and when Trilok calculates her bonus, even if he acts a little more magnanimous, he still wouldn't count the sale of recipes.

"Let's see. The green one is called Weed Harvester. A space of 3 square meters and a simple blood enchantment. Can be used by the trivial spiritual energy of a spirit dweller and any uprooted plant placed within the ring will retain its freshness. The red one is named Flame Keeper. This one is a little special. Aside from storing non-living resources, the temperature in which any item is stored will dissipate and instead turn into spiritual energy. The spiritual energy within the ring will then keep the items from losing their spiritual nature."

"I don't understand," Trilok frowned, "Isn't this the most basic feature?"

"No," the woman chuckled, "Every spatial ring has its shelf period. These three rings will keep your non-living, organic materials 'fresh' for a week. On the other hand, Weed Harvester will keep your plants fresh for a year. The Flame Keeper will retain the Spiritual nature of various items as long as you keep storing materials with high temperature."

"Finally, this is called the Clam's Gem. This one will keep the spiritual beasts fresh for a year while other items, that do not fall into this broad category, will have the shelf period of a week."

Trilok looked at the three items.

"Boss, what is considered a spiritual beast and what isn't? Like, the demon plants are spiritual beasts, spiritual plants, or both?"

"Go figure," The woman shrugged, "I didn't forge and enchant these rings. My father did. He's out on an expedition."

Trilok had read the description of the items himself but their explanation was not that different from what the lady said.

"How much for the... Clam Gem?" Trilok inquired.

"580,000 coins," The woman grinned.

"What about the three rings together? I'll purchase all three for a million and two hundred thousand," Trilok smiled and scrutinized the ring.

"This isn't a fish market, kid. Well, technically, all of this is a fish market," The woman mumbled while crossing her arms and pushing her breasts up. By now, Kol and Trilok realized that the woman had no intention of breaking their flow with her curves. She was simply raised in a topless environment so even when her figure seemed more enchanting, Trilok and Kol didn't lose their minds over it.

Still, Trilok didn't budge. The greater the price of an item, the greater will be the leeway for negotiations.

"You're saying that anyone who comes here can spend a million coins?" Trilok scoffed, "I'm giving you a great offer here. Three rings at once. I'm a bit of a blacksmith myself so I can see that the qualities of the rings aren't top tier."

"Liar! You just said that you're an alchemist! Now you became a blacksmith? Since when did professions become so easy to master?!" The woman scoffed.

"I'm telling the truth. My father was a blacksmith. He did teach me a little," Trilok stated with a serious expression, "If you don't believe me, I can tell you that the apprentice you've got working outside has melted cold bronze with Mineral Shell, right? He's hammering it with great force, but if I'm not wrong, all he's making is a common weapon. But, if he uses that bucket of the venom oil, he'll upgrade the item to uncommon."

Trilok crossed his arms after saying this. His expression was calm and his words were convincing to the woman and Kol herself.

"Woah, dude!" The youth peeked his head into the tent, "I didn't know you were a man of hammer, too. Say, how much oil would I need to use to quench the weapon?" the short-haired youth seemed to have found a great way to pass his time and he inquired with a welcoming smile.

However, one glare from the woman sent him out, "Sorry, Sis!" he shouted.