The two of them thus went their separate ways for the time being.

That same evening, Vince tried inspecting his own Mana Core.

‘It’s about time for me to progress in cultivation, as my physique will now allow me to do so. Yet, I don’t think I can. I read all those Cultivation Techniques in the library back then, but none of them was satisfactory. I could manage until now, but I feel that I won’t go far if I rely on this knowledge.

I managed to maintain perfection for the time being, but if I don’t find some more cultivation techniques, I won’t be able to do so in the future. They say there are only ten colours of Cores, but in reality, there’s infinite in between. It’s just that people at this level can’t tell the difference.

The colour of the Core is dependent on the density of Mana inside. Well, it’s more of a consequence, actually. So, there might be a big difference even among two people with the same Core colour. That’s probably also why not all Orange Cores can progress to the Flowing Realm.

Since I’m taking my time, I’m already late to rush cultivation. The best strategy is for me to choose quality over speed. If I wanted to, I could quickly rush a high cultivation base… but I won’t do it. Though, I have to be careful of those who do.

Once I have the chance, I’ll take a look in the shopping district to find some more Cultivation Techniques. I have to go anyway soon.’

***

Two days later, Vince went to the shopping district as planned. He had informed Albert that a friend would come and pick him up to go and take a stroll one of these days, and he happily agreed to let him off once.

The one who came to pick him up was none other than Gero.

“Well, Gero, are you ready for the second favour? It’s going to be way more expensive than last time.”

“Don’t worry! Considering my outstanding achievements, my parents awarded me with a lot more money than last time! Look!”

Saying so, Gero took out a small pouch filled with coins. At first, one might erroneously think they are silvers, but they weren’t. They were Platinum coins! An average mortal family could sustain itself with just three or four pieces of silver a month. A platinum coin was worth ten thousand silvers.

‘He probably has two or three dozens of those coins. They should be barely enough to buy what I need.’

Soon, they reached their destination. It was a five-storey building, and on top of its door, “Pascal Family Estate Management company” was written.

Gero and Vince, together with Gero’s guards and some of the girls Gero had bought, entered the store.

Seeing two kids, the shopkeeper was slightly perplexed but welcomed them nonetheless. He proceeded to bring them to a private room on the third floor to discuss with them.

Even if they were kids, they were still nobles; thus, this treatment was the bare minimum.

“Good morning. We would like to buy some estate.”

“…What kind of estate?”

“Commercial estate. Within the area we are in right now.”

“It’s costly to buy Estate here, is the young lord sure?”

Vince rhetorically replied: “If you’d show me the catalogue, maybe I could decide if it is worth it.”

“Here.”

The shopkeeper could only be slightly embarrassed. His way of treating them up to now was indeed not respectful.

“Thank you.”

Vince started to skim through the various buildings. He knew exactly what he needed. Estate close to the main commercial street but not directly facing it.

The ideal position in his mind was kind of like the alley where he had been almost assassinated.

Funnily enough, he found one suiting his needs precisely in front of the store where he had bought his equipment.

‘This place is ideal. At least for what I want to create. But just this one property isn’t enough. For my plan to work, I need several shops. And all in different areas of the city.’

The estate he was looking at was a two-storey, and even though it wasn’t even facing the main street, it still cost over ten platinum. And that was after the price drop due to the rumours of an assassination attempt in that same alley.

“I’d like this estate here, and also, could you give me the catalogues for other areas?”

Vince went on and picked another five pieces of land. They weren’t in the commercial district, and one was even in the slums. Thus, those five pieces of land combined still cost a little less than the first estate he bought.

The problem was that someone who still hadn’t had his coming of age couldn’t directly own the land. That was also why he needed Gero.

Gero took out a letter from his parents. It clearly stated that the land was to go in their name, but they gave Vince all management rights and future ownership. Once he came of age, that is.

But that piece of information was to stay confidential.

The estate agent wasn’t that surprised to see a letter like this. It was common for nobles to do things such as this to leave an inheritance to all their children. Since the main legacy would be left to the only heir, they often bought some land to give to each of their children.

And since that land couldn’t be part of the inheritance, they would give the estate agency letters such as those.

What confused the estate agent was why the Harlow family was buying land that would eventually end up in the hands of a Von Sideria. But he didn’t think about it too deeply. Even if he was curious, he couldn’t ask, as he might risk losing the sale.

Vince also left two additional pieces of platinum and told the Estate Agent to pay the property tax for him. That amount would last him at least a few years.

‘I must say, I’m impressed at Gero’s family’s wealth. I only spent one-third of what he was given. They are famous for being a rich family of merchants, but still. Their wealth can probably compare with some Earl of Marquis households even though they merely are Viscounts.’

The nobility titles went as follows: Knight, Baron, Viscount, Count, Earl, Marquis and finally Duke. Each rank was immensely more powerful than the previous. There were only three Dukes and thirteen Marquises in the Flossen Kingdom.

One had just to think about Vince’s blood father’s treatment from some mere guards of the Von Sideria. Someone who had the rank of a Baron had cultivation on par with some random guards at the Von Sideria.

As long as they had some war contributions, they would surely be awarded nobility as well. But many avoided such a thing, as becoming a noble came with its responsibilities.

Nobles had to contribute way more taxes than ordinary people, as proportional taxes weren’t a thing. The amount of taxes one had to pay was dependent on their rank.

Income taxes couldn’t be enacted as tracing transactions was pretty much impossible. Thus, there were only two types of taxes. Standard taxes, dependant on one’s rank, and property taxes were paid based on the land owned.

They also stopped at another place to buy some Cultivation Techniques as he had planned. This shop was called “White Flower Cultivation Shop”.

‘What terrible naming sense…’

Cultivation Techniques were family secrets, but it didn’t mean that none could be found outside. It’s just that the quality was terrible compared to most noble families’.

The shopkeeper looked quite puzzled. Why would a noble need to buy a Cultivation Technique? But then he saw all the girls behind Gero. He probably guessed they were for them.

Vince asked if he could skim through all of the techniques before picking one, and the shopkeeper agreed.

Vince sometimes pretended to spend some time on some pages, even though he had long finished reading them. It was to make it seem as if he was skimming.

Too bad his reading speed had far surpassed human limits. After reading all of them, he picked one and bought it.

“Young lord, are you sure you want to buy that one? It’s considered one of the worst techniques out there! It’s something only a beggar would practice.”

‘What? Are you serious? It’s the best one I have read thus far! It’s even better than all the Von Sideria’s!’

“Yes, I’m sure. I want to buy this one.”

“Is it because you read of Immortal Xia Kai?”

“Immortal Xia Kai? Who is that?”

Gero asked with a face showing his curiosity.

Hearing this name, Vince quickly recalled his story.

“I had read some time ago Xia Kai’s biography. It’s one of the few biographies with such detail. He used to be a beggar living in the West, but he happened to read a cultivation manual in his late teens. The legend says that he had unparalleled talent but could never display it because he never had the chance to learn about cultivation.

After reading the manual and spending a whole year studying the cultivation technique inside, he managed to awaken. From then on, he would start to shock the world repeatedly. He had already broken through the Awakening and Flowing Realms within a year, reaching the Enhancement Realm. At the same time, he founded his own sect.

At first, many ridiculed him, as nobody had ever heard about an Enhancement Realm creating a sect. He hardly had any people apply to become disciples, and he rejected the few that wanted to. This further increased how much he was ridiculed.

Without paying any heed to the ridicule, Xia Kai kept on working hard. He broke through again when he reached twenty, reaching the Expansion Realm. Even though his speed was astounding, he still couldn’t compare to the Inner Disciples of the great sects. Let’s not even talk about the Temples’.

But everything changed one day. While exploring some ancient ruins, he encountered James Young, the heir to one of the most prominent sects of the time. Even though he was four years younger, James Young had better cultivation. Being already in the Sage realm at sixteen, he was considered among the ten most talented of his generation.

When they found a great inheritance left behind by a predecessor within the ruins, the two of them fought. Yet, even though Xia Kai was in the Expansion Realm, he won. This event sent waves throughout the world. Soon he started being repeatedly challenged by all kinds of cultivators, yet he remained undefeated.

His sect, which was once the laughing stock of the world, soared high and became a significant power within one generation.

By the time Xia Kai ascended, roughly one century later, his sect had millions of disciples and was feared by many. But, when his closest disciples asked him to leave his cultivation technique before ascending, he wrote down a wide-spread Cultivation Technique. Xia Kai ascended before his disciple could even open the manual left behind.

Everyone thought it was merely his way of telling that he wouldn’t leave one behind.”

‘To think it would be this one. In that book, this detail hadn’t been mentioned.’

“Incredible! So, according to the story, this technique was supposedly Xia Kai’s.”

“Apparently. In any case, I’m sure I want to buy this one.”

Afterwards, he and Vince’s living wallet went back. After the living wallet dropped him off at the Von Sideria’s mansion, they said their goodbyes and went each their own way.

‘This cultivation technique will prove helpful in training those guys. It might take a while for them to understand it, but it will be worth it. The reason this technique has such a poor reputation is probably due to its obscure writing. But, it’s fantastic in other aspects.

It encompasses so much that no other manual I read before can be even remotely compared. Its metaphors might make you question how is this supposed to teach you to cultivate, but most people probably don’t understand that this manual’s purpose is not that.

Mana is like clay, anybody can easily mould it into infinitely many shapes, but that doesn’t mean that every shape is possible. Only by mastering the craft can one learn what is possible to achieve and what is impossible. As you become more skilled with it, you merely are turning the scale of what’s in between towards “possibility”.

This metaphor, for example, is impressive. Many might think this is supposed to give you some form of teaching about how Mana can be shaped, but that’s not the purpose of it. It’s telling you that some things are simply impossible, and no matter how hard you try, you’ll never be able to make it work because of the laws of nature.

It’s like how you can’t make a tower out of a hand’s worth of clay, no matter how good you become with it.

Stating it like this might sound obvious, but it’s not. In all the previous manuals I read, they talked about Mana as a mysterious power making the impossible possible.

The way it threads the subject is also magnificent. Since it doesn’t see Mana as something capable of making the impossible possible, it spends more time on the more essential aspects.

Many tried to find an absolute truth within the nature of Mana, forgetting about their limits. Without the base, a pyramid cannot be built.

This manual isn’t about reflection at all. Instead, it’s a collection of observations deriving from one’s own experience! The scientific approach itself is based on this single difference. And it’s also what distinguishes it from philosophy.

It might not be the best at teaching, but it indeed is the most complete I have found yet. The insight it has is incredible. I wonder what kind of guy wrote this.’

Even Vince, having his interminable experience with such kinds of things, had yet to comprehend it fully. He knew that some of the concepts required him to experiment and explore the truths about Mana.

He was over the moon about finding such a hidden gem in a random store.

‘Now that the matter about acquiring fitting estates is settled, I have to move on to the next phase of my plan. But that… will require quite some time.’

‘I wonder what that lass is doing. I just felt like teaching her a little.’