Li Wei smiled. He knew the elder was once again going to invite him to Harmony but before he could, Li Wei added. "True. But, as I said, I have a few pieces of equipment to trade. I believe that their value should not lose too much to the Natta Blades."

"More Grade 2 items?"

Li Wei did not allow the elders to recover from their surprise and swiftly took out two rings from his inventory. They were the rings that belonged to the twin brothers. They were both Grade 2 equipment but the spell associated with them was not very useful to Li Wei. He only kept Ranger Oleg's ring which contained the defensive spell [Runic Shield].

[Runic Shield] was a similar spell to [Mana Shield] but compared to the latter, the shield value if provided was equal to the amount of Mana spent. The more mana was used to cast the spell, the more damage the shield would be able to absorb.

Li Wei was still debating whether to keep his ring with [Earth Wall] or to change it. [Earth Wall] was weaker but it could also be used offensively while [Runic Shield] was a purely defensive skill.

Meng Suping was the first to react. The elder examined the two rings and said: "Together, they are worth 4000 Contribution Points."

Li Wei smiled with confidence. With the two rings, he would have more than 12000 Contribution Points and if Meng Hongwei still wanted to raise the price, he had other items he was ready to part with.

Meng Hongwei twitched. "I see that your harvest was quite good. But why are you against entering the inner sect or even the core? You won't have to submit much of your harvest to the sect anymore and would be able to use all of them at the associations."

"I am playing the game for fun and want to explore the area. If I were to join the sect, it will turn into a job and there will be a lot of commitments. I joined Avalanche because they approached me first with a generous offer. It fitted my needs at that time, and I can part with them at any time. Although I will admit I made a few friends there and do not plan on leaving unless I really have to."

"I see. I believe you still have a few interesting things in your inventory. I know it is impossible to keep the technique within the family. Right now, we need a lot of equipment to expand our territory. I will then set the price at 20000 Contribution Points. If you can pay that amount, the technique is yours but the same conditions will apply. No sharing."

"20000 Contribution Points?" said Li Wei. That price was really high. He remembered his fight with Li Yuxin. That girl mastered both the Myriad Sword Dance and the Immortal Sword Spirit. She was able to materialize a sword using her mana. Alternatively, she could have coated her swords with mana, increasing their attack power. The skill was powerful but was it worth that many Contribution Points?

Although it was a clear rip-off, Li Wei knew this might be the one and only opportunity he would have to get his hand on the Meng Family's technique. He took out the skill scroll.

"Roots of magic? This is one of the core spells of mages. It is sold at the Mage Association for 7500 Contribution Points but is very useful especially if the mage is well protected by a team," exclaimed an elder.

Meng Hongwei furrowed his brows. "You really have good stuff but we don't value the Association's Contribution Points as much as our sect's. We will be willing to pay 6000 Contribution Points for the scroll."

Li Wei knew the elder was just taking advantage of him but for the sake of the sword technique, he bit the bullet and took out the Skull Wand. "I believe this should be enough."

The elders' eyes widened. 'Just how rich was that guy? Did he just steal from a treasury?'

Meng Suping greedily stared at the wand. "I want this wand. I will exchange it for 4500 Contribution Points."

"Alright. I believe I should have enough Contribution Points to exchange for the Immortal Sword Spirit now." Li Wei said, looking at Meng Hongwei with a smirk.

The latter twitched. He felt his heart ache but he still waved his hand. An elder left the collection area for a moment and returned with an old manual in hand.

"I won't go back on my words. You exchanged a few useful items. Here is the technique. Although I would prefer to keep it within the family, I know you won't join us. The door is always open; if you get in trouble, Harmony will take you in."

"Thank you," answered Li Wei. He knew the Meng family just milked out a lot of his loot from him. Grade 2 equipment would sell for around 100 gold; the weakest would at least be worth 75 gold. He paid a heavy price for the sword technique but now, Li Wei owned two of the top tier sword techniques of the sect.

The elders of the Meng Family watched Li Wei's departing figure as they asked Meng Hongwei. "Will it really be alright? We just gave up our core technique to an outsider!"

"It will be fine. Right now, collecting top tier pieces of equipment is our priority. We already control Boroughton but we all know this is not where our ambition lies. We need to take back Dominion City and sooner or later, expand our influence. The upcoming event will be key if we want to succeed."

"An upcoming event? I thought the first large scale event would be Halloween."

"That's what was programmed but remember that the game is constantly changing. Fortunately, we obtained this information from the noble NPCs. Also, the Fleeting Clouds Sect paid a heavy price and recruited a special player."

"A special player? What does it have to do with events?"

"That player is only level 10 but he somehow managed to get his hand on a title. He is a Seer. That title allows him to peek into the future and foresee all the upcoming events in his region."

...

Li Wei left Harmony's headquarters and took the direction of the Martial Bank. He had a lot of gold on him and he wanted to make a deposit.

He was quite satisfied with his harvest. Although he paid a premium price, he managed to get his hand on the technique. It might not necessarily suit his fighting style, but he could still study it to improve himself.

He had already obtained what he wanted from the Fleeting Clouds Sect and had nothing holding him to them but at the same time, there was no reason to leave the guild yet. He enjoyed the umbrella of protection the guild provided.

At the Martial Bank, Li Wei found that there was 120 gold in this account. They were deposited earlier by Moody Writer. They represented 10% made by the alchemist in selling the Grade 2 potions. 'Looks like that guy has already succeeded in advancing. The potions must be selling really well.'

Aside from the money, Li Wei also found a message that came with the bank transfer: "I am moving to the Capital to continue to improve as an alchemist. I won't forget our deal and continue to transfer the money. Come and find me there, I have your two potions ready."

A simple and short message from the stern man. Li Wei smiled; he was very satisfied with his deal with the alchemist. He now had a total of 739 gold! If he deposited everything at the Martial Bank, with the interest, he would obtain 3 gold and 70 silvers every month.

Li Wei only had one goal in this game; he wanted to be free to roam everywhere and explore the vast world. For that, he needed two things: the strength to defeat the monsters and the hostile players, and enough money to support himself.

He knew 739 gold was a lot at this stage; active players usually only had about 50 gold in their pocket. But later, 1000 gold would barely be enough to purchase one piece of equipment.

'I should try to invest this gold into something. Leaving it to rot at the Martial Bank will produce some gold but it won't be enough for my future needs!'

"Excuse me. Is there a way to invest my gold?" Li Wei asked the receptionist. He had no prior knowledge of investments but had heard a lot about people earning big when doing so.

"Of course! There are many ways to invest but this is generally done on the stock market. Let me call an expert. He will be more qualified to advise you."

Soon, Li Wei found himself sitting in a private room, in front of a long-bearded man. "Hello, I heard you are interested in investing. How much do you have on hand?"

"Yes. I have 739 gold but I would prefer to keep about 100 gold for myself."

"Excellent. There are several ways to invest but bear in mind that there is always a risk. The safest is definitely real estate. There are several plots of land available for sale. You can build your own shop there or even just rent it to someone else," enthusiastically explained the man. He took out a thick book and started showing several locations within Li Wei's budget.

"Thank you but I am not interested in purchasing land at Boroughton. I mainly hunt at Algate City. It would not be appropriate for me to purchase land here," said Li Wei before the man could take out another folder full of properties on sale.

The latter awkwardly smiled and put the folders back. "I am sorry. I was too hasty. It is fine if you do not want to invest in properties, but you will have to go to the city if you want to buy land there. If you want to invest your money here, you can invest in merchant groups or workshops. They are all connected and therefore, you can purchase shares of the businesses in the capital. With the sudden influx of people, the businesses need a lot of money to purchase all the required material."

"Mmm. A company at the capital would be ideal," said Li Wei. It was exactly what he had in mind.

"Excellent, what kind of companies are you looking for? Large? Small? What kind of field?"

Li Wei listened to the man's explanation and after a while, he settled on two companies. Both were crafting workshops but one of them was large while the other was small. He invested 300 gold in each but only obtain 0.03% of the large company while the small workshop gave him 3% of its shares.

There were more risks with the small company but if they were successful, he would also receive more gold. It was Li Wei's first time investing; he mostly listened to the advisor's instructions. He should receive a small portion of the company's profits every week.

Having achieved his goals, Li Wei left the Martial Bank and purchased a few items at the shop. He did not forget to buy a few Fatigue Recovery Potions. After last night's event, he wanted to always keep one at hand.

Afterward, he went to the training center to practice his techniques. He was eager to test the [Immortal Sword Spirit] but to his disappointment, his completion rate was only 68%.

Just like the Myriad Sword Dance, Li Wei could train in the Immortal Sword Spirit for as long as he wanted but for now, Li Wei was focusing on the former. He wanted to quickly reach the second stage and obtain the skill: [Sword Coda].

Nevertheless, he did not train for too long. Tomorrow, he would have to once again go on a journey to the Gassian Lake.

"I am hitting the road again. It is quite weird how despite all the time I spend on the road, I do not seem to lose to others in terms of level." Li Wei was already level 18. Earlier today, he noticed that none of the elders were at a higher level than him.

"I suppose it is thanks to the Ring of Chaos. The 4% additional experience is coming in handy. I should find a way to upgrade it soon..."