The higher levels of Inner Energy control turned out to be grueling exercises that pushed me to the limits of my flesh.

Yupow not only taught me how to completely exhaust the energy within my body, he also taught me how to oversaturate my body in Inner Energy without dying.

More than once I was almost on the verge of passing out, but Yupow was always there to make sure nothing went wrong.

I learned essential techniques like “Constant Flowing Stream”,” Torrential Stream '', and “Inner Whirlpool ',' all Inner Energy Manipulation Techniques that allowed me to gain control of the amount and way Inner Energy flowed within my body.

“Raw Inner Energy straight from the source, and that originates from the breath, is very turbulent,hostile, impure, and hard to control. In fact in high quantities it is very malignant to Biological flesh and blood. This is the reason in nature, although all lifeforms carry the signature of Inner Energy, it is naturally very hard to detect, and not as abundant in a potential state as other forms of energy like Heat, Light, Biomass, Biochemical, Ionized, and even Magical Energy. Yet as long as you breathe, there it exists. With the techniques you just learned, you can safely increase the energy capacity of your body without ever putting your body at risk of dangerously being overwhelmed with Inner Energy, or “Inner Energy Deviation” as Experts call it. An unfortunate fate many of the Inner Martial Artists who follow this path suffer. Practice hard and there will come a time when the mysteries and wonders of Inner Energy will slowly be unlocked for you.”

My Inner Energy training had finally bore its fruits, I achieved a level where I could manipulate the flow of my energy at will.

The only thing I struggled with was the ability to manipulate Inner Energy outside of my body, like Limen had done in front of me.

Yupow told me something as trivial as that would come with time, as long as I continued to practice the techniques he showed me.

Although I was slightly disappointed, I didn't complain, I had already achieved great feats thanks to my mastery of Inner Energy.

My punches and kicks got stronger, my strikes were faster, I know felt like my stamina and endurance were off the charts.

Things were going well for me in my efforts to get stronger.

I was certain the Guso who left Beans Village on that fateful day, was incomparable to the Guso of today.

The visible results in my efforts to get stronger got me more excited for the upcoming Ranker event that was just about a half a year away.

Everything, from my training, to my mercantile endeavors, were to prepare for when the time came to officially enter the Ranker World.

I had already collected more than 70 platinum coins, and although I didn't know how far that would take me in the Ranker Event, I didn't think it was any small amount.

The only urgent thing on my mind was downsizing.

When the time came I would have to set out into the Wilderness to find the Ranker Event.

In doing so I would have to travel pretty light as I had learned before.

Even with the help of the Sled, the amount of items I had right now would be impossible to carry around in any efficient manner, at least not without getting a carriage or big transportation vehicle.

The amount of beast parts,herbs, and minerals I had accumulated with the Guiders help was not small, even after having sold many of them in the Market, the storage crate I had filled up to the brim after my expeditions, was only ¼ of the way down empty.

I would have to continue selling my items for the rest of the time I was here if I wanted any chance to get rid of them.

That brought another problem: the more I sold , the more money I acquired.

Money that was heavy and cumbersome.

Even at this point in time the amount of common currency I possessed was beyond my carrying capacity.

I had to find a way to store it or at the very least exchange it into more manageable tender.

The platinum coins weren’t the problem, I hadn't even filled a beast pouch with them; it was the gold, silver, bronze, and copper coins that were most problematic.

The gold and silver specifically, which weighed much more than the bronze and copper coins, were starting to become a headache.

I knew it was time for me to visit a Bank.

One day I took an evening off from selling stuff, as it wasn’t the City’s major Market Day, anyways headed over to the biggest Bank in the City; as I figured I wanted something as reliable as possible, that I had at least some outside options in being able to access my money.

I had brought a few vouchers and cards of gold and platinum that many of the people in the city had given me as tender, as well as 1000 physical gold coins and 1000 physical silver coins.

I had also written down some notes on the amount of common currency I had left back at Yupows.

I figured I could arrange something with the Bank later on, and I had an idea that it was probably better if I didn't put all my eggs in one basket.

The Bank I visited was called Experts Country Bank, and it was the biggest Bank in the City, being bigger than even the City’s official bank Martial Citadel Citizens Bank.

As soon as I entered, a representative of the Bank greeted me and asked me whether I was there to make a transaction, or if I already had an account with them.

I told them I was looking to make an account, and that I had some concerning questions I wanted to ask.

Thereafter the Bank Representative guided me to the office of one of the Bank Financial Accountants, to help me in the process of making an account.

Everything so far was how I had imagined it.

Everything about the Bank was about finding a way to take your money.

Nobody in my old Village trusted Banks, not only because they were unreliable, but also because they often limited how you could use your money, since once you put it in their hands, all kinds of business transactions occurred with what was originally yours.

The only thing that put my mind at ease was that other than a few platinum vouchers, I really wasn’t here to give them my true wealth.

I was here to utilize their services to my benefit, with the knowledge of what I was giving up.

The unreliability of Banks was more of a blessing than people thought.

I had once heard that the state purposely limited and restricted each individual Bank's monetary hegemony, in a way where it was impossible for one Banking entity to take over the currency exchange and storing market.

The fear was that they would give too much power to a single person or group of powerful Banks and wealthy individuals compromising the Country's National Security.

Therefore zoning laws existed for Banks, limiting the territory in which they could set up business, and by default limiting their monetary exchange and storage reliability, convenience, self made currency validity, security and systems efficiency, all in one fell swoop.

It also didn’t help that the Country's infrastructure was already difficult for Business as it was, and that going international was almost nigh impossible for most Volunterra Businesses.

In the end this was only a temporary solution to my current money storage problem.

My ultimate goal was to somehow get myself one of the rumored Spatial Storage devices commoners could only dream of.

Even now, even though I was already a Ranker, I still hadn’t even caught a whiff of how I could get one.

My only hope was that I could find one in the Ranker event.