Chương 16: Kuo City

As the journey progressed, Shu Yang conversed with the three young men he shared the carriage with, and the four gradually got closer. He was quite curious about Kuo City, so he would ask them a lot of questions. Even if the three of them weren't martial artists, just ordinary workers in a merchant group without any status, they had spent most of their lives in Kuo City. As such, they could answer most of Shu Yang's questions.

The thing that made him most excited was when he asked about martial arts, and one of the young men, Guo Li, answered, "Sure, you can buy martial arts. Just go to the County Office."

"Really? How high are the grades? Is it very expensive?" Shu Yang asked.

"It definitely isn't cheap," Guo Li answered, "And you won't find any top-grade martial arts. But a common low-grade one should be okay to buy for most people, if you save money. Middle-grade ones are also available, but they are very costly. And high-grade ones are definitely out of reach for ordinary people. I think only established families in Kuo City would be able to buy those."

'That's good enough! Even if I can't afford the best martial arts right now, I can always save up some money and return.' After hearing about the martial arts available, Shu Yang was a lot more at ease. He already knew there was a big bookstore where he could buy most books printed in the Yan Kingdom. Books and martial arts were the most important things to get his hands on this trip.

'If it's not too expensive, I can also look into buying a better sword for Tianhu. He's been so diligent with his practice, I should encourage him a little.' Since they started the journey early in the morning, they only had to spend one night on the road. Kuo City wasn't really that far away; it was just that traveling long distances wasn't easy for most people. Just as the sun went down on the second day, the big city came into view at the end of the road. Shu Yang breathed out in relief.

He had been somewhat nervous about encountering danger on the way, even though he knew it was unlikely. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any trouble. As they arrived at the store belonging to the merchant company, Shu Yang helped unload the carriage, feeling that he hadn't been much help and had to do something to pay for the trip.

"When are you planning on going back to Chunsi Town?" Shu Yang asked.

"We'll probably head back in a few weeks," The old man in charge answered.

'Well, I certainly can't stick around that long.'

"Do you want to go back with us?" The old man asked. A martial warrior they are already familiar with is certainly more desirable than a stranger.

"I'm afraid I won't be staying for so many days," Shu Yang said, politely declining.

"Well, if you ever need to travel between Chunsi and here, remember to look for me."

"Of course," Shu Yang said. After saying goodbye to his other travel companies, Shu Yang started walking around Kuo City, looking around curiously. Even if Shu Yang knew Kuo City was a lot bigger than Chunsi Town, the scale still shocked him. He walked past the gates of a manor where the walls stretched endlessly down the street. Just one family residence here seemed to be as big as Chunsi Town.

'I've never felt so much as a country bumpkin. Compared to the families here, my small wealth is really pitiful.'

'And this is just the biggest city in Kuo County…I still have a long way to go.'

'I really can't relax. But I need to take things step by step. I'll start with gradually becoming a powerful family in Chunsi, and then once I reach the Innate stage, I'll see if I can slowly integrate the family here.' Shu Yang found the bookstore he had been told about quite easily in the center of the city. But now that he knew there were martial arts in the County Office, Shu Yang decided to go over there to take a look first.

Martial arts were bound to be a lot more expensive than ordinary books, so he should take care of that first. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. If it got too late, he would just take care of it tomorrow. He asked for directions and soon found himself in front of a grand building in the dead center of the city, surrounded by a large lawn of green grass. Shu Yang was honestly a little timid as he stepped inside. It was all so luxurious.

He really couldn't help but feel out of place. Fortunately, no one threw him out and called him poor. It seemed that, to the trained eye, it was apparent he was trained in martial arts. So it didn't take long before a man came up to him with a friendly smile and asked what his purpose was.

"I heard you can buy martial arts here?" Shu Yang asked.

"Of course, let me take you there," The man answered politely, but not overly subservient. He led Shu Yang down a corridor and took him into a large room that resembled a library, only a lot emptier. There were a few other people inside, looking around curiously.

"Here you can go through the various martial arts we have for sale," The man introduced.

"The specifics and prices are all clearly labeled. If you want to buy something, you can approach that lady behind the counter over there, and she will process it for you."

"Thank you," Shu Yang said with a smile, and then left eagerly to look through his options. However, Shu Yang soon realized he had been naive. How could martial arts, even low-grade ones, be so easy to get his hands on?

'1800 silver coins. 2300 silver coins. 2200 silver coins…Who with that amount of money would need a low-grade martial art?' Shu Yang couldn't help but sigh. He could afford it, but barely. But spending almost all his savings on a low-grade martial art clearly wasn't worth it.

'It seems I got ahead of myself. In Baishu Village, I am wealthy, but here…I can't even reach the threshold of ordinary people.'

'Looks like I need to buy more land, make more wine, expand the business… And I probably need to find some other avenue to gain money. Only then can I come back here and actually have the capital to do anything.' Shu Yang glanced at the prices for middle-graded martial arts and actually breathed out in relief. It wasn't as bad as he had feared, ranging from 4000 to 6000 silver coins. But he didn't see any high-grade ones anywhere.

'I guess even in a place with Innate warriors, a high-grade martial art can't be sold so casually.' Shu Yang was about to leave when he noticed a low-grade martial art at a much lower price.

'Only 180 silver coins? Is there a problem with it?' After reading the introduction, Shu Yang couldn't help but frown. It seemed to be of the same quality as the other martial arts he had found. Shu Yang went to the lady behind the counter by the door to clear up his confusion.

"It's a common martial art, so it's obviously cheaper," The lady responded.

'Common…what does that mean?' Seeing Shu Yang's confusion, the lady sighed but still explained.

"The martial arts here, besides the ones passed down from the Prefectural Office, are all given to us from the local forces. Obviously, they need thorough compensation for risking their martial arts spreading, even if they are limited to below the Innate stage. But the common martial arts don't have a force behind them, at least not anymore. They don't have anyone to control them, and these martial arts have long spread throughout the Kingdom. Naturally, they don't have as high a price."

"I see," Shu Yang said.

'If they are so common, doesn't that mean I can find them elsewhere?'

'Never mind, I shouldn't be greedy. Buying them here is definitely more convenient.' Even if these martial arts weren't exactly cheap either, it would definitely be worth it so Shu Yang could finally experiment with deducing a stronger martial art. So he unhesitantly grabbed all three of the common low-grade martial arts and brought them to the lady at the counter. She raised her eyebrow slightly at the purchase but didn't say anything.

After paying, Shu Yang couldn't help but ask, "Are there any special criteria for buying high-grade martial arts?"

"Definitely," The lady responded, "You would have to be approved by the martial hall that owns the martial art before being allowed to purchase it, and you'd have to sign a contract not to disclose the martial art to anyone."

"Alright," Shu Yang said, "Thank you for your help."

'It might be possible to make a deal in the future… But considering how easy it is to get your hands on a low-grade martial art here, I can't help but wonder how it is in bigger cities. Does the Capital have even top-grade martial arts for sale? If that's the case, it would probably be more efficient to make a trip to a bigger place once I'm stronger.' Exiting the County Office, Shu Yang felt that the weight from his backpack had eased slightly.

Even if silver coins are small and thin, thousands of them still add up to quite a weight. After paying a total of 460 silver coins for the three martial arts, Shu Yang still had a little over 2000 silver coins left. These were all the money his family had left from last year's wine sale. Shu Yang didn't plan to spend it all, though. He had brought it all just in case he stumbled upon something he really couldn't miss.

'Next stop, books!'