Chapter 587 – Magic Beast Business
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Your Majesty thinks too highly of me. The Buda Clan only does business fairly, that's why the Beastmen decided to trust us."
The Buddha Emperor faintly smiled, "Mister doesn't need to be too modest. Actually, I invited Mister over because I also have a business matter to discuss."
Zhao Hai stared, then he immediately replied, "Your Majesty can tell me."
The Buddha Emperor nodded and said, "When our Empire started, our crowning glory was our cavalry. At that time, we were unmatched in the continent. But in the recent years, the Magic Beasts that we had reared were very weak. Moreover, their numbers had shrunk more and more. This is an important matter for the Empire. Therefore, I'm here to ask mister to see if you can buy some Magic Beasts in the Prairie for us. What does mister think about this?"
Zhao Hai stared, then he immediately thought that the Emperor was describing the situation of their breeding grounds. Probably because of the unfavorable conditions, their Magic Beasts have started to dwindle in numbers while degrading in quality. For a cavalry-oriented nation, this was a fatal development. At this time, there were close to no Merchants that were trading in the Prairie aside from the Buda Clan. Therefore, the Buddha Emperor decided to invite Zhao Hai over and propose this business of Magic Beasts.
Zhao Hai thought for a moment and then asked, "What Magic Beasts does Your Majesty want to buy? There are a lot of Beastman races, and each of them had their own unique magic beasts. However, the way these races protect their magic beasts is very strict. For ordinary tribes, maybe this business might go through. But if it involves Warring Races, then the situation would be different. I'm afraid even your name wouldn't suffice."
The Buddha Emperor didn't get angry at Zhao Hai's words, instead, he just nodded and said, "Mister is really a straightforward person. This Emperor wasn't deceived. Mister, I mainly want some bull or horse magic beasts. Can mister agree to that?"
Zhao Hai thought for a moment and replied, "I won't hide the truth from your Majesty. My relationship with the Cow Race is very good. If his majesty wanted some bulls, then I can guarantee that I can buy you some. However, for horse magic beasts, I'm still not quite sure. I didn't have any dealings with the Horse Race before, so I'm not confident in assuring your Majesty about their magic beasts."
The Buddha Emperor gave a nod and said, "Mister's words already gave me relief. I want to ask mister to buy at least 5th rank magic beasts. The more the better. The same goes true with the horse magic beasts. I'll buy as many as mister can supply. I also won't blame mister if you cannot manage to buy some."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Alright, rest assured your Majesty, I can at least guarantee the supply of bull magic beasts. As for the horses, I can only give it a try."
The Buddha Emperor held his wine glass up and said, "I'll have to thank mister for the trouble. Rest assured, this Emperor wouldn't treat you badly in terms of price."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Your Majesty is too polite. I'm originally a merchant. Your Majesty giving me this huge business means that you trusted me. Your Majesty can also rest assured that I would give you a fair price."
The Buddha Emperor laughed and said, "Alright, mister gave me relief. Listening to mister speak doesn't really give me a feeling that you're a merchant. Other Merchants sound so calculating, very unlike mister's refreshing tone."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Your Majesty might not know, but Beastmen doesn't like people that are too calculating. If you squeeze them of profits, the Beastmen wouldn't like you. When I do business with the Beastmen, I always give them a fair price along with good quality products. This is the reason why Beastmen liked doing business with me."
The Buddha Emperor smiled and said, "I see. There are a lot of people who did business in the Prairie, but there aren't a lot of people who think like mister. They always think about how to profit off of the Beastmen. Not knowing that it would actually produce such dislike towards them."
Zhao Hai replied, "That's right. And now that the war with the Beastmen was still fresh in their minds, nobody would dare come to the Prairie. I think this is a good opportunity. If it was before, I wouldn't be as confident about buying magic beasts. But now, I think the beastmen would agree."
The Buddha Emperor laughed loudly and said, "Mister is really wise. Unwise people don't think about the big picture. Mister is truly a person of great wisdom."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "I'm not worthy of His Majesty's praise. I'm just a Merchant. Merchants who only chase small profits are not good businessmen."
The Buddha Emperor's laughs got louder as he lifts his wine glass and said, "Talking with mister is truly a unique experience. This Emperor hopes to be mister's friend."
Zhao Hai hastily lifted his glass and replied, "This one is unworthy. His Majesty giving me his regards has already brought huge honor to this Zhao Hai. If Your Majesty needs anything from me, then please don't hesitate to send word."
The Buddha Emperor gave a faint smile as he drank his glass with Zhao Hai. Although they were talking normally, their voices weren't loud enough to be heard by the Nobles below. However, when the Nobles noticed how friendly Zhao Hai and the Emperor were, even repeatedly sharing drinks together, they couldn’t help but shake in anticipation.
Some of them knew why the Emperor had invited Zhao Hai over. Now that they saw the two's interactions, it seems like the deal had come through.
The Buddha Empire's cavalry crisis not only affected the Emperor, the pressure was also passed down to the Nobles. Because of this, all of them were hoping that this deal with Zhao Hai would go through.
After the banquet ended, Zhao Hai gave his farewells to the Buddha Emperor. The Emperor then had Ironwood arrange some rooms in the embassy for Zhao Hai to stay in. Zhao Hai didn't decline this invitation. He had noticed that Laura and the others were now awake. He wanted to see them before he took a rest.
This embassy was a place where envoys from other countries would stay. Therefore, the place's interior was very well decorated. Moreover, it was regularly cleaned all throughout the year. Although Zhao Hai wasn't an envoy, his status wasn't low enough to merit him staying in one of the Nobles' place. Therefore, the only place that he can stay in was this embassy.
After entering the embassy and his room, Zhao Hai didn't hesitate before flashing to the Space. When he arrived at the Space, he saw Laura and the others in the living room, chatting.
Seeing Zhao Hai arrive, Laura and the others immediately stood up to welcome him. Laura spoke for the group and said, "Brother Hai, after drinking the Blood Pond water, there were a lot of dirty things that came out of our bodies. However, we didn't become 9th ranks. What's going on?"
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "That's just fine. Your bodies are just expelling some impurities, there's no need to worry about it. You can just drink some Spatial Water and go back to cultivating. I'm certain that you would reach 9th rank by then. If you feel uncomfortable, you don't need to rush it, you can just take your time."
While he was talking, Zhao Hai also inspected the conditions of Laura and the others. He discovered immediately that their skins had become much more delicate. It looked as delicate as a drop of water.
Zhao Hai knew that the reason for this was the expulsion of toxins from their bodies. They seem to have become much healthier compared to before.
When Laura heard Zhao Hai, she couldn't help but nod and said, "I'm not really feeling uncomfortable with my body. I just feel very weak. I'll rest for the evening and resume cultivating tomorrow."
Zhao Hai gave a smile and said, "Alright, cultivating later or now wouldn't make much of a difference. Right, what's with the situation with Blockhead and the others?"
Laura smiled and said, "They're currently inside the Hot Springs, accompanying father to a bath."
Zhao Hai nodded, "Alright, that's good. When they come out, I'll also have them take a rest. It's not too late to cultivate tomorrow." Laura and the others nodded, then they turned to rest in their rooms.
While Zhao Hai sat in the living room, Blockhead and the others came out, along with Karen. Each of their complexions looked very good. It seems like the Blood Pond water has benefitted them a lot.
After the group sat down, Zhao Hai turned to Karen and said, "Father-in-law, I just listened to Laura about how your bodies felt weak. You can just rest first and continue cultivating tomorrow. What do you think?"
Karen nodded and said, "Alright. Even cultivating makes me feel tired. I'll continue cultivating tomorrow."
Then Zhao Hai turned to Blockhead and said, "You also, go rest and cultivate tomorrow. No need to be anxious about this thing. Don't stress your bodies out, it also needs to take a rest."
Blockhead and the others nodded, then they turned around to return to their room. After that, Zhao Hai called Cai'er over and said, "Cai'er, go count how many 5th rank bull magic beasts we have. The type that's suitable for the Buddha Empire's use."
Cai'er said, "Young Master, didn't you plan to buy the magic beasts from the Beastmen? Why would you sell the Space's beast to the Buddha Empire?"
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, "I'm just asking because I'm planning on having Big Brother undertake this business. But you should know that the beasts in the Prairie doesn't live well in the human lands. I'm planning on buying some magic beasts from big brother and raising them in the Space while selling the pre-existing magic beasts here to the Buddha Empire."
Zhao Hai knew that this magic beast business was very big. Although he was capable of handling it by himself, he just cannot neglect the situation of Wales' tribe. For Wales, this business was very important. The Herculean Bulls had just suffered from a disaster, their strength have been severely injured. If this business goes through, then it would greatly help them in their recovery.
Cai'er nodded and then counted in her mind before saying, "Young Master, there are a lot of bull magic beasts in the Space. But these magic beasts are all common bulls. I'm afraid these would look strange outside."
Chapter 588 – A Series of Promotions to 9th Rank
When Zhao Hai heard Cai'er, he couldn't help but knit his brows. He knew what Cai'er meant. Because the Space levelled up, the Magic Beasts inside were upgraded as well. Therefore, the most common bull present had turned into 5th rank magic beasts. But its form still remained the same.
In the continent, the common bull was one of the most common magic beast. If Zhao Hai took his common bulls and sold them to the Buddha Empire, then they would definitely be identified at first glance. And if the common bulls reached 5th rank, then they would attract suspicion, which wouldn't be good.
Zhao Hai thought for a moment before saying, "So the only thing we can do right now is to get Big Brother's magic beasts to the Space and have them drink some Spatial Water to improve their ranks. Let's just hope that they can survive in Human lands. Otherwise, we can only provide the beasts from the Space."
Cai'er didn't respond. After the Space had been upgraded, even the most inferior magic beasts, like rabbits have become 4th rank beasts. One couldn't see a low ranked beast anymore. Other people were troubled because their beasts were too low ranked. However, Zhao Hai's problem was that he had a lot of high ranked beasts.
At this point, the beasts in the Space can only be processed before being sold out. Otherwise, when people find out that even Zhao Hai's rabbits have gotten to 4th rank, they would immediately assume that he has a way to increase a magic beast's rank. At that point, nobody would be paying attention on the Radiant Church and would instead shift their attention to Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai didn't want to reach that state. Although he now had the strength to conquer the continent, there were still the Gods and the Demons that were in front of him, towering like mountains. Zhao Hai knew that if he would take any big actions, then the Radiant Church would possibly start their plan ahead of time. At this point, Zhao Hai cannot make any mistakes.
Since he had destroyed the Radiant Church's plans time and time again, then it would be impossible for the church to not pay any attention to him. If he shows any flaws in his action, then the Radiant Church would definitely know about it.
The Radiant Church had been operating in the continent for a lot of years. Although they were being pressured by the Great Clans, they still had people in hiding in sight and were gathering news for the church. They definitely still had influence in the continent, Zhao Hai just cannot neglect them.
Zhao Hai can only hope that when he reaches the Prairie, Wales would have the appropriate magic beasts that he needs.
The next morning, Zhao Hai got on board the Haven in order to leave. The Buddha Emperor also sent out a ship in order to escort Zhao Hai to the sea. Naturally, Zhao Hai didn't decline this hospitality. This was a courtesy that even envoys from other continents didn't get, which also made the nobles of the Buddha Empire very surprised.
The Buddha Emperor did this because he really wanted Zhao Hai to bring him some magic beasts. And another reason was in order to look good in the eyes of Zhao Hai.
The Buddha Emperor had a lot of contact with different merchants. Although these Merchants had high status, the Buddha Emperor found that he didn't like them. On the other hand, Zhao Hai was different, he acted like he wasn't a merchant at all. Because of this, the Buddha Emperor was inclined to give special favor to Zhao Hai.
Monarchs tend to get used to not have any genuine friends, but the Buddha Emperor was quite different. In the past, he was not the most appropriate person for the throne. At that time, he was only the Eighth Prince and was seen as a fool by other people. While the other princes struggled for the throne, he actually ran to the army in order to cultivate.
However, nobody thought that among the princes, he was the one that the old Emperor saw was the most dazzling. In the end, the old Emperor found an excuse in order to deal with the other princes and give all of the power to the Eight Prince, making him the Emperor in the process.
The Buddha Emperor didn't think that he would obtain the throne. He also thought that his character was very inappropriate for the position. His character was too straight, but since he already had the throne, he can only do his best to protect it.
The Buddha Emperor was not a fool. The reason why he didn't join the struggle with his other brothers was because he didn't like killing one another. Naturally, even if he already had the throne, he still stuck with this philosophy.
In the beginning, the other nobles thought that he didn't know anything, therefore they started to suppress him. However, they didn't expect that the Buddha Emperor had experience in the army, and were also in good relations with them. When the nobles were about to make their move, the army suddenly appeared on their borders, and with the Buddha Emperor's own strength, he crushed the ambitions of those nobles.
By personally breaking their resolve, the Buddha Emperor immediately gained huge authority. And from that point on, the empire's nobles didn't dare to underestimate their Emperor.
However, the Buddha Emperor had found out that he wasn't happy even after becoming the monarch. He was used to the army where everyone is in close terms with each other. Quite different from the Imperial Palace, where everyone was out to compete with one another. Even if these people were your officials, you wouldn't want to be intimate with them. This made the Buddha Emperor very lonely.
But when he chatted with Zhao Hai, the Buddha Emperor felt that Zhao Hai was the right person to be friends with him. Therefore, he expressed his friendship to Zhao Hai. Moreover, he didn't do this out of courtesy, he really does want to be Zhao Hai's friend. This was why he sent a ship in order to escort Zhao Hai.
ZHao Hai didn't know about any of these, he wasn't an Emperor, so he couldn't understand an emperor's thoughts. What he only saw was the Buddha Emperor attaching great importance to him.
After the Haven left Iron Knight city, he left the undead behind and then flashed to the Space. Laura and the others had already started to cultivate, Zhao Hai wanted to see them get to 9th rank today.
When Zhao Hai came to the Space, Laura and the others were already cultivating. Zhao Hai looked at their expression and saw that they didn't have the pained reaction from before, this made him relieved.
However, Zhao Hai didn't think that they would cultivate for a long time. After a whole day and night, Laura and the others had finally started to wake up one after another, but now they were all 9th rank experts. Among them, the strongest was Shue. Not only was Shue a 9th rank expert, he also possessed a Divergent Ability, which meant that his shadows were also 9th rank.
But if they rank themselves in terms of threat, Shue wouldn't take the first place, instead it would be Shun. Shun was now a 9th rank assassin. His skills had now become much more formidable, he was now close to being unparalleled in his profession.
Blockhead and Rockhead weren't weak as well. With their mental connection, no 9th rank expert can deal with them working together.
Laura and the others had become 9th rank as well. Although they weren't the strongest, they weren't the weakest as well. After all, the energy of the God's Blood was very potent.
Among the group that had become 9th rank, Karen was the only person who seemed unenthusiastic about it. After becoming 9th rank, Karen didn't express his glee, he just left the Space and immediately sank into his research.
Zhao Hai was helpless against Karen's character, he could only go along with Karen's whim. However, he didn't give Karen the blueprints immediately. He asked Karen to try out his new ideas first, and when results come out, only then would the new blueprints get handed over.
Karen didn't care about this, there were still some blueprints from before that he hadn't fully researched. Therefore, after becoming 9th rank, he immediately went back to Iron Mountain Fort to continue.
After the first batch had become 9th rank, Zhao Hai immediately transferred Blockhead and Rockhead to Golden Island and had them take Kun's place. Then Zhao Hai asked Kun to drink the Spatial Water and had him cultivate.
What surprised Zhao Hai was the smoothness of Kun's process in becoming a 9th rank expert. It didn’t take a long time before Kun became 9th rank. Although his body expelled some impurities as well, it wasn't as much as Laura and the others.
After thinking about it, Zhao Hai finally found a reason why. Kun had been 8th rank for a long time, sl he only needed a small push in order to become 9th rank. On the other hand, Laura and the others had depended on the Space to quickly become 8th rank. They lacked the experience of cultivation, explaining their slow progress.
After Kun finished cultivating, he immediately returned to Golden Island while Blockhead and Rockhead went to Iron Mountain Fort in order to replace Green and Merine. Green and Merine were also 8th rank for a long time, so their progress to 9th rank was smooth as well. Zhao Hai's worries had become useless.
When the two left, Zhao Hai also gave them a lot of Spatial Water. The Spatial Water was to be used to cultivate the 100 slaves that they had already picked. Now that the slaves had regained their status as commoners, they decided to give their all to the Buda Clan, becoming loyal and devoted members of the family. Because of this, Zhao Hai gave them the gift of cultivation.
Zhao Hai wasn't stingy when it came to his people. Since these 100 people were loyal, then it was natural for them to enjoy some benefits. They may even prove useful in the future.
While Green and Merine cultivated, the Haven had reached the sea. At the same time, the Buddha Empire escort ship also left. Naturally, Zhao Hai didn't need to sail on the ship for the entire trip to the Prairie. So he went to the Space and teleported to a place near the Herculean Bull tribe.
Zhao Hai still rode his Blood Hawk when he went to the Herculean Bull tribe. He didn't want the people of the continent to know that he had become 9th rank. He wanted to keep his rank as an ace to be used in the future.
The Herculean Bulls had been living better days recently. With the support of Zhao Hai as well as having suffered no losses in the war with the Humans, they were now slowly recovering.
Zhao Hai only brought Shue and Shun this time. He was already used to bringing the two along with him. Although the two had already become 9th rank, they were still loyal to Zhao Hai. The two of them were very clear about Zhao Hai's true strength.[1]
Three blood hawks descended from the skies as it landed at the Herculean Bulls' main camp. When the Herculean Bulls noticed Zhao Hai, they immediately flocked around him as Zhao Hai gave them gifts before jokingly driving them away.
Zhao Hai was now like a family to the Herculean Bulls, he was now regarded by the tribe members to be one of them. Because of this, Zhao Hai was very comfortable in joking with them.
Wales and the others were inside the golden tent. Zhao Hai didn't give any notice as he directly entered the tent. Wales was doing something inside, Yale was present as well. However, Mendez was nowhere to be seen.
When Wales heard that Zhao Hai came, he was about to come out of the tent as Zhao Hai entered. Wales then laughed as he hugged Zhao Hai and said, "Brother, how did you have time to visit? Did you miss your brother?"
Zhao Hai returned Wales' hug before they let loose. Then after sitting down and had a drink of hot milk wine, Zhao Hai looked at Wales and said, "Brother Wales, I came here this time because I brought business."
Wales replied, "Business? What business? Also, no need to ask permission from me, just take the goods that you want."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "i know, but this matter is a bit sensitive. The Buddha Empire wanted me to go to the Prairie and buy some magic beasts for them."
Wales stared, then he knit his brows and said, "They want to buy magic beasts? So it seems like it isn't argali? Otherwise, there's no need for you to discuss it with me. What do those fellows want?"
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Brother should know about the Buddha Empire's cavalry, especially their renowned Heavy Cavalry. Even facing the Beastmen, those units wouldn't fall behind. However, they discovered that their magic beasts had been degraded these past few years. This will hugely affect their military strength. Therefore, they asked me to go to the Prairie and buy some 4th to 5th rank bull and horse magic beasts. They want to make those into their mounts."
Wales knitted his brows, "Brother,how can you agree to this matter? If the Humans get stronger, then it would be disadvantageous to the Beastmen. I cannot sell them these magic beasts."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Brother, you think too much. Even if their strength improves, don't forget that the Buddha Empire is three nations away from the Beastman Prairie. Even if they want to attack the Beastmen, it would be nearly impossible. Moreover, you seem to forget that the Buddha Empire houses a race that has something that the Beastmen lacked."
Wales stared, then he looked at Yale as their eyes shone brightly. Then the two looked at Zhao Hai and simultaneously said, "The Dwarves!"
Zhao Hai laughed and said, "Right. It's the Dwarves. This time, I also went to the Dwarves under the request of His Majesty the Beast King. He wanted me to go to the Dwarves in hopes of purchasing some ironware for the Beastman race. But as you know, the Dwarves are in the Buddha Empire. If we decline the Buddha Empire's request, then they might make it harder for us to trade with the Dwarves."
This has to do with their previous oath, I think. That oath becomes useless after becoming 9th rank.