Imperial Scepter

Gao Chun stared at the storage bag, which was full of things, but there wasn't even a trace of fire-attribute mystic items inside. His heart sank.

Without the aid of a fire-attribute mystic object, he was unable to continue rapidly comprehending the Will of Fire.

With his current cultivation level at the One-Star Bronze Realm, wanting to take another step forward is simply a pipe dream.

What should I do?

Gao Chun couldn't help but become impatient, his tender brows furrowed into a knot, and his fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on the storage bag's strap.

Just then, his father Gao Changhe's teachings suddenly echoed in his mind.

"On the path of the profound, those who panic when encountering danger will fail, and those who give up when faced with difficulties will perish. Only by thinking deeply, planning ahead, and facing challenges head-on can one go far."

These words were like a reassuring pill, instantly calming his slightly agitated mind and gradually easing his turbulent emotions.

The nine-year-old boy took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and began to sort out the feasible solutions one by one.

My first thought was to ask my sister and brother-in-law for it.

But my sister and brother-in-law have already started their own families, and my nephew Gao Chengzhi also needs a lot of cultivation resources...

If I were to go and ask them for it again, wouldn't that just cause them trouble?

Gao Chun shook his head, decisively extinguishing the idea.

His second thought was to use his status as a one-star bronze realm cultivator to earn magical items himself.

But upon closer reflection, this path also seems impractical.

Fighting mythical beasts? I'm too young and my cultivation is too shallow. Which team would be willing to take on such a risk with a burden like me?

A gambling match? The dozen or so one-star bronze realm cultivators from Gaojia Village were almost all minors (under sixteen years old).

Their magical items are almost all provided by their elders at home; how much can they win?

...Countless ideas flashed through Gao Chun's mind, only to be rejected one by one.

Just when my thinking hit a deadlock.

Gao Chun's gaze swept over the storage bags that were filled to the brim.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

A clear idea took shape in my mind: barter!

But who should I ask to exchange it?

His first thought was of his sister, brother-in-law, and Uncle Li Quan.

These three are all Silver Realm experts with substantial wealth, and they must have stockpiled quite a few first and second grade fire-attribute mystic items.

But then I thought, my sister and brother-in-law need to support Gao Chengzhi's cultivation, and Uncle Li Quan also needs to save resources for his only son, Li Daoqiu.

"I won't go and cause them any trouble!"

Then, he thought of the several general stores in the village.

But shops open to do business in order to make a profit.

If you were to seek an equivalent exchange from the shopkeeper without paying a handling fee, you would be taking advantage of him.

If I pay the handling fee according to the rules, I feel bad about it.

Gao Chun is unwilling to accept either gaining an advantage or suffering a loss.

After thinking for a moment, I gave up on the idea.

Who else can we turn to?

Gao Chun frowned slightly, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the storage bag, his gaze sweeping in the direction of the village.

Including himself, there are a total of 103 Xuanzhe in the village.

Aside from his father, sister, brother-in-law, and Uncle Li Quan, who were all Silver Realm experts, the remaining 99 were all Bronze Realm experts.

Among them, apart from the six elders who have reached the ninth star of the Bronze Realm and are currently striving to break through to the Silver Realm, the rest are still working hard to comprehend the meaning of each attribute and urgently need first or second-grade mystical objects to assist in their cultivation.

Especially those bronze-level cultivators who have successfully grasped the essence of fire and then switched to cultivating other attributes.

The fire-attribute mystical items in their hands were useless to them; keeping them would be a waste.

The mystical items he possessed could perfectly meet their needs.

Isn't this the perfect example of "each getting what they need"?

Once he understood this, Gao Chun beamed with joy, his youthful face filled with excitement.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately began to refine the exchange plan.

The location must be chosen in a place with high traffic and concentrated target audience.

The only way to the village entrance is undoubtedly the best choice: every evening, adult cultivators who go out to hunt mythical beasts and gather resources will return to the village from here, which is the golden time for trading.

The time was set for evening.

Material preparations should not be taken lightly.

Gao Chun rummaged through boxes and cabinets to find a flat piece of cardboard, and carefully wrote two lines of large characters with a charcoal pencil.

The first line reads "bartering goods," written in a bold and powerful style; the second line reads "exchanging for fire-attribute mystical items," clear and concise.

After finishing writing the sign, he struggled with what to use as a base: should he use old cloth from home, or find another piece of cardboard?

Although cloth is soft, it easily gets dirty, and it's not good to get things dirty.

The cardboard is flat and clean, and it can also be used to categorize and display different types of mysterious items, making it convenient for everyone to choose.

In the end, Gao Chun chose a larger piece of cardboard, carefully folded it, and put it into the storage bag.

Everything was ready, the sun was setting, and the golden afterglow bathed the entire village.

The sounds of laughter and conversation from the returning cultivators drifted from afar. Gao Chun took a deep breath, picked up his storage bag, and strode briskly towards the village entrance.

Upon arriving at an open area beside the only road he could pass, he first laid out a large cardboard sheet on the ground and smoothed out the wrinkles.

Then, he took out the mysterious items from the storage bag and arranged them neatly according to the order of metal, wood, water, earth, wind, thunder, darkness, and light.

Each type of mysterious item was neatly arranged, with the best-quality items placed at the front.

He even placed a small stone next to each pile of mystical objects and put a piece of paper on it, with the grade and approximate purity of mystical energy marked on it in charcoal.

Finally, he placed the written sign at the very front of the cardboard and secured it with two stones.

A well-organized and professional "street stall" officially opened for business.

Gao Chun stood beside the stall, her small body ramrod straight, a perfectly timed smile on her face.

He wasn't worried at all that someone would try to steal it.

As the young village chief, no one in Gaojia Village had the guts to do this.

"Hey, isn't this high-purity? You're getting into trading now?"

The first person to greet me was Uncle Zhang. He and his "Thunder Team" had just hunted down a Flame Wolf, and he carried his prey on his shoulder with a loud, booming voice.

He approached the stall and couldn't help but gasp in amazement. His rough fingers gently brushed over the mysterious object, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Good heavens! All eight elements of mystical objects—metal, wood, water, earth, wind, thunder, darkness, and light—are present, and arranged so neatly!"

The other four members of the Thunder team also stepped forward and came to Gao Chun's stall.

"Look at this wood-attribute Sedum morganianum! Its leaves are plump, and its spiritual energy is almost overflowing. It's of truly high quality!"

"Gao Chun is only nine years old, right? If it were my son, he would have been crying and begging his parents for cultivation resources by now. He wouldn't have come up with such a good idea on his own!"

"The young village chief is truly admirable! He's so approachable, doesn't steal or take advantage of others, and genuinely exchanges goods. He's far better than those who abuse their status to act arrogantly and take advantage of people!"

The members of the Thunder Team were discussing the matter while exchanging Xuan items with Gao Chun one after another.

Other cultivators who had returned to the village also flocked to the stall, and before long, a large crowd had gathered around Gao Chun's stall.

Discussions and praises rose and fell, some purely admiring the purity, others coming specifically to exchange for mysterious items, and all sorts of people coming and going in an endless stream.

"This Thunder Pattern Stone has a purity of at least 85%, making it a top-grade Xuan item! It could easily fetch more than a fire-attribute Xuan item of the same grade. Gao Chun is truly a kind and honest kid!"

"He remains calm and composed in the face of adversity, far superior to us back then! Given time, he might even reach the Gold or Profound King realms, let alone the Silver Realm!"

"This child is truly remarkable! At just nine years old, to possess such a calm mind, clear thinking, and thoughtful planning is truly rare!"

"He remains calm and composed in the face of adversity and can come up with such a sound solution; he is destined for great things."

"Our Gaojia Village might even reach new heights under his leadership!"

Of course, there were also some dissenting voices among the crowd.

A few people with ulterior motives whispered among themselves, "He must have collected so many valuable items by using the village chief's name as a pretext."

"Now look what they've done, using it to exchange for the fire-attribute mystic items they need. They've really got a clever plan!"

No sooner had these words been spoken than someone retorted, "So what if they're 'smart'? They exchanged money clearly, fairly, and justly!"

"Look at the quality of these mystical items. They're all genuine first or second grade, without a trace of inferior quality. Even the labels are clearly written. That's called cleverness, not scheming!"

Others spoke with admiration mixed with a hint of resentment: "He's only nine years old and he's already so good at business. He's incredibly smart!"

"To think that he could exchange unused mystical items for what he needed, and to choose this time and place, his mind is too meticulous."

Some people stubbornly refused to admit defeat, but couldn't hide the jealousy in their eyes: "Hmph, it's just good luck! The mystical items he has were all obtained through bribes. I could have made that deal too!"

"Next time I go to the Mystic Beast Mountain Range, I'll definitely hunt down a high-level mystic beast and earn even more mystic treasures than it did!"

"Stop being stubborn! They traded openly and honestly, every transaction was transparent, you can't be that fair!"

As time went by, more and more cultivators returned to the village, and the stalls selling high-quality items became increasingly lively.

People would stop when they passed by. Some would look on curiously, some would ask about the exchange rate, and some would immediately exchange for the items they wanted.

The cultivators' eyes varied; some wore kind smiles, some were filled with pure curiosity, and others harbored greed and jealousy.

However, intimidated by the village chief's authority and because Gao Chun's transactions were aboveboard and impeccable, no one dared to utter a single complaint, much less make any rash moves.

Gao Chun had long since developed the ability to read people's expressions and moods through storybooks and the guests who visited his home.

He could clearly sense the changes in everyone's emotions, but he didn't care at all. He still wore a gentle smile and received each trader in an orderly manner.

For each transaction, he would first carefully assess the grade and purity of the other party's fire-attribute mystic item, and then exchange it for a mystic item of the same quality and required attribute.

The entire process was open and transparent, with absolutely no ambiguity.

"I looked at several shops, but they either charged high handling fees or didn't have the wood-attribute Scrophularia I needed."

After exchanging his items, one of the practitioners couldn't help but praise, "I didn't expect to get everything sorted out here in one go! Your stall may be small, but it has more complete selections and is more affordable than a general store!"

Gao Chun scratched his head and smiled shyly: "You flatter me. I just thought that everyone could get what they need, and that it would be good if it could help everyone."

His sincerity and fairness won everyone's approval. Even those who had only approached the transaction with a "let's give it a try" attitude were full of praise afterward.

Those who were initially hesitant, seeing that everyone else had left satisfied, also stepped forward to exchange their items.

The amount of fire-attribute mystical items obtained through high purity gradually increased, piling up from just a few pieces at the beginning into a small heap.

There are fire crystals, fire jade, fire pattern stones, and rare fire-attribute mystical fruits. They vary in quality, but they are all genuinely good items.

Looking at these mysterious items he had earned with his own hands, Gao Chun's mouth practically stretched to his ears in a wide grin.

His young face was filled with pure joy and pride.

This feeling of overcoming difficulties and obtaining what you want through your own wisdom and effort.

It's a hundred times more comfortable than if his father simply gave him a bunch of mysterious items!