I run a casino in the immortal realm.

"It's practically completely blocked."

Ma Biao sighed, "For cultivators at the bottom to break through the social class, there are only two paths. The first path is to join the army, go to the border battlefield to fight the demon race or enemy countries, and exchange the enemy's head for military merits."

As long as one's military merits are sufficient, the imperial court may promote them exceptionally, but the battlefield is fraught with peril, and very few manage to climb the ranks alive.

"What about the second option?"

Zhao Ling asked curiously.

"The second path is to have extremely high attainments in a certain auxiliary skill."

Ma Biao glanced at Ouyang Tian and Murong Hao, "For example, alchemists, array masters, weapon refiners, talisman masters, beast tamers, etc. The imperial court and aristocratic families are very eager for such special talents. As long as their skills are excellent, the government will recruit them directly, grant them official positions, and they will even be treated as honored guests by major aristocratic families."

"fart!"

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Tian slammed his fist on the table in anger, making the teacups rattle. "I am a fifth-tier array master! That old devil Murong is a fifth-tier weapon refiner! Half a year ago, we went to Liuhua County to recommend ourselves, but the county clerk wouldn't even let us in the door; he just kicked us out!"

Ma Biao shrank back in fright and quickly explained, "Master Ouyang, please calm down! This... this cannot be blamed on the registrar. This is an ironclad rule of the imperial court. There are extremely strict age limits for recruiting special talents. Generally, they cannot be older than thirty. The imperial court does not accept talents who are over thirty years old."

Thirty years old?!

Ouyang Tian's eyes widened, pointing to his own nose, "A thirty-year-old fifth-tier array master? Why doesn't he go find one in his mother's womb? I've studied arrays for hundreds of years before reaching the fifth tier. Who set this rule? Are they out of their minds?!"

Ma Biao said with a bitter face, "The imperial court believes that those who can reach a high level of skill before the age of thirty are true geniuses and worth cultivating, while those who achieve something late in life have exhausted their potential, and more importantly..."

Ma Biao lowered his voice: "If an elderly high-level cultivator suddenly appears and his background is unknown, the government will directly suspect him to be a spy sent by an enemy country. If you two hadn't run away quickly when you went to the county government half a year ago, you would probably have been arrested and imprisoned as spies."

Upon hearing this reason, Ouyang Tian and Murong Hao exchanged glances, then deflated like punctured balloons, too frustrated to speak.

In the Southern Wilderness, age represents seniority and prestige; here, however, age has become a cardinal sin, leading one to be treated as a suspected spy.

"I see."

Zheng Yifei nodded. He finally understood why these two Nascent Soul stage experts had ended up in such a miserable state.

Being an unregistered resident, old, and without connections—this is practically a hellish start in Dong Shenzhou.

"You just said you used to be the captain of the Liuhua County garrison, how did you become an outlaw?"

Zheng Yifei looked at Ma Biao and casually asked a question.

Ma Biao's eyes darkened, and he gritted his teeth: "Back in the day, I was quite dutiful in the army. I finally accumulated enough military merits and was about to be promoted to deputy commander."

During a street patrol, I witnessed a young master from the Wang family in town forcibly abducting a woman. Enraged, I intervened, and in the ensuing struggle, the young master, weakened by wine and women, collapsed onto a stone bench and died.

Ma Biao clenched his fist: "The Wang family is one of the three great families in Liuhua County. Even the county magistrate has to give them some face. When the head of the Wang family said he wanted my life, the county government immediately issued a warrant for my arrest."

Having no other choice, I fled into these deep mountains overnight and became an outlaw.

After listening, Zheng Yifei gained a deeper understanding of the social ecology of Dong Shenzhou: collusion between officials and businessmen, powerful families dominating the world, and the lives of the lower classes being as worthless as grass.

Let's not talk about this anymore.

Zheng Yifei waved his hand, steer the conversation back on track, addressing his most pressing concern: "Let's talk about money. How does the currency circulate in Dong Shenzhou?"

Mentioning money, Ma Biao perked up slightly: "Reporting to the Chief, the currency circulating in the Eastern Divine Continent is gold and silver coins, uniformly minted by the imperial court. This is a mandatory regulation of the court; whether mortal or low-level cultivator, daily transactions must use gold and silver coins."

"What about spirit stones? Do cultivators also use gold coins to buy and sell magical treasures and elixirs?"

Li Jianfeng frowned and asked.

"Spirit stones are strictly defined here as 'cultivation resources,' not ordinary currency."

Ma Biao explained, "The imperial court controls more than 90% of the spiritual veins within the territory. The spirit stones circulating in the market are cultivation materials, and there is a fixed exchange rate between spirit stones and gold coins."

Ten silver coins are equivalent to one gold coin.

Ten gold coins can buy a low-grade spirit stone at the official bank. One thousand gold coins can buy a mid-grade spirit stone.

Ten thousand gold coins can be exchanged for a high-grade spirit stone.

As for top-grade spirit stones, they are priceless treasures. The official price is 100,000 gold coins per stone, but on the black market, they can fetch hundreds of thousands and still no one will sell them.

Zheng Yifei quickly did the mental calculation.

Ten gold coins for one low-grade spirit stone—this price system is completely different from that of the Southern Wilderness.

In the Southern Wilderness, low-grade spirit stones are the most basic currency; a meal might cost one spirit stone.

Here, low-grade spirit stones are stripped of their monetary attributes and returned to their essence as energy crystals.

"So, in other words, low-grade spirit stones aren't actually worth much here?"

Zheng Yifei astutely grasped the key point.

"You could say that."

Ma Biao nodded. "Low-grade spirit stones contain many impurities and are mainly used by low-level Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, as well as ordinary soldiers in the army, for their daily cultivation."

The truly wealthy scions of noble families and high-level cultivators usually use mid-grade or even high-grade spirit stones for cultivation. Therefore, although low-grade spirit stones are resources, they are considered trash in the eyes of important figures.

"Is there any way to make money quickly? Like, at a casino?"

Ma Biao paused for a moment, then answered truthfully: "There are casinos, and they are legal. There are several large casinos in Liuhua County."

However, the owners behind these casinos are either local gangs or directly affiliated with powerful families.

They have connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds. Not only do they take a huge cut, but anyone who wins too much money without connections is often silenced before they even leave the street.

"As long as it's legal."

A barely perceptible smile curved Zheng Yifei's lips. As long as there are casinos, and as long as the rules are made by people, he can always find a way to manipulate them.

However, all of this is contingent on them being able to enter Liuhua County's city gates openly and legitimately.

"The last question, and also the most important one."

Zheng Yifei's smile vanished, his gaze sharpening as he stared at Ma Biao. "You just said that without a household registration and travel permit, it's impossible to move an inch. All of us, a dozen or so people, are currently unregistered. Is there any way to bypass the recommendations of powerful families and obtain legal, official status directly from the government?"

Upon hearing this question, both Ouyang Tian and Murong Hao tensed up. They had been tormented by this household registration system for half a year and knew its severity all too well.

Ma Biao hesitated for a moment, seemingly weighing whether to tell the truth, but when he met Zheng Yifei's cold gaze, he immediately shivered and told the whole story.