The Tree Realm Descends on Douluo Continent

Chapter 96 Business Cooperation

"Bishop Gerald is too kind. We are glad that our uninvited visit did not disturb your business."

Li Xun smiled as he accepted the token and stored it in his soul tool. He had specifically borrowed it from his teacher before leaving, and he would return it after use.

"Not at all, not at all. These trivial matters are not as important as your affairs. Please come in." Gerald did not show any disdain for Li Xun and Ning Rongrong because of their young age.

Aside from the Spirit Hall, only the three upper sects each possess one Papal Token. Now that the Clear Sky Sect is not prominent, this token can only belong to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School or the Blue Lightning Tyrant School, making it easy to trace.

His respectful attitude stemmed from the special significance of the papal decree and the power represented by the other party.

The group soon arrived at a magnificent reception room. Tea and some exquisite snacks had already been prepared there.

After the three of them sat down.

Gerald dismissed the others and moved the tea to Li Xun, asking, "May I ask what brings you here, esteemed guest?"

Li Xun glanced at the tea and snacks on the table, then took a closer look at the cardinal opposite him. He realized that this man must be quite a character.

"Bishop Gerald, I won't keep you in suspense any longer."

Li Xun picked up the teacup, took a sip, and couldn't tell what kind of tea it was: "I represent the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and I've come here to discuss a business deal with you."

"oh!"

Upon hearing this, Gerald's eyes lit up, and his smile instantly became amiable: "Then I'd like to hear it. I wonder what kind of business could make a behemoth like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School think of a mere bishop like myself."

As a cardinal, in addition to his fixed salary and allowances, his subordinates would also give him small gifts in exchange for promotions or performance evaluations. Some smaller factions in the city would also donate money to the temple for convenience.

Although the amount of money was small, it added up to far more than what would make him extremely wealthy than what the average businessman would make.

Now, Li Xun, representing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, has come uninvited, saying he wants to discuss business with him. This has aroused some doubt and wariness in Gerald's heart, as well as a great deal of interest.

"Bishop Gerald is too modest. If cardinals are considered minor bishops, then there's no point in anyone else trying to climb the ranks." Li Xun had no intention of underestimating the other party.

Although these bishops are nothing in the world of Soul Masters where strength is paramount, their dominance over the lower and middle classes is undeniable.

"The main reason I've come to see you today is that I'd like to open a high-end restaurant in Soto City."

"Just for this?" Gerald's smile froze on his face, and it took him a long time to suppress it. If the other party didn't have the Pope's decree, he would have liked to kick him out of the Spirit Hall right now.

"Isn't this business a bit too small?" Gerald thought for a moment and said softly, "With the size of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, would a mere high-end restaurant need to cooperate with me?"

"Bishop Gerald, this is no small business. Do you know the profit margin in the ordinary catering industry? It's at least 40% to 50%."

Li Xun glanced around the room and took out the corpse of the Three-Eyed Demon Fox from the soul tool: "What I'm going to do is a soul beast business with a 200% profit margin."

Gerald looked at the enormous body of the Three-Eyed Demon Fox in the center of the reception room and a thought struck him: "You want to open a high-end restaurant using soul beast meat as a selling point?"

"However, if I may be frank, this matter would have been no difficulty for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School to handle alone, so why did they choose me?"

Gerald was actually quite tempted when he saw the soul beast's corpse. He thought back carefully and realized that there really wasn't a restaurant that sold soul beast meat.

In the past, after Soul Masters hunted Soul Beasts and absorbed their Soul Rings, they would often leave the corpses behind and no one would think of bringing the Soul Beasts back to make money.

After all, the wilderness is very dangerous, and no one would be willing to risk so much to carry a soul beast back just for the sake of satisfying their appetite. Besides, not everyone has a soul tool.

"Bishop Gerald, actually it's not just you; our goal is to turn this upscale restaurant into a chain."

Li Xun took out a map from his soul tool and laid it between the two of them: "This scale will cover all regions of the entire continent."

"Although Soto City, where you are located, is not the provincial capital, its importance is beyond doubt, which is why I came to you in person to discuss cooperation."

Ning Rongrong was bored and was eating her tea and snacks by herself when she heard Li Xun's words. Her eyes widened immediately. How could she not know about such a big matter in the sect?

"You mean to say that in this collaboration, everyone in the Spirit Hall, from the Platinum Bishop down to the deacons, is your target?"

Gerald narrowed his eyes: "But what can we do for you? Do you want us to lift the restrictions on the Soul Beast Forest so we can hunt soul beasts?"

Li Xun took out a pen from his soul tool and began marking on the map: "Don't worry, we're talking about legitimate business now, no underhanded dealings. All you need to do is endorse this restaurant."

"Endorsement?" Gerald asked, somewhat puzzled.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"Regarding the endorsement, you need to remind the public and nobles from time to time that the restaurant we run is the only one on the mainland that is jointly protected by the Spirit Hall and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."

"Our restaurant is dedicated to recycling the remains of spirit beasts that were originally considered useless, and using them to subsidize ordinary spirit masters, so that they can have an additional source of income while obtaining spirit rings."

"Therefore, you need to appeal to the public, so that Soul Masters will not waste the Soul Rings they obtain, but bring back the corpses of Soul Beasts and sell them to our restaurant."

Li Xun put down his pen and pushed the marked map in front of Gerald: "Of course, you also have another important task, which is to crack down on the indiscriminate killing of soul beasts by some soul masters."

"Although the Spirit Hall explicitly forbids Spirit Masters from indiscriminately killing Spirit Beasts on a large scale, as long as something generates high enough profit, even the strictest laws cannot stop people from committing crimes."

Gerald laughed and held up the map with both hands: "But what does this have to do with us? Hunting soul beasts is risky. If it's just for money, dying in the belly of a soul beast is a worthy death."

As Gerald looked at Li Xun's plans, his doubts gradually faded, leaving only fantasies about future wealth.

He could see the huge business opportunity here. He just didn't know how much profit Li Xun would give him. But as a cardinal and with Li Xun personally coming to his door, he figured he'd get quite a bit.

"Bishop Gerald, we can't exhaust our resources. Money can never be earned indefinitely." Li Xun chuckled and picked up his teacup. "If we don't intervene, we'll probably see very few soul beasts that take ten or a hundred years to grow."

"By then, we might be the subject of gossip and criticism from future generations."

Bishop Gerald was taken aback, then frowned and fell into deep thought: "Then what's your plan?"

In life, one needs not only money but also fame. If it's possible to have both, that's ideal. But if not, one can only choose one that one values.

(End of this chapter)